The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear

Chapter 61

"Are you alright, mother-in-law?"

Hearing a crisp sound behind her, Granny Chen turned around and found that a horse was slowly walking towards her from the mountain path behind her.

The horse was ugly; its coat was a dull gray, covered in what looked like sores. But no matter how ugly it was, it couldn't be uglier than the person on its back.

She was a very ugly little girl with a face as black as charcoal. She wore an ill-fitting coarse cloth shirt, and her left leg was fixed with a cloth strap and bamboo strips. She also had a kitchen knife tucked into her waistband.

Grandma Chen hurriedly replied, "No, it's nothing, thank you!" She subconsciously looked into the yard. The gate was closed properly. She couldn't understand how this yellow-skinned patient had suddenly appeared in her yard.

The sallow-skinned patient used one hand to steady the wooden ladder and the other hand to help Granny Chen down.

Just then, the ugly man and the ugly horse arrived. Through the fence, the ugly little girl asked, "Grandma, is this Bamboo Horse Village?"

Grandma Chen couldn't figure out where these two people came from, so she only answered "yes".

"Great hero, shall we go into the village?" the ugly girl asked.

The yellow-skinned patient shook his head: "No, let's go around."

These two people were Feng Xuese and Zhu Huihui.

The deaths of Zheng Hu and Sun Qing caused Feng Xuese great regret and pain, so she decided long ago that she must avoid crowds until she recovered from her injuries, so that if anything else happened, she would not implicate others.

"Oh!" Zhu Huihui replied, then asked, "Grandma, are you going to pave the house?"

"yes."

"Um—if I help you with the house paving, could you bring us some food?" Sigh, if it weren't for her many quirks, she wouldn't need to work for others just for a bite to eat! Look how fat this old woman's chickens are! And look, that big rooster with its black tail sticking up—it would taste delicious roasted…

The old woman noticed the dark-skinned girl's shifty eyes fixed on the free-roaming chickens in the yard and was startled. She quickly stepped forward to block the girl's view: "Oh, okay! It's just that we don't have much good food at home. We still have a few of the wild vegetable buns we steamed at noon..."

Zhu Huihui beamed with joy: "A vegetable bun is still a bun!" People like him and the hero, some lame and some blind, might get "cracked" at any time and wouldn't even be able to eat a vegetable bun!

"Great hero, please throw me onto the roof!" If the house is decorated beautifully, maybe Grandma will give me a few more steamed buns.

Maple Leaf smiled faintly.

This girl is always petty thieves, but she never steals anything of value—just steamed buns or chickens, always these cheap things. She's always penniless, practically penniless. Luckily, he had some banknotes with him, otherwise the two of them would probably have to beg for food along the way! But, is this old woman trying to thatch her house? Perhaps we could help her out.

Granny Chen felt a blur before her eyes, and the patient was already outside the fence, carefully lifting the ugly little girl from the horse's back. Then, another figure flashed before her eyes, and the patient was already standing on the roof with the ugly little girl on his back.

Granny Chen was dumbfounded. Were these two... were they immortals? No, no, immortals didn't look like that; they were probably mountain spirits...

Feng Xuese gently placed Zhu Huihui on the roof, swooped down, and said gently, "Grandma, could you please give me the thatch?"

"Oh, okay, okay!" Granny Chen hurriedly handed him the straw mat.

Feng Xuese, carrying a straw mat, leaped back onto the roof and handed it to Zhu Huihui: "Huihui, do you know how to thatch a house?"

"Yes, I can! I'm not good at anything else, but thatching houses is my specialty!" Zhu Huihui lied. In fact, she had done things like tearing down roof tiles and blocking chimneys dozens of times since she was a child, but she had never thatched a house before.

However, even though she had never eaten pork, she had seen pigs run. Recalling the scenes of villagers thatching their houses, she followed their example, laying straw mats underneath. Then, she had Fengxuese bring several bundles of neatly arranged straw mats to the roof, stacking them layer by layer towards the eaves, and compacting them with tools. After working on it for most of the day, she finally repaired the roof, and it looked quite good.

"Great hero, you've succeeded!"

Feng Xuese stood beside her, touched the roof with her hand, feeling that it seemed quite thick, and nodded approvingly: "Very good craftsmanship!"

Zhu Huihui just chuckled, not even blushing! She's always been lazy and sloppy at her work. The house looks pretty smooth on the surface now, but whether it leaks or not is another matter. Anyway, she's already put straw on the roof.

Feng Xuese grabbed her by the collar and jumped down.

Without any politeness, Zhu Huihui immediately stretched out her two little black hands in front of Granny Chen: "Give me the steamed buns!"

Grandma Chen readily agreed, "Okay! Okay!" She tiptoed back into the room, took out a small bamboo basket, and filled it with four or five vegetable dumplings.

She said apologetically, "That's all! Miss, why..."

"Cough, suddenly... my stomach hurts!" Zhu Huihui was bent over like a shrimp, clutching her stomach, and said with a worried look on her face.

"Then...would you like to come in and rest for a while?" Grandma Chen asked kindly.

"No need, we still have a long way to go!" Zhu Huihui seemed to be in so much pain that she couldn't even straighten her back. She reached for the basket, slung it over her elbow, and said, "Goodbye, Grandma!"

"Goodbye... goodbye!" Granny Chen said.

Feng Xue Se sighed deeply, took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom, and handed one of them to her mother-in-law: "Mother-in-law, this is the money for your food!"

Grandma Chen hurriedly withdrew her hand: "No, no! A few vegetable buns aren't worth much, and besides, you're helping me repair my house!"

Feng Xuese gave a wry smile: "Please accept the money, it's not just for the steamed buns!"

After saying that, he stretched out his arm, picked up Zhu Huihui, leaped up, mounted the horse, and urged it to ride away.

Granny Chen stared blankly at them, then looked at the hundred-tael silver note in her hand, both surprised and delighted, as if in a dream. She stood there for a long time, then turned around, suddenly realizing that something seemed amiss. After pondering for a while, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah!"

The rooster that used to lead his wives and children around the yard to crow at dawn has disappeared!

Maple Leaf was very angry.

Zhu Huihui wasn't exaggerating; she was truly a master chicken thief! In his mother-in-law's yard, he only heard a faint "cluck" sound from deep within her throat, and then the swaggering rooster fell silent. It all happened in the blink of an eye, right? The chicken's neck was snapped, and it was hidden under her clothes. It was so fast he didn't even have time to stop it!

"Zhu Huihui!" he said, suppressing his anger.

Zhu Huihui, stroking the large, fat rooster hidden under his belly, was in a great mood and didn't notice anything unusual about his voice. He loudly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Feng Xuese coldly said, "Extend your hand!"

"Yes, hero!" Zhu Huihui stretched out a small black paw. "It's out, hero. What's the matter?"

"I'm going to cut off one of your hands!" He casually pulled the kitchen knife from Zhu Huihui's waist and swung it at her.

Zhu Huihui was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. She pulled her hand away in time and fell off her horse, hitting her injured leg. She lay on the ground in pain, screaming, "Why did you cut off my hand?" Before, he only threatened to cut off her leg or head. What had her hand done to offend him? And he actually used a kitchen knife. Wasn't that going too far?

Feng Xue Se originally wanted to give Zhu Hui Hui a good scare, but when she heard the pain in her voice, her heart softened a little. However, she still kept a stern face and said, "Zhu Hui Hui, you better remember this: if I catch you stealing again, I'll chop off whichever hand you use to steal!" She casually tossed the kitchen knife, and it "snap"ed right next to Zhu Hui Hui's little paw.

"I..." Zhu Huihui stared wide-eyed at the kitchen knife pressed against her fingers, speechless for a long time.

"What?"

"I curse your grandmother!" Zhu Huihui cursed inwardly, but had to admit it aloud: "I...I won't do it again!"

She secretly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead! Don't think that just because the old man is blind he's easy to bully. That cleaver strike just now was a clear warning from him. If he really wanted to chop her up, even if she had three hands, he would have chopped her off!

Feng Xuese gave a cold "humph," and, riding on his horse, extended a hand to her from above.

Zhu Huihui asked fearfully, "What...what are you doing now?"

"Mount up!"

"No...don't!" Why get on the horse? It'll be easier for you to chop things up if you're closer.

"Come up!" Feng Xuese's voice was stern and forceful.

Zhu Huihui was terrified: "It's...it's a great hero!"

She hated herself so much: This old man really didn't deserve any sympathy. If she hadn't gone back to pick him up out of pity, she would have been living a carefree life by now. It wasn't his place to yell at her!

But she dared not disobey the old man. She picked up the kitchen knife, tucked it back into her waistband, and limped to the back of the horse. Stubbornly refusing to take his hand, she pulled the horse up by its rump.

The Flying Snow Steed was tall and had long legs, so even if her legs weren't injured, it would be difficult for her to mount the horse from behind, let alone now that she was limping! The Flying Snow Steed waited patiently for a long time, only to find that this female hooligan was patting and touching its buttocks while muttering something. It endured it again and again, and only because it was an acquaintance did it not kick her away.

Its owner didn't have such patience. Feng Xuese waited coldly for a while, then finally lost his patience, reached out and grabbed her collar, lifted her up, and placed her in front of him.

Zhu Huihui was already used to being carried around by him, and since she was angry, she kept her mouth tightly shut and didn't utter a single complaint.

The space was cramped, which meant that Zhu Huihui was essentially nestled in Fengxuese's embrace.

His chest was broad, strong, and warm. Leaning against it felt like sitting on a comfortable and reassuring chair. Zhu Huihui subconsciously snuggled closer to him, feeling his strong heartbeat on her back. Her anger and grievances vanished, replaced by a shy and sweet feeling.

No, no! I'm a person with backbone. I can't be so spineless just because it's easier and more comfortable for me to rely on him! She immediately leaned forward, bowing towards the horse's head, keeping as far away from Feng Xuese as possible.

Feng Xuese remained calm, holding the reins and letting the horse move slowly forward. Although Zhu Huihui was angry and tried her best to stay far away from him, her hair, blown by the wind, would still occasionally brush against his cheek, carrying a faint fragrance, neither flower nor musk.

The fragrance was faint, yet pleasant. He couldn't help but wonder, how could such a dirty child who disliked bathing smell so bad? Where did the fragrance come from?

After walking for a while, he couldn't help but say, "Zhu Huihui!"

Zhu Huihui replied indifferently, "Yes, sir."

"What kind of spices are you carrying?"

Zhu Huihui turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "No!"

"Nothing?" Feng Xuese was really puzzled. She sniffed again, and as she did so, the smell became much stronger. It must be coming from this dirty child, there was no mistake!

Zhu Huihui looked at him for a while, then spoke with concern: "Great hero—"

Although she was still angry with him about cutting off his hand, the great hero was already blind, and if his nose also got damaged, he wouldn't survive! Oh well, she was too magnanimous to hold a grudge, so she should at least show some concern!

"Um?"

Zhu Huihui nestled her nose into his chest and inhaled deeply. Ah, the hero was right; there was indeed a delicate fragrance wafting at her nose, refreshing and slightly cool. Inhaling it brought a sense of peace and tranquility to her heart.

She loved the smell and sniffed it intensely.

The sight of Maple Snow made her skin crawl: "What are you doing?"

"Confirmed. Your nose is fine. There is indeed a very pleasant smell!" Zhu Huihui reported to the old man.

"What?!" Feng Xuese chuckled and pushed her head away. This child is really silly!

After exchanging these few words, the pent-up anger they had been holding in was finally released.

Zhu Huihui looked at the route the horse was taking: "Great hero, where are we going?"

"I don't know."

"ah?"

Feng Xuese handed the reins to her: "Spur the horse on, avoid the villages, and tell me when you see the Three Realms Stele." After thinking for a moment, fearing that this guy might not recognize the words "Three Realms Stele," she added, "The Three Realms Stele is a reddish-brown stone stele, very tall and easy to spot."

"Got it!" Zhu Huihui took the reins, spurred the horse to circle around Zhuma Village on the left, and then asked, "But what are we going to that Three Realms Monument for?"

Feng Xuese simply said, "Not far east of the Three Realms Stele, there is a long-abandoned Three Realms Temple."