The Passerby Hidden Guard Picked Up the Villain [Transmigration] - Chapter 2

Xiao Hongyin was held in someone’s arms, his body trembling slightly. Like a startled young beast suddenly feeling a flicker of warmth, he subconsciously huddled into He Yanzhi’s embrace.

The maple leaves were currently a deep red. Xiao Hongyin wore only thin, tattered prison clothes, so he was undoubtedly cold. Because of this, He Yanzhi thought nothing of it and walked at an unhurried pace, rounding a corner to reach the interrogation room.

In a place where He Yanzhi could not see, Xiao Hongyin’s originally pure eyes were clouded with a layer of gloom. He allowed himself to be carried quietly, yet his gaze fell upon every path they passed.

Just fifteen minutes ago, he had been slumped in the courtroom, not yet recovered from the agony of a sword piercing his heart. In the darkness, he felt someone pulling at him. He opened his eyes with difficulty, and the first thing he saw was still that face: He Yanzhi.

He instinctively moved his upper body. Though the wound on his chest was painful, it was only skin-deep, which took Xiao Hongyin by surprise.

He lifted his head to scan his surroundings. The plaque reading “Righteousness and Integrity” hanging before him plunged him into a sudden trance.

This was impossible.

As he took in every detail of the courtroom, he gradually realized one thing: he had actually been reborn into his fifteenth year.

That was the year the Xiao family met with disaster. His parents were murdered in prison, and he had been sent to Xizhou by them to seek refuge. Instead, he was mistaken for someone hiding evidence of a crime and was thrown into the Xizhou Prefectural Prison, where he was subjected to extreme torture daily to extract a confession.

By the time he was brought to court, he had been tortured until he was at death’s door. After enduring a caning, he nearly died in the interrogation room. Who would have thought that after being tossed into a mass grave, he would survive against all odds? It was then that he swore he would make everyone pay the price.

However, not long after, he met He Yu, the unfavored King of Xizhou. He Yu proposed an alliance to overthrow the faint-hearted Emperor and kill their enemies. Xiao Hongyin agreed and spent ten years enduring hardships and biding his time, only to end up treating his enemy as a father. Not only did he fail to kill He Yu for revenge, but He Yu had casually sent a subordinate to pierce his heart with a sword.

Memories of his past life flooded his consciousness like a tide. Xiao Hongyin lost his strength and collapsed again, only to be caught just in time by He Yanzhi.

The sound of howling wind seemed to echo in his ears. Once Xiao Hongyin regained his senses, he stole a glance at He Yanzhi.

Heh. This face truly has not changed a bit.

He still remembered being atop the city walls, where He Yanzhi held He Yu’s military order. He Yanzhi had read out the execution sentence word by word, dismissed everyone, and looked at the defenseless Xiao Hongyin with an expressionless face. After saying a cold “Safe travels,” He Yanzhi had plunged the Jade Scale Sword through his heart without hesitation.

The sensation of being murdered was not pleasant. Xiao Hongyin silently withdrew his gaze, repeatedly chanting that name in his heart.

He Yanzhi. In our past life, you sent me on my way. Now that I live again, I shall collect He Yu’s debt from you first.

He looked down at his still-youthful body. Currently, the most important thing was to stay alive.

On the bench, the Prefect was still droning on, doing nothing more than trying to force him to confess to fabricated evidence.

Xiao Hongyin did not bother to argue. He only replied with four words, and the execution token was thrown down.

The caning. If he could dodge this, he would not have to spend time struggling between life and death in a mass grave.

“Can you walk?”

He Yanzhi had walked up to him at some point, still wearing that same expressionless face.

In his past life, Xiao Hongyin had not noticed that the bailiff administering the punishment was He Yanzhi. Facing this ruthless character who was decisive in killing, he did not know what method to use to escape this ordeal.

Xiao Hongyin did not speak; he stood up on his own.

He Yanzhi did not know him yet. He would first test how the man would react.

Thus, he intentionally walked slowly, intentionally fell, and intentionally refused his help, eventually being unexpectedly carried to the interrogation room.

After this series of tests, Xiao Hongyin discovered that He Yanzhi seemed very tolerant of his current state. Therefore, he determined his goal: while He Yanzhi did not recognize him, he would gain his sympathy as quickly as possible.

He Yanzhi placed him on the long bench in the center of the interrogation room.

Though called an interrogation room, it was actually just a storeroom filled with torture devices. Originally, there should have been four bailiffs guarding the inside and outside, but thanks to He Yanzhi’s arrangements, the spacious room now contained only him and Xiao Hongyin.

“You know what to do,” He Yanzhi said before turning to pick up the wooden plank.

Xiao Hongyin stared at his back, unmoving. When He Yanzhi walked back to him with the plank, the youth suddenly fell to his knees with a thud and raised his hands to untie the belt of his prison uniform.

He Yanzhi froze, not understanding what he intended to do.

Slender fingers hooked the coarse rope belt. With a gentle tug, the entire front of the robe fell away, revealing a torso covered in bloody welts.

The dark red streaks had little blood left to seep, and the pinkish-white flesh looked like blooming peach blossoms, bursting forth on his thin frame.

He Yanzhi thought to himself: Is this kid trying to use seduction?

In the past, there were prisoners who tried to use such tactics to avoid punishment, but unfortunately, he had never been interested in such things.

Nonetheless, he asked, “What is the meaning of this, Young Master?”

Xiao Hongyin did not answer. He reached his right hand toward a wound just below his collarbone. Taking a deep breath, as if he had made a final resolution, he forcefully pried apart the clinging flesh and pulled out a small jade pendant.

He bit his lower lip until it bled, looking like a dangling red pearl.

“This is a jade left by my parents. I beg you, sir, show mercy and spare my life.”

He carefully wiped the jade pendant clean with his sleeve and presented it to He Yanzhi with both hands, his thin frame trembling even more from the pain.

He Yanzhi looked at him, then at the jade, showing no reaction.

“Why do you say such things, Young Master? I am merely performing my official duties.”

Even as he said this, when Xiao Hongyin looked at him with those reddened, moist eyes, the silver in He Yanzhi’s pocket suddenly felt a bit hot.

His employer had given him a full hundred taels of silver to take this life. If he spared the boy now, how could he continue his business in the future?

Xiao Hongyin did not reply; he just knelt there quietly.

Time passed second by second. According to the rules, no execution could exceed half an hour. If He Yanzhi allowed him to waste time like this, he would not be able to leave the yamen unscathed either.

He Yanzhi impatiently tapped the plank against the floor. Xiao Hongyin still refused to get up, remaining motionless in the same posture as if determined to wait until the end of time.

Silence fell over the interrogation room.

The youth knelt on the ground while He Yanzhi stood before him. The two remained in a deadlock for nearly fifteen minutes, until He Yanzhi, unable to bear the stiffness in his neck, looked out the door.

The leaves of the mulberry tree planted outside the yamen had not yet all fallen. A cool breeze brushed the branches, scattering the overlapping leaves. In a nest lost of its cover, a fledgling huddled under its mother’s warm wings, its downy feathers twitching comfortably.

Once the stiffness eased, He Yanzhi returned his gaze to the youth. His narrow back was held as straight as possible; Xiao Hongyin had maintained this posture without moving an inch.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

He Yanzhi pulled back the plank and waved his hand at the person kneeling on the floor.

He was not being soft-hearted. The story had just begun, and the antagonist still had a long life ahead of him anyway. It was better to do him a favor and let him go.

Besides, the employer would not come back to ask for a refund; a hundred taels was enough for him to spend for a long time. As for his reputation, it would not hurt to lie low for a while.

He Yanzhi was open-minded about it, but Xiao Hongyin, whose plan had succeeded, looked at his relaxed back and found himself somewhat confused.

Everything had gone far too smoothly.

“Thank you, sir. Please accept this jade.”

He stretched out his arms, offering the jade to He Yanzhi. The latter did not even look, only replying, “Keep it for yourself.”

The youth stood in place, looking slightly dazed.

“Come here.” He Yanzhi told Xiao Hongyin to smear some blood from his body onto the plank, then pointed to a corner. “That wooden cart over there. Lie on it in a moment. I should not have to teach you how to play dead.”

Xiao Hongyin nodded slowly. After hesitating for a moment, he tucked the jade back into his clothes and silently lay down on the cart.

He Yanzhi gazed at the door of the interrogation room, silently calculating the time.

Normally, five strikes of his plank could send a nine-foot tall man to meet the King of Hell. With a little bit of disguise, he could transport the body out in about fifteen minutes.

A series of messy footsteps came from outside, with Yang Kuang’s loud voice sounding particularly prominent among them.

The bailiffs were coming off duty; the timing was just right.

He Yanzhi turned around. A certain someone was looking at him with wide, round eyes, but when he looked back, those eyes hurriedly shut in a panic.

He Yanzhi pulled over a sheet of white cloth, covering Xiao Hongyin completely, and immediately wheeled him out of the room.

As he left, he happened to bump into Yang Kuang. The other bailiffs steered clear of them upon seeing the scene.

Seeing him pushing a corpse cart, Yang Kuang’s expression changed instantly. He pointed a finger at the white cloth and said, “Brother He, the one inside, could it be that young master?”

He Yanzhi nodded.

Yang Kuang immediately grew nervous. “Do you know what the Prefect intended?”

He Yanzhi said calmly, “To keep him alive.”

“Then why did you strike so hard!” In his urgency, Yang Kuang’s voice grew loud. Fortunately, no one was passing by, so he leaned into He Yanzhi’s ear and whispered, “For a bit of silver, you are actually throwing away your livelihood!”

He Yanzhi glanced at him and held up one finger.

“Ten taels? A hundred taels!”

Yang Kuang swallowed hard and stopped talking.

He Yanzhi patted him on the shoulder and said, “I will treat you to pancakes tomorrow.”

Yang Kuang sighed and waved him off before leaving. After all, he had received favors from He Yanzhi before; he would pretend he had not seen anything today.

After he left, He Yanzhi pushed the cart all the way out of the yamen to the mass grave.

The process was very smooth, thanks to the employer having already made arrangements outside.

After Xiao Hongyin got off the cart, He Yanzhi pulled another corpse of similar stature from the back of the cart.

He had prepared this beforehand, just in case the antagonist crawled away on his own and the employer came to check, found no one, and made trouble for him.

After throwing the corpse into the pit, He Yanzhi tossed a silver ingot to Xiao Hongyin and began pushing the cart back.

“Sir?”

Xiao Hongyin looked around but found no ambush.

He is just leaving me here like this?

Clutching the silver in his hand, another thought could not help but form in Xiao Hongyin’s mind.

He Yanzhi naturally heard the boy calling him, but he had no intention of turning back.

One must realize he was in a political intrigue novel, full of dark plots and shifting tides in the sea of officialdom. A single misstep could lead to eternal damnation. He had had enough of living on the edge of a blade in his past life and did not want to get too involved with anyone. Now, he only wanted to cure the poison in his body as quickly as possible and leave the main storyline to live a quiet life.

He strode away from the mass grave. He had to pass through a small grove to return to the yamen.

The sky was growing dark. The only sound in the woods was the rustling of footsteps on leaves.

The wheels rolled over withered leaves. He Yanzhi intentionally lightened his steps, and the person behind him slowed down as well.

Xiao Hongyin silently followed behind He Yanzhi, maintaining a distance of about ten feet.

The man in front clearly sensed his presence yet showed no intention of turning around.

He truly has a heart of stone.

The small grove soon came to an end. Just when Xiao Hongyin thought he would follow He Yanzhi all the way back to the yamen, He Yanzhi turned around. Frowning, he walked up to him. Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Hongyin beat him to it, holding out the silver in both hands.

He Yanzhi was visibly stunned. A trace of a strange emotion appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Hongyin.

Xiao Hongyin just held out his hands without speaking, his head lowered, yet he subconsciously peeked up at He Yanzhi’s expression. His whole being seemed very nervous.

“Thank you for your kindness, sir. I, I cannot accept this.”

The youth’s voice grew softer as he spoke, as if He Yanzhi were bullying him.

He Yanzhi took the silver. The youth immediately turned to leave.

Watching the thin figure gradually being swallowed by the dark woods, He Yanzhi suddenly called out to him.

“If you have nowhere to go, Young Master, I can take you in temporarily.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyin opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at him. He Yanzhi avoided his gaze.

“Once your injuries are healed, please leave on your own.” He told the youth to wait there, then headed toward the yamen.