Chapter 66: Green Bean Crisps "Be gentle, don't wake him up."...
Luofu Mountain Villa, on the border of Zhongyuzhou.
"Friend Lan, Friend Zhong, this matter is entirely thanks to your help..."
Yao Tiande, the head of Luofu Villa, said this as he and Elder Lian Ji escorted Lan Jue and Zhong Ming to the gate of the villa.
"Master Yao, there's no need to be so polite. We are fellow immortals and we should help each other." Lan Jue saluted with his sword.
Zhong Ming weighed the overflowing spirit bag in his hand and nodded with a smile, "If your sect has any problems in the future, you can always speak to the Prime Minister of the Qingxuan Sword Sect."
Master Yao nodded.
After Lan Jue and Zhong Ming flew away one after another, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I never thought that in just a few short years, that kid who just entered the foundation-building stage would grow up to be like this."
Lian Ji smiled and said, "Yes, he has already formed a golden elixir at such a young age. He took away quite a few of our spirit stones this time."
"Well, whatever. Since Gentleman Sword Lan Jue hasn't said anything, I'll just give it to him. If I can really cling to the Qingxuan Sword Sect's support, it will be worth it."
As Sect Leader Yao said this, he and Lian Ji walked into the villa together.
Behind them, a light blue water mark flickered slightly, flew silently into the sky, and then returned to the top of a mountain not far away.
"bite--"
The blue spiritual power merged into the Forgetful Sword, and Lan Jue's eyes moved slightly.
Zhong Ming stood beside him and asked, "Big Brother, how is it?"
"Nothing unusual." Lan Jue frowned slightly, "It seems they are not hiding anything from us."
Zhong Ming nodded, and then he and Lan Jue fell silent.
Ever since they were assigned by their master to investigate the disappearance of the Dongxu Sect's disciples, they have not returned to the sect for nearly two years.
It was simply because this matter, though seemingly a single one, actually had far-reaching implications. No sooner had they finished investigating one case than another came up.
From Dongxu Gate in Donglaizhou to Luofu Villa in Zhongyuzhou, their footsteps have now almost crossed half of the Hexu Continent.
Zhong Ming played with the dragon blood vine in his hand and said casually, "This is already the fourth sect whose disciples have disappeared. Who would have thought that in recent years, no less than ten disciples have disappeared from medium-sized sects..."
Lan Jue looked into the distance and clenched the hilt of the sword in his hand.
"Indeed, they were initially humble outer disciples, but have gradually developed into inner disciples and even personal disciples. Furthermore, these people include both men and women, young and old, some killed and some survived. It's really hard to determine what similarities they have."
Lan Jue said this, and exchanged glances with Zhong Ming, his eyes slightly cold. "It's like he's deliberately confusing us."
"I agree." Zhong Ming nodded. "The next one should be the last one. What's it called..."
Lan Jue: "Luoxizhou's Jiehuo Sect. I hope that after we deal with this, we can get clues about the person behind it."
As the two of them talked, they headed towards Luofu Town together.
What comes into view are vendors hawking their wares for spiritual food and treasures, and a constant stream of pedestrians coming and going on the streets, creating a lively scene.
Lan Jue looked at the disciples wearing the uniforms of various sects, and suddenly thought of Xie Qingnian, a disciple of Tianqi Sect whom he met not long ago.
At that time, Fairy Yun Lian was also investigating the disappearance of a disciple from a sect. Despite her taciturn nature, she actually took the initiative to find Zhong Ming before leaving.
From what he said, it seemed that Xuanyuan Chu, the elder of Tianqi Sect, intended to meet Zhong Ming.
"Junior brother, are you going to Tianqi Gate?" Lan Jue asked.
"No."
"Senior Xuanyuan was the one who saved you during the Immortal Sect Competition, right? Why didn't Junior Brother go?"
"Why would you go for no reason? Besides, I already thanked him during the Immortal Sect Competition."
Zhong Mingxin walked and answered nonchalantly.
He also knew that this might be against etiquette, but he was not the kind of person who was well-behaved and polite. Without his senior brother by his side, he was too lazy to even pretend.
If I go to Tianqi Gate for a while and can't come back, and my senior brother happens to be out of seclusion, wouldn't that be a waste of money for my senior brother?
Besides... he had an inexplicable intuition that although Xuanyuan Chu had a kind face, he didn't want to get close to him at all.
His intuition has always been accurate.
Zhong Ming's mind was full of thoughts. He looked around and his eyes lit up when he saw a candied haws vendor.
"Boss, give me one." Zhong Ming turned to Lan Jue and asked, "Does Senior Brother need one?"
Lan Jue shook his head.
Zhong Ming nodded as expected and took a bite of a crystal clear candied haws.
The familiar sweet and sour taste came into his mouth, and Zhong Ming couldn't help but squint his eyes.
Lan Jue raised his eyebrows and said, "I never expected that Junior Brother also likes sweets."
Zhong Ming shook the candied haws in his hand, with a meaningful smile on his face.
"The candied haws itself isn't a big deal, the main thing is that it carries some beautiful meaning." He bared his sharp fangs, looking quite proud. "I ate this candied haws with my senior brother before, and he also liked it very much. I fed him the candied haws myself."
Seeing that the smile on Lan Jue's face gradually faded, Zhong Ming spoke in a leisurely voice.
"Come to think of it, when Senior Brother was teaching me swordsmanship, he stayed very close to me and taught me carefully. We drank tea and ate spiritual fruits together. It was really a happy time."
The dark golden eyes moved slightly and fell on Lan Jue's expressionless face.
"Big Brother, do you want to come together next time?"
Lan Jue stared at Zhong Ming in silence for a moment before suddenly saying, "No. After all, Cong Xing and I already had an agreement, and he's already accepted it. From now on, the time I spend with him will only increase."
"Little Junior Brother, remember the good old days. After all, there won't be many of them left."
"Varied--?!"
Lan Jue ignored Zhong Ming's surprised voice and turned around to walk forward.
During the time he traveled with Zhong Ming, this kind of scene had already appeared countless times.
He thought so and sighed softly.
He is actually always provoked by his junior brother. He is really immature.
At this moment, a silver light flew towards him from afar and fell into his arms.
"Is this... a letter from the sect?"
Lan Jue picked up the letter and suddenly opened his eyes wide when he felt the spiritual power on it.
It turned out to be Gu Congxing’s spiritual power!
At this moment, Zhong Ming behind him also exclaimed in surprise: "It's actually a letter from Senior Brother. It seems he has come out of seclusion!"
Both of them quickly opened the letter and read every word carefully.
As their gazes moved, the expressions of both of them changed constantly.
Finally, Zhong Ming held the letter carefully in his arms and lowered his eyes.
Lan Jue stared at the paper in his hand and fell into a long silence.
After a moment, Zhong Ming spoke first, "I didn't expect that Senior Brother has already come out of seclusion and has experienced so many things. He is in the Gu family..."
His voice lowered: "If only I had been with him at that time."
Lan Jue remained silent. Then he carefully put the letter away and walked forward again.
"Let's not rest in Luofu Villa tonight, but head west directly." Lan Jue said without turning back, "This way, we might be able to meet him before Cong Xing leaves Tianlin Sect."
Zhong Ming's expression brightened when he heard him say this.
"Well, finish the task as soon as possible and go find my brother."
Senior brother, senior brother.
I really want to see you...
***
"A-choo!"
Gu Congxing sneezed suddenly.
Si Junjian beside him immediately asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Nothing."
As he said this, he picked up the spiritual tea on the table in front of him and took a sip.
This is Zhile City on the border of Luoxi Continent. As the town closest to Tianlin Sect, it is home to many monks and tourists, and it is a prosperous scene.
Gu Congxing and Si Junjian were sitting in a restaurant, sitting by the window on the second floor.
The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. The two of them had been sitting opposite each other in silence when Si Junjian suddenly spoke up, "Let's go for a walk. We'll be at the Tianlin Sect tomorrow."
Gu Congxing stared at him in surprise for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The two of them were walking along the long street. Passersby would always stop and watch them walk away silently.
Even some vendors stopped shouting and followed the two of them with their eyes.
"...So, what exactly do you want to visit?" Gu Congxing felt the gazes on him and almost wanted to put a veil around himself.
Is Si Junjian so popular in Luoxizhou?
Today, he finally witnessed the power of the "Pearl of Xizhou".
Si Junjian cleared his throat, a look of confusion between his brows.
It was obviously not so exaggerated in the past.
He began, "Further north, closer to the Xiaoming Lake, there will be fewer and fewer towns. There's more trade here, and you can taste spiritual food from all over the world."
At this time, Gu Congxing had already taken out two bamboo hats from his storage ring, put them on himself, and then handed them to Si Junjian.
Si Junjian took it very naturally, put on the hat properly, and said, "I remember that when you were young, you liked to eat the mung bean cakes from the southern part of Youbeizhou."
Gu Congxing stopped suddenly.
Si Junjian's vision was obscured, so he was completely unaware and continued, "It should be around here... Yes, it's here."
He walked forward very naturally and picked out a few exquisite mung bean cakes. When the boss saw it was him, he weighed them skillfully and handed them to him.
"Mr. Si, come often!"
Si Junjian nodded slightly with an indifferent expression and handed the mung bean pastry to Gu Congxing.
"Give."
The freshly made mung bean pastry is still steaming and exudes a refreshing fragrance.
Gu Congxing stared at it for a moment and took it with both hands.
"...Thank you." He picked up one and took a bite. The sweetness of the mung bean spread in his mouth, crispy and crunchy with a sweet aftertaste.
He hadn't eaten mung bean pastry for a long, long time.
"But you actually still remember this? You've obviously only been to Gu's once or twice." Gu Congxing looked at Si Junjian who was walking in front of him. "Judging from the boss's reaction, do you eat here often?"
As soon as he asked this question, Si Junjian paused.
Without even turning around, he raised his voice and said, "Don't overthink it. It's just that one of my junior brothers likes to eat it, so we bought it a few more times."
"I didn't deliberately remember what you liked to eat, but I saw you eating so exaggeratedly that I remembered it more clearly."
Gu Congxing stuffed mung bean cake into his mouth and replied, "Really?"
Was your eating habits so indecent when you were a child?
Passing by the mooncake stall again, Si Junjian stopped and picked out several mooncakes with different fillings and held them in his arms.
“Click—”
He took a bite and even his steps became lighter.
Gu Congxing said with a smile: "It seems that you like mooncakes very much?"
Si Junjian finished chewing his food and then said slowly, "Who can not love such delicious food?"
The tone was completely firm.
Gu Congxing laughed even louder.
The two of them ate as they walked, and when they returned to the restaurant it was already dusk.
Gu Congxing and Si Junjian naturally booked two upper rooms. They returned to their respective rooms and began to regulate their breathing and meditate.
The night is deep and the moonlight is pouring down.
Gu Congxing looked at the moonlight shining into his room, then stood up and opened the window.
“Wow—”
The evening breeze blows, and the black hair flutters.
Gu Congxing held Tianshu in his hand, his eyes fixed on the full moon in the distance.
Green bean cake, Gu family, brother...
His eyes moved slightly.
At this moment, there was a movement outside the door. Gu Congxing immediately frowned and regained his composure, then pushed the door open with his sword.
Standing outside was Tiaotiao, gently wagging her long tail.
“Tiaotiao?!”
Gu Congxing was both surprised and happy. He welcomed Tiaotiao into the house, closed the door again, and set up a barrier.
The furry tail rubbed against his arm, and Gu Congxing squatted down and looked into the eyes of the silver wolf monster.
"Tiaotiao, why are you here?"
“Ah~”
"...Is that so? You're worried about me."
Gu Congxing chuckled and stretched out his arms to hug its silver-white head.
Tiaotiao rolled gently in his throat, moved closer to him, and expanded its body size so that Gu Congxing could hold it while standing.
Gu Congxing didn't notice that outside the door, there was a person standing silently not far from him with his back against the door.
Si Junjian, who had cast a spell of concealment, looked up at the roof of the inn, and listened to his words quietly through a door between them.
However, Gu Congxing did not say much. He just buried his head in Tiaotiao's neck, feeling the soft touch surrounding him.
Tiaotiao let out another soft howl, then lay on the ground on her side with her belly exposed, wagging her tail at Gu Congxing.
"How can you be so cute?"
Gu Congxing lay on its belly without hesitation and turned over comfortably.
Si Junjian's expression outside the door changed a little, and he put his hand on his stomach.
Gu Congxing moved again, and threw his entire body onto Tiaotiao, hugging its head.
At this moment, he had buried his head in the hair on the side of his neck, and his whole body seemed to be sinking into a soft ocean, warm and slightly undulating.
Gu Congxing felt sleepy again.
He hugged Tiaotiao tighter and slowly closed his eyes.
Si Junjian was still standing outside the door, but his face was flushed at this moment.
Tiaotiao didn't move, but silently wrapped its tail around his waist and tightened it a little.
Si Junjian opened his lips and said silently: "Don't wake him up."
Tiaotiao opened her eyes, looked out the door, and loosened her tail slightly.
Si Junjian paced a few steps and left quickly, but his steps were much smaller than usual.
——The destination is the ice spring that is most suitable for calming one’s mind.
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