120 Being snubbed by the pig
Shen Tang gritted her teeth, grinding her molars audibly. She had ample reason to suspect that Qi Shan was doing this on purpose. He didn't even remind her!!!
Thinking about those cakes, plums, sweets, and even the wine in the cellar... Each one, the efficiency was ridiculously slow, leaving her mouth dry and parched. It was like she was painstakingly drawing posters, one after another, only to be asked why she didn't just go to the print shop to make copies—Bloody hell, you could do that??? Then what was the point of all her hard work before? She could only swallow her frustration and rage along with a mouthful of blood.
But— Shen Tang took out her little notebook from within, noting down this debt! She didn't bother to hide her emotions, and Qi Shan naturally wouldn't miss the "bearing grudges" written all over Shen Tang's face, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Shen Tang: "..." (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ This guy was definitely looking down on her.
Growing more and more resentful, she was about to win over Zhai Le as an "ally," but she saw the latter daydreaming, with a curious yet puzzled expression. It wasn't until she reached out and waved her hand in front of his eyes several times that he snapped back to reality.
"What is Xiao Fang thinking about? So focused?" "I'm thinking about that incantation."
Shen Tang's hair stood on end, strongly resisting emotionally: "Stop, stop, stop—I can't stand hearing that incantation right now."
Zhai Le: "Aren't you curious?"
Shen Tang, with a strong will to survive: "Curiosity killed the cat!"
"I'm actually very curious. How powerful could that incantation be to instantly drain the Dan Mansion's literary energy and even affect the Literary Heart? If I remember correctly, Shen Xiong only recited the first four characters 'An De Guang Sha,' nothing more. Compared to the whole incantation, these four characters carry little weight. If it could be successfully activated, what would it look like?"
Shen Tang shook her head like a drum. She wasn't curious at all! Just those four less significant characters drained all her literary energy. Then, what about the whole sentence? She would have to pay with several lives!
Qi Shan had some speculation. "Can't Zhai Xiong, with his experience, guess?"
"Incantations are myriad and varied, and even those incantation masters dare not claim to guess the effects of unfamiliar incantations." Zhai Le smiled shyly, "Simply understanding the literal meaning, perhaps it leans towards a defensive military incantation? For example, using literary and martial energy to forge military defenses against incoming enemies?"
Qi Shan: "..." Under normal circumstances, such speculation would be fine. Unfortunately, Shen Xiao Lang was not normal.
Unable to be understood by common logic. Even the most ordinary incantations became peculiar when they fell into Shen Xiao Lang's hands, such as "周原膴膴,堇荼如饴" (referring to lush landscapes and abundant resources), "画饼充饥" (painting cakes to satisfy hunger), "望梅止渴" (quenching thirst by looking at plums)... Then, what about the incantation "安得广厦千万间,大庇天下寒士俱欢颜" (how can one obtain countless spacious houses, sheltering all the cold and hungry people of the world)? Qi Shan was more inclined to believe that real houses would sprout from the ground! If that were the case, it was only natural to drain the literary energy—
Thousands of spacious houses sheltering all the cold and hungry people, how magnificent and broad-minded! These houses couldn't be shoddy constructions but must meet the highest standards of acceptance and be as stable as mountains against wind and rain!
Qi Shan felt he could offer some advice to Shen Tang—
"Forget about 'thousands of houses,' let's start with a small goal. How about 'one small house'? Perhaps there's a chance of success."
The three, with the conspicuous black-faced boy in tow, arrived at their destination. Compared to the outside, this place was bustling with activity. Listening to the hawkers shouting and bargaining, Shen Tang felt this scene was absurdly comical, yet she found herself part of it. While she was daydreaming, Qi Shan had already struck up a conversation with a merchant. He was interested in purchasing young and strong individuals, preferably between the ages of fifteen and twenty.
The merchant's eyes lit up at the mention of this age group.
It's worth noting that males in this age range are the most valuable, being young and strong, they can work the land when bought, and their value is second only to females of marriageable age. Qi Shan required quite a few, and if the deal went through, all the goods brought out this time could be sold smoothly.
While young men of this age are valuable, they also need to eat.
The more days they are kept, the more expenses are incurred for "feeding" them.
He did consider being ruthless, but if they were starved too severely, they would become emaciated, making it difficult to sell them off later.
Looking at the three's neat and decent attire, the merchant's smile grew wider, warmly welcoming a major customer to the side, ready to use all his tricks to fleece Qi Shan!
On the other hand, Zhai Le was enjoying himself, using his large black pig as a makeshift seat. Sitting on the pig's back, he moved slowly back and forth. Shen Tang, on the other hand, was bored at the moment, coupled with her literary energy not yet recovered, she felt lethargic, leaning against a pillar and yawning.
Little did she know, there were malicious eyes lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike— it was the black-faced boy, saddled with a saddle, a rein around his neck, and a saddlebag on his back!
Shen Tang yawned once again, feeling drowsy.
Zhai Le, riding the pig, joked, "Brother Shen, this is already the twentieth one, if you're really that tired, why not find a place to rest?"
Shen Tang reluctantly summoned a bit of energy.
"Count how many yawns I've had, and you'll see how boring it is."
Zhai Le replied, "Because there's nothing to do..."
He did consider suggesting to Shen Tang whether she should have a sip of wine to wake up, but considering that Mr. Qi Shan was nearby, getting caught would be disastrous, so he had to dismiss the thought. As drowsiness surged, Shen Tang's slight moment of alertness faded away completely.
Muttering to herself, "I'll just close my eyes for a bit, and Yuanliang will wake me up."
Leaning against the pillar, she closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, the black-faced boy was also waiting for this opportunity.
Suddenly—
It lunged forward, using its snout to nudge Shen Tang's calf!
Shen Tang: "???"
The sudden force caused her to lose her balance, and she fell backward, completely awake now. Opening her eyes, she saw the large black pig execute a graceful spin— it had nudged her, leaving her with a round and perky pig butt.
Seizing the opportunity, the black-faced boy's four hooves exploded in unison.
Ready to clear the way with its sturdy body!
Meeting gods and kicking Buddhas!
The people on the path were scared out of their wits, quickly dodging to the sides, afraid of being knocked over by the large black pig— they were very fond of the pig's body, but once this black pig lost its restraint, its reckless charge could be deadly!
Meanwhile, Zhai Le, who was playing with the pig, was taken aback.
He had just prepared to summon an arrow to shoot the pig dead, to prevent the large black pig from harming anyone. His eyes sharpened, and he saw someone suddenly standing in the path of the pig, not dodging or avoiding, not hiding or retreating!
A majestic stance as if ready to face the large black pig head-on.
It was a burly black man with extremely muscular arms and a broad chest, about the same height as Gong Shuwu but even broader, his messy long hair casually tied with straw. He stood in front of the black pig, his clothes tucked into his belt, his feet firmly planted on the ground, his center of gravity slightly lowered, muscles tensing in his sturdy calves visible through the torn pants, poised and ready!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
The black pig charged forward with an unstoppable momentum!