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Chapter 114: Gossip

The abbot's voice drifted away. Bei Zhenting stopped in front of the Buddha for a while and then returned to the guest house.

In the guest house, dinner was ready: a big pot of fish soup, a grilled fish for each person, and a simple cold dish of wild fern. The rice was bought in Daci Town at the foot of the mountain, so it was enough to keep everyone full.

The guard who cooked was from a peasant family. He could cook, but his cooking skills were just edible. A group of grown men didn't care for anything and just ate around the wooden table.

Bei Zhenting and Ye Qing sat at a separate table. The dishes on the table were the same as those for the guards, including fish soup, grilled fish and cold fern salad, in addition to two simple stir-fries.

The grown men ate rudely and discussed Zhang Hu'ao in low voices while eating.

A guard, chewing on a grilled fish, looked at his brothers and said incoherently, "Guess where Brother Hu Ao went?"

"I guess he went hunting again to earn money. After all, we will pass by Daci Town when we go down the mountain tomorrow."

"Hey, it was still daylight when Brother Hu Ao went up the mountain. It will take us some time to go down the mountain tomorrow. I guess by the time we get down the mountain tomorrow, Brother Hu Ao will have earned dozens of taels of silver!"

"I never realized hunting was so profitable. When I was in the village, my family was poor. Two or three taels of silver a year could last a whole year if we saved them. Brother Hu Ao is really promising..."

The guards drank the fish soup one by one, but they couldn't taste the flavor of the soup at all. They felt more sour in their hearts than the sour plums with green skin.

Bei Zhenting drank a glass of wine and looked at Ye Qing who was sitting opposite him. "We will pass by the outskirts of the Hundred Diseases Forest tomorrow night. We can't stay there. We have to hurry on through the night."

Ye Qing: "Let's go our separate ways tomorrow night. I haven't been back home for over ten years. I'm going back for a while."

Bei Zhenting shook his head: "It's been more than ten years. I don't know what's going on in the Hundred Diseases Forest. It's too dangerous."

Ye Qing: "What's the danger? It's only dangerous to you outsiders. I'm fine. I've prepared everything. Let's split up into two groups and meet up at Qingzhen at the foot of Qing Cliff."

Bei Zhenting: "I'll give you two secret guards, and twelve bodyguards."

Ye Qing rolled his eyes and shook his head: "No need, sending someone to follow me will only hinder me..."

Bei Zhenting glanced at him and said, "I will wait for you in Qing Town for three days. If you haven't arrived after three days, I will go find you myself. Give me a portion of the things you prepared tomorrow."

Ye Qing smiled and said, "Since you are so kind, I will prepare some extra insect repellent, detoxification and snake repellent powder for you tonight, so that you can pass through the Hundred Diseases Forest safely at night."

On the other side, Luo Yao and his group took a long detour and roasted chicken in the forest separated by a mountain from the outer circle of Baibing Forest.

Today I raided a pheasant's nest, killed three chickens, and picked up a dozen eggs.

With Du Bing around, Luo Yao became a freeloader who had everything provided for him. Du Bing's cooking skills improved by leaps and bounds under his guidance, and he had already surpassed Luo Yao.

At this moment, Li Xian, Lu Heng and Lin Mo were roasting a chicken according to Du Bing's instructions. Du Bing was frying rice in an iron pan. The rice was ready. The leftover rice from the potato banquet was packed in a bag, enough for one meal.

Beat more than a dozen eggs and fry them in two pots, cut a few potatoes into small pieces, and add a handful of tender wild vegetables picked from the stream. After stir-frying for a few times, a pot of fragrant fried rice is ready.

Du Bing can be described as a killer who loves life. He rummaged through his wooden box and took out a dozen very thin wooden bowls.

Each person was given a wooden bowl and bamboo chopsticks. Luo Yao opened his mouth in surprise when he got his bowl. He had always thought that the iron and wooden box on Du Bing's back contained dangerous things like poison needles, poison arrows, or hidden weapons.

Li Xian looked at Du Bing with a teasing look on his face, then leaned close to Luo Yao's ear and whispered to him in a low voice.

As Luo Yao listened, he looked at Du Bing and gave him the same provocative and teasing smile as Li Xian.

Du Bing glanced at Li Xian and knew that Li Xian was saying bad things about him but he was not angry.

"Young Master, please forgive me for laughing. Du Bing has been living outdoors for many years and occasionally wants to eat something warm, so I prepared these."

A group of people laughed and asked whether Du Bing would be affected by his wooden box filled with pots and pans when fighting. They also asked about Du Bing's early experiences and what he saw in the capital during the war.

Li Xian and Du Bing are both fish-patterned people who protect the Luo family. They have known each other for a long time. After the death of their two masters, the two joined forces and worked separately for a rare period of time. Li Xian is talkative and Du Bing is patient. With the help of a group of curious audiences, the two talked about many interesting stories from all over the world.

A group of people ate chicken while listening to the two of them telling legendary stories about the underworld.

In Qixia Zhou, Mr. Zhou is deeply in love with each of his eighteen beautiful concubines and wives. The eldest daughter of the scholarly He family in Zhejiang province throws a ball of embroidery to an ugly man in search of a husband. The assassins of the Songwuyuan clan, a black faction, bring discredit to their clan, leaving the white faction to clean up the mess...

The melon was so big and exciting that Luo Yao felt as if he was eating and watching a drama at the same time. Even the dark and cute Ye Lin, who knew nothing, was stunned by what he heard.

Lu Heng ate quietly, but his eyes were stealing glances at Li Xian, who was sitting next to Du Bing with a carefree and cheerful expression. The emotions in his eyes were quietly hidden, and no one knew what he was thinking.

After dinner, Luo Yao took a bunch of straw and made a bed for the two little kids, then put a blanket under them. He then took care of the two kids and coaxed them to sleep.

The fire was burning fiercely, making a crackling sound. Du Bing added firewood to the fire. Everyone had already rested, only Li Xian was still talking quietly to Du Bing.

After talking for half an hour, Du Bing ignored Li Xian's chattering and sent her to sleep.

Li Xian clicked his tongue twice, stood up, and walked to Lu Heng as usual.

Seeing the prickly stones that had not been cleared away in the grass next to Lu Heng, Li Xian kicked them away nonchalantly, and then kicked away the prickly branches and lay down next to Lu Heng.

"Hey, little Lu Heng, what do you want to do in the future?"

After a long while, no one responded to him. Li Xian sat up and glanced at Lu Heng, "You fell asleep so quickly..."

Lu Heng didn't respond. Li Xian stopped making trouble and lay down quietly to sleep. After a while, he fell asleep with steady breathing.

Li Xian fell asleep and Lu Heng opened his eyes.

Since going south, he felt that the distance between him and Li Xian was getting farther and farther every day.

Take the time when he and Li Xian were shopping a few days ago, for example. He had wanted to treat Li Xian to a meal with the money he had earned, but he didn't expect Li Xian to take him to an underground casino with ease, saying she would "take him to make a lot of money."

The casino was a mixed bag. He used to be a beggar and had seen chaotic places, but he never dared to go to an underground casino where people could easily die.

However, Li Xian seemed to be born to hang out in that kind of place. He took out a mask and put it on, and easily linked shoulders with those vicious-looking people. He knocked down several thugs in a few moves, and brought a big bag of silver to invite him to have a drink.

All this happened within just half an hour, and half an hour later, Li Xian took him out for drinks and dinner.

He had made some money following Luo Yao for these days, but that money could only buy four or five jars of grass wine for Li Xian to drink.

The place where they ate and drank was very ordinary and there were very few people, but the food and wine were very expensive.

Now that I think about it carefully, it seems that Li Xian went to that store with a purpose, to check on someone.

He saw Li Xian communicating with the waiter in secret, but he didn't think much of it at the time.

Although he was shocked and scared when Li Xian dragged him to the underground casino that day, they had a lot of fun. After dinner, Li Xian kept pestering him, and the two of them played until midnight before returning to the inn...

Listening to the sizzling sound of the charcoal fire, thinking about the experiences of Li Xian and Du Bing just now, Lu Heng felt a little depressed. The gap between Li Xian's life and his was too big...

Lu Heng turned over and lay flat on his back, turning his head to see Li Xian's face close at hand.

He has a fair face with clear contours. He is quiet and well-behaved when he sleeps, as pure as a god in heaven. But when he opens his eyes, he becomes flesh and blood and has a temper. He curses people without repeating himself, and he has superb martial arts skills and kills people like crazy.

The first time he really saw Li Xian's skills was in that underground casino where all kinds of people gathered. Looking at the tiny white scar at the corner of Li Xian's eye, Lu Heng turned over and reached out to touch the small wound.

Li Xian slapped his hand away like a mosquito at the warm and smooth touch, muttering softly, "Get lost..."