Chapter 75 The Cat is One Step Late
The walls of Anfeng City looked somewhat old under the slightly dazzling midday sun. People were coming and going at the city gate, and city guards in uniform were checking the merchants coming in and out. Everything was in good order.
This is the Bai family's sphere of influence. On the flag flying at the city gate, a huge white word is clearly visible.
Bai Qingchen reined in his horse. The wide brim of his hat covered most of his face, leaving only his taut jaw exposed, which made him instinctively repulsed.
The death of my parents is closely related to the Anfeng Bai family.
Mo Li sat in Bai Qingchen's arms, feeling the unusual solemnity emanating from him. He subconsciously restrained his aura and quietly observed the city.
During this period, Mo Li followed Bai Qingchen. Although he did not worship Bai Qingchen as his master, Bai Qingchen saw that he had a good understanding and taught him some basic methods of inducing qi and simple sword moves.
Bai Qingchen was a little surprised by Mo Li's progress, like a thirsty sponge, quickly absorbing water.
"Let's go into the city." Bai Qingchen's voice came through his hat, a little low.
After passing through the city gate, the streets were quite neat, with various shops on both sides. Bai Qingchen's eyes swept over the white flags hanging on both sides of the street, and some signs that obviously belonged to the Bai family's businesses, and his eyes became a little colder.
"Brother," Mo Li moved closer and asked in a low voice, "Should we go find someone directly?"
"No rush." Bai Qingchen said, "Let's find a place to stay first."
He noticed that Mo Li's waist was empty, and remembered that he didn't have a sword of his own. Although Frost and Snow was easy for Mo Li to use, it was a gift from his Taoist partner after all, so it was not appropriate to let Mo Li use it all the time.
"By the way, I'll buy you a sword that you can use first."
Bai Qingchen did not go to the Bai family's business, but took Mo Li around the city first, and finally stopped in front of an old-looking weapons shop with a large storefront.
"Go in and take a look. I'll pick out a sword that suits you." Bai Qingchen said.
Since Mo Li has started practicing the basics, he must have a sword of his own.
The shop was filled with all kinds of swords, spears, and halberds, all gleaming with cold light. The shopkeeper was a shrewd middle-aged man, and when he saw a customer, he immediately put on a smile and came forward to greet them.
"My two guests, what kind of weapons do you have? Our shop has swords, spears, and clubs. We have everything you need!"
Bai Qingchen glanced around the shop and pointed at a simple iron sword with a straight blade: "That one, give it a try."
The shopkeeper immediately took down the sword and handed it to him. Bai Qingchen weighed it and handed it to Mo Li: "Try it and see if it works well."
Mo Li took the sword. It felt a little heavy in his hand, but much lighter than Shuangxue.
He casually performed the basic sword flower that Bai Qingchen had taught him. His movements were smooth and natural, with an indescribable charm.
"Good boy, you have some style!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up and he praised.
Bai Qingchen watched Mo Li dance with his sword, his eyes somewhat distant. He whispered subtly, "Practice with this one first. Frost and Snow was a gift from my Taoist partner after all. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to use it all the time."
Mo Li's sword dance suddenly stopped. He held the sword and turned his head sharply to look at Bai Qingchen. His expression couldn't be seen under the shadow of his bamboo hat, but there was obvious surprise in his voice: "Brother, do you have a Taoist partner?"
Bai Qingchen was stunned by his question, and then realized that he had said something wrong.
He was silent for a moment, his eyes falling on the ancient hilt of Frost and Snow through the gauze curtain hanging from his hat, his fingers unconsciously stroking the patterns on it.
After a long while, he replied in a very soft voice, as if talking to himself: "Well, he is very nice, I like him very much."
The voice carried a distant and complex sense of nostalgia, as if separated by a layer of mist.
Mo Li's hand holding the sword suddenly tightened, his knuckles turned white, and he stared at Bai Qingchen's hand stroking the sword, as if he wanted to stare through the hilt.
The boy's clear voice now suppressed a storm: "I don't like him!"
These words were spoken abruptly and with such strong emotion that even the shopkeeper next to him looked over in surprise.
"What?" Bai Qingchen didn't react for a moment.
"I don't like my brother's Taoist partner!" Mo Li's voice rose a little, with the stubbornness unique to young people.
"He doesn't care about me at all. Where was he when I was injured? Where was he when I was in danger? He's not worthy of being my partner!"
The boy's chest rose and fell slightly, as if he was trying hard to control his surging emotions.
Bai Qingchen was a little overwhelmed by his sudden and intense reaction. If he had known earlier, he would not have mentioned this matter.
I don’t know if my fellow Taoist friends from the previous life still count in this life.
Bai Qingchen subconsciously excused the man, his tone filled with helplessness: "Kid, what do you know about adult matters?"
"Everyone has their own things to do, how can they be together all the time? Dao couples... Dao couples are not bound together."
He paused, as if trying to find an excuse, "He's actually a very nice person..." When he said this, even he felt that it was a little pale and powerless.
Mo Li pursed his lips tightly and stopped talking. He just used his pair of black and white eyes to stubbornly look at Bai Qingchen through the gap in his hat, his eyes full of stubbornness and disapproval.
Bai Qingchen was a little upset by his gaze and didn't want to continue this topic. He waved his hand and said to the shopkeeper, "This sword."
After paying, he forced himself to change the subject and said, "Let's go, stop dwelling on adults' affairs."
Mo Li followed Bai Qingchen reluctantly and silently, like an abandoned puppy, exuding a low mood.
After leaving the weapon shop, Bai Qingchen didn't rush to find an inn. He took Mo Li and turned into a grocery store next door that looked a bit old. The shopkeeper was an old man with white hair and beard.
Bai Qingchen bought some dry food and asked casually as he paid, "Boss, I want to ask you something. I heard that eleven years ago, a major case occurred outside Anfeng City."
The old shopkeeper paused while wrapping something, looked up at Bai Qingchen, then glanced warily outside the door before lowering his voice: "Why do you ask this, sir? Alas, that's all in the past."
"I just heard someone mention it and I was curious." Bai Qingchen said in a flat tone.
The old shopkeeper sighed and shook his head. "I know, how could I not know? People were in a panic back then. Just 20 miles west of the city, in Beishan Valley, I heard that the entire caravan, more than a dozen people, were... Alas!"
"For a long time after that, no one dared to go out at night. Fortunately, our Bai family master was kind-hearted and knew everyone was afraid, so he specially sent more guards to patrol the city at night. This gradually calmed everyone's hearts."
Bai Qingchen clenched his hands quietly under his bamboo hat, his voice still steady: "I heard there is a survivor?"
Speaking of this, a strange glint flashed in the old shopkeeper's cloudy eyes, and his voice lowered even more: "There was such a person, but he was also a pitiful person. I heard that after being rescued that year, he was scared and stupid, and went crazy, and didn't even know who he was."
"For all these years, I've been hiding in that shabby land temple on the outskirts of the city, hanging out with a bunch of beggars, with no family to look after me. What a sin!"
Just then, a customer who had just finished shopping walked by and seemed to glance at them casually, then quickly lowered his head, picked up his things and walked out of the shop quickly.
Bai Qingchen was focused on the news about Zhou Xiong and didn't pay much attention, but Mo Li, who was standing behind him, keenly caught the look that the man gave him before he left.
He immediately tugged at Bai Qingchen's sleeve, his voice alert: "Brother, that person just now has been eavesdropping on our conversation."
Bai Qingchen suddenly turned his head to look at the door. The man had already blended into the pedestrians on the street, walked away quickly, and his back quickly disappeared.
"Walk!"
Bai Qingchen's heart was filled with alarm. Without caring about anything else, he grabbed Mo Li's wrist and said, "Let's go to the land temple on the outskirts of the city!"
The two men rushed out of the grocery store, jumped on their horses, and galloped in the direction the old shopkeeper pointed.
Bai Qingchen's heart was beating rapidly, and his bad premonition was growing stronger and stronger.
The land temple on the outskirts of the city was in ruins, with weeds growing all around the broken walls. Some distance away from the temple gate, a strong, indissoluble, and nauseating smell of rust drifted over on the wind.
It smells like blood!
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