Chapter 34: Little Beggar, Pretty Huang Rong (Part 1)

  "You think you can rob me? You few little girls are still a bit short of experience."

  Several white-clad women rushed towards him, Ling Mu Yun smiled slightly, one hand flashed out like lightning, directly into the midst of the sword and knife light. Those several concubines of Ouyang Ke only felt a dizziness in front of their eyes, a pain in their wrists, and the blades in their hands were snatched away by someone. Immediately after, they felt numbness on their chest, and suddenly couldn't move, it was Ling Mu Yun who had sealed their acupoints.

  "They're all quite talented, Ou Yang Ke Yan's luck isn't shallow." Ling Mu Yun savored the wonderful sensation transmitted through his fingertips for a moment, then casually tossed the several swords he had seized into the deep valley below. With a cold laugh, he said: "Considering that you few are women, this young master will spare you this once. Next time, if you come to provoke me again, I won't mind destroying flowers with my own hands."

  After finishing speaking, the several women who were knocked down by the acupuncture points rode their horses and left. When they passed by the double-humped white camel that the several women had ridden, Ling Mu Yun suddenly stopped his horse for a moment: "Hmm, this big white camel is rarely seen, I'll take one away as a small punishment for you." As he spoke, he reached out to grab the reins of the strongest camel and rode off with it.

  The several women who were blocked by the hole passage couldn't help but look at each other in dismay, feeling bitter in their hearts. Who was actually robbing whom?!

  Ling Yun rode his horse to approach Guo Jing, only to see Guo Jing riding on his horse with a dull expression staring at him. He couldn't help but lower his head to take a look and found nothing out of the ordinary about himself. So he raised his head and asked Guo Jing: "Brother Guo, is there something wrong with me? Why are you looking at me like that?"

  Guo Jing pointed at the double-humped white camel led by Linghu Chong: "Ling brother, why did you lead someone else's camel here?"

  "What's the big deal? Those little girls are young and don't know any better, they actually dare to learn how to rob people, and they even robbed our brother. If we don't teach them a lesson, won't that be letting them off too easy?" Ling Mu Yun said nonchalantly.

  "But..."

  "Alright, there's nothing to worry about, let's not waste any more time here. Let's hurry up and get going, or we won't make it to the next town before nightfall, and then we'll have to camp out in the wilderness." Ling Mu Yun waved his hand and rode off first.

  Guo Jing saw that Ling Zhiyun had left and could only close his mouth and ride his horse in pursuit.

  Ying Mu Yun and Guo Jing rode their horses along the main road, galloping for two or three hours, covering a distance of over 200 miles. Before nightfall, they arrived at Zhangjiakou. When they arrived at Zhangjiakou, Guo Jing's little red horse was still fine, but the blue roan horse ridden by Ying Mu Yun was already exhausted, covered in sweat and panting heavily. This was because Ying Mu Yun had switched to riding a double-humped white camel he had seized halfway, otherwise the blue roan horse would have been ruined. This couldn't help but make Ying Mu Yun secretly praise his own foresight.

  Zhangjiakou is a thoroughfare for north and south, a place where furs from beyond the Great Wall are gathered and dispersed. The streets were densely populated and extremely prosperous. Ling Yun and Guo Jing led their horses into the town, attracting the attention of many curious onlookers. This was because the two men were leading three horses, including the divine steed, the Akhal-Teke horse, and a rare Bactrian camel from beyond the Great Wall, which naturally sparked people's curiosity. However, seeing that both men wore sable coats and carried military blades, they looked like no ordinary people, so nobody dared to approach them, thus saving them a lot of trouble.

  Guo Jing had been looking around non-stop since he entered the city. He grew up in the Mongolian grasslands and the largest settlements he saw were just a collection of Mongolian yurts, so he felt everything was fresh and new. Linghu Chong understood Guo Jing's behavior and whenever he found Guo Jing showing interest in something, he would proactively explain it to him.

  Two men arrived at the entrance of a large wine house, feeling hungry in their stomachs. They tied up their three mounts to the horse posts at the door and entered the shop. Guo Jing ordered a plate of beef, two catties of flatbread, while Ling Zhuo Yun only ordered a bowl of plain rice with some small dishes.

  "Ling brothers, how can you just order this little food, can you eat enough?" Guo Jing asked curiously when he saw that Ling Mu Yun had ordered not many dishes. Because in the past year or so, Ling Mu Yun had been living and eating at his house, so he knew about Ling Mu Yun's appetite. Although Ling Mu Yun looked thinner than him, his appetite was actually no smaller.

  Ling Muyun just gave a mysterious and profound smile, saying: "My appetite isn't open yet, eating a little to fill my stomach will do for now, it's not too late to have a big meal later."

  "What's this big meal? What big meal?" Guo Jing was puzzled by Ling Zhiyun's words and didn't know what he meant.

  Just then, the waiter had already brought up the beef and pancakes that Guo Jing wanted. Because the two things Guo Jing wanted were common food in the wine house, so they came up quickly. As for the dishes Ling Mu Yun wanted, they needed to be cooked on the spot, so it took a bit longer. However, Ling Mu Yun didn't mind this at all. Anyway, he had other expectations, and whether the meal was late or not didn't matter.

  After the beef pancake arrived, Guo Jing couldn't help himself. He was currently in his growth spurt and had been traveling all day, so he was starving. After letting Linghu Chong have one first, he started eating voraciously on his own. Following Mongolian custom, Guo Jing grabbed handfuls of beef pancake and stuffed them into his mouth.

  In Zhangjiakou, a transportation hub where wine houses are open, the capital of the wine house is naturally not weak, and the chefs they employ are also good. Even something as simple as beef noodle pancake tastes much better than what Guo Jing had on the grasslands, so Guo Jing ate with great relish. While eating heartily, he didn't forget to lament for Ling Zhuqing, who wouldn't eat such delicious beef and pancakes, wondering what she was thinking.

  After a while, the dishes that Ling Muyun wanted were also brought up. Just as Ling Muyun was about to pick up his chopsticks to eat, he suddenly heard a commotion at the entrance of the restaurant. Guo Jing was worried about his little red horse and put down the beef pancake in his hand with some reluctance, wanting to get up and take a look. But before he could get up, Ling Muyun had already stood up first and said, "You just continue eating, I'll go take a look."

  Ling Yun stepped out of the door, and Guo Jing saw that he had already gone to take a look, so he put his mind at ease and continued to eat with gusto.

  Ling Mu Yun rushed out of the store, only to see two shop assistants loudly scolding a boy with tattered clothes and a thin build. The boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a black leather hat on his head, his face and hands covered in coal dust, making it impossible to discern his original appearance. He held a steamed bun in his hand, giggling and revealing two rows of sparkling white teeth that seemed out of place with the rest of him. His eyes were pitch black and extremely lively.

  One of the shop assistants shouted: "We are doing business here, not running a charity. You little beggar, stop bothering us and get out of here quickly!"

  The young man said: "Alright, let's go."

  Just turned around, another shop assistant shouted: "Put down the steamed buns for me."

  "Just put it down, what's the big deal?" The young man hummed and casually put down the bun, but by now several black handprints had been left on the white bun, making it impossible to sell again.

  "You little scamp, you're ruining our shop's mantou! Just you wait and see if I don't give you a good thrashing!"

  One fellow flew into a rage and struck at the young man with his fist. The young man was very agile, and easily dodged the blow by ducking down.

  Upon seeing this scene, Ling Mu smiled knowingly and realized that the young man was probably the clever and beautiful Huang Rong. He stepped forward to intercept the shop assistant, saying: "It's just a steamed bun, is it worth making a fuss? Put it on my account."

  That fellow saw that there was a customer coming to settle the account, so he didn't pursue Huang Rong any further. Ling Mochou turned to Huang Rong and said: "This young brother, if you're hungry, just take some buns to eat, I'll help you with the bill."

  Huang Rong's eyes rolled around, and she picked up the bun that had been put down earlier. With a crisp tone, she said: "This bun is not well made, but it's still being sold, what a black-hearted merchant!" As she spoke, she lowered her head to address a mangy little dog at the door: "Poor thing, I'll give it to you instead!" She tossed the bun to the little dog, which immediately pounced on it and started devouring it.

  "What a pity, what a pity, the good white mantou was used to feed the dog." The shop assistant who wanted to beat Huang Rong earlier shook his head and sighed, then turned to Ling Muyun and said: "Sir, you saw that, this little beggar is not worth sympathizing with. Your kindness is wasted on him."

  Ling Mu Yun glanced at his companion and said, "Less nonsense, I don't need you to interfere with my business."

  Huang Rong clapped her hands and laughed, "Not bad, not bad! People spend their own money, can't they do what they want? What's it to you, sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong?" She was still holding a grudge against her former partner for being rude to her, so she took the opportunity to humiliate him.

  "It's indeed a personality that doesn't eat losses." Ling Mu Yun smiled and shook his head, then walked up to Huang Rong and said: "This little brother, if you don't think much of this bun, then come into the shop and eat something else, I'll treat you."

  Huang Rong heard this and was slightly taken aback, then smiled and asked, "Why did you invite me? There are many beggars on the streets, why did you specifically invite me?"

  Ling Muyun smiled: "No reason, it's better to meet by chance than to make an appointment. Today I happened to run into you, little brother, and since I find you pleasing to the eye, I'll invite you out for a meal. Of course, if you're not willing, I won't force you."

  "Will, why not willing? Such a chance to eat white is not often had, if I miss it, wouldn't I be a fool!" Huang Rong chuckled and stepped into the wine building.