After the immortal disappeared

He steals from many people every day, how could he remember He Lingchuan, a one-time acquaintance?

"Give me my stuff!"

"Sell it and exchange it for food!" The boy patted his belly, "Here it is!"

He Lingchuan smiled sinisterly, pulled out a long knife, and put the back of the knife against his belly and slashed upward: "If you eat mine, squeeze it out for me!"

The unique coldness of the metal scared the boy back, while shouting: "Panlong City has the king's law, you can't kill me!"

"Panlong City has the king's law, how can you still dare to steal?" Although this kid is young, he is a habitual criminal who has no experience in getting married. He Lingchuan asked the woman, "What did you throw away?"

"An IOU and an exoneration order."

A warrant of expiation? He Lingchuan was startled, how could a commoner's family have such a thing?

The woman shook the boy as if shaking a puppet: "Who sent you to steal things from my house?"

The boy shook his head: "No matter who you are, I have to look for something to eat when I'm hungry. Your family is so poor that you don't even have a grain of rice, so I just take whatever I want."

"Are you literate? Or did someone write the words "Expense Order" to you in advance?" The woman was funny, "Otherwise, I have a lot of books in the house, why don't you just grab one?"

It's strange that a little thief of six or seven years old can read.

The boy fell silent, his mouth closed tighter than a clam shell, but his eyes were "What can you do to me?"

"Who did you give the expiation order to?"

The boy blinked.

He Lingchuan took out some broken silver from his arms and waved it in front of him, but before he could speak, the woman had already pushed his hand back: "No need to ask, just send it to the official directly, and someone will ask."

"Can you ask?" This was the first time He Lingchuan saw someone confident in the efficiency of the government.

"The order of expiation is not a trivial matter. Stealing this thing is an insult to the heroes. If the government takes over, it will be severely punished." The woman patted the boy's head. "He is too young to chop off his hands. I will probably replace it with ink characters on his face to remind others that this is a man." thief."

If his face is carved with words, will he still be able to survive in Panlong City in the future? The boy was shocked, and his attitude immediately softened: "Sister...little sister, please be nice, I didn't mean it!"

He turned to He Lingchuan, with tears overflowing: "I have a three-year-old sister. If I am caught, she will have nothing to eat!"

He Lingchuan remained on the sidelines. His losses are minimal, so let the biggest sufferer deal with this brat.

The woman was unmoved: "Where is my order of expiation? Where is it?"

"On the edge of Chenghu Lake in the west of the city, Liu Tailai was holding it, and others called him Ergun."

"So it's him." The woman nodded.

At this time, several officials walked by. The woman stopped him, pointed at the boy, and said that the thief had stolen from seven families.

The boy was extremely angry: "I told the truth, why did you send me to prison?"

"How can I recover the lost property without sending it to the official?" She said calmly, "Am I, a weak woman, capable of snatching the order of expiation from Liu Ergun?"

When the two officers heard the "order of expiation", they were immediately moved: "This kid actually stole the order of expiation?"

"He confessed that he was the mastermind of Liu Tailai and Liu Ergang in the west of the city. That guy made illegal loans. My brother owed him a large sum of money during his lifetime. He wanted me to continue to repay the debt, so he sent this kid to steal the expiation order."

He Lingchuan was listening on the side and felt that the plot was somewhat familiar.

The woman pointed at He Lingchuan and said, "This little thief also stole from six nearby families. This one is also the owner of the house. He lost a bundle of firewood and two fish."

The guard wrote it down carefully, and then asked: "What is your name?"

"Sun Fuling."

"Let's take him back first. If we have any questions, we'll ask you."

Looking at the expressions of these two people, He Lingchuan knew that they only focused on the expiation order.

Then the two guards escorted the boy away.

He Lingchuan looked at his short and thin back: "It's pitiful that he begged for mercy. I thought you would be soft-hearted."

Women are soft-hearted, such as Mrs. Ying.

"The city has city rules. If everyone is soft-hearted and follows selfish interests, it will be a small act of benevolence but no great righteousness."

He Lingchuan was in awe.

The woman paused for a moment before continuing: "Besides, last time on Maliu Street, he was caught stealing something, and he used the same excuse."

She turned around and pushed open the door - the door next to He Lingchuan.

"You live here too?" There is only a wall between them.

Having said that, he never paid attention to who lived next to his house. He only saw a baby in the neighbor's house to the east on the night when the Emperor's Liquid came. But the woman is his west neighbor.

It's just a dream after all, isn't it?

"Yes, it seems we are neighbors." The woman looked at his wooden door, "That kid came here specifically for my expiation order, but he stole your things conveniently. I'm sorry."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Lingchuan heard a gurgling sound.

The woman held her belly with her hands and took a step back. Although she was wearing a hijab, He Lingchuan seemed to be able to see her embarrassment.

Recalling what the little thief said just now, "You don't have a grain of rice in your house," He Lingchuan's heart moved, and he took out an oil paper bag and handed it over: "Here, this is a thank you gift for catching the thief."

The woman refused intentionally, but when she smelled the aroma oozing out of the oil paper, she accepted it: "Thank you!"

After He Lingchuan was full of wine and food, he packed up a lotus leaf chicken at Yixianglou, intending to use it as a late-night snack for the toothpaste. This is the restaurant's signature dish. It uses seven spices, including sand ginger powder, which are all raw materials sent to the city by businessmen from other places. It is salty, fresh and juicy. He Lingchuan chewed a whole one himself but didn't get enough.

The woman probably smiled, because He Lingchuan saw her almond-shaped eyes narrowed into slits. Then the two said goodbye and opened the door each.

Throughout the afternoon, He Lingchuan concentrated on practicing martial arts in the courtyard, while the room next door was silent and silent, as always.

He didn't take it too seriously. Panlong Wasteland has strong winds and sand and strong sunshine. Although Panlong City is located on the Chipa Plateau, it is not immune. Many people here have the habit of wearing face masks when going out. Only one pair of eyes is exposed outside to block the wind and sand. Light, he often saw it on the road.

When the sun was about to set, he heard a knock on the woman's door and someone talking.

He Lingchuan had a good ear and could hear the conversation standing in his yard.

That's when the police came to the door, once again asking the owner for details, and assured her that the case would be pursued to the end and justice would be given to the families of the heroes.

Then they left.

He Lingchuan finished his work and took a cold shower. He had just put on his pants when the courtyard door suddenly rang.

The people he recognized should all be lying at home drunk at the moment.

When I opened the door, I saw a girl of seventeen or eighteen years old standing outside. Although she was wearing plain clothes and no decorations, she still looked as pretty as someone who had stepped out of a painting.

Unfamiliar face? He Lingchuan was slightly startled: "Who are you looking for?"

The girl smiled at him, showing a small dimple on her left cheek.

"I'm Sun Fuling." She raised her head and said gracefully, "Your neighbor."

"Oh!" He Lingchuan took another closer look, and sure enough, those almond-shaped eyes were somewhat familiar.

She was holding a bundle of firewood in her left hand. When she saw He Lingchuan, she rushed forward and said, "I heard the sound of water. You don't have any firewood or charcoal to boil water to keep warm, right? Reciprocity is a given."

Since he said it was a return gift, He Lingchuan took the firewood.

It's a big bundle, very heavy.

"The lotus leaf chicken is delicious." The female neighbor nodded to him, "Isn't the Yixianglou's signboard very expensive?"

He Lingchuan blurted out: "How did you know it was from Yixiang Tower?"

"...There are marks on the inside of the oil paper bag."

"Oh." He didn't know where his sharp teeth were in reality. It was obvious that "He Lingchuan" could tease both the older girl and the younger daughter-in-law when he saw them.

A strange silence fell between the two.

The female neighbor moved first: "I'll see you later..."

Out of nowhere, He Lingchuan said inexplicably: "Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"

Every time he fell asleep, he was either practicing or fighting, and he almost never had a serious conversation with the ordinary residents of Panlong City.

Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed again.

"good."

The woman followed He Lingchuan into the small courtyard and looked around.

It was very cold, but the room was too small, and there was no room for people to sit on the bed unless both of them sat on the bed. That was obviously too rude. He Lingchuan moved out the only bench and said smoothly: "Please sit down, I will get you a glass of water."

After saying that, he was stunned. There hasn't been a fire in this yard all day, so how can it be so cool?

Let guests drink raw water?

There's wine in the house, good wine. But if he brought out the wine, would it look like he had bad intentions?

The female neighbor waved her hand considerately and said, "No, no really, I'm not thirsty."

He Lingchuan went into the kitchen and took out a small stove, started to light the fire and boil water, and also kept the two of them warm: "Is your brother Sun Jiayuan?"

"Yes, the pension has been sent over." Sun Fuling turned her eyes to him, "You can survive, it means you are more capable than him."

"It's just good luck." It's just a matter of not dying in the dream.

He thought to himself that Sun Jiayuan's sister was so beautiful, she looked nothing like him. Especially when she raised her eyes, she was so gleaming that she seemed to be able to see into people's hearts.

"I was at the scene when your brother died. In fact, I almost followed in his footsteps." He Lingchuan flicked the ashes in the furnace, "Before he died, he specifically asked us if becoming a hero would allow him to write off his old debts. "

To his surprise, Sun Fuling's eyes and tone were equally calm: "He is really hopeless, so he came up with this method."

The dust was a bit heavy, and He Lingchuan almost sneered: "He finally canceled the debt he left behind, so as not to implicate you. By the way, does Sun Jiayuan live here too? I don't think I've ever seen him nearby."

"No, he lives in a mud house." Sun Fuling said calmly, "What qualifications does a person with a lot of debt have to live in a wooden house?"

The earthen house is the lowest-level house in Panlong City, only one level higher than the slave's dwelling. The whole house is six square meters, barely enough for a bed, and the remaining space is not enough for an adult to stretch his legs.

If He Lingchuan's wooden house is where common people live, then the earthen house is the standard for the poor.

"However, he sometimes comes here to have a meal." Sun Fuling's eyes were curious, "I heard from the wicker girl that after my brother was killed, you also jumped into the cave spider's lair?"

"Yes." After the fire was heated up, He Lingchuan quickly filled the pot with water.

The fire also burned too slowly.

"Then can you see Zhu Erniang? She is the leader of the cave spiders." Sun Fuling stretched out her hand to warm herself by the fire. The firelight reflected in her eyes, sparkling and jumping, looking particularly naughty.