northernbook Chapter 45 A Man Worthy of Pity
Chapter 45 A Man Worthy of Pity
Flying on a sword sounds simple, but it's not easy to do.
The way of the rules of mutual restraint is ever-changing. The stronger the sword intent rules under Luo Sifan's feet restrain the power of the rules of the outside world, the higher the level of sword control he can achieve.
The sword intent rules that Luo Sifan comprehended accumulated to be as many as five or six thousand, and due to his innate sword body, they continued to evolve and change.
As a Foundation Establishment Stage 2 cultivator, I have a fairly deep understanding of the basic rules of Yunzhou Tianxia.
Luo Sifan rode his sword down the mountain, experiencing the subtle changes in sword intent beneath his feet. A streak of sword light flashed through the air, its speed increasing rapidly.
The people of Luzhou seemed to be quite accustomed to the strange phenomenon of people flying around on swords.
When Luo Sifan landed in front of Huiyan City in Luzhou, most of the passing merchants and travelers who looked at him were attracted by his tall and handsome appearance.
Luo Sifan's long hair was still tied in a high ponytail, and she was wearing Lu Gong's white robe. Although it was a bit loose, it looked quite interesting on Luo Sifan's tall and upright figure.
Almost everyone regarded him as a handsome young man whose gender was indistinguishable.
As Luo Sifan walked along, he lingered with longing for mostly young girls and amorous young women.
Luo Sifan smiled and walked around with ease and freedom, which made him even more like a young master from a scholarly family.
Huiyan City is located in the northwest, and its landscape is quite different from that of Yuanzhou, where Yongning Prefecture is located. The streets and alleys are mostly lined with flat-roofed houses built of brick, stone and earth, with a simple style, lacking the ornate wooden structures that are predominant in Yuanzhou.
The cultivators I saw along the way were tall and strong, always carrying swords and knives, with thick beards and bushy beards. Although their cultivation levels were not high, they exuded a fierce aura, as if they would raise their fists at the slightest provocation.
Luo Sifan walked around and looked around, finding many things new and interesting.
He planned to inquire at an inn or among caravans, since this place was a thousand miles away from Yongning Prefecture, and the journey to the capital was even more distant. The Imperial Assembly was imminent, and he couldn't afford to waste time on the road.
After asking around for information, Luo Sifan hurried along. Suddenly, the sound of a group of children laughing and cursing came from the alleys and streets. Luo Sifan glanced at them but didn't pay them any mind.
A girl's sobbing came from behind. Luo Sifan frowned, stopped, and saw that a group of teenagers were beating, scolding, and laughing at a girl curled up against the wall.
They picked up branches and pebbles and viciously smashed them against the little girl who was covering her face.
"You unlucky bastard!"
"You little troublemaker! You little monster!"
"Jun Xiaolian, shameless! You've brought death to your father and mother!"
His speech had a regional accent, but Luo Sifan could still understand it. The sound of branches and pebbles hitting each other was quite loud, not the usual sound of children playing.
Luo Sifan stormed into the alley, shouting a few times, which scared the group of unruly children into scattering and cursing loudly from a distance.
Luo Sifan squatted down and patted and tidied up the little girl's dirty old clothes and skirt.
"Alright, it's alright now. Uncle has chased them away, little sister."
Hearing Luo Sifan's gentle and pleasant voice, the little girl mustered up her courage and put her hands down. Her big, watery eyes stared at Luo Sifan's smiling face, a mixture of surprise and wariness in them.
"She really is a little devil!"
A strange look flashed in Luo Sifan's eyes. Although the girl's face was a little dirty, it was otherwise flawless. Her skin was fair and her eyebrows were delicate. She was a real little beauty.
With each movement of his brows and eyes, his features were clearly defined, yet they seemed to conceal a myriad of thoughts, making him especially endearing to the eye.
"Jun Xiaolian, right? Where do you live? Uncle will take you home."
The two looked into each other's eyes and exchanged a few words. Luo Sifan then took her small hand, revealing several bluish-red bruises on her fair skin.
Jun Xiaolian struggled with her small hands, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Luo Sifan was one of considerable reluctance.
Luo Sifan became suspicious:
"Aren't your parents good to you? Why don't you even want to come home?"
Jun Xiaolian pouted, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.
"My father and mother are both gone!"
As she spoke of her sorrow, tears streamed down her face, dripping incessantly. Qi Xiaolian wiped away her tears while sobbing uncontrollably.
Her small face was covered in ash.
"Alright, alright, we need somewhere to go, right?"
Luo Sifan was a bit overwhelmed.
"I'm not going back! I'd rather die than go back!"
Jun Xiaolian's face hardened, and she puffed up her cheeks in anger. She hastily wiped her face with her sleeve, but she didn't seem too upset anymore.
"If I'm not going back, then I'm not going back."
Luo Sifan pondered for a moment.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll kidnap you and sell you?"
"Not afraid!"
Jun Xiaolian didn't know where she got the courage from.
"That's good!"
Luo Sifan bent down and picked up Qi Xiaolian, carefully wiping her face with his sleeve.
Jun Xiaolian didn't resist much at this moment; she just stared at Luo Sifan with wide eyes.
"Are you hungry? Let's go eat!"
Luo Sifan could tell the strength of her qi and blood just by reaching out his hand, let alone her flat little belly, which was obvious at a glance.
Jun Xiaolian nodded, and after walking a few steps away from Luo Sifan, she felt a little guilty and timid.
Leaning her head on Luo Sifan's shoulder, she asked hesitantly:
"Uncle, you really didn't kidnap Xiaolian and sell her, did you?"
Luo Sifan ruffled her messy hair, sighing inwardly.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was about your age who asked the same question."
Luo Sifan recalled some interesting memories.
"How is she now?"
Jun Xiaolian was a little nervous.
"She... she must be a very powerful and influential person now!"
Luo Sifan's eyes narrowed, and he drifted into the distance.
"Oh!"
Jun Xiaolian's face lit up with joy, but she immediately pouted and complained:
"Uncle is lying! How old are you this year?"
Luo Sifan chuckled and shook her head:
"Uncle would never lie to a little girl!"
They found a decent mutton soup restaurant nearby, and Luo Sifan sat down to eat and chat with Jun Xiaolian.
Despite being only seven or eight years old, Jun Xiaolian is precocious and insightful. She speaks eloquently and explains her family affairs in a way that Luo Sifan can roughly understand.
There is a place called Jiuxian Palace, a place of inspiration. Several months ago, Jun Xiaolian's parents took her to Jiuxian Palace to worship and pray.
After meeting Jun Xiaolian, the Taoist priest in the palace publicly declared that Jun Xiaolian was a reincarnated vengeful ghost who would inevitably harm others and herself, unless she was taken into the palace as a junior disciple.
Although Jun Xiaolian's parents had doubts, they were still reluctant to part with their daughter and refused the Taoist's request.
In the following two or three months, Jun Xiaolian's parents suffered a series of accidents and died mysteriously. The neighbors believed the words of the Taoist priest from Jiuxian Palace and, amidst the rumors, avoided Jun Xiaolian like the plague.
Now, Jun Xiaolian's home has been occupied by her uncle and aunt, who beat and scold her on a daily basis and often lock her in the outhouse, not allowing her to see anyone.
In the past few days, he even spoke harshly about his collusion with the Taoist priest of Jiuxian Palace in front of Jun Xiaolian, threatening to secretly send Jun Xiaolian to Jiuxian Palace on a certain day.
Luo Sifan certainly wouldn't believe the nonsense spouted by the Taoist priest from the Nine Immortals Palace. The people involved in this matter were treacherous and wicked, and after thinking about it briefly, he was even more alarmed.
Public opinion can be deceiving, and Jun Xiaolian mostly believed it to be true. She stammered and complained to herself, stopping eating several times and sobbing.
Luo Sifan comforted Jun Xiaolian gently for a while before she reluctantly picked up her chopsticks.
After dinner, the two sat idly, and Luo Sifan told several amusing stories about Mu Xiaoqing from back then, which gradually made Jun Xiaolian happy.
Suddenly, the street became a cacophony of voices. A Taoist priest in colorful clothes, accompanied by a middle-aged couple, walked along the street, looking around, followed by a group of chattering onlookers.
Jun Xiaolian was very alert and suspicious. The moment she saw those people show their faces, her face contorted with fear. She rushed into Luo Sifan's arms, trembling as she held him, and cried out in a trembling voice:
"Uncle, save me! They're here to get me!"