Chapter 49
In the human world, a town market was bustling with people in the afternoon.
A small vendor selling steamed buns was shouting at the top of his voice when he suddenly felt the light in front of his eyes dim. He looked up and saw a tall and slender woman wearing a veil standing in front of the stall.
The thin gauze hanging from the veil covered her face, leaving only a pair of white and slender hands exposed. Her fingertips were shiny and it was obvious that she was a noble person who had never been stained by water.
"Excuse me, do you have any mung bean cakes for sale?"
A clear voice came from behind the gauze curtain. The vendor was stunned, his face full of surprise and suspicion. He couldn't help but quickly look at the other person from head to toe.
The whole demeanor and the dress she wore made her look like a pampered young lady from a wealthy family. How could she appear alone in this noisy market and come to his steamed bun stall to ask for mung bean cakes?!
The small vendor was worried.
Could it be that I am blind and mistook the distressed pheasant for a phoenix?
Otherwise, how could this young lady not know that the precious mung bean cake that only royal family members and nobles can eat is not an ordinary item sold by small vendors like them?
He felt something was wrong and was afraid of getting into trouble, so he was about to wave the person away, but he saw a white hand reaching out from the wide sleeves and gently placing a small yellow ingot on the steamer tray that was still steaming.
"Buy as many as you have." The other party's voice was calm, but it carried an unquestionable tone.
Hearing this, the vendor's eyes widened instantly, and a flattering smile immediately covered his face. He rubbed his hands and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, little lady, just wait a moment, I'll bring it to you right away!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran into a nearby shop with a grocery pawn shop sign.
Soon, the vendor came out holding a rather exquisite carved wooden box.
When you open the lid of the box, you will see more than a dozen small, light yellow pastries neatly arranged inside. They are fragrant with the aroma of fresh mung beans.
"Guaranteed fresh." The vendor lowered his voice, covered his mouth with his hand, and said with a wink, "It was just shipped from the palace this morning."
He quickly closed the lid and carefully wrapped the wooden box with a piece of clean cotton cloth. He said attentively, "If you like it, you can come to me next time. I can make you anything, such as Sushan Guifei Red Chestnut Cake or Donkey Rolls!"
The other party didn't say much, just said there was no need to look for it, took the box, and hurriedly turned and left.
The figure quickly disappeared in the bustling crowd.
After watching the figure go away, the vendor immediately grabbed the gold ingot, put it to his mouth and bit it carefully, leaving a shallow tooth mark.
After confirming it was real gold, he chuckled happily and quickly put it in his pocket. He looked in the direction the man disappeared and muttered to himself, "Wow... maybe she really is a phoenix fairy who has fallen into the mortal world..."
Tang An, holding the box, walked faster and faster in the crowd, almost jogging, until he completely left the bustling market and turned into a quiet alley, then he slowed down a little.
By the cold pond, the white dragon resting on a huge rock suddenly flared its nostrils and opened its tightly closed eyes.
Mung bean cake!!!
He instantly transformed into a human form and was about to fly away following the tempting smell.
The next second, a figure was faster than him and gently stretched out his hand to block him.
"Are you back?"
Shen Qi took a closer look and saw that it was Tang An, then he suppressed his anxiety.
"You've been gone for a long time."
Tang An pulled Shen Qi back onto the rock beside the pond and opened the box that was tightly wrapped in cotton cloth. "I went to many shops, but none of them sold this. I finally bought it by chance at a small stall selling steamed buns."
Shen Qi reached out to take it, but was gently slapped away by Tang An: "Have you washed your hands?"
Shen Qi: “…No.”
Only then did he remember that he was too busy remembering what to eat. He immediately flashed to the edge of the cold pond, rubbed his hands in the clear lake water, and teleported back. He couldn't wait to pick up a piece of mung bean cake and stuff it into his mouth.
Tang An found it a little funny to see him wolfing down his food with his cheeks bulging, but his gaze quickly fell back to Shen Qi's overly pale, almost bloodless face, and his smile gradually faded.
He lowered his eyes slightly and lowered his voice: "Sorry, I still can't remember anything."
Two months have passed since I escaped from the Ninth Heaven with Shen Qi with the help of A Tao.
During these two months, whenever Shen Qi opened his eyes, he would cut his wrists to feed him blood; when he closed his eyes, he would conserve his energy and accumulate tax revenue. Occasionally, when he woke up, he would want to eat mung bean cakes. However, because the place where they had been hiding was too remote and desolate, Tang An was worried about leaving the weak Shen Qi alone, so he was unable to go.
It was only recently that they settled in this small village not far from the market.
There is an abandoned and dilapidated Taoist temple on the mountain behind the village. The only living thing inside is a dying wild fox with an injured hind leg.
Shen Qi rescued it, and the fox, being very human-like, stayed to guard their temporary residence, and occasionally brought back some game.
Most of the mung bean cakes were quickly eaten, and when only the last three pieces were left, Shen Qi seemed to finally come back to his senses from the temptation of the food and remembered that there was someone next to him.
He awkwardly pushed the box towards Tang An and asked, "Do you want to try it too?"
Tang An shook his head and smiled: "I don't really like sweet things."
His mind was obviously still immersed in the depression just now.
Seeing him like this, Shen Qi reached out and gently rubbed the top of his head with a soothing look: "It's okay, as long as I remember it, your name is Tang An, not Gu An."
Tang An paused when he heard this, raised his eyes, and looked straight at Shen Qi: "Will I really die?"
Shen Qi had told him roughly about another world.
There were iron boxes that could run, big birds that could fly into the sky, and it was a strange and bizarre world, completely different from the one he saw when he woke up.
Shen Qi also said that there he had a partner named Chi Ying.
Tang An's voice trembled slightly. "Can I still go back alive? Back to that world, back to Chi Ying?"
Shen Qi saw the uneasiness in his eyes, put down the cake, looked back at him with an extremely firm look, and said solemnly: "With me here, I will definitely reunite you, I promise."
Tang An smiled and said, "Although I have forgotten everything, for some reason, I always feel that you are particularly kind."
It’s like family members finally reuniting after a long time and distance.
Hearing the word cordial, Shen Qi couldn't help but think of the time when they first met and Tang An almost burned him to a crisp. He smiled helplessly, "It's really not easy to hear the word cordial from you."
Tang An: "You are just like my dad."
Shen Qi: “…”
In the silence, the face of a middle-aged man with a kind yet dignified face flashed through Tang An's mind.
Then, there was another gentle and pretty face of a woman. She was half squatting with her arms outstretched. A toddler boy giggled and staggered into her arms.
'Want a kiss?'
A slightly immature male voice with a smile sounded in my mind.
'……don't want. '
"Really?"
The voice approached, with a hint of mischief.
A face appeared in front of him that was about 70% similar to Shen Qi, but more youthful.
The other person's eyebrows were raised, his smile was brilliant, and he was looking at him intently.
"Tang An, you clearly want to kiss me."
'……'
Tang An's nose felt sore and his throat choked. He subconsciously retorted in a low voice: "That's not the case..."
I didn't want to kiss him, I just saw the ice cream stain on the corner of his mouth and wanted to reach out and wipe it off.
Seeing his eyes red, Shen Qi thought he was feeling unwell again. He was anxious and wanted to lift his sleeves without thinking: "Are you feeling unwell again? Don't be afraid, I..."
"No! I'm fine!"
Tang An quickly held his hand, took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and explained, "I just remembered something. These past few days, some images have been flashing through my mind, intermittently."
"That's a good thing!"
Shen Qi’s eyes lit up, and he said happily: “Maybe you will remember it soon!!”
Tang An also hoped so, he hesitated for a moment, and said with a little uncertainty: "But Shen Qi."
Shen Qi: “Hmm?”
Tang An carefully recalled the face of the young man in his dream and said thoughtfully, "That... Chi Ying in my dream, seems to look very similar to you?"
Shen Qi: “Hmm…Hmm?!!!”
He suddenly realized what was happening, his cheeks flushed red, and he quickly waved his hands and explained incoherently.
"Don't misunderstand me! This is a long story! The current me and you—er, not the current you, but Gu An, me, Chen Qi, and Gu An, there's nothing wrong between us! There's absolutely no such dirty relationship as you think. But you and Chi Ying, you are our... future lives in a sense? Yes, future lives! You fell in love, and the cause and effect of this fate is truly amazing..."
Tang An's face suddenly became clear, and then he caught the key information and asked in confusion, "How do you know all this so clearly?"
Shen Qi was suddenly stuck.
He hadn't figured out how to explain to Tang An that not only had he been to the modern era, but he had also turned into a husky, and watched and even participated in, to some extent, the marriage crisis between Tang An and Chi Ying.
Under Tang An's clear and inquisitive gaze, Shen Qi hesitated for a long time before finally picking up the remaining box of pastries, standing up and making a tactical retreat. "This is a long story, why don't we go back and eat while we talk? Ah, it's getting late, time to go back and feed the foxes."
After saying this, he walked quickly towards the Taoist temple, looking almost embarrassed.
Tang An looked at his back as he almost fled in panic. He knew that he was trying to avoid him, but he couldn't bear to ask too much.
He smiled, stood up, brushed off the grass debris on his body, put his hands behind his back, and slowly swung to follow.
Late at night, everything in the Podao Temple was silent.
Tang An, who was sleeping soundly, felt a wet touch on his face and heard warm breathing in his ears.
His eyelids trembled, and he opened them a crack with difficulty. With the faint moonlight coming in from the window, he saw that it was the little fox rescued by Shen Qi who was anxiously nudging him with its nose.
He was very sleepy and subconsciously wanted to wave his hand to stop it from making noises, but the little fox grabbed his sleeve and tried to pull it out with all its might.
"Well... stop messing around..."
Tang An mumbled vaguely and tried to pull back his sleeve.
The little fox whimpered and persevered. Seeing that the thin pajamas were about to be pulled off her shoulders, Tang An had to struggle to sit up.
"What's wrong?" He rubbed his eyes and asked good-temperedly, pulling up his loose collar.
Seeing that he woke up, the little fox immediately loosened his sleeves, turned around twice anxiously, and then kept pointing his nose at the open space in front of the left, making rapid humming sounds in his throat.
Tang An looked over in a daze.
The front left is empty.
But Shen Qi, who was supposed to be meditating and regulating his breathing there, was missing.
Huh? Shen Qi is missing?!
Tang An's sleepiness was instantly scared away. He stood up quickly, his heart pounding, and looked around anxiously.
The dilapidated idol, the dusty altar, the hay piled in the corner...
Apart from these, there is nothing else!
“Shen Qi?!”
Tang An raised his voice and shouted, but the only response he got was an empty echo.
Did you go to the WC?
Wait... He seemed to remember the word WC...
Tang An shook his head and forced himself to calm down.
He could feel that his lost memories were slowly returning bit by bit, but the most important thing right now was to find Shen Qi.
The little fox cried out anxiously again, tugged at his trouser legs with its claws, then turned and ran out of the Taoist temple. After running a few steps, it looked back at him, motioning him to follow.
Tang An immediately understood: "Do you know where he is?"
The little fox nodded very humanly, turned around and rushed into the thick night like a red lightning.
Tang An didn't dare to delay and followed immediately.
Although his body was weak, fortunately he was not night blind. He stumbled and followed the little fox through the woods, with the rustling sound of branches and leaves and his own rapid breathing in his ears.
I don’t know how long I ran before I saw a faint glow of fire ahead.
The little fox slowed down and became more alert.
Tang An approached quietly, pushed aside the bushes that blocked his view, and the scene before him made his scalp tingle.
In front of a simple earthen house, there was a bonfire burning, and on the fire was a rough wooden frame. On the wooden frame, there was a small white dragon tied with a rough hemp rope.
If not Shen Qi, then who else could it be? ! !
At this moment, Shen Qi seemed to be restrained by some magic, and even his struggle seemed powerless. His originally beautiful jade-like scales had been blackened by the fireworks, and there was even a faint smell of burning in the air.
Tang An was so frightened that he tore off his outer robe without thinking and rushed to put out the fire.
But the next second, a long stick like a dead branch suddenly stretched out and hit his wrist accurately. The pain made him gasp and his outer robe fell to the ground.
"Where did this wild fox come from? How dare you ruin my good deeds?"
A hoarse and unpleasant voice sounded.
Tang An looked up and saw an old man with disheveled hair and ragged clothes standing next to the fire.
The man had his eyes closed and his face was thin. He was actually blind, but his attack just now was surprisingly accurate.
The little fox stood in front of Tang Yan, bared its teeth at the blind man, and growled threateningly.
Tang An suppressed his fear and anger and shouted, "This snake is mine! You stole it while I was asleep and wanted to roast it and eat it?! Let him go!"
Upon hearing this, the blind man showed a strange look of surprise on his face and sneered, "Snake? Little kid, although I am blind, my heart is not blind. This is clearly a rare young dragon, a tonic. How could it be a lowly worm?"
Tang An's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, I met someone who knows what I’m doing.
He forced himself to remain calm and changed his tone, "Even if it's a dragon, it's still mine! Let him go!"
The blind man chuckled and said, "What I stole belongs to me! If you have the guts, go steal one yourself."
Tang An was so angry that he took a deep breath: "Do you have any shame?!"
"Face?"
The blind man seemed to have heard a huge joke, and the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together: "What the hell is a face? Can it be eaten as food? Can it be more delicious than this meat?!"
As he said this, he actually used the stick to pick up the half-cooked Chen Qi on the rack, put it to his mouth, blew on it, and opened his mouth to bite it.
At the critical moment, Tang An quickly patted the little fox.
The little fox understood what he meant and shot out like an arrow, accurately grabbing Shen Qi and pulling him hard, while at the same time kicking the blind man's stick-holding hand with its hind legs.
"Hey, hey—"
The blind man felt pain and loosened his grip.
The little fox took the opportunity to hold Shen Qi in its mouth, turned around and ran deep into the dense forest.
Tang An also reacted very quickly. Almost at the same time, he picked up a thick dead branch on the ground and used all his strength to swing it towards the blind man's forehead.
Although the blind man could not see, he had excellent hearing. Hearing the sound of the wind, he dodged swiftly in three or two steps, and then hit Tang An's wrist with a stick with his backhand accurately.
“Bang!”
The dead branches fell to the ground with a sound.
Tang An felt a sharp pain in his wrist and couldn't help but bend over and cry out in pain.
Damn it! It hurts so much!!!
Seeing the blind man cursing and about to chase the little fox, Tang An ignored the pain and quickly stood up, grabbing the blind man's tattered collar tightly and saying, "Stop right there!!!"
The blind man didn't expect that he would be grabbed by a child like a drag. He immediately felt humiliated and screamed in anger.
At this moment, the little fox, which had already run for a distance, stopped and carefully placed the unconscious Shen Qi in the safe grass in the distance. Then, like red lightning, it returned and pounced again, biting the blind man's hand that was forming a seal.
"Ahhh! You damned beast! Let go!!!"
The blind man cursed in great pain and swung his arms hard, trying to throw the little fox away, but the little fox held on tightly and refused to let go no matter how hard he shook.
Tang An saw the opportunity, endured the severe pain, raised his foot and kicked the blind man's lower body with all his strength.
The blind man was caught off guard and suffered a heavy blow to his vitals. He let out a shrill howl and immediately curled up to the ground, no longer caring about anything else.
Tang An also took the opportunity to break free, picked up the brave little fox, turned around and ran desperately in the direction where Shen Qi and the little fox had just disappeared without looking back.
The duck that was about to be in his mouth flew away, and he was beaten. The blind man curled up on the ground, covering his lower body, shaking with anger, and roaring at the darkness at the top of his lungs.
"Just wait for me!!!"
"I will never let you go!!!"
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