Chapter 202 A Good Book
The next day, early morning.
Chu Hengkong slept exceptionally well last night. He had to admit that the fallen girl had a point. Perhaps he was truly tired of living alone, so even in this horrible environment, he found comfort in the company of others.
He got up half an hour earlier than Ji Huaisu, and without disturbing his partner who was sleeping soundly, he went downstairs alone to do some morning exercises. When he left the small building, he felt a rare sense of guilt, and looked back, hoping that no one else saw him.
Vander curled up on the sofa, watching secretly with a telescope.
“What are you looking at!”
"I'm looking at that scumbag's shameful back." Vander said with a click of his tongue, "Ah, someone, I won't name them, but he shared a room with that girl last night and sneaked out this morning to meet another girl!"
"Keep your voice down." Chu Hengkong felt a headache. "I'm going to..."
"I understand, man," Vander said sincerely, "you're going there to lose your virginity."
"Get lost."
Chu Hengkong swung his wrist and pinned the Eye Demon flat on the sofa, who chuckled with schadenfreude. He turned his back on the hut and hurried away, like a prime minister who had fled the Huarong Pass in defeat.
It was still early, and as usual, the streets were mostly filled with people in the fog. Those lifeless losers would always look at him with muddy eyes, offering advice that was blocked out from the world. Chu Hengkong tightened his clothes, prepared to be entangled by them.
But after walking for a while, I didn't hear any voices from the people in the fog. The settlement today was unusual; the streets were empty. It seemed as if the people in the fog had all gone out, and their presence was nowhere to be found. Chu Hengkong saw this unusual phenomenon and thought of a possibility.
He changed direction and walked towards the church at the edge of the settlement. A man dressed as a priest was standing at the door, closing the heavy wooden door with his own hands.
"Good morning, Mr. Chu." Bernfa greeted calmly.
"You let them go?"
"While you were away, I held a funeral for them. These souls suffer even more than the residents of Ringstone Town, and they deeply yearn for peace." Bernfar's fingers brushed the spine of the Book of Revelation. "I would also like to ask, are there any other souls who need my help?"
"Take a look at your book." Chu Hengkong sneered.
"The book records the fate of all living beings, but it doesn't include the souls in the Heavenly Prison." Bernfa said frankly.
Chu Hengkong originally didn't intend to pay attention to it, but when he thought about his experiences along the way, he changed his mind.
"You can journey to the valley beneath the sand sea. There many Mistmen remain, tormented by nightmares and unable to escape them, seeking the gift of the Black Moon."
He was surprised to see emotion on Bernfa's face. It was one of deep hatred and profound anger. That expression made Chu Hengkong realize instantly that the funeral procession hated Black Moon, and they were sworn enemies.
"We can only turn to the blasphemous Dead Moon for help..." He sighed softly, "How pathetic... so hopeless..."
"Thank you for letting me know. I will do my best."
Bernfa hurried away, like a believer on his way to martyrdom. Chu Hengkong watched the priest walk away, a vague feeling in his heart: at least for the near future, he didn't need to worry about Bernfa becoming an enemy. Perhaps for a funeral procession, burying the dead is always more important than dealing with the living.
He walked down the road to Qingxia's red house and knocked loudly, bracing himself for the eccentric girl's harassment. But once again, he ran to find nothing; the house seemed empty. He pricked up his ears and heard children's laughter coming from the entrance of the settlement.
Nearly all the children in the settlement rushed to the entrance, dancing and laughing around their warrior leader. Qingxia single-handedly pulled several large carts, piled high with hunted exotic beasts. The warriors shouted as they unloaded the precious food, while the warrior leader carried a basket of barbecued meat, entertaining the children with the aroma.
"Who wants to eat meat~" Qingxia said with a half-smile.
"Me!" "I want to eat!" "Captain, give it to me!" The children raised their hands one after another.
"What can we do? After all, those who don't work don't eat..." Qingxia smiled and held out her hand, "Then let's do this! Let's see if your strength has improved. Those who train well will get meat to eat."
"Come on!" The young warriors, always bold, didn't waste words, rushing to throw punches. Their attacks hit Qingxia's palm like cotton hammers hitting steel. Qingxia shook his hand gently, then lifted the child up like a chicken.
Chu Hengkong, who was watching from the sidelines, felt a bit gloating. This scene reminded him of Wu He who was beaten like a chicken by Qingxia.
"Little Matti... just don't be lazy, give me half a piece of meat."
"I will keep working hard..." the sturdy boy curled his lips.
"Nonsense, you're being lazy! You only have scraps of meat to eat."
"Okay, Captain." The thin child ran away in shame.
"Vita, you're not bad. You have two pieces of meat."
"Great!" the little girl in the helmet shouted.
To others, these children's performance looked identical; they were all easily picked up and put down, like frozen chickens being processed in batches on an assembly line. Yet Qingxia could recount their recent progress, and none of the children objected. Chu Hengkong suspected that similar tests might be conducted regularly, giving her a thorough understanding of these children's conditions.
The small basket of barbecue was quickly distributed, and the children dispersed. Qingxia grabbed the remaining piece from the bottom of the basket and waved to Chu Hengkong.
"Do you want to eat?"
"There's no need to compete with you for food." Chu Hengkong shrugged. "How did you catch so many prey?"
Generally speaking, Qingxia and the other warriors wouldn't hunt too many exotic beasts; they had to ensure a steady food supply around the settlement. Qingxia tossed the piece of meat into her mouth, mumbling, "Too many creatures have escaped from the deep jungle, baji baji. And if Grandpa's out, he probably got the news... baji baji, maybe we need to take action."
Chu Hengkong felt a headache: "Swallow it before you speak!"
"So we need to store as much food as possible."
"Where's the whole story?! It's completely covered up by the chewing noise and I can't even hear it!"
Qingxia swallowed the meat with a gulp and said seriously, "Time flies, and time waits for no one. If there is anything that has not been resolved, it must be resolved as soon as possible!"
"You don't have to use allusions here. Every time you say a word, I worry whether you really understand its meaning."
Qingxia smiled and waved her hand, dragging the assassin home. Chu Hengkong sighed, repeatedly telling himself to be mentally prepared. He couldn't expect the Centaur's common sense, and he certainly couldn't get angry after just a few words. Qingxia's personality was just like that. He came to repay a favor, not to pick a fight.
They entered and sat down on the straw bed (Qingxia didn't have any chairs at home, so she didn't need them). The red-haired girl rubbed her hands together, her ears twitching with excitement. Chu Hengkong's face was tense, as if he were negotiating. Seeing Qingxia's attitude, he concluded that there would be no amicable settlement today.
"What do you want?" he said stiffly.
"Before that, I have one more question." Qingxia said seriously, "How do I apologize to Ji Huaisu and Qingye? I went to look for them before, but they kicked me out... Is it because there aren't enough thorns?"
First of all, the topic of apology, that means she listened to what I said before, which is a good sign. Chu Hengkong nodded.
"...No, first of all, what's this about thorns?"
"I read in a book that to show sincerity, one must carry two bundles of thorns to apologize." Qingxia said seriously, "So I went to find them with two bundles of thorns as a gift."
Less than half a minute into the formal conversation, Chu Hengkong couldn't hold it in any longer: "That thing isn't a gift, it's a torture device, you idiot!"
Qingxia covered her mouth with her hands, shocked.
"What!? So a sincere apology means tying me up with thorns?!"
"I've had enough. Sit down and listen!"
Chu Hengkong's terrifying aura forced Qingxia to sit up straight. All the resentment he'd accumulated over his ingenious use of allusions finally erupted. He slammed the table like a lecturer, reciting the stories from the biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru that he still remembered.
Qingxia listened attentively, nodding frequently, like a student eager to learn. After Chu Hengkong finished, he sank back onto the straw mat and angrily asked, "Did you understand?!"
"Oh..." Qingxia pondered, "So thorns are used to hit people..."
“Can we focus on the central idea?!”
Qingxia hammered his palm. "So, does 'The people of Jing crossed the Xian River' refer to the story of how thorns whipped humans across the Xian River?"
"I'm more surprised than I am to understand that you know such an unpopular allusion."
Fortunately, he had briefly read "Lüshi Chunqiu" back then, otherwise he would not be able to follow up on this plot.
Chu Hengkong briefly recounted the story of the Chu people crossing the Xian River. Qingxia's reaction gave him a headache: "Where on earth did you learn all this? Have you ever met other Earthlings before?"
Qingxia's ears twitched: "I don't know which island the Earth is from. I read these stories in books."
"Book?"
"Yeah, it's a book I picked up on the beach when I was a kid." Qingxia glanced sideways, "There are so many interesting stories in it!"
Chu Hengkong followed her gaze and found several wrinkled thread-bound books on a bookshelf not far from the straw bed. The books were made of dark yellow paper, with rough binding and no names written on the covers. They looked more like old notebooks than "books".
He asked Qingxia for permission, took down a book, and carefully flipped through it. The wordless book had been soaked in seawater, and many of the pages had holes eaten by insects. If you weren't careful, you could easily break the pages.
The Yangtze River rolls eastward, its waves washing away all heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure are all in vain... So many events, past and present, are now just jokes.
The first page is Yang Shen's "Linjiangxian," followed naturally by the familiar opening lines. "As the general trend of the world goes, long periods of division will inevitably lead to unification, and long periods of unification will inevitably lead to division..." Even those who haven't finished reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms should be familiar with these opening lines. Then, of course, there's the Peach Garden Oath of Brotherhood and the first meritorious service of slaying the Yellow Turbans...
Then he turned to the next page, where the title stated it clearly: "Master Zhang prays for the plague to be warded off, while Commandant Hong mistakenly lets the demon go."
“………………”
Chu Hengkong rubbed his eyes vigorously, repeatedly comparing the front and back pages to confirm that he had picked up the right book. He told himself to stay calm and keep his imagination as wild as possible. Turning to the next page, he saw several lines of handwritten notes that connected the previous and the next. It talked about the demon's true form, which turned out to be a monkey that had jumped out of the stone...
"Qingxia, tell the truth." He closed the book and said with a pleasant expression, "This book wasn't originally like this, was it?"
Qingxia looked out the window and whistled loudly.
“Qingxia!!!”
(End of this chapter)
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