After finishing the meal, Lin Manliu told the caravan manager that he wanted to go to the city alone to buy some items needed for his journey, so he went back to his room, changed into a clean short shirt and carried a black cloth strip on his back, and went out to the city where he had just entered. Went to see the market.
Most of the markets in Juzhou are made of iron tools. From time to time, the vendors on the streets are asking about the usefulness and practicality of their farm tools. Street stalls and ironware shops like this can be seen everywhere. The boy in a short shirt who was out wandering finally found a pastry shop among these shops. It had a small door with only a small door open. There was no plaque. There was a small sign at the door that said "Yue Ji Zhai".
Lin Manliu thought to himself that when he went out, his master gave me some money to use on the way, so he walked into this inconspicuous pastry shop. The light inside was dim, only a little sunlight from the door illuminated the counter inside the room, and behind the counter It was an old woman who was concentrating with her eyes closed.
After looking around for a while, he was about to say hello to the old woman and ask about the price of the cakes, when he heard the old woman's old and deep voice spread throughout the room: "The cakes in the house only cost three cents. If there are no good snacks, let's just take a look...". On the second floor of the counter, there was a golden, buttery, soft steamed bun. Looking at the small words "Golden Rufu" on the sign in front of the bun, Lin Manliu's eyes lit up and he immediately mentioned the Golden Rufu, put the money on the table and left. house. The old woman looked at his retreating figure and stared at the black strip of cloth on his back for a long time.
After buying the cakes, the young man in a short shirt seemed to be in a much better mood and returned to the streets with all kinds of ironware. Is it because of the production of ironware in Juzhou that there is a sword-making peak? He thought this as he prepared to return to the inn.
Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out from the crowd, and quickly shuttled between the crowd in a half-crouching posture. In an instant, it collided with the boy in a short shirt who had no time to avoid it. The black shadow hit him and immediately snatched the cake away. When Lin Manliu stood up and saw the dark figure holding his pastry and just about to escape into the crowd, he didn't care and jumped up and grabbed the dark figure. The dark figure obviously didn't know how fast he reacted and how quickly he struck. The figure that was about to disappear into the crowd was caught by the boy in a short shirt.
Lin Manliu saw that he had caught the thief who was snatching his pastry with his bare hands, and was about to argue with him when the other person drew a black knife with his right hand and stabbed the young man in a short shirt in the heart. The sudden attack forced him to let go and retreat to avoid the opponent's attack. The bystanders noticed what was going on here because they were just watching the excitement, and saw someone suddenly pulling out a knife.
Everyone quickly retreated but did not appear to be panicked. Maybe this situation was not that surprising. Fights caused by verbal disputes in the city, and fights in the streets caused by conflicts between sects in some places are all things that can happen here, so one-on-one duels seem like a trivial matter.
The dark figure that stabbed the target in the air was a thin little boy holding the boy's pastry in a short shirt in his left hand and the knife in his right hand. At this time, he was staring at Lin Manliu as if he still refused to give up and was preparing to attack again. The boy in a short shirt looked at the boy who had given up on escaping and thought to himself, good guy, if he is caught stealing something, he will not run away yet, but he will not give in at all just because the other person looks younger than him.
"Don't blame me for being rude if you continue to pester me..." The little boy waved his knife randomly at the boy in a short shirt in front of him.
The boy in a short shirt was about to say something harsh to scare the little boy, when he heard the comments from others.
"This man is probably the young master of the Qiao family. His character is too naughty and he has bad habits learned from the people in the mountains. He will steal anywhere and do any bad thing here."
"Yes, yes, that's the scourge of that family. He does all kinds of bad things with the help of a father who is a worshiper in a large sect. When he grows up, he doesn't want to turn Juzhou upside down."
...
The little boy became more and more angry when he heard these words, and stamped his feet at the boy in a short shirt in front of him: "What are you going to do? If you still struggle with me, I will kill you!".
At this scene, Lin Manliu looked a little sad and then smiled. Not long ago when he came here, so many people were crowded around him in such a busy street. Others were talking and verbally attacking without any scruples. The target was not this little boy.
It's me. But at that time, the master who was wearing a black robe and a curtain and spoke with a cold voice walked into his field of vision, protecting him from other people's criticism and protecting his expectations for the beauty of this world.
"Put down the knife. I won't make it difficult for you and I will give you the pastries. If you want anything in the future, don't steal it. Don't carry a knife with you or point the knife at others at any time." The boy in the short shirt said like The adult said to the child in the tone of an elder out of concern for the younger generation. What Lin Manliu didn't expect was that he was just a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old.
"I...I don't need your preaching. Are you my father or a school master? You dress like that. Have you ever been in a school? Are you qualified to teach me?" The little boy's hand holding the knife became more and more active. He was so powerful that he tilted his head away, not wanting to look at the young man wearing a shabby short shirt in front of him.
"Yunnian, Yunnian, are you messing around again... Why are you still holding the knife and why don't you put it down quickly? If I don't teach you a lesson, I'll take you down the mountain to buy some food and you're still acting up here." A woman's voice came closer and closer. When Lin Manliu was behind her, the voice suddenly became louder and longer, with a bit of anger.
The young man in a short shirt turned to look at the woman walking behind him. It was the handsome woman with a big ponytail and a smart outfit in the inn just now. She was about to reach out to grab the little boy's ears when she happened to see Lin Manliu looking towards him. She looked at the boy in a short shirt and saw him carrying a sword before. She immediately cupped her fists and gestured to him: "My brother has a naughty character. I'm really sorry for causing inconvenience to you young hero. He must have something in his hand." Let me take your things from you and return them to you."
"It doesn't matter, I gave him the pastry just now, don't make things difficult for him. The kid is just a little more lively," the boy in a short shirt said in return, cupping his fists.
The little boy saw that this man did not complain in front of his sister. He was obviously afraid of himself or knew his father's name, so he immediately became more stubborn: "I guess you have some knowledge, do you have any idea of running errands for me as a nurse in the future?" Yes, from now on just enjoy life and drink with your young master..."
Before the little boy finished speaking, the woman pinched his ear and almost pulled him around. The little boy could only cry out in pain and then started crying. This change of face was really fast. The previous sentence was still there. Drawing pie cakes to show one's status, the next sentence begins to brew the sadness in one's heart and the attitude of being willing to change one's past.
The woman had no choice but to nod her apology to Lin Manliu and smile awkwardly at him.
