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Chapter 614: Your Second Uncle Is So Popular

"I... I....."

Young Li Mo's tongue suddenly tied itself in knots. He had indeed fantasized about playing the hero, saving a beauty, and walking hand-in-hand with her. But when actually put on the spot, his mind went completely blank.

He hadn’t expected the beauty he encountered to be so breathtaking, nor had he anticipated that his usually glib tongue—so adept at spouting nonsense—would fail him so utterly at this moment.

"There’s no need to be nervous. It’s our first meeting, after all." Ying Bing’s eyes held a hint of amusement, as if she were looking at a silly goose.

"I feel like it’s not our first time..."

Li Mo couldn’t place the source of this deep, soul-stirring familiarity. That smile of hers seemed like something he’d glimpsed countless times in his dreams—hazy and indistinct, leaving him with nothing but a vague sense of longing upon waking. Only now had it taken concrete form.

"By the way, why did you secretly tell me the answer to the riddle earlier?"

"It wasn’t me."

Ying Bing glanced away. She had been afraid Li Mo wouldn’t guess it, but she hadn’t expected her whisper to become the very voice echoing in his heart.

Really? Young Li Mo didn’t believe her. But he had no proof—after all, hers was the only voice he’d heard in that crowded space.

He still hadn’t figured out why no one else had heard it.

"Are you planning to go on a long journey?" Ying Bing asked casually.

Tsk, tsk. In truth, she had been waiting here for quite some time. All because Li Mo had once joked, "What if someone else ends up accompanying me on my adventures?"

Though it had been nothing more than a passing remark—one Li Mo, having forgotten his past, likely wouldn’t even remember—the words had lingered in her mind.

The speaker might not have meant it, but the listener took it to heart.

And she was bothered by it.

"Oh no, the city gates are about to close!"

Snapping back to reality, Li Mo clasped his hands in a polite gesture. "Fairy sister, my name is Li Mo, from the Li family in the city. We’ll... we’ll meet again next time!"

He was even more afraid that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn’t have the heart to leave.

To his surprise, Ying Bing’s delicate brows furrowed, and she shoved the mask back at him in a huff.

"Take it back."

"Eh...?"

Before he could react, she boarded a carriage, lifting the curtain to cast a lingering glance his way.

Li Mo was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend why her mood had shifted so abruptly from sunny to overcast.

But then again, young Li was something of a genius.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind:

"True departures are often silent. If she says she’s leaving, she’s waiting for you to stop her."

"Are you heading out of the city too?"

"......" Ying Bing neither laughed nor replied.

Li Mo grew increasingly certain he was onto something and promptly climbed into the carriage after her.

"Fairy sister, take me with you! I was so caught up in solving lantern riddles earlier that I forgot to buy a horse. The place I’m going is far, and if no one gives me a ride, who knows how long it’ll take me to get there."

"But I don’t even know where you’re headed."

Ying Bing pressed her lips together but didn’t let go of the big-headed doll she was holding.

"Mo City. Is that on your way? If not, just drop me off at Yinma Town..."

"It’s on the way."

Ying Bing tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, agreeing readily—only to pause and lower her gaze in thought, as if recalling something.

"What’s wrong?" Li Mo asked.

"I don’t know how to get there."

Ying Bing delivered this with an air of icy composure.

Li Mo: "?"

So he was supposed to drive the carriage?

Wait a minute—

If she didn’t know the way, how did she know it was "on the way"?

......

The life of a wandering hero, roaming the land with a sword, wasn’t nearly as exciting as Li Mo had imagined.

Stories spoke of righteous warriors drawing their blades to uphold justice, but the acts of chivalry young Li encountered left him with no opportunity to even lift a finger.

On the first day, he came across a girl selling herself to bury her father—Li Mo handed over ten taels of silver. The next day, he passed a village where the biggest hardship was the lack of a bridge to cross the river. On the third day, he met a farmer whose fruit was rotting in the fields because he couldn’t sell it...

This wasn’t what Li Mo had envisioned.

Because the greatest injustice people faced seemed to be... poverty.

There was no room for heroic intervention—just an endless need to open his purse.

So... he really should have brought more silver with him.

"In the tales, heroes are always feasting on fine wine and meat, throwing money around without a care. And they never seem to work for a living—where does all their money come from?"

Swaying in the carriage, Li Mo still hadn’t cracked this mystery.

"Yinma Town is just ahead."

Ying Bing’s voice drifted to his ears.

Come to think of it, Li Mo had been curious at first—how could a young woman dare to travel alone, venturing so far from the city?

But then he realized that if she could transmit her voice directly into his mind, her skills likely far surpassed his own.

When he asked her about it, though, she insisted it wasn’t "voice transmission."

Assuming she simply didn’t want to reveal her true abilities, Li Mo let the matter drop.

As the carriage rocked, a gust of wind lifted the curtain.

Outside, lush greenery stretched into the distance. Ahead lay a rushing river, its turbulent currents audible even from this distance. On the opposite bank stood an ancient-looking town.

Several boats—some large, some small—were moored along the riverbank, waiting.

"Young hero, are you looking to cross the river with your carriage?"

A boatman, busy ushering what appeared to be a group of armed escorts onto a larger vessel, spotted Li Mo’s approach and called out.

"That’s right."

"If you don’t mind sharing space, you’re welcome to board with us. The price is negotiable."

The boatman gave Li Mo’s fine attire a once-over, clearly pegging him as someone from a well-off family.

"Boatman, you’ve already taken our party. Adding more passengers at the last minute isn’t proper."

A middle-aged man stepped forward from the escort group. Dressed in practical short robes, his breathing was steady, his gaze sharp—likely the leader of the escort team.

The boatman clasped his hands apologetically. "Escort Dong, you didn’t pay to charter the entire boat. Besides, it’s getting late—why not do them a favor? It costs you nothing, and I earn a bit extra. This young man won’t have to wait around either."

"Well..." Escort Dong seemed ready to argue further.

But then a woman’s voice came from the carriage behind him:

"Since that’s the case, let’s do as the boatman suggests."

"My apologies for the intrusion."

Li Mo patted his pockets, counting out the fare from his dwindling supply of silver.

As he stepped into the cabin, Escort Dong muttered something cryptic:

"Young man, your skills aren’t bad, but the river is treacherous. Best be careful."

"Huh?"

Before Li Mo could ask what he meant, the man had already walked away.

Shrugging, Li Mo secured the carriage to the deck with ropes before returning inside.

"What would you like to eat tonight?"

He wasn’t sure why the question rolled off his tongue so naturally.

...Definitely not because he’d recently tasted her cooking.

"I’d like fish."

Ying Bing withdrew her gaze from the river and answered.

......

Not far off, the escorts had gathered on the opposite side of the deck, preparing their own meal.

Escort Dong carried a bowl of fish soup into the carriage.

Inside sat a young woman dressed in fine clothes, her appearance that of a noble lady.

But her table manners were far from refined—she chewed the fish, bones and all, then slurped down the scalding soup in loud gulps before slamming the bowl down with gusto.

"Dong Geyu, why did you speak up and let those two on board?"

Escort Dong frowned. "That pair looks like a young master running off with his sweetheart—neither seems to have any real martial skill. If trouble breaks out, we won’t be able to protect them. Wouldn’t that just mean two more lives lost for no reason?"

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  1. Offline
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    Chapter 614 Your Second Uncle is Really Smells Good
    The path Dong Ao and Dong Ge Yu took was naturally not an ordinary escort route.
    The great river in front of Yinma Town often saw people and boats disappear without a trace, dozens of times a year, an unusually high frequency.
    Not long ago, a survivor came to Mo City and asked them for help.
    The survivor said that boatmen and demons were colluding, killing people for their goods, and helping the demons hide their tracks.
    After several investigations, Dong Ao locked onto this particular boat.
    Today, they had made full preparations to bring the boatmen and demons to justice, but who knew there would be uninvited guests?
    Dong Ge Yu shook his head and said:
    "Uncle Ao, the demons are cunning. If we delay any longer, it will seem suspicious. With any slight disturbance, they probably won't take the bait, and who knows how many more innocent lives will be lost in vain."
    "We can figure out what to do later about the other matters. Have you forgotten Grandfather's teachings?"
    Dong Ao's face darkened.
    Dong Ge Yu helplessly made a gesture of surrender:
    "Alright, alright, Uncle Ao, it's not that serious. That kid isn't an ordinary person. Maybe the two of us combined aren't his match."
    "Hmm? Which young master in Earth City is so skilled? Why haven't I heard of him?"
    Dong Ao was stunned. Had he misjudged just now?
    "He's only recently become famous. His Hammer Technique is superb, but for some reason, he wasn't chosen by the Heavenly Immortal clan to receive a Legacy."
    "Hammer Technique is superb? That's quite a talent... What's his name?"
    "Li Mo."
    "Pfft..."
    Dong Ao spat out a mouthful of tea, his face full of surprise, but then he muttered to himself:
    "Well, how old is he? It's probably a namesake..."
    "Nephew always feels this person is too coincidental."
    Dong Ge Yu squinted as he spoke, then shook his head: "Never mind, it's getting late. We should first take care of the matter at hand... Hmm? What smells so good?"
    ...Inside the carriage, a charcoal stove was gurgling with snow-white, jade-colored fish soup, containing only one fish.
    Just now, Li Mo had barely started boiling water when Ying Bing had already caught the fish.
    Li Mo skillfully put it into the pot and simmered it into a pot of soup.
    "Delicious."
    Ying Bing blew on it, her cheeks flushed like rosy clouds as she drank.
    "The scales of this fish are golden. It's probably not an ordinary one, it has a lot of Qi."
    Li Mo tasted a bowl, and a warm current spread through his limbs and bones.
    Ordinary carp wouldn't be this nourishing.
    "Wait."
    After drinking the soup, Ying Bing pointed at the soup pot, and the temperature instantly dropped, turning the pot of fish into fish jelly.
    "You're quite good at eating... Hmm?"
    Li Mo realized something was wrong: "You just wiggled your finger and made the temperature drop. Why were you so afraid of it being hot just now?"
    "I wasn't afraid of it being hot," Ying Bing said.
    Little Li was even more puzzled: "Then why were you blowing on it?"
    "Life needs a sense of ritual."
    When Ying Bing said this, her tone didn't sound like herself, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with a strange light.
    "??"
    Little Li, who felt something was off, felt even more uneasy.
    Why did that sound so out of place and yet familiar?
    My goodness, life needs a sense of ritual! He almost thought he had woken up too quickly, thinking he hadn't Transmigrated.
    However, when she, as beautiful as a Heavenly Immortal, said this, it was even more irresistible, making Little Li forget this oddity.
    Time passed.
    Gradually, it was the middle of the night. The river wind was cold and desolate, the moon was dark and the wind was high, and the boat had reached the center of the river.
    "Hehehe... I didn't want to act, but who knew you would be so bold as to capture the River God's kin? I have no choice but to throw you to the fish!"
    "Madman! Harming people and finding so many excuses, you're courting death!"
    "Are you alright?!"
    Suddenly, there were shouts from outside.
    Although Li Mo was new to the Jianghu, he didn't dare to sleep soundly. He frowned, got up, and poked his head out.
    He saw on the deck that the group of people dressed as a dart agency had already drawn their swords, their Aura fierce.
    A beautiful Young Miss, however, had transformed into a powerful Young Miss, wielding a hammer and smashing it with extreme ferocity.
    Meanwhile, the boatman and the deckhands on the boat turned pale and trembled like sieves.
    "What the heck is happening?"
    Li Mo's mouth twitched slightly.
    He had thought about being a hero saving a beauty, but he never expected to see a beautiful woman wielding a hammer, ready to smash someone's head in.
    The Jianghu was really not what he imagined, you idiot!
    No sooner said than done, he had already leaped out of the carriage.
    Clang—
    Dong Ge Yu had initially thought he could take down the boatman first, but who knew that the other side of the hammer would transmit such a tremendous Recoil Force (recoil force).
    She staggered back six steps before steadying herself, her tiger's mouth split open, her whole body numb. Looking up, she saw it was the young man named Li Mo.
    Their group had been prepared, yet Li Mo wasn't even drugged by the boatman?
    "What are you doing?"
    "Naturally, I'm stopping you from committing violence. You are a beautiful lady, why have you become a river bandit!"
    "Are you stupid? How do I look like a bandit?"
    After speaking, a black line appeared on Dong Ge Yu's forehead.
    She noticed Li Mo looking at the hammer in her hand, as if to say, 'Who uses this as a proper weapon?'
    "Do you want to see what weapon you're using!"
    Dong Ge Yu was furious and pointed at the boatman: "He is the bandit who colludes with demons!"
    "Ah?"
    Li Mo saw the other party trembling with anger, and only then did he turn around and see.
    A huge dark shadow was vaguely emerging from the river, and the boatman, as if he had seen a savior, spread his arms and shouted:
    "River God, you've finally arrived!"
    ..."Sorry."
    Li Mo silently retracted his hammer.
    No wonder they all said the Jianghu was deep. Who could untangle the situation in front of them with a few CPUs in their head?
    "Never mind, that boatman is just an accomplice. We came here to eliminate demons anyway. Please lend a hand later!"
    Dong Ge Yu looked solemnly at the dark shadow emerging from the water.
    Li Mo had no objection. He had just wrongly accused a good person, and now they were all in the same boat.
    Drip-drop—
    The dark shadow, several times larger than the large boat, had completely surfaced.
    Under the dim lamplight, one could clearly see that it was an ugly, mud-covered catfish, without legs, but with human-like hands.
    "Second Uncle... where are you!"
    With a roar, it stirred up turbid waves that swept across the sky.
    Splash—
    A large net suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping it. It was Dong Ao who had made his move.
    He led many dart escorts, pulling the fishing net made of special material. Seeing the opponent caught in the net, his face turned grim.
    This catfish demon was more powerful than they had imagined... Suddenly, with a'snap,' the fishing net burst.
    "You give back my Second Uncle!"
    "Who the hell is your Second Uncle!"
    "A golden carp! Don't tell me you didn't see it. It disappeared right here with you!"
    Li Mo: "..."
    What could he say? 'Your Second Uncle was delicious'?
    "I nourished my Second Uncle with my Qi for many years. As long as I eat it, I can reach the next level. You all deserve to die!"
    How filial! No wonder this cunning demon lost its mind.
    "Not good, this demon is so strong in the water!"
    Dong Ge Yu also stepped forward to help.
    She quickly looked at Li Mo: "Either you escape now, or you come up and help!"
    Li Mo, however, stood still, only raising his hammer in a daze.
    He suddenly laughed, a bitter, grinding laugh:
    "To hell with your Jianghu dream of slaying demons and monsters! I'll hammer you to death!"
    He suddenly leaped into the air, reaching the struggling catfish in the fishing net in an instant.
    Bang—
    The hammer's wind broke through the air, the river water froze, and then exploded dozens of feet high. The catfish was smashed under the water and then blasted into the sky by the splash, almost turning belly up on the spot.
    This person's Hammer Technique clearly had no Legacy power from the Heavenly Immortal clan, so why was it so terrifying!
    No, it couldn't even escape!
    In its desperation, it saw a glimmer of hope.
    There was a serene woman in the carriage, hiding there as if nothing was happening.
    She must be a very important person, right?
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    Such keen eyes that see beyond the illusions of heaven, but peer right past the scroll of truth that is she is the weaker party.
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