A Clue
The three stopped at the entrance of Li Family Village.
The sky was not yet fully light, with a faint white glow on the horizon.
The village looks no different from Holy Soul Village.
Li Ping'an stood beside the two, still looking a little bewildered.
He thought the other person would at least say a few words of refusal, after all, they had only known each other for less than one night, and it would be a bit impolite to go straight home with him.
But Wang Xingyu pronounced the word "xing" so decisively that he didn't even have time to react.
With things having come to this, he could only lead the two of them home, thinking that experts probably do things this directly.
As they walked, Xiao Wu asked, "Li Ping'an, is your house big?"
"It's alright, there are two rooms, and they're quite spacious."
"Do you have anything good to eat at home? Do you have any radishes?" The radishes that Grandpa Jack gave her were all gone long ago. They had been eating dry rations while traveling for the past few days, and Xiao Wu's mouth was already watering.
"Some."
The three of them walked all the way to the center of the village.
A half-stone statue stands in the open space, only the lower half. The part above the knees has collapsed due to disrepair or was deliberately smashed off, and the cross-section has been weathered and blurred.
Wang Xingyu glanced at it a few more times, wondering if this village had produced some notable figures, like Holy Soul Village, which was why this stone statue was erected—only the village name hadn't been changed.
Xiao Wu noticed it too and casually asked, "Li Ping'an, what is this stone statue?"
"Just call me Ping An." Li Ping'an glanced at the half-cast stone statue and said casually, "It seems that a long time ago, a god saved this place, so this stone statue was erected."
Wang Xingyu stopped in his tracks. He seemed to be nailed to the spot by something.
"... What?" His voice was a beat higher than usual.
Xiao Wu stopped, her mind racing for a moment, then turned to look at him, her eyes gradually brightening. "Could it be— Xingyu, this is the one you've been looking for?"
Wang Xingyu hadn't expected the clue to come so easily. He had only just arrived at Li Family Village and hadn't even gone to Longxing City yet when he bumped into them in the open space at the village entrance.
He turned around, his serious expression causing Li Ping'an to instinctively take a half-step back.
"Ping An, are you telling the truth?"
Li Ping'an had no idea what had happened and could only nod blankly.
"Do you know anything else about this god?"
Li Ping'an looked up at the half-destroyed stone statue, thought seriously for a while, and finally shook his head. "I only know that a long, long time ago, a god descended here. I don't know anything else."
A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Wang Xingyu's face.
Li Ping'an glanced at him and added, "But Brother Feng Xiaotian, you can go to Longxing City and take a look. It's said that the city lord of Longxing City is very fond of collecting all sorts of strange stories and old things; maybe he knows something."
Wang Xingyu was silent for half a second. What a coincidence? They're forcing me to fight the villain.
Li Ping'an suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Xiao Wu: "By the way, Sister Huo Wu, why did you call Brother Feng Xiaotian Xingyu just now?"
Xiao Wu paused for a moment, then realized it was true. In her excitement, she had forgotten that they were using aliases. She chuckled awkwardly, her expression slightly embarrassed.
"Xingyu is my nickname," Wang Xingyu replied without changing his expression.
He didn't really care—he only wanted to experience what it was like to impersonate someone else when he was out and about, and whether he actually impersonated Feng Xiaotian or not wasn't a big deal.
In the original story, Tang San still traveled around everywhere, and nobody paid any attention to the wanted poster.
Xiao Wu quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, my nickname is Xiao Wu, you can also call me Sister Xiao Wu."
As they chatted, the three of them arrived at Li Ping'an's house. It was an ordinary mud-brick house, much better than Wang Xingyu's dilapidated house in Holy Soul Village. The gate was ajar, but Li Ping'an pushed it open.
He led the two into the side bedroom. The room wasn't large, and there wasn't much furniture, but it was very clean. A kang (a heated brick bed) was laid against the wall, enough for three people to sleep side by side.
Xiao Wu was the first to fly up, plopped down on the kang (heated brick bed), buried her face in the quilt, rolled around twice, and let out a long, satisfied sigh, "Ah--finally, I can sleep in a bed."
Li Ping'an took another quilt from the cabinet next to him and handed it to Wang Xingyu: "This is my room. Brother and sister, you two can sleep here."
Wang Xingyu took the quilt and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed), then glanced around the impeccably tidy room and couldn't help but tease, "Wow, Ping An, you've tidied your room even better than a girl's."
Li Ping'an smiled sheepishly. He stepped back to the door and said, "Then I won't bother you any longer. Dad should be back this afternoon."
Wang Xingyu nodded. Li Ping'an had said in the carriage before that even if he were captured, his father would come to rescue him.
The fact that he dared to say such things suggests that his father must be quite powerful.
He wouldn't be back until the afternoon, most likely busy with something outside. He didn't ask any more questions; he'd find out when they met that afternoon.
After Li Ping'an left and closed the door, Wang Xingyu also pounced, landing face-first on the bed, rolling over, and sprawling out in a starfish shape. He let out a long sigh of relief.
"Cool."
Xiao Wu looked at him speechlessly. "You still have to wait until Ping An leaves before you can lie down."
"You don't understand how to maintain my elegant persona."
Although they weren't very tired yet, they felt sleepy as soon as they hit the bed.
Before long, the two of them wrapped themselves in blankets and drifted off to sleep.
Of course, they still maintained a certain distance—the child is older now and knows how to be shy. It's a pity Tang San wasn't there, otherwise he could have slept between them.
I had no dreams all morning.
Around noon, the sound of sweeping could be heard sporadically in the courtyard. The two opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
Having spent so much time outdoors, his vigilance had increased considerably. He quickly folded the blankets, pushed open the door, and went outside. The midday sun was blazing, and sure enough, it was Li Ping'an sweeping the yard.
Hearing the door open, Li Ping'an turned around, leaning on his broom, and said, "Brother and sister, you're awake."
Wang Xingyu yawned and nodded.
Upon closer inspection, a few strands of yellow hair emerged from Li Ping'an's black hair, shimmering slightly in the sunlight.
His features were delicate and clean, with soft lines, and he had a rather refined appearance. He suddenly thought of a rather impolite description—this kid looked a bit like a sissy.
Fortunately, there are relatively few people like that in this world.
Seeing that the two had gotten up, Li Ping'an put down the broom and went to prepare a meal. Xiao Wu followed to help, and Wang Xingyu was assigned to fetch water.
He carried two wooden buckets out of the yard to the well at the village entrance to fetch water.
On his way back, he happened to pass by the half-stone statue again, and he slowed down to take a second look.
If you look closely at the folds of the clothing on the lower half of the statue, it does indeed resemble a woman's skirt, but it could also be psychological; the more you look, the more you want to see something.
Okay, you can't tell at all.
He carried two buckets of water into the yard and saw Xiao Wu squatting down, gnawing on half a carrot, which was most likely a scrap left over from chopping vegetables.
He had just taken two steps toward the water tank when a sharp, Air Break sound suddenly came from behind him.
"Watch out!" Xiao Wu's voice rang out from nearby.
Wang Xingyu only saw a flash of red light pass by the corner of his eye before the half-eaten carrot hit the ground. There was a muffled thud behind him, like a heavy object hitting the ground.
He quickly darted forward two steps before turning around, only to see Xiao Wu already blocking his way, her body shimmering with golden light, one foot resting on a silver-white spear.
The tip of the gun was pressed into the ground, sinking three-tenths of an inch, and the gun was still vibrating with a buzzing sound.
The owner of the spear was a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes, looking like a farmer working in the fields. But his face had strong features, high brow bones, and his eyes were not at all cloudy like a farmer's; his temperament was calm yet sharp.
He gripped the gun barrel with one hand, his arm muscles tense, trying to lift it upwards—but he couldn't.
Xiao Wu's Invincible Golden Body pressed down on it, her foot resting on the tip of the spear, completely unmoved. The air was silent for half a second, and the scene became somewhat awkward.
"Who are you?" Xiao Wu asked coldly.
The middle-aged man did not answer, and exerted force again. The spear still did not budge.
Wang Xingyu looked at the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared and launched a sneak attack, and said, "I'll launch a sneak attack!"
The middle-aged man finally spoke, his voice steady. He didn't answer, but instead asked, "And who are you?"
"Dad!" Li Ping'an's voice came from the kitchen doorway. He had been startled by the noise.
Wang Xingyu's gaze quickly swept between Li Ping'an and the middle-aged man. Was this the father with such profound ideals?
The middle-aged man didn't answer, but frowned slightly and corrected him in a steady but stubborn tone. "Call me uncle."
"... Uncle?" Xiao Wu looked down at the gun at her feet, then at Li Ping'an, and then at the serious-looking middle-aged man. A rare look of bewilderment appeared on her face.
What kind of relationship is this?