Chapter 30: Short Are These Bitter Days
But Yin Buran is not her food…
The shop assistant quickly apologized with a smile, put down the teacup, and walked to the counter to wipe the table.
This small shop was dilapidated, so the tea it could provide was naturally not good.
The tea was turbid and the aroma was faint. Yin Buran didn’t touch it, only holding it in her hands for warmth.
She had been woken up from bed by Ning Ruoque, so she was still sleepy.
But she didn’t want to yawn in the wheelchair without any regard for her image, so she could only force her eyelids open and sit up straight.
Yin Buran didn’t really care where she rested. It was just that an inn with its lights on was still open in a long-abandoned town, which was really interesting.
This inevitably reminded her of a certain type of fish that would extend a glowing lure in the pitch-black deep sea to attract small, light-seeking fish.
And then swallow them in one gulp.
Qingtong picked up the tea and sniffed it, then put it far away in disgust.
The others also didn’t move. Chu Xuan played with the teacup in her hand and asked with a chuckle, “Little Brother, may I ask you something?”
The shop assistant quickly bowed. “Ask, ask!”
Chu Xuan: “This town is so deserted. Although it’s a snowy day, how come only your shop is open?”
Outside the door, the snow was falling heavily, and inside, the candlelight flickered.
The shop assistant squinted, his eyes clearly seeing the jade bracelet on Yin Buran’s wrist, and even his movements of wiping the table slowed down.
He licked his dry lips and asked instead, “Are the guests from the south?”
“Yes,” Chu Xuan said with a smile, pointing at Yin Buran. “This is my young lady.”
She then sighed heavily, showing a look of annoyance. “We originally wanted to go to Jiebei City to play, but we got lost and finally found our way here.”
Jiebei City was more than three hundred miles away from here. Outside the city was the pass, and there were indeed some magnificent snow scenes worth admiring.
Chu Xuan tapped the table with her knuckles. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
A smile bloomed on the shop assistant’s face. A young lady traveling far to the north, with only four maids. How simple and cute.
He had already regarded this group of people as fat sheep to be slaughtered, and he wiped the counter with even more vigor.
On the table, covered with years of patina, his blurry and distorted face was reflected.
“The guests don’t know. A few years ago, a nearby village suffered a demonic calamity. The rich all moved away, leaving only us poor people with nowhere to go.”
He grinned. “I, Wang Laosan, have a cheap life. I’m not afraid of being eaten by monsters.”
Chu Xuan looked at him with a faint smile, not drinking a single sip of the tea in her cup.
Wang Laosan quickly urged, “Don’t just stand there. Look at how thinly you’re dressed. Drink some tea to warm up, drink some tea to warm up!”
He carefully sized up the group, and finally, he couldn’t help but fix his gaze on Yin Buran.
This white-haired woman had a noble temperament and skin as white as snow. She was clearly the young lady of a large family.
The candlelight cast a layer of warmth on her, making her features look gentle and tender, exceptionally captivating.
His eyeballs were stuck to her, almost impossible to tear away.
Ning Ruoque suddenly urged in a cold voice, “Hurry up.”
Chu Xuan clicked her tongue, and her speaking speed indeed became faster. “Which village? Do you still remember?”
Wang Laosan scratched his head, not quite sure. “I heard it’s that… Xiaochi Village. Many people died. It was tragic.”
After asking the question, Chu Xuan said directly, “Alright, that’s all.”
Yin Buran’s peripheral vision swept over to Ning Ruoque. The latter was sitting in her seat with a blank expression, her arms crossed, and the corners of her mouth turned down a little.
A little fierce, as if she were about to bare her teeth.
After talking for a long time, Wang Laosan saw that these people still weren’t drinking the tea and was suddenly a little anxious.
He threw the cloth on the counter. “By the way, I’ll ask the cook to get up and make you something to eat.”
After speaking, he quickly locked the main door and ran to the backyard.
Qingtong and Qieyu exchanged a look and pouted. “This is the first time I’ve seen a black shop.”
Chu Xuan casually propped her leg on a stool and sat very casually.
She couldn’t help but start to reminisce about the past. “You really should go out and get more experience. When I was your age, I was already thriving in the black market.”
Having seen Chu Xuan’s personality, Qingtong was no longer afraid of her.
At this moment, she directly ignored her and asked with her chin in her hands, “How can I have a temperament like Senior Sister’s?”
Unexpectedly, Yin Buran actually answered. She stated calmly, “Find three stupid teammates.”
After speaking, she yawned and played with her jade bracelet out of boredom.
Chu Xuan took a moment to react before she understood who she was talking about when she said “stupid teammates.”
She immediately asked in disbelief, “Where am I stupid? Didn’t I just accidentally cook some hallucinogenic mushrooms in the pot? Why do you still remember that!”
“Ning Ruoque didn’t even complain and ate it all! She even thought it was delicious!”
Ning Ruoque: “…”
Qieyu couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then covered her mouth with her sleeve, but her shoulders still shook with laughter.
Just then, the sound of messy footsteps came from the backyard, from far to near, heavier than before.
The group tacitly stopped their idle chat. Chu Xuan still had her leg on the chair.
She didn’t look back, but sneered, “You said you were getting food. Why are you holding ropes and clubs?”
Wang Laosan’s heart trembled inexplicably, and his hand holding the wooden club went a little weak.
But thinking that these were just five unarmed, weak women, the swelling desire of greed once again overcame his fear.
He gave a look to the strong man beside him and said in a gloomy voice, “You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. If you had drunk the tea, you could have suffered less physical pain.”
The strong man’s target was clear. The first thing he saw was the Yin Buran sitting primly in the crowd.
He was so excited that his eyes turned red, and his tone was greasy. “Young lady, don’t struggle. This body of yours—”
His voice came to an abrupt end.
The obscene words had not yet been spoken before they were shattered in his gurgling, bloody throat.
Wang Laosan only felt a warmth on his face. He subconsciously raised his hand to wipe it, and when he looked, his hand was covered in red. A thud sounded by his ear. It was the sound of the strong man falling to the ground.
He wanted to scream, but after a few mumbles, he could only make a gurgling sound.
Wang Laosan was stunned for a moment before he realized that his own throat had also been cut.
He hadn’t even had time to see clearly what weapon the woman in black was holding before he stopped breathing in extreme fear.
It was also at this moment that Yin Buran, who had never looked at Wang Laosan, turned her head and her gaze fell on the two corpses.
Qingtong spat fiercely. “Pah! What kind of person dares to covet my Little Senior Sister!”
If Qieyu hadn’t been holding her back, she would have gone up and kicked him a few times.
Ning Ruoque, on the other hand, sheathed her sword. After holding it in for so long, she finally felt comfortable.
She was first a swordsman, and then she became a sword cultivator.
Using a sword had been carved into her instincts. Even without using a single bit of spiritual energy, she could still use the fastest sword.
Yin Buran suddenly asked her, “Why were you in such a hurry?”
Chu Xuan chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. What’s the rush?”
She could have used a spell, tied them up, and slowly squeezed out their value, but Ning Ruoque had chosen the simplest and most brutal method.
She had even rushed Chu Xuan once, as if she couldn’t wait for a moment and had to kill them quickly.
Ning Ruoque thought she was blaming her for being too impulsive and reckless.
The pleasure of getting rid of the disgusting person instantly vanished.
She lowered her head dejectedly, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.
She couldn’t possibly say, He was staring at you. I couldn’t stand it.
Ning Ruoque was very familiar with this kind of emotion. It was exactly the same as when she was protecting her food, and even stronger.
She thought with chagrin, Yin Buran would be angry if I said that.
Yin Buran is not her food.
The sword cultivator struggled for a long time and finally could only apologize in a muffled voice, “I’m sorry.”
Before Yin Buran could say anything, Chu Xuan waved her hand with great magnanimity. “It’s fine. We’ll just find someone else to ask.”
Yin Buran glanced at Chu Xuan and tugged on Ning Ruoque’s sleeve.
“The matter of Xiaochi Village is not urgent. I want to rest.”
She only tugged on a small corner. If Ning Ruoque was unwilling, she could let go at any time.
However, Ning Ruoque agreed very quickly. “Alright. I think I saw a room upstairs. We can tidy it up and make do for a night.”
The north wind beat against the window, making a hoarse whistling sound.
The blizzard seemed to be even more violent than when they arrived. Nothing could be seen outside the window.
Chu Xuan casually threw out a few talismans to reinforce the house and compromised, “Alright, alright. With such a big snowstorm, I don’t know where to start even if I want to catch someone to ask.”
She took out a handful of sparkling beads from her pocket and gave two to each person.
“This is a little thing I made. If you encounter danger, crush it, and I can sense it immediately.”
Ning Ruoque nodded, then held Yin Buran by the waist and carried her up.
Completely ignoring the wheelchair next to her, she walked straight up the stairs and chose the largest and most spacious room. Only after casting a dust-removing spell did she put Yin Buran down.
She and Qingtong changed the bedding on the bed together. Chu Xuan, who was leaning against the doorway, was dumbfounded.
Scary. This is the consequence of being hit by a love gu.
After finally tidying up, everyone returned to their own rooms.
Ning Ruoque pulled a chair and sat opposite Yin Buran, planning to cultivate for a night.
She heard the person on the bed speak slowly, “In the future, for the treatment of the spiritual soul, every seven… no. Every half a month… it seems still too short.”
She frowned, considering a suitable measure.
Although spiritual soul contact was dangerous, its effect was more significant than taking medicine. Yin Buran did not want to give up.
Finally, she decided, “Once a month.”
Ning Ruoque lowered her voice. “Alright. Thank you.”
A certain person was so sleepy that she could barely open her eyes, but she still insisted on finishing, “You don’t have to be so polite…”
Even though her tone was sticky and soft, like a sweet cake.
The corners of Ning Ruoque’s mouth turned up unconsciously.
She first carefully reached out, poked Yin Buran’s face, and then sat up even straighter.
“Good night,” she said to Yin Buran.
*
When the first ray of morning light shone into the window, Ning Ruoque stretched her body.
The blizzard had stopped, and the roofs and streets were all a vast expanse of white.
But there was not a single pedestrian outside.
This was actually a strange thing. No matter how remote and desolate it was, there shouldn’t be not even a single person sweeping the snow.
Ning Ruoque stood quietly by the window for a moment, and Yin Buran’s slightly hoarse voice sounded by her ear.
“Help me downstairs.”
She looked over, not understanding.
Yin Buran was rubbing her brow. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were as calm as an ancient well.
Ning Ruoque didn’t know what had happened, but her ears could hear the movement downstairs.
She made a decisive decision, picked up Yin Buran, and strode out of the room.
A person was already standing at the top of the stairs, her curly hair tied into a messy bundle.
She was usually a boisterous person, but now she was exceptionally quiet.
Ning Ruoque put Yin Buran down and for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
It was still the same dilapidated small shop.
The difference was that Wang Laosan, who should have been dead, was wiping the table, humming an unknown tune.
Another strong man was sleeping with his head on the counter, his snores thundering.
The floor was clean, without a single drop of blood.
The auras of the two told Ning Ruoque that they were indeed mortals.
Chu Xuan set up a barrier, and for once, she was serious. “This is an eye-opener. I didn’t know that coming back from the dead was so easy.”
She turned her head and asked, “Yin Buran, are these two still alive?”
Yin Buran paused. “Yes.”
“What about the town? Are there any other living people?”
This time, Yin Buran was silent for even longer. Chu Xuan was so anxious that she bared her teeth, and only then did she hear her say with certainty:
“Many. They’re everywhere.”
