Chapter 21 A Drenched Night Raid: A soaking wet figure rushed up from behind...
How can it search for anything wherever you go? That's a bit too much.
The city lord's mansion probably also anticipated his hiding place, and sent out soldiers and guards to surround and intercept him. The shadowy figures patrolled back and forth at the exit, forcing Fu Ming to hide back in the drainage ditch.
Yongcheng was once the largest city in the southwestern region of the Immortal Realm, with winding underground drainage channels paved with bricks and stones. Fu Ming, carrying a child in each arm, scurried back and forth among them like a mouse.
He waded through thigh-deep water with difficulty, the rainwater mixed with mud and sand, the bone-chilling cold making his calves go numb – after all, he was just a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, not comparable to a Nascent Soul or Divine Transformation cultivator who had already undergone Heavenly Tribulation tempering.
The rain fell harder and harder at night. Three feet away, two bodyguards were taking shelter from the rain and slacking off under a tree.
"Young Master Gu has gone to such lengths for a man whose name he doesn't even know; he's practically turned the whole city upside down."
"It's just tough on us. Oh, by the way, do you think this guy will live for more than a few days after he's been captured?"
"Seven days at most, but Young Master Gu might take advantage of the fact that he's still alive and throw him into Tianxiang Tower, hahahahaha."
The gentle rain washed away the arrogant laughter of the guards. Fu Ming automatically filtered out the rest of the vulgarities, only secretly memorizing the key place name, Tianxiang Tower.
The Ghost Market was located in the city, and the most convenient places to inquire about information were brothels and casinos.
However, the most urgent task is to settle the siblings in first; we can't take the children to places that are restricted to adults.
To be fair, Fang Xiaohui and Fang Xiaoquan were truly like brothers, sharing a deep bond; even with a fever, they remained silent and curled up. Fu Ming reached out and touched her forehead, only then realizing how alarmingly hot she was. The bright red demonic markings on Fang Xiaohui's neck were spreading out, like a cluster of orchids growing on a cliff edge.
"Xiao Hui, wake up, tell me where the clinic is first."
"Welcome...Welcome Inn".
With a deafening roar, a ball of lightning exploded very close overhead, instantly illuminating the entire sky as if it were daytime. All was silent until a mournful wail echoed through the heavens.
"Lu Renjia, A-Jia, why did you suddenly collapse to the ground?"
Lacking knowledge of modern physics, the guards obviously didn't know that standing under a tree in the rain would result in being struck by lightning!
A good opportunity.
Fu Ming quickly dismantled the fence and peered out. Seeing the two scientifically illiterate men convulsing and collapsed, he decisively chose to stay a world away from them. Being afraid of being struck by lightning was one thing; who knew if low intelligence was contagious?
As night deepened and rain began to fall, every household in Yongcheng kept their doors tightly shut, with only armed soldiers guarding the deserted streets and searching everywhere.
After weaving through three streets and seven alleys, Fu Ming finally shook off the pursuers who were swarming in from all directions. He crouched low in the gap between two tiled houses and cast a confusion spell on the three of them without any spiritual energy fluctuations, making them dare not breathe.
If he were alone here, he could easily find a way to break out, but there are also the brother and sister who are about to fall into demonic possession here. If they alert monks above the Golden Core stage, things could get complicated.
He leaned against the white wall, with a curtain of rain like beads in front of him. The faint sounds of arguing came from between the uneven blue brick and tile houses, sounding distant and indistinct in the noisy rain.
"...Sir, there really isn't one. If there were, why wouldn't I hand him over to you? That would be worth a hundred high-grade spirit stones."
"Hmph, don't think I don't know that your inn usually takes in shady characters. You better hand them over honestly."
Inn, Yingfu Inn?
"And he likes to take in guests with unknown origins, so he's probably one of them," Fu Ming pondered, rubbing his chin.
After standing there for a long time, he suddenly felt something sticking out behind him. He reached down and saw that it was a wanted poster that hadn't been properly pasted on.
The wanted poster featured three heads, one large and two small. The artist highlighted Fu Ming's large head with red ink, and added the words "leave him alive" and "eighty high-grade spirit stones" in large characters.
Fu Ming has excellent night vision. Even in such light, he can see his portrait clearly by the fleeting flash of lightning—why are his eyes drawn so big and his chin so pointed?
The people of Yongcheng really have terrible taste!
Ding Si, the bodyguard who had been temporarily assigned to the post, had been on tenterhooks for half the night, and now he could finally sneak a yawn. He was just a rogue cultivator in the Qi Refining stage, earning three thousand copper coins a month. So why should he risk his life for the city lord?
I heard that although that person has a beautiful face, he is ruthless and vicious. He threw explosive talismans and blew the head of the secret guards into a mess, and he also summoned lightning to strike someone and leave him half-paralyzed.
That was terrifying, thank goodness I didn't encounter it...
Suddenly, Ding Si felt a jolt, as if someone had patted him on the shoulder.
"Which little bastard scared me to death, do you even know that?"
He turned around cursing, but behind him was not the familiar soldiers and roughnecks, but a handsome and fair-skinned face that smiled at him, like a wild fox spirit from a rural folktale.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."
"Aa ...
My mother was right. You can't believe a single word a good-looking person says. This person is grabbing him by the collar and using him as a shield!
That's not true. Although Fu Ming lacks any moral integrity, he has never lied about saving lives. He has already set up a protective barrier for the two of them, which is more than enough.
Arrows flew in like meteors, followed by tongues of fire, water bullets, and vines. All sorts of weapons were thrown in front of Ding Si, only to bounce off right before his eyes.
"ah!"
A bald monk's staff came crashing down on him. Fu Ming drew his sword to meet the attack, while his other hand firmly grabbed Ding Si, who was being tossed around like a rag doll.
"ah!"
He tumbled past seven or eight tiled houses, using the curtains of tall buildings and the palace lanterns of the market as leverage to leap. A long-awaited bolt of lightning aimed at his location, but Fu Ming twisted his body, letting the lightning strike through the roof of the exquisite courtyard beneath his feet. That seemed to be... it seemed to be Young Master Gu's villa.
"ah……"
He won't be held responsible, will he? No, is he even alive?
Ding Si's vision went black.
However, he soon realized that this was a physical blackout; Fu Ming had just used the cover of the series of explosions to push him into the drainage ditch.
After several rounds of teleportation, Fu Ming finally placed him in a corner of the drainage ditch.
"Big brother, please have mercy on me and spare my life. You can have all my money."
Fu Ming tilted his head and muttered, "What would I do with your life and money?"
This person, this person is actually tearing off his clothes...
"So, they just wanted my looks?" Ding Si thought in despair.
A nearly soaking wet light blue shirt was thrown onto Ding Si. Fu Ming had already changed into the black robes of a secret guard. He tied his messy hair into a high ponytail, straightened his spine, and leaned his waist, looking very neat and tidy.
Fortunately, the bodyguards wear inner shirts underneath their uniforms, so they can wear them if they overcome their psychological barriers.
"You can stay here a little longer. Consider this 100 spirit stone silver note as a supplement to your wages."
Fu Ming thoughtfully slipped a silver note into the inner pocket of his outer robe. Xu Yan's 15,000 silver notes were too large, so he took a portion and folded the rest into smaller notes, which came in handy now.
He then teleported along the mental map to the eastern part of the city where the Yingfu Inn was located.
Several guards were whispering among themselves as they watched the towering flames in the south of the city. Fu Ming straightened his collar and stepped out, taking over their conversation with remarkable ease.
"Should we go over there...?"
"Did you hear that? The boss just said that we need to go over there and put out the fire."
"Such a thing has happened!"
After sending away the annoying bodyguards, Fu Ming returned to the alley, picked up the brother and sister who were still running a high fever, and quietly slipped away, concealing his merit and fame.
However, when he knocked on the door of the Yingfu Inn, which had two large red lanterns hanging on it, he was met with a closed door.
In the dim red light, the shopkeeper's expression shifted from surprise to coldness before she closed and locked the door. The woman, whose eyes already showed fine lines, had lost her youthful beauty, and her eyes were filled with indifferent shrewdness. Yet, judging from her reaction, she clearly recognized the brother and sister. Why would she be so heartless as to refuse them entry?
Fu Ming's plan failed, but the window of opportunity to divert the guards' attention was only a short while, so he couldn't let his efforts go to waste.
What should have been an ordinary late autumn night turned into a series of misfortunes in Yongcheng. The first half of the night was marked by thunder and lightning and torrential rain, while the second half saw aerial brawls, explosions, and flooding.
Xiao Huaiyuan sat comfortably in his guest room, spending the rest of his time, apart from his daily meditation, gazing intently at the small sachet.
There was quite a commotion outside Yingfu Inn, enough to make the whole city go crazy. It must have been that person's doing again.
Unless the abbot of Yunshan Temple and the city lord of Yongcheng personally intervene, no one else combined can stop Fu Ming's actions.
His senior brother had always been like this; no rules in the world could bind Fu Ming, including his own.
The people monitoring Yunshan Temple had been lured away by Fu Ming's diversionary tactic, so the window of Xiao Huaiyuan's room was left wide open, letting the desolate autumn wind howl through the paper windowpane.
call--
Suddenly the wind stopped.
A figure carrying the fragrance of grass and trees appeared silently and embraced him from behind. Xiao Huaiyuan's heartbeat also slowed down because of this sudden embrace.
The newcomer's arm gripped Xiao Huaiyuan's throat tightly, a few strands of wet hair fell onto Xiao Huaiyuan's shoulder, and the dampness hit his face. His long-missed senior brother chuckled softly in his ear and whispered something.
"Robbery."
"I'm staying in your room tonight, you can find somewhere else to sleep."
There's always a way out!
Fu Ming laughed inwardly. He thought he wouldn't be able to get in, but he didn't expect Xiao Huaiyuan to live in this godforsaken place, and he didn't even close the window.
The place where my junior brother lives is, of course, also the place where he lives.
Fu Ming tossed his coat hem aside and sat down in the chair, acting as if he were the owner of the room.
Not only did he show up uninvited, but he also brazenly unbuttoned his shirt right in front of Xiao Huaiyuan.
The guards' clothes were tight, not breathable, and soaked through with rain, making them very uncomfortable to wear.
As Fu Ming undressed, he complained, revealing a patch of white chest. He had smooth but not obvious muscle lines, and at first glance, he looked thin and weak, but in fact, he had a very explosive physique.
"And these two are..." Xiao Huaiyuan awkwardly averted his gaze and changed the subject.
"Oh, these are the brother and sister I rescued this morning. I've already put a sleeping spell on them, so they shouldn't wake up tonight."
"By the way, Master, did you bring any other clothes? Not the kind that are the Tianyan Sect's uniform."
"No, or should we ask the shopkeeper for some?"
After agreeing, Fu Ming suddenly realized something was wrong: Didn't the shopkeeper only have women's clothes?
A note from the author:
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I'd like to ask everyone in the comments section for some names of supporting characters, but I'm terrible at naming things and can't think of any.
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