Meng Grandpa, upon hearing the news, came out with a beaming smile.
When Lei Qianhu saw Meng Grandpa, his face instantly creased even more, as if a hundred blooming ice lotuses had erupted from the snow-covered fields of spring.
Qi Yuanshan was dumbfounded. Even from five or six feet away, he could clearly sense the obsequious aura emanating from their Qianhu.
Lei Qianhu's sudden change in demeanor gave Qi Yuanshan goosebumps. He secretly wondered if their Qianhu had been possessed by a Huang Daxian, or perhaps some other spirit.
Lei Qianhu, however, ignored the bewildered Qi Yuanshan and hurried forward to greet Meng Grandpa: "Uncle Meng Er, how have you been lately?"
"Thanks to your blessings, Qianhu, I've been well."
"Not at all, not at all. Uncle Meng Er, please don't be so formal. Just call me by my name from now on."
Qi Yuanshan, left behind, was even more convinced of his earlier feeling: their Qianhu was definitely possessed, or had eaten something wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have changed so drastically. If it weren't for that detestable face, he would have thought he'd mistaken the person.
The few followers behind them also looked disbelieving. They exchanged glances, thinking: their master was really going all out for that saber.
Fu Xinci squatted behind the bluestone. Although she hadn't seen Lei Qianhu's face, she always felt that this person's intentions were as sinister as a weasel wishing the chickens a happy new year, and she didn't dare to bring Yu'er out.
"Sister," Yu'er pouted, rubbing his little legs with a wronged expression. "Sister, my legs hurt."
A child's legs don't have much strength, and after squatting for a while, they went numb. Just as Fu Xinci was about to comfort him, she caught a glimpse of a gaze sweeping towards them. Startled, she instinctively pulled Yu'er and retreated into the space.
Yu'er was completely astonished by the seamless change in scenery. After a moment, he joyfully pointed at his surroundings and asked in a milky voice, "Sister, are all these things real?"
Fu Xinci really wanted to say: they're fake.
But she was facing a little brat, her own younger brother. She couldn't lie to him, so she replied with a bright smile, "Yu'er, weren't you sleepy just now? We're in a dream."
Yu'er blinked and murmured softly, "It seems so."
Xiaobai: Isn't this considered lying? You're outright deceiving a child.
But Yu'er didn't think so. After mumbling, his eyes lit up, and he asked his sister, "Sister, can we eat all these things?"
"Of course."
"Sister, I want to eat those delicious things."
"Okay, I'll get them for you," Fu Xinci said and went to get Yu'er some snacks. Five-spice chicken wings, potato chips, milk candies, chocolate... she brought them all over.
Yu'er didn't stand on ceremony with his sister. He took the snacks and began to eat with gusto.
Fu Xinci helped Yu'er take off his thick outer coat and carried him to sit on the chaise lounge. Seeing him eat contentedly, she finally relaxed, but her senses remained alert, observing the movements outside.
Sure enough, after a short while, she felt someone approaching. Standing on the other side of the brick pile, they could clearly see the spot where they had been hiding.
She even heard a man's confused voice: "I distinctly heard a child talking here just now, why did they disappear in an instant?"
"Perhaps you misheard," the person behind him whispered after glancing around.
"Impossible. I definitely heard it, a little boy's voice," the man insisted, but the one behind him didn't believe him.
For no other reason than the fact that there was no little boy present, as his companion claimed.
Fu Xinci, inside the space, quickly took off her jacket. Cold sweat broke out.
Damn it all, it was fortunate she had acted quickly, otherwise she and her brother would have been caught red-handed.
Alas, she had underestimated the capabilities of ancient people. It seemed she would have to be more careful from now on.
Yu'er, unaware of his sister's many worries, was currently feasting on a pile of delicious food.
Fu Xinci's pretty little brows were almost furrowed into the character '川'. It seemed she and her brother couldn't go out for the time being and would have to lie low in the space.
In Meng Grandpa's east room, the scene was entirely different. Lei Qianhu sat opposite Meng Grandpa like a neglected wife, pouring out his grievances.
"Uncle Meng Er, you have no idea how difficult things are for your nephew right now."
Qi Yuanshan rolled his eyes at him, thinking: Are you having a harder time than me? You bought the things I was using without even waiting for me to say no, and then you ran off.
Besides the extra five hundred taels of silver, what difference is there between you and a bandit?
Lei Qianhu completely ignored Qi Yuanshan's glare and continued his lament: "It wasn't easy for me to get this saber."
"It was even less easy for me."
"Qi Yuanshan, I'm talking to Uncle Meng Er from the heart. Can you stop interrupting?"
Qi Yuanshan really wanted to say: No.
But the man opposite was his superior, so he had to hold his tongue for the time being.
Suddenly, a thought struck Lei Qianhu: "Old Qi, why don't we switch places?"
Qi Yuanshan: What does this guy want? No matter what he wanted, Qi Yuanshan would refuse.
Lei Qianhu: Since Qi Yuanshan wouldn't agree, he had to continue playing the victim to Uncle Meng Er.
"Uncle Meng Er, your nephew finally got a saber, and I hadn't even savored it enough, cherishing it like my own life, when my relatives in the capital started coveting it."
Qi Yuanshan really wanted to say: Serves you right. But then he realized something was wrong and immediately became worried: "You didn't give the saber away, did you?"
"How could I?" Lei Qianhu shot Qi Yuanshan a sideways glance, secretly sneering: I'm not a fool like you. If anyone dares to snatch my saber, I'll chase them to their home. Even if I can't snatch it back with brute force, I'll throw a tantrum and make them return it.
Meng Grandpa: Well, this is a complete scoundrel, with such cunning and shamelessness. There's simply no comparison between him and Yuanshan.
Lei Qianhu didn't know that his cleverness (like a sparrow) had not escaped the sharp eyes of the old fox.
He continued to solicit sympathy: "Uncle Meng Er, I was very reluctant to part with that saber. Such a good thing, how could I bear to give it away."
Meng Grandpa didn't reply, but his eyes conveyed a sense of helplessness that Lei Qianhu felt acutely.
The implication was clear: if you can't handle it, how can we ordinary folk?
Lei Qianhu: He wanted to curry favor with his relatives and keep the saber. But there were too few things in the world that allowed for both. He had come to the Meng family to try his luck.
Seeing that Uncle Meng Er wasn't responding, he lowered himself and continued to cling to him. "Uncle Meng Er, I heard from Commander Qi back then that your granddaughter's master forged that saber."
"Yes, that's true."