Love is More than a Word, Chapter 66: New enemy, Old Regret (3)...

Love is More than a Word《识汝不识丁》Shi Nu Bu Shi Ding
Love is More than a Word, Chapter 66: New enemy, Old Regret (3)...

Lao Tao and Tao Mo drove the carriage to the river.

Hao Guozi and Sang Xiaotu were walking dejectedly along the river, when they saw the carriage with the horses.

Lao Tao stopped the carriage.

Tao Mo waited until they approached and apologized profusely, “Sorry for the wait.”

Hao Guozi fidgeted and said, “Young Master, where have you and Gu-She gone? You could have made it easy for us to find you, I thought something had happened to you!”

Sang Xiaotu followed him and although he said nothing, he looked worried.


Lao Tao waved his hand, “Something did happen, let's talk about it when we get back.”

Hao Guozi saw Tao Mo and Lao Tao's faces were troubled, didn't dare to ask any more questions, and pulled Sang Xiaotu onto the carriage.

With Hao Guozi and Sang Xiaotu in the carriage, Tao Mo and Lao Tao naturally returned to the carriage.

On the way here, Tao Mo had already told Lao Tao about the attack but he was in a hurry and didn't think about it, so now Lao Tao had time to think about it.” How was the assassin dressed?”

Tao Mo thought to himself, “In his normal clothes, with a cloth over his face.”

Lao Tao said, “In this broad daylight, you don't think they will be wearing nightclothes.”

Tao Mo: “Ah, I wonder who that half-hearted chivalrous man is, how is he doing now?”

Lao Tao's eyes flickered and he said a little while ago, “That man, perhaps, is one of my men.”

Tao Mo looked at him in stunned silence. Lao Tao's appearance hadn't changed but ever since he came to the neighboring county, he felt that he was getting stranger and stranger. Whether it's the bowl he broke with his palm or the men he calls his men.

When Lao Tao saw him looking like this, he sighed quietly and said, “I'm not going to lie to you, actually, the manager I was talking about before, is Ming Zun of the Demon Sect."

“The Demon Sect?" Tao Mo was shocked. He didn't know much about the world but the Demon Sect was a familiar word. The Demon Sect was in the ascendant and what kind of storyteller doesn't mention it in a teahouse? Praise or blame, true or false, there was no consensus, he never took it to heart when it came to the news about the Demon Sect, he did not want Lao Tao, who had been with him for two years, to be one of the Demon Sect. ‘So, what about Mu Chun?”

Lao Tao said, “His original name was Duanmu Huichun and he is the new generation of elders of the Demon Sect.”

Tao Mo's breath was short and he didn't take it well.” Then you...”

Lao Tao said, “My original name is Lu Qiyuan, I am the Demon Sect Elder. If it weren't for my later...” He paused. For him, it was an unforgettable past. Even though Ming Zun was a calm person and didn't care about what Lao Tao did, what he (Lao Tao) did hurt the Demon Sect so badly, it cost the Demon Sect to lose many students. Unfortunately, his self-pity didn't help, so he did everything he could for the Demon Sect. But now, after he returned to the Demon Sect, he hasn't done anything for the Demon Sect but he has been using the Demon Sect's men to do his bidding.

Tao Mo saw Lao Tao's expression of depression and knew that he did not want to relive the past, so he interrupted: “I wonder if your men caught the assassin?”

When Lao Tao regained consciousness, he shook his head and said, “I haven't contacted him yet. Let's wait until we get back to the inn.”

When Tao Mo heard him mention the inn, he thought of Gu-She and his heart was pounding like a bucket, wishing he could fly back with a pair of wings.

Lao Tao said, “That's right. About my origins in the Demon Sect, you must not mention it to anyone else.”

“Anyone?” Tao Mo hesitated. Gu-She might ask about the chivalrous man and if he can't say, he'll make wild guesses and take many wrong turns and he will be found out.

Lao Tao said, “Hao Guozi, Gu-She all of them don't say anything to them.”

They've been whispering since they came in, so they're not afraid of being heard outside.

Tao Mo was shocked. He thought he was going to hide it from Gu-She but not from Hao Guozi, too.

Lao Tao said, “The situation in the Imperial Court is obscure, the Demon Sect is in a mysterious position and the fewer people know about my identity, the better.”

Tao Mo thought about the rumors about the Demon Sect and nodded seriously.

“There is one thing I will tell you but you must keep it to yourself, never reveal it and never ask Gu-She." Lao Tao cautiously instructed.

Tao Mo saw that he was speaking formally and didn't dare to be careless, busy asking, “Something to do with Gu-She?”




“It's about Gu-She's father.” When Lao Tao saw his bewildered face, he suddenly remembered that Tao Mo didn't know about Gu-She's family history and his words fell out of his throat, “His father seems to be an old acquaintance with Huang Guangde, he is someone whom he has some friendship.”

Tao Mo went pale.

“Gu-She should not know about this.” Lao Tao thought about it and decided to defend Gu-She, “but Gu-She's father is not an idle man, so be careful how you deal with Gu-She.”

Tao Mo settles down, “Who is his father?”

“Your acquaintance with Gu-She is shallow and little, so why speak of it? If you know who his father is, it would be better if you didn't know, since you would be bound to meet him in the future.”

Although Lao Tao didn't say who it was, his tone clearly implied that Gu-She's father was someone very special. Tao Mo's heart goes cold when he thinks of the way Gu-She eats, dresses and behaves in his daily life.

When the carriage returned to the tavern, Master Jin was waiting in the hall and was relieved to see that they were safe.

Lao Tao said, “Where's Gu-She?”

Master Jin said, “Go back to bed. I wonder how he's doing.” He looked at Tao Mo but Tao Mo was distracted.

When Sang Xiaotu heard that Gu-She was wounded, his face went white with fear and she ran upstairs to wait on him.

“Just, you're all tired, so let's get some rest. Let's talk about it tomorrow.” Lao Tao.

Master Jin waited for Tao Mo to come back to solve the mystery but when Lao Tao said that, he was a bit reluctant but there was nothing he could do about it, so he put his questions aside and went to rest with them.

Hao Guozi wanted to know something from Tao Mo but when he came back to his room, he collapsed on his bed, not daring to ask any more questions.

He remained silent all night.

In the morning, Master Jin and the others came downstairs one after another.

Tao Mo and Hao Guozi were the last ones again.

Tao Mo came downstairs and was startled to see Gu-She in the room. Although he had thought over Lao Tao's words over and over again last night and had secretly made up his mind to make a clean break with Gu-She and end all relations, the moment he saw him, those promises were instantly shattered and his legs involuntarily moved in front of him and his mouth opened self-consciously. “How is your injury? Does it hurt?”

Gu-She shook his head faintly.

How could it not hurt? Since he was a child, apart from the pain of his mother's death, this is the worst. But pain is a feeling, it hurts whether you talk about it or not, so why does he have to talk about it?

Even though he didn't say it, Tao Mo could tell by his unusual pallor. “You, you should eat lightly.” He didn't know where to start.

Master Jin was a bit angry when he didn't get to the point of what he was saying. Why don't we report to the authorities and arrest him?”

Lao Tao said, “I'm afraid I can't handle it.” He said and looked over at Tao Mo.

Tao Mo knows what he's talking about. Lao Tao was suggesting that he can’t handle that part.

Master Jin sighed, “That's right. The County Magistrate here is already thankful that it doesn't call for someone to handle it, where else could they ask someone else.”

Tao Mo sat down on the empty seat next to Gu-She, both hands spontaneously helping him with the dishes, while looking at Master Jin with his eyes and asked, “Didn't you say you were going to see Master Advisor yesterday?”

Master Jin said, “When I said that I was sent by his excellency to inquire about the case, he was a little displeased but he did not suspect.”

Lao Tao said, “That's good. What did he reveal?”

“The wind is tight.” Master Jin sipped his porridge slowly and then said, “But it's no use talking about the wind. As long as the wind is blowing, I can hear it. He told me not to worry about the case, that it'd be decided beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Hao Guozi sneered, “Bullshit. How's that for no doubt?”

“What does this mean?” Master Jin winked at him.

Lao Tao replied: “No doubt it is false but the top and bottom guys' involvement is true.”

“What do you mean?” Sang Xiaotu quietly asked Hao Guozi.

Master Jin: “Up and down the chain of command.”

Lao Tao frowned, “Did this already reach the Ministry of Justice?”

Master Jin said, “Why bother with the Ministry of Justice? He insinuated that as long as we have good connections with the crime and the investigation, we can take care of everything. Besides, the woodcutter confessed voluntarily, so even if we don't do anything about it, it's clear that the crime department will turn a blind eye to this case.”

Tao Mo sank to his knees and said, “This is human life! How can they turn a blind eye to more than one thing?”

Master Jin said: “The magistrate is the new officer, has presided over a few cases. What is the Criminal Justice Department going to do? Every day they hear and see big cases and they have a lot of family killings. What's one life compared to hundreds of lives in a family?”

Tao Mo subconsciously refuted, “Don't say that. A life is precious too.” After he said that, he felt he was too weak to argue.

“Everyone has only one life.” Gu-She blurted out.

Tao Mo's eyes lit up and he nodded desperately.

Master Jin sighs, “Pity, there are so few officials who think like that.”

Hao Guozi said, “It's not like there's nothing or no hope. Wouldn't it be nice to have my family Young Master among those who make decisions?”

Master Jin suddenly laughed, “I suddenly hope that one day you will be an official in the Ministry of Justice or the Minister of Dali Bureau.”

Tao Mo heard the hand waving, “I, I'm not even good enough to be the Prefectural Magistrate Court, how dare I expect that?”




Master Jin laughed. It was a casual remark but he didn't really mean it. Tao Mo is illiterate and it is a dream to jump from a County Magistrate to be the Prefectural Magistrate Court but to be one of the Nine Ministers or the Three Emperors Councilors is just too much to hope for.

Gu-She looked at the side of Tao Mo's face as he peeled his eggshell and his eyes softened.” It’s better for local officers who do better for the people than for the officials in the capital who say they will do good for the people.”

Tao Mo looked up at the words, saw the softness in his eyes and was instantly smitten.

“Ahem.” Lao Tao coughed, “Master Jin and the others still don't know what happened yesterday, Young Master why don't you tell us.”

Tao Mo regained his mind from the daze and was in a panic, his face flushed red and he fidgeted for a while before settling down and recounting what had happened yesterday.

His eloquence wasn't spectacular but Hao Guozi and Sang Xiaotu looked at Gu-She's bandaged wounds and were horrified as if they had seen yesterday's horror.

Tao Mo said, remembering the look on Gu-She's face when he pushed him away yesterday and broke out in a cold sweat with hindsight.

If Gu-She hadn't found the incoming arrow, or had found it and didn't push it away, Tao Mo wouldn't be sitting here today.

Lao Tao heard about this incident from Tao Mo yesterday but he didn't have any special feelings about it. After all, no matter how clever Gu-She is, he's just a scholar with no power of martial arts, so there's no way he could have talked him out of a situation like that. Pushing him away would have been Gu-She's instinctive reaction.

In other words, Gu-She was subconscious protecting Tao Mo?

Lao Tao was quick to disprove this notion. Maybe it's just Gu-She's instinct to save people.

When Tao Mo saw that everyone was silent, he knew that they were all scared by yesterday's events and said, “It's all in the past. That man could have been a bandit from the neighborhood.”

Gu-She: “Not a bandit.”

Everyone's eyes were on him.

“Why would a bandit with such skills wait for a rabbit in the middle of nowhere?” Gu-She.

Lao Tao said, “And in your opinion?”

Gu-She said calmly, “It's an assassin.”

Hao Guozi and Sang Xiaotu both felt a chill on the back of their necks.

Master Jin couldn't help but pick up the porridge bowl, covering it with his hands.

Lao Tao said, “You mean, that person is going after you and Young Master?”

Gu-She said thoughtfully, “More than the assassin, I'm curious who the other one was who came out to stop it.”

Lao Tao turned his face away uncomfortably.

The corner of Gu-She's mouth moves, like a smile instead of a laugh.

Hao Guozi blurted out, “What kind of person wants to kill Young Master? Is it Huang Guangde?”

Lao Tao frowned.

Hao Guozi knew he had made a mistake and immediately hung his head in repentance.

Master Jin said, “You call this Huang Guangde but isn’t the issue concerning the Prefectural Magistrate in Luo city?"

Ever since the name Huang Guangde appeared, Tao Mo's face had been pale and even more pale at the mention of the word” Prefectural Magistrate".

Master Jin knew there was something else going on when he looked at his face but he didn't ask any further questions.

Gu-She blurted, “It could also be Wan Feng's murderer.”

Master Jin said: “It is possible. If that man can buy his way into the County Magistrate, he's got a lot of connections! The surrounding area must be full of his spies. Maybe, we're already being watched.”

The daylight was darkened by his words.

Seeing Hao Guozi and Sang Xiaotu constantly looking around, Lao Tao sighed, “We might as well go back to Tangyang County before we do anything about it.”

This was immediately agreed by Master Jin and the others. Tangyang County is its own territory after all.

They went back to pack their bags.

In the meantime, Gu-She recalled that Gu Xiaojia went back to Tangyang alone to hire the litigation master and couldn't help but frown.

“What are you worried about?” asked Tao Mo, who had been watching him.

Gu-She said, “The wound hurts.”

Tao Mo was greatly nervous, “Shall I take you to the doctor?”

Gu-She shook his head: “Just rest.”

Tao Mo wanted to escort Gu-She to his room but when he looked over at Sang Xiaotu and Lao Tao, he retracted his steps.

“You come with me.” Not giving him a chance to refuse, Gu-She dropped the word to Tao Mo and went upstairs.




Tao Mo didn't dare to look at Lao Tao's face, so he took a step to follow.





~ Love is More than A Word ~



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