Ever since the night when Lin Manliu was sent back to the secluded courtyard, he and Jiang Yanlin stayed in the courtyard and did not return to the pastry shop as planned.
In the following days, the boy in a short shirt kept an eye on the pastry shop through the window edge on the second floor. I was surprised to find that Aunt Ruan often passed by intentionally or unintentionally, and would stop at the pastry shop when no one was around.
This made Lin Manliu have doubts. What was the purpose of Aunt Ruan's actions? Even when the two entered the city on the first day, he accidentally bumped into Aunt Ruan, which attracted her attention, which led to a conversation at the door of the shop in the evening... Even because of all these, how could he let her pass by every day? , stop from time to time?
Jiang Yanlin also saw Lin Manliu's confusion after observing him for the past few days. He asked aloud from the side: "Brother Liu, could someone want Aunt Ruan to keep an eye on you, like the purple-robed Taoist priest you mentioned that day?" Lin Manliu shook his head and said, "Aunt Ruan was born and raised in Fengcheng. People, they can't act so carelessly..." Jiang Yanlin suddenly said: "Perhaps he is using familiar people to lower Brother Liu's wariness..." I wonder if there is someone following Lin Manliu. After some time, as my experience grew, I began to understand people's hearts.
Lin Manliu said with a smile: "It's a good thing for Yanlin to think more and see more, but you can't speculate on everything. This will make people tired!" Jiang Yanlin felt that his brother Liu was praising him, and he immediately narrowed his eyes and smiled. He got up and even shook his head.
"It's okay if you don't tell me, Yanlin is smarter!" Looking at the playful look of the man in front of him, Lin Manliu raised his hand and patted his shoulder.
"There is still a lot to learn in the future, so feel free to learn from behind me!"
"Be sure to follow Brother Liu!" After praising Jiang Yanlin, the boy in short shirt took another look in the direction of the pastry shop.
At the right time, while they were chatting, the woman-looking Ruan appeared in front of the shop.
After Ruan still looked around and confirmed that no one was around, she stopped and waited at the door of the pastry shop.
Looking at Ruan's back, she seemed to be just staring at the crack in the door of the house, with no other plans at all.
Not long after, Ruan's body started to move again, and she began to return towards her home. Lin Manliu watched Ruan disappear from sight, then gently covered the window edge and turned to look at Jiang Yanlin.
The boy in a short shirt asked: "Is it the same as before?" Jiang Yanlin nodded and said: "Well, it has been like this for the past few days, which is exactly the same as when we first met him." Under Lin Manliu's observation , Aunt Ruan didn't come only once a day... sometimes in the early morning after dawn, sometimes after lunch, and finally just now, when they officially met after entering the city.
The first two times were not common and only occasionally appeared in front of the pastry shop. But this last time comes every day.
Lin Manliu said: "Yanlin, tonight I will put all the artifacts from the city here first, and find an opportunity to meet him tomorrow!" Jiang Yanlin nodded and said: "Everything will be listened to by Brother Liu! Tomorrow we will Let's go together!" The boy in the short shirt said: "You stay here! If something goes wrong, you can lead your horse out of the city immediately! Just as I said, hide in the forest under the Star View Mountain first and wait for me to find you!" Listening to Lin Manliu's arrangement, Jiang Yanlin seemed a little hesitant, but in the end he followed the young man's suggestion.
"Don't worry, since the purple-robed Taoist took the initiative to look for me earlier, I should be protected in Fengcheng!"
"But what if, whether it's that Taoist or Aunt Ruan's matter, it's a trap that is connected with each other..."
"As that person said, there are people who are happy to see our successful meeting with Yijian Villa. So even if our journey ahead is not smooth, it won't be too difficult!" Faced with Brother Liu's explanation , Jiang Yanlin had no choice but to give up and no longer mention the suspicion in his heart.
Seeing the silence of the young man in front of him, Lin Manliu had no choice but to pat Jiang Yanlin's shoulder again. This move caused the latter to look at him again.
The young man in a short shirt said: "I went to meet him to dispel any doubts about our future journey, so Yanlin can rest assured!" Jiang Yanlin immediately responded: "I understand, Brother Liu!" The days are always longer in summer, It was half past Xu hour, and the sky was gradually getting dark.
Lin Manliu opened the door of the secluded courtyard and prepared to go to the pastry shop to pack things. But before he walked out of the alley, he saw a Taoist priest in purple robes and black crown standing against the wall at the entrance of the alley.
The boy in the short shirt recognized him at a glance, it was the man who was evil——
"Heguang" Cang Xuantong. Lin Manliu spoke out: "What's the matter?" Cang Xuantong said with a smile: "Little brother Lin, do you think I'm talking about private matters and it's over?" The boy in a short shirt looked at him, and Cang Xuantong also stared at Lin with a playful smile. Full six.
"Lin Manliu, what you rely on is that you feel that you are still useful, but this cannot be regarded as a special order after all..."
"I know this, but for this purpose, we can only use it, right?"
"Indeed, but..." Cang Xuantong was about to continue speaking, but was interrupted directly by the boy in a short shirt.
Lin Manliu stared closely at the purple-robed Taoist in front of him and asked, "So what do you want from me?"
"Rely on"... The purple-robed Taoist gave up his position and leaned closer to the edge of the alley. Cang Xuan said in unison: "I've been here long enough, of course it's time to see off the guests!"
"Oh... no, I'm the guest! Then it's time to urge the owner of this place to leave early!" Lin Manliu responded: "We will leave immediately, don't bother Taoist Master Cang!"
The word "we" was heavily emphasized by the boy in a short shirt. It was obvious that he was emphasizing his attitude with Cang Xuan.
The purple-robed Taoist watched the young man pass by him without making any attempt to stop him or say anything.
It wasn't until Lin Manliu walked out of the alley that he heard Cang Xuantong's voice. As if reminding the boy in a short shirt,
"If you continue to have this attitude when encountering problems in the future, you will really die..." Lin Manliu repeated his previous words, still the same,
"Don't bother Taoist Master Cang!" After a brief conversation with the purple-robed Taoist in the alley, the young man in short shirt only used two trips back and forth to move all the things they would continue southward to a secluded courtyard.
In addition to some simple dry food prepared, there are some old clothes that can be used for disguise and dressing up, and the summer singing cicada.
After informing Jiang Yanlin that he would rest later, Lin Manliu started working alone in the courtyard.
He first looked for a well-sized stone, and began to draw on the mud in the courtyard... First, he went through the time when the two set off from Buried Sword Valley, as well as some memorable villages and towns, one by one in his mind. .
Every time he thought of something, Lin Man would draw a line or stab down on the dirt. He was reviewing the possibility of encountering Quexie monitoring his whereabouts during this trip, and he was also calculating the safest return route when returning to Jiangnan in the future.
But the more the boy reviewed, the more he realized something was wrong... For them, from the very beginning, Lin Man had been deliberately avoiding villages and towns and heading towards the mountains and wilderness as much as possible.
Even if there was a Quexie secret whistle following closely behind, it shouldn't be so accurate. As soon as they entered Fengcheng, they met Cang Xuantong. This can be explained by the fact that someone they met at the foot of the Star Viewing Mountain told Cang Xuantong, the man behind the scenes, the news.
However, from Cang Xuantong's words, we know or have calculated the process of their journey to southern Xinjiang.
So where did Quexie follow them? Lin Manliu's heart rang
"Happy to see the results" were four words, and then he looked towards the second floor. At this time, Jiang Yanlin was resting in the room.
If Jiang Yanlin appeared in the Sword Burial Valley, was it because of Que Xie's deliberate actions? Thinking of this, the young man in a short shirt couldn't help but feel a little confused. He quickly raised his feet to flatten the muddy ground.
Don't think too much, it's better to rest early. ...The next day, early morning. Lin Manliu was the first to return to the pastry shop, deliberately leaving the door ajar, waiting for Ruan's arrival.
"Passing by". The boy in a short shirt didn't wait too long, and soon the sound of slow footsteps came from outside the door.
When you get closer, the sound disappears. Lin Manliu pretended to yawn and opened the door, but the person outside the door was indeed Ruan.
The young man in a short shirt said in surprise: "Aunt Ruan? What a coincidence!" Mrs. Ruan said: "Hey, Manliu is so early today..." Lin Manliu laughed and said with a smile: "I just woke up from hunger. I was thinking about buying some big white steamed buns..." Ruan nodded and responded: "When I passed by a few days ago, I didn't see Manliu... I thought you were gone..."
"Man Liushou was a bit clumsy. He was afraid of ruining my mother's craftsmanship, so he didn't open the door!"
"Your mother was really ingenious a few years ago..."
"I heard my father say this several times after he got drunk!" Ruan suddenly fell into silence and stopped chatting with Lin Manliu.
The boy in a short shirt had no choice but to say: "But it's really time to leave today...Aunt Ruan, are you asking for something these days?" Faced with Lin Manliu's sudden statement, the woman seemed a little embarrassed and her eyes averted several times.
However, Ruan quickly looked at Lin Manliu again, her eyes looking a little dull. It was the look in the boy's eyes when Lin Manliu came to visit for the first time.
Ruan said: "Little Lin family, it's just because I haven't thanked you before, so I just wanted to make up for it these days..." The boy in a short shirt quickly shook his head and said, "Man Liu didn't help Aunt Ruan." What, there is no need to be like this...really..." Ruan let out a long sigh and looked in the direction of her home.
"Although I don't have much knowledge, I can see that Manliu really wants to help me and the third child... It's just that the third child is not tough enough. I don't blame you..."
"Actually, when there was a big disaster in the city, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't..."
"So, thank you very much!" After Ruan finished speaking, he turned and left before the boy in the short shirt could speak.
Only Lin Manliu stayed where he was, watching the desolate figure gradually go away. Jiang Yanlin saw the whole conversation between the young man and the woman on the second floor of the secluded courtyard.
Finally, he stared at the Ruan family who had already walked away, and a trace of annoyance inexplicably arose in his heart.
