Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Illusion (6)

“Feng Yin will be bullied if I leave him so I just brought him together with me.” Si Ran’s lips curled slightly in a delicate smile.

“Si Ran, you are really kind…” Do you think we are going on a stroll here…

I twitched the corners of my mouth and laughed dryly. That’s it, it’s over, it’s useless to mention it any more.

I opened my mouth wanting to say something, but Si Ran lightly touched his pink lips, made a silent gesture, and opened his lips slightly, “If you have something to say, say it later. We have to leave here first.”

I nodded and left the foot of the Imperial City walls with Si Ran and Feng Yin. We went all the way south and we didn’t stop until we left the capital in January. Only stopping at an inn intermittently to rest.

Throughout the journey, I noticed many officers and troops patrolling. As I sat drinking tea in the teahouse, I heard that the recent high increase in the number of officers and soldiers was due to certain individuals going missing from the palace, according to various travelers. They have no idea who went missing, but they believe it was a powerful person, possibly the emperor’s concubine.

Hearing this, I just smiled and drank tea, not saying anything else.

Now that summer has come to an end, the beginning of fall is approaching. When we arrived in a little town, we went to a cloth and fabric store to buy clothes because our clothes were a little thinner then found an inn to stay. It’s a good thing I read a lot of biographies of renowned individuals as a kid. Although I had never run away from home before, it was not wholly foreign to me. At the very least, I had enough money before I went out.

In the past month, Feng Yin had still not spoken much, like a shy little girl. Perhaps because it was not long ago that he lost his mother concubine, or because I and Si Ran were not familiar enough with him. Si Ran, on the other hand, was in good spirits the entire journey, and his smile never faded.

I pulled back my thoughts as soon as I placed the luggage on the dining table, ordered a few famous side dishes of the inn, poured myself a cup of tea, drank it, and waited for the food to be served. Si Ran followed suit. Feng Yin was the only one who lowered his head and twisted the bottom corners of his robes together. I sighed as it became clear that he was once again uneasy.

After the waiter had served the food, I held up my chopsticks and was about to soothe my rumbling tummy when the front door was kicked open. An idiotic individual entered the inn as soon as it was kicked open, surrounded by a few servants. His greedy eyes examined the occupants inside the inn for a time before stopping at our table. The person waved his hand, and the servants immediately understood, shouted, and drove the other guests out, except for the three of us. The shopkeeper noticed it and crouched down, terrified.

I remained smiling and put some side dishes in Si Ran’s bowl, while Si Ran put some vegetables in Feng Yin’s bowl, and Feng Yin…well he was silently eating, as if nothing happened.

The man came to our table, placed a pair of hands on both sides of Feng Yin’s shoulders, and said some threatening words. Feng Yin shook and looked at me helplessly.

I pulled out a chopstick and knocked it hard at the thief’s hands. The man took his hands back with a cry.  A servant shouted to use force and he immediately attempted to grab Si Ran. When I saw this, I promptly waved my hand stopping him. I became angry, stood up and twisted the man’s hand, dislocating it. I frowned and warned him heavily,  “How can you touch my man?! Hmph! Don’t let me see you again, or you won’t be so lucky next time. “

The man’s teeth trembled in pain when he felt his dislocated hand. He told the servant to move the wooden table and fight me, but these servants, who couldn’t even do three-legged cat kung fu, were obviously not my opponents. I beat them to the ground quickly and neatly. If I couldn’t even beat them, wouldn’t my 10 years of hard work learning kung fu be in vain?

(t/n three-legged cat-a metaphor for a person who has a little knowledge of various skills, described as the level is not high; shallow.)

The man was terrified by my actions and shouted, “Spare my life, great hero,” as I pulled over his collar. I ignored him, looked at the destroyed food, and raised my eyebrows, “You shattered our meals, you must compensate us!”

Because of my remark, Si Ran, who was watching the good show, laughed out loud, Feng Yin was stunned on the spot, and even the guy I was holding by the collar was dumbfounded.

“Did you hear me? Hurry up and compensate, I don’t want to waste money because of you.” I raised my eyebrows, very impatient.

When the words fell, the man shivered and took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and held it with both hands and handed it to me. I let go of the hand holding his collar and took the silver with satisfaction. We changed tables and ordered the original meal to the shopkeeper who had poked his head out from under the counter at some point, while the man and his servant got up and ran. As they ran out of the inn, the man didn’t forget to turn around and shout- “My father is the county magistrate, you wait! I will definitely come to take revenge!”

Wait? I’m not a fool, whoever waits for you is asking for trouble.

“Son of a little magistrate, how dare he be so arrogant.” Si Ran frowned slightly, and there was extreme dissatisfaction in his words.

“Calm down, don’t care so much about it.” I smiled, not taking it seriously.

Si Ran nodded and calmed his anger. After all, we were here to elope, not to make a private visit.

On the other hand, Feng Yin, who was quietly eating the food served by the waiter, glanced at me from time to time, unable to hide his admiration. The people outside the store also looked at me with a little admiration. I felt a little proud. This is the so-called being a hero!

Si Ran chuckled and knocked me on the head with chopsticks, “Looking at your grinning expression, what strange things are you thinking again.”

I put aside my pride, shook my head and giggled, then buried my head to eat.

Since we’ve provoked people, we don’t need to stay in this town for too long. After eating the food and settling the bill, the three of us set off for a leisurely stroll around the so-called rivers and lakes.

Before I knew it, it was already autumn. Si Ran was dressed in white, with his long black hair casually placed behind his back. Occasionally, a trace of black hair hangs playfully on the side of his face, floating like an immortal without losing elegance.

On the side, Feng Yin stared at the sugar gourd in the hawker’s hand. He didn’t say whether he wanted it or not. He stared so hard that I became embarrassed. I patted his shoulder, he turned his head and looked at me with a pair of ink eyes. I looked back and laughed harmlessly, “Nephew, if you call me uncle, I’ll buy it for you.”

Feng Yin just turned his head after, his childish face looked at Si Ran, then his pink mouth opened, “Brother Si Lian.”

Si Ran curled his lips into a smile and raised his eyebrows at me proudly. He took a bunch of candied haws and handed them to Feng Yin. Looking at Feng Yin who was content with eating candied haws, I was stunned. I gritted my teeth and paid the money.

Shouldn’t you just call me uncle? Is it that difficult…

On the way, we learned that a martial arts conference will be held in a nearby town in a few days to nominate a new martial arts leader. Some martial artists with reputation and capability will take part. Naturally, how could Si Ran, who is full of martial arts thoughts, pass up such a wonderful opportunity? He dragged Feng Yin and me down the road, and we rushed to town, ending up here on the way.

Just as I turned around and continued to follow Si Ran’s footsteps, I was bumped by a girl who jumped out of nowhere. The girl was knocked to the ground. She rubbed her forehead, and her pretty face was full of anger.