On the outskirts.
A few rustic men were walking on the official road, carrying hoes on their shoulders. They were dressed in coarse cloth gowns, looking ordinary. However, in fact, they had sharp weapons tucked into their waists. Some even wore overcoats to hide the big knives on their waists tightly.
Getting closer, one could even hear their hushed conspiracy.
"It's already high noon. Why hasn't the Third Young Master shown up yet?"
"Don't be impatient. We've already spread the news. The Third Young Master dotes on the young princess the most. Once he hears that the young princess is in a coma and the mansion has been keeping it from him, he will surely come back."
After this brief exchange, the men glanced at each other and then continued to carry their hoes.
Right in front of them, a very tall young man with a包袱 on his back was striding towards them.
The young man had dark skin. Even though he was dressed in the most ordinary short shirt, his imposing manner was hard to conceal. He was exactly Shen Haiyan, the man the men had been waiting for impatiently.
When the two sides were about to pass each other, the men suddenly attacked. Two of them took out the sharp weapons from their waists and rushed towards Shen Haiyan, while the other three stepped back to surround him.
The reflection from the sharp weapons fell on Shen Haiyan's face. He instinctively bent down to avoid the on - coming big knife and rolled out of the encirclement.
Shen Haiyan quickly got up and confronted the men. "I'm Lin Mu. It's the first time I've met you heroes. I wonder if there's some misunderstanding. I hope you can let me understand why I'm going to die."
Hearing this, the man holding the big knife was stunned.
He asked stupidly, "Big brother, we've got the wrong person. He's not the Third Young Master."
"You fool! Can't you tell he's bluffing you?" The leading man hadn't expected his brother to be so stupid as to actually believe Shen Haiyan's words.
Shen Haiyan was startled. They should be from the Shen family. He pretended to be terrified. "Gentlemen, I'm just a passer - by. I'm really not the Third Young Master. It doesn't matter if you kill me by mistake, but it will be troublesome if you miss your target."
He sounded so sincere that even the leading man was deceived. He looked at Shen Haiyan doubtfully. Could it be that he had really mistaken the person?
But looking around, there were only them and the man in front of them on this road...
The leading man paused. A glint flashed in his eyes. He looked past Shen Haiyan and shouted behind him, "Young Master Heqing, have you found all the medicine for the young princess?"
Hearing this, Shen Haiyan instinctively turned around. "Is Baozhu really sick?"
The leading man immediately knew Shen Haiyan's identity. He said coldly, "As expected of the Third Young Master. You're really smart. Brothers, attack!"
Shen Haiyan had just come from the military camp and there were no weapons in his包袱. He was no match for the five men bare - handed and could only keep dodging.
Fortunately, Shen Haiyan had some martial arts skills and wasn't caught by the strong men.
However, the strong men's task wasn't to capture Shen Haiyan but to make him suffer as much as possible.
The strong men cooperated perfectly. They forced Shen Haiyan to a pit and then used their big knives to push him into it.
Once in the pit, Shen Haiyan was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
The strong men knocked Shen Haiyan unconscious with stones and then went down the pit to break his hands and feet so that he wouldn't be able to climb out if he woke up.
Before leaving, they didn't forget to cover the pit with branches.
In just a few days, once Shen Haiyan starved to death in the pit, their task would be completed.
The five strong men went back to report. The butler had been waiting for them at their place and brought them several gold pieces as a reward.
The leading man among the strong men was named Zhang Daqiang.
Zhang Daqiang weighed the gold piece in his hand and was extremely excited.
The butler also thoughtfully prepared tea and served it to each strong man, watching them drink it all in one gulp.
Before long, the strong men who had been discussing how to divide the gold just now were all lying on the ground, unconscious.
Looking at the bodies all over the ground, the butler sighed softly. "How naive. You know such a big secret of the master. How could he let you leave successfully?"
"I hope you'll meet a good master in your next life."
...
In the main courtyard.
Shen Baozhu was sitting on the couch, her arms folded across her chest. She said angrily, "Third brother didn't send me a letter!"
Shen Heqing comforted her. "Maybe Third brother is too busy. Big brother has already sent someone to the military camp to ask him why he didn't send you a letter."
"If he can't come up with a proper reason, big brother will beat him up for you!"
With Shen Heqing's promise, Shen Baozhu felt a bit better, but she still looked aggrieved. "I used to get letters from him. I've even practiced writing for a long time..."
Shen Heqing smiled helplessly. "Little glutton, how about big brother make it up to you with a plate of pastries?"
Shen Baozhu's eyes lit up, but she still pretended to be angry and bargained in a low voice. "Can I have two plates, Baozhu?"
"Of course... not!" Shen Heqing dragged out the words deliberately to tease Shen Baozhu.
Although her bargaining failed, Shen Baozhu was still content.
Taking small bites of the pastries, Shen Baozhu seemed a bit absent - minded. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Third brother is a liar. He promised to write to me every time... No, someone must have hidden the letters from third brother to me!"
[Maybe the little cutie's brother is just a bit busy?]
"But even when third brother was extremely busy before, he still remembered to write to me." Shen Baozhu became more and more entangled. The pastries in front of her didn't seem delicious anymore. "Did something happen to third brother?"
The Dragon King couldn't bear to see Baozhu sad. [Rather than waiting for the servants to come back, why doesn't the little cutie go and ask by herself?]
As he said this, a small fruit suddenly appeared in Shen Baozhu's hand.
The small fruit was black and didn't look very appetizing.
[This is the Fruit of the Same Blood. After eating this fruit, a red thread will wind around your wrist. The other end of the dotted line is connected to your blood relatives who share the same parents. The farther the distance, the darker the color of the dotted line.]
The Dragon King highly praised the Fruit of the Same Blood. [Little cutie, don't look down on this ordinary - looking fruit. It's really effective. I used this fruit to beat up all my brothers. Not a single one was left out!]
Looks can be deceiving.
Although it was black, the Fruit of the Same Blood tasted sweet and sour, with the two flavors perfectly blended. Shen Baozhu thought the new fruit was delicious!
At the same time, two red threads appeared on Shen Baozhu's wrist. One was extremely dark, which should be Shen Heqing who lived in the princess mansion. The other one was very light, which was Shen Haiyan's.
With the red thread as a guide, it would be much easier to find Shen Haiyan.
[I'm supposed to give the little cutie three gifts. I'll give you the first one now!]
Two more fruits appeared in front of Shen Baozhu. One of them was red. The familiar appearance made Shen Baozhu recognize that the red fruit was the Invisibility Fruit from last time.
[Little cutie is really smart. It's the Invisibility Fruit! First, use the Fruit of the Same Blood to find Shen Haiyan, and then use the Invisibility Fruit to go out and look for him. Perfect!]
[Oh, right. I also considered that the little cutie has short legs, so I specially prepared a fruit that can shrink the land into inches...]
The Dragon King thought his plan was perfect and rambled on for a long time.
Among all the subtitles, Shen Baozhu accurately saw the words "short legs". She defended herself. "Baozhu is just young. I'll grow taller in the future!"
[Okay, okay. The little cutie is just young. Your legs aren't short.]
Shen Baozhu ate the Invisibility Fruit, filled her small bag with pastries, and then set off on the journey to find her third brother.