How come the celestial technique I stole is so powerful?!-Chapter 157: Brother Doesn’t Drink Tea in the Morning

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Brother Doesn’t Drink Tea in the Morning

"Brother, you... you sneak away!" Yixiang was a little shaky.

"Should I? Sneaking off early in the morning makes me look guilty, as if we did something shameful, didn’t we?"

Yixiang’s cheeks turned even redder: "If my Mother... if she says something unpleasant, you... you shouldn’t take it personally."

"What’s there to take personally with words, she’s an elder!" Lin Xiaosu stood up: "Would she actually become violent?"

"She shouldn’t... shouldn’t! I... I’ll explain to Mother..."

Hurriedly descending the bamboo house, Yixiang pushed open the kitchen door and immediately saw her mother. She started to explain, "Mother, you’re up? How are you feeling..."

Her mother slowly lifted her gaze, peering over Yixiang’s shoulder at what was behind her.

Yixiang’s heart was pounding at least a hundred and eighty beats a minute...

"Auntie, hello!"

"Very well!" Mother’s face miraculously relaxed: "Sit down in the yard; I’ll make you breakfast."

Her demeanor was absolutely calm, and her tone was very modest.

"We don’t need to, Mother!" Yixiang said: "Brother is about to leave."

Mother’s face darkened slightly: "You child, how can you be so thoughtless, not letting someone who came from far away have breakfast before they leave?"

Yixiang replied: "It’s really not necessary, Mother, Brother’s flight is soon."

Lin Xiaosu felt his heart leap...

Mother’s gaze shifted gently: "Really not having breakfast?"

Yixiang nodded gently: "You have breakfast by yourself, Mother. I’ll see him off."

Passing her mother, Yixiang stepped into the small courtyard, pulled out her scooter: "Let’s go, brother."

Mother called from behind: "Wait, have some tea before you go."

"No... Brother doesn’t drink tea in the morning..."

Lin Xiaosu smiled and said: "Yixiang, I’ll drive... Auntie, goodbye!"

He rode the bike, with Yixiang sitting at the back; leaving the yard, the little white cat, Little Hu, jumped down from the wall, landing on Yixiang’s shoulder. The two set off, speeding out of the Thousand-year-old Miao Village, following the mountain road.

As they turned a corner, Lin Xiaosu glanced through the rearview mirror, catching a glimps of Mother standing by Yixiang’s small yard.

There were complex emotions in Mother’s eyes.

Once they went around the bend, the Miao Village was hidden by the mountains.

Lin Xiaosu chuckled softly: "If I had stayed for the meal, taken that cup of tea, would your mom really have used Gu Technique on me?"

His voice was soft, drifting into Yixiang’s ear with the wind.

Yixiang stiffened suddenly.

The wind whooshed by, familiar scenery flashing past her eyes. She seemed a bit dazed and, after a moment, let out a soft sigh: "Brother, sometimes, I really hate how sensitive you are."

That sentence revealed an iron-clad truth.

If Lin Xiaosu had stayed for that breakfast, or even merely accepted a cup of tea, her Mother would have used Gu Technique on him.

Today, her Mother had been unusually gentle.

Yet, what she intended was so resolute.

And Yixiang, by refusing Mother’s hospitality on Lin Xiaosu’s behalf, appearing completely insensitive, was in fact protecting him.

Had Lin Xiaosu been a little less perceptive, he wouldn’t have noticed these things.

Sadly, he was too astute.

From one anomaly, he deduced this taboo.

"Why?"

Yixiang said: "The first day you came, I asked how much you knew about the Miao people, remember?"

"I really don’t know much."

Yixiang said: "For Miao girls, their bamboo house is essentially their bed..."

Just one sentence, and waves surged in Lin Xiaosu’s heart.

A Miao girl’s bamboo house is equivalent to her bed.

Going into the house is like getting into her bed.

How was I supposed to know this? You never said!

So, in her Mother’s eyes, he and Yixiang were already involved; this aunt was pitiable, with two daughters, one already ruined by an unfaithful man, her heartache continued to this day. Now the younger daughter was treading the same doomed path, how was she supposed to cope?

The only solution was Gu Technique, to keep the man behind.

To prevent her younger daughter from repeating the same mistakes.

This was the meaning behind Mother’s breakfast today, and after Yixiang blocked it with "the flight is about to take off," she hadn’t given up, hoping to send tea...

"I was... I was solely focused on investigating the case; I didn’t think of anything else!" Lin Xiaosu said: "It seems, I’ve caused you a lot of trouble."

That was the truth.

When he first went to her bamboo house, it was actually part of the investigation.

At first, he truly had no other intentions.

The second time he entered the bamboo house was to discuss serious case details with her, forming a real alliance, with no thought as to the propriety of entering.

The third time, after the "friendship" of battling together, and with "rushing on our way" being the norm, Yixiang took the initiative in inviting him to rest in the bamboo house, and he didn’t care. Compared to the comfort of an embrace, what was climbing up to the bamboo house’s viewing platform?

However, customs differ from place to place. For a Miao girl, her bamboo house is her bed.

It’s built when she comes of age and dismantled when she gets married.

It’s also why, after her sister died, her father burned her sister’s bamboo house...

"It’s okay, anyway I can’t get married." Yixiang said faintly.

"Really?" Lin Xiaosu was surprised.

"The brother I like is leaving, and when I asked him if he’d come back, he was reluctant to answer- looks like he doesn’t want to. With my brother gone, who am I supposed to marry?" Her voice was full of sorrow, desolate, and faint, but also with a tinge of passion...

This is her first time expressing her feelings.

Revealed on the road to bid him farewell.

Yixiang’s heart was in turmoil.

The reservedness of a young girl did not support her to say these words.

But brother is about to leave, if she doesn’t say it now, she would never have the chance...

She didn’t want to miss this opportunity, didn’t want to regret it every day in the future...

After these words were spoken, her heart was uneasy, with a bit of regret, but also some anticipation...

The motorbike suddenly slowed down.

Gradually approaching the side of the road ahead and slowly stopping.

Yixiang slowly lifted her head, Lin Xiaosu in front had turned back...

"Brother, this is our Miao people’s Wangfu platform," Yixiang avoided his eyes.

"Wangfu platform?"

"Yes, many Miao Family girls, like my sister, walked a distance with their brothers and then, day and night, they would gaze toward the north from here, hoping for the man that brings color to their lives to one day return to their side."

Lin Xiaosu said, "It’s possible... it’s possible the man they’re waiting for isn’t worth the wait."

"Yes, it might be pain, it might be eternal sorrow, but sometimes, there are things in this world that make people forget these lessons, overlook those consequences, and only remember the moment when the flowers bloom at midnight."

"Yixiang, you asked me last night whether I will come back," said Lin Xiaosu. "Today I can answer you, I will!"

"Really?" Joy filled Yixiang’s eyes, boundless joy.

"Really."

Yixiang smiled gently: "When you come back next time, is it still to investigate a case?"

"Certainly not, next time I come back I have a clear goal, Kongque Valley."

"Brother, you are bad..." Yixiang blushed deeply, shyly twisting her waist.

Lin Xiaosu was stunned.

That can’t be right?

I’ve already stated clearly, next time I’m coming for Kongque Valley, and you, little girl, are putting on the air of receiving the greatest tease, does Kongque Valley have some other significance?

Is there another custom hidden here that I don’t know?

"Let’s go!"

"Yes!"

The motorbike restarted, and Yixiang had changed her position.

Just now there was a bit of distance, but now she tightly hugged Lin Xiaosu’s waist.

Her chest pressed firmly against his back, so passionate and fiery.

So much so that the mountainside wind could not dispel this fervent passion.

The bike arrived at Taichong.

Yixiang showed no sign of wanting to go back.

Lin Xiaosu suggested, let’s have fun in Taichong.

Yixiang’s cheeks were flushed, nearly jumping for joy...

Thus, a little motorbike carrying the two of them, along the spacious road, they toured the beautiful sights of Taichong...

In the botanical garden, they took a photo in front of the oldest laurel, with Little Hu jumping into their midst a bit scene-stealing.

In the peacock garden, the peacocks fanned out their feathers before them.

On Snack Food Street, they savored Biannan Province’s delicacies, Yixiang’s nose was sweating from the spice, but she refused to admit it’s spicy.

Ahead was a street, with a peculiar name: stone market.

Yixiang suddenly halted her steps: "Brother, this is the Gambling Stone Market, where nine out of ten bets are scams, let’s go somewhere else."

Gambling stones?

Lin Xiaosu’s mind stirred slightly: "Why not, let’s go have a look?"

Yixiang said: "Let’s just look and not buy, gambling on stones is too risky, many people have lost everything."

"We’ll just take a look."

He and Yixiang entered side by side.

Yixiang talked about "just looking and not buying," while Lin Xiaosu said, "let’s just take a look"; both seemed to only intend to look, but the meanings were not quite the same.

The stone market street was not like the gambling stone markets commonly seen on TV.

On TV, stone markets have thick carpets underneath, with various exotic stones on top, tycoons and the wealthy with drinks in hand, moving among the stones, pointing and evaluating, making deals amounting to millions or even tens of millions in passing jest.

But this stone market was narrow, flanked by vendors on both sides with shelves in the center holding a variety of stones. Some didn’t even have shelves, with the stones just laid out in the open.

No matter how unremarkable these stones looked here, the shop owners still seemed proud and confident, as if each held the password to wealth.

Stories of striking it rich through gambling stones sounded extraordinarily real in their mouths...

They said a tourist from Xi He province picked a piece just four days ago here and discovered Bingyang Green, a thirty-pound chunk, no less. That tourist sold the piece to Xueyu Pavilion, do you know for how much? 1.7 million! The tourist ditched the tour group, and just yesterday bought four more pieces here, among which another ice stone was found, selling for another 800,000.

An excited shop owner ahead was recounting this story, a crowd of tourists gathered around his stall, eyes gleaming green, peering at the unremarkable stone pieces on the ground as if they could see the myth of wealth.

Lin Xiaosu knew this was a setup.

This was marketing.

Using the myth of instant riches to stimulate the tourists’ desire to buy.

These stories could be true, or false, maybe something that happened once a few months ago, or an event from years past—a change of place name, a reshuffling of characters, repackaged and presented anew and just as compelling.

They only talk about the extremely rare cases and would never mention those people who get so enticed by overnight riches that they lose everything.

That is business.

That is savvy.

Lin Xiaosu picked up a stone in front of him, his Heavenly Tao Wisdom Eye catching a crack on the stone, and followed it to its deepest part.

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