Divine Tang Era

Chapter 137 Thugs

Chapter 138 Thugs

Xu Dan woke up, not knowing how long he had slept.

Hearing voices coming from downstairs, I rubbed my sleepy eyes, yawned, got up, dressed, and went downstairs.

"elder brother!"

Little Magpie, who was playing with the eagle and the black bear in the yard, immediately flew towards him like a happy lark, spreading her arms wide. Xu Dan caught Little Magpie, spun her around twice, and then put her down, asking, "Where's your mother?"

"I'm cooking," Little Magpie said happily, her rosy cheeks upturned.

Xu Dan glanced outside. The sun was setting, and sunlight filtered through the thin clouds, casting a soft glow. It was clearly afternoon.

She couldn't help but marvel at herself; she'd slept so soundly she hadn't even noticed her mother and Little Magpie returning. Suddenly, she realized something was amiss. She clearly remembered closing the front door when she came back; how had they gotten in? She couldn't help but ask, "Who brought you back?"

"Sister Shiwei, it was Sister Shiwei who brought us back, and she even bought me candy!"

Xiao Que'er gets incredibly excited whenever Shi Wei is mentioned.

As she spoke, she ran back into the house and took out a piece of maltose weighing about a pound, which she proudly showed off to Xu Dan.

Shi Wei is Mo Shi Wei, the youngest daughter of the owner of the Mo Family Martial Arts School.

As the youngest and most beloved daughter in her family, the headmaster doted on her, treating her like a precious gem. Her fellow disciples also showered her with affection, which inevitably led to her developing a bit of a temper and a somewhat willful and capricious manner.

But he's not inherently bad; overall, he's within Xu Dan's acceptable range.

"Come on, let me have a taste."

Having not eaten maltose for a long time, Xu Dan was a little hungry, so he grabbed chopsticks and rolled up a large ball of it.

Take a bite, and the familiar sweet flavor immediately spreads on the tip of your tongue.

Little Magpie felt heartbroken seeing this, but she was happy that her brother wanted to eat. However, she promptly reminded him, "Brother, Sister Shiwei said that children shouldn't eat too much, otherwise they'll get cavities and their teeth will hurt a lot."

"I'm not a child, you're the child."

Xu Dan tried to scare the little magpie, saying, "You can't eat too much, you know? If you eat too much, your teeth will rot and lots and lots of little bugs will grow inside them, it's super scary."

The little magpie was so frightened that she quickly covered her mouth with her little hands, her eyes wide open, and said very seriously, "I definitely won't eat much, just a tiny little bit, much, much smaller than my brother's."

"Chirp chirp chirp"

The little eagle hopped over, chirping happily as it pecked at Xu Dan's shoes with its sharp beak.

Xu Dan grabbed the little eagle, held it up to his face, looked it over, and said, "Where did this guy learn to make that chick's clucking sound? It doesn't even sound like an eagle anymore."

"It learned it from the chicks at the martial arts school. It loves to follow the chicks around everywhere, and it always steals their food. It's often chased around by their mother," said Little Magpie, swinging her two pigtails.

"Holy crap."

The little eagle smelled the aroma of maltose and immediately broke free from his grasp, lunging towards his left hand that held the maltose.

Fortunately, Xu Dan reacted quickly, raising his hand just in time to prevent it from succeeding; otherwise, it would have eaten a whole ball of maltose. Speaking of which, can eagles eat maltose? He'd never raised one before and had absolutely no experience with that.

"Chirp chirp chirp"

Unable to get any maltose, the little eagle cried out incessantly from below.

"This guy must be hungry." Xu Dan gave it some food, and the little eagle stopped chirping and buried its head in its food.

"Young master is awake. Go wash up and have dinner." At this moment, Yunniang came out of the kitchen.

"it is good."

As the damp mist dissipated, Jingning City returned to its former appearance.

Early in the morning, before the first rays of sunlight had fully pierced through the thin mist, Xu Dan got up early and took Xiao Que'er to practice her skills in the yard.

After finishing a set of punches, the little guy was already slightly sweaty, while Xu Dan was a bit better off.

After a quick wash and breakfast, I went to the altar where Xuanwu Zhenjun was worshipped, lit an incense stick, and bowed respectfully several times.

Stepping outside and gazing at the bustling crowd, Xu Dan lazily stretched.

Although the eerie mist has dissipated, there are still many things to do in Jingning City. For example, the demonic birds that were shot down last night destroyed countless houses, and these families are now busy finding people to repair them; there are also the families of those who were unfortunately killed, pecked to death, or injured or bitten by the demonic birds during the attack, some of whom are busy performing funeral rites for the deceased, while others are busy taking the injured to seek medical treatment.

In addition, there are piles of monster corpses outside the city.

Although some of the monsters' essence and blood had been absorbed by the ghosts, many of their corpses remained relatively well-preserved.

The intact, edible parts have already been transported back for processing by the Jingning County government; as for the corpses of the demon beasts whose life essence had been drained, the remaining hides, bones, and other valuable items are also rare treasures. Adhering to the principle of making the most of everything and avoiding waste, the county government has also arranged for their transport back. If handled properly, these items can be resold for substantial profits.

Therefore, the calamity of the ghosts attacking the city is not entirely a bad thing.

Looking around, Xu Dan realized he didn't seem to have much to do.

He used to need to practice archery with Master Xue, but now that he's mastered the basics, he no longer needs to go every day; he can practice at home on his own. Besides, he shot so many arrows last night, he needs to rest today. Shooting like that every day isn't good. He needs to balance work and rest. His body can't handle high-intensity practice every day.

As for practicing boxing, there's even less need to go to the martial arts school.

His meridians were blocked, preventing him from cultivating Qi. Therefore, the sword techniques that followed the Foundation Establishment Fist Technique were completely useless to him.

Those sword techniques require internal energy to unleash their true power; otherwise, they are merely empty shells, devoid of any practical use. Even if one were to use blood and qi to power them, it would be of no avail.

After all, those sword techniques are designed based on the circulation of the human body's meridians, and the flow of qi and blood cannot be matched with them.

Xu Dan thought for a while and realized that he really didn't have anything to do, so he decided to go back to his room to sleep. Anyway, he didn't want to do anything today.

As he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er walking towards him out of the corner of his eye. The two waved and called out from afar, "Junior Brother!"

"Senior brothers, why aren't you practicing archery with Master Xue?" Xu Dan stepped forward and asked in confusion.

"I shot all night yesterday, I'm almost throwing up, so I'm planning to get some rest today. We just arrived in Jingning and haven't really explored the city properly yet. We were thinking of going for a walk, do you want to come along?" Xue Diao asked.

"Okay, I'll show you around."

Xu Dan, knowing they were new to Jingning and unfamiliar with the area, agreed and called into the house, "Little Magpie, do you want to go out and play? I'll take you."

"No, no, I'm not going."

Little Magpie sat at her desk, shaking her head, and said seriously, "I want to study. Tomorrow at school, the teacher will check my homework, and if I don't understand, the teacher will hit my hand."

"Is it that scary?" Xu Dan raised an eyebrow and asked jokingly.

"Yeah, that's terrifying."

Little Magpie opened her eyes wide and said in a serious tone, "Last time, a chubby boy got his hand slapped by the teacher because he didn't know how to do it. He cried his eyes out, calling for his father and mother. I don't want to end up like him."

Hearing her say that, Xu Dan did not insist, and together with Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er, they walked towards the bustling streets near the East Gate.