Chapter 32: "Young Girl, You're Playing With Fire."
"Young lady, please behave yourself," said Qiao Mu, tilting his head back tactically.
"Miss Qiao, this year I am already 28 years old. I have thirteen concubines at home and I am skilled in thirty-six different martial arts techniques. You can't defeat me."
Qiao Canxue was slightly surprised and had a skeptical expression on her face.
She actually understood.... Qiao Mu took the opportunity to take a few steps back towards Old Huang and the soldiers.
"Qiao... Brother Qiao Lin." Old Huang was a bit restrained at this moment, without the usual familiarity.
After all, facing Qiao Lin, his own younger brother who died in front of them, and died for their sake, made it all weigh heavily on them.
Old Huang thought for a moment and quickly handed over a heavy money bag.
"Brother Qiao Lin, this is the pension money issued by the government."
"Pension money? My brother just died yesterday, how can the government be so efficient?" Qiao Mu frowned.
Previously, he only suspected that the lord wanted to harm him, but had no evidence.
But after experiencing these events, how could he continue to be ignorant.
The lord's family all wanted him dead, so how could they issue the pension money so quickly.
Since that's the case, it is clear that this pension money has a different source...
Of course Qiao Mu didn't have any grudges with money, especially since nobody died and he didn't have any losses. In fact, he became stronger because of it, so there was no need for this pension money.
Money is just material possessions, it is neither brought in life nor taken in death. After experiencing rebirth after death, it will be lost. Therefore, in Qiao Mu's eyes, it feels better to have the Iron Crotch Skill.
He thought for a moment and said,
"I don't need this compensation, I don't want that little money from the Yan City government."
"If any of you are interested, perhaps you could help me with a small matter."
"After my younger brother Qiao Mu got into trouble, he sent me a letter about this Yan City situation. He said the city lord Guo Yan had a good reputation, so he wouldn't die on the street at that time, but might die later because of the city lord's revenge. Now it seems to be true."
"Tomorrow, I will send my brother's body out of the city for burial. I invite you all to help spread this news."
"By doing so, the city lord probably won't act hastily before tomorrow."
Old Huang and the others naturally didn't refuse, and quickly agreed, then left.
However, right before the monk left, he stuffed a paperback book into Qiao Lin's hands.
"Since you don't want the compensation, then you must want the secret book, right?" the monk sighed.
"Long ago, centurion Qiao Mu promised me that he would protect me in the battle against bandits, and if I were to return to Yan City, I would give him this manual as a token of gratitude."
"Qiao Mu was a man of honor. He once said that a promise is worth more than gold, even more important than life itself. But now he is gone, and I cannot deliver this manual to him."
"Brother Qiao Lin, since you also practice martial arts, you can take this manual as a gesture of apology from me."
You, monk, are clearly deceiving me! The person I made an agreement with was Old Huang, and he is standing right there. How could you lie... Qiao Mu didn't refuse and took a look at the manual. It was titled 'Iron Cloth Shirt Skill'.
Another classic hard skill.
Qiao Mu gladly accepted.
As long as he dies excellently, he can transform into a time management master, simultaneously practicing and mastering multiple martial arts techniques.
Of course, this hard skill must be practiced.
Once they left, only Qiao Mu and Qiao Canxue remained in the courtyard, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.
After all, at this moment Qiao Mu is playing the role of Qiao Lin, and the two are considered to have just met.
"Miss Canxue, my younger brother often mentioned you... But time is running out, so let's not talk about these idle things. Tomorrow, I will have a battle with the City Lord's side. This is a matter for my Qiao brothers. I hope you can leave Yan City as soon as possible to avoid being involved, just like earlier."
They didn't completely fight just now, mainly because both sides had concerns.
The grey-clad old man wants to protect the safety of the City Lord's son, and Qiao Mu is similar.
But if he is alone, he can start fooling around.
After a moment of silence, it was Qiao Canxue who spoke first:
"If you insist, I will leave."
"But before that, I have one more thing to do with Qiao Mu. There is a noodle shop at the alley entrance, shall we go out and eat while talking?"
The two of them left the small house and walked step by step through the deep alley towards the outside.
Qiao Canxue always walked side by side with Qiao Mu, about a half to one step apart, following closely.
When they arrived at the noodle shop, Qiao Mu subconsciously walked towards a corner and caught a glimpse of Qiao Canxue out of the corner of his eye. Only then did he choose a quiet spot to sit.
As soon as they sat down, Qiao Canxue didn't choose a seat opposite him, but instead sat right next to him on a bench, even leaning her nose near to sniff him.
"Young lady, you are playing with fire," said Qiao Mu seriously.
"I, Qiao Lin, am already twenty-eight this year. I have been practicing the Iron Crotch Skill for many years. This is the age when I am strong and fierce like a wolf. I already have six children from my thirteen concubines at home. Your figure can't match up to mine."
Qiao Canxue fell silent again.
After a while, she said slowly.
"Stop pretending."
"If you are twenty-eight, then I am twenty-nine."
"You are purposely speaking strange words, trying to confuse my judgment. Even though I can't see, I can still see through you."
Qiao Canxue said slowly,
"The smell on your body, the tone of your voice when you speak, the way you end each sentence, the rhythm of your steps..."
"In the gaps between the cobblestones of the deep alley, moss often grows in the dark. When stepped on, it makes a sound like tiny water droplets splashing. And just now, you stepped on the moss for eight out of ten steps."
"This noodle shop is also a place Qiao Mu often frequents. He usually chooses a quiet corner spot, seeking peace and quiet."
"These are all his habits."
"Of course, there's one more important thing... intuition, right?" Qiao Canxue said, placing both hands on her closed eyelids, showing a clear expression of hesitation and confusion.
Qiao Mu's eyes widened slightly.
Well, how should I put it, being remembered for this kind of small habit is like running into your ex-girlfriend when you go to the small supermarket to buy spicy chips – it feels strangely embarrassing.
"You hesitated, which means I guessed right." Qiao Canxue smiled at this moment.
"Blind people who can't see want to survive in this chaotic world, they need to have some small tricks up their sleeve."
"Guessed? It looks like I was tricked too." Qiao Mu was surprised but didn't pay much attention.
If I'll be exposed, so be it. Anyway, he plans to send Qiao Canxue away soon, so it's not a big problem.
"So, how did you deceive them into believing that you're already 28 this year? Did you use makeup or disguise?" Qiao Canxue asked with her eyes closed.
She couldn't see the change in my face, so did she rely on other things like scent to guess, and ultimately rely on intuition... Qiao Mu casually brushed it off, "More or less."
"Actually, during the battle against bandits that day, I was severely injured and trapped in the enemy camp. My comrades thought I was dead until I slowly regained consciousness and saw a celestial being named Wang Songhe. He gave me a fairy pill, and after swallowing it, my power greatly increased and my injuries were healed..."
"A celestial being? Is there really such a thing as immortality in this world?" Qiao Canxue's smile froze on her face, clearly very surprised.
Qiao Mu muttered to himself, "Back then, Wang Songhe said it was strange that I, a Qiao family member, didn't know about inhuman. I didn't expect that even a proper Qiao family person like you wouldn't know either."
