Chapter 239 - 238: I Was the One Sent Flying
Chapter 239: Chapter 238: I Was the One Sent Flying
That night, Wu Chen just lay there quietly, listening for any sudden footsteps around the village.
But the village remained silent all night, save for the occasional, terrifying cry of some unknown bird from the mountains.
Aside from that, there were no other disturbances.
Sun Yuting, however, couldn’t lie still. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
When dawn finally broke, she was already sitting at the table, her head bowed in thought.
"..."
Seeing the young woman’s haggard face after a sleepless night, she looked even more exhausted than if she’d traveled day and night. ’It’s clear she spent the night thinking a great deal about the siblings,’ Wu Chen thought.
Wu Chen shook his head and sat down at the table as well, quietly waiting for Sun Yuting to compose herself while also listening to the sounds outside.
Outside, the brother and sister were already up, lighting a fire to cook.
"Bring the food to Big Brother and Big Sister in a bit. I’m going into the mountains after I eat, so you be good at home. Don’t run off."
"Okay, Brother. Be careful in the mountains."
"I know."
"..."
The siblings’ voices drifted in from outside, and soon the little girl came over, carrying their meal.
This time, Wu Chen got up early, walked to the door, opened it, and took the tray from the little girl’s hands.
On the tray were two bowls of dark, thin porridge and four black-flour steamed buns.
It was hardly a precious meal, but it was the best food the siblings could offer their guests.
Wu Chen sat back down at the table and began to eat and drink heartily. Sun Yuting, however, furrowed her brow and ate slowly, nibbling at her food as if she had no appetite.
The little girl, just like the night before, knelt on the stool with her elbows on the table, glancing first at Wu Chen, then at Sun Yuting.
Then she stared at Wu Chen and asked in a clear, crisp voice:
"Big Brother, did you bully Big Sister last night? Why does she look so unhappy!"
Wu Chen’s hand trembled. "Don’t say such things, little one!"
Sun Yuting looked up and forced a smile. "It has nothing to do with him. Big Sister just isn’t feeling well."
Her heart ached as she looked at the little girl’s emaciated body and the sharp cheekbones protruding from her face.
"Here, Big Sister will give you a piece of candy!"
Sun Yuting took a Blood Nourishing Pill from her storage pouch. This pill was perfect for replenishing Qi and Blood and nourishing the body.
It wasn’t that she lacked better pills, but a higher-grade pill would be too powerful for the little girl’s body to absorb; it might even harm her.
"Big Sister, this is a medicinal pill, isn’t it!"
The little girl cupped her hands and carefully accepted the "candy" from Sun Yuting. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the thumb-sized, crimson pill in her palm.
Although she had never seen one before, she had heard others in the village talk about them. She recognized it wasn’t candy, but a pill used for practicing Martial Arts!
"I’ll take it to my brother! He needs it for his Martial Arts practice. It’s useless for me to eat it!"
The little girl hopped off the stool and ran into the courtyard. Soon, her cheerful voice could be heard:
"Brother, look what this is!"
"A Blood Nourishing Pill? Where did you get this?"
"Big Sister gave it to me. You’re practicing Martial Arts, so you should eat it..."
"This is too precious! Hurry and give it back to her!" Before the little girl could finish, the boy’s scolding voice cut in.
"..."
Listening to the siblings outside, Sun Yuting didn’t know what to say.
To her, this Blood Nourishing Pill was just something she used to feed her horse along the road to help it quickly recover its stamina. She had a whole pile of them in her storage pouch.
Yet this cheap pill was a rare and precious treasure in the eyes of these two siblings, so much so that they dared not accept it.
She looked at Wu Chen, hoping he could think of a way to get the siblings to accept the pill.
But seeing him with his head down, stuffing his face, she said with a pout, "How can you even eat right now!"
"I’m not the one who made the world this way! Why wouldn’t I be able to eat!"
Wu Chen didn’t even look up. Slurping his porridge, he mumbled, "It’s obvious the taxes are too heavy, forcing common people to risk their lives catching venomous snakes."
"If you have something to say about it, you have the guts to go tell your king!"
"See if he can stomach it."
"..."
Sun Yuting’s expression soured, and she was left speechless.
After all, what Wu Chen said was reasonable. Her own words, in contrast, seemed rather petulant.
She stood up and took out several more pills from her storage pouch, intending to give them to the siblings.
Compared to silver taels, after all, the pills could be consumed in three to five days and wouldn’t attract the attention of village bullies or powerful neighbors.
Besides, with these pills, the boy who practiced Martial Arts would surely make progress on his path, which would make it safer for him when he went into the mountains to catch snakes.
But just as she was about to leave the house, the disorderly sound of horse hooves echoed from the distance. The sound drew closer and closer, finally stopping just outside the wicker fence.
’Are they here for the siblings?’
A cold glint appeared in Sun Yuting’s eyes. The siblings had no relatives, so for visitors to arrive this early in the morning, it was highly likely they were here to cause trouble.
She just didn’t know if they were relatives looking to seize the property of a family with no heir, or someone else entirely.
"Looks like they’re not here to be friendly," Wu Chen said as he slurped down the last of his porridge, looking toward the door at the same time.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!—
WHOA!—
Several figures on fine horses galloped up, stopping precisely at the entrance of the wicker-fenced yard.
Several burly men swung themselves off their horses. One of them strode arrogantly to the front gate and, without a single word, drew his saber and slashed.
CRACK!
The already dilapidated and rotten gate shattered into countless fragments from the blow, which were then carried by the force of the slash, flying toward the house.
In an instant, the tidy courtyard was a complete mess.
The man stepped through the wreckage of the gate. His tiger-like eyes scanned the surroundings before settling on the two slender figures in the yard. He bellowed:
"Kid, it’s time you made a decision about what I told you half a month ago, isn’t it?"
At some point, the brother and sister had armed themselves with sickles. Facing the tall figure striding into their yard and his intimidating presence, their eyes showed not a trace of fear:
"I’ve told you before, the recipe for this snake stew is not for sale!"
"You should leave!"
The boy’s voice lacked the intruder’s force, but he was resolute and un-intimidated.
"Don’t be so quick to refuse."
The large man chuckled. "This time, Master Liu is feeling generous. Seeing as you two are orphans, he’s adding another ten silver taels! That’s twenty silver taels in total for your snake stew recipe!"
"You’ll agree this time, won’t you!"
The boy’s expression didn’t change. "Go back and tell your master this belongs to my ancestors. It’s not for sale, no matter the price!"
"Looks to me like you’re determined to do this the hard way!"
The burly man, who had just been laughing, was instantly enraged. He had come to buy this kid’s snake stew recipe time and again, only to receive the same answer every time.
If he failed the task his master had given him, he would surely face consequences when he returned!
SWOOSH!—
Looking at the two helpless, slender figures, a vicious impulse seized him.
An arm as thick as half a bucket shot out, its iron-like fingers reaching for the boy’s chest.
If that hand made contact, it would surely tear off a layer of flesh and skin from the boy’s chest.
’Not good!’
Seeing the hand grasping for him, the boy’s face paled. He hadn’t expected the man to be so audacious as to attack him in broad daylight.
He reacted quickly, shoving his sister behind him. But he had no time to dodge himself and instead swung the sickle at the man’s arm, intending to block the attack.
But due to the vast difference in their cultivation levels, he couldn’t accomplish either task.
He could only watch helplessly as the burly fingers were about to seize his chest before his raised sickle could even begin to fall.
"Little girl, you’d better hurry up and tell us the recipe, or your brother is going to suffer!"
The burly man sneered, determined to teach this stubborn brat a lesson today, one way or another.
If worst came to worst, crippling one of his "paws" wasn’t out of the question.
"Brother!"
The little girl hiding behind her brother saw the urgency of the situation, but having never practiced Martial Arts, she was powerless. The sickle in her hand was little more than a prop, completely useless.
All she could do was cry out in alarm as she watched her brother about to be captured.
WHOOSH!—
However, at that very moment, a graceful figure shot out from the house.
The figure was incredibly fast, appearing at the burly man’s side in the blink of an eye.
Without any discernible movement, the figure simply twisted the scabbard in their hand and tapped it lightly against the man.
BANG!
The burly man had no time to react. Before he could even see what happened, he felt a stuffiness in his chest, and the two slender figures in his vision rapidly receded into the distance.
’Someone’s saving these two brats?!’
’No, I’m the one who’s been sent flying!’