Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

"Hehe, the six of us used to seem to get along well on the surface, but in reality we were always wary of each other."

It seems that this is still largely the case today.

Only we, the scions of noble families abandoned by our clans, can sit here so easily and get along so naturally.

I wonder if we'll ever be able to have such a free and open conversation again.

The speaker was Ji Xianlin, a scion of a renowned family who was well-versed in music. In his youth, he was dashing and talented, and his jade flute became famous throughout Jiangnan. Mo Yuming crafted flutes and pipes from cold jade so that he could learn music from him.

“Brother Ji, as long as you are not troubled by worldly affairs after you go back, and remain as carefree and unrestrained as you are now, I, Huang Rongrong, will always be your elder sister.”

We can still sing, dance, and laugh as happily as before! Don't you all agree?

Huang Rongrong smiled.

"Yes! Sister Rong is right. We've been through thick and thin together for nearly sixty years. What could be more precious than this friendship!"

Many people responded loudly.

"But after this parting, I don't know when we will meet again."

Ji Xianlin looked melancholy.

"Hehe, parting is easy, meeting again is hard; the flowing water and fallen flowers mark the passing of spring."

Mo Yuming stood in front of the threshold and said leisurely.

"What are you doing causing trouble here, you brat! What kind of nonsense is this, 'falling flowers and flowing water'!"

Shi Potian was feeling sad about parting from everyone, and Mo Yuming's words made him even more upset.

"This lad is right. After today's parting, we really don't know when we'll meet again."

Li Mubai sighed:

"Ugh!"

"I didn't say that, I heard it from someone else. And what else? Do you want to hear it?"

Mo Yuming suddenly spoke again.

"That was a very eloquent sentence. Who said it? I've never heard of it before."

Li Mubai savored the line he had just heard. At first glance, it seemed quite plain, but it was full of sorrow and parting, truly a rare and exquisite line.

Such concise sentences are not something everyone can say casually!

"I don't know who it is. I heard he was very unsuccessful and was arrested. He wrote it in prison."

I remember he once wrote some sentences like these:

When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end? How much of the past do we know? Last night, the east wind blew again in my small tower, and I cannot bear to look back at my homeland in the bright moonlight. The carved railings and jade steps should still be there, only the rosy cheeks have faded. How much sorrow can one have? It is just like a river of spring water flowing eastward.

Mo Yuming shook his head as he spoke.

"When have you ever heard such melancholy verses, kid? Who is this person, and how did they manage to speak so eloquently to us?"

The most sentimental Ji Xianlin couldn't help but burst into tears after hearing this poem.

"Yes, so many years have passed, and although nothing has changed, people have changed."

"How many people will still recognize us when we go back this time?"

When they fell off the cliff, they were all dashing young men and beautiful young women, and the older ones were in their prime. Now they are all over a hundred years old.

Who still remembers them? Who can recognize them?

"Haha, I left home young and returned old, my accent unchanged but my hair gray. Children I meet don't recognize me, laughing and asking, 'Where do you come from, stranger?'"

After hearing the poem recited by Mo Yuming, everyone felt a surge of sadness, and a cloud of sorrow hung over the sky.

Everyone was immersed in endless emotions.

Finally, the hot-tempered Shi Potian could no longer tolerate the atmosphere and vented his pent-up frustration on Mo Yuming:

"Mo Yuming! What's wrong with you today? You're usually so well-behaved and quiet, but today you're saying such heartbreaking things, all in such dramatic and serious tone! When did you learn to be so pedantic?"

"I didn't say these; I just recited them from memory. But these poems do fit the atmosphere quite well."

Mo Yuming shrugged and said.

"You little brat, you're deliberately causing trouble, I'll beat you up!"

Shi Potian jumped up and chased after Mo Yuming.

"No matter what, now that we've made it out alive, we should go back and take a look."

All these years of longing, homesickness, and anticipation have been for this moment.

How can we back down when our wish is about to be fulfilled!

Haha, all good things must come to an end. We've been together for so long, and parting is imminent. Why don't we all have a good drink tonight? Let's drink until we're completely drunk, as a farewell gift!

Dugu Xian stood up, breaking the silence.

"Alright! Let's go prepare the food and drinks!"

"Yu Ming did not find out Xin Lan's whereabouts during yesterday's questioning."

Xinlan's father once said he wanted to rebuild his country, but the countries that person mentioned yesterday had all been established for many years, which did not match the time he left.

There were no people with the surname Tang among the local overlords and powerful families.

What are your plans? Will you continue searching for Xinlan, or will you come and visit us?

Many of us old men come from distinguished families; I believe it won't be long before we can help you find your Lanmei.

Li Mubai approached Mo Yuming and whispered something.

"No, since there's no news about Xinlan and no way to find her, and my birth details are unknown, and my memories are blank, I don't know where to go."

This is the place I know best, so I might as well open a tavern on the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice.

When you grandpas and grandmas pass by, I will prepare a superior room for each of you.

It just so happens that Hesheng, Shusheng, and more than a dozen other grandparents, including Fengyuleidian, had nowhere to go, so they stayed to help me out, and they also had to look after my Monster Ranch.

So I'll have to stay away from my grandparents for the time being.

"Once my hotel becomes bigger, I'll have time to visit all the grandparents again."

After leaving the canyon, Mo Yuming felt lost, like a rootless duckweed, unsure of where to go. After much thought, he decided it would be better to settle down here first.

"Okay, we'll definitely come! Um... and we'll find someone to contact you as soon as we get back. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to tell us! We're your closest family! Okay?"

As they parted, Huang Rongrong couldn't help but hug Mo Yuming tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time.

Everyone else was also filled with emotion.

"Before we part, I want to reiterate that no matter what reason we give when we get back, we must not reveal the secret of the Valley of Heartbreak."

Do you know? We should respect the wishes of our ancestors! Protect that pristine land, protect our only remaining close relatives in Xianghe Valley! I hope everyone will make this solemn vow in their hearts!

Before leaving, Dugu Xian solemnly warned everyone once again.

"Alright, let's put everything else aside. We'll still attend the Dragon Chef Conference, which is held once every five years. Let's make this five-year promise. As long as we're still alive, we'll definitely reunite then!"

"A word is settled!"

"Take care of yourself!"

"Take care of yourself!"

"As we part, Yu Ming plays a tune on his flute to bid farewell to all the grandfathers and grandmothers! May you have a safe journey!"

"Outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road, fragrant grasses stretch to the horizon... I ask you, my friend, when will you return? When you come back, do not hesitate..."

……

"Grandpas, since we've chosen to open a shop here, we need to be prepared. We need to acquire some equipment and build a house."

But all of this requires money, and that's exactly what we're lacking! We can only exchange our magic crystals for it, but we don't know much about this world yet, so we need to find a middleman to help us manage it.

Jia Shan is a perfect example, but he is very cunning. You might be able to coerce or use him once or twice, but in the long run, even if someone follows him, he will find ways to be cunning and might even do something bad.

But he has a weakness: he's afraid of dying. So we had to do something subtle to him to make him obey.

"any solution?"

The old men asked in unison.

Do you remember this?

Mo Yuming took out a medicinal herb from his storage bag and held it in his hand.

"Hehe, is this it!"

Lei and Dian both grinned mischievously.

"Yes, this canyon has a unique 'sheep-catching grass'."

It is not very toxic to humans, but if ingested, it will cause intense itching all over the body every two hours. The itching and pain will last for a month before it can be cured. It can only be removed by washing the affected area with a decoction of its root.

However, it has another characteristic: whenever it starts to itch, eating a little bit of 'sheep-catching grass' can temporarily stop the itching, but it will continue to flare up after a few days!

Moreover, this herb has very unique medicinal properties; when it's not causing an attack, nothing unusual can be detected, and there's no other antidote.

"Hehe, haha! That's fun! Let me go feed him!"

Lei said impatiently.

"How will you tell him?"

Mo Yuming said.

"I told you, I'm going to give you some herbal medicine that really makes you itchy, but it's not life-threatening. You have to listen to me, or I won't give you the antidote and you'll be itchy forever!"

Lei said smugly.

"You can't say that! He knows the drug doesn't pose a life-threatening threat to him, but he'll still play dirty tricks!"

You must tell him that this is a highly toxic poison, and that if he does not take the antidote within two hours, the effects of the poison will take hold.

First, it itches every two hours, then the skin all over the body starts to ulcerate, and it will take forty-nine days before the person dies!

Tell him that this is our secret poison, and no one but us can cure it!

Then, you forced Jia Shan to eat the herbs.

When the medicine takes effect, give him some more "sheep-dispelling grass" and tell him that this is just an antidote to relieve the effects of the medicine and cannot cure it.

Only when he works wholeheartedly for us and makes us feel satisfied will we give him the real antidote.

That kind of scare will make Jia Shan obedient.

After Jia Shan took the medicine, Lei Ye and Dian Ye went with him across the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice to the market in Yingzhou to sell the magic crystals for gold coins, then buy some items and hire some craftsmen to come back.

This round trip might take several days, but that's alright. We'll explain the arrangements to Jia Shan beforehand. Lei Ye and Dian Ye just need to follow him; Jia Shan will handle everything else.

"Is it okay to lie to him like this? Will he hold a grudge against us and refuse to do anything for us?"

The old man with the electric stove felt a little sorry for her.

"Don't be afraid. We didn't really hurt him. We're just fooling him to make him work for us sincerely."

As long as you don't tell him the truth, he'll definitely behave.

Mo Yuming explained.

"First, make this 'sheep-dispelling grass' into pills, and then give it a special name to make it easier to deceive people!"

Mo Yuming handed the herbs to Old Man Lei and said.

"Okay! I'm going right now! Hehe, this looks like fun!"

Old Man Lei is more playful than Old Man Dian. As long as it's fun, he doesn't care whether Jia Shan will resent him.

"Wait for me, I'm coming too!"

Lei and Dian took the medicine and ran away quickly.

"Grandpa Long, why don't you come with me to Dongying Town and see what's interesting there?"

After arranging the thunder and lightning, Mo Yuming called the other old men to go for a stroll in Dongying Town.

"it is good!"

“Master Long, do you have any other names? Or what surnames? Now that we're out here, it's not convenient for Ah Long and the second brother to call you that randomly! We need to arrange them by age and give them proper names. That way it will be easier to call them.”

"I think I had something like that when I was a kid, but it's been so long that I don't remember. In the valley, I got used to calling him Ah Long, the eldest brother, so I didn't think about those things anymore."

"Okay, how about I help you all choose a name to make things easier?"

"Sure! You can choose any name you like, as long as it's easy to remember!"

"Alright, I'll arrange you according to your age. The eldest, Dragon, will be called 'One Dragon'; the second eldest, Tiger; the third eldest, Leopard; the fourth eldest, Happiness; the fifth eldest, Fortune; the sixth eldest, Smooth Sailing; the seventh eldest, Star; the eighth eldest, Abundant Wishes; the ninth eldest, Peace; and the tenth eldest, Perfection. How about that?"

When we call them, we just use the last syllable, like 'Dragon Lord,' 'Tiger Lord,' 'Leopard Lord,' 'Joyful Lord,' 'Fortune Lord,' etc.!

"Okay, as long as it sounds good!"

"Could you please change our names too? The character 'Feng' alone doesn't sound good!"

"Then let's call you 'Jiang Feng', 'Xia Yu', 'Zhi Dian', and 'Yue Lei'!"

"We'd like to make changes too!"

After seeing that everyone had changed their names, Hesheng also had the idea.

"Let's name Grandpa Hesheng 'Chuhe', Grandpa Musheng 'Linmu', Grandpa Tusheng 'Zhongtu', and Grandma Shuisheng 'Qiushui'!"

"it is good!"

"Grandpas and grandmas, let's go!"...

Dongying Town and Xiyu Town are two border towns that are quite similar, with only a few dozen households in each town.

Aside from a few inns and hotels, there were only two or three general stores.

More than half of the residents in the town are family members of soldiers stationed at the border. The soldiers usually live here with their families.

Due to geographical reasons, there is very little arable land. After years of reclamation, the combined land available for production in the two towns is only about a hundred acres, which is far from enough to meet the living needs of the townspeople. Therefore, the towns still need to purchase a large amount of daily necessities from the inland areas.

Due to its unique geographical environment, the town is only lively in the early morning and evening when merchants gather.

By this time, most of the travelers had already left, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

The innkeepers are cleaning up the trash left behind by the guests.

"After looking around, this hotel seems alright. How about we check in and rest for a while?"

"I'll do as the young master says!"

Even before entering the town, Mo Yuming had taught these unsophisticated old men how to address and communicate with each other outside the village. They could no longer be as straightforward as they were in the canyon, and they could no longer talk about things inside the canyon in front of outsiders.

After some training, Mo Yuming transformed into a spoiled rich kid who went out on his own, and these old men became his henchmen.

"Please come in, sir. We have the best food and drink in town. Please let us know if you need anything!"

When the waiter saw that a customer had arrived, he quickly came out to greet him.

In fact, the waiter in the shop had already seen Mo Yuming and his group strolling over.

Although these people were strangely dressed, their clothes were tattered, and they looked like beggars, his professional instincts told him at a glance that they were no ordinary vagrants. In particular, the way a dozen or so old men fawned over a child and followed his lead clearly indicated that they were from aristocratic families.

They warmly welcomed Mo Yuming and his party into the shop and then arranged for them to sit in the best private room.

What delicious food do you have in your little shop?

"Our shop offers a variety of delicacies from land and sea, as well as snacks from both the north and south. What kind of cuisine would you like, sir?"