Chapter 19 Wasn't this also a date? Didn't you say you were fasting? Why are you doing this to me...?
After they came out of the teleportation array, Xiao Huaiyuan followed Fu Ming wherever he went, practically becoming his little shadow.
Fu Ming had intended to take the opportunity to shake off his opponent, but after several near misses and attempts to turn around at forks in the road, he was repeatedly met with a chest as hard as iron. Finally, he could no longer bear it.
"I thought you would stay with the Tianyan Sect."
"The Heavenly Evolution Sect can continue to function even without me."
"Now that my injuries have fully healed, why don't we split up and look for clues separately?"
Fu Ming had heard of the rules of the Ghost Market: it was held every three years, with no fixed date, and an invitation was required to enter.
Back when Fu Ming was still the Right Protector of the Demon Lord, he had also received a similar gold-embossed invitation, but he defected before he could attend. Therefore, he only knew the meeting place and the secret code, but not the exact location of the Ghost Market.
Although he had some guesses, Xiao Huaiyuan was following him so closely that he had no way to find him.
Xiao Huaiyuan remained silent and calm as he looked back at him, not moving an inch.
This means it won't work. What went wrong with his parenting style that made his junior brother so clingy?
"Hey, make way, make way."
"Come and take a look! Freshly baked flatbread, only half a low-grade spirit stone per pound!"
As they talked, no fewer than twenty ordinary people dressed in burlap sacks passed by them. Apart from the Ghost Market, which only a few people knew about, Yongcheng also had a large market where all sorts of people could enter. A surging tide of people flowed into this small city, crowding both inside and outside the city to capacity.
The gongs and drums of vendors soliciting customers, the shouts and arguments of outsiders in the street, and the occasional neighing of passing vehicles—all these noises mixed together, drowning out what Fu Ming was about to say.
Oh well, I'll just take it with me.
Inside the restaurant, Fu Ming led Xiao Huaiyuan to a quiet seat by the window early on. Once the window was closed and the curtains were drawn, they finally found a peaceful spot.
He picked up a crystal dumpling filled with plump shrimp, steaming hot from above. He took a bite and, sure enough, burned his tongue. After blowing on it several times, he finally managed to swallow the sweet, crisp shrimp meat with difficulty.
Indeed, the food at Zhichun Restaurant is consistently excellent, reminiscent of a five-star hotel from my previous life.
After he finally finished chewing the oversized crystal dumpling, he realized that Xiao Huaiyuan's gaze was still fixed on his face, and he even picked up one and put it in his bowl, just like Xiao Huaiyuan.
He ate crispy spring rolls, and Xiao Huaiyuan ate spring rolls too; he ate walnut pastries, and Xiao Huaiyuan ate walnut pastries too; then they stuffed in a red bean bun and half a basket of mutton dumplings, and sure enough, the man choked and coughed.
Fu Ming calmly drank half a cup of hot tea, then put down his chopsticks to make a joke at him.
"Master, don't you practice fasting year-round?"
"You also said that eating it occasionally is not a big problem."
No wonder he couldn't find the hawthorn cake anywhere in the house later; it turned out that Xiao Huaiyuan, that rat, ate it. He was just being hypocritical.
Fu Ming took another sip of tea and lifted a corner of the curtain, pretending to keep watch.
"Ding-dong! The quest 'Mystery of the Ghost Market' has been unlocked! The key figure is currently 30 feet away. Please be careful to protect the target's life!"
He didn't care if he didn't look, but once he did, he triggered the system broadcast. It was midday, and there were about a hundred people crowded downstairs at Zhichun Tower. Most of them were ordinary people dressed simply with patched clothes, and there were also a few cultivators. Judging from the fluctuations of their spiritual energy, they were probably at the Qi Refining stage to the early Foundation Establishment stage, and they should just be rogue cultivators from the countryside.
Last time, the system said the difficulty was high, and then a Nascent Soul stage skeleton suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the ravine. This time, it says it needs to protect the target's safety, which means this person is about to die. Given the system's extremely high prediction success rate—if something goes wrong, something bad will happen—Fu Ming couldn't help but sweat for the unlucky key figure.
"No further specific instructions?"
"Sorry, dear, we don't know either."
Just moments ago, Fu Ming's face still held a faint smile, but now, illuminated by the sunlight, his facial features have solidified into cold, straight lines.
"What happened?" Xiao Huaiyuan, who was keeping a close eye on Fu Ming's movements, asked softly.
"Come and take a look."
Fu Ming released his spiritual power to tear open the curtains completely, then grabbed Xiao Huaiyuan's hand and pushed the window open, instantly unleashing a cacophony of voices.
A luxurious carriage, pulled by two tall horses and adorned with various gold and silver ornaments, sped forward from one end of the long street. Wherever the carriage went, vendors and vagrants fled in panic, and countless fruits and vegetables rolled down the streets and alleys.
Suddenly, the horse's neck was pulled hard, and the wheels came to a sudden stop amidst the jolts. The coachman raised his whip high, pointing it directly at a brother and sister hiding in the shadow of the restaurant's beams and pillars.
Snap!
The long whip lashed out rapidly, carrying with it a fierce spiritual energy. Given the groom's Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, it would be virtually impossible for an ordinary person to withstand it.
The frail siblings were too slow to react and could only hug each other and use their backs to shield themselves, hoping that they would still have a chance to survive when the long whip landed on them.
...
Huh? Why doesn't it hurt?
Between life and death, time seemed to stretch endlessly. The younger sister trembled for a long time but the expected pain did not come; she mustered the courage to open her eyes.
A slender young man stood against the light in front of them, one hand behind his back, the other hand catching the long whip with his bare hands. This forged, insidious magic weapon was limp in his two fingers, like an eel.
"Brother, we're all just trying to make a living, why are you all shouting and fighting like this? Let's each take a step back and spare these two youngsters' lives, shall we?"
Fu Ming had just lightly leaped down from the window, his light blue robe covered in dust. He secretly brushed the dust off while trying to negotiate with the fierce-looking, bearded man.
That was close! If he had arrived any later, all the mission targets would have been dead. Where would he have gotten them to revive them then?
"Enough with the nonsense! Protecting a demonic cultivator is punishable by death according to the law!"
?
Then why would your ghost market in Yongcheng send invitations to demonic cultivators?
"Haha, these two children are so young, how could they possibly be demonic cultivators?"
"Um... big brother."
The little girl with an extremely pointed chin suddenly tugged at Fu Ming's clothes, stood on tiptoe, and whispered something in his ear.
Fu Ming's smile froze on his face.
Of the demonic cultivators he knew, the vast majority had chosen to fall into demonic ways on their own, either because they were bullied, committed evil deeds, or were deceived, leading them down this path of no return. However, there was a type of demonic cultivator with a rather unique origin: they were descendants of demonic cultivators and mortals, born with demonic energy flowing through their meridians, also known as half-demons.
Since cultivators find it extremely difficult to have offspring, especially at higher levels, he thought there shouldn't be many half-demons, but unexpectedly, there were two right in front of him.
Fu Ming held the whip firmly in his hand the whole time. The bearded groom tried to pull it back several times but couldn't budge it. Seeing the bully getting his comeuppance, some fearless mortals also came over to watch the spectacle.
"Tch, you think you're so great just because you're in the late Foundation Establishment stage? You'll know you're wrong when our Young Master Gu arrives!" The coachman threw out a harsh remark and turned to run into the carriage.
This luxurious carriage, adorned with gold and jade, had excellent sound insulation. Even with Fu Ming's hearing, he could only barely make out fragmented words like "young master" and "city lord."
Soon, a richly dressed man slowly floated in, parting the carriage curtain. It was clear that this man possessed cultivation. His appearance was similar to that of the main body of Fu Ming, belonging to the same romantic and dashing lineage, but he had a somewhat greasy face and was holding a folding fan, which made him appear even more frivolous.
He had come to capture the demonic cultivators in the city on his father's orders, but when he saw Fu Ming's face, his small fox-like eyes suddenly lit up, and he unfolded his folding fan, revealing a large, radiant green jade on the fan.
“My beautiful lady, my father is the lord of Yongcheng. He would never allow you young friends to suffer any injustice. Would you be willing to come to my residence for a chat?”
Fu Ming was very puzzled. It was truly a case of a tiger fallen into the plains being bullied by dogs. What was there to pretend about in front of a Golden Core cultivator?
"I'm sorry, but I'm just a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator and I don't think I'm qualified to be a guest at the City Lord's Mansion."
He threw the whip back through the air, his eyes crinkling with laughter.
"Oh, right, here's this back."
"No problem, I can take the beauty back in my fine carriage," Young Master Gu replied gently, appearing to be a kind and considerate gentleman, though in his heart lay a different kind of filthy scheme.
He saw the dappled sunlight shimmering in Fu Ming's clear eyes, as bright as fine amber. He had never seen such a naive beauty so foolish as to stand up for a demonic cultivator. She hadn't said anything provocative, yet she always managed to evoke intense hatred in those who heard her, making them want to crush her to pieces.
Once it falls into his hands...
wrong.
Suddenly, the alarm bells rang. He transformed his fan into a blade and thrust it forward with all his might, but the cold blade missed Fu Ming's face.
The three living people vanished into thin air, turning into dust and disappearing, leaving only a faint sentence in the sweltering afternoon air:
"Goodbye!"
To think that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could escape right under his nose with two cripples! Enraged, Young Master Gu prepared to give chase, but before he could take more than a few steps, he crashed headfirst into a transparent, invisible barrier. The person who set up the barrier possessed unfathomable cultivation; even with all his spiritual power, the barrier was like a mere scratch, unable to even create a crack.
Young Master Gu slammed his fists into the barrier twice. The villagers, who usually dared not speak out about their suffering, were secretly delighted to see him trapped here. He couldn't get out, but the snickers still seeped into the area and lingered in his ears, irritating him.
He gritted his teeth and crushed a jade pendant in his sleeve. Several dark figures jumped in from all directions. His face was as cold as a ghost. He gave the order.
"Chase them! Kill the small ones, spare the big ones."
Xiao Huaiyuan put the last red bean bun in the steamer into his mouth. It was sweet and delicious. It really did need to be paired with tea.
Fu Ming ordered him to set up a barrier, which he did; Fu Ming also ordered him to cover the teleportation, which he did as well. However, in his original thought, this junior Golden Core cultivator surnamed Gu would definitely not live to see tomorrow.
He left a brocade pouch containing spirit stones on the spot where the food had been completely eaten, and then the figure who had been sitting by the window for so long vanished as if washed away by water, without a trace.
A hundred miles away in the city, Fu Ming was running wildly with a little one in his arms. The two siblings probably had never had a full meal in their lives, as they were so light that they were just skin and bones.
He moved around the haphazardly constructed stilted building. The area above the mountainside belonged to the lord of Yongcheng, while the foot of the mountain was prone to flooding, plague, and snakes and insects. Only refugees were willing to settle there.
When they reached a less populated swamp, the younger sister, whose feet were off the ground, suddenly cried out.
"Big brother! How did you know we live here?"
A note from the author:
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Sorry it's a bit late today. Don't worry, the brother and sister will have a good meal later.
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