noveltune Chapter 120: Familiarity
Chapter 120: Familiarity
Chapter 120: Familiarity
The next day.
In a valley filled with the fragrance of spiritual herbs.
An elderly man with white hair and beard sat under the eaves of a thatched hut. On the stove in front of him, a clay pot was simmering with succulent fish meat. The soup bubbled and rolled, emitting an enticing aroma.
Seeing a figure appearing at the entrance of the valley from afar, the old man’s face broke into a smile.
Not until the young man approached did the old man greet him, "Yuan Ming, your timing is impeccable. I just started cooking this pot of fish, and before I could even pick up my chopsticks, you arrived."
"Isn’t it because I was afraid that Elder Fish would eat fish without wine, so I brought some for you." Yuan Ming replied with a smile, not being modest.
As he spoke, he raised the two small deep-red wine jars in his hand.
"Heh, you really brought wine?" Elder Fish’s eyes lit up at the sight of the wine.
He quickly got up to welcome him.
"How could I forget what I promised you?" Yuan Ming handed over the wine with a smile.
"Good, good, just in time to accompany me for a couple of drinks." Elder Fish led Yuan Ming to sit down, laughing heartily.
"This fish smells so good, it seems especially fresh today." Yuan Ming couldn’t help but praise as he smelled the aroma.
"Heh, of course, this pot of fish is cooked with at least three types of spiritual herbs that are over thirty years old. It’s both nourishing and flavorful. I wouldn’t let just anyone taste it." Elder Fish said with a grin.
"Elder, are you sure it’s okay to use the spiritual herbs from the medicine garden like this?" Yuan Ming asked.
"If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, who would know? Come by more often in the future, I’ll make sure to nourish you until you’re as strong as a dragon or a tiger." Elder Fish chuckled.
"I appreciate your kindness, Elder. However, I will need to focus on my cultivation for a while. After I finish my seclusion, I will bring wine to visit you again." Yuan Ming said.
"Diligent cultivation is a good thing." Elder Fish nodded in approval upon hearing this.
......
At night.
The bright moonlight seeping through the window bathed Yuan Ming.
He held an incense burner in his hands, his body bathed in a glossy sheen.
At that moment, Yuan Ming felt something and slowly opened his eyes.
"Another full moon night, I wonder when I can return to my hometown in the Central Plains?" He sighed softly.
His gaze fell on the green incense burner in his hand, and his eyes flickered.
The Great Ultimate pattern on the incense burner was already more than half lit, but it was still a bit short of being fully lit.
"It’s been several months, and it’s still not fully lit..." Yuan Ming thought to himself.
Then, he suddenly had an idea, "Since this incense burner is also a kind of magical artifact, I wonder if trying to stimulate it with my magic power will cause any changes."
With that thought, he held the incense burner in both hands and began to channel his magic power into it.
As soon as his magic power entered, Yuan Ming realized something was wrong.
Unlike when he used magic artifacts in the past, his magic power was being absorbed by the incense burner, as if it was being swallowed.
But the incense burner showed no obvious changes.
"Not enough?" Yuan Ming thought, and began to pour all his magic power into it.
"It’s lit..."
After a while, when Yuan Ming had channeled most of his magic power into the incense burner, a soft light finally shone from the Great Ultimate pattern on the burner.
"It really worked! Does this mean I can light the incense again?" Yuan Ming was overjoyed.
With that thought, he immediately stopped his cultivation, closed the window, locked the door, and returned to his bed.
Yuan Ming led the three horses forward and harnessed them to the carriage.
After everything was settled, he waited for the arrival of the general’s wife.
Taking advantage of this time, Yuan Ming looked around and saw tall tree shadows standing outside the courtyard, seemingly a garden.
Further away, there was a five-story high tower with a green-gray octagonal spire.
"Huh..."
For some reason, Yuan Ming found the side view of the tower somewhat familiar.
Just then, a group of people carrying a beautiful sedan chair came this way.
Beside the sedan chair were several young and beautiful maids, followed by two rows of soldiers in armor, each with a murderous look, obviously having been on the battlefield.
"Wang Shun, lower your head, do you want to die?" At this moment, the round-faced man’s reminder came from beside him.
He turned his head and saw that the other party had already retreated to the side, his hands hanging at his knees, his head lowered, only daring to look at his own feet.
Although Yuan Ming didn’t have the awe of a servant, he didn’t want to cause any trouble for the original owner of this body, so he also lowered his head like him.
When the sedan chair stopped in front of them, a maid immediately helped the dignified and luxurious general’s wife to switch to the carriage.
After the lady and her personal maid got on the carriage, the others lined up on both sides.
Yuan Ming was responsible for driving the carriage to the south of the city.
Fortunately, there were several cavalrymen leading the way at the front of the team, otherwise Yuan Ming was really worried that he would take the wrong road and be found out.
The carriage procession passed through several courtyards before finally leaving the mansion and coming outside.
The road outside the general’s mansion was so wide that it surprised Yuan Ming. The ground was paved with neat bricks and was very clean.
The mansions on both sides of the road were quite sparse, but just by looking at the gates, you could tell they all belonged to high-ranking officials, each displaying luxury and nobility within the regulations.
The carriage procession leisurely headed south.
Yuan Ming looked at the street scenes along the way, feeling a bit dazed.
He didn’t know if it was because his memory had merged with the memory of this body, but he felt that the street scenes on both sides were becoming more and more familiar.
Especially the two rows of thick pine trees on both sides of the road, each of which required two adults to hug together.
"How strange..."
With a belly full of doubts, Yuan Ming slowly drove the carriage to another area.
Unlike the spacious and quiet residential area of the high-ranking officials, the streets here were noticeably narrower, and the ground was no longer paved with large bluestone bricks, but densely packed fired bricks.
And there were a lot of buildings along the road, densely packed.
These buildings hung all kinds of plaques and banners, some even set up bamboo or wooden sheds outside, decorated in various ways to distinguish themselves from others.
Yuan Ming had been in the south for a long time, and his memory of the Central Plains was only vague and fragmented images, but many images sleeping in his memory corresponded with the current scene.
The bustling streets, the crowded shops, the thronging pedestrians, and the enthusiastic cries of vendors...
Suddenly, Yuan Ming felt as if he was not possessing someone else’s body, but had come here himself.
At a glance, he saw a signboard of a small vendor by the roadside, which read "Rice Wine Glutinous Rice Balls". He couldn’t help but lick his lips.
Even though he hadn’t seen the rice wine glutinous rice balls, and couldn’t even recall what they specifically looked like, a warm, sweet, and soft taste had already emerged in Yuan Ming’s memory.
Not far away, the rich aroma of wine wafted from a tavern, mixed with the scent of food. It was a taste completely different from the liquor of the Southern Border, incredibly mellow.
Everything in front of him, what he saw, heard, and smelled, all exuded an indescribable sense of familiarity.
(End of Chapter)