Chapter 124: Young and Brave
“Hua… ” The guests who were talking were filthy and wet. Their hair was on their faces and their clothes were wet and stuck to their bodies, which made them feel extremely awkward. The food and drink in front of them were also dampened.
“It is bad to waste food… “ Meng Qi needed to follow the rules in Changhua Temple and to keep a good example of a monk in front of Duan Xiangfei and the other people. It had been two months in total since he last ate meat. He just slipped out at night sometimes and caught a beast for barbecuing. However, he was not good at cooking and did not have any essential seasonings so his cooked food did not taste delicious.
After he returned, he and Gu Changqing hurried on their journey to the Immensity Sea and only ate dry food. They had not eaten meat for a long time and they almost forgot how it tasted. They arrived at the “Immensity Sea Hotel No.1” and the smell of the meat made them hungry and swallow their saliva.
Qu Jiuniang looked at the soaked food quickly and snorted. “Eat or get out.”
Then, she went upstairs and did not turn back.
Meng Qi slowly took back his eyes and told himself, “I will eat delicious food soon.” Then he followed Jiuniang.
Those guests were businessmen and often ate at the Immensity Sea Hotel No.1, where they were frequent visitors. They looked at each other without surprise and then they burst into laughter.
“Haha. I like Jiuniang, such a spicy girl!”
“Yes. Those little girls were not so mature and spicy like Jiuniang. It wasn’t her slops! What a pity.”
Meng Qi stood aside and felt frightened for them. “If they continue to talk about it, their dead bodies will be seen in the Immensity Sea tonight.”
Qu Jiuniang pretended not to hear their talking and walked into a room. She sat by the bedside and watched Meng Qi and Gu Changqing closing the door with caution. Then she said with a slight smile, “How dare you! How dare you return to Quicksand Town while being listed on Ze Luoju’s Evil Sword Hunting Order. Let me tell you the truth. There are five horse bandits among the guests in the hall and two of them work for Ze Luoju.”
Meng Qi knew he was not good at disguising himself. He knew it was hard to deceive Qu Jiuniang, who saw him face to face. She was at the Exterior anyway. Meng Qi said, “I came back to ask which direction my Junior Brother left in. Where are my Master and the Crying Elder?”
Qu Jiuniang did not change her expression. Her eyes were pretty and attractive. Her target was not Meng Qi but the emerald diamond. She said, “A diamond for a question.”
“Why don’t you steal!” Meng Qi cursed in his heart. He took out a blood-colored diamond and a green diamond. Then he said, “Three questions.”
It is a monopolistic business! If I ask more, they might know where I am.
Qu Jiuniang stared at those three diamonds and said, “They fought in ‘Bo Mi’. It is a dangerous place of the Immensity Sea, a lot of bad guys gather there. The little monk ran toward the west. He might have run after them… ”
Suddenly, a fragrant wind blew through and Meng Qi lost his attention. Then, Qu Jiuniang took those three diamonds.
“One more question.” Meng Qi fought for his rights and wanted to ask more.
Qu Jiuniang played with the jewels with a low look in her eyes. She said impatiently, “Go ahead!”
“What is the Evil Sword Hunting Order? What is the result of the battle between my Master and the Crying Elder?” Meng Qi asked with great concern.
Qu Jiuniang suddenly raised her head. Her expression seemed to say: you do not want to fool me. She said, “You asked two questions.”
Meng Qi coughed and took out a jade. He threw it to Qu Jiuniang. Now, almost all of the jewelry from An Guoxie had been given to her.
Qu Jiuniang’s black eyes shone brightly. She stared at the jade and caught it in her hands. Meng Qi thought secretly. “Few men can defend against such enchanting eyes and her mature and beautiful face and figure.”
“In the ‘Bo Mi’ fight, they were both hurt and they lost energy. However, they seemed to be able to have another fight. As for what happened later, who knows!” Qu Jiuniang took back the jewel, “The Evil Sword Hunting Order is the symbol of Ze Luoju’s domination of the Immensity Sea. When he doesn’t want to waste time on hunting someone, he will use it. Once he released the Evil Sword Hunting Order, horse bandits and thieves in the Immensity Sea would hunt for the man on that list because Ze Luoju would meet the hunter’s one need.
“Ze Luoju released the Evil Sword Hunting Order five times before, and only one survived among those five men. It was because he was at the edge of the Immensity Sea and then he ran quickly and returned to North Zhou Dynasty. The remaining four people were all killed. The strongest one of them had opened Eight Apertures… ”
Meng Qi felt something was wrong when he heard Qu Jiuniang’s introduction. “The Immensity Sea is endless. Even if the number of horse bandits was 10 times larger than it was now, it was smaller than Jianghu and couldn’t make a difference. Those four men just needed to avoid the main route and pass through the Gobi Desert, and they would have escaped from the horse bandits.”
Qu Jiuniang jeered at him, “Although the Immensity Sea is endless, actually, only a small part of it is available for people to walk. Only if you were an Exterior Master could you gather the wind and rain to make water by the combination of the earth and sky. Otherwise, lacking fresh water can become a hindrance to your way forward.”
Gu Changqing and his family had lived in this Immensity Sea Oasis for a long time. He was familiar with this situation. “She is right. Water is an important, but scarce resource in the Gobi Desert. Horse bandits know the water sources so they dare to hunt for other people. Meng Qi, don’t worry about it. Water is a small part compared to the whole Immensity Sea. Horse bandits cannot know all the water sources and use all of their energy to protect them. They also need to maintain daily life.”
A horse bandits’ daily life was robbery.
To avoid exposing his identified, Meng Qi did not use his Dharma name. He used his original name and felt at ease.
“It doesn’t matter. Horse bandits live in different areas of the Immensity Sea. They come in groups. Why would I be afraid of them?” Meng Qi comforted Gu Changqing with great bravery.
Qu Jiuniang laughed, “Most horse bandits of Ze Luoju raise whitehead birds for sending messages. Once they find you, you are soon to be surrounded by horse bandits. It’s so hard for you to compete against them, as at least 30 of them are above Seven Apertures.”
Meng Qi nodded slightly. He was brave and cautious. If it was not necessary, he would not fight against the horse bandits directly. However, he did not ask Qu Jiuniang about the warnings of the horse bandits. “Gu Changqing is a disciple of the Immensity Sea. He must know a lot about it. Why did I waste my jewelry? I just hastily asked the question about the Evil Sword Hunting Order!”
Qu Jiuniang did not say more. She became serious and said, “Go downstairs. Leave here as soon as you finish eating.”
“Shit! Without jewelry, she changed her attitude so quickly.” Meng Qi scolded her in his head. He went back to the hall with Gu Changqing. They ordered roast lamb legs, donkey meat, and so on. They ate a full mouthful of oil.
Gu Changqing held his chopsticks and looked at the food dumbfoundedly. “I remember that disciples of Shaolin Temple should stop eating meat after Enlightening all of their Apertures.”
After eating, Meng Qi did not linger and went out of the Immensity Sea Hotel No.1 with Gu Changqing.
Qu Jiuniang lazily braced her chin and watched their backs. She whispered in a low voice, “You changed a lot within a few days, and seem to be advancing a lot in martial arts. You said you are fine, but I don’t believe you. An Guoxie is probably dead with his eyes open.”
She said it in a calm voice.
…
Meng Qi brought enough food and fresh water and left Quicksand Town. He looked at the Gobi Desert and said, “Childe Gu, Ze Luoju has released the Evil Sword Hunting Order. On my way forward, it will be full of danger and difficulties. Please go back. I remember the landforms of the Immensity Sea that you told me about before.”
Gu Changqing stopped and thought for a while. He became serious and his face seemed to light up brightly. He said, “I am a brave man and I just do the right thing. I am not afraid of anyone.”
Meng Qi turned his head and looked at him in surprise. “Childe Gu. You are really a brave man but you also need to think about yourself and the situation.”
This kind of innocent swordsman could only be seen in stories.
Gu Changqing smiled. “I know and I won’t do anything without consideration. It is a dangerous trip but there are also some opportunities for hiding. Horse bandits live in different parts of the Immensity Sea. What’s more, you aren’t a recklessly bold person.”
“What?” Meng Qi was quite confused.
Gu Changqing lifted the whip and pointed to the west. “You now have such a strong enemy and you have lost contact with your Master and Junior Brother. You can directly go back and return to Shaolin safely and ask for help and no one would blame you. However, you decided to enter the dangerous Immensity Sea to find your Senior Brother. You have great personal loyalty. You deserve the title of ‘Xia’.”
Meng Qi froze for a moment and laughed. “We are such brave men!”
His heart was full of pride. He drew the Red Sun Evil Blade and pointed toward the Immensity Sea.
“Horse bandits, you are not worth mentioning. Clean your necks and wait for my sword!”
Gu Changqing was moved by his pride and laughed. “Horse bandits, you aren’t the powerful chiefs of the Immensity Sea. You can’t dominate the Immensity Sea all the time. Let’s see who will be the winner!”
While laughing, they ran their horses fast toward the Immensity Sea.
…
Meng Qi and Gu Changqing went west directly and arrived at the first oasis. They did not go to the inn directly to collect information, but just hid in the forest behind the community and watched the path of the town.
“Meng Qi, why don’t you go inside? Why do you let somebody search for information for you?” Gu Changqing asked confusedly. He was a newcomer to Jianghu and lacked experience.
Meng Qi had more experience of Jianghu than he did. He explained in brief. “This is not the Immensity Sea Hotel No.1 here. Qu Jiuniang is a mysterious woman who isn’t afraid of horse bandits and she wouldn’t lie to us. However, other people and inn bosses are afraid of Ze Luoju and don’t dare to annoy him. Besides, spies of the horse bandits often work here. If we search for information about my Master and Senior Brother without consideration, we will be easily found.”
He left the dead body of An Guoxie on purpose, and the one reason was that if he had burned him, he would have easily attracted the attention of the horse bandits. It also would have delayed him in leaving. Besides, if the dead body was found, the traces on the body would be misleading.
“I see.” Gu Changqing suddenly understood. “These people might have been found and killed after they had collected information.”
They were brave but not foolish. They absolutely did not want to come across any horse bandits.
Meng Qi was about to say something but he suddenly stopped. A middle-aged man in a long frock was moving toward them in fear. He was the man who had been sent to collect information about Zhen Ding and Xuan Bei.
Meng Qi did not look at the middle-aged man directly, but glanced at the surroundings.
When the man walked near the forest, Meng Qi’s eyes became bright. He saw a Black Face Man with a felt hat who used trees and stones as a disguise and followed him.