Bergbanditen sind unterwegs

Kapitel 34

Mo Xibei gently ran his fingers along the blade, taking the time to examine the knife closely for the first time. The scabbard had some simple patterns, the usual decorations found on ordinary swords. The blade looked slightly rusty, but it was actually incredibly sharp. The blade was not much longer than that of an ordinary dagger, but that wasn't anything special. Mo Xibei looked at it repeatedly for a long time, but ultimately couldn't discern anything crucial from the knife.

Of course, she also considered that the real secret might be hidden in the blade, just like the Heaven-Slaying Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Saber. However, she only had this one blade. Where could she find a weapon as sharp as it and capable of cutting it in two? She didn't know. So, after thinking it over, she decided to hide the blade away and never see it again.

The next morning, Mo Xibei was awakened from her drowsy state by Hong Lü's knocking on the door. Aside from these unusual days, she rarely got up this early, and naturally, she was in a bad mood. She went downstairs still sleepy-eyed. At a round table on the first floor of the small inn, the others were already there. Tian Xin was ladling porridge from a large basin, while Mengmeng was helping the waiter carry side dishes such as mixed bean sprouts, stir-fried peanuts, and flatbread.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" Seeing Mo Xibei walk to the table, Chu Junfeng greeted her with a smile, holding the porridge that Tian Xin had just handed over, and casually placed it in front of Mo Xibei.

"Oh, it's okay, thank you." Mo Xibei nodded, picked up her chopsticks to eat, but unexpectedly, Honglu poked her with her finger without leaving a trace behind her.

Mo Xibei was slightly puzzled, but her first reaction wasn't to turn and look at Honglu. She instinctively looked at Murong Lianyun. In the past few days, although Murong Lianyun hadn't lost as much weight as Mengmeng, her once rosy cheeks had turned pale. She was currently looking down, her fingers tightly gripping two bamboo chopsticks. It was as if she were lost in her own world, oblivious to everything around her.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Tian Xin had already ladled out the second bowl of porridge and handed it to her young master, while Chu Junfeng gently placed it in front of Murong Lianyun.

The bowl gently tapped against the table, making a crisp clinking sound. Murong Lianyun, who had been keeping his head down, seemed to be suddenly awakened and raised his head slightly. Everything about the beauty was beautiful, every gesture, even a single resentful glance. Mo Xibei suddenly understood why Honglu had poked him.

You don't know until you see it, the world is truly amazing. For some reason, she suddenly remembered this advertising slogan, turned around and gave Honglu a reassuring smile, and prepared to eat.

"Excuse me, is Young Master Mo staying here?" Before the porridge could even touch his lips, a group of people arrived outside the inn, all dressed in neat, dark blue robes. They stood in orderly rows, each carrying a food box.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?" Mo Xibei asked in surprise.

"Good morning, Young Master Mo." The people outside immediately bowed respectfully to Mo Xibei, then filed in one after another, each carrying a food box. The food boxes were opened one by one before everyone's eyes, revealing various fried dough sticks, cream pastries, bird's nest porridge, and a cup of fragrant hot milk.

"My master instructed me to bring these to you, young master, for your enjoyment," the leader said. "My master said that these are the recipes you described, and he had the cook make them accordingly. They cannot be compared to the chefs at your residence, but they are just a token of our appreciation. We hope you won't laugh at us."

"Hey! Aren't these all your favorite foods, Young Master Mo?" Honglu, who had been standing behind Mo Xibei, exclaimed in surprise as she walked over. Mo Xibei's eating habits were rather peculiar. He loved greasy staple foods for breakfast, and these fried dough twists, some shaped like peonies, some like plum blossoms, were all very small and delicate. They were common foods in wealthy families in Jiangnan, and Mo Xibei ate them often; they weren't uncommon. As for those cream pastries, they were definitely Mo Xibei's invention. Thick, fresh milk was vigorously and quickly stirred evenly, and the liquid gradually turned into a semi-solid, which was then spread on a cake made of honey, eggs, and flour. Mo Xibei called it a cake. He ate it every morning as his staple food. Honglu had tried it once, but she couldn't stand milk, finding the taste too strong, so she refused to try Mo Xibei's favorite cake again. However, she never expected that someone would actually make such a thing and even give it to Mo Xibei.

"Oh, thank you for going to so much trouble for your master." Northwest's heart skipped a beat. She remembered that during her boring time in the mountains, she had casually told Tiger about her endless longing for cream cake. Children are naturally curious and interested in things they haven't tried before, so she hadn't thought much of it. She had even explained the recipe in detail back then. Unexpectedly, someone else overheard her perfectly and had someone else make it exactly as she described. But she knew very little about Mu Feinan. Why was he going to such lengths, choosing this time to deliver it? Was he urging her to hurry up and get Lian Yun to hand over that map?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She didn't like being forced, but the pastries in front of her were also very tempting. After thinking it over, Mo Xibei picked up a piece of cake, put it in her mouth and chewed it. After only a few bites, she squinted her eyes in satisfaction and nodded, praising, "This cream is very well made, delicate and smooth. It's really rare to make it so well on the first try."

"I'm glad Young Master Mo is satisfied," the leader said with a smile. "Actually, as soon as my master returned to the manor yesterday, he took a piece of paper and wrote down the recipes for various things. He asked me to instruct the chef to try them out little by little. From last night until now, the chef has tried so many times that he has finally made this. My master didn't have time to taste it and doesn't know if it's delicious. He just instructed me to send it over immediately."

"In that case, I've really caused trouble for your master." Mo Xibei was busy eating the cake in her mouth, but Chu Junfeng had put down his chopsticks and walked over to stand beside her. He looked at the food, then glanced at Mo Xibei, a strange smile appearing on his lips. Suddenly, he reached out and rubbed the corner of Mo Xibei's mouth with his finger, saying with a hint of indulgence, "Xibei, look at what you're eating, there's a smear of saliva on your lips."

Caught off guard by Chu Junfeng's sudden move, everyone in the room froze in place. Even the usually polite and considerate leader's smile froze, and his gaze turned strange.

After a long while, a loud bang broke the strange silence. The leader coughed, cupped his hands, and took his leave. Mo Xibei looked in the direction of the sound and saw Murong Lianyun sitting there with a pale face. Mengmeng stood beside him, looking helpless. At their feet, a plate of steamed buns lay scattered on the ground.

No one enjoyed the meal very much. After the meal, Lian Yun returned to his room, and Mo Xibei thought for a moment and then followed him over.

After knocking repeatedly, Murong Lianyun finally opened the door from the inside. Seeing that it was Mo Xibei, he simply stepped aside to let her in.

“Lianyun…” After pacing around the room twice, seeing that Murong Lianyun remained silent, Mo Xibei had no choice but to speak.

"Don't say anything yet, let me speak," Murong Lianyun sighed, raised his head, and tears streamed down his face. "You came to persuade me to hand over Father's map, didn't you?"

“Lianyun…” Mo Xibei hesitated for a moment, but did not deny it. “It is indeed very dangerous for you to keep that map with you. However, I am not advising you to hand it over immediately.”

"Whether you hand it over immediately or not, you'll have to hand it over sooner or later, so what difference does it make?" Murong Lianyun said with a hint of sarcasm. "I originally thought you were a true hero who didn't care about power or wealth, but I didn't expect you to betray us. Now that things have come to this, why put on such a hypocritical face and talk to me about danger?"

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Proposal (Part 1)

"Is that what you're thinking?" Mo Xibei laughed instead of getting angry. "I betrayed you, and then I'm supposed to save you?"

"Isn't that right?" Murong Lianyun stood up abruptly, asking fiercely, "If not, why are you in the Eastern Depot's camp unharmed? If not, why did that guy surnamed Mu follow us? If not, would you admit to my father that you brought the Eastern Depot here? I may be naive, but I'm not stupid. If Brother Chu hadn't saved me this time, I might be dead by your hand today. How long are you going to keep lying to me?"

Murong Lianyun's tone and expression made Mo Xibei feel a sense of disorientation. Memories of the past once again broke free from the constraints of time and space, surging into his mind like a tide. It was clearly Mo Nanli at 17 years old, her younger sister Mo Nanli.

Mo Xibei and Mo Nanli are two sisters with completely opposite personalities. Xibei is lazy and peaceful, while Nanli is mischievous and impatient. That summer, Zhang Han, the son of their mother's friend from her student days, was admitted to a university here. Their mother was tasked with taking care of him, and their family began to visit Zhang Han frequently.

Zhang Han is two years older than Northwest and three years older than Nanli. He is a handsome young man who is neither flamboyant nor arrogant. When he goes out with the two sisters, he always stays quietly by their side.

Like all childhood sweetheart stories, love in youth often arrives suddenly and intensely. Nan Li fell in love with Zhang Han, not out of youthful naiveté, but with an almost obsessive devotion. Xi Bei also liked Zhang Han, not for any other reason than his aspirations. Zhang Han said he hoped for a simple happiness. At that time, after reading many martial arts novels, Xi Bei also yearned for that kind of simple happiness—a life of wandering the martial world and finding peace together. Her world was still very small then, so she could only see Zhang Han. She felt that Zhang Han was the soulmate with whom she could sail the world and converse with music and poetry.

Unfortunately, Zhang Han already had a confidante, his high school classmate and now a college classmate. In order to confess his feelings at the most appropriate time, he followed in her footsteps to Mo Xibei's city. Thus, the Valentine's Day of Mo Xibei's 18th year became a deep, eternal pain in her heart.

It was a few months before the college entrance exam, February 14th, shortly after the Spring Festival. Senior high school students had already started school, but Zhang Han's phone call still made Mo Xibei skip class for the first time. "I need to pick out a gift, but I never really understand what girls like." Zhang Han's shy, affectionate smile when he spoke of his beloved girl stunned her. Mo Xibei didn't even know the turmoil of her emotions as she helped Zhang Han choose the gift. She only remembered one thing: Zhang Han had someone he liked, not her, not Nan Li. And that day, Zhang Han was going to confess his feelings.

She returned home like a lost soul and saw Nan Li repeatedly trying on clothes in front of the mirror. As soon as she saw her, she couldn't wait to say, "Sister, Brother Zhang Han is back. I'm going to his dorm to see him in a bit. Do you think this outfit looks good on me?"

"Why did you go to see him? He's back and he didn't even come to see you. Why did you go to see him?" Mo Xibei rarely felt so angry.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Nan Li asked, looking completely bewildered.

"You're not allowed to see him. I won't allow you to see him," Mo Xibei said, then slammed the door shut.

"Why can't I go see him?" Nan Li also got angry. For the first time in her life, the two sisters started arguing.

What did Nan Li say later? Mo Xibei thought about it. Nan Li said, "I know you're lying to me. You like Zhang Han, but he doesn't like you. He likes me. He likes me. I've known that for a long time. His smile towards me is different. You're jealous, so you lied to me. You lied to me and said he has someone he likes. You want me to give up so you'll have a chance, right? Let me tell you, I may be naive, but I'm not stupid. How long do you want to keep lying to me? This time, unless he says it himself, no, unless I see it, I absolutely will not believe your words."

In the end, Nan Li stormed out of the door, saying as she left, "Sister, I'm very disappointed in you."

Mo Xibei really wanted to say that she didn't want you to go because she was afraid that seeing it would make you even more heartbroken. However, Nan Li's words deeply hurt her, so she finally didn't say anything more and just watched Nan Li run out.

Mo Xibei had no idea what Nan Li saw or heard. She only remembered that it was a very cold day, and when Nan Li returned, her face was abnormally flushed. She silently locked everyone out and went to sleep alone. In the middle of the night, she couldn't bear it any longer and secretly took the key to open Nan Li's door. The strong smell of blood made her scream. Nan Li had committed suicide. She was in the hospital for several hours, but only regained consciousness for a few minutes. She said to Mo Xibei, "Sister, I don't regret it." Then she added, "Sister, you should have stopped me." Finally, Nan Li said, "Sister, I love you, so you must be happy. Add my share to the happiness, let's have happiness together..."

The past, covered in a thick layer of dust, was unearthed again. As the dust swirled, the scabbed wounds were reopened. Mo Xibei felt only pain; she feared this pain, and it tormented her to the point of exhaustion. So she stood up, her back to Murong Lianyun, and said, "Think what you want. I'm going back to Jiangnan tomorrow. Like you said, you're an adult now. Though naive, you're not stupid. So, you should choose your own path. Tomorrow morning, if you'd like, you can come with me. I can't say I can give you anything, but whatever I have, you'll have plenty of. If you don't want to, that's fine too. I just advise you: life isn't easy. Don't make things difficult for yourself, don't take yourself too seriously. Actually, Chu Junfeng is a good man, just too clever and too calculating. But if you can handle him, it might not be a bad choice. Like I said, it's your own path, you choose how to walk it."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" After taking two steps, Murong Lianyun's voice softened, and his tone became nasal, as if he were crying, looking pitiful.

"If you hate me so much, why don't you leave?" Mo Xibei shook her head, her voice weary—a weariness that came from the depths of her heart. All she wanted was to sleep. A good night's sleep, and tomorrow would be a new day. She could bury all the memories she didn't want to recall. And so, she would be Mo Xibei again, living freely and laughing at the world's fleeting nature.

"But you promised my father you would take care of me. Now, are you going back on your word?" Murong Lianyun asked again.

“Lianyun, you’re still just a child,” Mo Xibei finally couldn’t help but turn around and look at Murong Lianyun’s red eyes. “I won’t go back on my word. The problem is with you now. If you choose to believe me, then stop questioning me with these childish questions. If you don’t believe me, then stick to what you believe in. Don’t let me sway you with my words.”

Turning to open the door, her hand just touching the latch, Murong Lianyun suddenly lunged at her. She wrapped her arms around Mo Xibei's waist from behind, burying her face in her back. She whispered, "Don't go. Don't leave me alone. I'm so scared. I'm scared Father will kill me, I'm scared you won't want me, I'm so afraid..."