The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Chapter 145 Heading South to Deliver Money

Several days later, thirty li south of Linjiang County, Yunling Prefecture.

The official road seemed to have been neglected for a long time, its surface uneven from the constant traffic of carriages and horses. A man sat under the shade of a tree by the roadside, his face bitter.

He rolled up his left trouser leg, revealing a large bruise on his calf, which looked quite serious. He sighed, gently stroking the wound, and tightly gripped the bundle beside him with one hand.

The package looked heavy, though I didn't know what it contained.

"Clatter clatter clatter—" The sound of horses' hooves and wheels came from the road, and the man looked up in surprise.

A tall, pure black horse galloped by, running with remarkable stability. Behind it pulled a small cart, a single-shaft, two-wheeled vehicle with an exquisitely crafted frame.

The rider on horseback was a handsome young man, whose riding posture was quite casual, looking left and right with a face full of curiosity.

The man began to ponder. The horse was eight feet tall with a glossy mane, clearly no ordinary horse. The carriage had vermilion wheels and shafts, and through the curtain, he could vaguely see the figure of a woman. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, he could tell from her figure that she was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Not to mention the young master himself, he was clearly from a wealthy family.

He opened his mouth: "Hey—"

The fox draped its two legs over the horse's back, not even holding the reins, and pulled the Seven Fragrances Carriage carrying Hu Nianshuang all the way south.

They stayed in Tao County for another day. Fox took his sister to pay a visit to the City God and met with the people from the capital to find out their purpose for coming.

Wei Zhixing and Daoist Feng treated the fox with utmost respect, answering all its questions. Seeing that they were only there to investigate and that the case had already been prepared, and that they had made contact with the City God and the Taishan Prefecture, they paid no further attention. Instead, they borrowed a horse and went to find Young Master Shen.

Red Fish didn't come along. It said it needed to stay there to recover from its injuries and also to find its maid, so only the two foxes traveled together.

When passing through Yunxi County, Hu Nianshuang returned to Zhenhe Tower and received a letter from Young Master Shen. The letter said that he was fine, but needed to delay for a while. So Hu stopped rushing and strolled along the way.

This is the border between Yunling Prefecture and Lanchuan Prefecture. Further ahead, the nearest county is a day's journey away. The fox looked up at the sky; it was almost dusk.

"Hey, buddy, stop for a second, stop for a second!"

The fox gently patted the horse's back and stopped by the roadside.

"I'm Liu Lao Er. Where are you headed, young man?"

"South."

"What a coincidence! I'm also heading south." Liu Lao Er's face lit up with surprise. "Judging from your accent, you don't seem to be a local, do you?"

"I'm from Tao County."

"That's quite a coincidence. I used to be from Qinglin Township, but now I do business here in Linjiang County. So we're practically from the same hometown," Liu Lao Er said with a smile.

"What happened to your leg? Do you need a ride?"

"Oh, you're so kind, sir. I'd like to give you a ride, but your wife is sitting in that carriage, and my leg is injured, so I can't ride a horse—"

Liu Lao Er glanced the fox up and down, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "May I ask if I can trust you, sir, and please do me a favor?"

The fox didn't correct him, but instead asked, "What kind of help?"

Liu Lao Er took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. He untied the rope of the package, revealing what was inside.

It was a huge pile of silver, gleaming in the sunlight; at a glance, there were at least thirty or forty ingots.

"To be honest, I came out this time to deliver money to my cousin."

"If you go another ten miles, there's an inn where he's staying." Now that Liu Lao Er had started talking, he didn't hide anything anymore. "He wrote to me saying he was in trouble and asked me to bring money to save him. But I was rushing as fast as I could, and in a moment of carelessness, I fell off the donkey's back. Not only was I injured, but I also scared the donkey away."

The fox looked at the pile of silver coins, tilted its head slightly, and then revealed a smile.

"Young man, you look like you're not short of money, so I'd like to ask you to take this silver to my cousin for me."

The fox's ears twitched, and it heard Hu Nianshuang's voice whispering over: "Brother, be careful, it might be a trap."

"If you're still worried, I have a measuring scale here for you to test its authenticity." Liu Lao Er was, after all, a merchant, and he carried tools for measuring silver with him, which he was about to hand to the fox.

The fox shook his head: "No need, I trust you, and I don't need your money. What's your cousin's name?"

Liu Lao Er didn't immediately hand over the money: "I have to remind you, young man, my cousin is a scoundrel, called Zhang Lao San, he's a real scoundrel. If he says the money is fake, or that something is missing, just turn around and leave, then come back to me."

"Alas, if it weren't for our family's friendship, and the fact that he wrote this letter in such a hurry—"

Liu Lao Er sighed and handed over a waist token and some silver coins: "This is a token of my family's shop. Just let him take a look. The inn is called the Desolate Slope Inn. It's the only one for miles around. There's no mistake."

The fox placed the package on the horse, nodded slightly, and then rode away.

After walking for a while, Liu Lao Er could no longer be seen. The fox took out a silver ingot from the bundle and carefully stroked it.

"Brother, this is no small amount of money. Although what you said makes perfect sense, we have to be careful when we're out and about."

"It's alright, I have plenty of money now, and I can't miss out on something this fun." The fox didn't explain in detail and closed his eyes.

This horse is incredibly intelligent and very affectionate towards the fox. It can run on its own without the fox's control, and it has already surpassed the Seven Fragrances Carriage in the fox's heart.

Foxes aren't fickle; they just prefer things that are more vibrant and less lifeless.

After walking another four or five miles, as dusk deepened, an inn indeed appeared ahead.

The inn didn't look very big, only two stories high. The earthen walls had several holes from the wind and sun. There was a simple bamboo pole standing at the entrance with a flag hanging on it.

A guesthouse on a barren hillside.

Next to the guesthouse were some simple wooden sheds, inside which were tied a few donkeys. A waiter stood there, already approaching from afar.

"Please come in, sir. Oh, what a fine horse! Grass is three coins a bundle, and bean feed is five coins a serving. Your horse is precious, so I'll pick out the best bean feed for you, and I'll only charge you five coins."

The fox handed the reins to the waiter, and the horse affectionately nuzzled the fox's face before following the waiter away.

"See, Qixiangche wouldn't do this."

Hu Nianshuang was taken aback, wondering why the fox had suddenly brought this up. She didn't ask any further questions, but simply wrapped her veil tighter around her face and followed the fox into the inn.

The lobby wasn't large, with seven or eight tables set up, and a few tables were sparsely occupied.

Apart from the merchant-looking man sitting by the window and the disheveled man in the corner with several wine jars in front of him, the table in the very center was the most conspicuous.

The fox, carrying the package, glanced around briefly and asked, "Who is Zhang Laosan?"