Chapter 970: Like a Stranger

Suxinju is one of the few vegetarian teahouses in Yanshi City.

Although Chanyin and his ilk do not forbid killing, they are Buddhists after all. They strictly abide by the precepts and do not eat meat or even spiritual wine.

It is for this reason that Xiao Mian chose Suxinju as the place for the meeting.

An hour later, Xiao Mian met Chanyin in the elegant room on the top floor of Suxinju.

The two drank tea instead of wine.

"How is Tuoba?"

"Donor Tuoba, he is neither good nor bad!"

"Why do you say that, Master?"

"Donor Tuoba's body is intact, but he seems to be suffering from 'amnesia'!"

"Amnesia?"

"He can't remember his past!" Chanyin said this with a look of regret, but before Xiao Mian could say anything in surprise, Chanyin continued: "Not only that! Donor Tuoba seems to have forgotten the way of cultivation, and now his cultivation is completely ruined!"

"What!?"

This time, Xiao Mian really couldn't sit still anymore.

If it was just amnesia, there would always be a way to treat it.

But if his cultivation was completely ruined, there would be no way to save him.

In a hurry, Xiao Mian wanted to see Tuoba Lan.

At that moment, the two left Suxinju and left hand in hand.

Not long after, Xiao Mian followed Chanyin out of Yanshi City - if Tuoba Lan's cultivation was really ruined, it would be impossible for him to live in Yanshi City anymore.

The two of them traveled eastward and came to the foot of a big mountain.

In an unknown mountain village, Xiao Mian met Tuoba Lan.

It has been nearly ten years since Tuoba Lan was swallowed by Mieyuan's blade of inability to save Xiao Mian in the battle against Mieyuan. For Xiao Mian, who had been in seclusion in Zulongju for ten years, this period of time was naturally longer. However, it was not until he met Tuoba Lan that Xiao Mian realized how ruthless time was - only because Tuoba Lan's temples were already slightly white at this time!

Looking at the private school teacher who taught the children of the villagers to read and write, Xiao Mian really couldn't connect him with the proud and gentle Tuoba Lan at the beginning.

However, although Tuoba Lan had forgotten the past and even the way of cultivation, so that his cultivation was completely abandoned and he looked a little old, his spine was still straight.

Whether Xiao Mian believed it or not, this person was the one he vowed to find even if he traveled all over Zhongzhou - Tuoba Lan!

Now that the person has been found, what's next?

For a moment, Xiao Mian was lost...

"This mountain village is called Dahuai Village. There are some low-level cultivators and ordinary people living together in the village. It seems that someone is secretly protecting Donor Tuoba!"

Chanyin's words brought Xiao Mian back to reality.

"That should be the subordinate of one of my friends!" Xiao Mian's so-called friend was naturally Xie Ying. Turning his head to look at Chanyin, Xiao Mian asked kindly: "Master, is there any room for maneuver in Tuoba's current situation?"

"This... is hard to say! Losing your mind is easy to say, but Donor Tuoba's cultivation is abandoned because he has not practiced for many years. I am afraid that his meridians and the whole body have forgotten to practice. What's worse is that without the watering of true essence for such a long time, Donor Tuoba's golden elixir must have lost its activity!"

When the golden elixir loses its activity, it is like a person's death, and it is impossible to revive.

The ice is three feet thick, and it is difficult to turn back!

"..., how does the master plan to reply to the little monk?"

"What does Mr. Xiao think?"

"Please, please help me pass on a message to your little monk: If the little monk has a way to let Tuoba resume his cultivation, it will not be too late to cure his insanity; otherwise, it doesn't matter if the insanity is not cured - how can a noble and arrogant person like him endure the sadness of losing all his cultivation and premature graying? It's better to lose his mind to the end!"

"This..., I will tell Mr. Xiao what you said!"

"Master, if you have something to do, you may as well go back to Yanshi City first. I want to be quiet here!"

"Okay! I'm leaving!"

After speaking, Chanyin bowed to the Buddha and left.

Xiao Mian took a deep breath, restrained his cultivation, and walked into the small mountain village.

The mountain folks were simple and honest. When they saw Xiao Mian, a stranger, most of them responded with a kind and shy smile, which reminded Xiao Mian of his childhood hometown, Daqing Mountain...

Xiao Mian felt warm in his heart and nodded in response one by one - in the eyes of ordinary Jindan cultivators, these rural villagers might not even be considered a spiritual beast. But in Xiao Mian's eyes, the seemingly lofty cultivation world was actually supported by countless mortals.

Countless mortal kingdoms constitute the lowest and most extensive grassroots of this world. The entire cultivation world is like a pyramid.

Without a foundation, no matter how magnificent the pyramid is, it is just a handful of loess.

Xiao Mian was thinking about this when the sun set in the west. Tuoba Lan's class was over, and the children who were listening to the class walked out of Tuoba Lan's thatched cottage in groups of three or five.

Xiao Mian stood under a big locust tree in the open space in the village, waiting for the children to disperse. Among them, there was a chubby boy who glanced at Xiao Mian when he passed by the locust tree.

After a while, the children dispersed and Xiao Mian arrived in front of the thatched cottage.

"Knock! Knock..."

Xiao Mian knocked softly with his fingers on the half-open door.

"But which reckless person forgot to take things away again?"

A hearty laugh came from inside the door, followed by footsteps. The door opened slightly, revealing Tuoba Lan's slightly tired face.

The two looked at each other and were both stunned.

Although Xiao Mian had seen Tuoba Lan's slightly white temples before, but now facing him at close range and feeling the vicissitudes of time left on Tuoba Lan's face, Xiao Mian was suddenly speechless; as for Tuoba Lan, , when I first saw Xiao Mian, I felt that I didn’t recognize this person, but at the same time I felt that he was extremely familiar. After taking a closer look, I still couldn’t remember who this person was...

"This... little friend! Are you knocking on the door?"

"..., yes!" Xiao Mian nodded, pondered for a moment, and said eloquently: "I am passing through your village. It is getting late and I want to stay overnight. Is it inconvenient if I don't know?"

"this……"

Just as Tuoba Lan hesitated, a loud shout came from behind Xiao Mian.

"That foreigner! Why are you disturbing the peace of our Dahuai Village?"

Xiao Mian turned around and saw a tall, strong man striding forward in a vigorous manner. Behind the strong man was the child with a tiger-like head and a strong brain from before.

The tip of his eyebrows was raised slightly, Xiao Mian remained silent.

But it was the strong man who walked to the door of the thatched cottage and stepped between Xiao Mian and Tuoba Lan.

"After Husheng returned home, he told me that there was a young man who had been looking at my husband's thatched cottage under the big locust tree. After the students had dispersed, the young man came and knocked on the door. My husband has no relatives or friends in our locust tree village, so he should You won't be targeted by blind thieves, right?" The strong man seemed to be talking to Tuoba Lan, but in fact he was talking to Xiao Mian. Although Xiao Mian was indispensable, Tuoba Lan was a little embarrassed. explained: "Brother Liu misunderstood!"

"Oh? Is it possible that this young hero is an old friend of sir?"

"That's not true! This little friend just wants to stay overnight!"

"Borrowing for the night? Haha! That's it! It seems that I, Old Liu, really misunderstood!" The strong man burst out laughing. At the end, he grabbed Xiao Mian's hand and said, "What a coincidence! Our family is here today." We’ll kill the chicken and stew it in the evening. If you want to stay overnight, you might as well come to my house! Sir, the cottage here is simple and exposed, so it won’t be good if you catch a cold!”

"Brother Liu, it's hard to refuse such kindness, please forgive me for disturbing you!"

"Don't bother me! Don't bother me! You scholars are just polite!" The strong man pulled Xiao Mian away from the thatched cottage. He turned back and whispered to Tuoba Lan who was standing at the door of the thatched cottage: "Sir! I will let the tiger live in a while." I’ll bring you chicken soup!”

Seeing Xiao Mian being pulled away by the strong man, Tuoba Lan shook his head, and a trace of remembrance appeared on his face that even he didn't notice...

Within a moment, Xiao Mian arrived at the strong man's home.

Only then did the strong man let go of Xiao Mian's right hand.

For a moment, neither Xiao Mian nor the strong man spoke, and the situation was quite embarrassing.

"Dad!" But it was the tiger-headed child, Hu Sheng, who stuck out his head and asked carefully and tentatively: "The chicken - do you want to kill it?"

When Xiao Mian heard this, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Is this seemingly honest and honest strong man just showing off?

"Kill! Why not kill!? Dad promised to treat Mr. to chicken soup!" As soon as the strong man said this, Hu Sheng cheered and ran away, obviously busy killing the chicken. The strong man looked Xiao Mian up and down and asked nicely, "Who is your Excellency?"

"Just a guest!"

"Borrowing? I think your cultivation level is not weak. Even if you have not reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage, you are already at the top level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, right? At least, I, who is at the high level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, cannot see through your cultivation level!" said the strong man! When he said this, he suddenly released and then retracted his momentum, revealing the high-level spiritual energy fluctuations in the foundation building stage. Seeing that Xiao Mian remained silent, the strong man continued: "If you really just want to stay overnight, just stay with me for one night. If you insist on going to my husband's place, don't blame me..."

"Are you a peripheral disciple of the Xiangfu Chamber of Commerce?"

"You! Huh! It turns out you are here with bad intentions!"

Staring at Xiao Mian closely, the strong man put up a posture and wanted to attack.

Xiao Mian didn't want to be verbose with the other party. The golden elixir was so coercive that he would stop it as soon as he released it.

"I asked your Xiangfu Chamber of Commerce to help me take care of that person. Thank you for your hard work!" As he spoke, Xiao Mian took out a seal of the Xiangfu Chamber of Commerce and waved it.

The strong man came back to his senses.

His surname is Liu Zhigang, and he is a monk born and raised in Dahuai Village. In other words, he is not a pure monk, but just a mortal who was lucky enough to build a foundation.

Because Tuoba Lan was living in Dahuai Village, in order to hide his identity from others, Xie Ying's friend approached Liu Zhigang nearby and asked him to take care of Tuoba Lan.

Now that he has met Xiao Mian and the seal order of the Xiangfu Chamber of Commerce, especially feeling the pressure of Xiao Mian's powerful golden elixir, Liu Zhigang still dares not to believe it?

"In that case, I'm waiting to drink chicken soup!" Xiao Mian said with a smile and walked towards the main hall. Liu Zhigang was stunned when he heard this, nodded hurriedly, and agreed repeatedly: "This..., Yes! Yes! Definitely!”

Regardless of what Liu Zhigang did, Xiao Mian felt uncomfortable at this time.

The saddest situation in the world is not when strangers draw swords against each other, but when people who are inseparable from each other are strangers - precisely because they once lived and died together, when two people face each other and do not know each other, the stinging feeling becomes even more intense. It's suffocating...