The Gentle and Affable Xu Shulou

Wei Xuandao finally understood that Xu Shulou had great strength but his brain was not very flexible.

She couldn't even steal a soul-summoning flag, so he wanted to use the love poison to exploit her and make her a killer under his command. But he could only dream about it.

Wei Xuandao groaned for a while: "But, your sect leader invited me to come and study the method of resisting the soul-summoning flag. I am not in Lingji Valley, and I can't continue to help you find a way to remove the love Gu, so why don't you..."

"It's okay, Elder Wei, you can leave without worry," Xu Shulou said with a smile, "I'll be happy to have the brothers and sisters from Lingxiao Sect accompany me."

A vein on Wei Xuandao's forehead jumped, and a Chinese proverb suddenly popped up in his mind - throwing a meat bun at a dog will never come back.

The meat buns naturally refer to his well-behaved disciples, and the Xu Shulou in front of him is naturally, tsk tsk...

Wei Xuandao said carefully: "Miss Xu, you have been away for these days. Are your fellow disciples on Wuchen Island missing you?"

"Does Elder Wei mean..." Xu Shulou stretched out his voice in anticipation, "Can I invite my fellow apprentices to come to Lingxiao Sect to play?"

"..." Wei Xuandao opened his mouth but said nothing. His eyes were vague and distant, as if he was looking up at a strange man.

"That's not a good idea," Xu Shulou said sincerely, with such consideration for others. "That would be too much of a bother."

Wei Xuan looked at her in surprise and asked, "You even know the word 'disturb'?"

Xu Shulou looked at him with a smile, like a wooden beauty who was ignorant of worldly affairs and romance. Wei Xuandao could only give in and waved his hand weakly: "You go down first."

———

Wei Xuandao finally went to Wuchen Island. When he left, he had a bewildered look on his face. It seemed that he could not understand why he was the one who was sent away when he was doing well as an elder in Lingxiao Sect and had only invited Xu Shulou to be a guest.

The night he left, Xu Shulou sneaked into his room under the cover of darkness and searched thoroughly.

But no useful clues were found. Come to think of it, cultivators have Qiankun Rings and storage bags with them, so who would throw away important things casually?

Even if the martial arts that harmed Zhang Baihe was still there, Wei Xuandao would not just leave such a thing in the room.

However, another obvious benefit brought about by Wei Xuandao's departure was that the disciples of Lingji Valley were obviously much more relaxed. Xiao Ya even dared to invite Xu Shulou to go out of the valley for a stroll to show his hospitality.

Xu Shulou gladly accepted the invitation.

Lingxiaomen is located in a remote area, and the only relatively prosperous city nearby is a small town called Yongping. At this time, the three of them were standing on the streets of Yongping City - when they heard that Xiao Ya was going out, Xiao Ruzhuo also wanted to join in the fun.

There were several bounty notices posted on the notice board below the city gate. Xiao Ruzhuo was surprised and asked, "I remember that Yongping City has always been very peaceful. How come there are suddenly so many bounties?"

A few people stopped the man and asked him, only to find out that a gang of bandits had recently fled to Yongping. The local bailiffs were unable to cope with the situation at the moment, so they could only catch a few particularly arrogant robbers. They did not have the energy to catch the petty thieves for the time being, and could only hold on until troops were dispatched from nearby towns.

Xiao Ya frowned when she heard this. This was her Xiao family's kingdom, so she was naturally concerned: "How long will it take to mobilize the troops?"

"I don't know," the citizen who was asked shook his head. "We are in a remote place, and we have to wait for the state officials to give their approval. It will probably take at least ten days."

Xiao Ya looked at Xu Shulou and Xiao Ruzhuo, and said, "How about the three of us make a bet?"

Xu Shulou saw through her thoughts and asked with a smile: "Is it related to the bounty order?"

Xiao Ya smiled and said, "Let's make a bet on who can catch the most thieves in a day, how about that?"

Xiao Ruzhuo said: "It's not difficult."

"Then let's add a condition. No spiritual power is allowed. Only fists, feet, or mortal weapons can be used," Xiao Ya suggested. "Whoever catches the least by midnight today will pay for all the food and drinks we have on this trip."

Xiao Ruzhuo smiled and said, "Okay!"

Xu Shulou also nodded: "No problem."

"Then the three of us will separate here and meet at Donglaishun Restaurant in the city at midnight!"

"Okay." Xu Shulou felt slightly amused and was willing to cooperate with her. He turned around and took a few steps when he suddenly heard Xiao Ya's voice behind him.

"Oh! How did my purse fall apart?" Xiao Ya exclaimed, pinching the hem of her skirt and leaning over to pick up the scattered silver. Her movements were as slow as possible, and her coy attitude made people feel uncomfortable. After she stood up, she tied the bulging purse, which was almost as big as her two palms, around her waist, as if she was afraid that passers-by would not see it.

It was obvious that she was trying to pose as a fat sheep to lure thieves into the trap.

Xu Shulou was forced to watch this extremely contrived performance, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Looking closely, Xiao Ruzhuo, who had originally walked to the other side, was also covering his face, looking evasive, and not wanting to recognize his junior sister.

Perhaps the thieves also felt that this was too contrived, so Xiao Ya wandered around for the entire morning, specifically going into remote alleys, and not a single thief caught up with her.

Xiao Ya was secretly delighted when she finally discovered someone was following her, but it turned out that the person she was waiting for was a rapist who coveted her beauty.

Xiao Ya was not giving up. She waved the wallet in front of the guy a few times and said, "Are you sure you just want to rape me and don't want my money?"

"In no mood……"

"Really? There's a lot of silver in there."

The rapist was stunned: "If you want to give it to me, I can keep it."

Xiao Ya said angrily: "I want you to want it willingly!"

“W-Why…”

In the end, this man was beaten up by Xiao Ya and sent to the yamen.

Xiao Ya wandered around the city unwillingly, almost wanting to put the purse on her head, but no thieves came to patronize her.

Passing by Donglaishun restaurant, I smelled the aroma coming from inside and couldn't help but look up.

When she looked over, she saw Xu Shulou sitting quietly at the second-floor window drinking. When he saw her looking at him, he raised his glass to her.

Xiao Ya paused. She had been busy for the whole morning, but this guy was so leisurely?

She strode up the stairs, glaring angrily at the lazy fellow.

Xu Shulou put down his wine glass and pushed the plate of fried pork ribs in front of him towards Xiao Ya.

Xiao Ya hesitated for a moment, picked it up and took a bite, her eyes lit up: "Delicious."

Xu Shulou asked curiously: "You have never been here?"

"I have been fasting for many years. If I hadn't run into you..." Xiao Ya took another bite. "Besides, I don't come to Yongping City very often. Master has been keeping an eye on everyone's progress in cultivation and doesn't allow us to fall behind the disciples of other peaks. I don't want to make him angry, so I usually only come to visit occasionally when he is away on a long trip."

"Then try this mung bean cake," Xu Shulou pushed another plate over, "It's not as exquisite as the ones made in big restaurants, but it tastes good."

Xiao Ya tried a piece as she was told and it was indeed quite good. Although the cooking method was not very standard, it had a lot of mung beans and the texture was soft, fragrant and not greasy.

Xu Shulou held his chin and gossiped, "Your third senior brother seems to like you."

"I know." Facing Xu Shulou's slightly surprised gaze, Xiao Ya swallowed the cake in her mouth and blinked at her proudly, "My mother taught me this since I was a child. She told me that those who like me will one day become my helpers and also help my brother in his fight for the throne."

“…”

"But now that we are all practicing Taoism, there are not so many twists and turns," Xiao Ya smiled, "If you like it, you like it. If you don't like it, you don't like it. There is no need to consider other things."

"and you……"

"I won't tell you." Xiao Ya's face showed some rare girlish liveliness, and her eyes moved with a hint of shyness.

Although she refused to admit it, Xu Shulou knew from her expression that she also had a good impression of Xiao Ruzhuo.

Even if they haven't reached the point of mutual affection, at least they appreciate each other.

But Xiao Ya in the story eventually became one of Lu Beichen's wives.

Xu Shulou sighed in his heart, wondering who would be fulfilled by this dream in the end?

Xiao Ya finished a plate of fried pork ribs and a dish of mung bean cake in a dignified manner, and drank a bowl of honey rice milk. Suddenly she realized that something was wrong. What was she doing originally?

Looking at the empty plate in front of her, she really had no right to glare at Xu Shulou anymore, so she just asked, "Why don't you go catch the thief? Aren't you afraid of losing?"

“I can’t lose.”

Xiao Ya's unwillingness to admit defeat was aroused again: "Are you so confident?"

"At least I won't lose to you two."

"So you think you can beat us even if you lose this morning?"

Xu Shulou laughed. She was sitting by the window on the second floor and was actually observing: "Because I have experience."

She had caught thieves and had been a thief before. When she left the palace and had not yet joined the Wuchen Island, she had also been robbed by thieves. These two guys who didn't have much experience were definitely not as good as her in this regard.

"The winner is not clear yet, I won't give up so early." Xiao Ya had been running for nothing all morning, but her fighting spirit was not diminished at all. She smiled at Xu Shulou and said, "I'm leaving first. See you at midnight!"

Xu Shulou raised his glass to her again as a farewell.

When Xiao Ya left, she heard Xu Shulou's voice: "Waiter, can you please bring me two more jars of this green plum wine?"

“…”

When Xiao Ya left the restaurant and passed by the government office, she saw from afar Xiao Ruzhuo escorting a man in coarse cloth clothes into the office. The man came out after an incense stick of time. The yamen runner handed him a reward of silver with a smile on his face.

Senior Brother, have you caught the person on the wanted list? Xiao Ya clenched her fists. No, she couldn't let herself and Xu Shulou be the last one to fall for the third senior brother.

She took action again.

I was lucky this time. As soon as I turned into a long street, I saw a woman squatting in front of a vegetable stall picking out slightly fresh fruits and vegetables. A middle-aged man also squatted down and picked up a pumpkin to take a closer look, but his left hand quietly reached into the basket where the woman placed her copper coins.

Xiao Ya then realized that thieves would not necessarily choose remote alleys to strike.

She immediately rushed forward and held him down. The woman was startled, and when she heard Xiao Ya shouting "Catch the thief", she suddenly realized and thanked her.

"You're welcome." Xiao Ya took the man to the yamen. This man did not appear on the wanted poster. Fortunately, the yamen runners found two money bags on the man, proving that what Xiao Ya said was true.

Xiao Ya then realized that in order to arrest the thief and have him detained by the government, she needed evidence. Either she could find stolen goods on him, or she would have to ask passers-by at the scene to help testify.

With experience, she set out again with full confidence.

During this period, he met Xiao Ruzhuo again, and the two exchanged experiences, but he never saw Xu Shulou again.

It was at night when Xu Shulou's movements were finally discovered. There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the long street. A man ran over quickly, crying, followed by a woman holding a knife. Following far behind was a team of yamen runners on night patrol.

This strange combination attracted many people passing by to watch. Xiao Ya looked carefully and found that the woman was Xu Shulou who had disappeared for an afternoon. She was holding a big knife that she got from somewhere. The yamen runner at the back shouted, "You female bandit! Put down the knife in your hand quickly, stop chasing the people in front, and don't make trouble in Yongping City!"

There were also yamen runners shouting, "Big brother in front, hold on, we are coming to help you!"

Even though Xu Shulou abided by the restriction of not using spiritual power, he was about to catch up with the robber easily. Hearing this, he became furious: "Can't you see that he is the robber!"

The bailiffs were all silent.

...I really can't tell. We usually assume that the one being chased is the victim, and the one chasing is the robber.

You were holding a knife, looking like you were going to kill someone, and the man in front of you was crying as he ran...

Xu Shulou threw the knife handle and hit the man's back accurately, knocking him to the ground. He then picked up the knife and stabbed the man's neck, almost scaring him half to death. Then he glanced at the yamen runners behind him and reprimanded the man in a gentle tone, "Don't cry. You see, you've caused everyone to misunderstand me."