Chapter 62 He has already taken the bait.
The ground beneath my feet was soft and sticky; with each step, my shoes sank into the mud, splashing mud and water onto my trousers.
But this was nothing to him. He looked like he had crawled out of a mud pit, covered in mud and reeking of sweat.
The disheveled man was squatting on the ground, holding a pottery jar in his left hand and a twig he had picked up from the ground in his right, his eyes piercing.
The loose, damp soil twitched slightly, and his eyes lit up. With a flick of his right hand, a slender earthworm curled up instantly.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief, lifted the earthenware jar, and peacefully placed the last earthworm, the result of his painstaking efforts, inside.
When the earthenware jar that he treasured was opened, it was found to be filled with countless earthworms, all intertwined together.
Lu Xiaofeng went through a lot of trouble for these 680 earthworms.
This earthworm wasn't just an earthworm, but rather a gambling debt he owed.
This gambling debt is really killing him; he's fallen into that cunning monkey's trap twice in a row. All told, he's already dug up a full 1,360 earthworms!
He had made a bet with Sikong Zhaixing to compete in somersaults. He won the first time by a landslide, so why would he refuse? But to his surprise, the cunning monkey went back and did nothing but practice somersaults, managing to do 680 somersaults in an hour.
He was already complaining bitterly about finding 680 earthworms this time. Of course, he racked his brains, wanting to get back at the monkey and let it experience the same hardship of finding earthworms.
Unexpectedly, when they gambled again, he asked the man to steal the golden robe that had recently caused bloodshed in the martial arts world, and the man stole the robe and the woman together.
Not only did Sikong Zhaixing win the bet, but he also won a beautiful bride!
Lu Xiaofeng stumbled again. How could he not believe that his face was dark and that he was about to suffer a great misfortune?
He shook his head and smiled bitterly, probably because it wasn't just his forehead that was blackened, but also his eyes and head, each one darker than the last.
His mind is completely blank now; all he can think about are earthworms. Even when he wakes up in the middle of the night, it's because he was terrified by earthworms in his dream!
Fortunately, during the ten days he spent there, the heavens smiled upon him, and a mountain rain fell, allowing him to finally complete the excavation. Of course, the hardships he endured were beyond the comprehension of outsiders.
Now, Lu Xiaofeng couldn't wait to go down the mountain immediately, have a good meal and wine, take a bath and change clothes, and then sleep for three days and three nights.
Just then, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded on the hillside not far away. The sound was thin and light, like a light drizzle.
Lu Xiaofeng paused in his steps as he descended the mountain. He had been in these deep mountains for so many days and had never seen a human being.
Why did he have to come at this particular time?
He turned around and couldn't resist taking a curious look.
That one glance was his mistake.
Then, a beautiful young woman, dressed in lush green and deep red, slowly emerged from the hillside. She wore a light pink embroidered gauze dress with silver thread embroidered with tuberose, and seemed to come alive as the breeze swayed it.
Her temples were adorned with silver hairpins, interspersed with peach-pink pom-poms. Her skin was so white it was almost translucent, and her delicate, dewy face was covered with a layer of rouge. Her eyes and snow-white cheeks seemed to be infused with powder, a thick yet luminous powder.
Lu Xiaofeng has always disliked women who are too effeminate, because young and beautiful women have no need to use rouge and powder to adorn themselves.
However, even before the girl had fully turned her face, he was already mesmerized by her gaze.
Having lived this life to this point, it seems as if the world is a landscape painting.
Upon seeing her, the vibrant and translucent watercolor began to seep into the rice paper drop by drop.
Lu Xiaofeng stared at her intently, as if sparks were following her from behind, illuminating the white night.
For the first time, he realized how blue the sky was and how bright the sunlight was.
A strange impulse welled up in his heart, an impulse that was unstoppable and irresistible, like an arrow piercing his heart. But instead of feeling pain, he raised his head, changed his steps, and followed the path from which the rain of arrows had come, searching with fascination for the girl with the bow.
He had only taken a few steps.
The girl, with her delicate features, turned around. Her eyes were slightly upturned, and she had a pitiful, peach-blossom face and alluring, fox-like eyes.
Lu Xiaofeng's breath hitched. He had seen many beauties, some famous and some stunningly beautiful, but now it was as if he had never seen a woman before. His whole soul had been drawn to her.
Because she was so beautiful that she looked like a bewitching fox spirit from a ghost story; one glance from her could bewitch any man.
She definitely has that ability; at least Lu Xiaofeng is completely captivated by her.
He was the most romantic and passionate type of man, and now that he had met a woman who catered to his every whim, he was naturally captivated.
Yan Jin never expected that the person following her so dazedly was actually a man who had rolled around in the mud.
His eyes, eyebrows, hair, and clothes were all covered in mud; there wasn't a single spot that was clean. On his mud-covered face, only a pair of vacant eyes were exposed, yet this mud-covered man looked like he was blinded by lust, which was quite comical.
Yan Jin looked at him, her bright, fox-like eyes crinkling into a smile. She covered her mouth as if amused and said, "Kingfisher said that recently a strange man has caught all the earthworms on the mountain. It must be you."
Lu Xiaofeng was captivated by the vibrant spring scenery. He stared blankly for a long time before sighing and saying with a wry smile, "If I can make you smile, then my efforts weren't in vain. If I had known I would meet you, I should have come sooner."
He was a man who really knew how to please women. Even though he looked like a dog pulled out of the mud, Yan Jin was still willing to stop and talk to him.
She giggled and said, "Why are you catching so many earthworms? Are you going to eat them?"
Lu Xiaofeng stared at her without blinking, and shook his head, saying, "I'm not a fish, so of course I don't eat earthworms. It's just that there's a clever monkey who wants to see my handsome face covered in mud, like a toad looking for a wife, crawling on the ground searching for earthworms."
Yan Jin's fingertips twirled around the ends of her hair as she asked curiously, "Since this person is so bad, why do you still listen to him?"
Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said with a wry smile, "I really don't want to admit it to you, but I lost a bet to him." Yan Jin couldn't help but laugh again, "It seems you must be a very fond of gambling."
Lu Xiaofeng nodded. "Not bad."
He thought she would continue to ask more questions about the bet, because she seemed really interested.
Unexpectedly, she simply put down her hand that was tangling her hair and asked charmingly, "Then why are you following me?"
Lu Xiaofeng gazed at her and smiled, "Because I'm not only a gambler, but also a lover of beautiful women. Especially a beauty like you, I'm afraid anyone in the world who sees you would take a second look, fearing they might never see you again."
Despite his glib tongue, he spoke with surprising honesty.
Yan Jin laughed out loud, "You have such a sweet tongue."
Lu Xiaofeng's heart started beating faster, and he couldn't help but say, "You haven't even tasted my lips yet, how do you know it's sweet?"
Yan Jin looked at him closely with her fox-like eyes that seemed to hold autumn water. Seeing his excellent bone structure and dashing figure, she chuckled and said quietly, "If you clean your face and change into decent clothes, I might be willing to give you a try."
As if a hot, surging stream of water flowed into his heart, Lu Xiaofeng endured the small burning pain in his chest, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and deliberately said, "I've already remembered those words, and you probably can't take them back now."
Yan Jin picked a flower from the flower basket and tossed it to him from afar, saying with a half-smile, "Then let's see what you can do. I'm not an earthworm, I'm really hard to catch."
Lu Xiaofeng reached out and caught the flower in his hand, staring blankly at it. The white flower was surrounded by pink buds, its color delicate and tender. Even without smelling it closely, one could smell its clear and melancholy fragrance.
The small building of Hua Man Lou was planted with many flowers, and Lu Xiaofeng had seen many flowers, but he had never seen this kind before.
What surprised him even more was that there was a very faint spice scent mixed in with it, which was like an extremely fragrant and attractive bait.
He's already taken the bait.
Even without this bait, he would have already taken the bait.
However, when he looked up, there was nothing in front of him, not even a shadow.
"So, you've searched the entire mountain, but you can't find either the flower or the girl?" Hua Manlou said with a smile.
Lu Xiaofeng downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, then gazed at the flower branch in his hand and said, "Not bad."
Hua Manlou smiled again and said, "If it weren't for the fact that there was still a flower left, I would really think that Lu Xiaofeng had gotten drunk and was having a beautiful dream."
Lu Xiaofeng murmured, "Even with this flower, I doubt I'm dreaming. Because..."
"Because she is a very beautiful woman, and moreover, a woman who has captivated you," Hua Manlou said confidently.
Lu Xiaofeng sighed and admitted, "Indeed, I'm afraid anyone who sees her would be captivated by her."
Hua Manlou stared at him and said, "So you came to me and asked me to help you figure out where to find this flower."
Lu Xiaofeng laughed to himself, realizing that Hua Manlou had already said everything he wanted to say.
He could only say, "If even you can't find this flower, I'm afraid my heart will break."
"I'd like to meet this young lady; she actually managed to break Lu Xiaofeng's heart."
After speaking, he took the flower branch, gently stroking the outline of the petals as if it were a lover's touch. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "This flower is not suitable for planting here, and I don't know what method that girl used. But why would she pick such a beautiful flower?"
He has always loved and cherished flowers, but unfortunately most people in the world believe in seizing the day when the flowers are in bloom.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaofeng felt a profound sense of emptiness and loss. The light rain could not extinguish the anxiety in his heart, but it did leave him feeling melancholy.
Hua Manlou suddenly smiled and said, "Although I can't imagine where this flower can be planted, I have heard the legend of this flower."
Lu Xiaofeng's eyes suddenly lit up, and he heard him say, "There was a beautiful woman who waited for her lover who never returned, gazing at the same place day and night. Legend has it that this flower was formed from the tears of this woman. And this flower only blooms at night."
Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, but he pretended to be calm and said, "Looks like I'm an idiot."
Hua Manlou laughed and said, "You really are an idiot."
"Luckily, my stupid friend isn't too stupid after all," he said, before flipping through the air and leaping out of the building.
The crimson cloak fluttered and rustled as it flew, leaving behind only the words, "Let this fool go and beg for the method of this flower for Hua Manlou."
Hua Manlou shook his head; he would be a fool to believe that.
Faced with such beauty, Lu Xiaofeng would probably forget him completely.
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Author's Note: Taking a strategist to the battlefield!!
Click to unlock: A playboy is so infatuated with a womanizer that he completely alters his loyal dog for love, only to be cruelly kicked away.
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