The return journey was rather long. Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu each had half a piece of cake to fill their stomachs. They drank a few mouthfuls by the stream, washed their faces, and tied up their messy hair. However, their muddy yellow clothes were still unsightly when they walked together with Jing Chen, whose white clothes fluttered in the wind.
Only the footsteps of the three could be heard in the quiet forest. Yu Shu looked at Jing Chen's back. She used to be fascinated by Jin Yong and Gu Long. When she was young, she also yearned for the martial arts heroes in the books. Now that she finally met a real person who could fly over eaves and run on walls, and also use a sword to seal acupoints, she was really excited and wanted to talk. So she took the initiative to start a conversation after walking for a while.
"Hero, are you a Taoist from Mount Longhu?"
Last night, she heard him introduce himself, saying that he was from Mount Longhu. She knew Mount Longhu. It was the place where the famous Celestial Master Zhang of the Eastern Han Dynasty established his sect.
Yu Shu was a layman, so she didn't know that as one of the 72 blessed lands in the world, Mount Longhu had more than one sect. Her question was too general.
Jing Chen was leading the way. Hearing her question, he didn't correct her and only answered, "I'm from Mount Longhu."
"Is Mount Longhu far from Yiyang City?" Hearing that he was willing to answer and didn't put on airs, Yu Shu was secretly happy. She pulled Yu Xiaoxiu a few steps faster and followed behind him.
The Da 'an Dynasty replaced the Yuan and Ming Dynasties after the fall of the Song Dynasty. It had existed for three hundred years. She only knew that Yiyang City was in the south, but she knew nothing else. It was rare to meet a foreign Taoist, so of course she had to have a good chat and broaden her knowledge.
"It's ten days' journey."
"Is Mount Longhu in the east or west?"
"Southeast of Yiyang."
"Hero, did you come out alone? No one went with you?"
"I went down the mountain alone."
"Hero, you didn't ride a horse? Did you go on foot?"
"I didn't ride a horse. I walked."
"Wow, you can really walk."
"Yes."
Yu Shu asked one question after another. Jing Chen gradually felt that this young man was talking too much, but he did not show any impatience. Out of politeness, he still answered one question after another, but did not say anything more.
It was rare for Yu Xiaoxiu to walk around in the suburbs. He curiously looked at the trees and flowers around him. Occasionally, he would tilt his head and listen to their conversation without interrupting. As a native of the Da 'an Dynasty, he was taught to respect cultivators from an early age. Seeing Yu Shu so boldly talking to a Taoist priest, he couldn't help but admire his sister a little more.
Yu Shu thought this man was good-tempered, knew martial art, came from an upright sect, and was willing to chat with her, a 'wild kid' whom she rescued along the way. It was said that Taoists were proficient in the art of changing one's appearance, so if Yu Xiaoxiu could receive a few pointers from him, he would definitely benefit a lot. When the time comes, he would teach her, hey, hey.
She wanted to get closer to him, so she opened her mouth and said,
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Hero, my name is Yu Shu, and this is my younger brother, Yu Xiaoxiu. May I know your name?"
"My name is Jing Chen."
"So you are Hero Jing Chen." Yu Shu thought that it was rare to see someone with the surname Jing, so it should be a Taoist name.
The person in front suddenly turned his head. Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu also stopped and looked at Jing Chen in confusion. The sun rose, and the morning light dazzled his slightly frowning eyebrows, making the brother and sister feel dizzy. Then they heard him say,
"Don't call me hero anymore. I haven't done anything righteous, and I haven't done anything righteous. I don't deserve this title."
He was clearly not being modest, but seriously correcting the title. Yu Xiaoxiu secretly pulled Yu Shu, a little nervous, for fear that his sister would make this Taoist priest angry. But Yu Shu didn't care and said,
"I don't think what you said is right. Isn't acting righteous and doing something righteous called a hero? Who made this rule? I was the one who called you hero. In my opinion, you stopped those bad guys and saved us. This is a chivalrous act. There's no need to judge. What's wrong with me calling you hero? A hundred people have a hundred eyes. As long as I feel that it's right, it's fine. "
Jing Chen looked perplexed. Ever since he was young, he had inherited the righteous teachings of the sect, and he had long had a general idea of what was right and what was wrong. Now that he heard this young man speak, he felt that he was right, but he also felt that he was biased, but he could not tell what was wrong.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Yu Shu thought that he had said too much just now, so she cleared her throat and asked carefully,
"Hero Jing Chen, are you unhappy that I called you like this?"
Jing Chen shook his head. He just felt that it was wrong for her to call him that, but he wasn't unhappy.
Yu Shu grinned, showing her canine teeth. "That's it. I called you my name. Since you're not unhappy, I'll call you that."
Jing Chen glanced at her, turned around and continued to walk forward.
"It's up to you."
"Yes, hero."
Yu Shu winked at Yu Xiaoxiu, pulled him to follow up, and continued to talk. Yu Xiaoxiu felt strange. He always felt that the Taoist priest in front of him was … fooled by his sister?
The three of them walked all the way back to Yiyang City. The passers-by were being interrogated at the gate of the city. They didn't know what happened, but they could only enter but not leave. The brother and sister with dirty clothes were also stopped as if they were beggars from other places. If it weren't for Jing Chen, the Taoist priest, they wouldn't have been able to enter the city.
Many people were blocked at the gate. Jing Chen wore a conspicuous Taoist robe. Wherever he passed, people naturally made way for him. He was so handsome that some young girls and women couldn't help but stare at him. They were so shy that they covered their faces with their handkerchief sleeves and peeked at him, but no one dared to point at him.
Yu Shu pulled Yu Xiaoxiu to walk behind. People also made way for them. Of course, they were disliked by the dirty and smelly people, so they took the initiative to avoid them. Yu Shu originally wanted to ask the passers-by what happened, but she couldn't help them.
Finally, they squeezed through the crowd and reached a place under the city wall with few people. Jing Chen stopped and said to the two,
"We've arrived at the city. Let's say goodbye."
After that, he turned around and was about to leave before the brother and sister answered. How could Yu Shu let him go like this? She was anxious and reached out to grab his sleeve,
"Hero, where do you stay in Yiyang City? Leave a place for us to go home and thank you when we go home. "
Jing Chen turned around and saw Yu Shu's sincere face. He shook his head and said, "No, I'm sleeping outside and have no fixed place."
"Ah?" What should he do now? If he left, he wouldn't be able to find him again. How could he instruct Yu Xiaoxiu?
While Yu Shu was in a daze, Jing Chen had already pulled his sleeve back from her hand. He was about to leave, but he caught a glimpse of a black handprint on the corner of his sleeve. He hesitated for a moment and said to the two of them helplessly,
"If you need anything, you can find me in the plum forest in the east of the city."
After that, he didn't stay any longer. He turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
"Hey, Da —" Yu Shu stretched out her hand and wanted to shout, but she stopped after a while. She turned around and asked Yu Xiaoxiu,
"The plum forest in the east of the city? Where is it? "
Yu Xiaoxiu scratched his hair and said, "There are several places."
"Alas, forget it. Let's go home first. Aunt Liu must be worried to death."
After they left, Yu Shu didn't have the mood to worry anymore. She pulled Yu Xiaoxiu and ran home quickly. What she didn't know was that Aunt Liu was not the only one waiting for her at home.
***
It was the first time for Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu to go to the south of the city. They didn't know the way, so they took many turns and ran several streets before they found the Ji family's mansion.
They went back through the back door. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Aunt Liu sitting under the tree and Uncle Saturday squatting beside her.
"Aunt Liu, we're back!"
Aunt Liu turned her head and saw the two children. She immediately ran forward and hugged them, crying,
"Where are the young master and the young lady? Why did you come back so late? I was scared to death! I was really scared to death!"
If it weren't for the difference between master and servant, Aunt Liu would probably reach out and beat them to calm down.
Yu Shu was okay and laughed heartlessly. Yu Xiaoxiu was closest to Aunt Liu. When he got home and was hugged by her, he almost cried again. Aunt Liu's voice was so loud that the other two families in the yard ran out to see.
Uncle Saturday got up and followed them. He looked at the brother and sister covered in mud and said, "Where have you been? Why are you like this?"
Yu Shu had thought about it on the way. When she was about to make up a lie, she heard a servant said,
"Since they are back, take them to see the Third Master quickly."
Yu Shu didn't think that with their status, the Third Master would be alarmed if they were lost for a night. She went to ask Aunt Liu,
"Aunt Liu, what happened?"
Sixth Uncle Zhou explained from the side.
"Alas, the young master of the Liu family was also lost last night. He hasn't come back yet. It is said that children often go missing in Yiyang City recently. It happened that you two didn't come back last night, so I thought you were also kidnapped by human traffickers. In order to find the young master of the Liu family, the Third Master asked you to come back and tell him when you came back."
Yu Xiaoxiu looked at Yu Shu, and Yu Shu thought to herself. The two of them had been hiding in the rain for an entire night and got lost. In the end, they were lucky enough to be sent back by Jing Chen. The rain was so heavy last night, and the others must still be trapped in the forest, lost and unable to return.
So she winked at Yu Xiaoxiu and said to the others,
"Then let's go into the house to wash and change clothes first. It's disrespectful to see the Third Master like this."
Aunt Liu hurriedly said, "Okay, okay. You go back to the house first. I will bring you some water. There are steamed buns in the kitchen. Eat two. When we come back from the Third Master, Aunt Liu will cook something delicious for you."
Yu Shu nodded and pulled Yu Xiaoxiu into the house. As soon as the door was closed, Yu Xiaoxiu couldn't help but say nervously,
"Sister, what should we do?"
Yu Shu knew what he was afraid of. Last night, they left Xue Wenzhe behind and ran away by themselves. It was not a big deal. They didn't have time to care about others when they were running for their lives. But if the Liu family knew that they were caught with Xue Wenzhe last night and ran back first, they would definitely be unhappy. It would be fine if Xue Wenzhe was safe. But if something happened to him, wouldn't they vent their anger on them?
However, if they kept it a secret, the Liu family would not be able to find Xue Wenzhe. If something happened to Xue Wenzhe alone in the forest, wouldn't it be the same as harming a life?
Yu Shu thought for a while and her eyes lit up. She put her arm around Yu Xiaoxiu's neck and whispered in his ear,
"Let's talk like this later …"
The more Yu Xiaoxiu listened, the weirder his face became. Finally, he hesitated and said, "Is, is this okay?"
"Why not? If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been in danger. If it weren't for us, he might be a ghost now. Half of his life was saved by Master Jing Chen, and the other half was saved by us."
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