Chapter 41 Voluntary

  "Have you ever been chased around the streets by someone?" Xuan Xu asked Min An, "If this proposal is not against your will, you should make preparations for this aspect."

  Min An was taken aback, recalling the time he got into trouble and was chased by the bailiffs of Huangshi County. He hesitated for a moment before responding, "Of course not, what does the young master want to do?" This brief sentence saved his face.

  Xuan Xu smiled and said: "If you don't pay for the tea, it's only natural to eat a free meal. When the shopkeeper reacts, you should run faster." His smile was always warm and friendly, even when discussing shady dealings, he spoke openly and frankly, with an air of integrity that would not make people look down on him. Therefore, Hua Cui approached him with great interest and said: "Anyway, I've never tried it before, let me open my eyes today."

  Xuan Xu sat up straight and called the shopkeeper to come over, asking how much he owed for the tea. He pushed out a few pieces of silver that Hua Cui had previously placed on the table, which was enough to pay for a pot of mountain spring tea, then turned around and calmly said to Hua Cui, "Let's go."

  Hua Cui pulled on Min An's sleeve and stood up, ready to quickly slip out the door. The shopkeeper hastily reached out to stop Xuan Xu, saying: "The guest's pastry money hasn't been given yet, how can you just leave like this?"

  Xuan Xu smiled slightly: "Earlier, the shopkeeper sent over three plates of osmanthus and chrysanthemum cake, but they didn't suit my friend's taste, so I asked the shopkeeper to exchange them for three plates of cool fruit. Is there anything wrong with that?"

  The shopkeeper replied: "That's right, so I said guests have to pay for the cool fruit."

  "Isn't Liangguo exchanged for pastries?"

  The shopkeeper was taken aback: "That pastry customer didn't pay either."

  "I didn't even eat a pastry, why should I pay?" After saying that, Xuan Xu walked around the shopkeeper's body, his sleeves fluttering as he strolled out of the teahouse. Hua Cui pulled Min An who had been waiting on the street, saw Xuan Xu come out and smiled: "I didn't expect it to be so easy."

  "Hurry up and run!" Xuan Xu said without turning his head. He reached out to grab Min An's wrist, and with a swift movement, he pulled him forward. Min An looked tense at this moment, but then he also grabbed Hua Cui's hand, carrying the basket of corn on his back as they rushed forward together. The three of them were like fish swimming in the current, blending into the crowd and quickly squeezing out of the street entrance.

  Huā Cuì turned her head to look around, making sure no one was chasing after her, and patted her chest: "It's fine, it's fine." Her face had a hint of redness, and the light in her eyes still held a strong sense of excitement. She leaned in towards Xuē Xù and whispered: "This is my first time doing something wrong, yet I don't feel any shame at all. Xuē Xù really has some magical methods that make me have to admit defeat."

  Hua Cui was actually talking to Min An, but Min An didn't catch the tone and remained standing with his back straight, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  Xuan Xu bowed his hands and made a courtesy call, then wanted to leave first. Hua Cui asked: "Where are you going?"

  Xuan Xu looked up at the sky and smiled, saying: "The southeastern half of the city is covered with dark clouds, it's about to rain, I have to go back and fly a kite to calculate the strength of the thunderstorm."

  Hua Cui's eyes lit up at the new idea: "Sounds interesting, is it fun?" But as soon as she finished speaking, she remembered that Min An couldn't stand thunderstorms. If she went to check it out with him, who would take care of him? So she immediately changed her tune and said: "It's thundering and raining outside, how dangerous! Let's just do something safe instead."

  Xuan Xu looked around and then turned back to Hua Cui, saying: "Hearing you say that, I remembered another interesting thing. Want to come and take a look?"

  "Come on, shall we go?" said Hua Cuilian, tugging at An Ning's sleeve.

  Min An replied: "I want to go to the night market and take a look at the shadow puppet show." He, who had been thinking of Bisou all along, followed Huan Xiao to the street, never to return.

  Huā Cuì naturally followed Mǐn ān's intentions, even if she herself was preoccupied with strange thoughts. Xuán Xù laughed and bid farewell, taking two steps back before the corn he had been feeding jumped out of the bamboo basket, raising its left hand to grab his hem, also following closely behind.

  Min An scolded again, and the corn kernel reluctantly circled around Xuan Xu's feet before finally following Min An to the night market at Wase Temple.

  The humid air was oppressive, pressing down on the tile-roofed house all around. The old and young were packed in together, waiting for the theatrical stage to be set up in the courtyard and the performance to begin. Min An saw that there were many people, and his forehead sweated even more profusely; he wiped it again and again. If he hadn't been thinking about having to complete the task entrusted to him by the young master, he wouldn't have insisted on standing for so long.

  Xuan Xu walked up to him, handed over a few sugar pills and said in a gentle voice: "I often carry some refreshing medicine, want to try it?" Min An did not decline, picked up the sugar pill and put it in his mouth. After the sugar coating melted, a faint scent of menthol and jasmine wafted up his nostrils, making him feel refreshed and invigorated for a moment.

  After his mind cleared up, Min An returned to normal and thanked Xuan Xu with a smile. Xuan Xu smiled back at him, his eyes seeming to hold a clear stream that only poured down on him. Min An was used to being stared at by men and women alike, so he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. He turned his head to take in the lively theater stage. Xuan Xu stood behind him, stretching out his arms slightly to block off the people crowding in from both sides. Hua Cui watched all this without saying a word, just smiling and waiting for the play to start.

  After the sound of gongs and drums, a red canopy with white fabric was set up on the stage. The musicians held puppets in their hands, climbed over hills, crossed streams, and performed an episode of the traditional story of saving one's mother. When the story reached its climax, the filial son held an axe to chop down the high mountain to rescue his oppressed mother. At this moment, a large black shadow fell on the canopy, blocking out the outline of the mountain. The filial son swung his axe to strike, and the black shadow also stretched out its hand to grab. Back and forth they went, engaging in a fierce battle, prompting one of the musicians to shout loudly: "Whose monkey is this? Why won't it let go of the rope?"

  At this time, the Piying opera under the wire was shaking all over the place, and one act of the play had completely lost its shape.

  Hua Cui lowered her head and took a look, secretly thinking it was not good. She forced a smile and picked up the corn to put it back in the bamboo basket. Under the angry gaze of the crowd, she retreated from the scene first. The corn was full and content, still gesturing in the bamboo basket, imitating the movements of the shadow play performed by Le Gong.

  Hua Cui slapped its ear with a scowl: "This little brat is having the time of his life, and he's even more mischievous than that monkey."

  After carefully searching around Wase's place, Min'an went out and secretly shook his head at Hua Cui, indicating that he hadn't found any clues about Bi Si's whereabouts, and then picked up the corn.

  Hua Cui said: "It just rained, I'll send you back."

  Min An looked at Xuan Xu beside him and said: "Trouble you, sir, to send my sister back to the inn first. I'll take the monkey back to the mansion to complete the task."

  Xuan Xu smiled and promised. Hua Cui pulled on Min An's sleeve, sighed: "The gate of the inn is a bit high, I'm not allowed to enter, I want to keep you for a while longer, so that it won't be hard to meet in the future. If you have anything to tell me to pass on to your father, hurry up and say it."

  Min An shook his head and walked out of the street with corn. Xuan Xu Yan invited Hua Cui to follow, and when they passed by the abandoned inner river bridge dam, Xuan Xu said: "Wait a minute, I'll be right back."

  Min An and Hua Cui stood on the bridge, watching as Xuan Xu walked towards the riverbank, his footsteps echoing off the willows that lined the shore. The ground was still damp from a recent light rain, and the old city's tomb path, which stretched out from under the eaves of the houses, led all the way to the river's edge, where countless tiny fragments of bone were hidden in the soil.

  Xuan Xu took out a few pieces of sheepskin paper, folded them into lantern shapes, and gently placed them on the phosphorus bones. Before long, blue-green flames gathered inside the paper, without wandering around, until they burned out completely. Xuan Xu put some umbrella-shaped grass boats in the river, watching them drift away with the water, his face always solemn.

  Min'an on the bridge said, "I didn't expect Xuan Xu to also love worshiping the ghost fire spirit like this. I often hear my master say that only those who truly respect ghosts and gods will believe in the constraints of dark power and have a heart that inclines towards goodness. If Master were to see him, there would probably be some idle chatter to engage in."

  "Hmph, that old dad of mine will naturally like the interesting and mysterious sequence. Tomorrow I'll gather them all together and try out his reaction. With a companion to talk to, he won't just be thinking about swindling money outside, and we can also worry less."

  Min An wasn't worried about Master's craftsmanship, but he remembered that in Qingquan County, where Li Peinan was in charge, it was difficult for Taoist priests to make a living. He was locked in the guild hall to train his skills, and although Master and Hua Cui didn't say anything, they were actually there to accompany him. Wherever he went, they would naturally follow. Master spent all day thinking about saving money to buy him medicine, but without any way to make a living, he often had to go out for half a day, either gambling or working, and rarely stayed put. Hua Cui's suggestion was indeed worth trying.

  Min An took another close look at Xuan Xu's figure standing by the river, and thought to himself that he was indeed a clever person, seeming to win people over wherever he went. Hua Cui called out to him with such familiarity, as if she were calling out to one of her own family members. If Master saw him tomorrow and took a liking to him, and Xuan Xu could also lift Master's spirits, then Min An would have to treat him well too - he couldn't keep jumping to conclusions about his intentions...

  Min An carried the corn all the way back to the inn, lost in thought. Xuan Xu indeed kept his promise as a gentleman and sent Hua Cui back to the guest house, only leaving after seeing her light up the lamp upstairs.

  The Dong Street Mansion stood independently, the street lamps on both sides never extinguished, and the two high-rise buildings in front and back were silent.

  Min An suddenly realized that he had returned a bit late, which meant he had broken his promise to Li Peinan to return early. He couldn't help but sigh and walked towards the stone house in the side courtyard, standing hesitantly outside the stone railing. The leopard seemed to be asleep, with no signs of movement, and the entrance to the cave was dark and damp, with a chill emanating from it.

  The leopard slave sitting on the rooftop saw Min An tiptoeing and stretching his head to take a peek inside the railing, waving his hand to signal him not to come closer. Min An pouted and said: "Young Master said that if I make another mistake, he'll throw me into the stone house to feed the leopards. I'd rather take the initiative to go in myself, at least I can grab a cage to live in and avoid getting bitten by the leopards."

  Although the reason was thought through clearly and the determination had been made long ago, when walking towards the stone gate with iron bars after settling down the corn, his legs were shaking slightly. Bao Nu came from Xizang and could understand Chu Zhou dialect but couldn't say a word, only waving his hands desperately while making "wuuu" sounds.

  Min An clenched his fists and raised them to his chest, took a deep breath, and then said: "Does Ah Nu think I'm stupid? Why did I take the punishment myself? But you don't know, Young Master is really too scary, even more terrifying than this leopard. I'd rather sleep with the leopard for a night than turn back and ask him to spare me once."

  A sudden rapid footsteps sounded from behind, Min An turned his head to see a team of brocade-clad guards holding lanterns, hurrying over in quick small steps. They were originally from the military, and should be familiar with walking steadily in the dark night, but now as they ran, the lanterns in their hands shook slightly, showing how urgent they were. Min An had self-awareness, knowing they wouldn't come for him, so he turned his head again to carefully search around, and indeed saw a familiar figure standing under the tree.

  Li Peinan was still wearing the same clothes he wore to bed, with a layer of cyan gauze robe over his white undergarment, like a splash of ink in the night sky, walking silently, his body quietly opening up the heavy black curtain. He was obviously one step ahead of the guard team, and his deep internal strength was enough to make Min'an, who had his back to him, not hear any movement, so Min'an had no idea when he came or how much of his muttering he had heard.

  However, there is one thing that Min'an is very certain of, and that is that once the young master says something or gives an order, it will absolutely not be changed.

  As he saw the person approaching, Min An had no other thoughts but to muster his last bit of strength. He pushed open the iron gate's latch and rushed towards the iron cage in the stone railing with a burst of speed, bending down to crawl inside, the entire movement swift and efficient.

  After securing the iron lock, Min'an felt at ease and sat cross-legged inside the cage, saying through the stone bars: "Young master, please leave. I've accepted my punishment." In his heart, he thought that since he had been punished, he wouldn't be beaten by him again, after all, he still had to abide by what he had said before.

  Min An didn't expect Li Peinan to also walk into the stone railing, his face slightly cold.

  Author's note: Just finished writing, updated late, sorry

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  Thank you very much 987, Xiaobai, Pig Ear, Huhu, Meimei, and Mei Ren Ru Hua for the landmine (*^__^*)

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