Chapter 80

Xie Shouzheng rode his horse fast, and after more than half an hour, he returned to Fengnian County, the inn where they stayed yesterday, and got the Blood Thorn Whip.

After putting away his personal weapon, he didn't even have time to stop and drink a sip of water before preparing to ride his horse to catch up with Dongfang Yan and Lin Qingyue.

Just as he untied the horse rope, he suddenly keenly sensed demon Qi drifting by.

He hurriedly looked up and saw passersby walking in twos and threes on the street.

Taking another deep breath, that's right! It was demon Qi!

A wolf's nose is also very sensitive, and although the scent was very, very weak, he could smell the source of that scent.

So, Xie Shouzheng tied the horse up again, followed that faint trace of demon Qi, and chased to the mouth of the alley, where he saw a woman in a red dress with a slender figure pushing the door and walking into a small courtyard.

"It's the fox demon from last night, how did she escape? Could it be that Damao and Ermao were harmed?"

His pupils shrank, he drew the Blood Thorn Whip from his waist, and hurriedly followed.

But just as he stepped into the small courtyard, a mist wrapped in a strange fragrance rushed towards him.

Xie Shouzheng's eyes went black, and before he could swing his whip, he fell heavily to the ground, and the Blood Thorn Whip also fell to the ground with a "clatter".

Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Yan had already stepped into the city of Fengxian Prefecture at this moment.

The streets in the city were wide, the buildings were lined up, and the prosperity far exceeded that of Fengnian County.

There were many shops on both sides of the main street, especially noodle shops, and the fragrance of wheat and meat drilled straight into people's nasal cavities, making the gluttonous worms in their stomachs stir.

Lin Qingyue liked this kind of market atmosphere at first sight, so she found a popular noodle shop and walked in.

The noodle shop was not only crowded with customers inside, but there were also small stalls on both sides of the door and across the street, and even many beggars holding bowls to beg.

The noodle shop only had pasta, but there were many varieties.

Fried noodles, soup noodles, mixed noodles, dipped noodles, there were different ways to eat them and many toppings. Just the soup noodles had more than a dozen toppings, making people dazzled and not knowing how to choose.

Dongfang Yan said: "Why not order them all?"

"That would be a waste." Lin Qingyue ordered beef soup noodles and a bowl of shrimp and shredded meat fried noodles.

And Dongfang Yan ordered a portion of crab roe mixed noodles and a portion of pork bone dipped noodles, and asked the waiter for two small bowls.

"We can share them in small bowls, so you can taste four flavors at once."

Lin Qingyue smiled with satisfaction: "Good."

She added each kind of noodle to her bowl to taste, then put down her bowl and chopsticks, and her gaze drifted to the window again: "What should I do? I suddenly want to eat the oil cakes and pan-fried buns at the small stall outside."

Dongfang Yan said readily: "Then let's go eat oil cakes and pan-fried buns."

Lin Qingyue looked at the remaining noodles in embarrassment: "Then these..."

He said: "I will solve it."

Lin Qingyue thought he was going to finish all four portions of noodles by himself, waiting to watch a big eater performance.

But she saw Dongfang Yan also put down his chopsticks, called the waiter, and pointed to a pair of mother and daughter begging in rags outside the shop: "These bowls of noodles are still clean, help me take them to the beggar mother and daughter outside to eat."

"There is no essential difference between forcing yourself to finish eating and leaving it in the bowl. Look, isn't this the best of both worlds?" Dongfang Yan paid for the noodles while speaking and walked out of the noodle shop with Lin Qingyue.

Lin Qingyue bought oil cakes, but found that Dongfang Yan didn't follow, and only after turning her head did she find that he was bending over to give the change in his hand to the beggar mother and daughter.

Deep in his eyes was compassion for the suffering of the people.

In contrast, Lin Qingyue was like a cold-hearted woman, picking out a large pile of fragrant snacks by herself, and then calling Dongfang Yan to pay - she wouldn't be soft-hearted about eating and drinking on public funds.

"Coming!" Dongfang Yan walked over and asked, "How much is it in total?"

"15 wen."

"Good."

Dongfang Yan reached into his sleeve pocket, but touched nothing.

Only then did he remember that when he gave alms to the mother and daughter just now, the little girl tugged at his sleeve and thanked him sweetly.

Could it be that at that time, the other party stole the money from his sleeve pocket?

Thinking of this, he hurriedly turned around to look, but found that the mother and daughter who were begging at the door of the noodle shop had disappeared without a trace.

"How could this be? I clearly gave them food and money, why did they still steal?" He was puzzled, and more of it was cold-hearted.

"Because they are not ordinary beggars at all." Lin Qingyue bit into the crispy oil cake and said, "Bad people will not be soft-hearted towards you just because you gave them some alms."

"Did you see it long ago?" A kind heart was let down, which made Dongfang Yan feel a little sad.

Lin Qingyue paid for it herself, handed Dongfang Yan an oil cake, and then walked along the long street while saying:

"Compared to Dongfang Yan, you have indeed come into contact with many things among the people. But the places you have walked and the scenery you have seen are only on the surface. You have never truly lived among the people and do not understand true human nature."

"Just like the beggar mother and daughter just now, although they were dressed sloppily, the child's eyes were empty and expressionless. And the so-called mother beside her had lively eyes, looking at the people around from time to time. Most importantly, that woman was somewhat beautiful."

"What does this have to do with appearance?" Dongfang Yan asked puzzledly.

Lin Qingyue smiled: "For the upper class, a beautiful appearance is the icing on the cake. But for the poor at the bottom, especially beggars like this, beauty is a disaster, which will make her suffer malice from all sides."

"Not to mention people, even a stray little female cat will constantly get pregnant and give birth until it dies. And that woman clearly hasn't suffered any obvious harm. That is enough to show that she is not an ordinary beggar and has the ability to protect herself."

"And that girl with empty eyes who has clearly suffered a lot of abuse is definitely not her child. If I'm not mistaken, that child should be controlled by the woman to beg. And you, Young Master..."

Lin Qingyue looked at Dongfang Yan with a smile in her eyes, "Someone like you looks like a little white rabbit that is easy to fool. Rich, simple, and kind. If they don't steal from you, who would they steal from?"

Rich, simple, and kind Dongfang Yan: "... Is this a compliment?"

Lin Qingyue raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing a look of surprise: "Isn't this belittling you?"

Dongfang Yan laughed: "Then your belittling is really special."

Lin Qingyue: "Tsk..."

Dongfang Yan stopped laughing and asked again: "You should have seen where that 'mother and daughter' went just now, right?"

Lin Qingyue asked: "Why, want to get back the money you lost?"

Dongfang Yan said: "A few pieces of silver are insignificant, but that little girl..."

In his mind, the image of the girl grabbing his hem and looking up at him with a dirty smiling face appeared.

Although he now knew that the action was just to attract his attention so that the woman beside her could have a chance to steal.

But thinking of the little girl's empty and numb eyes, even when she smiled, there was a faint sadness - he didn't feel it at the time, but thinking about it now, it was like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Lin Qingyue naturally saw where the beggars went. She finished eating what was in her hand and wiped the oil stains on her fingers with a handkerchief.

"Let's go, I'm full anyway, let's go digest."