readsfreenovel Chapter 249 Assassination of Zhang Liang 11
Chapter 249 Assassination of Zhang Liang 11
Standing to the side, Zhang Liang overheard their conversation and felt a surge of complex emotions welling up inside him—a feeling that was truly indescribable! His lips were cracked, his face as pale as paper, and he struggled to raise his hand and gesture in the air. Clearly, he was extremely thirsty.
Wang Po, who had been observing Zhang Liang's every move, stepped forward with a suspicious look on her face. After looking him up and down, she suddenly blurted out, "Could this be a mute?"
Zhang Liang nodded helplessly in response. At this moment, the most urgent thing for him was to quickly eat a hot meal and recover some energy from his extreme exhaustion and weakness. After all, this was not a place to stay for long. Not to mention that the vicious Liu Sheng and his gang would probably be chasing after him soon, the fact that this family was actually planning to marry him, a grown man, to three other grown men was something Zhang Liang simply could not accept.
Seeing Zhang Liang nod and admit that he was mute, Granny Wang frowned slightly, but then relaxed and muttered to herself, "So what if he's mute? As long as he can carry on the family line and continue the Wang family line, that's enough."
Just as she was rambling on, the third son in the family walked in carrying a broken porcelain bowl with a noticeably chipped rim. He went straight to Zhang Liang and, without a word, prepared to feed him water himself. However, how could Zhang Liang, a man, tolerate such intimate behavior with another strange man? So, without hesitation, he reached out and snatched the bowl away, intending to find his own way to get water.
Wang Laosan's gaze was firmly drawn to Zhang Liang's fair and smooth fingers, which were as white as mutton fat jade. His eyes widened, almost popping out of their sockets, and he stared at those hands in a daze, completely unaware that Zhang Liang had already drunk several large mouthfuls of warm water.
The warm water slid down Zhang Liang's throat and into his stomach, like a clear spring nourishing parched land, instantly revitalizing his body, which had been nearly exhausted from hunger and fatigue. Zhang Liang let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just escaped death and been given a second chance at life.
Having regained his senses, Zhang Liang raised his hand and gently touched his empty stomach, then gestured with his fingers as if to eat. Seeing this, Wang Laosan's eyes lit up, and he excitedly exclaimed, "Hey! Are you hungry? Want something to eat?" Zhang Liang nodded quickly in agreement.
Wang Laosan turned to his mother sitting beside him and said urgently, "Mother, why don't we take out the little millet we have left and cook it for this young lady?"
However, before he could finish speaking, Granny Wang jumped up as if she had been electrocuted, stretched out her arms to block the cabinet where the grain was stored, and shouted, "No, no! Absolutely not! We only have this little bit of grain left. If we cook it all, how will our family survive? Are we going to starve to death?"
Wang Laosan quickly stepped forward and grabbed his mother's arm, gently persuading her, "Mother, don't worry. Tomorrow, my eldest brother, second brother, and I will go hunting in the mountains again. This time, we're sure to bring back even more and better game. Once we take it to the market and sell it, we'll have money to buy food." As he spoke, he looked at Wang Po with expectant eyes.
Hearing her son's words, Granny Wang hesitated for a moment, but when she turned her head and saw Zhang Liang's unusually pale face, her heart softened immediately. She sighed and nodded helplessly, saying, "Alright, alright, then let's cook a little millet for her. But you three grown men will have to bear with it today. You can eat as much as you want tomorrow when you actually hunt some game, exchange it for money, and buy new grain."
The three men exchanged glances, indicating they had no objections. Under Wang Po's stern gaze, they began to cook the millet porridge. The water in the pot gradually boiled, making bubbling sounds, while the golden millet sloshed and tumbled, releasing a fragrant aroma. In no time, two bowls of steaming, fragrant millet porridge were ready.
The millet in the bowl appeared sparse, scattered about. Zhang Liang had already guessed that this family was poor, but he never expected them to be this poor.
Zhang Liang picked up one of the bowls of millet porridge, gently blew away the steam, and then carefully took a small sip. The warm porridge slid slowly down his throat and into his stomach, instantly making him feel a warm current surge through his heart, and his body seemed to gradually regain some strength.
Meanwhile, Liu Sheng and his companions followed the footprints closely, unknowingly entering the village. However, once inside, they discovered that the footprints had become increasingly chaotic, numerous and crisscrossing, making it impossible to discern which set belonged to the person they were tracking. Faced with this situation, Liu Sheng and his group were at a loss and had no choice but to first seek out the village head to inquire about the details.
Fortunately, a few children were playing at the village entrance. Seeing Liu Sheng and his group looking hurried, they curiously gathered around. With the children's enthusiastic guidance, Liu Sheng and his companions quickly found the village head's house. Standing at the door, Liu Sheng gently knocked on the gate and called out, "Is anyone home?"
Immediately afterwards, a slightly aged voice came from inside the house: "Who is it?" Accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching from afar. With a creak, the courtyard gate was slowly pushed open, and an elderly man with gray hair, a kind face, but eyes that revealed a hint of vigilance appeared before everyone.
The village headman looked the unfamiliar visitors up and down, frowned, and asked in confusion, "Who are you? What brings you all this way here?"
Seeing this, Liu Sheng quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Greetings, sir. We are just passersby. We have come to inquire about some suspicious signs on the road and hope you will be so kind as to offer your advice." After saying this, Liu Sheng recounted the general course of events in detail.
When the village head heard that a vicious assassin had broken into their village, this sudden news terrified him, turning him ashen-faced and causing him to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes widened, his face filled with fear and helplessness, and he stared blankly at Liu Sheng and the others like a lost child, his lips trembling as he asked, "Then...what should we do?"