76: Watermelon under the horseshoe

The scorching sun was like fire.

Heatwaves swept across the fields.

At the fork in the road, under a simple wooden shed, a plain-looking old man wearing a straw hat and cloth cap was comfortably enjoying a wisp of cool breeze passing by.

The breeze stirred the white beard plastered to his face, and on his weathered, furrowed cheeks, a pair of eyes, clearer with age, shone with exceptional brilliance.

Watermelons were neatly arranged on the small stall in front of him, and the harvest in the watermelon field behind was also good, with plump, round, green watermelons.

The old man squinted and glanced to the side, a knowing smile of satisfaction appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"How is it? Sweet, right?"

Swish!

A thumbs-up indicated high praise.

"Mm, old man, your watermelon is really good, the taste is spot on."

The young man's mouth was like a sharpened cutting machine, a bite of roasted meat, a bite of watermelon, as if he had reincarnated as a hungry ghost.

Under the young man's relentless chewing with his iron teeth, the large bird was being devoured at a visible speed.

Facing the praise, the old man lifted his chin slightly with a touch of pride, clearly pleased.

"I, this old man, have been busy in these fields my whole life. I can tell whether a watermelon from here is sweet or not just by looking."

"If you don't believe me, ask around within a few dozen miles. Who doesn't know that my Old Green's watermelons are specifically requested by nobles in Wanchuan City?"

"You must have heard of Baron Mylon. Even he, after eating this watermelon, kept saying how good it was."

The young man grinned, "I know, I know, Baron Mylon. I glanced from afar back then, hey, the maid he brought with him was really pretty!"

The old man was stunned for a moment, then began sizing him up with a completely new look, his straw hat fanning waves of heat.

"Kid, I couldn't tell, your eyes are quite sharp~"

"But you're not bad-looking, hmm, you should have an easy time finding a good wife in the future. Maybe some noble lady will take a liking to you."

"With your appetite, an ordinary family wouldn't be able to support you. You're suited for a life of wealth and status."

A Saint Body for living off women?

Facing the old man's caring... extremely affirmative gaze, the young man didn't take it to heart at all.

While crunching away, he occasionally responded a few times, fully considering the old man's feelings and not letting the conversation drop.

In the scorching heatwaves of the afternoon, a particularly harmonious scene appeared by the roadside.

An old man and a young man, chatting sporadically, their warm and harmonious appearance made anyone who didn't know think they were grandfather and grandson.

It was just obvious to the naked eye that their appearances were too different.

The old man looked very ordinary, but the young man was surprisingly refined and handsome.

He wore tattered black clothes with no exquisite decorations, very plain. He didn't seem keen on dressing himself up, nor did he like it, only pursuing simple comfort.

But some beauty doesn't need clothes to set it off. The young man looked so handsome, his face a little dusty, yet revealing a gentle ease like polished jade. His features were as exquisite as a landscape painting, handsome in stillness, naturally refined.

His snow-grey scattered hair was exceptionally fine, the strands showing a crystalline texture, lifting like crimson willow blades in the breeze...

The young man sat casually on the grass, the smile at the corner of his mouth making him look not melancholic or suppressed, but rather too enthusiastic and unrestrained, appearing somewhat enchanting.

Looking closely, his pair of colored pupils revealed a sense of surging waves, as if ice and fire were intertwined.

Yes, the young man was none other than Su Ye, who had emerged from the Sunset Forest.

At this moment, his appearance had completely changed. His figure looked taller, and his well-proportioned body seemed to have undergone a thousand refinements, appearing robust and powerful.

After finishing his cultivation, Su Ye had originally planned to go directly to Heavenly Dou City to find Qing'er. However, halfway there, he was too hungry, so he hunted some prey, dug a stove in the ground, and started roasting it.

He happened to meet the old man selling watermelons here and came over.

On one hand, it wasn't easy for the old man to earn money on such a hot day. On the other hand, the taste of plain roasted meat wasn't very good.

Unexpectedly, the old man mistakenly thought Su Ye was in trouble.

On one hand, it was probably because the spring water from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had roasted Su Ye's clothes, which were reinforced with Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear hide, into a tattered mess.

On the other hand, Su Ye came out of the fields after roasting something, eating and taking peaches and plums (leaving money), and he looked cheerful and didn't avoid people...

This situation clearly looked like a repeat offender; anyone would think he was a mischievous kid from some village.

Su Ye didn't expose this, treating it as amusing the bored old man.

"Wonder how Old Tom is doing?"

Looking at the old man's beard framing his face, Su Ye couldn't help but think of Old Tom.

Old Tom also liked to keep such a beard; he looked very manly.

He had been away from Mingri Village for about four months now.

Shaking his head, Su Ye didn't continue thinking about this. Old Tom was in good health. When he went to the Star Dou Great Forest again, he could easily stop by and take a look.

Clop—clop—

Suddenly, a series of heavy, hurried hoofbeats sounded.

Several knights, armored and armed, were seen riding their horses towards them.

The heavy silver armor fit snugly against the horses, emitting a dull metallic sound as they collided, like two armies clashing on a battlefield.

The tall horses and the oppressive, cold killing aura of the heavily armored knights were no less intimidating than ferocious beasts like tigers or lions.

"Whoa—"

Several military horses stopped in front of the small stall. The Soldiers had stern, killing intent in their eyes, holding spears. The horses' hooves circled, and their mouths let out rough gasps, "Hiss~ beep~".

In this scorching summer, it felt as if a heavy cold wind had suddenly blown.

Seeing this scene, the old man's face instantly became uneasy, and Su Ye couldn't help but frown.

"Sirs..."

Swish!

Just as the old man was about to open his mouth, a silver flash appeared, and a spear directly pierced through a watermelon and lifted it up.

The burly man who looked like a squad leader had thick eyebrows and tiger-like eyes, a face like leaded bronze, and a slightly ferocious scar at the corner of his eye, not looking like someone to be trifled with.

Old Green's face tightened, and his body began to tremble. He stood frozen to the side, not daring to speak further.

Snap, roughly breaking the watermelon open, the man took a direct bite.

Having watermelon to quench thirst in the hot weather was great, especially since they were already drenched in sweat from wearing heavy armor. The burly man laughed heartily:

"Everyone, have a taste!"

"This watermelon tastes good!"

The other Soldiers immediately took action, also mimicking the burly man and stabbing their spears down.

With spears and hooves everywhere, the small stall couldn't withstand the weight at all and was destroyed and torn down.

Many watermelons smashed onto the ground, their sweet red flesh and juice "ruined" and splattered everywhere.

A cold light flashed in Su Ye's eyes. After glancing at the old man, he thought about it and decided not to step forward rashly.

Old Green's family had lived here for generations. He could leave safely after teaching someone a lesson, but Old Green couldn't.

It wasn't worth disturbing the old man's peace for a moment of satisfaction.

As for killing people, eliminating the danger...

Everything hadn't settled yet; it was completely unnecessary to go that far.

Killing couldn't completely solve the problem. These Soldiers also had friends and associates, and it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't come back to settle accounts with the old man because he stood up for him.

Half a watermelon, only bitten a few times, was casually thrown onto the ground. The burly man then speared another one with his spear, took a few big, messy bites, and only then felt satisfied.

Eating and taking, slapping the watermelons he had taken, the burly man sneered:

"Old man, your watermelons aren't bad!"

"It's your good fortune to let us sirs have a taste, understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes—" The terrified Old Green hurriedly nodded and agreed, bending at the waist and smiling ingratiatingly:

"Sirs, take as much as you like. Just consider it this old man showing filial piety to you. Does that work?"

"Let's go!"

Giving a look that said "you're smart enough," the few people rode their horses away directly.

The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves covered the broken watermelons with another layer of haze.