Chapter 25: Brothers Reunited Over a Bowl of Wine

  Never had he thought that in this world, he would receive such treatment, and it moved the bitterness and endless gratitude in his heart, causing him to fall tears unknowingly.

  Shi Jin took a glance and knew that Shi Qian was overcome with emotion, his temperament was just like a child's. Looking at him like this, he must have suffered a lot in the past. Shi Jin used the excuse of ordering a servant to heat up wine to turn his body around, pretending not to see Shi Qian's tears, so as not to make Shi Qian even more embarrassed.

  Shi Yan's eyes welled up with tears as he saw this, Shi Jin was a rough but meticulous person who considered others thoroughly, and in his heart, he felt three parts good impression and seven parts closeness. Shi Yan thought to himself, now that he had met such a good person, he must make friends with him as brothers and repay the kindness of knowing him.

  As soon as he moved his heart and turned around, he took the opportunity to lift up his sleeves and wipe away his tears. He said to Shi Jing: "Brother treats me with such courtesy, I am honored... how can my heart be at ease!"

  Shi Jin was moved by his words and knew that he had already collected his emotions. He turned his face, let Shi Yan enter the seat, and said: "What's past is past, people on the road are the most bitter, don't mention these things, first eat something to fill your stomach, we can talk later." After speaking, he pushed the plate of roasted chicken in front of Shi Yan.

  At this moment, seeing it, I couldn't help but have the urge to swallow a mouthful, only because Shi Jin was there, and such urgency would be unseemly. So he swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva that flowed out, but didn't eat.

  Shi Jin saw him staring intently at the roasted chicken, yet restraining himself like this, and smiled saying: "Let's consider it as if we were in our own home, then we can talk freely after eating."

  As soon as Shi Jin heard this, he felt that Shi Jin's words were very considerate, not only did they bring them closer together, but also gave himself a step down, so that he could eat meat and drink wine with abandon. Shi Jin was a person who knew how to be grateful, and these little things had quietly settled in his heart.

  Then, Shi Qian also didn't use chopsticks, grasped the leg of the roast chicken with his hand and started devouring it.

  Shi Jin saw his eating style and was also delighted in his heart, thinking that Shi Yan was still innocent and not bound by worldly conventions, truly a straightforward person. While thinking to himself, he poured the hot wine for him to drink, telling him to slow down and not choke.

  Having eaten to the point of being seven-tenths full, Shi Qian also told his own life story, pouring out his heart in a most delightful way. Under the vast sky, he had finally met someone with whom he could unburden himself, and this truly made Shi Qian ecstatic.

  It turned out that Shi Qian's qinggong was passed down from his ancestors, only passing it to males and not females, and only to the eldest son. It was truly a unique skill in the world. However, during a fire, their family property was completely destroyed, and Shi Qian's mother was trapped inside. When his father rescued Shi Qian, he went back to rescue his wife, but neither of them came out again. By the time the fire was put out, it was already dawn, and when Shi Qian re-entered his original home, he couldn't even find his parents' ashes.

  That big fire burned about half of the village. From then on, Shi Qian was left with a shadow in his heart by the big fire, and because he couldn't accept reality, he left that sad place and lived elsewhere as a guest. He did some small business, but didn't think that because of his straightforward personality, he would anger the local tyrants, and in the middle of the night, there was another fire, which almost burned him to death.

  It was that fire that made Shi Qian recall the tragic scene of his parents' death, and with a burst of anger, he snuck into the luxurious mansion and killed the man. From then on, Shi Qian drifted in the rivers and lakes, relying on his extraordinary martial arts skills to barely scrape together some silver coins or food and clothing, living a hard life.

  Shi Jin listened to him and felt a lot of sympathy. Shi Taigong's coffin was still in the front hall, thinking about it, he felt a sense of being a fellow outcast. He poured himself a full cup of wine, raised his neck and drank with Shi Yan again.

  Shi Jin wiped the wine stains from his mouth, thinking that he should make it clear to his brothers. He was now a fugitive and had committed a capital offense, so he had to explain himself clearly. If others were implicated in his actions without understanding what was going on, how could he show his face again? At this moment, he also needed to talk about himself, so he said to Shi Yan: "You've heard it from outside, the Shi family village and Shaohua Mountain have rebelled."

  Shi Qian nodded and said straightforwardly: "Brother is a loyal and honest person, it's unlikely that he would rebel, there must be some unspeakable difficulties."

  Shi Jin then told the whole story of how Shao Huashan and the county government had become enemies, how the county government had sent soldiers to capture him, how they had attacked the manor, how Shi Taigong had met with disaster, how the Shi family's manor had been plundered, how Shao Huashan had come to rescue him, and how he himself had gone into hiding.

  Shi Jin continued, "Now that all of you brothers look up to me and push me to take this position, I must avenge the blood feud with the county government. Not for myself, but for all of you brothers." Shi Qian listened intently, nodding his head deeply, clearly moved by Shi Jin's inner sorrow and sharing his indignation.

  Shi Jin continued, "But I've also thought that just taking revenge would cause a big commotion. As the saying goes, 'If you don't do it once and for all, then don't do it at all.' So I'll bring these brothers along and do something big, so as not to waste my existence in this world!"

  At this point, Shi Yun suddenly felt that the Shi Jin in front of him was different from before. That heroic spirit and courage were truly not ordinary things. In his heart, he didn't know how, but he also gave birth to boundless heroic ambitions. So he hastily said: "This great undertaking is..."

  Shi Jin looked at him with interest and roughly said: "First, we'll take down Huayin County. Huayin County is very rich, with plenty of silver and grain. Only then can we mix for a long time. Around Huayin County, there are Shixia Village, Shaoyang Village, and Shijia Village. My Shijia Village has relatively abundant wealth, while Shaoyang Village has large tracts of fertile land, with an abundance of grain. And as for Shixia Village, it produces iron ore and even has a forge that produces top-notch weapons."

  "Brother's meaning is to take down these three towns and Huayin County, establish a foothold with this, and then plan for development after stabilizing the foundation!" Shi Qian listened and already understood half of it.

  Shi Jin nodded deeply and said: "There is indeed such a plan, but as a single person with limited power, it's really awkward to mobilize troops and deploy generals."

  At this point, Shi Qian immediately got up from his seat, turned around and knelt down on the ground, saying: "If brother doesn't despise me, I am willing to follow you wherever you go!"

  Shi Jin was deeply moved and delighted. He quickly helped him up and said, "With your help, brother, the task is half accomplished!" After speaking, the two men raised their cups and drank another bowl.

  After drinking, Shi Jin slowly said: "Brother joining the partnership, of course, I'm happy, but this big business is not a child's play. Not to mention that there will be many dangers and obstacles, even now we are already guilty of a capital offense. Fortunately, brother, you still have a clean slate, I'll give you several dozen taels of silver, find a good place to settle down and live a peaceful life."

  "Brother, what do you mean by this? Don't tell me you look down on me?" Shi Yan knew that Shi Jin was doing it for his own good, but as soon as he saw Shi Jin's words, his heart became anxious. After finishing speaking, he got up from his seat and knelt down in front of Shi Jin, making a bow.

  "Brother Xian, get up quickly!" Shi Jin said, and hurriedly helped Shi Yan up.

  Shi Qian looked at Shi Jin and said: "Brother, although I haven't read any books, there is a saying that 'a gentleman would die for one who knows him', isn't there?"

  Shi Jin and Shi Qian's eyes were fixed on each other, their four hands tightly clasped together. The brotherly affection in their hearts had unknowingly taken deep root.

  Shi Jin didn't know that from that moment on, Shi Chuan had really made up his mind to shield him from harm.

  Just then, there was a sudden sound of rapid footsteps outside. Shi Jin looked up and saw Wu Sanlang rushing in with a flustered look on his face, panting heavily. Before Shi Jin could ask him anything, he exclaimed breathlessly: "Brother... it's bad! The Shi family village is haunted by evil spirits!"