novelzi Chapter 237: Going to Find Little Martial Uncle
Chapter 237: Going to Find Little Martial Uncle
In the Northwest, within a secluded little mountain village, there lived a group of strange people.
The reason they were considered strange primarily boils down to three points.
First, the attire of the village residents was drastically different from that of modern people; their clothing could indeed be described as varied and colorful. Some wore official robes and gowns from the Ancient Dynasty era, others were clad in long robes that seemed to come straight from a Branch Sect, exuding an air of Immortal Qi, and still others simply draped themselves in animal skins.
And then there were those whose outfits were simply beyond description.
Next was the geography of the village, nestled in a valley high in the mountains, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides without any roads leading down. The cliffs were almost vertical, yet there was not a single ladder or staircase to descend the mountain; was it that they had no need to leave the mountain, or was it simply impossible?
The villagers’ names were another oddity. The names they chose were utterly whimsical; you couldn’t predict them, and nothing seemed off-limits. Names like Zhao Meizhu, Qian Youguang, Sun Xiaoyang, Li Qiye, Wang Jiudan... In short, finding a pleasant-sounding one was like stumbling upon a treasure outside.
There were plenty more peculiarities, like how some villagers walked with earth-shattering steps that truly left footprints on the ground, and others who casually slept on tightropes.
At dusk, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen with two braids like goat horns appeared on the village street. She was carrying something resembling a Book Bag, and her obsidian-like eyes sparkled.
Oh dear, the little thief is here!
Facing such a devilishly adorable girl, the villagers all had the same reaction: as if a storm had come, they scrambled to bring in the laundry, pushing and shoving each other out of the way, clearing out in three seconds flat without a soul in sight, like leaves swept away by an autumn wind.
Could they really hide?
A sly gleam flashed across the girl’s eyes as she looked up at the shop on her left, a medicine store. It’s your turn, she decided, and with her hands behind her back imitating the haughty manner of an adult, she strode over with a determined gait to knock on the door.
"Grandpa Qian, is your door solid?"
The girl didn’t knock; instead, she approached the door and touched it seriously.
"Solid enough, made of thousand-year-old nanmu wood, how could it not be?"
An old man’s voice came from within the house.
"Oh!"
The very next second, the grand door that had just been declared to be made of thousand-year-old nanmu wood collapsed with a thunderous "boom," the noise reverberating through the entire valley.
"Grandpa Qian, it seems not so solid after all!"
The girl clapped her hands innocently and entered the shop.
I really shouldn’t have!
The elderly gentleman inside was so frustrated he wished he could smack his grandson. His face cringed at the sight of the young girl, the pain as acute as one could imagine.
After a pause, he put on a forced smile and said,
"Young miss, what would you like to ’borrow’ this time?"
Qian Youguang enunciated the word ’borrow’ with particular emphasis.
"Grandpa Qian, you and I have such a good relationship. I’m about to go down the mountain, don’t you have something you’d like to give me?"
They say a woman’s face changes faster than the sky in June!
But the tears of the girl in front of him came faster than any weather, her crying so sincere and free, as though it cost nothing. A stranger might have thought she was the one who had just been wronged.
"My dear, please don’t cry anymore. If you cry any harder, there’ll be a flash flood."
Outside, thunder actually did begin to rumble.
"Alright, alright, Grandpa Qian will splurge this time. Take whatever you like from the shop."
Although he said this, nine figures emerged from the old man’s body and rapidly began sorting through the shop’s goods.
"How could I, Grandpa Qian?"
In an instant, her tears were gone, and there was no hint of tear stains at the corners of the girl’s eyes.
Monster!
Although the girl claimed to be embarrassed, she adeptly made her way to the medicine cabinet and, without looking, started grabbing bottles and tossing them into her "Book Bag." The small backpack somehow accommodated several times its volume without showing any bulge.
Before leaving, the girl still didn’t forget to ruffle Li Xianglong’s hair, yet the latter could only nod incessantly, unaware that the girl was only a year or two older than himself.
This youthful love, who doesn’t take it as a joke?
An apothecary.
A blacksmith.
Next, an artist.
"Grandpa Sun, the colors are vivid, the strokes are clear, the form and spirit captured without diminishing either. It’s only been a few days since I last saw you, but what an eye-opener – other people’s drawing skills are like hens pecking at grain, improving minutely year after year, but with you, it’s like a rising tide lifting a boat, swiftly soaring up!"
This time, the door was standing open.
Seeing the door, the girl glanced at the wall where a Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Map hung and praised it with some highfalutin commentary she’d learned from who knows where.
Whether others believe it or not is unimportant, as long as I believe what I praise.
"It’s not as good as you say, it hasn’t grown as fast as your martial arts skills," replied Old Man Sun, sitting at the desk, still holding a brush in his hand.
"What are you painting, Grandpa Sun?"
"I’m about to go down the mountain; why don’t you paint one for me too?"
The girl leaned in closer, unable to see clearly or understand the odd, twisted characters on the desk.
"Nonsense!"
"You must never think of asking someone to paint your portrait in the future. Only the dead need that sort of thing. My work here isn’t finished yet. Go visit the other houses first, then come back to collect it from me."
They say those who read and paint are decent folk; with Sun Xiaoyang, this was his principle. Seeing him so earnestly painting, he indeed seemed much more capable than the ones before him.
The girl nodded and continued on to the next house.
...
She made her way along the street, visiting every place where there was an opportunity to glean something, reaching the last stop, the one dedicated to martial arts.
"Sausage Sister, is that you?"
Seeing who opened the door for her, the girl wore a somewhat puzzled look.
She heard from her grandfather that Sister Feng Yuan had gotten married there, but on the wedding day, the groom said he was going to fetch a present and ended up dead.
A husband-cursing demon!
"Girl, you’ve grown up so much, curious, are you? Whenever the sister decides to return, she’ll return."
This time it was the girl’s head being touched, and she unwillingly said:
"Sausage Sister, I’ve grown up."
She very much wanted to shake off the hand on her head but couldn’t escape.
"No need to go inside, there’s no one else at home now. This time, I will accompany you on a walk outside."
When speaking of there being no one else, the mood in both their eyes dimmed for a moment.
"No!"
"Sausage Sister, with your big size, if you go out, would you leave any chance for me, Long Nannan, to survive?"
The girl protested on the spot.
Heaven knows where she got the dream of conquering all the men in the world, including whether it encompassed her little martial uncle; nobody could tell.
"Then you better grow up!"
"Grow up fast, or your sister will get impatient and not wait for you. And, girl, your opposition is useless; this is your grandfather’s order, so be a good girl and follow me."
You win again!
The girl turned around on the spot, and as she watched the girl with a defeated look on her face, Feng Yuan laughed delightedly,