He lay in the still-rising river, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds above his head, letting the water level around him gradually rise. The early summer lotuses drifted with the waves all around him, green and pink together forming a bright and vivid scene. He didn’t know how much time had passed; he was getting a bit drowsy, when suddenly a lotus pod flew over. William Young’s right hand shot out like a corpse coming back to life, grabbing it in one swift motion. Immediately after, a small sampan pushed through the lotus clusters and bumped into him, and a curious, smiling face appeared above his head...

　　“Move over, don’t block my sunbathing!”

　　William Young said discontentedly.

　　“If you keep sunbathing, the leeches will suck you dry!”

　　The voice that had interrupted his drowning rescue performance not long ago spoke cheerfully.

　　William Young let out a startled cry.

　　Then, as if bitten on the butt by a snapping turtle, he sprang up from the water and lunged onto the little sampan. The violent rocking made the boat girl cry out and fall down, landing right on his back. William Young immediately rolled over, and as their cheeks bumped, he grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

　　“Quick, help me get it off!”

　　He screamed in terror.

　　In his line of sight, he caught a fleeting glimpse...

　　The boat girl, embarrassed and angry, rolled to the side and kicked him hard, sending him tumbling back into the water...

Chapter 004: We Are All Law-Abiding Citizens

　　“A grown man like you, afraid of a leech—aren’t you ashamed!”

　　The boat girl looked at William Young with disdain.

　　At this moment, he was sprawled on the sampan, staring in horror at the twenty leeches in front of him. The boat girl had just plucked them from his body; each one, bloated with blood, lazily squirmed like a bunch of overfed orange cats. Clearly, in those bright water-town scenes, where lotus leaves stretch far and wide and girls pick lotuses, the poetic atmosphere can easily turn into a horror movie.

　　“Do you know what psychological trauma is?”

　　William Young argued stubbornly.

　　Just thinking about lying there sunbathing while twenty little creatures sucked his blood made his skin crawl. Although these things weren’t really dangerous, and even thoughtfully anesthetized the wound like a professional surgeon...

　　Professional bloodsuckers.

　　“Afraid is afraid. Just because you say something others don’t understand doesn’t mean you’re not afraid.”

　　The boat girl continued to look down on him.

　　But William Young’s expression clearly put her in a good mood. Just as he let out a sigh of relief and subconsciously patted himself while standing up, she suddenly picked up a leech and reached it toward William Young’s face...

　　William Young grabbed her wrist.

　　“Hands as soft as young bamboo shoots, skin as...”

　　He grinned smugly.

　　Then the boat girl let go of her fingers, and the leech slid down William Young’s chest, landing right on the tattered burlap sack at his waist...

　　As William Young jumped around in panic, she burst out laughing.

　　Half an hour later.

　　The sun was setting in the west, and a small boat drifted on the still-swelling canal.

　　William Young lay leisurely at the stern.

　　“Miss, what’s your name?”

　　He asked, looking at the boat girl’s back.

　　“Helen Howard!”

　　She replied.

　　“That’s a lovely name. I’ll tell you a story later about a little fairy named Helen Howard.”

　　William Young said.

　　“You’re the fairy!”

　　Helen Howard retorted.

　　“I’m not talking about a mischievous fairy. The Helen Howard in my story is a chrysanthemum spirit, and she has a perfect love story with a scholar—a true tale of talented scholar and beautiful lady.”

　　William Young said.

　　“Talking nonsense again!”

　　Helen Howard said with dissatisfaction.

　　Clearly, she was still full of anticipation for a romantic story.

　　“I really didn’t kill anyone?”

　　William Young asked.

　　“You didn’t kill anyone, but you injured a lot, and even seriously hurt a scholar, stomping his face to a pulp. According to the Ming law, for brawling and destroying someone’s ears or nose, it’s a hundred strokes of the cane. Also, you’re a runaway slave. By law, if a slave injures a free person, the punishment is increased by one degree—to hanging. You also injured two other slaves, plus a hired martial arts guard. And we don’t know if that scholar is the head of his household—if he is, and a slave beats the master, it’s beheading. You also resisted arrest, and injured several soldiers from Tianjin Garrison while resisting. For resisting arrest and injuring people, it’s also beheading. So you need to be beheaded twice, hanged once, and get at least two hundred strokes of the cane. If I were you, I’d be thinking about how to escape right now.”

　　Helen Howard turned her head and said with a bright smile.

　　“Since your father sent you to find me, that means he doesn’t care about any of that.”

　　William Young said.

　　He knew the boat boss would come looking for him, which was why he waited there. The Southern Canal wasn’t wide, and boatmen all had sharp eyes—they’d definitely see where he swam to.

　　As for his crimes...

　　That was just to scare him, to make him recognize the situation and behave. Since they dared to come looking for him, it meant the boat boss didn’t take any of it seriously.