Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 262 Finding
Ao Xichun stared intently at the braised meat stall not far away. She placed her index finger to her slightly parted lips and gently licked it with the tip of her tongue.

As they licked, saliva began to drip down their faces.

She turned her head to look at the old man next to her who wore glasses:

"I'm hungry."

The old man sighed with a wry smile, "Young master, don't you know that we can't eat things from this area?"

"But we're really hungry!" the little girl said, her voice filled with grievance.

The old man listened helplessly, closed his eyes, rubbed his throbbing forehead, then reached into his pocket, pulled out a small, hard piece of flatbread, and handed it to the little girl.

The little girl took the dry, crumbly pancake and held it in her palm. Her gaze drifted to the glistening, juicy braised meat in the distance, neatly cut and placed on top of steaming rice. Her expression grew even more distressed.

She reluctantly rummaged in her bosom for a while and pulled out a small piece of gold:

"Look, I have gold! If I were in Qingniwa, I could eat so many good things!"

“You can eat your fill here, but once you leave town, everything in your stomach will disappear into thin air, and you'll still be hungry, won't you?”

"...At least let me eat a few more bites these days."

The little girl lowered her head, tears glistening in her eyes.

The old man could only rub his aching head again.

His surname is Gou, and his father may have made a mistake back then, naming him Qiezhi.

Put together, they become the words for a cowardly person.

But he really isn't.

He had always harbored a passionate spirit of wandering the world. In his youth, he left his hometown and wandered around, learning some divination skills in the turbulent world and making several benefactors.

Later, when someone asked his name, he was too ashamed to reveal his full name, so he simply adopted a nickname, known as the fortune teller.

As for how Bu Suanzi ended up with this little girl...

Because he's a brat.

Upon seeing the little girl, Bu Suanzi couldn't help but recall his chance encounter with her outside Beizhen a couple of days prior.

The young girl was travel-worn when she met him and asked which direction Qingniwa was. However, after exchanging only a few words, some thugs rushed over and tried to kidnap her.

Seeing the little girl crying in panic, how could Bu Suanzi bear it?

He immediately used several treasures he had obtained from the Forging Division to quickly defeat the villains and rescue her.

Little did they know that it was just a small outpost, followed by a large number of highly skilled fighters.

The fortune teller was of mediocre skill and could not defeat many opponents, so he had no choice but to flee into the town in a panic under the guidance of the little girl.

Once inside the town, the thugs indeed disappeared without a trace.

The town's eeriness gradually became apparent.

Bu Suanzi once visited this area.

He had a friend in the capital who worked at the Casting Bureau. This friend came here to search for a secret treasure, but was accidentally buried alive by rocks and was trapped for a long time.

Later, Bu Suanzi received a letter from an unknown source, which revealed the exact location. He then rushed to the valley and did everything he could to rescue the person.

He clearly remembered that it was the junction of two valleys, with a stone tablet standing next to the entrance, but it was blocked by a heavy dragon-severing stone.

He dug a tunnel on the side slope and eventually broke through the wall using the treasure of the Forged Soul to rescue his companion.

But where did this town come from?
Although the town was bustling and the people were kind and hospitable, the more noisy the place became, the more eerie and unsettling Bu Suanzi felt.

Moreover, the layout of this town is clearly wrong.

They eat and drink a lot, but have few other daily necessities.

Where do so many people come from to eat in such a small town?

And they all ate so well.

He asked the little girl and learned that she came from Dayin. She had been ambushed by bandits and when she opened her eyes again, she was here.

She was determined to return to Qingniwa, so she encountered the fortune teller when she left the town.

The little girl complained of being hungry. Bu Suanzi initially thought she was being wary and hadn't touched any food in town, but he never expected that she had actually enjoyed quite a bit of the town's delicacies. After leaving town, she suddenly felt an empty stomach.

Such a scene made Bu Suanzi wonder if something had been released from the underground ruins, and he feared that the longer he stayed there, the greater the risk would be.

They had no choice but to leave with the little girl.

Not long after leaving the town, he encountered patrolling thugs again. Unable to fight them off, Bu Suanzi had no choice but to grit his teeth and turn back to flee into the town.

They hurriedly slipped into the dense forest, wandered around in a daze for a couple of times, and ended up back in town, whereupon the pursuers stopped following them.

Now we are truly in a dilemma.

Staying in the town is fraught with danger; leaving the town is equally perilous.

Bu Suanzi felt a splitting headache.

Just as they were anxiously pondering a solution, they suddenly saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged man strolling towards them from a distance.

Bu Suanzi originally thought he was no different from an ordinary passerby on the street, but to his surprise, the man walked straight up to the two of them and stopped steadily.

Bu Suanzi's heart pounded wildly, and he hurriedly reached for the cloth bag at his waist.

The bag contained many treasures for the protection of the Casting Division.

Are these enough to deal with this person?
Bu Suanzi clearly saw the man's gaze fall on the little girl. After examining her carefully for a moment, he let out a long sigh of relief before turning his eyes to Bu Suanzi.

"Are you a fortune teller?"

"...Do you recognize me?"

“I know your friend Tinker,” Lin Jiang said in a voice as rough as sandpaper. “What brings you two here?”

Bu Suanzi's heart stirred slightly: Tinplate's friend?

He couldn't help but think of his old friends in the capital.

Although his friend wasn't very old, he was an exceptional person who could always find friends from all over the world. It wasn't surprising that he met one of his friends in this place.

But he remained tense, firmly protecting the little girl.

Bu Suanzi then recounted their ordeal in detail, and Lin Jiang nodded slightly after listening:

"Just head straight north out of the town, and someone will meet you along the way."

"really?"

"The bandits outside have been wiped out, so you can go without worry." Bu Suanzi nodded slightly. He had no other choice but to trust him.

"Wait a minute."

As they were about to part, Lin Jiang seemed to suddenly remember something and said:
"There are secrets here. You've been here before to rescue them, so it's fine if you know, but whatever you do, don't tell anyone else."

Bu Suanzi nodded hastily.

Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he would never dare to reveal the slightest bit of this secret.

Lin Jiang then bent down and squatted in front of the little girl, his tone softening slightly:
"Don't talk nonsense."

Ao Xichun blinked in confusion as she studied Lin Jiang, then suddenly smiled.
"You're so pretty."

Lin Jiang suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

This little girl...

This is unusual.

"Leave it to me! I won't tell, even if you beat me to death!" The little girl patted her chest confidently, but her stomach suddenly growled. She hurriedly buried her head, her lips pouting in grievance, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

"If you could give me some food, that would be even better."

Speaking of food...

Because this body is made of stone, and there is no storage bag for food left behind, it would easily rot, leaving nothing edible.

After a moment's hesitation, he simply called out to the braised meat stall owner, instructing him to scoop out a heaping bowl of braised meat rice, then infuse the rice with vital energy before handing it to the little girl.

"Eat quickly."

"But... how can this fill my stomach?" The little girl gestured. "I ate two chicken legs, a roast duck, and a big sesame seed cake before, but my stomach is empty again after I left."

If it weren't for his stone body, Lin Jiang would have already started sweating profusely.

This little girl can really eat!

"What I give is enough to fill your stomach."

"Oh."

Ao Xichun took the bowl and chopsticks and carefully tasted a small bite.

The braised meat was rich and fragrant, and tasted delicious. She smiled and began to shovel large mouthfuls of rice into her mouth.

Before long, the bowl was empty, and she handed it back to Lin Jiang.
"I'm so full! Thank you. Here, take this golden bean."

After saying that, she took out a small, golden bean from her bosom and insisted on putting it into Lin Jiang's hand.

Lin Jiang waved his hand:

"Keep it; it's just a meal."

"My father taught me that I can't eat and drink for free."

"Keeping your promise is the best reward."

“Okay!” Ao Xichun put away the gold beans and nodded seriously. “I will not utter a single word.”

Bu Suanzi then took the little girl's hand and left.

As they parted, the little girl turned back and waved vigorously at Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang nodded and stood quietly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see it off, but rather that the protective range of that stone coffin was limited.

The closer the stone gets to the edge, the more rigid and difficult it becomes to walk. If one rashly crosses it, it may be difficult to turn back.

After the two figures disappeared into the distance, Lin Jiang turned to the braised meat shop owner beside him and asked:

"There's a maze formation outside, are they alright?"

"Don't worry, boss. These two have already made several trips."

"Oh?"

“This little girl appeared in town unexpectedly before, and the search outside was very intense. Since you recognize her, we naturally protected her secretly.”

"Why didn't you tell me she was here sooner?"

"You didn't ask."

Lin Jiang: "..."

This mist comes entirely from his memories and consciousness; he has developed to the point where he clearly possesses some intelligence.

Lin Jiang knew that everyone in the fog possessed spiritual awareness, and if he sensed something, the figures in the fog would also respond accordingly.

He couldn't quite figure out the connection between the three, but he felt a vague sense of familiarity with the magic that had been formed here.

Temporarily setting aside his chaotic thoughts, the stone figure closed his eyes.

Once his thoughts returned to their physical body, he waited a moment, estimating that Bu Suanzi and Ao Xichun should have already left that area, before rising and pointing to a certain spot:

“There, she had a companion with her.”

"A villain!?" Sparks suddenly flew from Ao Ning's temples.

"No, he's someone who will protect her." Lin Jiang said in a deep voice, "We shouldn't delay, let's head this way immediately."

"go!"

Without hesitation, everyone immediately sped off in the indicated direction.

They traveled without stopping for about half an hour, and finally, on the official road leading to Beizhen, they saw the figures of an old man and a young man moving at the end.

As Bu Suanzi saw the approaching caravan, Ao Ning leaped onto his horse and soared through the air, falling like a meteor towards the little girl.

She grabbed Ao Xichun's hands and anxiously checked them over to see if they were injured.

To their delight, they found that the little girl was completely unharmed and in high spirits, and immediately hugged her.

Ao Xichun had never seen her aunt so emotional before, and she subconsciously reached out and patted Ao Ning on the back.

Ao Ning then calmed down.

She looked at Ao Xichun and asked:
"Xichun, where were you before?"

Ao Xichun blinked, thought about it seriously, and then broke into a big smile:

"secret!"

(End of this chapter)