Chapter 1033: Unbroken Past Part Two

Today, it felt as if we had encountered something evil.

The man named Sun and old man Li had similar thoughts. The two younger ones, for their part, didn't dare say much and were extremely cautious.

Fortunately, nothing else happened. The luxuriously dressed man simply ate his noodles in silence. The two men in gray sat on either side of him; they didn't order any food or talk much. While most of their attention was on the man eating noodles, they occasionally glanced at the Sun family, but made no other unnecessary movements.

The elegantly dressed man ate very slowly, as if savoring each bite. After a while, he spoke, his voice filled with emotion.

"Years ago, I learned from a book that this place is the homeland of the Sage of Literature. Though a secluded corner, it is the fount of all literary tradition, a place yearned for by scholars throughout history! I, too, felt this pull, and so I traversed vast oceans, crossed mountains and rivers, coming countless miles to make a pilgrimage here..."

The man chewed, then put down his chopsticks and looked into the distance down the street, gazing at the quiet little town.

"Ah, speaking of which, more than forty years have passed!"

Forty years?

The four members of the Sun and Li families couldn't help but scrutinize the diner once more. Even if he had come here in his teens, he should be nearing sixty now. Yet, despite his pale complexion, he certainly didn't look sixty; he clearly appeared to be a young adult.

"Dad..."

"What's it to you? Start packing up. Once the customer finishes eating, we'll close up the stall and head home."

Old Sun glared at his son, then began nonchalantly packing up the food cart. Sun Yiqiu quickly joined in to help.

Having run a street stall for many years, they sometimes encountered strange things. However, the Sun family mostly conducted business during the day and in their hometown, so such occurrences were rare for them. They had only heard about them from chatting diners and stories passed down by the older generation.

When encountering such things, the best response is to remain calm and act as if nothing is amiss. Making a fuss would only invite trouble.

After a while, the diner finally finished his noodles and put down his chopsticks.

"Vendor, how much?"

"That'll be twelve coins in total. You can leave the bowls and chopsticks, and put the money on the table. I'll tidy up later. Since you're familiar with our shop's rules, I assume you're a regular and trustworthy customer."

Old Sun pretended to be busy with his son, tidying the food cart, packing up tools, extinguishing the stove fire, arranging the supports, and securing the wheel latches. They certainly looked busy.

The diner at the table nodded, placed four copper coins—two large and two small—on it, then stood up. The two men in gray also rose with him.

The three walked away from the stall, but before leaving, the man looked back at Sun Yiqiu, a faint smile appearing on his pale face.

"Young man, you're quite handsome for your age. You haven't married yet, have you?"

"Hmph, him?"

One of the men in gray sneered. The other also looked at the man beside him, whose smile remained unchanged.

"I think he's quite good."

Old Sun looked at his son, then exchanged a glance with old man Li. The two older men, seemingly in perfect sync, stepped forward one after another.

"You jest, customer. If my son's humble appearance could be called handsome, then scholars and dignitaries would be heavenly beings. But this rascal is quite fortunate; though he isn't married yet, a date will be set very soon..."

"Hahaha, yes, yes. I've watched this child grow up, and I'm quite satisfied. Dongdong and he seem to be quite fond of each other. Our two families intend to strengthen our ties through marriage, so..."

Old man Li also spoke, smiling.

"Grandpa Li? Dongdong!"

Sun Yiqiu looked at the girl in surprise. She visibly froze for a moment, then her face instantly flushed crimson.

"Oh, I see, congratulations!"

The diner nodded, clasped his hands, and offered congratulations to both sides, then turned and left. The two men in gray glanced at the noodle stall and followed suit.

Until the strange trio had been gone for a while, the two elders at the stall finally relaxed.

"Phew..."

Old Sun let out a long sigh of relief, as did old man Li. However, a genuine smile soon appeared on Old Sun's face.

"Hehe, Uncle Li, I'm taking what you just said seriously!"

"Hahaha, you, well, I guess there's no problem with it."

The two looked at the younger generation. Sun Yiqiu had already run to Li Dongdong's side; one was excited, the other shy, but there was no sign of resistance from either.

"Close up the stall, close up the stall!"

Old Sun went to the table, cleared the bowls and chopsticks, picked up the four copper coins, and casually tossed them into the money basket on the food cart.

However, as soon as the seemingly heavy copper coins left his hand, they felt surprisingly light when tossed. Before they even reached the money basket, they drifted away. After passing by the wooden sign that read "Leave one share" beside the basket, their color changed from coppery yellow to an increasingly pale hue.

"Gasp... Uncle Li!"

Old man Li hurried over. The two stared at the ground, and a chill ran straight through both of them.

"Ghost money!"

Those four were no copper coins at all; they were clearly four pieces of ghost money, round on the outside with a square hole in the middle, and a ghastly white color. Combined with their recent encounter, they looked particularly unsettling.

"This..."

"Don't go 'this' and 'that'! Tomorrow, let's go pray at the City God Temple together!"

As old man Li spoke, he bowed several times in the direction of the City God Temple.

"Right, right, right!"

As they spoke, the two began tidying up the stall. As for the ghost money on the ground, they absolutely dared not pick it up.

Just a moment later, before the Sun family's stall was even fully packed up, two people swiftly walked over from the distant street, their steps seemingly floating.

These two were dressed in white and wore tall hats. One had a sharp blade at his waist and carried a steel spear on his back, while the other also had a saber at his waist but carried a furled black umbrella. Their steps were light and floating, yet their speed was remarkably swift, as if they were two martial artists with peerless light-body techniques. However, the surrounding pedestrians and merchants seemed not to notice them.

Soon, the two stopped directly at the Sun family's noodle stall.

Old Sun and young Sun seemed to sense something inexplicable. They turned their heads to look outside the stall but saw nothing, so they continued to busy themselves while chatting with the Li family.

The two men in white looked at the Sun family, then exchanged glances, and quickly focused their attention on the ghost money on the ground.

"Such eerie ghost money!"

One of them frowned and whispered, while the other half-squatted and picked up the four pieces of ghost money.

"Not only is the yin energy very strong, but there's also a faint yet extremely strange demonic aura. This matter must be reported to Lord City God!"

"That's right, let's go!"

As they spoke, the two swiftly departed. But before leaving, one of them swung his blade at the spot where the Sun family's noodle stall had been. A faint white light flashed, and the ambient temperature felt by both the Sun and Li families seemed to rise slightly.

And in the eyes of the Sun and Li families, the ghost money on the ground, which they dared not touch, was swept up by a gust of wind, swirled a few times in the air, and then disappeared from sight.

At the City God Temple in Ning'an County, where the administrative office of the underworld was located, the supreme deity, wearing an official's hat, wore a furious expression.

"How audacious! To dare to cause trouble and use evil magic in Ning'an County! This place is a virtuous land, and it will not be allowed to act so presumptuously!"

This City God had been officially consecrated as a deity by both the heavenly and human realms and had governed Ning'an County for eighty years. He had never seen any evil entity dare to run wild here. On ordinary days, even if there were cases, they were at most minor ones involving lonely spirits and mischievous ghosts.

The City God wasn't entirely rigid. While his anger was genuine at this moment, he was also slightly excited. Oh my, this might turn out to be a major case!

"Day and Night Patrol Deities, heed my command!"

"Your subordinates are here!"

"I command you to swiftly investigate. Do not miss a single clue. If it is indeed an evil entity causing trouble, you must not allow it to harm people!"

"As you command!"

The Day and Night Patrol Deities of Ning'an County swiftly departed, and the City God also cast a spell to notify the various local deities in the area, instructing them to pay extra attention.

Meanwhile, the diner who had finished his noodles had already left Ning'an County with the two men in gray and was now walking in the wilderness.

One of the men in gray couldn't help but ask.

"Mr. Gao, you're not really going to choose that young man, are you?"

"I think that young man is quite good."

"Him? What virtue or ability does he possess?"

The other man in gray also couldn't resist, speaking sarcastically.

"A mere noodle vendor, neither scholarly nor martial, and his looks aren't particularly outstanding. What qualifications does he have? Is it just based on a single word from you, Mr. Gao?"

The elegantly dressed man glanced left and right, a smile appearing on his face.

"That's still better than you two toads."

"You!"

"Haha, don't get angry. Let me explain. Although the Sun family is inconspicuous, you just saw it yourselves: this family has profound good fortune. It's far from ordinary!"

"Hmph, it's just some good fortune, perhaps their ancestors performed some good deeds. It's quite normal!"

The man shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, it's absolutely not normal! The Sun family doesn't seem to have produced any greatly wealthy or noble individuals, yet few family members suffer from illness. Almost all generations live to a ripe old age with multiple generations under one roof. There are almost never unfilial descendants, they almost never get involved in evil deeds, and they almost never experience significant bad luck."

"One such instance might be dismissed, but one after another, linked together—while none of them are exaggerated events—they are enough to prove a point. The more ordinary these occurrences, the more they demonstrate that the Sun family's profound good fortune is truly rare in this world!"

"This..."

The two men in gray looked at each other, stunned by what the man said. "Is it really that exaggerated?"

"If Lady She can leverage this profound good fortune for her own strength, she will certainly achieve twice the results with half the effort!"