Chapter 34: Darkness...
Chapter Thirty-Four: Darkness
Linghao didn't leave the city, or rather, she didn't leave its outskirts. Someone had very kindly offered to treat her to a meal, so she stayed. She figured it was close to the city behind, and it would be easy to turn back and find lodging.
So she sat down in front of a fire, waiting for someone to roast a chicken for her.
Linghao looked at the roast chicken turning over the fire and couldn't help but look at the person next to her. "Seventh Master, is this all you're treating me to?" she asked, pointing to the roast chicken.
"Isn't this good enough?" Hong Qigong looked at Ling Hao in shock. "I'm a beggar. For a beggar to treat you to roast chicken is already better than any delicacy in heaven or on earth."
"Oh, is that so?" Ling Hao asked.
Hong Qigong nodded, "That's right, that's exactly it."
“In that case, I’ll use all the delicacies from heaven and earth from now on, and you can use this roast chicken,” Linghao replied.
“But then again,” Hong Qigong immediately changed his tune, “I treated you to my best roast chicken, so you have to treat me too… What’s this?” He looked at what Ling Hao had taken out, his face full of confusion.
“Seasoning,” Ling Hao said matter-of-factly. “You’re just roasting this chicken dry, how can it taste good? You need seasoning. Here, you can borrow it, don’t be shy, return it when you’re done.”
Hong Qigong took the seasonings, smelled them, picked out a few, and carefully sprinkled them on the roast chicken. "I thought you were going to give them to me, but it turns out you just lent them to me."
“The seasonings are very expensive, Mr. Qi,” Ling Hao said.
Before coming into this world, she had no idea that seasonings could be so expensive. The ones she carried with her were carefully selected, bought so that even if things happened like this, she could still have something good to eat. People always need a little something to aspire to; she couldn't afford delicacies, but she also couldn't allow herself to suffer unnecessarily.
When she has the means, she eats well; when she doesn't, she'll eat baked buns. In short, she paid for all these seasonings; there's no way she'll give them away for free.
"You little rascal, you're quite interesting," Hong Qigong said with a smile. "Didn't your master give you any money or something?"
"No." Ling Hao said this with a bitter expression. Her master was really heartless. If she hadn't had some spare change and hadn't found a quick way to make money—by taking bounties—she would have starved herself long ago.
Hong Qigong twirled a roasted chicken on a tree branch with one hand, while slapping his thigh with the other and laughing wildly, "Hahaha, that old man Feng Qingyang must have forgotten, hahaha..."
"Impossible, my master's memory is excellent." Ling Hao glared at Hong Qigong. Although she often complained about her old master in her heart, she wouldn't allow others to say anything about him. No matter what, he was still her master; she could complain about him herself, but others couldn't.
She always distinguishes between inside and outside, and that's how she always has been.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything then." Hong Qigong thought to himself that this little girl was quite protective of her master. She would know later that what he said was right.
"Seventh Master, how did you and my master become friends?" Ling Hao asked curiously. "My master is about seventy or eighty years old, while you look like you're only in your thirties. There's too much of an age difference between you two."
"Does a large age difference mean we can't be friends? Little girl, that's not the right way of thinking." Hong Qigong didn't say how they met, because he felt that if he did, the little girl would definitely laugh at him.
"Could you please stop calling me 'little girl'?"
“That won’t do. First, I’m much older than you, beggar; second, I’m of the same generation as your master.”
Ling Hao: "..."
No one told her that this younger version of Hong Qigong cared so much about seniority.
Although she was speechless, there was still something to be happy about: Hong Qigong's roast chicken skills were absolutely superb, and with the seasoning she provided, it was simply unbeatable. She had to admit, it was the best roast chicken she had ever eaten!
Seeing Ling Hao engrossed in her meal, Hong Qigong proudly put his hands on his hips. That's right, his roast chicken skills were top-notch. It's just that there wasn't enough time today, otherwise he would have made another beggar's chicken to broaden this little girl's horizons, hahaha…
As night fell, Linghao, holding Yunduo's hand, turned back and went to an inn in the city to stay the night. She invited Hong Qigong to come along, but Hong Qigong refused, insisting that he was a beggar and should stay in a beggar's den. He then turned and went to find the place where the Beggars' Gang gathered in the city.
Linghao didn't want to force him, so she turned around and went to the inn alone. As she walked, she suddenly smiled.
After descending the mountain, she met many people, but her connections with them were all fleeting. This meeting was followed by a quick parting, but perhaps they would meet again. To face farewells with equanimity—perhaps this is part of the journey of life.
Thinking this, Linghao was in a good mood and even hummed a little tune in her mind. If there hadn't been so many people around, she might have hummed it out loud.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiao didn't leave either. He simply took a stroll and returned, and the inn he stayed at was just two streets away from the one Ling Hao stayed at. He wasn't one to give up easily, and now that he had taken an interest in Ling Hao, he naturally wouldn't give up so easily.
Despite Ling Hao's formidable martial arts skills and the formidable Hong Qigong, Yang Xiao's rebellious spirit was fueled by their prowess, and he was determined to give them a try.
At night, the katydids outside the window were chirping incessantly. Yang Xiao, who had already fallen asleep, suddenly felt something was amiss and abruptly sat up. With a wave of his hand, the candle on the table was lit. He looked around but didn't sense anything wrong.
Yang Xiao was unrestrained and self-willed, yet he had managed to live a long and healthy life, not only because of his high level of martial arts but also because he trusted his intuition. Although nothing seemed amiss in the room, he still felt something was off.
So he got up, put on his clothes, and looked around. Just as he stood by the window, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned his head and saw a dark figure standing not far behind him. For some reason, despite his martial arts skills, Yang Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.
This was the first time in many years that he felt such a chill run through his body. However, Yang Xiao couldn't show it, otherwise it would be considered stage fright. In a face-to-face confrontation, stage fright would inevitably lead to defeat. "Who are you, sir?"
“You shouldn’t have bothered her.” The figure spoke; it was a young man’s voice. His voice, which should have been clear and bright, sounded sinister at this moment. “I have to think twice before getting close to her; what right do you have to bother her?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold wind suddenly blew in.
"Thud." Ling Hao heard something fall to the ground outside the window and thought that the wind seemed a bit strong tonight. There were katydids chirping just now, and now the wind has picked up.
The weather changes so fast!
A note from the author:
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Feng Qingyang stared at the purse on the table, lost in thought. So he didn't give the money to his good apprentice? Oh well, she certainly won't starve, it's not a big deal.
Linghao:…………
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