Chapter 64: The Past is Like the Wind
Ruan Chao had just been woken up and was still in a dazed state. He subconsciously followed Chu Xinglan's instructions and closed his eyes obediently.
As the vision fell into darkness, everything around seemed to fall into silence.
Can't see anything, can't hear anything...
Only the touch beneath my body is so vivid and real.
Ruan Chao buried his face in the boy's neck and rubbed it slightly. He remembered the scene when he was chased by these monks before.
For fear of being discovered, he dared not even make a fire and could only eat wild fruits to fill his stomach. In order to avoid being hunted, he could only hide in a dark and damp cave and sleep on cold and sticky stones.
There were bugs everywhere in the cave, some with legs, some without, some with wings, some without, some with eyes, some without. They were all disgusting and scary. Ruan Chao couldn't sleep well, fearing that the bugs would crawl onto him...
He was in such a miserable state, but he still couldn't escape and was discovered by the smart dog they brought with them.
The ferocious giant dog was still in the position of wanting to bite him before it died. Its entire row of fangs could easily bite through his flesh, and its sharp claws could easily pierce his skin...
A cauldron like his had no ability to resist, whether in front of a monk or a giant beast. It was as fragile as a delicate branch. Even a slightly violent rain could break its petals and bend its branches.
Ruan Chao tightened his arms and pressed them tightly against Chu Xinglan's back, his body shaking unconsciously.
He trembled and whispered, "Brother, I'm a little scared."
Something suddenly hit the palm of his hand.
It was warm and cozy, and it dispelled all his confusion and fear.
It was the little flame that Chu Xinglan had given him before.
"Don't be afraid, Chao Chao. I'm here." Chu Xinglan said softly, "I won't let anyone bully you."
The Nguyen Dynasty had heard such promises a long time ago.
He originally thought that so much time had passed that the memories of the past had already become mottled, faded, and could no longer be remembered.
Thinking back on it now, it's still as clear as yesterday.
…………
Six years ago.
The Nguyen Dynasty is ten years old.
At that time, he had not yet dressed up as a girl, nor had he revealed his qualifications as a furnace cauldron. His cultivation had just reached the Qi Refining Stage. The most common thing he did every day was to go to the mountains to catch chickens and birds. Occasionally, when he was lucky, he could also pick some spiritual herbs and fruits and exchange them for some money.
His mother was the least favored daughter in the Ruan family. She had no talent for cultivation and when she grew up, she couldn't even draw Qi into her body.
My mother had always been law-abiding and had never been aggressive with the world. The only rebellious thing she did was to fall in love with a wandering monk, secretly marry him, and give birth to the Nguyen Dynasty.
Her mother was slender and thin, and when Ruan Chao was in her belly, he was very quiet and never made any noise or acted out. She didn't suspect anything when he missed her period once or twice. It was only when she was already very pregnant that she noticed his presence.
If an abortion is performed at this time, it will not only harm the adult's body, but it may also result in two deaths.
There was no choice but to temporarily put their plan to escape on hold, and they could only make further plans after the baby was born.
Nguyen Chao was a child not expected by his parents.
Pregnancy before marriage, without a matchmaker.
Like a mark of shame between them.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the child was abandoned without hesitation right after birth.
His mother abandoned Ruan Chao in a remote yard without even feeding him a sip of milk or even looking at him, and she couldn't wait to fly away with her lover.
Everything in the Ruan family was a burden to her and something that had to be given up, including this unexpected child.
…
The Nguyen Dynasty was lucky and did not die.
He was rescued by a servant of the Ruan family and brought to the head of the family.
The head of the Ruan family was furious and originally planned to execute this evil child directly, but he unexpectedly discovered that he had the qualifications to cultivate immortality. After weighing the two pros and cons, he did not kill him.
Although the Nguyen family was only a third-rate family in decline, they could still afford to raise a child, and the child would not go without a bite of food. The child grew up safely until he was ten years old, and Nguyen Chao showed his qualities as a steward.
Every furnace tripod has a small bright red mole on the neck. The brighter the color, the better the qualifications and the more outstanding the appearance.
The small mole on Ruan Chao's neck is as gorgeous as the morning glow.
It is a top-level qualification that only comes once in a century.
The head of the family was overjoyed and made a very bold decision.
He dressed Nguyen Chao as a girl and claimed her as his own daughter.
Then he sold his family property and went to the upper world alone with Nguyen Chao, hoping to rely on him for a good future.
Top-level cauldrons are extremely rare in the upper realm. Once they appear in the world, they will attract competition from all parties.
After the head of the family released the news, countless forces took action.
He waited for the right price, carefully selected, and wanted to sell the Nguyen Dynasty at the best price.
Although he had a long-term vision and knew that only by taking the cauldron to the upper realm could he squeeze out every last bit of its value, he was also extremely stupid. In this upper realm where Jindan was everywhere and Yuanying were as numerous as dogs, he had just reached the Jindan stage of cultivation. What could he use to protect the rare cauldron coveted by everyone?
Within two days, Nguyen Chao was captured.
He was blindfolded, his hands and feet were tied, and he was locked in a cage.
His kidnappers did not abuse him, beat him or scold him, and they delivered him three meals a day as usual.
Nguyen Chao occasionally heard some idle chatter.
These people planned to sell him to Chunfenglou.
It was said that the people from Chunfenglou had already paid the deposit and were just waiting to meet in the alleys of Luoyuan Street in three days to exchange the money and goods.
Although Nguyen Chao had no idea where Chunfeng Tower was, he knew that if he was really sold there, he would not have a good ending.
He had been pretending to be weak and vulnerable these days. In order to lower their vigilance, he would cry from time to time and beg them pitifully to let him go.
The people guarding him were annoyed by the noise.
He grabbed the cage and shook it twice, spewing all kinds of obscene words.
Nguyen Chao seemed frightened and cried even harder.
The people guarding him were well aware of how much importance his superiors attached to him, so they did not dare to use force against him. They could only continue to yell and curse at him outside the cage, threatening and intimidating him. If he continued to cry, they would throw him into the river to feed the fish.
The intimidation seemed to work, and Nguyen Chao's crying gradually became weaker, leaving only continuous sobs.
These people did not realize that he had any spiritual power and only regarded him as an ordinary person without spiritual power, and a young child of ten years old who could not even break free from the rope, so how could he cause any trouble?
So they only sent a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage to guard him.
Ruan Chao sobbed for a while, then gradually increased his volume, crying so loudly that it almost blew the roof off the house.
Once again the guard was awakened from his sleep.
He cursed and kicked the cage viciously, his tone ferocious as the girl's distorted screams came out.
"What are you howling for? Are you crying? Can you please shut up for a while? I just took a nap and you woke me up again!"
Ruan Chao sobbed, "Uncle, please, please let me go, wuwuwuwu..."
"Whether you want... silver or spiritual stones, you can ask my father for them. My father is very rich."
The guard sneered: "No matter how rich he is, he can't be as valuable as your furnace."
Ruan Chao: "... furnace?"
"You don't know what a furnace is yet, do you?" The guard carefully looked at the girl in the cage. Her eyes were covered with a black cloth, but one could still tell that she was a real beauty.
The bridge of his nose was straight, his lips were rosy, his chin was pointed, and his exposed skin was as smooth and delicate as milk. It seemed that even the slightest force would leave distinct fingerprints. If he had not really had any sexual interest in children, he would have wanted to have a taste of this furnace.
Ruan Chao suppressed his tears and asked hesitantly, "...what is it?"
The guard sneered: "Of course it is a tool to absorb Yin and replenish Yang."
"The monks can use you to improve their cultivation and realm, or they can indulge themselves in pleasure and enjoy the wonderful taste of harmony between man and nature."
The guard licked his lips and continued, "You furnaces are born to serve men. You can sell your good looks for 50,000 high-quality spirit stones, which is almost the annual income of a small sect. It is a number that lowly cultivators like us dare not even think about."
"The madam of Chunfenglou is really willing to spend so much money on you before even meeting you..."
As he was talking, the man felt sleepy again.
This little girl always cries and makes a fuss at night. He has hardly had a good sleep in the past two days, and he has big dark circles under his eyelids.
He rolled onto the bed with dangling feet, and did not forget to threaten Ruan Chao, saying that if he dared to cry again, he would let him see how powerful he was.
If you can't leave a scratch on Furnace Ding's skin, he has a hundred tricks to tame him.
His storage ring contains many pills that can cause pain without causing harm to the body... Even those stubborn bitches can kneel down and beg for mercy under the effect of the pills, let alone a young girl who has not experienced anything.
If she continued to make noise, he would feed her a pill to see if she would dare to cry or shout again and disturb his rest.
Nguyen Chao stopped crying.
He waited patiently for a while until he heard a loud snore from the man on the bed.
Due to lack of sleep in recent days, he slept particularly deeply this time.
Ruan Chao quietly broke the rope and took off the black cloth covering his eyes.
The cage is made of fine iron, so it takes some effort to break the chain.
It took Ruan Chao a full half hour to use his spiritual power to cut the chain.
My spiritual power is almost overdrawn.
His breathing became a little disordered, his face turned pale, and a few beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead.
He caught the broken lock and placed it on the ground carefully without making any sound.
A squeak.
The cage was opened.
Ruan Chao looked subconsciously towards the bed in the corner.
The muscular man swore in his sleep, muttered twice, scratched his back, turned over and continued to sleep soundly.
Ruan Chao breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace.
All the tears he shed these past two days were worth it.
This closed room has a small ventilation window at the top.
Nguyen Chao was small and thin, and could just fit inside.
He used all his strength to climb out, and only when he saw a crescent moon did he realize that he had finally escaped.
The skylight is high off the ground.
He fell heavily to the ground.
There was a sharp dull pain in his limbs and back. He stood up and ran forward without any delay.
He was running around aimlessly.
All I know is that if I run to where there are more people, my chances of survival will be greater.
He ran all the way from the remote alley to the street.
The streets were bustling with people.
Laughter and hawking sounds came one after another.
Bright lanterns hung on both sides of the road, like a long fiery dragon.
Street vendors were selling all kinds of food and supplies, and not far away there were artists performing sword swallowing and fire breathing performances...it was a lively scene that had never been seen in the Nguyen Dynasty.
He slowed down his pace and looked at everything in front of him with some curiosity.
Until I heard the sound of pursuit behind me.
"There she is!"
"Catch her back quickly, don't let her run away!"
Ruan Chao turned around and saw several tall and strong men chasing after him...
He continued to run forward in panic.
I accidentally bumped into someone.
The other person stood there motionless, but he was suddenly bounced away and fell to the ground, his delicate palms sliding across the rough ground.
Ruan Chao hissed in pain.
With tears in his eyes, he raised his head, but unexpectedly met a pair of eyes as cold as ice and snow.