Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Although the sky was dim, the flash of killing intent in Master Yun'er's eyes did not escape Ye Tian's notice.
A chill ran through him, and Ye Tian became wary. The opponent's strength was unfathomable, and while it was not impossible for him to take his life at such a close distance, it was still a serious threat.
However, the killing intent vanished as quickly as it appeared. The Master let out a light sigh and soon regained his complete calmness, appearing once again as the harmless and honest juggler.
"Brother, may I ask how to address you?" Duan Liu asked boldly, completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere.
"My name is Fang Xiong."
"Fang Xiong..." Ye Tian repeated in his mind. He vaguely remembered that when he was at the Juggling Troupe, Old Master did not refer to him this way.
Seeing Ye Tian's puzzled expression, Fang Xiong guessed his thoughts and explained, "This is my real name."
Fang Xiong was inherently an honest person; by revealing his name, it indicated that he had no intention of making things difficult for Ye Tian and Duan Liu anymore.
"Then what about Yun'er..." Ye Tian suddenly asked. After asking, he couldn't even understand his own reasoning.
"What about her?" Fang Xiong countered but quickly realized and added, "Her name is real; she is indeed called Yun'er and shares my surname."
"You know Yun'er?" Duan Liu asked curiously. What were the odds of running into someone familiar at this late hour?
Ye Tian gave a brief response to the overly curious Duan Liu before pulling Fang Xiong aside and asking, "How is Old Master doing now?"
"My master is doing well; thank you for your concern," Fang Xiong replied. He held Ye Tian in high regard and cared deeply for his junior sister Yun'er. Otherwise, he would have already taken Ye Tian's life, as he always obeyed his master's orders.
"I want to ask Brother Fang about someone." Ye Tian hesitated slightly, but ultimately asked, "Have you heard of Elder Dou from Cloudscroll Pavilion?"
"En?" Fang Xiong's expression changed noticeably; at the very least, he had heard of Elder Dou.
"What do you want to ask him for? Besides, isn't he an elder of your Cloudscroll Pavilion? Why are you asking me?" Fang Xiong replied cautiously.
During their last encounter, Ye Tian had managed to extract information from Fang Xiong about the Juggling Troupe being affiliated with the Blood Sect. This time, using the same tactic, poor Fang Xiong fell into the trap again.
For Ye Tian, Fang Xiong's self-proclaimed cautious response was equivalent to directly revealing the answer.
The question "What do you want to ask him for?" indicated that Elder Dou indeed had a complicated relationship with the Juggling Troupe. The subsequent pale defense was undoubtedly a case of hiding something in plain sight.
"Brother Fang, I want to advise you that Elder Dou is definitely not a good person. Be careful if you cooperate with him; you might end up being harmed instead," Ye Tian said earnestly, recalling Elder Dou's obsequious demeanor.
"Little brother, you're joking. How could we country folk possibly associate with someone of Elder status from Cloud Sea Sect?" Fang Xiong continued to argue. His good impression of Ye Tian did not mean he would divulge any information to him.
However, any attempts at argument were already futile.
Ye Tian smiled and did not pursue the topic further but instead moved on to the final subject of their encounter that night.
"Ahem... I wonder if Brother Fang has any business traveling at this late hour?" Ye Tian asked somewhat awkwardly, knowing that the treasures obtained from Li Qingwu were certainly related to Fang Xiong.
"I was entrusted to track down a group of shameless scoundrels," Fang Xiong glanced at Ye Tian and then pointed at the four corpses on the ground, saying, "These are them. There were four more; they shouldn't have escaped too far."
Upon hearing this, Ye Tian let out a sigh of relief. Fang Xiong's meaning was clear: they had merely run into each other by chance, and the deaths of those four had nothing to do with Ye Tian or Duan Liu.
"Thank you, Brother Fang," Ye Tian said with a cupped fist in gratitude. It seemed that Fang Xiong held a strong disdain for those who entrusted him with tasks; otherwise, with his character, he would never be disloyal.
"You're welcome." Fang Xiong returned the gesture, then seemed to remember something and added, "You are going to Luoma Market, right?"
Ye Tian nodded. Duan Liu, who had been feeling bored for a while, stepped forward and smiled, "Do you have any fun places to recommend us, big brother?"
Fang Xiong frowned slightly and said, "I just wanted to remind you that Luoma Market is crowded and chaotic; don't draw too much attention."
Hearing Fang Xiong's words, Duan Liu laughed it off. But Ye Tian could sense the underlying meaning.
Fang Xiong was warning Ye Tian and Duan Liu that it would be best not to let anything they obtained from Li Qingwu slip out at Luoma Market, or they might attract trouble.
"Thanks, but we have things to do. Brother Fang, let's part ways here. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future; next time I will definitely treat you to a drink," Ye Tian said, noticing a look of urgency on Fang Xiong's face, and took the initiative to say goodbye.
"That works out well; I am also in a hurry to catch up with that group of Thieves," Fang Xiong replied as he cupped his hands in farewell and turned to leave.
"Wait." Ye Tian called out to Fang Xiong and informed him of the location of the village where they were staying, mentioning where he could meet Yun'er if they crossed paths.
Fang Xiong thanked him again. He was both worried and missing his junior sister who had infiltrated Cloud Sea Sect alone. However, he had been under his master's watchful eye most days, and today was a rare opportunity he couldn't afford to miss.
After exchanging final farewells, everyone set off on their respective journeys.
...
As the wind calmed down, the sky brightened.
It was now morning; the clouds that had shrouded the sky all night finally dispersed. Mist began to rise between the distant mountains and nearby fields, ethereal and dreamlike.
Ye Tian and Duan Liu had not stopped all night and finally arrived at the outskirts of Luoma Market.
Ahead of them, beyond Hundred Zhang, a flag was faintly visible, embroidered with the character for "wine," indicating that it must be a rest stop along the road.
"Ugh~"
Duan Liu stretched and let out a big yawn. Despite the long night of travel, he wasn't particularly tired; it was mainly the persistent drowsiness that plagued him.
"Let's buy what we need and find a place to rest for a bit," Duan Liu said, his eyes shining as he looked at the rest stop ahead.
"Mm." Ye Tian nodded without saying much more. He knew Duan Liu was being insincere; what he really meant was: let's take a break first, then we can go buy things.
"We should take a break first, then go buy things. I'm so tired; don't be fooled by how quickly those Thieves went down last night; it really drained my energy..."
"Alright, alright, we'll rest, but just for half an hour." Ye Tian underestimated Duan Liu. He didn't expect him to be so well-prepared; if Ye Tian hadn't agreed promptly, Duan Liu would have kept making excuses until he did.
Duan Liu was delighted, and their footsteps quickened significantly.
The two entered the rest stop, chose a table to sit at, and began pouring tea to quench their thirst while engaging in casual conversation with the waiter.
At this moment, they were still some distance from Fallen Horse Gathering Town. This rest stop was the only one along the way to their destination, so calling it a Tavern was reasonable.
"You guys have this rest stop..."
"Sir, this is a Tavern," the waiter corrected Duan Liu for the third time.
"Tavern, Tavern..." Duan Liu conceded and changed the subject to ask, "Who has the most power in Luoma Market?"
"The Qin Family, led by Patriarch Qin Changlin. Quite impressive!" The waiter spoke the name of the Qin Family with conviction, and his tone shifted in admiration as he continued.
"Chuckle... as if it has anything to do with you." Duan Liu initially took a few jabs from the waiter, and now he seized the opportunity to retort.
The waiter, hearing this, became displeased and pouted, "What do you mean it has nothing to do with me? My surname is Qin too, and my third aunt's fifth grandfather's cousin's cousin..."
He went on for quite a while, while Ye Tian and Duan Liu listened in astonishment, secretly lamenting: this waiter's breath really is long.
The waiter probably mentioned a dozen connections before finally taking a deep breath to conclude, "...and Uncle Bo Yuan works at the Qin Family!"
"What the hell!" Duan Liu exclaimed, and Ye Tian couldn't help but spit out the tea he had just sipped.
"I thought you were going to say something impressive, but in the end, it's just someone who works..."
"So what if he works? Are you looking down on workers?" the waiter replied earnestly.
"No, no, Brother Two, why don't you go get us our dishes first? We’ve been traveling all night and are really exhausted," Ye Tian said with a smile, thinking to himself that this waiter seemed a bit off; how could he handle such an important job that required both insight and eloquence?
"Fine, I can't be bothered to argue with you."
Ye Tian's kind words sounded like submission to the waiter. The waiter tossed aside his greasy rag and walked away proudly. He looked as if he had just won a battle.
Duan Liu stared in disbelief and said, "Is this really a waiter?"
"No, this is a lord," Ye Tian joked.
"I think so too..."
About half an hour later, the food and drinks arrived. A bowl of beef, a plate of peanuts, a dish of fennel beans, and a jug of liquor.
"This is what we ordered?" Duan Liu exclaimed in shock, pointing at the food. Aside from a jug of wine, nothing matched what they had ordered.
"Forget it, forget it." Ye Tian, although equally frustrated, decided to let it go considering the waiter seemed to have some issues.
Duan Liu grumbled silently, grabbing a piece of beef and shoving it into his mouth, while pouring wine with his other hand. He filled a cup and downed it in one go with the beef.
"I spit!"
After gulping down a large mouthful of wine, Duan Liu spat it out. He was genuinely angry now, standing up abruptly and shouting, "What the hell is this? You dare call this wine?"
"What’s wrong?!" The waiter, who was also a bit of a character, immediately became displeased upon hearing Duan Liu's complaint.
"It’s normal for restaurants to dilute their wine with water; I can understand that. But what is this? This is practically water mixed with wine!"
Ye Tian nearly laughed out loud. He picked up the wine jug and sniffed it; there was indeed hardly any scent.
"Duan Liu, let’s just eat something simple and then we’ll leave," Ye Tian said, pulling Duan Liu back down into his seat. He then raised the freshly filled cup to his lips and drank it all.
After drinking, Ye Tian wiped the wine stains from his lips and shouted heartily, "Good water!"
Comment 0 Comment Count