OFTLHFRO C174
by berryChapter 174: Wu Song and Wu Song
The couple originally intended to return the way they had come. But when Luo Mingchen saw the disappointed expressions on the two children after they agreed, he sighed softly.
“Forget it. Let’s wait one more night. I’ll stand watch tonight.”
Huo Xiang frowned. “Standing watch is cold, Little Daddy. Why don’t we just go back? We can come again in a few days.”
“Since we’re already here, we might as well stay and see what actually happens,” Ji Bowen said. “At this distance, if we set out early tomorrow morning, we can enter the city in less than half an hour.”
Li Yunde also added, “If it were truly dangerous, that group wouldn’t stay even after being warned. At worst, we just stay more alert tonight. Besides, even if we turn back now, we’d still have to spend another night in the desert.”
Although Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan did not entirely agree with the first part of Li Yunde’s reasoning, the last point was undeniably true.
If they turned back now, they would still have to spend the night in the desert. If they could pass the night safely here, why not wait until morning?
In the end, the group decided to stay.
They set up their tents and roasted the leg of lamb.
The aroma drifted with the wind toward both merchant caravans. Even the man who had brought them the lamb had not expected it to smell so enticing.
Before long, that same man returned again, this time carrying a jar of wine.
“Gentlemen, may I buy some spices from you?”
It had to be said—this man truly knew how to do business. His manner of speaking was pleasant, and when asking a favor, he brought along something genuinely useful.
Luo Mingchen happened to want to sound him out as well, and smiled. “Buy? There’s no need for that. Zhu Qing, go fill a jar for big brother.”
The man cheerfully set the jar of wine aside. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
“When traveling far from home, and on the same land besides, life isn’t easy for anyone. Let’s consider it making a friend,” Luo Mingchen said casually. “That said, big brother—do you know how to roast meat? To make lamb truly delicious, it does take some skill. If you don’t mind, you can eat here and watch. Tonight, you can roast your own as well.”
Hearing this, the man laughed. “Little brother, how about I bring another sheep over and we eat together?”
Luo Mingchen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—he figured the man had misunderstood something—but he didn’t explain further. As long as he could keep him here talking, that was enough.
“Then I won’t refuse your kindness, big brother.”
“Hahaha! Good!”
The man sat down familiarly and sent someone back to fetch the lamb.
The meat had been frozen; in weather this cold, spoilage was unlikely.
In return, Luo Mingchen stewed a large pot of coconut chicken soup and cooked a huge pot of rice. With so many people, there was no worry about leftovers.
Although it was said they would eat together, the man didn’t actually bring many people to join them. Instead, he brought over a whole, plump sheep.
His subordinates didn’t quite understand why their master was being so eager to please this group, but they weren’t foolish enough to ask such questions in front of Luo Mingchen and the others.
As they sat down, Luo Mingchen accepted the hot water Huo Yan handed him and asked casually, “Big brother, my name is Luo Mingchen. What should I call you?”
“My name is Wu Song.”
“Pff—”
Luo Mingchen choked on the water and started coughing violently, his face turning red.
Huo Yan lightly patted his back. Seeing Wu Song’s puzzled look, he said calmly, “He drank too quickly.”
Wu Song didn’t really believe that explanation, but since one had been offered, he didn’t press the matter. Smiling as if unintentionally, he said, “I thought perhaps Brother Luo had heard my name before.”
Luo Mingchen actually had. “Uh… which Wu Song is it?”
Surely not the tiger-slaying one?
But the dynasty didn’t even match!
Wu Song paused, then wrote in the sand: 伍嵩.
The moment Luo Mingchen saw the first character, he knew he’d overthought it. Once Wu Song finished writing, he said awkwardly, “Alright, I understand.”
“Brother Luo has heard of it?” Wu Song asked.
Luo Mingchen answered honestly, “No. I thought it was the Wu Song who fights tigers.”
Everyone: “……”
Seeing the indescribable expressions around him, Luo Mingchen turned to look at Huo Yan, who gave him a look in return.
Luo Mingchen: “……”
Damn it. Water Margin hadn’t been lost in this world either!
In the end, Wu Song broke the awkward silence himself, laughing. “I don’t have Wu Song’s strength. I can only manage to hunt a rabbit.”
Luo Mingchen smiled, thinking that this man was actually quite pleasant.
Once the lamb was prepared and set on the fire, the others ate the roasted lamb leg first. Its quantity was limited, so Xiao Chen, Zhu Qing, and Zi Yuan didn’t eat it, instead waiting for the later roast meat and having rice and cured meat first.
After finishing the roasted lamb leg, the sheep brought later was still roasting. The coconut chicken soup was ready, and each person drank a bowl. Warmth spread through the body, bringing instant comfort.
“Brother Wu,” Luo Mingchen asked, “when did you arrive here? And why did Wolf King Fortress activate the mechanism?”
At his question, everyone on Luo Mingchen’s side fell silent.
Sure enough—he really wasn’t suited for probing conversations like this…
Huo Yan, on the other hand, was already used to it.
There was one advantage to this approach: they could directly observe Wu Song’s reaction.
Wu Song answered candidly. “We arrived this morning. We heard from the caravan ahead that Wolf King Fortress is searching for something. They say the mechanism will stop at night, and we’ll be able to enter the city early tomorrow.”
Luo Mingchen didn’t understand. “Why activate the mechanism just to search for something?”
“Who knows?” Wu Song replied. “But I’ve also been thinking—activating the mechanism once consumes a great deal of manpower and resources. If it weren’t something important, they probably wouldn’t open it at all.”
Wu Song didn’t seem to be lying.
No one asked further questions.
The only people who had encountered those from Wolf King Fortress were the other caravan—and that caravan clearly had no intention of telling the truth.
Still, since they had chosen to stay, it likely wasn’t extremely dangerous.
Even so, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down at night.
As darkness fell, Luo Mingchen used his ability to enhance his five senses, but did not spread his perception over the entire area.
Both caravans contained many people with internal energy. If he used perception, it would be easy to be detected. But increasing his ability output too much would drain him quickly—if danger hadn’t even arrived yet, he might exhaust himself first. So he simply pushed his five senses to their utmost limit.
When he heard some discordant sounds, Luo Mingchen frowned.
Noticing something was wrong, Huo Yan leaned in and asked quietly, “What is it?”
“The other caravan,” Luo Mingchen said. “They’ve captured a girl… and they’re abusing her.”
In situations like this, the safest choice was silence.
It saved trouble and avoided making enemies…
Luo Mingchen pressed his lips tightly together. Suddenly, he flashed toward a particular tent.
A gust of wind swept past. Everyone stared in shock at Luo Mingchen’s retreating figure—only Huo Yan followed immediately after.
The tent was thrown open. The man pinning the girl down was wrapped by a water tendril and hurled outside.
The remaining three froze in place.
Luo Mingchen looked at them with open disgust. “Four grown men bullying one girl—what kind of courage is that?”
The girl hurriedly grabbed her clothes and hid behind Luo Mingchen, clutching his sleeve in terror.
When Huo Yan arrived moments later, he inadvertently caught sight of the purple butterfly at the girl’s collarbone. His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled Luo Mingchen back.
Luo Mingchen, who was about to lecture those four men further: “???”
第174章 伍嵩與武松
- 伍嵩 (Wǔ Sōng) — the merchant’s name.
- 武松 (Wǔ Sōng) — the famous tiger-slaying hero from Water Margin.
Although they’re written with different Chinese characters, both are pronounced exactly the same: “Wu Song.” That’s why Luo Mingchen chokes on his water and asks:
“Which Wu Song?”
He thinks the merchant is saying he’s the Wu Song from Water Margin.
The merchant then writes his name in the sand:
- 伍嵩 (his actual name)
Luo Mingchen immediately realizes he’d misunderstood.