After the immortal disappeared

He Lingchuan raised his eyes and found that she was an old woman. She was looking around as she walked. Her walking posture was a little bit pigeon-toed.

She was thin and shriveled, but her belly was a little bulging, which reminded He Lingchuan of dead wood piles by the river.

"Are you the shopkeeper?"

When she spoke, her voice turned out to be much younger than her appearance. He Lingchuan also noticed that she had all her teeth, and she didn't seem as old as she looked.

"That's right." He said truthfully, "This store has just been taken back. It may take some time to reopen."

"What do you want to sell?" The old lady rummaged around, not being polite to him at all.

"It's not clear yet." He doesn't have the energy to take care of the shop in the dream, so he will entrust the official to rent it, and the money will be paid quarterly, "What are you doing?"

"I, I collect things." The old woman's eyes wandered around the pile of debris, high and low, not only not dazzled, but also very alert.

Somehow, He Lingchuan felt that she looked like an otter on the riverbed during the dry season. That kind of creature also likes to stay in the clutter he built with his own hands.

It's just that she is too thin, her eyes are a little protruding and bloodshot.

"Do you still want these?" the old woman said dryly, "If you don't want them, just give them to me, huh?"

"No, just take them all."

The old woman immediately bowed to him: "Good Samaritan, good Samaritan, God will bless you!"

This is too polite.

He Lingchuan soon saw that the old woman got a cart from nowhere and parked it outside the store, and then went into the store to move things.

She took away a jar first.

The jar was wrapped in a thick layer of yellow plaster and was hidden under two stacked tables, which were blocked by a screen. He Lingchuan didn't even see it when he first took stock of the items, and he didn't know how the old woman discovered it.

He couldn't help but ask: "What is the use of this jar?"

"Pickled...pickled vegetables."

The jar is not too big, it can hold five or seven kilograms of wine at most. No sauce jar He Lingchuan has ever seen is bigger than it.

"Shall I help you move?" He was purely out of kindness.

The old woman hugged the jar tighter, as if she was afraid that he would snatch it away: "No, no!"

Then she moved away two incense burners, several inkstones, and a row of ceramic dolls.

This row of dolls was poorly made, and He Lingchuan always felt like they were glaring at people with malicious intent. Probably the former shopkeeper of the store felt the same way, so he threw them in the warehouse, out of sight.

But the old woman liked it very much and said happily: "This is good, take it back and give it to my son to play with."

He Lingchuan really wanted to ask how old her son was before he was still playing with this, but there was a sudden clang outside and the stroller was knocked over.

The old woman yelled and ran out quickly.

Several things on the cart were knocked to the ground, and the jar rolled several times.

He Lingchuan saw at a glance that a large piece of the mud outside the jar peeled off, revealing the grayish-white and yellowish substance inside.

Jars of this color seem to be rare in Panlong City?

The old woman was also distressed. She picked up the jar and turned it around twice to check. She found that there was no more damage, and then she exhaled.

At this moment, someone else approached and said hello to He Lingchuan.

"A Luo?" He Lingchuan was surprised, "Why are you here?"

"Go to the pharmacy store to get medicine." A Luo turned around and pointed, "The goods I ordered a few days ago arrived today. Is this your store?"

"yes."

"I just came to clean it up today. It seems you are not short of money." The day the shop is rented out, the day early it will be collected.

The two of them talked, and the old woman stood up.

Perhaps she had been squatting for too long. She staggered twice as soon as she stood up and almost fell.

A Luo gave her a hand.

After the old woman stood still, she grabbed the handle of the cart and pushed it out.

"Old lady, that's all you want?" The two of them took a look and saw that there weren't many things in the cart.

"I can't take much." The old woman seemed very pragmatic, "Give the rest to others."

Aluo's expression and eyes were a little strange. He asked the old woman: "Are you okay?"

"Okay." The old woman pushed the cart and started to leave.

A Luo pressed the handle of the car and said, "You are pregnant, you know that, right?"

He Lingchuan was completely shocked when he said this.

Pregnant? This old woman?

The old woman was also stunned, but immediately said: "It has nothing to do with you, don't meddle in other people's business!"

She looked angry and obviously aware of it, so Arlo let go and let her push her away.

Her back quickly disappeared around the corner of the street, without looking back the whole time.

He Lingchuan scratched the back of his head: "What did you just say, that she is pregnant?"

"Yeah, I felt my pulse, even if it was only for a moment."

"Could it be..." A mistake?

But seeing the look in A Luo's eyes, He Lingchuan immediately changed his words: "How many months has it been?"

He had seen the old woman's belly slightly protruding before, but many old people had this appearance, so he didn't think much about it.

I didn't know it was so weird.

"About four or five months."

The listeners took a breath and couldn't tell.

A Luo shook his head: "I only know that the pulse is so stable that it is a little restless, and the fetuses in her belly are so active that there is a risk of miscarriage. Fortunately, they are still strong."

"They?" He Lingchuan was shocked, "How many more babies does she have?"

"At least two or more." A Luo said, "Do you think I am a god who can tell how many babies you are pregnant with just by touching me?"

Someone suddenly said: "Are you sure? Sister-in-law Ji is pregnant?"

The two turned their heads and saw the owner and his wife of the leather goods shop next door standing at the door of the shop, looking incredulous.

"What are you sure about?" A Luo has a bad temper, and he is especially dissatisfied with others questioning his medical skills. "Believe it or not, I'll let you down."

The shopkeeper was kind and apologized quickly: "Master, please don't be upset. We just can't imagine it. This is too weird."

His wife was much more straightforward: "Sister-in-law Ji, is there someone outside? This is really knowing people but not knowing people."

He Lingchuan dusted off the debris on the steps: "What's wrong with old trees sprouting new shoots?"

The shop owner's wife said directly: "She is not too old, only four years older than me, but she has been a widow for many years. After losing her son, she has been nagging her all the time. She never thought she would find another man."

She looks less than forty, so Sister-in-law Ji is in her early forties, much younger than she looks.

"Lost a child?" He Lingchuan thought of the row of ceramic dolls that Sister Ji took away, "How many children does she have?"

"Both sons died on the battlefield."

A Luo lowered his eyes and He Lingchuan sighed silently.

This is the fate of all the good men in Panlong City, but no one knew it before they arrived, except He Lingchuan.

The pain of losing a child and having to bear it twice was no wonder that the old woman was a little crazy and said she wanted to take the clay doll back to play with her son.

As for the old tree sprouting new shoots, although this kind of thing is a bit strange, others have no right to interfere.

The shop owner said solemnly, "She used to be my neighbor, and I could often hear her wailing loudly in the middle of the night. If it lasted ten days and a half, everyone would be considerate of her and tolerate it, but who could bear it for half a year? She was getting more and more confused, and she still I wanted to take away another family’s child, but the neighbors had to drive her away. I heard that she moved to the suburbs.”

A Luo suddenly said: "How long has it been since you last seen her?"

"Uh..." The shop owner and his wife looked at each other, "About, three years?"

You've become like this in three years?

After finishing speaking, the door of the store returned to calm. The shop owner and his wife next door shrank back. A Luo also said to He Lingchuan: "I'm going to sit in the martial arts hall today, will you go?"

"Okay, take me to have some fun." He Lingchuan locked the shop with his backhand and put the incident that just happened behind him.

There are three martial arts arenas in Panlong City. The martial arts training hall is located near the west gate. It is the largest in area and has the largest number of people on weekdays.

This is a place where heroes compete with each other in their skills. It sounds good to use martial arts to make friends, but in reality, martial arts is second to none.

He Lingchuan worked hard for several months, working day and night. It can be said that the effort he put in was three to four times more than ordinary people. Of course, he also wanted to test his recent achievements in the martial arts competition.

The Yuewu Hall was formerly a horse farm, which was still in the suburbs at that time. Later, Panlong City expanded outwards and quickly included it. Therefore, this land was destined to be large and empty, but Panlong City built a high wall to surround it, and only one-fifth of the land was exposed to public view.

The signboard of Yuewu Hall is very big, with these three Chinese characters flying like dragons and phoenixes, and the name Zhong Shengguang is written in small characters on the side.

It turned out that Commander Zhong wrote the inscription himself.

However, He Lingchuan had little experience, and this was the first time he saw a signboard with black characters on a white background. Ah, this was so solemn.

A Luo led him inside, and the guard checked their signs before letting him go.

This place is not open to the public, only soldiers registered in Panlong City can enter.

As soon as he walked in, He Lingchuan realized how big this place was. He knew that the martial arts parade hall was actually divided into two courtyards, the north and south, with the middle tower as the boundary. The south courtyard was close to the gate, facing Panlong City soldiers and patrols. There were five venues in total; the north courtyard was only open to the Gale Army. , everyone in the south courtyard could only look north through the fence, feeling secretly envious.

The coffin building is a two-story building that separates the two hospitals. It is designed to provide logistical support for warriors. Here they can rest, polish their weapons, unload and change equipment, and there are also dedicated doctors sitting in the hall in case of emergencies.

Aluo came here to take over from the sitting doctor. He was short of money.

Now there are dozens of people in the south courtyard. The edges of the martial arts training field can be used by individuals to practice on their own, but the center of the field must be cleared for martial arts competitions. He Lingchuan saw six people fighting with each other. The knives and swords in their hands were all made of wood, and the blades were smeared with red powder.

Those who are hit will have red marks on their bodies. If there is no substantial knockdown between the two sides until the end of the fight, the winner or loser will be determined by the number and location of red marks on each player's body.

He Lingchuan turned his eyes again and found another familiar face:

Thin man.

This guy was waving a dozen notes in his hand, standing on the edge of a competition, roaring at the top of his lungs.

But he was not conspicuous at all, because the onlookers were shouting overwhelmingly!

With a bang, the players on the field were knocked unconscious by the shield.

There was a burst of boos nearby, some people left in frustration, and some people shouted to the thin man asking for money: "I won, I won, give me the money quickly!"

This money is absolutely not owed. The thin man turned his back and blocked the hands that were reaching out from behind. He grabbed the charcoal stick and scratched out the notes: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, come one by one! "