131: Chapter 11 Guo Jing and the Six Heroes of Jiangnan

After obtaining The Lower Volume of the Nine Yin Manual, Meng Li did not linger in the Great Desert. After a brief rest, he drove the Dream Travel Residence back toward the Central Plains.

This afternoon, the sky was dark and gloomy.

Seeing that it was about to rain, Meng Li found a place to stop.

With the RV, he didn't mind the rain, but it made traveling difficult.

Before long, rain poured down from the sky, and in an instant, it became a torrential downpour.

Meng Li closed the doors and windows, intending to read for a while and wait for the rain to stop before moving on.

However, after reading only a few pages, he heard the sound of galloping hooves from a distance, along with the faint sound of voices—more than one person.

Soon, the hoofbeats drew closer, and the voices became clear.

"Masters, look! There's actually a house here!"

"It really is. Truly strange indeed."

"Dream Travel Residence? That's an interesting name."

"There should be someone inside. Jinger, go knock on the door and see if the owner will let us take shelter from the rain."

"Okay."

Just as the words were spoken, the door opened from the inside.

Then, Meng Li, who opened the door, took a look and was momentarily stunned.

Because the youth about to knock had a face that looked familiar to him—Old Hu!

No, in this world, it should be Guo Jing!

Seeing the door open suddenly, Guo Jing was also stunned for a moment. He quickly regained his composure, cupped his hands, and said politely, "Brother, my Masters and I were caught in a sudden downpour. I wonder if we could take shelter here for a while?"

Meng Li glanced at the others and found five men and one woman.

Among them, the woman carried a sword, while the five men had various weapons and outfits: a blind man with an iron staff, a scholar with a folding fan, a burly man with an iron scale and a cloth hat, a man carrying a shoulder pole, and a man with a mustache and a strange whip tucked into his belt.

This lineup and their characteristics were very distinct.

Meng Li recognized them at a glance—the Jiangnan Six Monsters!

Originally, there were seven, but according to the plot, the fifth, "Laughing Maitreya" Zhang Asheng, had died at the hands of the Twin Killers of the Dark Wind a few years ago.

His thoughts flashed, but Meng Li remained calm on the surface. He stepped aside to make room and said, "Come in."

Guo Jing immediately smiled gratefully, "Thank you, brother!"

With that, he turned to support the blind man leaning on the iron staff.

After they entered, the scholar cupped his hands toward Meng Li and said, "Young brother, sorry for the intrusion."

Meng Li waved his hand. "It's no trouble. Meeting is fate. However, few people come here, so I don't have many stools or chairs..."

"You're too polite, young brother. We're all travelers of the Jianghu; we're not that delicate. Standing or sitting on the floor is fine."

The speaker was the mustachioed man with the strange long whip at his waist.

After speaking, he sat down cross-legged directly on the floor.

The others also expressed that Meng Li was being too polite and then found their own places to sit.

Then, they began to introduce themselves one by one.

As expected, they were Guo Jing and the Jiangnan Six Monsters.

The youth with Old Hu's face was Guo Jing.

The blind man with the iron staff was the leader of the Jiangnan Seven Monsters, known as "Flying Bat," Ke Zhene.

The scholar with the folding fan was Zhu Cong, ranked second among the Seven Monsters, known as "Scholar with Magic Hands."

The mustachioed man with the strange long whip was Han Baoju, known in the Jianghu as "Deity of Horse Kings," ranked third.

The man carrying the shoulder pole was "Woodcutter of the South Mountain," Nan Xiren, ranked fourth.

The sixth was the man with the iron scale, named Quan Jinfa, nicknamed "Hidden Hero of the Busy Market."

The only woman was Han Xiaoying, ranked seventh, known as "Maiden of the Yue Sword."

After the introductions, the most socially adept, Zhu Cong, asked Meng Li, "May I ask how to address you, young brother?"

"Meng Li, a newcomer to the Jianghu who enjoys traveling everywhere."

Zhu Cong smiled. "Young Hero Meng, I see that this place of yours is like both a house and a carriage. It seems to combine the two, a very clever design that not just anyone could build."

"Surely you must have studied under a famous Master."

Meng Li said, "I wouldn't say a famous sect. I just had a chance encounter and learned some techniques of mechanisms and machinery."

Then, he asked, "May I ask where you all are coming from and where you are headed?"

Zhu Cong replied, "We are coming from the Great Desert and are preparing to return to the Central Plains. What about you, Young Hero Meng?"

"I've just finished my travels and also plan to return to the Central Plains."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing immediately said, "That's perfect! We're going the same way; we can go back together."

Zhu Cong did not object but asked Meng Li, "Where is your destination, Young Hero Meng? If it's on the way, we might as well travel together so we can look out for each other."

Meng Li replied, "Shaoxing Prefecture."

"I'm from there. This trip is to visit home, so I'm not in a hurry. I plan to travel as I go back."

"If you all aren't in a hurry, traveling together is fine. But if you have urgent business, I'm afraid I might delay you."

Zhu Cong smiled. "Then we can travel together for a while. We're heading to Jiangnan. Although we have business, there's still plenty of time, so we're not in a rush."

Thus, the matter of traveling together was settled.

No one was happier than Guo Jing.

His only companions on the road had been the Jiangnan Six Monsters. Although they had a great relationship, they were still elders to him. Especially since he started learning martial arts, he was often called slow and stupid because his progress wasn't ideal. Due to his kind nature, he held no resentment, but being around the Six Monsters inevitably made him feel constrained and reverent.

Now that there was someone like Meng Li, who was close to his age, Guo Jing couldn't help but feel a bit of joy and excitement.

Soon, he asked, "Elder Brother Meng, why does your house have two stories?"

Meng Li was momentarily taken aback.

What's so strange about a house having two stories?

Then, he realized that Guo Jing had lived in the Great Desert since he was a child.

The nomads in the Great Desert mostly lived in tents, which only had one level, and two-story houses were rare.

Thus, it was normal for Guo Jing to be curious upon seeing a two-story house.

Thinking of this, he replied, "Because I grew up in the Central Plains. The terrain, environment, and customs there are different from the Great Desert, and most houses there have two stories. So when I built the Dream Travel Residence, I built two floors out of habit."

"The first floor has the hall and kitchen, and the second floor is the bedroom."

"Kitchen?" Guo Jing was stunned, then asked curiously, "Isn't this house built of wood? Can you still light a fire and cook? Aren't you afraid of burning the house down?"

Ke Zhene shook his head as he listened. "Stupid! The house is wood, but the stove is stone. As long as they are separated so the fire doesn't touch the wood of the house, isn't it fine?"

Guo Jing then realized and scratched his head, saying sheepishly, "That seems to be the case."

Han Baoju swallowed and asked, "Young Hero Meng, does your kitchen have any ingredients?"

Meng Li said, "There are a few bags of rice and flour, and I've grown some vegetables myself. Meat is hard to preserve, so I don't have any for now."

Han Baoju laughed. "That's enough, that's enough. As for meat, if we encounter any game later, we'll just go hunt some."

Nan Xiren and the others also looked happy.

Meng Li smiled. "You all must have been in the Great Desert for many years and haven't eaten Central Plains dishes for a long time, right?"

The Six Monsters nodded one after another.

Ke Zhene said with emotion, "It's been over ten years."

With their skills, they naturally wouldn't lack food in the Great Desert, but the variety of food there was limited, far from the diversity of the Central Plains.

Moreover, besides meat, the staples were mostly wheat and millet.

All of the Six Monsters were from Jiangnan, so if possible, they naturally preferred to eat rice.

Now hearing that they could eat it, each of them was naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts.

Just then, the rain stopped...