Urbaner Blumentraum

Kapitel 173

Although this kid is a scoundrel, he's not entirely naive. Feng Xuese glanced at him, lifted the red curtain, and went into the tent.

The boy sat on the ground, bored, pondering how to escape. But that old man was incredibly skilled; he couldn't possibly outrun him on his own two legs, especially with Huahua in tow. He needed to devise a foolproof plan to escape.

He looked around and saw that the burly man in red was heavily guarded in the bamboo grove. Already intimidated by Feng Xuese's presence, he dared not make a move, and now his heart sank even further. "Sigh! We're so poor, what use is it for that old man to arrest us?"

Meanwhile, Old Lin was lifting the lid of the steamer, and the steaming hot vapors spread out, carrying the aroma of steamed buns and mantou into the bamboo forest, which was extremely tempting.

The boy patted his empty stomach and swallowed hard: "Huahua, I'm so hungry!"

The spotted pig lay beside him, rubbing its long snout against his hand and making soft grunts.

"Huahua, are you hungry too?" He sighed and looked around, seeing that the burly men in red were ignoring him. "Come on, Huahua, let's go eat some steamed buns!" He led Huazhu strolling towards the tea and snack shop.

At this time, two or three early risers were already sitting in the shop, and Old Lin was serving them food.

The roadside stalls didn't serve anything fancy, just simple vegetable buns, millet porridge, salted duck eggs, tea eggs, dried pickled vegetables, and fermented bean curd, but everyone ate with relish.

The boy leaned closer: "Uncle, how much are the steamed buns?"

Old Lin, disgusted by his filth, stepped aside: "Five copper coins a tael."

"A few?"

"Three."

"One copper coin each, I'll buy five." The boy followed Old Lin as they walked back and forth in the shop.

Old Lin's face fell: "Not for sale!"

He had never seen anyone haggle over the price of steamed buns before. If it weren't for the extraordinary air about the young man in white, he would have kicked this kid out long ago—this little beggar was really ruining the customers' appetites.

"How about this, I'll buy three buns with five copper coins, and you can give me two more free."

Old Lin slammed a plate of steamed buns he'd just picked out of the steamer onto the table, then, with a stern face, went to ladle out some rice porridge: "Go away, go away, don't cause trouble if you're not buying! Can't you see I'm busy here!"

"Alright, alright, you're busy, you're busy. If we can't afford it, we won't buy it!" the boy muttered to himself. As he turned around, his open shirt drifted unintentionally across the table, and he walked away.

After Lao Lin served the porridge, he turned around and found that there was only an empty plate left on the table, and the steamed buns were gone.

Hey! Stop right there!

He grabbed the boy's shoulder, then quickly let go. Wow! How long has it been since these clothes were washed? They're sticky to the touch.

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part One: The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Chapter 5 (4)

The boy slowly turned around: "What?"

"Bring out the steamed buns!"

The boy asked in surprise, "What steamed buns? Didn't you refuse to sell them?"

"I meant the steamed buns on the table!" Old Lin glared at him. Strange, where could this little beggar have hidden the buns with his hands empty? He was so thin, he couldn't possibly hide a whole plate of buns on his person—especially freshly steamed ones. Hiding them on his person would surely burn his skin!

Old Lin looked him up and down, but couldn't find the steamed buns. Finally, he gave up. "Sigh! Forget it," he thought, "even if I got them back, they'd be too dirty to eat anyway." He waved his hand dismissively, "Go away, go away, stay away from me!"

The boy gave a displeased "Oh," and calmly walked away with measured steps.

Looking at both ends of the official road, this location is about a hundred paces away from the bamboo forest tent. If we keep running along the official road, then... then... we might really get an arm or a leg chopped off by the old man in white...

He shivered, obediently returned to the bamboo forest, glanced back at the old forest, pursed his lips, found a secluded spot outside the tent, and sat down lazily.

A moment later, Hua Hua came running over with tiny, bouncy steps, a bulging blue cloth bag in her mouth.

The boy took the bag and chuckled.

He always wore this bag on his belt. Whenever he wandered around, he would sneakily stuff anything he found delicious or fun into the bag and take it with him when no one was looking. His hands and feet had long been trained to be extremely nimble, and Hua Hua had also been trained for a long time, so they cooperated very well in transferring stolen goods.

Now, in this pocket, there are not only steamed buns, but also a few salted duck eggs and tea eggs that he casually stole.

Just as he and Hua Hua were enjoying their meal, a burly man in red approached, tapped him on the face with his scabbard, and said rudely, "Get up!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" The boy stood up, puzzled.

The burly man in red looked at him with disgust. This kid was utterly shameful, even stealing steamed buns and eggs. If it weren't for the orders from above to keep a close eye on him, he would have chopped off his thieving hands!

Seeing the other man's look, the boy glanced down at the bun he'd only taken two bites of, then suddenly realized what was going on. He hurriedly offered him two tea eggs, fawningly saying, "Brother, please!" A thief had run into a robber—this guy was planning to double-cross him! Just two buns, why resort to a knife and blatant robbery!

The burly man said sternly, "Enough with the nonsense!" He grabbed the boy by the collar and shoved him to the front of the red tent. He bowed and said, "Reporting to the young master, the person has been brought here."

The red curtain of the tent was lifted, and before the boy could figure out what was happening, he was pushed inside. He staggered a few steps and fell to the ground, but fortunately, he was on a thick, long-haired carpet, so the fall didn't hurt too much.

A clear voice rang out from inside the tent: "Are you the person Xuese was talking about?"

The boy lay on the carpet, raised his head, and looked in the direction of the sound.

It was already broad daylight, and the morning sun's rays streamed through the skylight in the tent roof, making the furnishings inside clearly visible. The boy was rather ignorant and didn't know what any of it was, but he vaguely sensed that everything in the tent seemed to be quite valuable.

In the center of the tent, two people sat at a table. The one on the left was the old man in white, and the one on the right was... a beautiful woman.

This beauty had a face like jade, full lips and beautiful eyes, and a serene appearance, yet her every move exuded a masculine air of freedom and boldness. She wore a loose, scarlet long robe, tied at the waist with a silk sash, which made her look elegant, noble, and languid.

The morning sun shone on him, making his scarlet robes appear like a leaping flame, brilliant and dazzling.

What a pity! Such a beautiful woman, yet she has no hair on her head. I don't know if she was born bald or if she's a monk—oh well, let's just assume she's a monk!

The boy got up from the ground and said ingratiatingly, "Greetings, Master! Amitabha!"

The monk in scarlet robes glanced at him casually and asked, "What's your name?"