Chapter 158: The Relaxed and Comfortable North District
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Qiao Yang grinned. He was so happy that Madam Su praised him!
Tiger Might couldn’t bear to look any longer. He turned around and went into the room right away.
“Where are you going, Madam Su? I’ll send you.”
“To the North District.”
“I’ll lead the way for you, Madam Su.” Qiao Yang dusted off the stone ash on his body and coughed violently as he choked on the ash. “Madam Su, wait for me. I’ll be back as soon as I change my clothes.”
Su Ying didn’t mind waiting a few more minutes when she saw how enthusiastic he was.
Soon, Qiao Yang changed into a brand new light blue robe. With his delicate face, he looked like a scholar at first glance.
Qiao Yang beckoned for Su Ying to get on the horse carriage while he chased the other young men to another horse carriage.
“How much do you know about the North District?” Su Ying asked.
“We all know that it’s managed by Area Chief Meng. Er… The people there are living quite comfortably.”
Comfortably?
Su Ying felt that it was rare to use such a term in the northern wilderness, and she became very curious about the North District.
Initially, she thought the North District was just around them, but the horse carriage traveled quite a while before stopping in front of a row of wooden houses.
Su Ying’s eyes lit up as she looked at the neat rows of wooden houses. This was definitely the result of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. All the wooden houses that were lined there were exactly the same, be it in size or height.
At the frontmost part of the row of wooden houses, there was a large wooden sign with the words “North District” written in black paint.
Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!
There was no one guarding the entrance to the North District, but more than a dozen big, pure black dogs came rushing toward their horse carriage.
However, those dogs didn’t attack them. They only surrounded the horse carriage and barked fiercely at the visitors.
“Go away, go away, you guard dogs.” When Qiao Yang saw the dogs rushing over, he shrank his entire body into the carriage.
Suddenly, a whistle rang out. The black dogs immediately stopped barking and headed toward the entrance. Following that, they sat down neatly at the entrance and wagged their tails vigorously at the approaching man.
“Who’s there?”
The person was dressed in a gray, short-sleeved shirt. His physique was tall and upright, and his sleeves were rolled up, revealing his well-defined muscular arms. His steps were steady but very light. One could tell with one look that he was a martial arts practitioner.
Zhou Xing walked over with a long rod in his hand and stared at the horse carriage warily.
Qiao Yang only stuck his head out of the carriage after the dogs had left.
“Zhou Xing, it’s me. Qiao Yang.”
When Zhou Xing saw that it was Qiao Yang, he loosened his grip a little on the rod.
“Why are you here?”
Qiao Yang jumped off the horse carriage. When he saw the dogs looking at him, he quickly took a step back. “I brought Madam Su over to take a look.”
Zhou Xing turned around and saw a woman in a cotton dress jump down from the horse carriage. He scrutinized her warily, “Madam Su?”
“Su Ying. I’m here to see your Area Chief,” Su Ying said calmly.
Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Zhou Xing’s face rapidly, but he quickly recovered himself.
“Since you’re here, please come in.”
“I’ll be troubling you.”
Zhou Xing led the way and brought them into the North District.
As soon as they entered, they saw a large bamboo forest in front of them, and the neat row of houses outside was actually meant for the dogs. No wonder she thought that those houses were too low for ordinary people to live in.
As the autumn wind blew past, the bamboo forest rustled.
After walking for about 15 minutes, the view in front of Su Ying became bright and spacious and farmhouses started appearing before her eyes.
When she walked in, she could still hear the sound of roosters crowing and dogs barking. It was noon now, and smoke from kitchen chimneys was rising everywhere. Wherever there were wooden houses, there was a peaceful atmosphere.
Su Ying finally understood why Qiao Yang described the area in that way. It was because this place looked really relaxed and comfortable.
“Zhou Xing, where are you going?”
When someone saw Zhou Xing, he greeted him with familiarity.
“Some friends want to meet the Area Chief. I’m taking them there.”
The other party’s gaze fell on Su Ying when he heard that.
They knew Qiao Yang, but they had never seen Su Ying before.
Su Ying looked at them and realized that they all looked content and peaceful. They didn’t have the hostility that was apparent in the other districts.
Zhou Xing brought them to a farmhouse surrounded by a bamboo fence.
“Area Chief! Is the Area Chief in?” Zhou Xing shouted towards the courtyard.
Before long, a figure walked out of the hall. “Coming, coming.”
The gate to the courtyard was opened, and a middle-aged woman in a blue dress walked out.
“It’s you, Zhou Xing. How come you have the time to come to your Area Chief’s house?” As the woman spoke, her gaze fell on Qiao Yang and Su Ying. When her eyes fell on Su Ying, a sense of wariness flashed in her eyes.
“Qiao Yang said he has something to discuss with the Area Chief.”
“Long time no see, Aunt Tian.” Qiao Yang took the initiative to greet her.
“So it’s you, Qiao Yang. Is this your wife?” The woman smiled at Su Ying as she answered.
Qiao Yang wished it were so too!
“No, no, she’s a fairy… Er, no. This is Su Ying. Madam Su, this is my friend.”
Su Ying nodded politely at the woman. “Sorry for intruding.”
The woman looked away and smiled again. “Not at all. Come in, please. We’re just about to have lunch. Come in quickly. I’ll go and cook two more dishes.”
The woman, Tian Niu, moved aside to let them enter the courtyard.
“Zhou Xing is here?” A lean figure walked out from the hall. His shoulders were a little narrow and he looked a little thin. His eyebrows were thick and dense, but under the right thick eyebrow, his right eye was covered with a black cloth patch, and only his left eye was exposed.
As a martial arts practitioner herself, Su Ying could sense a strong sense of righteousness emanating from the man.
“Area Chief, Qiao Yang said he has something to discuss with you, so I brought him here,” Zhou Xing said.
“Long time no see, Uncle Meng.” Qiao Yang was a friendly person and greeted Meng Zi warmly as soon as he saw him.
Meng Zi smiled, and his hard, sharp edges instantly looked a lot gentler. “You’ve grown a lot stronger, kid. Indeed, it’s been a long time since we last met. Come in. Let’s talk inside.”
Qiao Yang lifted his chin proudly. “This is all thanks to Madam Su. Madam Su, this is Uncle Meng, the Area Chief of the North District, Meng Zi. Don’t be fooled by his fierce and scary-looking face. He’s actually a very nice man.”
Meng Zi looked at Su Ying and was slightly astonished when his gaze met her almond-shaped eyes that were as bright as stars. “You are quite young. Come, come in and have a seat.”
The tables and chairs in the hall were all made of bamboo. Even though they had been used for a long time, there was still a faint bamboo fragrance when one sat on them.
Tian Niu walked in with a few cups of water.
“We don’t have anything good here. This is honey water. They dug it up in the mountains. I brought some over for you to try and see if it’s sweet.”
Su Ying had never held back when it came to food.
She picked up the bamboo cup and took a sip. A sweet taste instantly spread out from her lips throughout her mouth.
“It’s good.”
“You guys wait here. I’ll go cook now.” Tian Niu laughed when she saw Su Ying drink the honey water, and she turned around and left the room to get busy.
“Uncle Meng, I know you guys must have heard about what happened in the Tiger Base recently.”
Meng Zi murmured his affirmation, but his gaze was rather oppressive as he looked at Su Ying intently.. “Madam Su, you’re not interested in our North District, are you?”