robber's hometown
After handing over the last piece of cake, Meng Yan silently led Yue Lang, who was waiting to show off his skills, toward the edge of the woods.
On the one hand, his problem-solving process is progressing very smoothly, and he is no longer confused at all; on the other hand, Meng Yan misses the hot meals at home, especially after roughly imagining tonight's situation, she wishes she could take out her mechanical kite and take off on the spot.
Yue Lang, who was being disliked, was completely unaware of this. Instead, he happily examined his surroundings, hoping to find some satisfactory ingredients to satisfy his appetite.
This seemingly pointless glance actually led him to a discovery.
Not far away, there was a patch of grass that reached up to knees. There was no wind, but the grass swayed gently from side to side, and as it rose and fell, a cluster of white flowers was revealed.
"Miss Yan can have meat tonight."
A smile played on his lips as he held up his index finger to Meng Yan and gestured for her to lower her voice.
Meng Yan had gradually gotten used to being treated as the one who spoke to him. Seeing his actions, she nodded helplessly and gestured "please" in the direction of his gaze.
A tall leopard approached the low bushes, its every step landing lightly on the soil among the withered branches and fallen leaves—it was probably not the first time it had done this.
The tall Yue Lang arrived at the edge of the bushes, his prey within reach. He didn't forget to turn around and wink at Meng Yan.
Can you really catch anything this way?
Meng Yan's expression was somewhat complicated. She still had some confidence in Yue Lang and had already begun to organize her thoughts in her mind, preparing to comfort him when he returned empty-handed.
Unexpectedly, Yue Lang swept aside the grass and rushed in, and unexpectedly caught something. He couldn't wait to turn around and show it off, eagerly asking Meng Yan for credit.
"Why is it cold? And a bit hard." Despite his delight, he felt something was off about the rabbit in his hand.
Meng Yan's expression became even stranger. She stood far away, not even a smile on her lips, and her hands seemed to be pointing at him, looking quite calm.
Yue Lang: "?"
He took two steps toward her, carrying his now-cold prey, when he suddenly felt something dragging under his feet, as if something was tangled around him.
Can a rabbit stretch its chest to the ground?
He froze in place, frowned, and glanced at Meng Yan. Meng Yan, receiving his signal, pointed to his legs and feet in the distance.
Something slapped the ground, scattering the dead leaves with a rustling sound.
Then came the sound of slapping against the soil, one slap after another, not fast, but with considerable force.
That's not his foot.
It seems even worse than his feet...
Yue Lang was on the verge of tears. The hand holding the rabbit seemed to be infected by it, a chill spreading through it. He couldn't let go, but not letting go was also quite hopeless.
Encouraged by Meng Yan's gaze, he suppressed his trembling and took a step back, keeping his hands and body as far apart as possible, and quietly shifted his gaze downwards.
Beneath the stark white rabbit, a vibrant and lively green ornament hangs prominently.
The creature that had just entangled him and then swept the ground was the true owner of the prey in his hand. After all, its teeth were still stuck in the rabbit's body and hadn't been pulled out, otherwise Yue Lang wouldn't have been able to carry it away along with it.
Looking at the gleaming dark green scales in front of him, the patterns on them constantly changing with the movements of their master, Yue Lang met its dark eyes for a moment. A cool and smooth sensation came to mind, causing his eyebrows to curve into three lines.
Meng Yan was not quite sure of Yue Lang's intentions, assuming that he had ulterior motives for the animal in his hand, which was why he had conducted a comprehensive observation of it from top to bottom after discovering it.
But one thing is certain: the paper recording the herbs didn't lie to her; even a worm is still a worm.
Yue Lang stood there like a sculpture, surrounded by dark and tranquil greenery. He stood alone in his colorful robes, his hands respectfully raised, contemplating the principles and spirit of heaven and earth.
As expected of a Taoist priest, he was able to discern the Great Dao amidst the cycle of life and death of living beings.
The praise was heartfelt, but seeing that he hadn't moved for a long time, Meng Yan couldn't help but feel a little concerned.
To facilitate communication, she tentatively took a few steps forward and inadvertently caught a glimpse of tears welling up in Yue Lang's eyes.
He stared at Meng Yan without making a sound, his lips drooping slightly as if he had something to say but was hesitant to speak due to other reasons.
Understanding, clarity, and a shared understanding. Meng Yan often looked like this after completing a test of a new mechanism; his joy and excitement were personal emotions that came from within and were difficult to express in words.
Seeing the person who had just taken a few steps closer turn to leave, Yue Lang couldn't keep up the act any longer. He hoarsely pleaded with her, "Miss Yan, are you afraid of snakes?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Yan did not go far and shook his head in response.
"So, do you dare to grab this thing?"
Meng Yan nodded, not understanding.
"Could you help me get rid of it? I'm scared, and I dare not catch it."
The last syllable of the sentence trembled soaring to the heavens, yet the speaker remained ramrod straight, and his intermittent shadow did not tremble in the slightest.
Meng Yan's eyes suddenly widened. She was stunned for a moment before she realized the meaning of those words.
Then, a slender, calloused hand reached out. Before anyone could see how she did it, another hand took the rabbit from above, tossed the Ice Hand Mountain Rabbit and its accessories that Yue Lang had been struggling with back into the grass, and clapped her hands afterward, pulling out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe them a few times.
Yue Lang was finally able to move again. He stopped looking at the bushes and limped backward until he was hiding behind Meng Yan before he dared to catch his breath.
"Miss Yan, how can I live without you!"
The huge shadow behind him, a head taller than himself, suddenly disappeared, and a burly man with red-rimmed eyes sat blankly on the ground.
This sudden change took Meng Yan a while to process. After a moment of silence, she handed the handkerchief in her hand to the man and turned her head away from him.
Taoist priests, so there are such people?
The item in her hand was taken away. After she withdrew her hand, she felt a strange tingling sensation on her body. She walked away from the person and her breathing gradually calmed down in the new environment.
.
After this ordeal, Yue Lang decisively abandoned his wish to be self-sufficient. Fortunately, heaven had eyes, and the two found a small patch of medicinal herbs at the base of a tree before the sunlight fell into the forest.
"Come on, I'll take you home." Meng Yan carefully placed the grass down, checked it thoroughly, and then looked up at Yue Lang with a smile.
Clearly, the person hadn't expected this honor, and their spirits, which had been low for most of the afternoon, suddenly revived. "Me? You! You're going to give it to me!"
Meng Yan was in a good mood and waved the small wooden kite in her hand at him.
Although this little guy was quite different from the last time he saw it, Yue Lang could still easily recognize it by its overall shape—the mechanical bird that had flown past him many times.
A relaxed and pleasant atmosphere surrounded the two. The outer forest was right in front of them. While they were chatting and laughing, they were suddenly stopped by a large machete that appeared out of nowhere.
"Robbery! Hand over your valuables."
A hoarse voice, a sharp blade, a fierce-looking face, and an unyielding tone.
Knowing the visitors meant no good, the two exchanged a glance: "We're doomed, we've been ambushed by bandits."
The robbers, who seemed to have been lying in wait for some time, laughed maniacally: "Hahahaha, after all this time, I've finally caught them!"
"Boss is mighty! Boss is wise!" the robber henchmen cheered as they rushed forward.
Meng Yan: "..."
Yue Lang: "..."
Why don't you go and wait for people in the lake? This deep mountain forest doesn't look like a place where people would come.
In the blink of an eye, the two realized that they seemed to have just come out of the forest, but judging from their disheveled appearance, it seemed that they had nothing to do with money.
The gang leader stared at the two men for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully after his henchman loudly reminded him, "Can the two of you together even scrape together a single copper coin?"
Penniless Meng Yan shook his head, while the simple-minded and penniless Yue Lang said enthusiastically, "Big brother is a smart man. If we had even half a copper coin, we wouldn't be living in this desolate wilderness."
He spoke sincerely, and the gang leader couldn't help but look at the two of them again.
The two sets of clothes, whose colors were indistinguishable, even had several holes in them. His hair looked as if there was a conflict inside, with strands here and there. He had no accessories at all, and even his face, which was supposed to be his face, was covered in dust and looked haggard.
The robbers immediately held a small meeting in front of them to discuss whether the two should stay or leave.
"Okay, that's settled." The bandit leader scanned the two men's faces with his not-so-bright eyes, and finally ordered, "Take them back and have a meal first."
Meng Yan couldn't guarantee a victory against a two-against-many enemy, but upon hearing that there was food to eat, the frost on his face melted a little.
Yue Lang knew exactly what she was thinking. His stomach was growling so badly that half the forest was rumbling. He never expected to be able to mooch a meal from the neighboring mountain at this critical moment.
Since they were already here and tied up, they decided to eat something. The two men looked at each other again and realized that their thoughts were the same. So they gave up their futile struggles and obediently went back to the bandits' hometown with them.
The rumors about ruling the mountain are true. I wonder if the food I got will last until I come down the mountain again. At the very least, it will solve my immediate hunger problem.
Yue Lang was really hungry. He had accepted his status as a civilian being held captive. He chatted and laughed with the bandits who were with him, and asked about the safety of their mountain stronghold.
During the not-too-difficult journey, he spared a few moments of attention for Meng Yan, only to find that the latter was even calmer than him, leisurely daydreaming the whole way.
Although she showed no sign of panic on her face, Yue Lang secretly decided that after finishing his meal tonight, he would look for an opportunity to sneak away with her through the mountain path in the middle of the night, and then they could enjoy the sunrise and rush back to their sect tomorrow.
Meng Yan sighed silently. She was thinking about how to drag the frail and helpless Yue Mou out of the encirclement.
A rough estimate suggests she could take on ten bandits by herself, and with Yue Lang's help, could she take on eight...? If the bandit camp has a large number of men, she'll need to prepare both mechanical needles and crossbows to be used simultaneously; she can't really leave this silly boy behind.
Each had their own worries. With a crash, something fell over, and the bandits beside them rushed forward, lighting the candles one by one with the flames. Faint lights appeared one after another in the darkness, and the scene of the mountain stronghold came into view of the two outsiders.
This... is the robbers' hometown?
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