The Jianghu of Feng Qingcheng and Mo Xibei

Chapter 31

A group of children were gathered on a small hill not far from the village entrance. When they saw Hu Zi coming, they mysteriously beckoned him over to take a look. Mo Xibei found it interesting and also came over to the leader of the children and said, "A Dong, what treasure do you have? Can I see it too?"

These past few days, Adong has also learned to write his own name from Mo Xibei. Although he was unwilling, he couldn't hide it, so he just told him, "I can show it to you, but don't tell the adults." With that, he turned around and scurried up the big tree next to the earthen slope. A moment later, he took something out of an abandoned bird's nest in the tree and then laboriously carried it down.

Mo Xibei's eyesight far surpassed that of the children, so when A Dong pulled the object out of the bird's nest, she saw it clearly. Her heart was in turmoil, but when A Dong held it up to her eyes, her reaction was surprisingly calm. A Dong was disappointed to see Mo Xibei's lack of interest. He had initially thought he could make a name for himself in the game of cops and robbers, but he was too young, and the object was too heavy to carry. Seeing that even the city dweller Mo Xibei wasn't interested, he was greatly disappointed. Fortunately, the surrounding children were envious and eager to touch it, which made him feel a little better.

"Adong!" As evening fell and smoke rose from the chimneys, the children, laughing and playing, finished their day's games and headed home. But Mo Xibei stopped Adong, who was running home.

"Sir, what is it?" Ah Dong scratched his head in confusion and asked her.

"Where did you find that knife?" Mo Xibei squatted down and looked into the child's eyes.

"How did you know I found it?" A-Dong asked.

“Of course I know, Adong. Tell me, where did you find that knife?” Mo Xibei smiled. “I see you can’t lift that knife. How about this, if you tell me, I’ll carve you a small wooden knife, okay?” “Really?” Adong’s eyes lit up. “The rain stopped today, and I went to the other side of the mountain valley to look for fruit. I saw something shining in a patch of mud, and when I dug it up, I found that knife. It’s very beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Well…” Mo Xibei thought for a moment and said, “Adong, you should go back first. I’ll give you the small wooden knife tomorrow. That knife is a murder weapon and it’s not suitable for you. You should take it out less often in the future.”

"Yes, sir," Ah Dong nodded, took a few steps, then turned back and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Will I definitely have the small wooden knife tomorrow?"

"Definitely!" Mo Xibei nodded, her heart pounding. She had thought about it for a long time. If she and Mu Feinan could fall off the cliff unharmed, there was no reason why Murong Songtao couldn't do the same. If he fell but was not injured, then how could the knife he was carrying be buried in the ground?

"Ah!" While thinking about these things, Mo Xibei was vigorously whittling a piece of wood. She had seen the shop assistants at Qingfengju make wooden swords for children to play with. A piece of wood could be made into a decent shape in just a few strokes. But when she made one herself, it looked awkward no matter how she looked at it. She had been pricked in the hand several times. Now, she was distracted for a moment and her left hand was cut by the dagger in her right hand. The pain was so intense that her whole body trembled.

"Do you have a grudge against your own hand?!" Blood beads gushed from the wound in a string. Mo Xibei raised his finger, intending to put it to his lips to lick it, but when he thought about how he was whittling wood and his finger was dirty, he couldn't bring himself to do it. While he hesitated, someone grabbed his injured left hand from behind, pulled it directly to his lips, and gently sucked on the wound on his finger.

The burning wound on his finger touched the other person's cool lips and warm tongue, and a strange tingling sensation traveled up his fingertip, through his arm, and straight to his heart. Mo Xibei subconsciously tried to pull his hand away, but his left hand was firmly held.

"Dirty!" The word, which he managed to squeeze out, sounded weak and delicate to his own ears. Mo Xibei felt a chill and could only use the action of standing up to cover up his unease.

"If you used a little more force, you would have sliced off the finger. And you still complain about how dirty others are." Mu Feinan sucked hard on the wound, but it didn't feel satisfying, so he took a big bite.

"It hurts!" Mo Xibei stomped his foot, finally managing to pull his finger out, and said angrily, "Are you a dog? You even bite people."

"Hmph!" Mu Feinan said coldly, "Who told you to think I'm dirty?"

"Brother, did I say I thought you were dirty?" Mo Xibei was both amused and exasperated, and stretched out his ten fingers to show him. Sure enough, all ten fingers were black. "I meant, my hands are very dirty." Seeing Mu Feinan's face change suddenly, Mo Xibei couldn't help but laugh. "I reminded you, if you can't eat dinner tonight, don't blame it on me."

"You!" Mu Feinan glared, but after a while, seeing Mo Xibei smiling happily, his eyebrows and eyes curved, and his cheeks flushed, he couldn't get angry anymore. He could only reach out and pick up the strangely shaped piece of wood on the ground and ask, "What exactly are you doing? How did you manage to hurt your hand like this?"

"I want to whittle a wooden knife," Mo Xibei said, walking to the basin to wash his hands and taking out a handkerchief to wrap his injured finger.

"You're so clumsy, you managed to hurt your hand with something so simple," Mu Feinan mocked her.

"You're smart, you do it." Mo Xibei was naturally unconvinced, and also took the opportunity to provoke him, thinking it would be easier if he could do it.

"A reverse psychology tactic? I won't fall for it. Even if I could, I wouldn't make it for you." Mu Feinan threw the piece of wood down with a clatter, then smiled smugly.

"I knew you were just making a fool of yourself. Go on, go on, don't waste my time, it'll be dark soon." Mo Xibei sat down again, picked up the wood and dagger, but Mu Feinan snatched them away again.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

“Please help save your finger,” he replied.

Chapter 50 Wooden Knife (Part 2)

"Why did you suddenly decide to make something so childish?" Mu Feinan asked, his hands still busy, but he was puzzled.

"Oh, I just wanted it for Hu Zi and A Dong to play with, as a keepsake. Anyway, the rain has stopped, and our injuries are all fine. As long as the road isn't too muddy, we can probably leave tomorrow." Mo Xibei didn't expect Mu Feinan to be so skilled at making wooden knives. Seeing the dagger flying up and down nimbly in his hands, with wood chips falling to the ground in a moment, he couldn't help but feel a little envious and just stood aside watching.

"We're leaving tomorrow?" Mu Feinan seemed surprised. He paused for a moment, then resumed wielding his knife with lightning speed.

By nightfall, he had indeed carved several small wooden knives, all of them exquisite, and even came with cases.

"I never knew your hands could make such exquisite and delicate things." Mo Xibei held it in his hands and played with it, finding it more and more adorable.

"Then what do you think my hands can do? Kill people?" Mu Feinan seemed to be in a bad mood, no longer taking Mo Xibei's words as a compliment. He left only this cold sentence and didn't even eat dinner. He lay down on the kang and refused to get up.

"Unpredictable." Mo Xibei left these four words, picked up the small knife, and turned to leave.

The mountain village wasn't big. Several boys who liked playing fighting games each received a small wooden knife, and they were all beaming with joy. Mo Xibei's steps unconsciously moved to the entrance of the village. He looked up at the bird's nest on the branch of a big tree, pondered for a long time, and finally jumped up, leaped onto it, and pulled out the thing.

Yes, it was that knife, the rusty, broken knife that Murong Songtao had so carefully wrapped in satin that day. The knife he hadn't abandoned even in his time of crisis, the knife he had once brandished to take his life. With a gentle pull, the gleaming blade shimmered in the rising moonlight. No one could have imagined that a knife so worn and weathered could possess such a sharp edge. Mo Xibei thought for a long time, finally carefully hiding the knife inside her clothes. She didn't know what connection this knife had with the legendary treasure; she couldn't even understand what she was doing. But the fact was, she still took the knife with her. "You're reluctant to leave here?" Back at Hu Zi's house, the door was ajar. Entering, she couldn't hear Hu Zi and his father's deep snores. Mo Xibei knew that Mu Feinan had tampered with them again. This time, she only said, "No, I was just taking a walk."

“I’m actually a little reluctant to leave,” Mu Feinan said. “I haven’t felt this peaceful in a long time.”

"You're not at peace because your core is too big, it has nothing to do with where you are." Mo Xibei wasn't sleepy, he just leaned against the wall and sat down, hugging his knees.

"Why don't you say that I'm at peace? Is it because the people around me make me feel at peace?" Mu Feinan remained lying on her back on the bed, staring at the dark ceiling.

“Oh, I just remembered. Why haven’t you changed your mask for so many days? Are you afraid of attracting the villagers’ attention? Don’t forget, when you take it off later, remember to give it to me. I want to keep it. What an exquisite face.” Mo Xibei suddenly said a long sentence, completely ignoring Mu Feinan’s previous words, and not even giving him a chance to interrupt. “It’s so late. We’re going out tomorrow, so we should go to bed early to conserve our energy. Hmm, the weather is nice today. I’ll go to the rooftop and look at the stars.” After saying that, he got up and walked out.

“Northwest!” Her hand was firmly grasped by the person who had been lying motionless just a moment ago. “I’ve discovered that you’re very good at escaping.”

"What's wrong with you?" Mo Xibei didn't break free, but instead stepped back and looked at Mu Feinan, who had already sat up, and said, "It seems you really can't bear to leave this place, to the point that you're so sad that you're talking a lot. You should know that I'm not running away from anything."

"Is that so?" Mu Feinan withdrew his hand and laughed to himself. His beauty was different from Chu Junfeng's. His smile had a unique charm that was captivating and mesmerizing. However, the glint in his eyes made Mo Xibei, who was infatuated, feel as if he had been struck by an ice sword, and he instantly came to his senses.

"Yes." She nodded and turned to leave.

“But you’re afraid,” Mu Feinan’s smile faded, his voice still seemingly lingering in the afterglow of his earlier delight. “If you weren’t afraid, you wouldn’t have wanted to sleep on the roof. If you weren’t afraid, you wouldn’t be afraid to answer my question. What are you afraid of? Let me guess. The owner of the fourth floor is incredibly wealthy, and everyone assumes that someone who can run such a large business must be a handsome young man. But no one ever imagined that this young man is actually a woman. Not only does she dare to dress as a man, but she also dares to fight in a martial arts tournament, vying for the title of the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, and she actually won. Tell me, what is there to be afraid of in such a bold woman?”

"I knew I couldn't fool a master of disguise. Fine, I admit it, I'm not a man." Mo Xibei knew all along that his clumsy disguise skills would not fool an expert, so he admitted it with exceptional ease.

"Don't change the subject. I'm still guessing what you're afraid of." Mu Feinan shook his head, his eyes fixed on Mo Xibei, as if he was really trying to figure something out.

"Do you need to guess what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid of many things. I'm afraid the government will cause me trouble and shut down my shop. I'm also afraid of exorbitant taxes that are more ferocious than tigers. I'm afraid the Eastern Depot will arrest me and imprison me. I'm afraid of poverty, I'm afraid of hunger, I'm afraid of getting sick, I'm afraid of getting injured. Oh, and I'm most afraid of death. If I die, all the money I've worked so hard to earn over the years will go to who knows who? Just thinking about it makes me unable to close my eyes in peace." Mo Xibei's skill at changing the subject was first-rate. If there was a pole, he would climb it; if there wasn't, he would create one to climb.

“But you’re most afraid of falling in love with someone else. You’re afraid of feelings, so you’re afraid of me. You wish you could stay far away from me because you’re afraid of falling in love with someone.” Mu Feinan ignored Mo Xibei’s words. Even if she took the topic a thousand miles away, he could still bring everything back to the starting point in an instant.