Chapter 14
The barking of dogs in the yard became louder and louder, causing bursts of barking in the yard next to it, and even became more and more intense, with a tendency to spread to more distant yards.
"Dahei, be quiet!" A man with a hoarse voice loudly scolded the barking dog in the yard.
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Mingyan heard the creaking sound of the door being pushed open, followed by the sound of dragging footsteps.
"Who is it? So late at night..." The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and finally stopped behind the courtyard gate.
"My two brothers set out from Wu'an City, heading to Shanhe City to seek refuge with relatives, but we got lost along the way. We just saw the village and got a little excited. We apologize for disturbing your rest," Jiang Mingyan explained in a low voice. "It's late now, could we stay overnight?"
The man in the courtyard sighed, as if he was very familiar with this scene. He quickly opened the door and let them in. "Shanhe City, you've been there. This is Quyuan Manor."
Jiang Mingyan was stunned.
He had seen the map and still had some impression of Quyuan Manor.
Quyuan Manor is located in the northeast of Shanhe City, close to the Dusk Mountains. Many cultivators choose to stay in Quyuan Manor before entering the Dusk Mountains or after coming out of the Dusk Mountains.
No wonder the man was so skilled in opening the door latch just now. He must have been used to encountering cultivators who came to stay in the middle of the night because the inn was full and had to choose to stay elsewhere.
The man was not worried that the visitor had any bad intentions.
They have a third-grade spirit beast in their Quyuan Manor, which is the reason they have dared to live on the edge of the Dusk Mountains for decades.
However, when he entered the candlelit room, closed the door, turned around and saw the young boy who came to stay overnight and the basket behind him, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Just at a glance, he knew that this young boy was no ordinary creature. Now that he looked at him carefully, he was even more surprised.
The young boy was dressed in black, with a tall figure and handsome features, a pair of dark and cold eyes, and he was like a sword drawn from its sheath, sharp and clear, and his determination was hard to conceal.
But even such a young boy who made people know at first sight that he would be extraordinary in the future, at this moment, was carrying behind him like a treasure not a peerless sword, but an exquisite basket with a human cub in it.
The man hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but suspect that he was seeing things.
At this moment, the little cub in the basket turned its head to look at him, revealing a cute little pink face.
The young boy's gentle voice followed, "This is my younger brother Suisui. Although Suisui is still young, he is very well-behaved. You don't have to worry about him crying in the middle of the night."
Oh, brother.
The man then remembered that when the young boy mentioned his origins outside the courtyard gate, he was talking about two brothers.
It was indeed as the young boy said, the round-faced cub in the basket was extremely well-behaved. It suddenly found itself in an unfamiliar environment, but it didn't cry or make a fuss. It just sat quietly in the basket, like an exquisite snow doll.
When I saw him looking over, a sweet smile appeared on her soft, chubby face, and her few thin, white baby teeth were particularly cute.
The man had been in Quyuan Manor for several years and had seen all kinds of cultivators coming and going. He had even taken up weapons when monsters broke into the manor. Although he couldn't be said to be as hard-hearted as stone, he believed that he had become cold-hearted.
But now, looking at the soft human cub smiling sweetly under the candlelight, he still couldn't help but relax his expression, and his tone became softer.
"You can just call me Uncle Chen. I'm the only one living in this courtyard. Turn left from this room and there are two guest rooms. They're cleaned every day. You can choose one to stay in."
Jiang Mingyan thanked Uncle Chen and asked, "Uncle Chen, could I go to the kitchen and boil some hot water? We've been traveling through the wilderness for a while and haven't had a good wash in a while."
Jiang Mingyan himself didn't care, he could use either cold or hot water, but the little guy behind him couldn't.
Uncle Chen looked at the young boy's sincere expression and thought of the young cub's fragility. He smiled and said, "Of course, it's just some firewood. You two brothers are about the same age as my nephews. Since you both call me Uncle Chen, there's no need to be too restrained."
Jiang Mingyan nodded in agreement and silently remembered Uncle Chen's kindness.
Uncle Chen pushed open the half-closed wooden door on the right and signaled Jiang Mingyan to do as he pleased.
Jiang Mingyan hesitated for a moment, then put down the basket and gently rubbed Sui Sui's soft black hair: "Brother, go boil some hot water so that Sui Sui can take a bath later. Sui Sui can wait in the basket first, okay?"
From an angle that Uncle Chen couldn't see, Jiang Mingyan's eyes swept over the peach sapling in Sui Sui's little hand, which was motionless like a dead object.
Only after seeing the peach tree saplings move their branches did the coldness in Jiang Mingyan's eyes gradually fade away.
When he entered the house just now, he looked around the layout of the house calmly.
The main hall they were in at the moment had two doors besides the main door leading to the outside world.
One door, already known as the kitchen, led to the other, which was at the back of the main room. It was tightly shut, with candlelight glimmering through the crack. It must be Uncle Chen's residence.
Jiang Mingyan was very grateful that Uncle Chen was willing to take him and Sui Sui in, but he had to be on guard against others, especially since Sui Sui was still so soft and naive. As her older brother, he couldn't let his guard down easily.
There was only a wall between them, and there was also the green-leaved Hypericum following Sui Sui closely. Thinking of this, Jiang Mingyan relaxed a little, stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Uncle Chen didn't go back to the house. He found a chair and sat down, looking at the human cub sitting obediently in the basket. "Little kid, how old are you? You look quite small. Don't you like to eat?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sui Sui's big black eyes widened even more.
How could this uncle do this?!
He slandered the cub!!
Sui Sui's little head shook like a rattle, its hair sticking out in all directions in protest: "No, no! Wow, food!"
Jiang Mingyan had just lit the candle in the kitchen and was bending over to add firewood to the stove when he heard Uncle Chen's question in the main room. Before he could answer, he heard the little fat boy's baby voice, which had changed in pitch due to anxiety, with a smile in his eyes.
"Sui Sui isn't even a year old yet." He raised his voice to explain for his own Sui Sui, "That's why it's so small."
"Oh oh." Uncle Chen laughed heartily: "I have never raised a child, but I have made a fool of myself."
"But your brother is really well-raised and smart!" He praised. "I went to a relative's house a while ago, and he also has a child. The child is almost five years old, but he doesn't speak as well as your brother."
Even though no one saw it, Jiang Mingyan still maintained the curve of his lips with dignity, not letting them fly up and appear too proud.
"It's all because of Sui Sui's own cleverness." He calmly showed off: "We didn't teach him, he just learned it on his own. Although he still has some bumps in the road, after all, Sui Sui is still young, so there's no need to force it."
Well, indeed, he wasn't exaggerating.
"Man follows the earth" and other things don't count. His child Sui Sui hasn't learned it yet.
Words like "no", "nest", "second meal", etc. were all learned by his daughter Suisui on her own.
Uncle Chen naturally heard Jiang Mingyan's secret boasting, but he didn't think it was a big deal.
He looked at the human cub sitting in the basket, its little head raised proudly as Jiang Mingyan spoke, and understood very well.
If he also had such a cute and well-behaved baby at home, he would carry the baby around the village every day and praise it to everyone he met!
After this conversation, both of them found each other very pleasing to the eye.
Uncle Chen felt that although this young boy looked cold, he was sincere to his younger brother and was a good candidate.
Jiang Mingyan thought that Uncle Chen had an excellent eye as he could see the extraordinary qualities of his family's Suisui with just a few words.
Although one still needs to be on guard, this does not prevent Jiang Mingyan from feeling that Uncle Chen is someone worth making friends with.
Now that they were closer, Uncle Chen was less reserved when speaking.
"I think you two brothers must be from an extraordinary family. Why do you want to go and live with your relatives?"
Jiang Mingyan explained, "After our parents passed away, Sui Sui and I were left without support. The younger members of our clan often bullied us, and the elders were unwilling to stand up for us. That's why I wanted to take Sui Sui to live with my aunt."
"Alas!" Uncle Chen sighed and asked him, "Now you've taken the wrong road, do you want to turn back and head to Shanhe City?"
Jiang Mingyan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Sui Sui and I have never met my aunt, and we don't know what the situation is like over there. Since we've already made the wrong choice, we might as well make the best of it."
"I can collect herbs and work, so I think I can always support myself."
"That's not bad." Uncle Chen nodded repeatedly, obviously agreeing.
"We are new here. Could you tell us something about Quyuan Manor? I would like to make preparations in advance to avoid breaking any taboos." Jiang Mingyan requested.
"Sure, sure." It wasn't a big deal, so Chen Bo readily agreed and introduced them, "Although our Quyuan Manor isn't as lively as Shanhe City, it's also a very bustling place. Cultivators entering and leaving the Dusk Mountains all like to stay here."
"Don't underestimate us, we are just a village, but we cover a vast area."
After Uncle Chen's introduction, Jiang Mingyan basically understood the situation of Quyuan Manor.
Quyuanzhuang was established decades ago.
Because there are spiritual beasts enshrined here and guarding the place, there is no need to fear attacks from monsters, and it soon attracted the scattered villages around.
The originally isolated Quyuan Manor has been expanding and is now divided into five parts: east, south, west, north and center. The one they are in now is the West Manor.
Most of the people living in the four villages in the east, south, west and north are ordinary people. They live and multiply here, leading a simple life of working from sunrise to sunset.
Zhongzhuang is more prosperous, with many inns and shops, and many cultivators come to Zhongzhuang to rest and trade.
There was a thoughtful look in Jiang Mingyan's eyes.
After the water boiled, Uncle Chen helped them put the water into buckets and carried them into the guest room, then went back to sleep.
Jiang Mingyan closed the door tightly, took out Suisui's small bathtub from Lan Qiuying's bracelet, added hot water, tested the water temperature, and then put the naked little guy in.
"Sui Sui, what do you say about us picking some spiritual plants from the outermost part of the Dusk Mountains and then selling them to the medicine shop in Zhongzhuang?" Jiang Mingyan thought slowly as he gently scrubbed the soft little fat arms and legs.
There are only some first-grade monsters at the outermost edge of the Dusk Mountains, all of which are practicing Qi. With the Green-Leaf Hypericum around, they don't have to worry too much.
Jiang Mingyan had memorized the collection of spiritual plants and he had memories of most of them.
Thinking about it this way, it does work.
However, Jiang Mingyan had not yet visited Zhongzhuang to see the specific situation, so he could only consider this for now.
"We can only talk about it tomorrow."
Finally, Jiang Mingyan rubbed Sui Sui's fluffy little head, looked at the little guy's white and rosy face fumigated by the heat, and couldn't help but lean over to bite it gently, saying with emotion: "Our Sui Sui is so cute."
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