CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: WUXIA NOVELS

"What a pity... alright then."

Luo Ping expressed his regret but didn’t insist. He continued with Lu Xi’an’s words, "My base is to the south of Pingchuan City, north of Shanyang County. Brother, if you encounter good people, please introduce them to me there. If anyone can make it there, I’ll find them."

He suddenly returned to his sedan, rummaged for something, and said, "Here, this is something I picked up from those folks in the county town, just consider it as fair trade for your provisions."

It was a small black cloth bag, and who knows how many hands and what damage it had endured; it was covered in stains and looked quite unsightly.

Lu Xi’an took it, opened it, and to his surprise, there were six or seven compressed biscuits inside.

These things were far more valuable than the few packs of instant noodles he had given to Luo Ping.

He asked, "You already gave us the gasoline can, why are you giving this too?"

Luo Ping shook his head and said, "The gasoline can is something I promised to find for you; this is repayment for your provisions, they’re not the same."

Lu Xi’an didn’t hesitate and accepted it with a smile, saying, "Then you’re taking quite a loss."

Luo Ping also laughed, "How am I losing? A gasoline can plus seven compressed biscuits in exchange for... let me count... six lives. Am I losing out?"

Lu Xi’an replied, "If you put it that way, you’re not losing at all."

He hesitated for a moment, then turned to Yao Wei and said, "Shouldn’t we reciprocate and give this guy something too?"

He expected Yao Wei to hesitate or directly refuse, but surprisingly, Yao Wei readily agreed and said, "Sure."

After saying that, Yao Wei went straight to her car and brought back a bag of unopened vacuum-sealed white rice.

Luo Ping’s eyes widened instantly, "Is this... the white rice you guys gave me before?!"

Lu Xi’an laughed, "What, never seen it before?" giving the impression of a wealthy landowner looking at a country bumpkin.

Luo Ping stared intently at the bag of rice, swallowed, and said, "I’ve only ever seen it in books before; this is my first time eating it. It’s wonderful..."

Saying that, he turned towards Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei, "Are you really giving me this?"

Yao Wei said nothing and simply threw the entire bag of rice into the open car door of Luo Ping’s vehicle.

Lu Xi’an chuckled, carried the fuel can back to the car, tidied up a bit, switched places with another bag of rice to make room, and tucked the fuel can in.

After doing all of this, he finally sat in the driver’s seat.

Yao Wei followed suit, and after dropping off the goods, turned around and left, opened the passenger seat door, sat down, closed the door, and didn’t even glance at Luo Ping.

"Alright, let’s part ways, see you later!"

Lu Xi’an waved at Luo Ping from the car, started the engine, and stepped on the gas, heading west.

Luo Ping watched in a daze as Lu Xi’an showed him the back of the car. After a while, he smiled and returned to his own car, stepped on the gas, and followed.

— He also needed to head west and then turn south.

And his sedan was much faster than Yao Wei’s car.

So soon enough, he caught up with Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei.

"Beep beep beep—"

He honked the horn and then picked up the loudspeaker from the car, saying, "The road of the world is long, see you later!"

After speaking, he tossed the loudspeaker aside, stepped on the gas, and showed Lu Xi’an the rear of his car again.

"This guy must also read martial arts novels; he’s got a whole set of phrases, just like me."

Luo Ping grinned widely, looking ahead, murmuring, "Forgot to ask Brother what novel he was holding, oh well, if fate allows, I’ll ask him next time."

The sunglasses hadn’t been wrecked by those people in Fengcheng County’s town; they were still there on the passenger seat. He casually reached over, retrieved the sunglasses, perched them on his ears and nose bridge, and felt even more stylish.

...

Behind them, Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei soon couldn’t see the rear of Luo Ping’s car anymore.

Lu Xi’an savored the words coming from Luo Ping’s car, grinning, "This guy must have read martial arts novels or something like that."

Unexpectedly, there were martial arts novels or something similar in this world too.

Yao Wei had no concept of martial arts novels, and hearing Lu Xi’an say that, she instinctively glanced at the back seat.

Lu Xi’an’s backpack was lying there, with a small pocket on the side containing the book she could hardly bear to look at.

These two were certainly like-minded; what they called martial arts novels might have some connection to this kind of stuff?

She was lost in thought when suddenly Lu Xi’an turned to give her a glance and asked, "Why did you give the rice to Luo Ping?"

Yao Wei also looked at Lu Xi’an: "Wasn’t it you who wanted to give it?"

Lu Xi’an said, "But I didn’t say I wanted to give rice."

Yao Wei asked, "Then what did you want to give?"

"...Yes."

Lu Xi’an was silent for a moment, then laughed, "Should we say we’re on the same wavelength?"

"What?"

Yao Wei didn’t understand.

Lu Xi’an explained, "Like two birds flying together, knowing each other’s heart’s intentions without words. It means that we can understand each other’s thoughts without needing to speak."

Yao Wei suddenly felt a bit shy, quickly turned back to look at the car window ahead, and her mood became inexplicably nervous.

"No, not at all!"

She said, "I was just thinking, the car was crowded, and if we took the gasoline can, it wouldn’t fit. Giving him a bag of rice could free up space for the can."

Lu Xi’an smiled and said, "That’s what I thought too. You see, after taking out a bag of rice, we just managed to squeeze in the fuel can, putting in so much effort. If we didn’t give him a bag, there really wouldn’t be enough room."

"Mm."

Yao Wei nodded, pursed her lips, and said no more.

She didn’t know what else to say and didn’t feel like talking.

But she knew Lu Xi’an genuinely wanted to give Sharp Brother a bag of rice, so she brought the rice out.

Lack of car space might be a reason, but it wasn’t the main reason Lu Xi’an wanted to give the rice.

Sharp Brother Luo Ping’s thoughts and actions must have greatly impressed Lu Xi’an, so even though he didn’t agree to go with Luo Ping, he would still do his best to help him.

She felt the same way.

When considered, this was really just a coincidence of thoughts and opinions, quite normal, but for some reason, when she heard Lu Xi’an say "on the same wavelength," she suddenly felt embarrassed to say it out loud.

So awkward!

The car drove on, reaching the road where they had once met Luo Ping. Yao Wei stopped daydreaming and became alert.

It was here that they first encountered Luo Ping and the people from Liangshui Village. Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei could still see the abandoned pickup truck off the road, with the doors open, steering wheel and seats missing, clearly having been visited by someone.

Would the people from Liangshui Village still try to stop them?

"Beep beep beep—"

The familiar sound of the car horn rang out again.

Luo Ping’s car somehow ended up behind them once more, overtaking them again.

During the overtake, Luo Ping turned his head, grinning with a broad smile, showing crooked white teeth, and said with the loudspeaker, "Don’t worry, brother and sister, I’ve already checked out Liangshui Village.

"After what I did to those county folks, they don’t dare make a move against us. The county town is the big prize for them now, and they’re all heading there in great force. Until we meet again!"

With that, he again showed Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei his car’s rear and vanished.