Chapter 22: Liu Xing

“Uh, you don’t know?” A trace of surprise flashed across the face of the thin old man, and then his eyes rolled and he kept silent. At this time, Bu Gong’s indifferent eyes moved slightly, and then he smiled and said: “Hehe… This old man, I’ll treat you to this meal. I guarantee that you will eat and drink enough.”
“Um, hehe…thank you first, young friend.” The thin old man laughed a little unnaturally; “Why is this guy so enthusiastic towards me now? Well, there must be something wrong.” The old man’s eyes rolled and he came to this conclusion in his mind. Then he looked at Bu Gong with a little vigilance.
“Old sir, come, eat some food, eat as much as you want, I’ll treat you.” Just when the skinny old man was thinking, Bu Gong said to him with a smile; while speaking, he helped the skinny old man to pick up a few pieces of meat; “Um… hehe, my friend, you are too polite, I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself.” Wei Wei blocked Bu Gong’s hand that was helping to pick up the food, and said with a dry laugh.
But at this time, the little old man in front of him was a little depressed. He looked at the two pieces of meat in his bowl that Bu Gong had picked up for him, and frowned slightly. “If I don’t eat this, Bu Gong will definitely be able to find some flaws. But on the other hand, I have never eaten food picked up by a man since I was a child.” The little old man in front of Bu Gong was sitting at the table with a miserable face.
Bu Gong was already eating and drinking heartily at this time, but he was thinking in his mind how to get information out of this little old man; from what he just said about the number of places for admission to the immortal sect, Bu Gong became curious after catching this information.
Bu Gong had just taken a sip of tea when his eyes inadvertently swept over the old man next to him, only to find that he was staring at the two pieces of meat in his bowl in a daze, with a distressed look on his face as if he had encountered some difficulties.
“Hmm? Old man, what’s wrong? Why don’t you eat? It’s quite delicious.” Bu Gong said, picking up a piece of meat and putting it in his mouth, and by the way, picking up another piece and putting it in the bowl of the old man next to him.
The little old man was in tears at this time. He watched Bu Gong pick up another piece of meat and put it into his bowl, but it was too late for him to stop him. Seeing that Bu Gong was looking at him and waiting for him to eat, the little old man picked up the piece of meat in the bowl embarrassedly, put it in his mouth with difficulty and took a bite, then smiled at Bu Gong with a stiff face.
“Hehe… I didn’t expect that the old man is such an elegant person, he eats so gracefully.” Bu Gong saw that when the old man was eating meat, he covered his mouth slightly before taking a small bite, so he said jokingly; “Uh, who, who said I was elegant?” The old man felt unhappy when he heard Bu Gong say that to him, and then he stuffed the remaining half of the meat into his mouth.
Seeing this, Bu Gong felt a little amused and shook his head slightly: “I didn’t expect that this old man is quite humorous.” But at this time, Bu Gong didn’t know that the “old man” in front of him was slandering and cursing him in his heart over and over again, “bastard, not a good thing” and so on, which were all harmless words.
After a while, Bu Gong had almost finished eating, and then he turned around with a smile and looked at the little old man beside him; although he was smiling, it was obviously forced compared to his originally calm face.
Bu Gong said, “Old sir, I have a question first. I wonder…” The thin old man who was eating beside him nodded without hesitation after hearing what Bu Gong said. “Old sir, you just said that what is the quota for admission to the immortal gate in this city? I hope you can tell me.” Bu Gong paused slightly and then spoke.
“Well, that’s the message sent by the Immortal Sect to Xianyang City, saying that the heads of the three major families in Xianyang City were responsible for sending people to several nearby cities to gather some young mortal children, and then bring them to the Immortal Sect to take the test. It said that, uh…” The old man said this in one breath, and then he realized that he had accidentally let the cat out of the bag, and stopped for a moment.
Then he touched the greasy corner of his mouth, turned his head, and looked at Bu Gong vigilantly, his eyes swollen with suspicion, and said, “Why are you asking this, young man?” After saying that, he stared at Bu Gong with a bad look; he didn’t expect that the boy in front of him could actually trick him into telling the truth when he wasn’t paying attention.
“Uh, hehe… Don’t mind me, old man. I’m just asking. If you don’t want to tell me, then don’t tell me.” Bu Gong smiled awkwardly when he saw the old man in front of him looking at him with a wary look. After all, what he did was not so kind. This was the first time he did such a thing. “But I don’t seem to feel any guilt,” Bu Gong said secretly in his heart.
Only the old man beside Bu Gong didn’t know what Bu Gong was thinking at the moment, otherwise he would have been so angry that he would have choked. He didn’t feel guilty for telling his own story? What kind of person is this?
The old man looked at Bu Gong with suspicion, and when he saw that Bu Gong did not ask his opinion again, he started eating again. Bu Gong was also sitting upright drinking tea, and chatting with the old man on irrelevant topics from time to time.
During the conversation with the old man, Bu Gong also had a general understanding of the forces in Xuanhuo City; generally speaking, there are four major forces in Xuanhuo City, one is the City Lord’s Mansion, one is the Liu Family, one is the Zheng Family, and the last one is a pavilion called Huayue Pavilion.
As for the City Lord’s Mansion, there is no need to say more. It is definitely a major force in Xuanhuo City; and the Liu family and the Zheng family are the old families in Xuanhuo City; although they are both engaged in business, they have developed rapidly in recent decades, and some children of the two families have been sent to the so-called immortal gate, namely the Xianyang Gate.
Speaking of which, only the last one, Huayue Pavilion, is a bit special. Huayue Pavilion is an independent pavilion located in the north of Xuanhuo City. Almost all of its residents are women, but no one goes there to cause trouble. The pavilion where Huayue Pavilion is located is also called Huayue Tower by the locals, and it sells some musical instruments, calligraphy and paintings, antiques and porcelain.
…
After a moment’s silence, Bu Gong’s eyes flashed slightly, “Old sir, we are all mortals. We don’t know if we meet the requirements of the immortal sect to recruit disciples.” Bu Gong seemed to be talking to himself, and his eyes were looking out the window.
“Nonsense, this time the Immortal Sect is openly recruiting disciples from all the cities in this area. Why don’t we meet the requirements?” The little old man was heard mumbling casually.
“Hehe… That’s good, it’s fair. I just don’t know where exactly they recruit disciples in Xuanhuo City?” Bu Gong said again, but he was muttering in his heart, “You are such an old man, will they want you?”
“Where else could it be? Of course it’s the City Lord’s Mansion… Ha, ho, ho ho…” The old man spoke quickly and only reacted when he said this. For a moment, his neck seemed to be stuck as if a bone had been eaten. He turned his head and stared at Bu Gong with angry eyes, “You bastard!” He stood up in a flash, pointed at Bu Gong with his right hand, and cursed Bu Gong directly.
What she herself did not notice at this moment was that due to her momentary excitement and anger, the voice she had used when she scolded Bu Gong had also changed, becoming very soft and pleasant; this was clearly the voice that a young girl should have.
Therefore, Bu Gong was stunned for a moment after hearing the voice; at this time, he saw that the beard on the chin of the “little old man” in front of Bu Gong had fallen off half, and only the other half was still hanging, looking a little out of place.
“Hmm?” The little old man glanced around casually and found that everyone was looking at him strangely; and the expressions on their faces were as if they wanted to laugh but couldn’t, and their faces were a little red from holding it back.
Seeing this, the old man was slightly startled, as if he sensed something, and reached out to touch his chin. As a result, he touched the half of the fake beard that had fallen off. Then, his face flushed slightly, and he quickly pressed it back into place, glared at Bu Gong fiercely, stamped his feet, and turned around and walked out of the restaurant.
At this moment, Bu Gong completely understood in his heart that the “little old man” who had been following him was actually a woman in disguise; this also explained why Bu Gong had such an awkward feeling when he first saw him.
Seeing the woman turn around and walk out of the restaurant, Bu Gong did not get up to chase her, but continued to sit on the stool beside the dining table, drinking tea; “In the City Lord’s Mansion?” Bu Gong whispered to himself, with an inexplicable look in his eyes.
“This is good news. This is my first time out, and I didn’t know where to go to improve my strength, and then I came across the immortal sect recruiting disciples.” Bu Gong’s mind was turning, and a hint of joy flashed on his calm face.
…
At the same time, on the street outside the restaurant, a young man in white was walking slowly; looking at his appearance, his complexion was slightly pale, and the first reaction was that it was due to excessive indulgence; he was tall and slender, and his face was extremely handsome, even slightly feminine.
But people on the street, whoever met that man, would lean to one side of the street, obviously extremely afraid of him; because they all knew that the man in front of them was Liu Xing, the young master of the Liu family, one of the four major forces in Xuanhuo City, and he was definitely a first-class playboy and villain in Xuanhuo City.
The man named Liu Xing was extremely handsome, considered a beautiful man. However, the shadowy and frivolous look that occasionally flashed in his eyes ruined his otherwise excellent appearance. He was seen waving a folding fan and walking briskly towards the Yingchun Restaurant.
Behind him on the right, the follower who was closer to him kept scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on one place. He then turned his head hurriedly and whispered something in the ear of the man in white. The man in white’s gaze, which had been looking straight ahead without any surprise, suddenly swept in one direction.
As he looked ahead, he found a drugstore not far ahead. A little girl with a childish and pretty face and a ponytail, about fourteen or fifteen years old, had just come out of the drugstore. She was holding two packets of medicinal materials wrapped in medicine paper in her hands, and it seemed that she was going to get medicine.
Although the little girl had not grown up yet, her body was well-proportioned and she was already quite big; her pair of watery eyes were full of intelligence, as if they could speak.
When Liu Xing saw this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn’t help but murmur, “Tsk tsk… What a beautiful girl! How come I’ve never seen such a little girl before in Xuanhuo City?”
“Hehe… Young Master, my vision is not bad, right? Young Master is really lucky. You can meet such a top-notch girl just by going out for a stroll.” The follower who had spoken to him in his ear before now said flatteringly.
“Well, good, you did a great job this time; stay with me from now on,” the man in white said without turning his head; his eyes were fixed on the little girl who just came out of the drugstore, and there was a deep burning color in the depths of his pupils.
Then he changed direction and walked towards the drug store; at the same time, in the restaurant where Bu Gong was, at a table by the window on the third floor, there were a man and a woman sitting, and behind the woman was a little maid.
I saw the young man, wearing a blue shirt. Although his face could not be called handsome, it was very attractive. This man was Zheng Qing, the young master of the Zheng family in Xuanhuo City.
The woman was dressed in a white palace dress, with a curvy figure. She also had bright eyes, white teeth, willow-shaped eyebrows, dark blue eyes, a small nose, a red mouth, and hair hanging down to her back. Although she was not as beautiful and sacred as Yang Ruoming, and her elegance and grace were unparalleled, she was at least comparable to Xuan Yue, whom Bu Gong had seen before. Her identity was self-evident, she naturally belonged to Huayue Pavilion.
On the entire third floor, only their table was occupied, and the other tables were basically empty.
“Hehe… Miss Mei’er, it looks like the little girl at the door of the drug store is going to be in trouble today.” At this time, a gentle male voice sounded softly on the third floor of the restaurant; and the person who spoke was the man in blue; he looked down at Liu Xing who was walking towards the door of the drug store, with a playful look in his eyes.
The woman in the white palace dress had a calm look and didn’t say anything. She just looked at everything below indifferently, as if she didn’t hear the words of the man next to her, as if the whole world had nothing to do with her.
…
“Little girl, how old are you? Could you please tell me?” Liu Xing, accompanied by several followers, came to the little girl, blocked her way, and said with a faint smile.
The little girl holding two packets of medicine in her hands looked at the man in front of her calmly, and planned to walk around him; and just when she moved and walked past Liu Xing’s right side, Liu Xing also stepped slightly sideways, just blocking the little girl’s way, his eyes unscrupulously scanning the little girl’s delicate body, with a wicked smile on the corner of his mouth.
“Get out of the way.” The little girl’s face remained calm as she said coldly, “Hey… Master, I have never seen such a willful little girl. Master is so lucky, hehe…” As the little girl’s words fell, another somewhat obscene laugh sounded, and the speaker was the follower who had just tried to please Liu Xing.