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墨書 Inktalez
Jufeng's words startled Ikeda Masahiro, who then turned his gaze to Niu and Meizi. He had always found these two mysterious individuals quite interesting, but he had never considered the question—if all the food they consumed tonight was out of sheer necessity, how would they sustain themselves in the long days to come, as Jufeng had said?
The two appeared strong and healthy, and their mental state seemed fine as well. However, how could two able-bodied individuals be unable to afford a simple dinner costing just a few coins? As Ikeda Masahiro looked at them, he realized that he had been sensing something amiss all along.
Upon hearing this, Niu's face revealed a look of sadness mixed with embarrassment, as if he didn't know how to respond to Jufeng's blunt question.
Meizi pondered for a moment before speaking up ahead of Niu. "You can ask me. He’s not good with words and doesn’t understand."
"We really don’t have money for food anymore. Recently, our family has been tightening its belt to get by. We could see that we couldn’t go on like this, which is why we came out to think of a solution. We brought some money with us when we left, but it was taken from us by some deaf beggars at the train station. Now we’re left with nothing."
Jufeng was taken aback; he hadn’t expected such a story. However, those so-called deaf beggars at the train station were merely lazy people pretending to be pitiful and sick to deceive others. It seemed they were truly naive about the world.
Meizi continued, "We’ve been wandering around this city for quite a while now, but we haven’t found the person we’re looking for. I don’t know how much longer it will take. If we still can’t find them, I plan to have Niu wash dishes for someone."
She looked at Niu with an expression of high expectations for the young man’s future. Seeing Meizi’s faith in him made Niu’s face light up with joy; he nodded vigorously, clearly delighted.
Noticing their peculiar relationship, Jufeng thought for a moment and asked, "Is this your first time leaving home?"
Niu nodded while Meizi replied, "Yes, it’s our first time. I don’t know why there are so many pitiful people in the city; it’s made it so we have no money left for ourselves."
Jufeng understood what Meizi meant; her meager funds must have been exhausted due to her kindness.
Jufeng continued asking, "Why did you come here?"
Meizi sighed helplessly. "It’s all because of those old fools back home who insisted that we must find someone here or else there would be no chance left. Our whole family would starve."
Upon hearing this, Niu's expression changed dramatically as he looked at Meizi and shook his head repeatedly in panic. "Meizi, you can't say that! If Master Uncle finds out, he’ll lock you up again! We must respect our teachers; how can we call Master Uncle an old fool? Please forgive us, Master!"
Niu muttered anxiously while Meizi appeared unbothered by his concerns. Jufeng observed everything quietly and suddenly felt a strange sense of enlightenment within himself.
"Does your master not want to know what the person you are looking for looks like?"
Meizi fell into thought at this question, and after a moment, she replied, "He seems to be a young man, about your age, and apparently very wealthy. Moreover, he is quite impressive, almost on par with Niu and me."
This statement could hardly be considered a compliment, even if it was meant to imply that he was impressive. It was clearly more of a self-praise. Yet Jufeng suddenly smiled, revealing his white teeth.
"I think I might know where the person you are looking for is."
Meizi and Niu, who had been filled with anger and anxiety respectively, suddenly turned their gazes toward Jufeng, and a chill swept through the air.
Ikeda Masahiro tightened his clothes and shivered involuntarily.
Jufeng glanced up at the position of the moon, gauging the time, then said, "Why don't we talk while we walk?"
Leaving the night market, they arrived at a secluded street surrounded by old districts. The occasional sound of a cat's cry felt particularly eerie. Ikeda Masahiro inched closer to Jufeng, seemingly gripped by fear in such an environment.
Jufeng walked alongside Meizi while Niu stayed on Meizi's other side.
Meizi stared intently at Jufeng, both delighted and suspicious as she asked, "Is what you just said true? Do you really know where we can find the person?"
Jufeng nodded but then shook his head. "If even you don't know what he looks like, how can I dare to say I'm one hundred percent certain? I just have some confidence but need to gather more information before confirming further."
Hearing this, Meizi was overjoyed and exclaimed, "If you can find that person, our family will have food again! We haven't eaten meat in so long; everything will be fine then. Please ask me anything; I'll tell you everything I know."
Jufeng sighed inwardly; these young people were truly naive—naive like a blank sheet of paper—more innocent than many middle school or high school students in the city who should be simple-minded. No wonder they could easily be taken advantage of.
However, Jufeng had no other concerns about them because the familiar aura surrounding them told him that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to bully them in this place on Earth. Perhaps only those at the level of Li Ji and Commander could guarantee defeating these two.
This was a frightening realization, causing Jufeng to feel somewhat uneasy. If his guess was correct, then perhaps the situation in the southeastern coastal area would soon change; however, if he was wrong, he might end up attracting even greater trouble.
Jufeng cautiously asked, "I have always been curious about what your family did before. How did you suddenly lose your source of income?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zi's eyes blazed with anger as she replied fiercely, "We were responsible for ensuring safety. But now, the person in charge of those we were protecting is very unpleasant. I don't like him, my family doesn't like him, and even the cattle, who are usually indifferent, don't like him either. So we decided not to protect them anymore. In fact, we stopped accepting their money under a previous leader, so we've only had expenses without any income, which has led to our current situation."
As Mei Zi spoke, the cattle nodded repeatedly beside her, affirming her words.
Hearing their explanation, Jufeng felt even more convinced. It seemed that Mei Zi and the cattle, along with their family, were people of integrity and strong principles. They would rather refuse money than do something they disliked, reminiscent of the noble spirit of those who would not bow to power.
Jufeng continued to ask, "So after you find the person you're looking for, what do you plan to do for him? Did your master tell you anything?"
Mei Zi realized she truly didn't know how to answer that question. She had left in a hurry and hadn't paid much attention to her master's instructions. Therefore, she turned her gaze toward the cattle.
The cattle understood and replied, "Well, what our master meant is that we should see what needs that person has and then discuss it based on the actual situation. That person should be someone reliable; ideally, we could continue doing our previous work. However, if the master has other requests, we can agree to them as long as Mei Zi and I think it's acceptable."
Jufeng felt a bit more assured and relaxed his mood further as he joked, "What if you two disagree?"
Mei Zi boldly declared, "Of course, it will be my decision. I'm a few years older than him, so it’s always been my call."
The cattle reluctantly nodded but muttered under his breath, "That's only because you keep nagging in the master's ear about being older than me; otherwise, who knows who’s older."
Mei Zi naturally heard this remark, as did Jufeng. She then pinched the cattle's ear and asked sternly, "What did you just say?"
With one hand holding his ear to prevent it from hurting too much and the other grasping Mei Zi's wrist in a plea for mercy, he exclaimed, "Ouch! I didn't say anything! Really! Mei Zi, let go! Or I'll lose my ear!"
Seeing him plead for mercy made Mei Zi slowly release her grip while coldly huffing, "Let’s see if you dare to defy me again. Remember, I’m your senior sister; you have to listen to me outside."
Ikeda Masahiro smiled at this scene, finding these two young people somewhat endearing in their youthful innocence. Suddenly he felt that the night wasn't so terrifying after all; even without holding hands with Jufeng, there was still a sense of security.
Jufeng took a moment to gather his thoughts before stopping in his tracks and looking at Mei Zi and the cattle.
The two paused as Jufeng stopped and looked at them, so they too came to a halt, gazing back at him in confusion.
Jufeng slowly said, "At this point, I should be able to confirm that I am the person you are looking for."
As soon as he spoke these words, the expressions of the crowd varied greatly, illuminated by the shimmering starlight in the night sky, creating a humorous scene.
Meizi was first taken aback, then filled with joy. She suddenly felt as if she had stumbled upon something effortlessly after searching high and low, thinking it would be a struggle in the vast sea of people. To her surprise, she didn’t have to seek him out; he had come to her instead.
Niu was initially surprised, then fell into deep thought. Jufeng's words had shifted too quickly for Niu to confirm the accuracy of the situation. Although he appeared shy, he was not foolish; despite his simplicity, he had a keen mind.
Ikeda Masahiro was first startled, then enlightened. No wonder Jufeng had spent time and energy on these two young people; it was all for this moment of astonishment!
(To be continued)
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