Chapter 00213: The Female Neighbor
# The Female Neighbor
Chapter 213
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 213: The Female Neighbor
Every day he stole from many people; how could he remember He Lingchuan, whom he had only met once?
“Return my things!”
“I sold them to buy food!” The boy patted his belly, “It’s right here!”
He Lingchuan smiled coldly, drawing out his long knife and pressing the back of it against the boy's belly, sliding it upwards: “If you ate my things, then give them back to me!”
The unique coldness of the metal frightened the boy, causing him to retreat, shouting, “There are laws in Panlong City; you can’t kill me!”
“There are laws in Panlong City; how dare you still steal?” Although this brat was young, he was a habitual offender who wouldn’t listen to reason.
He Lingchuan asked the woman, “What did you lose?”
“A debt note and a sentence of punishment.”
A sentence of punishment? He Lingchuan was taken aback; how could a commoner’s family have such a thing?
The woman shook the boy, as if shaking a small puppet: “Who sent you to my house to steal?”
The boy shook his head: “There’s no one; I was just hungry and looking for something to eat. Your house is too poor, not even a grain of rice, so I just took it.”
“Can you read? Or did someone write the words for the sentence of punishment for you to recognize?” The woman laughed, “Otherwise, I have many books in my house; why didn’t you just take one at random?”
It would be strange if a little thief of six or seven years old could read.
The boy fell silent, his mouth shut tighter than a clam, but his eyes said, “What can you do to me?”
“Who did you give the sentence of punishment to?”
The boy blinked.
He Lingchuan took out a bit of broken silver from his bosom and waved it in front of him, but before he could speak, the woman had already pushed his hand back: “No need to ask; just take him to the authorities; there are people who will ask.”
“Can they find out?” This was the first time He Lingchuan had seen someone confident in the efficiency of the government.
“The sentence of punishment is not trivial; stealing this is an insult to the heroes. Once the government takes it, they will handle it severely.” The woman patted the boy’s head, “He’s too young to have his hand chopped off; he will probably be marked with ink on his face to remind others that he is a thief.”
If he had words carved on his face, would he still have a way to live in Panlong City? The boy was shocked, and his attitude immediately softened: “Sister… Miss, please have mercy; I didn’t do it on purpose!”
He turned to plead with He Lingchuan, tears welling up: “I have a three-year-old sister; if I get caught, she won’t have anything to eat!”
He Lingchuan remained coldly observant.
His loss was minimal; let the biggest victim deal with this little brat.
The woman was unmoved: “Where is my sentence of punishment? Who has it?”
“On the west side of the city, by Cheng Lake, in Liu Tailai’s hands; everyone calls him Er Gunkan.”
“So it’s him.” The woman nodded.
At that moment, a few constables walked by, and the woman waved to stop them, pointing at the boy and saying this thief had stolen from seven households.
The boy was furious: “I told the truth; why are you still sending me to the authorities?”
“If I don’t send you to the authorities, how can I recover the lost items?” She said lightly, “As a weak woman, how can I snatch back the sentence of punishment from Liu Er Gunkan?”
The two constables were moved upon hearing “sentence of punishment”: “This kid actually stole the sentence of punishment?”
“He confessed that Liu Tailai, Liu Er Gunkan from the west side of the city, was the mastermind. That guy lends money at high interest; my brother owed him a large sum before he died, and he wants me to continue paying the debt, so he sent this little brat to steal the sentence of punishment.”
He Lingchuan listened on the side, feeling that this plot was indeed somewhat familiar.
The woman pointed at He Lingchuan: “This little thief also stole from six nearby households; this gentleman is also a victim, having lost a bundle of firewood and two fish.”
The constables took careful notes and then asked, “What is your name?”
“Sun Fuling.”
“We’ll take him back first; if there are any issues, we’ll come to ask you.”
He Lingchuan could tell from the expressions of the two that they were only focused on the sentence of punishment.
Then the two constables took the boy away.
He Lingchuan looked at the boy’s thin back: “He begged for mercy so pitifully; I thought you would soften your heart.”
Women are soft-hearted, like Madam Ying.
“There are rules in the city; if everyone is soft-hearted and acts privately, then there is small kindness but no great righteousness.”
He Lingchuan felt a surge of respect.
The woman paused for a moment before continuing: “Moreover, last time on Maliu Street, he was caught stealing, and he used the same excuse.”
She turned back to push the door—He Lingchuan’s neighbor’s door.
“You live here too?” Just a wall apart.
Speaking of which, he had never paid attention to who lived next to him; he had only seen a child at the neighbor’s house on the night of the Emperor’s arrival.
But the woman was his western neighbor.
After all, this was just a dream, wasn’t it?
“Yes, it seems we are neighbors.” The woman looked at his wooden door, “That little brat came specifically for my sentence of punishment but casually stole your things; I’m sorry.”
As soon as her words fell, He Lingchuan heard a gurgling sound.
The woman covered her small belly and took a step back; although she wore a face veil, He Lingchuan felt he could see her embarrassment.
Recalling what the little thief had just said about “not even a grain of rice in your house,” He Lingchuan’s heart stirred, and he casually took out an oil paper package and handed it over: “Here, this is a thank you gift for catching the thief.”
The woman intended to refuse, but upon smelling the aroma seeping from the oil paper, she accepted: “Thank you!”
After He Lingchuan had his fill of food and drink, he packed a portion of Lotus Leaf Chicken from Yixiang Tower, intending to have it as a late-night snack.
This was the restaurant’s signature dish, made with seven spices, including sand ginger powder, all ingredients brought into the city by merchants from afar, salty, fresh, and juicy.
He Lingchuan could eat a whole one and still not feel satisfied.
The woman probably smiled, as He Lingchuan saw her almond eyes squinting into slits.
Afterward, the two bid farewell and pushed open their respective doors.
The entire afternoon, He Lingchuan focused on practicing martial arts in the courtyard, while next door, there was no sound at all, as usual.
He didn’t think much of it.
The Panlong Wilderness had strong winds and blazing sun; although Panlong City was situated on the Chipa Plateau, it was no exception.
Many people here had the habit of wearing face veils when going out, exposing only their eyes to block the wind, sand, and bright light, which he often saw on the road.
As the sun was about to set, he heard a knock on the woman’s door, and someone was talking.
He Lingchuan had good hearing and could hear the conversation from his own courtyard.
It was the constables visiting again, inquiring about the details from the owner and assuring her that this case would be thoroughly investigated, giving justice to the families of the heroes.
Then they left.
He Lingchuan finished his practice and took a cold shower.
Just as he put on his pants, there was a sudden knock at the courtyard door.
The person he recognized should be lying drunk at home by now.
Opening the door, he saw a girl of seventeen or eighteen standing outside.
Although she wore plain clothes without adornments, she was still as charming as a person stepping out of a painting.
A stranger? He Lingchuan was slightly taken aback: “May I ask who you are looking for?”
The girl smiled at him, revealing a small dimple on her left cheek.
“I am Sun Fuling.” She raised her head, poised and confident, “Your neighbor.”
“Oh!” He Lingchuan took a closer look; indeed, that pair of almond eyes looked somewhat familiar.
She held a bundle of firewood in her left hand and quickly stepped forward upon seeing He Lingchuan: “I heard the sound of water. You shouldn’t be burning firewood for warmth, right? It’s a matter of reciprocity.”
Since she said it was a return gift, He Lingchuan accepted the firewood.
What a large bundle; it was quite heavy.
“The Lotus Leaf Chicken is very delicious.” The female neighbor nodded at him, “It’s Yixiang Tower’s signature dish; it must be expensive, right?”
He Lingchuan blurted out: “How do you know it’s from Yixiang Tower?”
“... There’s a mark on the inside of the oil paper package.”
“Oh.” He didn’t know where his usual eloquence had gone; clearly, “He Lingchuan” could flirt with young women and wives without hesitation.
The two fell into an awkward silence.
The female neighbor moved her feet first: “Then I’ll see you later…”
By some strange coincidence, He Lingchuan inexplicably spoke up: “Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
Every time he entered a dream, he was either practicing or fighting, and he had hardly ever had a proper conversation with the ordinary residents of Panlong City.
Her almond eyes squinted again.
“Sure.”
The woman followed He Lingchuan into the small courtyard, looking around.
The weather was very cold, but the room was simply too small; with a bed, there was no space for anyone to sit unless both sat on the bed.
That was clearly too rude, so He Lingchuan brought out the only stool and casually said, “Please sit; I’ll go get you a cup of water.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he froze.
The courtyard hadn’t had a fire all day; where would he get cool boiled water?
Would he let a guest drink raw water?
There was still wine in the house, good wine.
But if he brought out the wine, would it seem inappropriate?
The female neighbor kindly waved her hand: “No need, really; I’m not thirsty.”
He Lingchuan still went into the kitchen to move out a small stove, starting a fire to boil water, also warming the two of them: “Is your brother Sun Jiayuan?”
“Yes, the compensation has already been sent.” Sun Fuling’s gaze swept over him, “You survived, which means your abilities are greater than his.”
“Just lucky.” Just relying on not dying in dreams.
He thought to himself that Sun Jiayuan’s sister was truly beautiful, not resembling him at all, especially when she raised her eyes, sparkling and bright, as if she could see into the depths of one’s heart.
“When your brother sacrificed himself, I was at the scene. In fact, I almost followed in his footsteps.” He Lingchuan stirred the ashes in the stove, “He specifically asked us before his sacrifice whether becoming a hero would clear his old debts.”
To his surprise, Sun Fuling’s expression and tone were equally calm: “He really is hopeless; he thought of such a method.”
The ashes were a bit too much, and He Lingchuan almost sneezed: “He indeed cleared the debts left behind to avoid implicating you. By the way, does Sun Jiayuan live here? I feel like I’ve never seen him around.”
“No, he lives in a mud house.” Sun Fuling said lightly, “A person with a mountain of debts has no right to live in a wooden house.”
The mud house was the lowest tier of housing in Panlong City, only slightly better than the homes of slaves, with a total area of six square meters, barely enough for a bed, and the remaining space not even enough for an adult to stretch their legs.
If He Lingchuan’s wooden house was where commoners lived, then the mud house was the standard for the impoverished.
“However, he sometimes comes here to scrounge for food.” Sun Fuling’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, “I heard from Liu Tiao that after your brother was killed, you also jumped into the lair of the Earth Spider?”
“Yes.” The fire was ready, and He Lingchuan quickly set the kettle to boil water.
This fire was burning too slowly.
“Did you see Zhu Erniang? She is the leader of the Earth Spider.” Sun Fuling stretched her hand to warm herself by the fire.
The flames reflected in her eyes, sparkling and playful.
Double activity ends on the evening of the 7th, so please continue to seek monthly tickets.
Thanks to the fairy sister YL for the support.
(End of Chapter)