Chapter 1023 Hungry

Mu Xingqiu abandoned the boat and went ashore. He left two talismans on the boat, which transformed into his and Jiang Huoer's images respectively, and continued to go down the river. Such magic could not deceive the Taoist priests, but it was enough to deceive the casual cultivators behind him.

Mu Xingqiu was a little worried that Jiang Huoer could not keep up with him at first, but the little guy ran very fast, so he had to turn around and wait for him frequently. However, Jiang Huoer's legs were not very agile, and he would fall down from time to time in the grass. He was not afraid of the pain, and rolled over and got up to continue running. Occasionally, he would lose his temper and smash the tree roots and stones that tripped him.

He had accepted the name Jiang Huoer and would react when he was called, but no matter how Mu Xingqiu explained, he refused to stop spitting fire. Mu Xingqiu had to put out fires everywhere, and the beads he turned into were used to promote the growth of plants and trees.

One of them was particularly thrilling. Just as Mu Xingqiu used a talisman to dissolve a ball of fire, Di Yuanfu and Shi Gen flew over his head. The two did not believe the report of the casual cultivators at all. They thought that the small boats were just a trick and the horse monster could not stay nearby. Therefore, they did not look for it carefully, but went directly to pay a visit to the selected backer.

Mu Xingqiu covered Jiang Huoer's mouth tightly until the two Taoists disappeared. He did not want to cause trouble and tried to avoid it as much as possible. When he looked down, he saw a pair of fierce eyes. Jiang Huoer hated being restrained. He thought the action of covering his mouth was a torture and threat.

Mu Xingqiu handed him the beads that had just condensed, "Do you want to learn magic?"

Jiang Huoer grabbed the beads and held them tightly in his hand. The fierce light in his eyes slowly dissipated. After a while, he actually nodded.

"Can you understand what I say?"

Jiang Huoer nodded and shook his head.

"Some of it I can understand, some of it I can't?"

This time Jiang Huo'er didn't know whether to nod or shake her head, looking confused.

"Well, if you want to learn magic, you have to learn to speak first. There's no rush for this. I have to find a safe hiding place for you, and then I'm going to Duanliu City. This place name sounds a bit familiar, maybe I've been there before..." Mu Xingqiu said while walking in the woods, and suddenly heard a bang behind him, knowing that Jiang Huo'er had used up the fire beads.

Mu Xingqiu wrote a talisman on the fire bead. It would no longer turn into flames, but into countless feathers, willow catkins and small flying insects. Jiang Huoer quickly caught up with them, and his body was covered with these things, but there was no anger on his face. After following Mu Xingqiu for a while, he looked up and shouted a word: "Fire!"

Mu Xingqiu did not generate any new memories in his mind. He was used to it and was not particularly disappointed. He smiled and said, "Yes, Fire, this is the spell you are good at, and it is also your name. My name is Mu Xingqiu, and your name is Jiang Huoer."

"Jiang... Fire."

"That's you." Mu Xingqiu pointed at the little guy.

Once Jiang Huoer opened his mouth, he learned to speak much faster. He never used "I" and always called himself by his name. "Jiang Huoer... Hungry."

Mu Xingqiu scratched his head. He had three treasure bags and a Qiankun bag, which were full of treasures, but no food. He only ate a little every ten days and had not tasted hunger for a long time.

"Do you eat fruit? There doesn't seem to be much fruit this season... Looks like we have to beg for food again. Come with me. I remember there is a family behind the mountain. The owner is very hospitable."

Mu Xingqiu still remembers what happened in the past two years very well. Not far away, he found a hidden path in the forest. He walked around along the path. Shortly after noon, he saw a wisp of smoke in the valley. "I'm so lucky. The third brother's family is about to have dinner."

Jiang Huo'er had never seen smoke, but he knew what "dinner" meant. He jumped and ran towards the valley. Just after turning around a big tree, he suddenly turned around and flew into the air. His ankle was caught by a rope ambushed on the roadside.

Jiang Huo'er has an advantage. When in danger, he never shouts or screams. After struggling for a few times, he opened his mouth to spit fire to save himself. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but not even a puff of smoke came out.

Mu Xingqiu rushed over, jumped, cut the rope with the dagger he carried with him, and landed with Jiang Huoer, "This is the result of your uncontrolled fire-breathing. If you want to learn magic, you must first learn to control it, understand?"

Jiang Huoer's eyes flashed with ferocity again, untied half of the rope on his ankle, put it in his mouth and bit it, bit it into pieces in a few bites, spit it on the ground and stepped on it hard.

"What a bad temper, why do I always feel that your eyes are a little familiar? Losing memory is really troublesome." Mu Xingqiu stepped forward and quietly summoned a few talismans that had been written from his treasure bag. He stayed at this family's house about a year ago, and there were no traps set on the small road outside at that time.

The rest of the road was relatively safe. After turning two corners, three thatched houses appeared in the bushes ahead. A big man stood at the intersection, holding a steel fork, with a vigilant look.

Mu Xingqiu stopped, "Third brother, is it my bad luck to come? Or are the customs here different?"

The man saw the appearance of the visitor and immediately smiled. He put down the steel fork and said loudly: "It turns out that it is Master Yu who came to visit my humble home. Haha, is it so difficult to call me "Third brother"? I am at least twenty years older than you."

Mu Xingqiu smiled and shook his head, "Don't bully me who has lost my memory. Maybe you are twenty years younger than me."

"Haha, it's possible. I haven't seen you for more than a year, and you haven't changed at all." The big man looked at Jiang Huoer behind Mu Xingqiu in surprise, "Who is this little guy? Is he your lost son?"

The big man turned around and pushed open the wooden door, inviting the two to enter the yard. He looked at Jiang Huoer twice more, and Jiang Huoer looked back with a vigilant look.

"This child is quite special, Master Mu Yu, you won't... Come in first."

The big man's surname is Kou, and he is the third child. His parents, brothers, wife and children all died in the Five Elements Disaster. He fled alone and went into the mountains to become a hunter. He entertained Mu Xingqiu and got a few talismans.

The yard is not big, but it is very clean. More than ten chickens and ducks are pacing slowly.

"Third child, your place has changed a lot." Mu Xingqiu remembered very clearly that when he came last time, the yard was full of firewood and animal bones, like a demon's nest, and it was far from being as clean as it is now.

Kou San blushed and laughed twice, "I'm married, and I even have a child."

"Congratulations." Mu Xingqiu was really happy for Kou San.

Hearing her husband's laughter, Kou San's wife came out of the house. She was a young woman who had just given birth and was still a little weak. She was holding a baby in her arms with a shy smile on her face.

The staple food of the hunters' families is meat, which suits Jiang Huoer's taste. He did not touch the wild vegetables at all, and ate at least five pounds of stewed meat with his small teeth. Kou San and his wife were stunned.

Kou San met his wife who fled alone while hunting, and took her in. The two had a harmonious relationship and were full of hope for the future. There was only one thing they avoided, that is, memories. No one mentioned their previous life experiences, as if they had never had relatives or friends.

Mu Xingqiu tried hard to regain his memory, but they only wanted to look forward.

Mu Xingqiu had come into contact with many ordinary people like Kou San and his wife, which was one of the important reasons why he liked to wander around. The only optimistic spirit in this world existed in these ordinary people. The strong were busy fighting, or surrendering to stronger people. Some simply gave up hope and just wanted to enjoy the last period of survival.

Jiang Huoer's belly was bulging, and he became interested in the baby in the cradle. He lay on the side and watched carefully. Mu Xingqiu had to sacrifice a talisman to protect the baby from being hurt by Jiang Huoer.

Then he wrote many talismans inside and outside the house. Each talisman has its own benefits, such as strengthening the foundation, repelling mosquitoes, preventing rain from leaking, keeping clean, sharpening ironware, etc. Kou San and his wife were overjoyed and kept thanking him.

"Isn't this area peaceful recently?" Mu Xingqiu asked after returning to the house.

Kou San's face was slightly dark, "There are often strange people appearing recently. My wife gave birth to a child less than three months ago, and three groups of evil people who can use magic broke in and insisted on taking a look at the child. Alas..."

Kou San was strong, but he was no match for the casual cultivators. Fortunately, those people left after taking a look and did not cause any harm to the mother and child.

"Where did Master Yu find this child?"

"I robbed him."

Kou San and his wife looked at each other and showed fear.

"He has no parents. He was first imprisoned by a group of people in the city, and then taken away by a Taoist priest. I snatched him from the Taoist priest."

Kou San breathed a sigh of relief, "Just say rescue, do you have to use the word 'snatch'? You scared us."

Mu Xingqiu smiled, Kou San said seriously: "He is the so-called Yuanying, right?"

"Well, you have also heard the rumors about Yuanying?"

"Hearing those casual cultivators talking about my son not being a Yuanying, they are very disappointed, as if they can't participate in any Yuanying small meeting because of this."

"Yuanying Conference." Mu Xingqiu corrected.

"No, no, I heard it very clearly, it's a small meeting, not a conference."

"Isn't it the Yuanying Conference in Duanliu City?" Mu Xingqiu was a little surprised.

"Duanliu City? I haven't heard of it. What they mentioned is... is..." Kou San couldn't remember for a moment, and his wife reminded him in a low voice: "Fuhuang City, in Jiangbei."

"I know that place, it's where talisman masters live." Mu Xingqiu said.

"You are also a talisman master, why don't you live in Fuhuang City, but wander around Jiangnan?" Kou San asked curiously.

"My talismans are different from theirs."

"Hehe, other people's talismans are used for fighting and killing, and yours are used for rain and building houses. They are indeed different." Kou San laughed, "If you ask me, your talismans are the right way. If everyone is killed, what's the use of talismans?"

"Anyway, I'm going to Fuhuang City."

"Are you going to send Jiang Huo'er? This Yuanying meeting doesn't sound like a good thing. Are you going to use children to have a human flesh banquet?"

Jiang Huo'er reached out to tease the baby in the cradle, and his movements were very careful, without any intention of harming anyone.

"I want to keep Jiang Huoer here for a few days, is that okay?"

"Uh... of course, I don't have much else here, but I have plenty of meat."

Mu Xingqiu was thinking about using some talisman to restrain Jiang Huoer's power to prevent him from bringing disaster to Kou San's family, when he suddenly heard a cold voice from outside, "Ma Yao, you don't even care about your own men? The kid from the Ancient God Cult is in my hands!"