Chapter 41

"Even if you don't want to watch, it's fine." Luo Fan smiled, "I'll take Long'er with me, and you can stay here."

"No! No!" Lu Wushuang immediately became anxious and shouted repeatedly. She didn't know about the vow Luo Fan had forced Li Mochou to make, and she thought that if she left the two of them, she would surely fall into Li Mochou's hands and have no chance of survival.

"How does it sound like I'm molesting you?" Luo Fan couldn't help but blush when he heard Lu Wushuang's shouts.

Ouyang Feng had been followed for a long time, and his madness had improved significantly. Luo Fan hadn't hidden himself much, so Ouyang Feng quickly noticed something was amiss. Ouyang Feng turned around and looked at the group, asking, "Little brats, why are you following me?"

"This guy isn't crazy anymore?" Luo Fan looked at Ouyang Feng with some doubt, feeling a bit guilty as he replied, "Who... who said we were following you? I was going this way anyway, and I didn't know you were on the same path."

"Is that so? Then you go first." Ouyang Feng said in a rough voice, stepping aside to make way.

"Fine, I'll go." Luo Fan led the group and walked toward Mount Hua with a swagger, thinking to himself, "This guy isn't stupid, but do you think I don't know where you're going?"

Just as this thought arose, Luo Fan saw Ouyang Feng turn and leave in the opposite direction.

"Really? Is it going to fall apart?" At this point, Luo Fan was in a difficult position. As he walked, he thought, "In the original story, it wasn't mentioned why Ouyang Feng went to Mount Hua. I can only hope he will turn back and go up the mountain later."

Although Luo Fan's lightness skill was high, Mount Hua was extremely dangerous. Moreover, he was carrying two people, so he couldn't just climb up easily. When they reached halfway up the mountain, the weather suddenly turned cold, the sky was overcast, the north wind grew stronger, and snow began to fall.

As the sky darkened and the snow grew heavier, they suddenly heard a very light rustling sound, as if some wild animal was moving in the snow. They saw a figure dart into the valley behind them.

"Who is it?" Luo Fan leaped forward and quickly reached the spot where the figure had entered the valley. Looking down, he saw a person hanging from a rock with three fingers, his body suspended in mid-air. The person was supporting his entire body with just three fingers, and even with Luo Fan's lightness skill, it would be quite challenging to do the same.

"Could it be...?" Luo Fan had some suspicions, but it was already dark, and he couldn't see the person's face clearly. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Senior, please come up."

The person laughed loudly, the sound echoing through the valley. He pressed his fingers and leaped up from the cliff, then suddenly shouted, "Are you an accomplice of the Five Uglies of Tibet? What are you doing here in the middle of the night, in the wind and snow?"

Luo Fan was taken aback. He saw a beggar with white hair and a tattered robe. Despite the darkness, the snow on the ground reflected light, revealing his ruddy face and vibrant spirit. Luo Fan laughed and said, "Senior Hong, don't you remember this young man from our last meeting in Luoyang?" Luo Fan had already guessed who it was and, after a careful look, recognized Hong Qigong. However, Hong Qigong and Luo Fan had only met once, and without any preconceived notions, it was understandable that he didn't recognize Luo Fan in the middle of the night, in the wind and snow.

Hong Qigong stepped forward and looked closely, then suddenly smiled and pointed at Luo Fan, saying, "It's you, young man. How did you end up here?" He then looked at the group and said, "You young man really have good luck. The last time I saw you, you were alone, but now you have two beautiful companions."

Lu Wushuang's face turned red, and Luo Fan was also taken aback. He then realized he was still holding the wrists of the two girls and quickly let go of Lu Wushuang's hand, saying, "Senior Hong, you can eat anything, but you shouldn't say things carelessly." He then introduced Xiaolongnü, "This is my beloved, Xiaolongnü, and the other is her disciple, Lu Wushuang. She has low martial arts skills, and the mountain path is difficult, so I was just afraid she might fall off the cliff."

Luo Fan then introduced the two girls to Hong Qigong, "This is the former leader of the Beggar Sect, known as 'Northern Beggar' Senior Hong Qigong."

Xiaolongnü, who had never traveled in the world, simply smiled and nodded, calling him Senior Hong. Lu Wushuang, who had traveled with Li Mochou, had heard of Hong Qigong's name and was surprised to meet him, so she quickly bowed and said, "Junior Lu Wushuang pays respects to Senior Hong."

Hong Qigong didn't care much about the formalities, just nodded, and then explained, "I chased the Five Uglies of Tibet here. When I saw you, I thought you were their accomplices. Have you seen them?"

Luo Fan shook his head and replied, "I haven't seen them on my way up."

Hong Qigong said, "Let's not talk about that. I see you're hungry. Let's eat first." He then cleared the snow and gathered some dry wood to make a fire. Luo Fan helped him gather wood and asked, "What are we going to cook?"

"Centipedes!" Hong Qigong said.

"Really?" Luo Fan thought Hong Qigong had some unusual tastes.

Hong Qigong laughed and said, "I chased the Five Uglies of Tibet all the way from Lingnan to Mount Hua. If I don't find something special to eat, how can I justify it?" He patted his belly. Luo Fan saw that his body was strong and robust, but his large belly was a bit cumbersome. Hong Qigong continued, "The north side of Mount Hua is the coldest place in the world, and the centipedes there are the fattest and most tender. In Guangdong, the climate is hot, and everything grows quickly, so the centipedes are coarser."

"You've really developed a taste for them?" Luo Fan, coming from the modern world, wasn't too surprised, as people eat all sorts of strange things.

Hong Qigong placed four stones around the fire, took a small iron pot from his back, and put it on the stones. He grabbed two handfuls of snow and put them in the pot, saying, "Let's go get the centipedes." In a few leaps, he was already on a two-zhang high cliff.

Lu Wushuang, who had traveled with Li Mochou, wasn't afraid of centipedes because Li Mochou often dealt with poisonous insects. She asked Luo Fan, "Brother Luo, are centipedes really that delicious? Why does Senior Hong seem to love them so much?"

Xiaolongnü also turned to look at Luo Fan, waiting for his answer. Luo Fan just shrugged and said, "I've never eaten them."

Hong Qigong called from the mountain, "Luo, come up here quickly."

Luo Fan couldn't let the two girls do the dirty work, so he said to them, "Wait here. I'll be back soon." He leaped up and used his foot to lightly touch a protruding part of the cliff, reaching Hong Qigong's side.

"Great lightness skill!" Hong Qigong praised, surprised by the young man's rapid improvement in just a short time. With his broad knowledge, he couldn't identify the source of Luo Fan's martial arts. He wanted to ask but was preoccupied with the food, so he said, "Young man, let's see who has better footwork."

Luo Fan, with the Nine Yang Divine Skill and the Lingbo Microstep, was confident that he was unmatched in lightness skill in the current martial arts world. He replied, "I'll be happy to accompany you!"

Luo Fan stayed a丈 away from Hong Qigong, not an inch more or less. Hong Qigong was impressed by the young man's skill and liked him very much. In just a short time, they reached the top of a remote peak. Hong Qigong walked to a large rock, grabbed the soil with his hands, and threw it aside. Soon, a dead rooster was revealed in the soil.

"Roast chicken?" Luo Fan thought, but then realized it wasn't cooked and looked at Hong Qigong with doubt.

Hong Qigong smiled and picked up the rooster. In the snow, Luo Fan could see clearly that the rooster was covered with about a hundred large centipedes, red and black, with colorful patterns, wriggling.

"Damn! Don't you know I have a phobia of dense clusters?" Luo Fan was suddenly frightened by the sight of so many centipedes and cursed inwardly, but he tried to remain calm.

Hong Qigong looked at Luo Fan with satisfaction and said, "Centipedes and roosters are natural enemies. I buried a rooster here yesterday, and it attracted all the centipedes around."

He then took out a package, wrapped the rooster and centipedes together, and happily slid down the mountain.

By this time, the pot of snow water was boiling. Hong Qigong opened the package, grabbed the centipedes by their tails, and threw them into the pot. The centipedes struggled for a while and then died. Hong Qigong said, "When the centipedes die, they release all their venom and urine, making the water extremely toxic." He then poured the water into the valley.

Hong Qigong took out a small knife, cut off the heads and tails of the centipedes, and gently squeezed them. The shells fell off, revealing white and transparent meat, like large shrimp, very beautiful.

He then boiled two more pots of snow water, washed the centipede meat clean, and removed all the venom. He took out several iron boxes from his backpack, containing oil, salt, vinegar, and other seasonings. He heated the oil and fried the centipede meat, which immediately released a fragrant aroma.

Hong Qigong waited until the centipedes were slightly yellow, added the seasonings, mixed them, and took one out to eat, closing his eyes and sighing, feeling that this was the greatest pleasure in the world.

"Wow, can we eat it now?" Luo Fan, coming from the 21st century, wasn't too surprised by this. He reached into the pot, took one out, and ate it, thinking it tasted like chicken, crispy and crunchy.

Hong Qigong was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad. I've seen many brave men who don't flinch at the sight of blood, but none of them dared to eat a centipede with me. You're the first."

Luo Fan glanced at Hong Qigong and thought of a man in the modern world who claimed to be at the top of the food chain. He said with a hint of disdain, "What's the big deal? Bear Grylls' chicken-flavored, crispy centipedes are the real deal. Yours are too basic."

At this moment, Lu Wushuang saw the two of them eating so happily and quickly took one from the pot to eat. Hong Qigong looked at her with surprise but didn't say much, as he had heard from Luo Fan that someone else was even more daring. He asked, "Who is Bear Grylls? Does he eat centipedes too?"

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