Chapter 8 The Strange Tales of Huatan Town: He Can't Speak!
The endless branches and leaves of the tree unfurl and curl.
Even though it was almost evening in June, the mountains were still unbearably hot.
Lou Yan carried the Pixiu cub and hurried along—this was Heng Qichun's instruction.
He said that neither Fu Yusheng nor Wei Xiuzhu were in the mountains, and the Pixiu might not be used to being at Luduan Gate, so Lou Yan should take it down the mountain with him so that he could take care of it at all times.
Lou Yan thought to himself, if this little thing were really handed over to Fu Yusheng, who raises ferocious beasts every day, it would probably be more than just "unaccustomed" to it.
The little thing was quite heavy, and Lou Yan had a particularly hard time walking. He carried the Pixiu cub and huffed and puffed his way up a long mountain road, and sure enough, he saw the carriage parked at the foot of the mountain.
Lou Yan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, lifted the curtain, and climbed inside.
Heng Qichun was already sitting in the carriage waiting.
Upon seeing that handsome and alluring face, Lou Yan's heart skipped a beat.
He placed the small beast in his arms on the soft seat beside him, bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and then called out "Master".
Heng Qichun responded indifferently.
A pair of clear, bright eyes looked him up and down, seemingly puzzled, and suddenly asked, "Are you that tired?"
Lou Yan raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, thinking to himself, "You're just talking without understanding the situation."
The winding mountain road of the Eighteen Realms is like a fighting snake. It takes more than an hour to get down from Shenxiao Palace, and his legs are still shaking.
But he would never back down in front of Heng Qichun, so he grinned generously, revealing his canine tooth at the corner of his mouth, "No, I'm not tired at all."
Fearing that Heng Qichun wouldn't believe him, he even added, "It's just been really hot lately."
Heng Qichun glanced at him and seemed to chuckle softly.
Lou Yan had no idea what he was thinking, and at this moment she had no intention of asking.
He increasingly felt that his master was unreasonable and simply impossible to get along with.
The carriage had already started moving slowly, and Lou Yan simply leaned against the carriage wall behind him, lazily playing with the Pixiu cub and snatching gold.
Before long, the feeling of heat returned.
It's that familiar feeling, driven by the scorching wind, so hot that you feel like your internal organs are about to be squeezed out of sweat.
The carriage curtain was blown open, and the hot June wind swept in, tangling people's hair into a mess.
Lou Yan frantically tried to grab his braids, sweat pouring down his forehead. Suddenly realizing something, he turned to look at Heng Qichun sitting not far away.
The deity sat upright there, his robes unmoved, his eyes gently closed, undisturbed by the gust of wind.
Lou Yan suddenly realized—Heng Qichun had taken away the summer heat avoidance technique!
No wonder it's so hot now.
It turns out that this summer heat avoidance technique was always present when he descended the mountain from the Eighteen Realms.
Because he refused to admit that he was too tired from climbing down the mountain, he simply stopped using the technique!
So eager to force him to back down...
Lou Yan gritted his teeth indignantly, but had to admire Heng Qichun's ruthless methods.
The sweltering wind blew in relentlessly, making his clothes stick to his body. Lou Yan endured it for a moment before speaking quickly, "The mountain road is too far."
Fearing that his submission wasn't enough, he even lowered his head and said, "It's hot, Master."
"It's just playing along; anyone can do that," Lou Yan thought to herself.
Heng Qichun was always one to respond to gentle persuasion but not force. Upon hearing this, he indeed glanced at him, his eyes indifferent, but Lou Yan could indeed see that familiar emotion in his gaze.
Or it could be called pity.
He raised his hand, his fingertips gently forming a seal, and a divine incantation emanated from his pale fingertips, filling the carriage with a light halo.
The restless wind stops here.
The self-inflicted injury ploy worked perfectly, and Lou Yan comfortably leaned back in his car seat.
The carriage was small, and the compartments were even cramped. Lou Yan only needed to raise her eyes slightly to see Heng Qichun's appearance clearly.
Night had fallen, and only a single lamp on the side of the car provided illumination.
Heng Qichun sat upright at the very bottom of that lamp, his face as white as a piece of paper soaked in rain, looking exceptionally weak.
Lou Yan then thought of the scene in Yingjie Hall.
The god, who was high and mighty in the eyes of the world, knelt down to receive admonitions and was punished until he was covered in blood, but he refused to bow his head. This was completely different from his usual gentle and humble appearance.
Lou Yan subconsciously pressed her chest to confirm that she really couldn't feel the spot where she had been struck by lightning.
So, Heng Qichun...
Lou Yan sniffed, trying to find a trace of blood in the carriage filled with the fragrance of lotus.
He failed.
Apart from his excessively pale complexion, Heng Qichun didn't look injured at all.
Lou Yan withdrew his hand, his mouth already uncontrollably open.
"Why……"
Why are they being punished for two days in a row?
As soon as Lou Yan opened her mouth, Heng Qichun opened her eyes and looked over. Upon meeting those icy gazes, Lou Yan stopped speaking halfway through her sentence.
He averted his gaze, refusing to look at Heng Qichun's pale face again, and silently vowed in his heart that he would never care about him, even if it meant his death.
So he turned his thoughts back to the earlier topic of "the mountain road being too long," and asked Heng Qichun, "Why don't you fly on your sword, Master?"
Heng Qichun looked at him, puzzled. "You can fly on a sword?"
Lou Yan was stunned for a moment before awkwardly shutting up.
He belatedly realized that at this time in his previous life, he hadn't yet learned sword control techniques.
So the little wolf smiled knowingly, and even leaned forward, his eyes crinkling as he said, "Master, you can take me with you."
"I don't like sharing a sword with others."
Lou Yan stiffened his neck and pulled his head back, grinding his teeth indignantly.
Why pretend to be so high and mighty?
When they first picked me up from the mountains, didn't they hold me in their arms and fly on their swords?
Did you think I'd forgotten?
The details of the previous life always intertwine with this life. Lou Yan leaned against the carriage wall, grabbing a soft pillow and kneading it wantonly.
His thoughts drifted far away, and sometimes he couldn't help but think—if his master hadn't been so cold, perhaps they wouldn't have ended up dying together.
The long night was silent.
The carriage descended from the immortal mountains of the Eighteen Realms, flowing gently into the human world like spring water from the Divine Firmament Palace.
The two horses neighed softly as they arrived at their destination—Huatan Town.
"Most families in the town are surnamed 'Tan', and most of the more than one hundred people in the town practice Taoist magic. The village head is named Tan Chengyi—the father of the missing girl."
Heng Qichun's voice was very soft, sounding exceptionally elegant and serene in the bustling market.
Lou Yan followed closely behind him, still holding the sleepy Pixiu cub in her arms, her gaze uncontrollably drawn to the scene on the street.
Even though it was late at night, the market was still bustling with activity.
Various talismans were pasted on the shop lintels, and vendors of all kinds held up lanterns for illumination. Their stalls were filled with various drawn talismans, which were illuminated intermittently by the dim, blood-red light of the cinnabar lanterns.
The street was crowded with people, and young children were holding hands and playing together, laughing incessantly around a disheveled, crazy woman in a corner.
The cries of vendors were incessant.
"Heaven is round and earth is square, laws and decrees are in nine chapters; now I write, and all ghosts will hide." — Exorcism Talisman
"The Vermilion Bird's spiritual light, with its divine might spreading within, illuminates all calamities with its firelight." — Fire-controlling talisman.
"The three periods of intense heat recede, and the nine summers return to spring; a touch of coolness enters the body with this talisman." — Summer Heat Relief Talisman
The entire town of Huatan was shrouded in the aura of cinnabar and blood ink, and even the wind carried the scent of imperial edicts.
To avoid disturbing ordinary people with his immortal sect identity, Heng Qichun withdrew his summer-avoidance spell as soon as he entered the town, causing Lou Yan to break out in a sweat after only a few steps. He then squeezed into the crowd while holding the Pixiu cub that had completely fallen asleep in his arms.
“I want this!” he said, holding up the heat-relief talisman.
The stall owner was an old man with white hair and beard. When he saw Lou Yan, he stroked his beard and smiled, saying very gently and politely, "Summer relief talisman, two qian of silver per piece."
Lou Yan exclaimed, "Ah! So expensive?"
"This year's drought and heatwave have caused immense suffering for the villagers. Everyone is relying on these heat-relieving talismans to survive," the old man said. "I'm the only one in the entire Huatan Town who knows how to draw these talismans. Do you want to buy one?"
"If you're not going to buy it, then leave it."
Lou Yan raised his arm high and held up the thin talisman, shaking it maliciously, so that the old man could not reach it even with his outstretched hand.
In the bustling marketplace, he resembled a mischievous boy.
"Who said I wasn't going to buy it?"
"Master~" Lou Yan turned and called to the man standing not far away, "Could you lend me two coins of silver?"
The disciples of the Eighteen Realms were all under the care of their respective masters in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and Lou Yan didn't have a single penny in his hands.
Based on his understanding of Heng Qichun, Lou Yan was confident that he could obtain this huge sum of money.
Sure enough, not long after he finished speaking, Heng Qichun walked over from the other side of the crowd and threw down a piece of silver.
“One,” he said.
"Alright!" The old man accepted the money with a smile and instructed, "Young master, stick this talisman between your eyebrows for three breaths. It will keep you cool all over for twelve hours. The talisman will disappear on its own and will not obscure your handsome appearance."
Lou Yan rubbed the talisman in his hand, eager to try it out, and didn't forget to turn his head to ask Heng Qichun, "Master, don't you need it?"
Heng Qichun lowered his eyes indifferently, not even glancing at her, then tucked his sleeves into his pocket, turned and walked away, saying, "No need."
It seems that cold-hearted people are particularly unafraid of heat.
That's really impressive.
Lou Yan withdrew his gaze, ignoring Heng Qichun who had just given him two coins. He then placed the talisman between his eyebrows, his lips moving as he quietly recited an incantation.
A flash of light appeared on his forehead, and the talisman instantly disappeared.
It looks like it's already in effect.
Seeing that Heng Qichun showed no intention of waiting for him, Lou Yan quickly called out to him.
"Awooo?" He paused for a moment after uttering the sound, then raised his hand to press his throat. He immediately became agitated, howling wildly at Heng Qichun's back, "Awooooo???"
Amidst the cacophony of hawking, his voice sounded like that of an untamed wolf, abandoned, urgent, and pitiful.
Heng Qichun stopped, his cold eyes glancing sideways at her, his brow furrowing. "What's going on?"
Lou Yan pointed at her mouth, gesturing with both hands and feet, and cried out, "Awooooo!!"
He can no longer speak!
The baby Pixiu in her arms was startled awake. It probably realized something and began to grin and laugh rudely.
Hearing the noise, the old man in front of the stall quickly moved out and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear! I drew it wrong! I drew a silencing talisman instead of a summer heat relief talisman!"
“Young master, you…” he said with a forced smile, “Why don’t you just bear with it? It will untie itself in just one day.”
Lou Yan almost jumped up and bit his neck, "Ouch? Ouch ouch ouch ouch!"
Seeing this, the old man suddenly squeezed out a few tears, tightly clutching the loose silver in his hand. He squatted down in front of his stall, sighing repeatedly, "This poor old man has no children, and my elderly mother is seriously ill and bedridden. I rely entirely on this meager income to supplement my family's income. Young master, please have mercy on me—"
Lou Yan was stunned for a moment, then bent down to look at the old man's tears, and his wrinkled nose relaxed in surprise.
He hadn't spoken to many people about it, so he assumed the old man was telling the truth.
"Oh..." Okay then.
Heng Qichun saw everything and did not stop them upon hearing this, but a smile appeared in his eyes.
He slightly raised his chin, gesturing to Lou Yan, "Then let's go. We still need to get to Tan Chengyi's house tonight."
"Awoo~" Lou Yan followed, sticking to Heng Qichun's back like a tail, but did not give up pleading for herself.
Master, please help me untie this!
Heng Qichun chuckled, seemingly amused by his appearance. She raised her hand to brush aside Lou Yan's slightly curled hair and looked at the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, saying, "I don't understand. Just take it as a lesson."
"Let's see if you dare to indulge in pleasure again."
Lou Yan wanted to yell something more, but suddenly everything went quiet.
"Bang—"
Suddenly, a long note sounded from the watchman's horn, followed by two rapid clanging sounds.
The night watchman's voice drifted over from afar: "It's the third watch of the night, all is well."
The sound of the night watchman's gong was quite ordinary; Lou Yan often heard it in the Eighteen Realms and didn't find it anything special.
However, after only a short while, the surrounding vendors began to close their doors and refuse customers. The old man who sold Louyan talismans dragged a young child into the house, who appeared to be his grandson.
A strong wind howled, the heat was unbearable, and everyone dispersed, the once bustling market instantly returning to silence.
Only the madwoman remained, wandering the empty alley, laughing foolishly as she imitated the night watchman's chanting.
"Bang—"
"At midnight, all was well and nothing happened."
A note from the author:
----------------------
The first major plot has begun! This book is a mix of plot and romance. Thank you for your support!
There are little red envelopes dropping in the comments section! [Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose][Dog head carrying a rose]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
