Chapter Ten: Memories of the Past

Zhang Xuan’s string of startled reactions left Yang Zaixing, Yang Bo, and the others utterly baffled.

“Zhang Xuan, do you happen to know our young master?” Yang Bo ventured, trying to probe Zhang Xuan’s intentions.

“Oh, apologies—I was lost in thought for a moment. I’m someone who barely sets foot outside my own doors; how could I possibly recognize him? It’s just that a friend of mine back home shares the same name, which brought back some memories. Nothing more. Past events are already distant, after all—life’s twists of fate never cease to amaze me.”

He put on a look of profound melancholy, as if mourning the world’s sorrows.

“The past is already but a memory… What a line! There’s real depth there. Did you compose it yourself? I never would have thought you had such literary talent, Zhang Xuan—truly a man of both pen and sword!” Yang Bo, evidently a cultured man himself, heartily approved of the sentiment.

“Heh.” That was all Zhang Xuan could say. Sometimes, it was worth borrowing a line of poetry—see how much it elevated his image in an instant.

Yang Zaixing walked over and clapped Zhang Xuan on the shoulder. “Let the past be past. One must look forward. As long as a man lives, there is hope—don’t you agree?”

Yang Bo and Yang Hu, hearing this, nodded in relief. Clearly, this ordeal had forced their young master to mature; he was no longer the child clinging to his father’s side.

“You’re right, young master. As long as we’re alive, there’s hope. Everything lost can be regained, so long as we endure,” Yang Bo affirmed with conviction.

From their conversation, Zhang Xuan surmised that something unfortunate must have befallen Yang Zaixing’s family. But there was little he could do for them at the moment—his heart ached, but he lacked the means to help, so he simply listened in silence.

“What are your plans now? Why not come along with me and Old Man Tong for a while? We can look out for each other. Take your time to think it over, though—there’s something I need to do first.”

With that, Zhang Xuan turned his back on the group. He picked up a torch from the ground and walked over to Yang Kai’s corpse, turning the body over and rummaging through its clothes.

“There’s still something of value here, after all! No wonder he was the leader. Good thing I fought off my nausea to do this—otherwise, what a waste it would have been! Don’t stop now; even if these are scraps, scraps are still meat, right?”

From Yang Kai’s coat, Zhang Xuan retrieved a handful of coins and some dry rations. Satisfied there was nothing more to find, he moved on to the next body.

Yang Bo, Yang Zaixing, and the others stared at him in disbelief. If Old Man Tong had been present, he surely would have given Zhang Xuan the finger.

“Zhang Xuan, what on earth are you doing? They’re dead already—why bother searching their bodies?” Yang Zaixing ran over, frowning.

“It’s obvious you’ve never lived through real hardship. Leaving all this here would just be wasteful, don’t you think? Might as well squeeze every last bit of value out of it. For me, the greatest use for this money is to fill my belly, buy necessities, and live a little better. You can’t take anything with you when you die, after all. It would be a shame to let it all go to waste. Want to help? If not, just know—finders keepers.”

“What do you mean, ‘value’? Is it only valuable in your hands?” Yang Zaixing asked.

“Brother Yang, you should really read more. This is just something I picked up from a book. I couldn’t really explain what ‘value’ means—it just sounded good, so I said it.”

Zhang Xuan paid him no further mind. Even if he tried to explain, Yang Zaixing wouldn’t understand. Better to use the time searching more pockets—money was money.

That miser Old Man Tong promised to look after him, but not even a single coin had come his way. He could only rely on himself.

Once he’d finished searching the attackers, Zhang Xuan called out to Yang Bo and the others, “I’m planning to check your people too—any objections? If so, keep them to yourselves. I won’t be changing my mind.”

With that, he strode over to the bodies of the besieged group.

Yang Bo shook his head helplessly. “Once you’re done, would you mind letting me have a look at what you found? In case there’s anything belonging to our family—if it goes missing, I’ll be branded a traitor to our clan.”

“Of course, I’ll show you later,” Zhang Xuan called back without turning. Only the worms in his stomach knew whether he’d hand anything over if he found something truly valuable.

By the time Yang Bo and the others finished their own deliberations, Zhang Xuan, too, was about done. Truth be told, the best pickings were on Yang Bo and Yang Zaixing themselves—these others had little more than a few scraps of food and a handful of coins.

Zhang Xuan handed everything over to Yang Bo without reservation—there really was nothing of value.

“That’s all there is. You people are truly destitute! No money, yet you still try to make a run for it? This world…” Zhang Xuan sighed.

“Zhang Xuan, about your suggestion that we travel together for a time—surely you can’t make that decision for yourself. Would you let us meet this ‘Old Man Tong’ you mentioned, before we decide?” Yang Bo voiced his thoughts.

Zhang Xuan glanced at the three of them. He’d only made the offer in passing—who would have thought they’d take it seriously? But on second thought, if this really was the so-called butterfly effect, he stood to gain a great deal. He’d saved Yang Zaixing’s life, after all, and judging by the historical Yang Zaixing’s temperament, he would surely repay such a debt. If he proved capable, perhaps Yang Zaixing might even become his follower. And if it was just a coincidence—a case of two people sharing a name—there was little to lose. Yang Zaixing’s enemies wouldn’t find him anytime soon, and the world was vast; life was nothing like those novels where fate threw people together at every corner.

Besides, if the sky fell, there’d always be someone taller to bear the brunt—what did a little nobody like him have to fear?

“All right, I’ll take you to meet Old Man Tong and see what he thinks. You can decide after that. By the way, do you have any horses? Let me ride one if you get a chance—I’ve never ridden before. Also, did Yang Kai’s lot come on horseback? Where are their horses?”

Yang Bo and the others could only marvel at how Zhang Xuan’s mind leapt from one thing to the next.