Chapter 3, "Sharpen Your Weapons First," was successfully ambushed by me, wasn't it? ...
"Waiter, two bowls of wontons, please." Zhuiming sat down with a flourish, casually placing his wine gourd on the wooden table.
Sang Wan sat on the side of the table, idly propping her chin up and looking around.
Unexpectedly, this bustling city, which should have been lively and noisy, became quiet and silent because of her.
On this street, everyone, from street vendors to passersby, had their eyes fixed on her.
Countless people leaned out of the open windows on the second floor of the street, bowing down to her.
It turns out there really are people who are so beautiful that even the flying fairies in the murals can't compare.
Appreciating true beauty transcends gender; both men and women gaze upon her at this moment, while for Zhui Ming, it is nothing but jealousy and hatred.
Such a stunning beauty deserves to be paired with an exceptionally talented young man, so that people can exclaim that they are a perfect match, rather than a middle-aged man who looks weathered and down on his luck.
Despite the glares around him that seemed to want to pierce him, Zhuiming calmly accepted the wontons the old man offered. Each one had a thin skin and a generous filling, with tender scallions and lard floating on the clear broth—it looked incredibly tempting.
He barely slept for more than a few hours, writing a letter to his uncle that very night. He wrote down everything he had just finished about the previous case and what he had seen and heard the night before, urging his uncle to make plans as soon as possible. In the letter, he also told his uncle that he would stay in Luzhou City to resolve the matter before returning to Bianjing.
Before dawn, he got up early again and went to the yamen to explain the situation on the mountain to the magistrate. The magistrate of Luzhou City was a good official who cared for the people. After thinking it over, Zhui Ming decided not to hide anything, as it would be difficult for him and the little girl to manage on their own. He had the magistrate lead people to control the road up the mountain to prevent more passersby from accidentally entering the mountain. Only after handling many matters did he have time to bring Sang Wan out.
I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and my stomach is growling. So when I see this bowl of wonton soup, I'm naturally very tempted.
He didn't rush to eat, but handed Sang Wan's portion to her first, saying, "Try it and see how it is."
Sang Wan took a scoop and found it to be a wonton with shepherd's purse and pork. She had never eaten wontons before and found it novel. The taste was also quite good, and she ate it happily. However, the wontons were really slippery.
Zhuiming found it adorable to see her diligently scooping wontons from the bowl. He skillfully scooped up a wonton and teased, "Let me ask this wonton if it has grown legs yet."
"Cui, Lue, Shang! Who told you to look at me!" Sang Wan glared at him, holding her bowl and ignoring him.
boring!
The beautiful woman's coquettish manner was unparalleled, which made everyone resent the disheveled man even more.
Such a beauty deserves to enjoy the best of everything in the world—delicious food, fine wine, and fine silks—instead of eating a cheap, readily available bowl of wontons at a street stall.
But for Sang Wan, this steaming hot breakfast was the first time she had ever experienced such warmth and life. Amidst the rising steam from the hot soup, she curiously observed the weariness and loneliness between his brows.
Sang Wan could sense that Zhui Ming was a very contradictory person. Even though he often teased and joked with her, and seemed to love to joke around, there was always a hint of vicissitude in his eyes, as if he had seen it all. He appeared carefree and unrestrained, yet he was also meticulous and warm-hearted.
Are all ordinary people this special?
Zhuiming noticed the little girl secretly watching him. His eyes flickered, and after a moment, he simply said, "Have you finished eating? You've been scooping out food for ages, leaving it dangling in your bowl."
...Not special at all!
After the two finished their meal, it was Zhuiming's turn to follow Sang Wan around.
Of course, they weren't idle; their purpose in going out this time was to find a way to deal with the Immortal Ghost Tree.
The spiritual energy in this realm is thin, and Sang Wan's injuries will not fully heal in a short time. In order to deal with the Longevity Ghost Tree as soon as possible, we can only find materials to repair the damaged magical artifacts in the Qiankun Bag.
Although it's impossible to completely repair it, we can find some naturally grown materials that have been nurtured for decades or even centuries and have absorbed a little spiritual energy to repair it until it's usable.
After all, the limitations of spiritual energy don't just apply to Sang Wan alone.
Once inside this small world, even those ancient ancestors might not be able to unleash even a fraction of their original strength.
Zhuiming followed Sangwan around, searching in a cursory manner. Sangwan could tell at a glance whether there was any spiritual energy present, but Zhuiming, being a mere mortal, naturally couldn't see through it. He simply followed behind her, shielding her from some greedy and unrestrained gazes.
He made a point of wearing the Six Doors badge on his belt today, so the thugs and ruffians naturally didn't dare to come up and court death. As soon as the martial arts practitioners saw his leg strength and the wine gourd at his waist, they knew that this down-and-out but dashing man was Master Cui.
Along the way, seeing that it was Master Cui protecting the beauty, no matter how unwilling he was, he could only turn around and leave resentfully.
The two walked for most of the day without finding anything.
Sang Wan was discouraged. She secretly observed Zhui Ming's expression, which was still the same as usual. After thinking for a moment, she said, "There are too few materials to infuse with spiritual energy. Am I wasting too much time doing this?"
Sang Wan thought that Zhui Ming was a constable, and judging from her appearance, she must be anxious, but she was holding back. She herself was naturally anxious as well. Although she was blocking the way up the mountain, the ghost tree would remain a major threat until it was removed, and she also needed to repair her magical artifacts to protect herself.
But to her surprise, Zhui Ming only took two big gulps of wine and comforted her, saying, "How can there be any delay? Whether it's eliminating evil or exorcising demons, it's not something that can be done overnight. Relax, and only when you feel comfortable and at ease can you do this well."
Those smiling and kind eyes gazed at her again.
Sang Wan lowered her eyes and looked away from him, walking straight ahead.
?
Zhuiming never expected that his kind words and comforting words would be met with a cold look from the young girl.
He was puzzled, wondering if he had done something to upset the girl again.
Fortunately, after much searching, before nightfall, the two finally found a piece of century-old peach wood in a lumber shop and a ball of silk imbued with spiritual energy in a herbal medicine shop.
Only then did I feel at ease.
Sang Wan finally smiled and wandered around like a cat on the way back to the inn.
When they returned to the inn, they had spent most of Zhui Ming's money on drinks. He carried a lot of food in both hands, including lotus flower pastries, crystal cakes, glutinous rice lotus root, and peanut candy.
At the door of the room, Zhuiming handed her a series of oil paper packets, both amused and exasperated. "Looks like I won't be calling you for dinner tonight."
"Who said that!" Sang Wan glared at him, picked up a lotus-shaped pastry from the oil paper, and stuffed it into his mouth when he wasn't looking. In an instant, crispy and delicious crumbs fell all over his chest.
She now finds the food in the mortal world quite remarkable.
Let's see if he dares to not call her for dinner.
Sang Wan chuckled to herself, and seeing his disheveled appearance, she gracefully entered the room with satisfaction.
Zhuiming was left clutching the remaining half of the lotus-shaped pastry, his mouth full of sweet aroma. He didn't care about the crumbs all over him. When he saw her cheerful and gentle face, his heart tightened, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of a lake, creating ripples. Before the electric feeling could dissipate, he seemed to remember something and felt a little lost.
Sang Wan returned to her room and looked at the exquisite lotus-shaped pastries with great interest. They resembled lotus flowers and had a delicate fragrance, but they tasted completely different from lotus flowers.
For some reason, she thought of Cui Lüshang and then of his stunned expression, and chuckled to herself.
Stupid Cui Lueshang.
I successfully ambushed you.
When the moon was high in the sky, Sang Wan opened the wooden window of her room, letting the moonlight stream in, while Zhui Ming watched over her from the rooftop.
Firstly, she needed to concentrate while repairing the magical artifacts and her injuries using moonlight, and should not be disturbed, much less be seen by ordinary people. Secondly, Sang Wan was truly beautiful, and with the window open, she feared that it would attract covetousness and malicious intent.
With such a pretty young girl staying at the inn, Zhui Ming really didn't dare to fall asleep.
Within three days, working tirelessly, he finally managed to repair a bow using the materials he had gathered over the past few days, and his injury was half healed.
This is all thanks to Sang Wan's senior brothers and sisters. On her birthdays, they would all pick out the finest magical artifacts to give her and make her happy. The most expensive was her Qiankun bag, a sixteenth birthday gift bought for her by her senior brother at a huge expense. It came from the number one weapon-refining family, a family with considerable influence. During this incident with the spatial power of the Flowing Mirror, only the Qiankun bag remained intact, and it was because of it that the magical artifacts inside were not crushed into powder.
After repairing the bow, Sang Wan instructed Zhui Ming to carve the remaining peach wood into wooden swords and arrows.
That's right, it's an order! This is the prestige of a demon hunter!
Although the Longevity Ghost Tree is somewhere between a demon and a ghost, it is still wood and is extremely afraid of fire. Given Sang Wan's current state, if she wants to frequently use fire-starting spells, she must use accelerants.
Oil was too expensive in this dynasty, so Zhui Ming bought several jars of strong liquor instead.
Sang Wan used blood as a medium to draw intricate incantations on these things, which would burn when they came into contact with wine.
That evening, Zhuiming and Sangwan went up the mountain.
The Immortal Tree devours the life force of living beings during the day, and falls into a deep sleep at night to thoroughly digest the life force spreading through its vines and branches. The duration of its sleep depends on the amount of nutrients it absorbed during the day.
Last time, Sang Wan was able to escape successfully by taking advantage of this time difference.
To do something well, you must first have the right tools. With the right tools to control it, and by finding the right opportunity for it to go into slumber, this kind of ghost tree is not too difficult for cultivators to deal with.
But they had to hurry, as the mountain pass leading to the Ghost Tree Forest was now blocked, and the Ghost Tree could only draw life from the surrounding trees, so it wouldn't be long before it fell into a deep slumber.
Sang Wan put all the jars of wine into her personal storage bag, so the two of them could travel light.
Zhuiming walked ahead, carrying a peach wood sword. He was dressed in coarse linen clothes, and the strange peach wood sword he carried, combined with his disheveled appearance, should have made him look rather odd.
But he squinted and looked around, his posture of holding a sword and drinking wine was really unrestrained and unconventional, whether it was an iron sword or a wooden sword, they all seemed to be the same.
Whether the journey is extremely dangerous or not, it seems to be the same.
Sang Wan didn't know how to use a sword. She gripped the bow tightly, looked at his back, and eight words suddenly popped into her mind.
Passion remains undiminished, and a pure heart is fearless.
When they stepped into the Ghost Tree Forest, the surroundings were quiet and still. They had entered the forest at the exact time the Ghost Tree had last slept.
Just as expected!
The two exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.
Not daring to delay, the two took to the air and flew one after the other toward the ghost tree.
The surrounding vines had all fallen into a deep sleep, silent and still.
Sang Wan quickly took out several jars of strong liquor from her Qiankun bag, and she and Zhui Ming were about to pour the liquor into the intertwined roots of the ghost tree.
The vines that had been lying prone on the ground suddenly began to lash out, whipping at them from all directions. Caught off guard, the two men were a beat too slow to react and dodged, but the wine jars they were holding and the ones scattered on the ground were smashed to pieces.
The gushing liquid seeped into a large patch of soil, creating a thick, black haze.
This wasn't an attempt to ambush them at all; it was a deliberate tactic to lure them into dodging while specifically targeting the wine jar!
A note from the author:
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