Chapter 8, a map, several dumplings

The village chief was silent for a moment: "Uncle, I am younger than you in terms of generation, but older than you in age. In this half of my life, I have lived with some understanding, enduring hardships and enjoying blessings. This has taught me that for certain things, if they are meant to leave, do not try to hold on; if they are meant to stay, do not push them away. Debts should be repaid, grievances should be avenged, and one should act with a clear conscience. Too much or too little is not advisable."

The room was in disarray, as if it had been thoroughly ransacked by a thief. All the clothes in the cabinet were gone, and the phone charger that was originally next to the laptop, along with the laptop itself, had disappeared. A pair of obviously worn underwear was carelessly thrown on the table, and all valuable items had vanished without a trace

When Mo Chou, with a vigilant expression, arrived at her small courtyard, even Li Guo felt that the atmosphere was quite unusual. Both the landlord's sister's room and his own were lit, and the landlord's sister's front door was still open.

"A few have arrived, why not show yourselves?" Mo Chou shouted towards a dilapidated building across the street that was about to be demolished: "If you continue to hide, do not blame me for being impolite."

Li Guo looked at Xiao Xin's appearance, feeling as if his heart was about to break. He gently held her in his arms, using his sleeve to wipe the tears from her little face, and softly said in her ear: "Xiao Xin, be good, don't cry. When she comes back, we won't let her eat for three days."

The village chief glanced around furtively, started the vehicle, and after making a U-turn, he suddenly threw a large bag of items out of the window: "Uncle, this is the money for buying candy for the children, please keep it safe."

Thinking of his room filled with sticky toilet paper and several days' worth of unwashed smelly socks, Li Guo felt extremely embarrassed. Apart from when the landlord's sister ordered him to clean it up while she went to his place to watch adult films, Li Guo generally would not touch or organize it.

A luxury car is indeed a luxury car; it hardly even jolted as it delivered Li Guo to his residence. The village chief surveyed this dilapidated community towering in the slum, nearly moved to tears.

With the sound of Mo Chou's sword being drawn, her long sword split into five parts, scattering directly to the corners of the room, becoming extremely inconspicuous with the changes in light, making it nearly impossible to discern without careful observation

This is the money I used to buy candy! Little Xin Xin fiercely clutched the bag of money in his arms and exclaimed: "It's mine!"

Using the key to open the door, Li Guo suddenly felt a brightness before his eyes. The room was tidied up meticulously, spotless and clean. On the table lay a plate of glistening rice dumplings, with a map pressed underneath the dumplings.

Li Guo had never heard of what killing intent was; he had read about it in novels, but had no substantial experience with it. Instead, he felt that his high school homeroom teacher exuded a kind of aura that made people hesitant to approach. Perhaps this was the legendary killing intent.

"The hidden weapon is indeed a good hidden weapon, but it has been used in the wrong place." Mo Chou pointed to the dark building and said: "Five Tigers, unleash!"

Li Guo smiled happily and gave the village chief a rather unstandard military salute: "You should head back early too"

Originally... Xiaoxin was being pulled by the face and made a face: "When I was in Japan, she threw me to an unfamiliar aunt, and left for half a year. She even threatened others, saying that if she found out I was being mistreated, she would kill the whole family. This is the kind of person my mother is"

"Xinxin, did your mother say anything to you?" Li Guo looked around cautiously: "She seems to have suddenly disappeared"

Li Guo opened his mouth wide and forcefully tugged at Xiao Xinxin's face, exclaiming: "What kind of attitude is this!"

Li Guo was utterly speechless; now he truly understood the kind of torment that Xiao Xin Xin had endured throughout her childhood. He held Xiao Xin Xin in his arms and said, "Forget it, forget it, it's the same with me. It's best to have minimal contact with your strange mother."

Li Guo made a sound of acknowledgment but did not say anything further. The village chief was a straightforward person; although his words were somewhat difficult for Li Guo to accept, the situation was already as it was. If one wished to travel back to ancient times, then Li Guo, a university student majoring in lathe manufacturing, would clearly be of no use, and even Hawking would likely be of no help.

Good evening, Li Jun. By the time you read this letter, I will no longer know where I am. In the days to come, I hope you will take good care of Xiao Xin. The living expenses are under the map, and the password is her birthday. Also, remember to randomly choose a place on the map to throw a coin; it's best to use the fifty-cent coin I prepared for you. Wherever it lands, that's where you should go, and do it quickly. I will find you; wait for your sister. When the time comes, your sister will reward you. The end of the note has a bright red lip print, as well as the signature of the landlady, Tomoko Asakawa.

"My lord, the killing intent has grown even stronger." Mo Chou squinted as she looked out the window, the sword sheath still resting on her back swaying slightly. "Is it waiting or something else?"

Hmm! We still have to see what we eat!" Little Xin spoke while eating, choking and stammering, with hardly any standard pronunciation. In the end, he even stuffed a dumpling into Li Guo's mouth: "Daddy eats.

"This is yours, take it." Li Guo patted Xiao Xinxin's head and walked towards his room with Mo Chou. "Mo Chou, why don't you sleep with Xinxin's mother tonight?"

"Uncle, the village of Li Family is short of a village cadre, you should go. The annual salary is 400,000, with housing and insurance included." After seeing Li Guo's living conditions, the village head tried various ways to persuade Li Guo to return: "To be honest, this place is not suitable for children to stay."

However, what welcomed Mo Chou was not a few figures rushing out from the shadows like in a martial arts novel. Instead, a flash of light suddenly illuminated the darkness, followed by a sound resembling a muffled fart under a blanket, which reached the room where Li Guo was.

Li Guo expressed his gratitude and gently arranged the hair of Mo Chou, who was sleeping on his lap due to motion sickness: "In fact, I really want Mo Chou to go home."

Watching the Cadillac disappear into the distance, Li Guo felt a mix of laughter and tears. This hefty sum of money could easily amount to five or six hundred thousand. It seems the village chief was afraid of giving too much, fearing that Li Guo would return it the next day, so he provided several years' worth of living expenses, and did so under the name of Xiao Xin Xin.

"Dad! Get down, sniper rifle!" The little girl, not knowing where she found the strength, directly pulled Li Guo's hair and brought him down onto the sofa with her

Li Guo smiled and kissed the little girl's forehead: "Your mother is just an anomaly; we need to compare ourselves to normal people"

Li Guo's first thought was to commit robbery and assault, but he quickly dismissed this idea. How could the landlord's sister be someone an ordinary person could confront? Li Guo had personally witnessed her take a knife from her thigh to peel an apple for him, not to mention the various firearms that were ubiquitous in her home. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was already quite familiar with the landlord's sister, he would have reported it to the police.

Finally, Li Guo carefully checked the room and, after discovering that there was indeed nothing left, he walked out filled with confusion. He dialed the landlord's sister's number, only to be greeted with a message indicating that it was a disconnected number

When Li Guo took the first bite, Mo Chou suddenly let out a soft reprimand: "Sweep away the vast desert, and the tiger hides its golden spear. Draw the sword!"

The village chief, Er Shuanzi, who was driving, also began to laugh, chatting with Li Guo as he drove: "Uncle, if you ever need anything, please remember to look for me. Li Family Village is just like your own home."

After taking out a large amount of packaged food from his pocket, Li Guo moved the dumpling aside to create some space. To his surprise, he discovered that beneath the dumpling, in addition to the map, there was also a folded note shaped like a heart.

"Mo Chou, take good care of Xiao Xin." Li Guo pushed the young girl Xiao Xin into the arms of the Little Sword Immortal and turned to enter the landlady's room

Mo Chou, dressed in modern fashion, may not possess the charm of traditional attire, yet with her hair tied in a ponytail, she exudes a unique vitality characteristic of high school girls.

The old village chief chuckled softly and sighed deeply: "Uncle, why is the heavens fair? It is precisely because it has never been fair to anyone. You don't know whether her coming is a blessing or a curse, so why not think positively? A girl with such a presence, even if she knows nothing, is still a treasure. Moreover, this girl has great capabilities."

Li Guo made a sound of acknowledgment, picked up a dumpling from the table, and fed it into Mo Chou's mouth: "Don't always be so hostile, have a late-night snack."

Li Guo nodded slightly: "I have learned from this, and I already know it, but I always feel that it is unfair to Mo Chou. Why should she be sealed for so many years?"

Meanwhile, Mo Chou stood still in place with a relaxed and mocking smile, almost simultaneously with the muffled sound; a flash of golden light filled the room, and a crisp sound of metal clashing resonated out of nowhere

However, Mo Chou did not respond to Tu, but merely perked up her ears as if listening to something. Just as Li Guo was about to ask her, Mo Chou raised her hand and said, "There is a killing intent."

Indeed, he is a high school student. Li Guo could never have imagined that a sword immortal capable of flying with a sword would only be seventeen years old after the New Year. This involuntarily sparked a sense of envy in Li Guo, making him reflect on what he was doing at sixteen. Writing greeting cards for those around him during holidays, with more sent than received. Skipping class to play games like "Sword of the Immortal" and "Red Alert: Xuan Yuan Sword," only to be caught and beaten by his father. Writing love letters to the girl he had a crush on, only to be called up by the teacher to read it aloud. Standing up for bullied classmates, only to be chased down several streets by a group of delinquents. Writing greeting cards for those around him during holidays, with more sent than received. Skipping class to play games like "Sword of the Immortal" and "Red Alert: Xuan Yuan Sword," only to be caught and beaten by his father. Writing love letters to the girl he had a crush on, only to be called up by the teacher to read it aloud. Standing up for bullied classmates, only to be chased down several streets by a group of delinquents.

Xiaoxin let out a sound: "She often behaves this way, so don't be surprised"

"See, I told you it would be like this again," said Xiaoxin, shrugging as usual. He carefully picked up a dumpling from the table and began to eat, tears slowly streaming down his cheeks.

"Dad, don't be sad. I heard Mom say that when she was sixteen, she used to shoot monkeys in Hokkaido every day," the little girl said, letting out a sigh. "I originally wanted to soak in the hot springs with the monkeys, but they were all shot by Mom. You see, having such an ungrateful mother, I feel quite helpless too"

Li Guo said nothing, merely waking the drowsy Mo Chou, holding Xiao Xin Xin as he got out of the car. He then leaned on the village chief's car window and lit a cigarette for him: "When the day comes that I truly cannot go on living, you will be the first one I turn to."

"So when will you find it hard to get by..." As soon as the village chief's words left his mouth, he felt something was amiss, so he quickly changed his tone: "Let me teach you how to find it hard to get by."

"Look at your mother," Li Guo waved the note in front of the little girl, then opened it and began to read.