From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 345 Strange Phenomenon
It was night, the Milky Way was shining brightly, and the moon was radiant.

The top floor of the library had already been cleaned thoroughly, with no dust or grime visible.

Many books were scattered on the ground, all of which Mingyue had read. Among them were fragments of Confucian sages, the pure way of Taoist virtuous men, and profound words of Buddhist masters.

But at this moment, the texts of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were scattered on the ground, but the two people present ignored them.

The outside was quiet and still, with the occasional bird flying by.

A faint candlelight shone on the top floor. Meng Yuan and Ming Yue, as if they had been starving for a long time, suddenly became entangled together, truly disregarding everything else.

The two met after searching for Qing Guangzi, and later worked together several times. Mingyue had seen Meng Yuan's talent, and Meng Yuan knew Mingyue's background.

They supported and relied on each other. During their journey south, the two of them became even more shameless, riding together on the same horse every day and flirting with each other. They were repeatedly cursed by passersby as a despicable couple.

At that moment, the thunder from heaven stirred up the fire on earth, and the dry wood immediately ignited.

Their clothes were torn to shreds, and Mingyue seemed to have lost her mind, constantly pushing forward.

She was already very fair-skinned, and under the dim light, she looked even more extraordinary.

Meng Yuan measured every inch, and the bright moon responded with its own echoes.

Before long, dark clouds appeared in the sky, and then rain began to fall.

"Really!" Su Xin was on the first floor of the library tower. She saw Meng Yuan leaving early and returning late, while Ming Yue read and recited scriptures every day. Both of them were clearly capable, but they had not found a way to awaken Su Wen.

Seeing Meng Yuan go up to the top floor, Su Xin sighed again, then took a spoon and fed Su Wen little by little.

Seven days have passed since they entered the city. Suwen's fever has subsided, but he remains unconscious.

Su Xin had also taken turns working with Ming Yue and had gone out with Meng Yuan a few times. She discovered that although the social hierarchy in Xiangji Kingdom was strict, there were also many strange things about it.

For example, their diet was very simple, not only for nobles but also for lowly slaves.

Moreover, most of the nobles here are illiterate, let alone the slaves.

The Xiangji Kingdom worships ancient immortals, and there are many legends about them. There are also portraits of immortals left behind. In the largest library tower, there are even wooden and clay figurines.

Strangely, the clay figurine of the immortal had no hair; it was bald.

According to the nobles in the city, the reason why the immortal was bald was because he plucked out all his hair one by one, and then the hair turned into a ladder to heaven.

In Su Xin's opinion, the so-called immortal was probably just a monk, and very likely a second-rank Bodhisattva from the ancient Paradise Kingdom.

"Isn't it said that the medical lineage only exists in the Kingdom of Xiangji? How come we've been here for so long and read so many medical books, but haven't heard a single word about the methods of medical lineage?"

"Moreover, the nobles of the Xiangji Kingdom are all useless, not even worthy of being ranked. Could it be that the High Priest is the true heir to the medical lineage? If so, what rank would he be?"

Su Xin had never traveled far before, and this time she lost her companion. In her panic, she relied on Meng Yuan and Ming Yue for support, but she hadn't seen Meng Yuan and Ming Yue find anything in the past few days, so she started to get anxious.

"Senior Brother Meng has thoroughly studied Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. He has killed a Buddha and subdued a demon. I need to discuss this with him again!"

Just as Su Xin was thinking about following Scholar Meng, she heard some noises upstairs, like moaning and groaning.

"Are you discussing important matters behind my back?"

Su Xin dropped the spoon and strode up the stairs.

This library tower has seven stories in total, all made of wood. It is old and in disrepair, and it creaks and groans when you walk on it.

The higher they went, the more Su Xin felt that the sound was wrong. It seemed that both of them were breathing heavily. Meng Feiyuan seemed to have a breath pressing on his chest, just waiting to be released; while Mingyue was more reserved, as if she was restraining herself, or as if she was seeking something.

Finally, Su Xin arrived at the sixth floor. Although she hadn't seen it with her own eyes yet, she could already hear the sound of impact from upstairs.

Su Xin finally understood. Her face turned bright red, and she clasped her hands together in anger, "Thank goodness!"

She was furious. "I knew you two were having an affair a long time ago. One of you was single-mindedly trying to seduce the other, and the other was happy to be seduced!"

Su Xin, being a Buddhist disciple, naturally possessed virtue, but she still couldn't help but scold in a low voice: "You two are so happy that your junior sister is unconscious! Couldn't you find a place to hide instead of sticking around on us sisters?"

She stamped her foot and then quietly went downstairs, as if afraid that her footsteps would be heard.

Upon reaching the first floor, Su Xin murmured to the unconscious Su Wen for a while, but the noise from upstairs grew louder and louder.

"Don't shake that old tower over!" Seeing the dust falling and the noise reaching her ears, Su Xin simply tore a piece of cloth from the corner of her clothes and stuffed it into Su Wen's ear, ignoring the fact that Su Wen couldn't hear it at all.

Then Su Xin sat down cross-legged, put her hands together, and began to chant scriptures, "This is truly a good opportunity to temper my Buddhist heart!"

Su Xin stayed up all night, chanting sutras until her mouth was dry and her whole body was exhausted.

"Senior Brother Meng really doesn't know how to be kind. Even Benefactor Mingyue is a member of the royal family, yet he's shameless!"

The ground was covered in dust, all from the shockwaves that had shaken down that night.

"Doesn't Senior Brother Meng ever get tired? I'll... Junior Sister, you should marry someone who cultivates martial arts too." Su Xin muttered to herself, opened her eyes to look at Su Wen, and quickly wiped the dust off Su Wen's face and clothes.

As dawn broke outside, soft sunlight streamed through the window.

Someone knocked softly on the door, and Su Xin opened it to find ten coarse cloth servants with one or two feathers stuck in their hair in the outer room.

These servants were all young girls, dressed in tattered clothes, but still relatively clean. Moreover, the people here often ate little and were vegetarian, so most of them were thin and weak.

However, perhaps due to the consumption of spices and herbs, the slaves serving the nobles in the inner city looked somewhat malnourished.

For the past seven days, the thirteen noble families of Xiangji Kingdom have not visited Meng Yuan and his group, but they have not lacked food, with two meals delivered to them every day.

Moreover, when Su Xin said she was hungry, she changed to four meals a day, but the food was still light and the portions were small.

Besides that, these ten slaves waited patiently outside the library tower, and would always comply with any orders given by the three people inside.

Su Xin also chatted with these ten people and learned that they all came from the outer city and were very fortunate to be summoned to the inner city.

Yes, in the Kingdom of Xiangji, serving the nobility is a great honor.

Moreover, the people here are incredibly tolerant; even when humiliated by nobles, slaves will never resist. This is because there is a saying in the Xiangji Kingdom that if one endures nine lifetimes of suffering, one can be reborn as a noble in the next life, or even into one of the highest ranks.

If one can endure the suffering of ninety-nine lifetimes, one may be able to ascend to heaven and serve the immortals.

This is all the old Buddhist doctrine. Although Su Xin is also a Buddhist, Yunshan Temple does not promote forbearance and reincarnation, but only talks about cultivating compassion in this life.

"My lord, the meal has arrived." The leading slave girl, holding a food tray, spoke respectfully with her head bowed.

Su Xin had short hair and was originally classified as one of the lowest and most despicable people by the people of Xiangji Kingdom. However, Meng Yuan's scalpel was so sharp that people changed their minds about her.

"Thank you all, benefactors." Su Xin bowed slightly, extremely polite.

The ten slaves were already used to Su Xin's etiquette, but they were still not used to it, so they knelt down one after another.

Helpless, Su Xin could only put on a stern face and scold them a few times before the slaves happily entered the tower. She left a third of the food, then said with a strange laugh, "Send the rest to the top floor! Those two noble ladies have worked hard all night; they deserve a good rest!"

The maids were very obedient; they immediately took the trays and went upstairs in a row.

Hearing the noise, Meng Yuan got up. He saw that the top floor was a mess, and the small bed had long since collapsed.

The bright moon was still fast asleep, clearly exhausted.

Meng Yuan heard the maids coming upstairs and wanted to cover Mingyue, but he could no longer find any complete clothes.

"Stop." Meng Yuan still had some pride. "Put the food downstairs and bring two pieces of clothing."

The maids were very obedient; they immediately responded and turned to go downstairs.

"You still have some shame!" Su Xin, who was on the first floor, cursed.

Meng Yuan, who was usually thick-skinned, was a little embarrassed at this moment. He had been so infatuated last night that he had completely forgotten that Su Xin and her sister were still downstairs.

However, since it had already happened, Meng Yuan couldn't say anything, and only thought about apologizing to the other party later.

Soon, the tower doors opened again, and footsteps could be heard approaching.

Two maids presented the clothes, and Meng Yuan took them and saw that they were the gorgeous robes worn by the two upper families, and they were brand new, with a colorful feather on each of them.

After discarding the colorful feathers, Meng Yuan put on the clothes, which actually fit him fairly well.

“If Mingyue wore it, she would look more like a nobleman than the fake noblemen of Xiangji Kingdom.”

Thinking this, Meng Yuan looked at Mingyue and saw that her chest was rising and falling slightly, indicating that she was sleeping soundly.

There was no attempt to conceal it; red marks could be seen on her fair skin, indicating that she had gone too far last night.

Meng Yuan gazed intently at the bright moon, unable to look away for a moment. Then, he felt a desire rising in his heart, which he could no longer control.

"Poisoned?" Meng Yuan immediately realized and examined himself.

The essence fire and starfire flowed through his body, and Meng Yuan did not notice anything unusual. Even though he was exhausted from a night of hard work, the effects of several body temperings left him still full of energy, and breaking through another Ninth Tribulation would be no problem for him.

Forcibly suppressing his desires, Meng Yuan examined the ingredients again. They were just ordinary rice and herbs, and the flowers and spices were all very mild and good for nourishing the mind and body.

"Could it be some kind of potent drug?" After descending the stairs, Su Xin's face darkened. She glanced at Meng Yuan, her cheeks flushed, then turned to Su Wen, saying, "Junior Sister, sometimes being unconscious isn't necessarily a bad thing. You haven't seen how shameless some people in this world are. That innocent young girl was just reading her book when someone..."

Su Xin was too proud to say it.

Meng Yuan stepped forward, knelt down beside Su Xin, carefully examined her, and then looked at Su Wen. However, he did not feel the desire that he had when facing the bright moon, which showed that it was not a drug that aroused his feelings.

"I was being rude, please forgive me, Junior Sister," Meng Yuan said.

“Love between men and women is a natural law, and there’s no need for you to apologize, senior brother. It’s true that I am a Buddhist disciple, but our teachers have taught us that we shouldn’t expect laypeople to be as celibate as we are.” Su Xin spoke up, only then realizing how easy-going she had been.

Meng Yuan nodded slightly, then looked up at the top of the tower.

For a moment, thinking of Mingyue, Meng Yuan felt that his food had lost its flavor, his clothes no longer looked good, and even his desire to investigate the mysteries of Xiangji Kingdom faded. He only wanted to go back upstairs and find Mingyue to thoroughly confuse the world.

"Is it because I have longed for something but could not have it that I am so obsessed with the bright moon?" Meng Yuan thought to himself, then suppressed the thought in his heart and opened the tower door.

The outside light was dim, but the sunlight couldn't reach the valley directly, so it was very soft, even a little gray.

Ten slaves stood guard at the door, divided into two groups.

Meng Yuan strode forward, examining each person one by one. None of them were particularly capable; he could easily crush their bones with a little effort.

At this moment, all ten maids bowed their heads obediently. Meng Yuan came to the most beautiful female slave and reached out to pinch her cheek.

The female slave's eyes were filled with terror, not because she was afraid Meng Yuan would kill her, but because she was afraid he would cut off her hair.

Meng Yuan carefully examined the other woman. She was clearly of good age, with fair skin, a delicate body, and was still a virgin. She was also very obedient. Yet, Meng Yuan felt only pity for her and had no other thoughts.

For a moment, Meng Yuan wanted to compare this woman with Mingyue, but he felt that no one here could compare to Mingyue. He missed Mingyue even more and just wanted to climb the high building to see the beautiful scenery again.

"Clean out another library tower," Meng Yuan ordered.

The leading female slave immediately agreed, knelt down to pay her respects, and then went to report to the Baiyu noble family. After that, she quickly cleaned out a library tower next door.

"Should I still follow him?" Su Xin panicked when she saw that Meng Yuan wanted to find another place to go.

Meng Yuan didn't know how to answer. He felt like Xiang Ling who had just eaten a boiled egg, with only the deliciousness of the boiled egg in his mind, and he couldn't care about anything else.

"No need, I will come to see you from time to time," Meng Yuan said.

Su Xin didn't say anything more, but she looked quite worried.

Still not at ease, Meng Yuan immediately followed the trail to the homes of the two elders surnamed Gan and Shang. He eavesdropped carefully for a long time, but they didn't seem to be acting strangely at all. They were just discussing when to send Meng Yuan and the others away.

After noon, Mingyue finally woke up.

She was now clearly awake, and seeing the mess on the rooftop, it was obvious that the commotion last night had been too much. She felt sore all over, but also very warm, indicating that she had been well-nourished.

“You…” Mingyue finally felt embarrassed. She quickly put on her clothes and couldn’t say anything.

But when their eyes met, Mingyue felt she could no longer suppress herself and slowly closed her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey?" Su Xin shouted from downstairs, "Didn't you find a new place to stay? Can't you two wait a little longer?"

After calling for a while without getting a response, Su Xin angrily picked up Su Wen and left the library tower, moving to another cleaned tower.

Without the disturbance of others, Meng Yuan and Mingyue truly retreated into their secluded chamber, oblivious to the world around them, lost in their lovemaking.

Basically, besides eating and sleeping, there's nothing else to do.

Five days passed, and Su Xin realized that Meng Yuan and Ming Yue stayed in that dilapidated library tower, never leaving it, and never coming to see her.

"Senior Brother Meng may have a reputation for being handsome, but the Third Miss values ​​him so much, which shows that he is definitely not someone who is obsessed with beauty and unable to extricate himself!"

After calming down and analyzing the situation carefully, Su Xin left the library tower and went straight to find Meng Yuan and Ming Yue.

Outside the library tower where Meng Yuan and Mingyue lived, there were already hundreds of people waiting, all of them women, ranging from forty or fifty years old to thirteen or fourteen.

"What are you doing here?" Su Xin asked curiously.

"The High Priest has decreed that True Lord Feiyuan is no ordinary person, and commands True Lord Feiyuan to sow the seeds for my Xiangji Kingdom." A nobleman dressed in magnificent clothes and draped in a white feather robe stepped forward, looking at Suxin with great disdain.

Su Xin scratched her head, feeling that it was outrageous.

(End of this chapter)