MOF Chapter 82
by VolareSi Wumian stepped forward and knocked on the door with his sword: “Open the door.”
“I won’t open it! If you have the ability, come in yourself!” Relying on the protection of the wooden door, the child didn’t care if Si Wumian looked different from the people he usually stole from. He just said arrogantly, “If you can come in, I’ll return the things to you.”
“You remember me?” Si Wumian asked.
The child’s mocking, yet unconsciously proud voice came from behind the door, “I steal so many things every day, how could I possibly remember? But you, such a big person, don’t even know when your things have been stolen, you’re really stupid.”
Si Wumian frowned uncomfortably, and a thought flashed through his mind: “A child who cannot be taught.”
Unwilling to waste any more words with the child, he raised his hand and applied spiritual power to the door, about to force it open when a figure suddenly darted out from behind him and hugged him around the waist.
Si Wumian’s body shook with spiritual power, sending the owner of the hands flying away. Then, with his spirit sword drawn, he rushed over in a few steps, pressing it against the person’s chest, and asked sternly, “Who are you?”
Under the sword was a middle-aged man, dressed sloppily and unkempt, but with full features and even a somewhat prosperous look at first glance.
The man’s expression changed. He didn’t expect to encounter such a tough customer. He quickly begged for mercy, “Young master, no, hero, hero, please spare me!”
“Speak, who are you? Do you know the child inside the door?” Si Wumian pressed harder, the blade nearing, “If you utter even half a lie, don’t blame my sword for being blind.”
He deliberately lowered his eyebrows and eyes, revealing a bit of ruthlessness. The righteous aura that was originally brought out by his snow-white immortal robes completely faded away, and for a moment, he seemed both righteous and evil, scaring the man.
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” The man leaned against the wall to prop himself up and began to explain tremblingly, “I, I’m a distant relative of that child. Just now, seeing what the hero was doing, I mistakenly thought you were going to harm the child, and in a moment of anxiety, I bumped into you.”
Si Wumian pursed his lips, looked at the man who didn’t know whether to live or die with pity, and shook his head, “I gave you a chance, but you insisted on playing dumb. It seems you’re really not afraid of death. In that case…”
The cold blade pressed against the middle-aged man’s neck, and Si Wumian pretended to exert force, immediately hearing a scream from the man.
The sound made the child inside the door shiver, and it also reminded him of something. He proactively opened the door and rushed towards Si Wumian.
In the instant he was about to collide with Si Wumian, he was stopped by an invisible force, trapping his movements.
After struggling in vain, a long-dormant fear surged in the child’s heart. He took out a money bag from his arms and threw it to Si Wumian unwillingly, “Tch, it’s not much money anyway, here, I’ll give it back to you! Now let me go!”
Si Wumian caught the flying money bag and pulled his sword away from the man.
The middle-aged man touched his neck, confirmed that he was unharmed, and quickly said, “Thank you, hero, for sparing my life.” He glanced at the child, gritted his teeth and glared, but the look vanished in an instant. He turned to Si Wumian with a smile, “This child is ignorant and his hands aren’t clean. I’ll take him home and teach him a lesson.”
Si Wumian couldn’t see the child in his peripheral vision, but with his spiritual power and spiritual sense connected, he sensed the child’s body trembling slightly, as if he was frightened, when he heard the man say “teach him a lesson.”
“Wait,” Si Wumian interjected, “What’s this child’s name?”
The middle-aged man pretended to be puzzled, his eyes darting from side to side as he asked, “What does the hero mean by this?”
Si Wumian recalled the vendor’s words, and his gaze shifted between the man and the child, “This child looks so similar to my nephew who went missing a few years ago, so I wanted to ask his name.”
The middle-aged man’s expression instantly became tense, but after thinking about something, he quickly calmed down and said, “Hero, you must be mistaken. I’ve had this child by my side since he was little. Because his parents died early, they didn’t have time to give him a name, so we usually just call him Shui Sheng.”
After hearing this, Si Wumian pondered in his heart and sheathed his sword, “Considering that he is still young, I will not pursue this matter. You may leave.”
“Thank you, hero, thank you, hero!” The middle-aged man was stunned. He originally thought he had encountered a tough customer today, but he didn’t expect him to be a softie who looked good but was useless. He sneered inwardly, quickly walked to the silent child’s side, pulled him into his arms, and scolded, “Shui Sheng, quickly apologize to the hero. If you steal from others again, I’ll break your paws!”
After holding it in for a long time, the child finally squeezed out a “Sorry.”
Si Wumian watched as the two pulled each other and left the alley, then flew onto the wall. He followed them along the wall, seeing them walk to Spring Breeze Pavilion.
The middle-aged man looked around, patted the child on the back, seemed to have told him a few words, and then left on his own.
The ragged child walked into Spring Breeze Pavilion among a group of brightly dressed men and women, and the doorman didn’t even stop him.
Si Wumian felt that something was wrong. A small thief who makes a living by stealing has a group of accomplices behind him, and many people in the city know that they are repeat offenders. Why is it that Spring Breeze Pavilion turns a blind eye?
After thinking about it, he suspected that there might be someone in Spring Breeze Pavilion who was in contact with the middle-aged man, and decided to go in and take a look.
*
“Tch, what kind of Qingyi Sanren who heals the sick and saves people,” Xie Yiling fumed all the way down White Bone Mountain, “Master, look at that person just now, where was there any semblance of politeness? To be able to teach such a disciple, his master must not be any better. No wonder he chose to live in seclusion in the mountains. If he lived in the city, he would have been attacked by the crowd long ago.”
Nangong Ci said, “It’s fine to say these things in front of me, but you must be careful in front of others.”
Xie Yiling nodded in agreement, glanced at the sky, and thought of Si Wumian’s trip to Shuo City. He was also curious about the little demon, and couldn’t help but say, “Master, since we’ve come down the mountain, why don’t we also go and meet the little demon that Wumian mentioned? If he can’t handle it, we can lend a hand. Moreover, to be able to have all the immortal sects send people out, I also want to see what kind of thing is causing trouble behind the scenes.”
Since it was a matter of eliminating harm for the people, Nangong Ci had no objections.
The two did not return to Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion, but found an inn in Shuo City to temporarily settle down and search for the little demon.
Night and snow descended together. Xie Yiling leaned against the window, silently watching outside. A faint medicinal smell emanated from his fingers, which he had gotten from applying medicine to Nangong Ci earlier.
When the medicinal properties were almost absorbed, Nangong Ci said, “Xie Ci, come and rest.”
Xie Yiling didn’t move his body, and without turning his head, he whispered, “Master, there’s demon energy.”
Nangong Ci frowned. Demon energy? How could he not have noticed it at all?
As if reading his mind, Xie Yiling opened his mouth on his own, “It’s normal that Master didn’t notice it. This demon is not an ordinary demon, but a type of demon beast called Yu Qiong.”
“Yu Qiong?”
“That’s right.”
Outside the window, the streets were as white as a mirror. Xie Yiling’s gaze was like lightning, scanning every inch of the street covered by the night, not missing any corner.
He wanted to capture the trace of the silver-gray object that he had glimpsed earlier again, but the other party seemed to have sensed his gaze and never appeared again.
“Yu Qiong, a strange demon that cannot be seen or detected, but whose existence is known once seen,” Xie Yiling sighed in his heart at the demon’s alertness, and moved his stiff arms, “As long as it is not seen with the naked eye, it will not be detected even if it is close to people.”
Nangong Ci was silent for a while, then asked, “Did you learn these things from the Record of Strange Contracts?”
Unexpectedly, Nangong Ci would suddenly bring up this matter. Xie Yiling didn’t dare to reveal anything, and responded softly, then told him about seeing Yu Qiong.
Afterwards, he refocused his attention on Yu Qiong and continued to stare out the window.
Nangong Ci heard the competitive spirit in his tone towards Yu Qiong, “Since spiritual power can’t detect it, what if you open your spiritual sense to the level of spiritual power and use the spirit as your eyes?”
This technique was developed by Nangong Ci alone at night after he lost his sight. Its function is similar to the “opening of the heavenly eye” in strange books and legends.
But Nangong Ci had never used it since he learned it. Xie Yiling roughly understood the reason. The people and things that Nangong Ci was familiar with were already engraved in his mind and didn’t need to be seen with the naked eye.
Moreover, this method was mentally taxing and consumed spiritual power. Xie Yiling had begged several times before he was taught, so naturally, he never had a chance to use it.
Now that Nangong Ciinitiative offered to use this technique, Xie Yiling, who had long wanted to try it but silently endured because he didn’t dare to disobey his master’s instructions, was overjoyed. He gently closed his eyes, and he and Nangong Ci simultaneously activated their spirits and moved their spiritual power. Two streams of spiritual power, one red and one white, flew out of the window at the same time.
The scenery outside the window appeared in Xie Yiling’s mind. In the silence of the night, the lights and shadows of people were lonely. But as he moved forward, crooked passersby began to appear.
He flew against the direction of the people, and finally met Nangong Ci’s spiritual power under a restaurant. Suddenly, he saw a silver-gray afterimage flash into a pavilion on the roof of the restaurant.
“Master,” Xie Yiling opened his eyes, his tone confident, “I found it.”
The demon was cunning, and Xie Yiling guessed that Yu Qiong had probably discovered their actions. But they definitely had to go to the restaurant, after all, Yu Qiong wouldn’t appear there for no reason.
In order not to disturb the other people in the inn, Xie Yiling grabbed Nangong Ci’s wrist, pushed open the window, and the two jumped out of the window sill directly, flying through the air, and soon arrived at the restaurant.
Xie Yiling raised his head and glanced at the top of the restaurant: Spring Breeze Pavilion.
Before he could react to where this was, as soon as he entered, a fragrance he had never smelled before rushed towards him. Two women, one pink and one yellow, each grabbed one person with clear goals, and said familiarly, “Why are you only here now? We’ve been waiting for so long!”
Xie Yiling’s body stiffened, his feet rooted to the spot. He didn’t know whether to advance or retreat, and didn’t know what to do. He originally thought that this Spring Breeze Pavilion was just a luxurious restaurant, but who knew it was a place for seeking pleasure.
His nose was filled with a strong but not annoying fragrance. Xie Yiling looked embarrassed, carefully pushed away the woman in front of him, and took the opportunity to retract his arm, keeping his arms tightly against his body and motionless.
The woman continued to pull his arm unwillingly. Xie Yiling just pushed her away, but she immediately stuck back. During the tug-of-war, he quickly glanced at Nangong Ci next to him, and saw that although his face seemed unchanged, his lips were tightly pursed into a line, exposing his inner bewilderment as well.
At this time, was he supposed to rely on a blind person to get him out of this predicament?
A sense of responsibility arose spontaneously. Xie Yiling suddenly grabbed Nangong Ci’s hand, blocked his arm in front of him, and separated the two women, “Sisters, excuse me, we’re here to find someone.”
As he spoke, he led Nangong Ci inside without looking back. He pretended not to see anyone who came up to greet him from behind, and rushed forward with his head down.
“Who doesn’t come here to find someone?”
The conversation between the two women faintly came from behind.
“I’m afraid they’re here to find Miss Nie again…”