Ancient Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 58 The So-Called Xinggu Mozhuang

Lin Xiu poured his bowl of wine into the pot to remove the pork's gamey smell. Only then did Yao Rongrong realize that she had been talking for a while and had forgotten about the wine.

Although she couldn't understand why the storyteller was pouring wine on the pork, she didn't voice her doubts.

When it comes to cooking, she firmly believes that Lin Xiu is a professional.

"Sir, please drink half of my wine."

Yao Rongrong said something.

Lin Xiu didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Okay."

He picked up the bowl of wine, poured half into his own bowl first, then handed the bowl to Yao Rongrong, raising it and saying, "Cheers!"

"Dry!"

Yao Rongrong, however, became more carefree and unrestrained. She smiled and clinked her wine bowls with Lin Xiu's. The two of them drank the wine in their bowls in one gulp, making Brother Donkey's mouth water.

—That stupid donkey has already drunk all the wine in the jar.

Seeing this, the donkey was so tempted that it had no choice but to stick its head back into the empty wine jar and lick it for a while.

They put down the empty bowls, and one of them read a book while the other cooked.

Lin Xiu, who had candy in hand, also contributed it and made a braised pork dish. Before the meal was even finished, it attracted the attention of the surrounding residents who all peeked out to see what was happening.

Yao Rongrong couldn't concentrate on reading anymore. No matter how attractive the story of the Monkey King leaving the mountain to study and search for the secret to immortality was, she couldn't focus and kept looking up at Lin Xiu.

When the rice and braised pork were finally cooked, Lin Xiu ladled them into two bowls and squatted down with Yao Rongrong at the doorway, eating heartily with gusto.

To be honest, this wild boar is not as good as a castrated domestic pig. No matter how it is processed, it will inevitably have a bit of a fishy smell. But no matter what, for him now, it is an extremely rare delicacy.

The same applies to Yao Rongrong.

Under the moonlight, the woman ate very elegantly, but very quickly. By the time Lin Xiu had a little left in his bowl, Yao Rongrong had already finished.

After finishing her meal, she didn't say a word and continued reading the manuscript.

After cleaning up the dishes, Lin Xiu went back to his room to sleep.

Lin Xiu knew he couldn't persuade Yao Rongrong, so he simply gave up. The heroine Yao was always sensible and could manage her own time well.

Nothing happened that night. When he woke up, he found that Yao Rongrong had already returned to her own bed and was sleeping when it was just getting light.

The stack of manuscripts was neatly placed by Yao Rongrong on the bedside table, and she even weighed it down with something.

He quietly got up and went outside to cultivate for a while until Yao Rongrong woke up.

"Sir, you've really done something terrible!"

After getting up, Yao Yaonu stretched and said this.

Lin Xiu, confused, asked, "How did I commit any sins?"

Yao Rongrong said, "The story of 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' is not finished yet, and now there's another 'Journey to the West'. How can I leave with peace of mind? I'm afraid I'll be leaving Lijiaji with regrets."

Lin Xiu smiled, but didn't say anything like telling Yao Rongrong not to leave.

Yao Rongrong is now heading north with a purpose, and she is very determined. How could he possibly keep her with just two plagiarized novels?

"Are you leaving now?"

Lin Xiu asked a question.

Yao Rongrong looked at Lin Xiu, blinked, and asked, "Sir, would you like me to leave now?"

Lin Xiu paused for a moment, then said, "Let's wait a bit. Don't you want to know about the little girl, her brother, and that living dead?"

Yao Rongrong blinked again and laughed: "That's true, the secrets behind this are indeed quite intriguing. Then I'll listen to you, sir, and stay here for a couple more days to see what Magistrate Xu and that gentleman's colleagues have to say."

Hmm... I'll have to watch your storytelling closely, sir. Let's see if your storytelling is more impressive, or yours, sir's."

However, Han Cheng didn't go storytelling during the day. He was preoccupied with the sequel to "Journey to the West" and came over to urge him to finish it as soon as it was light.

Lin Xiu wrote for another day and finished the story of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace. When Han Cheng saw Sun Wukong being suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha, he sighed. Yao Rongrong also remained silent after reading it.

On this day, besides Han Cheng urging him to finish his manuscript, as usual, some people came to interact with Brother Donkey and give him gifts.

Today, no one brought vegetables to feed Brother Donkey, but some children were discussing stealing some wine for him to drink. They said they saw Brother Donkey drinking last night, and his parents saw it and said it was a waste.

The young man who spoke probably didn't know what "waste" meant, but he would soon find out.

Someone tipped him off, attracting the boy's parents, who dragged him back and gave him a good beating, making him fully understand that what is considered wasteful is getting beaten up.

Besides, some people came specifically to find Lin Xiu because they saw him cooking last night and smelled the aroma of braised pork. They came to ask him how to cook pork.

Then, upon hearing that the cooking method involved first using wine to remove the fishy smell, he shook his head and left, muttering to himself, "What a waste! What a waste! People say that wine is the essence of grain, how can it be wasted like this?"

There's nothing we can do about it. The people here aren't the chefs at the Mandarin Duck Tower. They prioritize flavor when cooking. Most of them are farmers from the village, used to a hard life. They have to scrimp and save every grain of rice. How could they possibly be expected to cook like this?

Especially now that the world is suffering from great disasters, they cannot bear to see even the slightest waste.

During the day, Magistrate Xu was still not in the village. It wasn't until nightfall that he returned on horseback with his men. The horses were laden with many bags and bundles, which aroused the curiosity and cheers of the villagers.

Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong also came out to watch and learned that Magistrate Xu had led his men to the back mountain of Liangjia Village, where they found a stockade and two survivors, both former bandits.

So Magistrate Xu and his men got rid of the two men, and all the remaining supplies on the mountain were moved back.

They were supposed to have returned during the day.

However, when they captured the two bandits, they learned about the feud between the bandit stronghold and Xinggu Mozhuang. They learned that a man had come to join them, had become involved with a woman in the stronghold, and then ran away from the mountains due to a dispute. He ended up in a place called Xinggu Mozhuang and sent a message urging the woman to elope. The stronghold then turned the tables and tried to capture the man. As a result, both sides had their own ulterior motives, and a fierce battle broke out.

As it happened, Magistrate Xu had seen the map and knew where Xinggu was, so on his way back, he took a detour to Xinggu, which is why he was late in returning.

Magistrate Xu said that there was indeed a Mo Family Village in Xing Valley, but when they went there, they saw that the Mo Family Village was densely packed with living dead people, blocking the entrance to the valley, which was quite frightening. Therefore, they gave up and returned.

Upon hearing the account from Magistrate Xu's subordinate, Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong suddenly realized that Xinggu Mozhuang had indeed been a deceptive trap. The group that had joined forces with the bandits in the mountain stronghold probably had nowhere else to go and were plotting to seize the stronghold.

Unexpectedly, a great battle ensued, becoming so fierce that in the end, a demoness emerged to clean up the mess and deal with both sides.