Sometimes Ning Que moved his pods slowly and steadily, but sometimes his attacks were as fast and random as raindrops. His only tactic is to conserve his stamina and attack the weakest parts of the enemy's body.

"It's the fastest way to kill."

Chao Xiaoshu was watching this battle. He sighed when he thought of Ning Que's great determination and prudence, as well as his young age. "It's a pity that this young man can't cultivate, if he can, he will become an important asset of the Tang Empire."

Looking at the ugly corpse in the rain and the young man with pod gas in his hand, Chao Xiaoshu smiled. "Can't you kill people less brutally? It's like you're hoeing.

Ning Que turned around, and his pods stirred up some blood. He looked at the man sitting on the stairs, then pointed to the sky, panting. "It's too wet, hoeing is far less tiring than killing!"

It was dark on Lin 47th Street. The door of the old brush shop was pushed open and then quickly shut. The dim lights in the store twinkled like stars for a moment before disappearing.

Ning Que took off his heavy weapon, tore off the cloth cover of the big black umbrella, and took off his wet coat. He handed it to Sangsang and asked casually, "I'm quite hungry." Are the noodles ready?

Sangsang gave him a piece of dry cloth, nodded happily and said, "I'll come up for you later."

There is a bowl of hot noodles on the table. As usual, four peppercorns were sprinkled on top, but today there were a lot more chopped green onions in the noodles. The noodles are topped with scrambled eggs, which is unusual. Hunting was even more tiring than a hoe, making Ning Que soaking wet and extremely hungry. Nothing whets his appetite like a bowl of noodles and fried eggs. He put down the cloth, picked up his chopsticks, and began to gobble it up.

A smile flashed across Sangsang's swarthy face. She was happy to see that he loved food. She picked up a cloth to dry his hair while constantly reminding him not to eat too fast.

At this time, a man began to cough. However, no one paid attention to him. Ignored by Ning Que and his maid for a long time, the man decided to break the silence. "This bowl of noodles smells delicious," he said.

A few hours ago, Zhao Xiaoshu said the same thing when he entered the store.

Sang Sang continued to dry Ning Que's hair, as if he hadn't seen this person or heard his words. However, Ning Que's reaction was different from before. He muttered to himself as he ate, "Make him some noodles."

Soon, another bowl of noodles was served. Chao Xiaoshu looked around and couldn't find a place to sit. He squatted beside Ning Que without caring and began to eat, but found that his noodles were different from Ning Que's.

Four peppercorns, thirty chopped shallots, but no omelette.

He couldn't help but tap Ning Que's bowl with his chopsticks. Ning Que glanced at it and almost laughed out loud. Then he turned to Sangsang. "It's okay, we shouldn't be mean. Give him an egg too.

Finally, a fried egg was served to Zhao Xiaoshu. Both of them ate happily, and Sangsang, who was not far from them, began to burn clothes and cloth covers in a bronze basin. No one in the store said a word.

After a long time, Ning Que finally put down the bowl in his hand, leaned back with satisfaction, and rubbed his stomach. He turned to Chao Xiaoshu and said, "I killed more than five people. You should reconsider the money... Don't be mean. Remember, I asked Sangsang to add an egg to you.

Chao Xiaoshu, who was holding the bowl, looked at Ning Que and showed a reluctant smile. "That's why you're so kind to me. But be sure that I will give you 2 taels of silver.

"Deal," Ning Que said casually. In fact, he was a little excited in his heart, and so was Sangsang, who clenched her fists and silently calculated how much two thousand taels of silver would be.

Sangsang was about to wash the dishes, and Chao Xiaoshu reluctantly handed her the unfinished bowl of noodles. Then he frowned and covered his mouth with the corner of his sleeve. When he lowered his sleeves, he was already covered in patches of blood.

Ning Que looked at his sleeve and knew that this strong middle-aged man had been injured in the previous tragic battle. He was silent for a moment before asking, "Are you okay?"

Chao Xiaoshu took a cup of tea from Sangsang and smiled to express his gratitude. He took a sip and said, "Don't worry about me." I grew up in a slum in an eastern city. I've fought countless times and have been seriously injured many times. Every time, my enemies saw me covered in blood and thought I would never be able to stand up again, but I always managed to give them a knockdown blow.

Ning Que said: "A thug who is immersed in the era of martial artists can actually cultivate and become so powerful. I was so committed to my cultivation, but I couldn't even get into the initial state. How ridiculous is that. Master Haotian must be blind.

Zhao Xiaoshu smiled and didn't say anything. There is a story behind how he went from a gangster to a great sword master with an excellent perspective level. But for him, the story is not worth mentioning.

"You tell me I'll see who you really are after tonight.

Ning Que looked at the corner of the courtyard. "Now, I'm a little guessing that your backup is someone from the palace. With such a strong background, it is no wonder that there is no need to worry about the local government of Chang'an.

"After tonight, maybe everyone in this empire will admire me for my support," he said calmly, "but no one will know how much I have paid for such an outcome."

"What do you need to pay?" Ning Que asked.

Chao Xiaoshu smiled bitterly. "I've been trapped by orders all these years. Whenever that person wants me, I have to do whatever they want. If it weren't for that, maybe I would have broken through the perspective state and entered the state of knowing the destiny of heaven a long time ago.

"That's all?" Ning Que continued to ask.

Chao Xiaoshu was silent for a long time, as if he was thinking about something. He smiled sadly and said slowly, "It also requires me not to act impulsively." When dealing with things, I always have to think about the whole situation. I can't rush either, because I have to force the enemy to swipe all their cards. In order to succeed, I had to suffer in silence for so long that I couldn't even protect my brother.

Hearing this, Ning Que clenched his right hand. He knew that Chao Xiaoshu was talking about Daji, someone he knew very well, but he didn't say anything. He lowered his head and asked, "How did your brother die?"

"My brother's name is Zhuo'er. He's a spy. The military department sent him to inspect me and investigate whether I was conspiring with the Yuelun Kingdom. Actually, this was just an excuse for them to kill the people of Chunfeng Pavilion. They may even frame me in order to achieve this goal.

"But my brother didn't want to do that. He told me everything behind it. He didn't investigate me for the military and wouldn't frame me on the orders of his boss. But he was a soldier after all. He cannot betray his country and his army. So, he suffered a lot in those days.

Chao Xiaoshu closed his eyes. "In retrospect, I should have told him the whole truth," he said. Maybe he'll die, but at least he won't feel so hopeless.

Ning Que said: "You haven't mentioned how he died.

"Being a spy is a very dangerous job. If he doesn't work for either party, he could die at any time. If he decides to work for a political party, then there is a high probability that he will die. That day, when he finally decided to tell me everything, the military department found out what he had done and killed him. He died right here, across the street.

Chao Xiaoshu looked in the direction of the wooden door of the store. He looked at the gray wall in the distance.

Ning Que was silent for a long time. He asked, "Was it the Sword Saint of the Southern Jin Kingdom who killed him?"

"Yes." Chao Xiaoshu turned around, looked at Ning Que, and said with a smile. "From now on, I will treat you as my brother."

Ning Que arched his eyebrows. "Are you too naïve?"

Chao Xiaoshu smiled: "In this life, we are brothers. It's always that simple.

"We ate fried egg noodles today, and for this, we are brothers in this life."

Ning Que shook his head and said, "Brother, this word has no meaning. I know those famous brothers. If some of them die before the others, they are lucky because if they don't, they end up fighting each other. I'm just trying to help you tonight, of course, by the way. Can you stop being too old-fashioned and find other meanings in life?

Chao Xiaoshu frowned and looked at Ning Que, surprised by such an answer. He said, "You are so young, but in your eyes, the world is so dark...... I wonder what happened to you. If you want to tell me later, don't hesitate to contact me. I invite you to tea.

Ning Que said: "I don't want to recall those things, let alone tell others."

Chao Xiaoshu smiled at him. "Good. So, apart from omelette, what do you think is the meaning of life?

"The meaning of life... Definitely career and love, or we can say, money and women. I know you think this answer is amazing, and I'm an amazing person, but can you please not show such a deep smile?

Ning Que shook his head, in order to make this strong man understand what the meaning of life was, he pointed at Sang Sang. "Who do you think is suitable to be the wife of your master of the Red Sleeves family?"

Sang Sang wiped his hands on his apron and concentrated for a while. "I think the second girl sitting on your left that day was good.

"That's Lu Xue." Ning Que thought about her soft waist and continued to ask, "Why do you think she is suitable to be my wife?"