Sitting on the stone block, Du Kang looked around at this small courtyard. Although it was located in the downtown area, it still had a special sense of seclusion.
"With green radishes above my head, I share the sun and the moon. It's really hard to find such a quiet place in the noisy world." Du Kang reached out and took the small teacup handed to him by Xia Zeng.
The tea was clear, and the teacup was dark purple. A delicate fragrance wafted out, refreshing the mind. With a light sip, the fragrance of the tea filled his mouth. Du Kang couldn't help but praise the tea. He raised his head and drank the tea that was still slightly hot in one gulp.
"Damn it!"
Unexpectedly, his movement was too big and affected the wound on his chest. He grimaced in pain and covered his chest with his right hand. A trace of blood oozed out from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it with his fingers and looked at the bright red fingertips. Du Kang couldn't help but smile bitterly. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Damn it, I didn't expect that I would be defeated by Ye Zilong. What a surprise!"
"A scholar who has been away for three days should be looked at in a new light. There are many things that you can't think of. It's not just a small thing."
Xia Zeng curled his lips and sat down with a small teacup in his hand. He gently blew the hot air from the cup and smelled the tea fragrance with an intoxicated look.
"Xiao Pang, your injury is not light."
"You don't need to say that."
Du Kang squinted at Xia Zeng and said, "Old Xia, you saved me and came here just to invite me to a cup of tea, right?"
Xia Zeng held the teacup in his hand and slowly swirled it under his nose. Smelling the aroma of the tea, he was very intoxicated and said casually, "You're right. I invited you here just for this cup of tea. Now adjust your breath and see if you feel anything?"
Du Kang was skeptical. He overlapped his abdomen with his palms as if holding a ball. He breathed deeply and concentrated on his Dantian. After a while, he felt a heat flow spread from his Dantian and turned into an invisible heat wave that instantly flowed through his limbs and finally gathered in front of his chest.
Du Kang could only feel the depression in his chest. A wave of bad luck rushed up to him. He opened his mouth and spat out a faint fishy smell, which was dispersed by Xia Zeng with a wave of his hand.
He moved his palms to the center of his eyebrows and then slowly pressed down. His breath returned to his Dantian like rivers returning to the sea. Everything was calm again.
"Phew!" He exhaled a long breath with a faint sharp whistling sound.
Du Kang opened his eyes in disbelief and looked at his hands. He clenched them into fists, and his knuckles cracked. He touched his chest, and the sharp pain that felt like thousands of knives and tens of thousands of needles had disappeared.
Du Kang jumped up from the stone stool and waved his fist with all his might. A dull sound of wind rang out. Du Kang felt his own strength and turned to look at Xia Zeng, who was still gently shaking the teacup in his hand. He squinted his eyes and re-examined this ordinary middle-aged man in front of him.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen me before?" Xia Zeng joked without raising his head, as if there was the whole world in the teacup in his hand.
Du Kang hooked his finger on the tip of his nose and moved closer to Xia Zeng. He looked down at the teacup in Xia Zeng's hand. It was a clear cup of light green tea. There was nothing to look at. Du Kang couldn't help asking, "Old Xia, what are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at myself. Do you want to see?"
Xia Zeng said and sent the teacup to Du Kang. The Weiwei swirled the tea, and Du Kang's face was reflected in the cup.
"Sh * t, I thought you were up to something. It turns out that you are looking at yourself. That's enough."
Du Kang pushed the teacup back to Xia Zeng. He returned to his seat and sat down. He fiddled with the empty teacup with his fingers.
After pondering for a moment, Du Kang finally said, "Old Xia, do you know where Sister Chu is now? Why I can feel that she is still alive, but I can't contact her. I can't even communicate with her."
"Don't worry. Weiwei is a lucky girl. It's just a small disaster. She will get help from some noble people. The most serious thing is that she will suffer some superficial wounds. It's not a big deal at all."
Xia Zeng blew away the steam floating out of the cup and swallowed the tea in his mouth happily. He didn't swallow it, but held it in his mouth and let it soak down bit by bit.
Du Kang looked at Xia Zeng suspiciously. In his heart, he felt more and more unable to see through this "reincarnated Lu Ban".
"How can you be sure that Sister Chu is fine?"
"Hey hey, we will know the result tonight. As for you, since you have recovered, go back to the store. Someone is waiting for you there." Xia Zeng raised the empty teacup in his hand and motioned to Du Kang.
"Well …" Du Kang was stunned. He immediately understood that Xia Zeng was sending him off. He quickly got up and cupped his hands to Xia Zeng. "I can't thank you enough. If Sister Chu comes back safely tonight, I, Du Kang, will definitely pay a visit to express my gratitude."
After saying that, Du Kang turned around and walked out of "Old Xia's Funeral". He identified the direction and left quickly.
"Old Xia, I think it's a pity that you don't come with me to the Rainbow Bridge to set up a fortune-telling stall."
A teasing voice sounded from the shadow of the vines. A figure flew out and looked at Du Kang's receding figure together with Xia Zeng. Then he retracted his gaze and fiddled with a green vine leaf in front of his forehead. "Old Xia, what do you think of this guy?"
Xia Zeng withdrew his gaze and looked up at the cold stars in the sky. His fingers pinched the empty teacup from time to time. After a while, he said, "Everything has its own destiny. You and I are both pawns in the game. We can't see through it and figure it out."
Du Kang, who was walking quickly on the road, didn't know what had happened after he left the small courtyard. He was like a passer-by in a hurry. He walked fast and only looked at the road in front of him, ignoring the scenery around him.
"Handsome boy, come in and have a back massage?"
A lazy voice with a hint of seduction suddenly sounded. Du Kang's feet stopped abruptly and he looked up to find the source of the voice.
Just at the entrance of an alley on his left, a gorgeously dressed young woman with a "famous brand" bag was leaning against a telephone pole and winking at him.
"Damn it, I forgot about this."
Du Kang patted his forehead and hurriedly turned to another alley. Ignoring the nonsense that the woman said behind him, "It's not expensive and it's good to live", he strode away from this dirty and romantic place.
"Damn it, this urban village has been like this since I first entered the school. It's still like this now. No one cares about it." Du Kang turned a dark alley and finally walked out of the urban village.
With his back against the flickering light, Du Kang stopped and turned around to look at the dark mass of low-rise bungalows. This was the urban village. How many men and women, old and young, grew up here, daydreaming in such a distant and unreachable way. Then, they sank here until they were too lazy to even daydream. For the sake of three meals a day, they spent their lives in mediocrity until their hair turned white.
For a moment, Du Kang didn't know what he was thinking. He touched his sour nose and strode through the pedestrian street until he reached the main roadside which was brightly lit and full of traffic.