Болезненный юноша, путешествующий во времена династии Сун

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Of course, whether or not there was an invitation was never on Mo Xibei's mind. Although she had excellent martial arts skills, she had never been involved in the martial arts world. Naturally, she assumed that there was no one like her in the martial arts world. Anyway, she thought that there would be many people going, and no one would notice if one or two unknown people sneaked in. So she didn't care. The worst outcome was that she wouldn't be able to get through the gate. However, Xibei thought, "I don't believe that the martial arts alliance leader's house doesn't have a wall. I can just jump in and that's it." So she felt relieved and happily instructed her people to prepare to set off.

She hadn't been a disciple for long, only three years, but those three years were enough for her to travel all over the country in pursuit of delicious food. Walking was what she hated most, so even when she was in a hurry, she always brought her own comfortable carriage. Naturally, this little habit of Mo Xibei gave Honglu some time. Half an hour later, at the city gate, she caught up with Mo Xibei, who was about to leave the city, carrying a small bundle on her back and panting.

"Sister Honglv, are you going out too? Where are you going?" Northwest asked with a grin as Honglv climbed into the car without even saying hello. Northwest was definitely not a stunning beauty. Her eyebrows were thick and dark, but thankfully they were long and thin. Her nose was not high, but thankfully it wasn't flat either. Of her whole face, only her eyes and lips were flawless. Unfortunately, her big, round eyes looked too cold when she wasn't smiling.

"Henan Prefecture, not on the way?" Honglu was completely immune to Mo Xibei's smile. She put down her bundle, lay down on the other side of the carriage, and ordered, "Wake me up when it's time to eat." Then, she closed her eyes to rest. This was the most effective method against someone like Mo Xibei. If she's lazy, you'll be lazier than her; if she's shameless, you'll be more deceitful than her. In any case, in the end, it will definitely not be her who can't stand it, Honglu thought happily.

As expected, Mo Xibei remained silent and slumped to one side of the carriage.

After a half-day journey by land, they boarded a large boat that had been waiting for them on the canal. Inside the cabin, eight delicate dishes and four small plates of snacks were already laid out. Honglu didn't even need to look to know where the Dongpo pork, honey-glazed ham, braised pork with dried vegetables, crispy fried tofu skin, and Hangzhou soy sauce duck were placed on the table. Of all the famous Hangzhou dishes, Mo Xibei disliked West Lake Vinegar Fish the most; she almost never ate it. At one point, the chef at Xieyi Restaurant was quite troubled by this, even wondering if he hadn't cooked it well enough. Later, after carefully asking Honglu to inquire, Mo Xibei casually mentioned that she didn't like fish because the fish she ate as a child had a muddy taste, and there were too many bones, making it difficult to eat without spitting them out – which didn't fit her usual "elegant" eating style.

Mo Xibei actually eats with elegance. Hong Lv sighed. This woman in front of him, with her legs propped up high, half-reclining on the armchair, squinting as she gnawed on a piece of braised duck. After finishing, she even licked her fingers as if regretting it. What elegance is there to speak of when it comes to eating?

There have been many boats on the canal these past few days. After standing at the bow of a boat for a while, Honglu concluded that most of the boats carried burly men with imposing figures and fierce faces. Some carried knives, some held swords, and some dragged copper hammers; they were all dressed like江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world).

"Young Master Mo, do you think all these people want to be the son-in-law of the martial arts alliance leader?" In accordance with Mo Xibei's usual style of dressing as a man, Hong Lü changed her address to Young Master Mo. At this moment, the Young Master Mo she was talking about was engaged in a fierce battle with a duck leg, the battle was fierce, and oil was flying everywhere.

"Right? What does it have to do with me?" This was Mo Xibei's reply. She squinted her eyes. The wings and legs were all made of live meat, and they tasted better than other places. She thought happily. As for who would be the son-in-law of the martial arts alliance leader, hehe, anyway, she was willing but powerless, so what difference did it make who it was?

"My God, Young Master Mo, I've heard that Murong Lianyun, the daughter of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, is known as the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world. She's the most beautiful of beauties. If she marries these scoundrels, it's like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung." Honglu emphasized the word "cow dung," and sure enough, she saw Mo Xibei's face darken, and he finally stopped his endless eating.

"Sister Honglu, could you please refrain from using any offensive words while I'm eating?" Mo Xibei raised her hand, and a maidservant immediately brought her water to wash her hands. After washing off the oil, Mo Xibei patted her chest, thinking bitterly, "That wretched Honglu! She knows I have a vivid imagination and can't bear to hear or see anything related to dead people, graves, murders, bloodshed, or even excrement while I'm eating, yet she still insists on saying those things. Even though I stopped eating immediately, I still feel nauseous."

"I haven't heard you mention that you can't listen to these things while eating in a long time. I thought you had overcome it." Honglu didn't take it seriously. She was one of the earliest people to follow Mo Xibei and they had been through thick and thin together. Although Mo Xibei seemed somewhat cold and willful, he was actually a good person and never put on airs, so she wasn't afraid of him.

"Then I'll only repeat myself this time. You'll never change this habit in your life. If you do it again, I'll throw you into the canal." Mo Xibei threatened Honglu, his tone fierce, but the smile on his lips betrayed him.

"Then please, next time you try to scare me, don't do it with a smile. It's not convincing." Honglu was unmoved and hurriedly darted out of the cabin when she saw Mo Xibei reach out.

With the wind and current in a favorable manner, they had already traveled dozens of miles by water. Honglu and Moxibei left the cabin one after the other and went to the deck. Suddenly, they heard a loud shout behind them, as if many people were frantically calling for help at the same time.

Honglu went around to the back deck and was shocked to see that a large ship was taking on a lot of water half a mile away. The ship was slowly sinking. There were more than 20 people on board. Some were frantically bailing water out, while others were jumping on the roof of the cabin in fear and shouting for help. The scene was extremely chaotic.

Honglu turned around, and unsurprisingly, Mo Xibei didn't come over to look. However, seeing that only their own boat was big enough to hold the twenty-odd people, she still ran to the bow and asked Mo Xibei, "Should we go back to rescue them?"

"Save who?" Mo Xibei seemed not to have heard anything unusual, calmly looking at Honglu.

"There are no large ships nearby for those people behind us. If we don't rescue them, many of them will drown," Honglu pointed behind them.

"Who are those people on the ship?" Mo Xibei asked unhurriedly, opening her folding fan with a swish. Her men's clothing concealed the indifference and coldness that a woman shouldn't have in her eyes, instead adding to her dashing charm.

“They all have weapons; they’re all江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world).” Honglu was always very observant.

“How could a perfectly good boat sink? The people of the martial world have their own grudges, and we don’t need to get involved. Tell the boatman to speed up and get away from here,” Mo Xibei instructed.

“But we can’t just stand by and watch them die because they’re from the martial arts world.” Honglu hesitated a bit. She couldn’t swim and knew the instinctive fear that non-swimmers had for water.

“Saving them is easy, but the problem is that if we save them, we'll be the next ship to sink. I don't care, you decide for yourself.” Mo Xibei shrugged and patted Honglu on the shoulder. “You make the decision. I'm sleepy, I'm going back to my cabin to sleep.”

Honglu stomped her feet and then ordered the sailors to speed up. For the rest of the time, she sat on the deck and pondered why her master, who clearly had excellent martial arts skills, was unwilling to be a knight-errant. When trouble came, he would run away quickly, and if he couldn't run away, he would pretend not to see it.

Volume One: Ten Years of Wandering the Martial World, Chapter Three

As dusk fell, boats on the canal gradually anchored near the shore to rest, and wisps of smoke quickly rose from their bows. Mo Xibei's stomach was always a punctual alarm clock; when the time came, it would automatically rumble. She tossed and turned twice, struggling between getting up to eat and continuing to sleep. In the end, she couldn't resist the feeling of emptiness in her stomach, painfully opened her eyes, and crawled to the table.

One, two, three, she tapped the table with her fingers and counted to three. Honglu had already lifted half of the crystal curtain with a whoosh, and with a crisp rustling sound, one fragrant dish after another appeared before her eyes.

“Let’s eat together,” Northwest smiled, her eyes and brows radiating contentment. In that instant, she seemed like a child again, looking at the delicious food, feeling happy even before touching it, incredibly happy. Honglu sighed, sat down where Northwest indicated, and also filled half a bowl with fragrant rice. Holding the ebony chopsticks in her hand, she was unsure whether to eat first or to reflect first. She liked Northwest’s current expression, but she couldn’t understand why, for a woman who owned four large businesses and earned tens of thousands of dollars a day, even mountains of gold and silver couldn’t compare to the pure satisfaction that a meal like this gave her.

However, their meal was far from peaceful, because not far ahead, a large ship that was sailing and preparing to dock sank.

This shipwreck was different from the one in the afternoon. From the moment someone shouted "Red and Green" and ran out to see what was happening, only a few moments had passed. However, when the people on all the moored ships rushed out of their cabins, they saw the ship sinking rapidly. The people on board were either lying or standing, but no one shouted for help, and no one even moved.

Some skilled martial artists had already leaped onto the ship, but the moment they landed, they retreated hastily as if greatly frightened. This time, Mo Xibei also unusually came out, his face extremely pale. Honglu knew that the bizarre scene on the opposite ship had greatly disgusted her master. Fortunately, only four side dishes were prepared for dinner, so there wouldn't be too much waste.

“That’s good now, we don’t have to worry about whether to save him or not.” Honglu said to Mo Xibei, “Young Master, you should go back and rest.”

Mo Xibei didn't move. She listened intently. The person who had jumped onto the opposite ship earlier was describing to his companion in a trembling voice, "They're all dead. It looks like it's been at least half a day. This ship, this ship..."

Yes, even with a favorable wind and current, a ship without a helmsman couldn't sail so smoothly for half a day before sinking. It's really strange, Mo Xibei thought. He had just wanted to go out for a meal, but it turned out to be so troublesome.

However, for those heading to Henan Prefecture, the trouble was only just beginning.

The next day, just as Northwest was lying on her soft, comfortable, and spacious bed, engrossed in a game of chess with Morpheus, a terrified scream rang out once more.

She rolled over and covered her head with the blanket, but it was no use, because the cries of the red and green birds on her own boat were too penetrating.

"You'd better give me a good reason." Reluctantly putting on the coat scented with osmanthus blossoms, and carefully tidying his messy hair, Mo Xibei finally emerged half an hour later.

Outside the cabin, a row of eighteen bright red handprints, neatly arranged and uniform in size, were imprinted on the deck. Honglu stood beside them, her face pale. Mo Xibei smiled. Li Mochou, a character in Jin Yong's novels, had a habit of leaving bloody handprints before killing people. However, wasn't Li Mochou from the Southern Song Dynasty? How come someone in the Ming Dynasty also had such a peculiar fetish? Hmm, she thought for a moment. There were twelve sailors, two cooks, one maid, and one coachman on the ship. Including herself and Honglu, there were exactly eighteen people, no more, no less.

Mo Xibei was very unhappy. She disliked the feeling of being watched, even controlled. This was bad, very bad. At the same time, she also blamed herself. Last night, because she hadn't eaten anything and was in a bad mood, she had indulged in a few drinks before bed, which resulted in her sleeping like a log. They had even managed to mess with her on her boat without her noticing. Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel a chill on her neck, as if an enemy she had never met before had already placed a cold blade against her throat.

In fact, the bloody handprints were not only on Mo Xibei's ship. In fact, all twelve ships of various sizes that were moored here last night had their decks covered with handprints according to the number of people on board. Every single ship had one handprint, not one more and not one less.

"You coward, what kind of hero hides his head and tail like that!"

"That's right, if you've got the guts, come out and fight me fair and square!"

"He doesn't have the guts to go against all the sects and factions in the martial arts world!"

"Come out here if you dare!"

After a quiet morning, as the sun rose, a sudden chorus of shouts and curses erupted from the boats. Everyone stood with their hands on their hips at the bow, as if afraid that if anyone's voice was too soft, they would be seen as showing cowardice.

Volume One: Ten Years of Wandering the Martial World, Chapter Four

Amid the chaos, Red and Green asked Northwest, "Young Master Mo, what should we say?"