It was late at night on Lin 47th Street. The door of the Old Brush Pen Shop was pushed open and then quickly closed. The dim lights inside flickered like stars and then went out again.
Ning Que untied the heavy weapon on his back, tore off the cloth cover of the big black umbrella, and took off his wet and heavy outer shirt. He handed it to Sangsang who was standing in front of him and asked casually, "I'm hungry. Is the noodles ready?"
Sangsang handed him the dry towel and nodded happily. "I'll serve it to you."
A bowl of hot noodle soup was served. It was still four Sichuan peppers, but there were more chopped green onions than usual. The golden and tender fried egg on the noodles was extremely rare. Chopping people was indeed more tiring than hoeing. Ning Que was wet all over and his stomach was wet. How could he resist the temptation of fried egg noodles with scallions? His eyes lit up. He put down the wet towel and picked up the chopsticks to eat the noodles in big mouthfuls. It was extremely delicious.
Seeing that he was eating happily, Sangsang's tanned face was full of joy. She picked up the slightly wet towel and stood behind him to dry his hair. From time to time, she reminded him that it was too hot and he shouldn't eat too quickly.
At this moment, two coughs sounded in the dark shop. The big boss of Chang 'an City, who had been ignored and seemed to be invisible, finally couldn't help but say, "The noodles are very fragrant."
Several hours ago, Chao Xiaoshu had said the same thing when he came to the Old Brush Pen Shop.
Sangsang continued to dry Ning Que's hair, pretending not to see him or hear his words. Ning Que's reaction was a little different from before. He lowered his head to eat the noodle soup and said vaguely, "Give him a bowl."
After a while, the second bowl of noodle soup was served. Chao Xiaoshu looked around and found that there was nothing else to sit on except the armchair. But he didn't care. He squatted down beside Ning Que and took a few bites with his chopsticks, only to find that his noodles seemed to be different from Ning Que's.
The standard four Sichuan peppers, 30 chopped green onions, but no fried egg.
He couldn't help but pick up his chopsticks and gently knock on the edge of Ning Que's bowl to remind him. Ning Que glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and almost laughed out loud. He turned to Sangsang and said, "Don't be too stingy. Fry another egg."
Finally, the omelet was ready. Ning Que and Chao Xiaoshu held large bowls of noodles and ate happily. Sangsang squatted not far from them and put the clothes and the cloth cover into a copper basin to burn. No one in the shop spoke.
After some time, Ning Que put down the bowl of noodles in his hand and leaned back comfortably. He rubbed his slightly bulging belly and looked at Chao Xiaoshu, who was squatting beside him. He said, "I killed more than five people. You can count again … Don't be stingy. I asked Sangsang to add fried eggs for you."
Chao Xiaoshu held the bowl of noodles, looked at him and said with a bitter smile, "So you were waiting for me here. Two thousand taels."
"Deal." Ning Que seemed to be casual, but he was actually a little excited. As for Sangsang, who was squatting beside the copper basin to burn the clothes, she clenched her small fists tightly and secretly calculated how big a pile of two thousand taels of silver would be.
Sangsang was about to wash the bowls when Chao Xiaoshu reluctantly handed over the bowl of noodle soup. Then he frowned slightly and slowly raised the corner of his sleeve to cover his mouth. When he put it down again, there were some blood stains on his sleeve.
Ning Que looked at his sleeve and knew that this extremely powerful middle-aged man had suffered serious injuries in the previous series of battles. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you alright?"
Chao Xiaoshu took a bowl of coarse tea from Sangsang and smiled to express his gratitude. After a sip, he said calmly, "Don't worry. I grew up in the slums of the Eastern City. I don't know how many fights I've fought in my life and how many times I've suffered more serious injuries than this. Every time my enemies saw me covered in blood and thought I would never get up again, I always got up and gave them a fatal blow."
Ning Que said self-deprecatingly, "A gangster who only knows how to fight can actually cultivate and be so powerful. I'm so devoted to cultivation, but I can't even touch the door of the Initial State. Old Master Haotian is really blind."
Chao Xiaoshu smiled and did not continue this topic. A gang leader who had been immersed in the dark Jianghu of Chang 'an all his life and finally became a Great Sword Master at the upper grade of Seethrough State must have had some Lucky Chances, but those Lucky Chances were not worth mentioning.
"You said that after tonight, you'll be able to reveal your trump card."
Ning Que's gaze passed through the wooden door of the shop and fell on a corner of the palace wall in the distance. He said, "Now I can roughly guess that your trump card is in the palace. With such a powerful background, no wonder you can ignore the Chang 'an Local Government."
"After tonight, perhaps the whole empire will envy me, because I have such a person standing behind me." Chao Xiaoshu said calmly, "But no one will know what I've sacrificed for him."
"What do you need to sacrifice to work for the nobles in the palace?" Ning Que asked.
Chao Xiaoshu smiled and said, "If I hadn't been entangled by mundane affairs these years and had to deal with countless trivial things when the person in the palace had a thought, perhaps I would have already broken through the Seethrough State and stepped into the Destiny State."
"That's all?" Ning Que continued to ask.
Chao Xiaoshu seemed to have thought of something and fell into a long silence. His smile became a little distant and he said slowly, "I still need you to sacrifice your courage. You have to consider the big picture when doing things, so sometimes you can't be happy. Because to force out all the trump cards of the opponent, I had to endure for several months, so I couldn't even protect my own brother. "
Hearing this, Ning Que's right hand slightly tightened. He knew that Chao Xiaoshu was talking about Darkie, but he didn't answer and didn't mention the relationship between him and Darkie. He lowered his head and asked, "How did your brother die?"
"My brother was called Zhuo Er, a spy. The Military Ministry sent him to lurk around me and asked him to investigate whether I had colluded with the Yuelun Kingdom. In fact, they just wanted to find an excuse to attack Spring Breeze Pavilion, or even directly frame me. "
"But brothers are brothers after all. He told me all the inside story, so naturally he wouldn't investigate me for the Military Ministry, nor would he frame me according to the Military Ministry's military order. And as a soldier of the Tang Empire, he couldn't betray the secrets of his comrade. So he was stuck in the middle these few months and was very painful."
Chao Xiaoshu slightly lowered his eyes and said, "Now that I think about it, even if it would make the person in the palace angry, I should have told him the truth earlier. Maybe he would die eventually, but at least he wouldn't have been so painful during that time."
Ning Que casually asked, "But you still didn't say how he died."
"Being a spy is the most dangerous kind of job. When he doesn't lean towards any side, he can die at any time, and when he decides to lean towards one side, he is more likely to face death. That day, he finally decided to tell me the Military Ministry's plan, but it was discovered by the Military Ministry. So he was purged and died opposite this shop. "
Chao Xiaoshu looked at the wooden door of the shop and the gray wall that he couldn't see.
After a moment of silence, Ning Que asked, "Was the Sword Master from South Jin Kingdom who killed him?"
"Yes." Chao Xiaoshu looked back at Aokiji's face and said with a smile, "From now on, we are brothers."
Ning Que slightly raised his eyebrows and replied with a smile, "Isn't this too childish?"
Chao Xiaoshu laughed and said, "We are brothers for a lifetime. This kind of thing is that simple."
"A lifetime is just two bowls of noodles with fried eggs."
Ning Que shook his head and said with a smile, "The word 'brothers' is a bit vulgar. And those famous brothers that I know, if it wasn't for the fact that some of them were lucky enough to die first, they would eventually turn against each other. Tonight, I just want to help you and earn some money. Can you not be so vulgar and find some other meaning in life?"
Chao Xiaoshu slowly frowned and looked at Ning Que with interest. He was a little surprised to hear such a reply and asked, "At your age, the world in your eyes is so gray … I am really curious about your past now. If you are interested in telling me about it in the future, please remember to call me. I will buy you some tea."
Ning Que replied, "I don't even want to remember those things, let alone tell others about them."
Chao Xiaoshu smiled and said, "Alright, then what do you think the real meaning of life is other than noodles with fried eggs?"
"The meaning of life is of course career and love, or money and women. I know you think this sentence is very clever, and you think that I am also very clever, but can you not laugh so mysteriously? "
Ning Que shook his head helplessly. In order to let this big boss of Chang 'an understand the meaning of life, he pointed to Sangsang who had just walked over and asked, "Which girl in the House of Red Sleeves do you think is suitable to be your mistress?"
Sangsang wiped her little hands on her apron and thought seriously for a long time with her brows furrowed. Then she carefully said, "I think the second girl sitting on your left is quite good."
"That is Lu Xue." Ning Que thought of the girl's soft waist and asked with a smile, "Why do you think this girl is suitable to be my wife?"
Sangsang opened her willowy eyes and answered seriously, "Her face is well-powdered and looks clean when she smiles. Her teeth are white and neat. She looks very healthy. And I have peeked at her waist and buttocks. She should be good for having children in the future."
Ning Que turned around and smiled proudly at Chao Xiaoshu.
Chao Xiaoshu looked at the little dimple on Ning Que's left cheek and thought, "Guarding a shop every day, discussing with his underage handmaiden which prostitute is suitable to have children and be his wife. Is this the meaning of life?"
Suddenly, he thought of the handmaiden leaning against the door before he left the Old Brush Pen Shop and the two steaming hot bowls of noodles with fried eggs when he returned to the shop. He thought of himself who had been forgotten in the corner and the feeling that no one could come between the master and the handmaiden. Gradually, he understood something and said with a smile, "So the meaning of life is to live."
Ning Que shook his head and said with a smile, "Sour. That's too sour."
Chao Xiaoshu looked at the lad's expression and knew that he did not understand what he was talking about. Naturally, he would not point it out. He stood up and walked to the door of the shop. He turned around and said with a smile, "I should go. There are many things to deal with in Chang 'an tonight. Someone will give you the money tomorrow and then he will take you to a place."
Hearing the last few words, Ning Que's face showed a trace of vigilance. He did not ask where he was going but directly asked the key point of the matter, "Can I not go?"
Chao Xiaoshu pushed open the wooden door of the shop and said without hesitation, "No."
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