Intelligence Ultime

Chapitre 59

Zhu Huihui even volunteered to help him redo his hair. She didn't need to deliberately make it look bad anymore—for her, it wasn't easy to make it look good, but making it look bad was her natural talent.

She relentlessly ravaged the old man and the horse, turning them into ugly monsters, and showed no mercy to herself either. Her head, neck, hands, and face were now a uniform yellowish-black, like a color that could never be washed off—utterly grotesque!

She changed into the stolen clothes and checked them again. She almost forgot about the old man's annoying sword. She pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out what to do with it, so she had to find a cloth to wrap it up and put it on the horse's back so that the old man could easily get it.

Although she didn't know she had been turned into a monster, Feng Xuese had a vague idea of what she was busy with.

He was always easygoing and not one of those who were aggressive and competitive. Although he wasn't afraid of being hunted down, his eyesight was impaired at the moment, so he figured it was better to avoid some trouble. But what if the enemy discovered him? Even though he couldn't see, as long as he had a sword in his hand, what did he have to fear!

Meanwhile, Zhu Huihui finished tidying up everything, then tucked the stolen cleaver into his waistband and covered it with his clothes. Then, a blind man who looked like a consumptive rode a dirty, rustic horse, and a dark-skinned country girl held the reins. The three of them strolled off down the mountain, looking for a way.

Knowing that countless people might be searching for the old man on the mountain, Zhu Huihui dared not take the main road and led his horse along secluded paths. After traveling only a few miles, they saw a mountain of flesh in the distance, carrying a large knife on its shoulder and swaying as it walked up the mountain.

The moment she saw the fat man, the hair on her body stood on end! Last time on the Lone Eagle Gorge boardwalk, she was almost sat on to death by this fat man—damn it, he was the one who had been sent by the dead pig! She was so frightened that she didn't even dare to look at who was with the mountain of flesh, and immediately led her horse into the woods.

The thought that countless people might be waiting to kill her and her in the mountains sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes widened, darting around as she searched for any clues. Those who fear death often have an innate sensitivity to danger, and several times she actually spotted some suspicious individuals, prompting her to lead her horse away in advance.

Although Feng Xuese was blind, she could still sense that Zhu Huihui was leading her around aimlessly, so she frowned slightly and asked, "Huihui, which way are we going?"

"We are..." Zhu Huihui tiptoed, looked in the direction of the sun, and then answered, "We are walking in circles!"

Maple Snow Color: "..."

Zhu Huihui cautiously looked up at him: "Great hero!"

"Um?"

"I think...we're lost..." Zhu Huihui said, wiping the sweat from her brow, looking ashamed.

She didn't know which path led down the mountain, and in order to avoid the enemy, she wandered around aimlessly. So now, before the enemy has even done anything, she has confused herself.

Maple Snow Color: "..."

Zhu Huihui secretly stuck out his tongue: "Great hero, why don't you just choose any direction to go?"

Now that things had come to this, Feng Xuese had nothing to say, so he could only casually raise his left hand and point: "Then let's go this way!" He could only distinguish front from back and left from right, but he had no way of knowing which way was east, west, south, or north.

"Great, great hero..."

"Um?"

"On the left is the crash site..."

"The one on the right!"

"Ugh, there's a cliff to the right!"

"..."

This girl is deliberately trying to annoy me! Feng Xuese tapped her on the head and gently scolded, "Then let's move forward!"

Zhu Huihui chuckled and led the horse forward. Actually, she was lying to him. She felt no remorse for taking advantage of a blind man; she was just inexplicably happy—because the old man, who used to stand high above the clouds pretending to be a god, had finally been brought down to earth by lightning and had become much more like a human.

We walked straight downhill for nearly two hours before finally seeing signs of human habitation in the distance.

Looking ahead, there are terraced fields on a hillside. The land is very flat, and the seedlings in the fields are lush and green, looking very cute, like a fluffy green carpet.

A path winds down a mountain stream, and at the end of the path are three thatched houses built against the mountain. On one side of the yard, there is a melon trellis and a grape trellis, and on the other side, vegetables are planted on the flat ground. The bamboo fence surrounding the yard is covered with morning glories of various colors.

Smoke was rising from the chimney of the thatched hut.

Where there is land and water, there will be people. In the mountains, where travel is inconvenient, neighbors often live far apart, so Zhu Huihui was not surprised by the sudden appearance of this secluded courtyard.

Just as she saw the smoke rising from the chimney, her stomach rumbled loudly. Without a word, she grabbed her horse and headed for the hut.

Upon arriving, she first helped Feng Xuese dismount, then went to knock on the door herself.

"Hey, is anyone home?"

No one answered from inside the door.

Nobody here? That's great!

"Hero, there are stone benches here, please sit here first." Zhu Huihui pushed open the fence gate, saw that there were no dogs, then took Feng Xuese's hand and made him sit under the grape trellis. He then turned around and brought the horse in as well.

"Grey, what are you doing?" Although Maple Snow was at her mercy, she wasn't entirely at ease. This girl had a history of offenses; barging into an empty house like this definitely meant no good.

Zhu Huihui casually replied, "Nothing. Just looking around." Then she stepped into the house.

The three thatched houses consist of three rooms. The middle room is the front hall, furnished with simple, crude furniture. The room on the left is the bedroom, which contains a bed and some wardrobes and other items. Although the items are few and crude, they are kept very tidy, showing that although the family is poor, the owner is very hardworking.

Zhu Huihui was most interested in the room on the right.

This is a kitchen. Several golden cornbreads are stuck to the top of a large iron pot on the stove, and there is also golden rice and pumpkin porridge inside, steaming hot.

Zhu Huihui laughed as soon as she saw it. She had eaten her last meal just last night and was starving. Even though it was just ordinary farm food, the sight of food made her eyes light up like a hungry wolf.

She first used a spatula to lift a pancake off the stove, burning her hands as she flipped it back and forth, exhaling repeatedly, before taking a bite: "Hmm, it's alright!"

He then peeled off two more flatbreads and put them on a plate. He then found a bowl and filled two large bowls with porridge, placing them on the tray. When he went to find chopsticks, he discovered spicy pickled vegetable pieces and a bowl of smoked rabbit meat in the cupboard, and immediately brought them over without hesitation.

After walking a few steps, I suddenly remembered something: the old man had a bad temper and would pretend to be innocent, saying he wouldn't eat stolen food. Whether he ate it or not was none of my business, but his eyesight was failing, and he hadn't eaten anything yesterday. If he refused to eat again, he might starve to death—but I had no money, and I couldn't produce any bread myself. Stealing was the only option I could think of…

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly remembered something, reached into her robes, and pulled out a small ingot of silver, placing it on the stove. This was the very silver ingot the snake envoy had bought for her to "seduce" Ah Shan with rouge and face powder, yet it was being used here.

Zhu Huihui happily carried out the tray: "Great hero, there's something to eat!" Before Feng Xuese could ask, he added, "This time it wasn't stolen, it was bought! I put silver on the stove, only a grandson would lie to me!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xuese smiled slightly and nodded gently.

Zhu Huihui placed the tray in front of him: "Great hero, please!"

Feng Xue hesitated for a moment, but did not make a move.

"Ah! I understand, I need to wash my hands! Please wait a moment, I'll go get some water."

Zhu Huihui was unusually diligent and considerate. She picked up a bucket, ran to the stream by the mountain path, and brought back half a bucket of water. She patiently helped Feng Xuese wash her hands and face, and also washed her own little paws: "Great hero, my hands have been washed. Now I'll get you some cakes!"

She took a pancake, put it in his maple-colored left hand, then placed the chopsticks in his right hand, and pulled him to touch the porridge bowl and the pickled vegetables: "It's a little hot, please be careful!"

Feng Xuese nodded silently and ate without saying a word. Now, he even needed Zhu Huihui to serve him food; it would be a lie to say he wasn't sad.

Zhu Huihui looked at him. Although he had been made to look ugly by her, his eyes were still bright and dazzling. However, the blankness in his eyes made her, who was usually carefree, feel inexplicably sad.

"Don't worry, sir. We'll go find a doctor to treat our eyes as soon as we get down the mountain."

Feng Xuese smiled slightly: "This kind of poison is not something that ordinary doctors can cure!"

"Then... there must be some extraordinary doctor who can cure it!" Zhu Huihui comforted him. "By the way, didn't you say there's a miracle doctor in that Sorrowful Valley? Let's go find them! That young lady we met on the road last time even tried to seduce you by falling into your arms!"

Feng Xuese gently tapped the back of her hand with her chopsticks: "Don't talk nonsense!" This girl has no sense of seriousness at all. The first half of her sentence sounded reasonable, but the second half completely changed its meaning!

Zhu Huihui withdrew her hand, pouting and muttering, "You said you couldn't see, but you're quite accurate at hitting people's hands!"

A smile appeared on Feng Xuese's lips: "Grey, someone's coming!"

Zhu Huihui was startled, dropping the half-eaten pancake in her hand to the ground. She grabbed his hand and said, "Let's go!"

"Don't worry! There are two people coming. Their footsteps are light and heavy, so they are obviously a man and a woman. If I'm not mistaken, the owner of this house has returned."

Zhu Huihui immediately sat down again.

For the first time in her life, after burgling, she dared to sit calmly and wait for her master to return. She pondered the reasons herself, concluding that firstly, she hadn't stolen anything this time, and had even left some silver, so she wasn't afraid of being beaten; secondly, she had a chivalrous hero by her side, and this hero had a treasured sword—whoever dared to bully her, the hero would chop off their heads…

On the path outside the fence, a young couple walked by. They were dressed in ordinary farm clothes. The husband, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, carried a hoe and a bundle of firewood on his shoulder, while the wife carried a sickle and a water bottle in her hand. She had a big belly, which showed that she was six months pregnant.

The couple stopped in surprise when they saw a thin, sallow-skinned girl with a dark face sitting in their yard: "You—"

Feng Xuese said apologetically, "I'm sorry, my brother and I were just passing by and were hungry. We trespassed on your property. We're very sorry!"

"Ah, no, no need to be so polite! It's always good to be at home, but it's hard to be away from home. What's a little something to eat?" The farmer was very simple and honest. After saying this, he went to put the bundle of firewood and hoe aside.

The peasant woman looked at the bowls and chopsticks on the table and asked very honestly, "Is this enough for you? I'll get you some more!"

Feng Xuese politely said, "Thank you, sister-in-law, this is enough for us! May I ask, brother and sister-in-law, where is this place? What is the nearest village or town, and where does it lead?"

The farmer said, "Our place is called Qingmei Ridge. After descending the ridge is Zhuma Village. If you walk a little further along the village, you'll reach Xiaoti Town. And after another two days' journey, you'll arrive at Luzhou!"

"Thank you, brother! We siblings are still on our way, so we won't bother you any longer!" Feng Xuese stood up, leaning on the table. Zhu Huihui immediately took his hand, and with her other hand she took the reins of the Flying Lightning Snow Steed, and they were about to leave.

Unexpectedly, Feng Xuese only took two steps with her before suddenly stopping: "Grey Grey, help me sit back down!"

Zhu Huihui exclaimed "Ah!" in confusion, and then helped him sit down as instructed.

Feng Xuese placed the sword on her lap and untied the cloth binding it layer by layer, saying, "Huihui, you and your elder brother and sister-in-law hide inside the house and don't come out!"

Zhu Huihui felt a chill: "Is someone chasing us?"

Feng Xuese smiled slightly: "They're just some small fry!"

Just then, a strange laugh suddenly rang out from the empty mountains, and someone said from afar, "Feng Xuese, you are too arrogant. Do you think that I, the Nine Nether Ten Ghosts, am just a small fry?"

The voice seemed to be above one's head at first, then it was several dozen feet away, then it was close behind one's back, and then it was far away at the edge of the mountain. For a moment, one could not tell where the speaker was.

Feng Xuese sneered slightly: "Nine Nether Thunder Sound Ghost, stop with the pretense and come out!"

His voice was deep and his tone was very steady, but when he said the last three words, "Come out," it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the sound spreading out in waves.

55

Zhu Huihui and the farmer and his wife beside him didn't seem to care much, but the Nine Nether Thunder Sound Ghost couldn't take it anymore. With a "thud," a thin man fell from the tall tree in front of him, landing face-first in the mud. It was unclear whether he had knocked out his teeth or what, but when he raised his head, his mouth was covered in blood.

Zhu Huihui always liked to kick someone when they were down, and instinctively wanted to rush up and beat the dog when it was in trouble. However, her wrist was suddenly tightened as the peasant woman next to her grabbed her arm.

Zhu Huihui turned around and saw that the woman was touching her stomach with her other hand, her body trembling slightly. Knowing that the woman was very scared, he patted her arm reassuringly: "Don't be afraid, with a hero here, nothing will happen!"

Even so, she wasn't entirely confident. The hero was blind, and the enemies were some kind of terrifying and powerful group called Nine Netherworld Ten Ghosts. Nine plus ten equals nineteen—nineteen enemies in total, a classic gang fight! She wondered if the hero could even win…

The farmer, being a man, sensed something was wrong. He grabbed his wife and, without a word, pushed her and Zhu Huihui into the house, then picked up his hoe and stood guard by the door. The woman shielded Zhu Huihui behind her, seemingly afraid she might rush out in a moment of panic, or perhaps afraid someone might break in and hurt her.