Zhongli Jian smiled at the child in a friendly manner, took out a small wooden sign and passed it through the crack in the door, "We are here to pick up the goods, number 53."
The little boy looked at the wooden sign carefully, then slowly pushed the door open and said, "Come in."
While the little boy was leading the way, he kept stealing glances at Mu Lin. This was the first time he had seen such a beautiful young lady. She looked like she was made of snow and jade. Although she was dressed simply, her fairy-like appearance and temperament could not be concealed.
Mu Lin is the focus of everyone's attention in the underworld. In the past two days, he often attracted the admiring glances of passers-by when he changed into women's clothes, so he gradually got used to it.
The courtyard was not big and looked a bit run-down. The room was a little dim. The sunlight came through the yellowed window paper with holes in it, casting streaks of pale golden light with tiny dust particles floating above. However, there was a scent of ink floating in the room.
An old man was sitting there busy with something, surrounded by piles of papers. Zhongli Jian and the other two walked up to him but he didn't even raise his head. The little boy called him Grandpa and said that No. 53 was here to pick up something.
The old man raised his eyelids and casually pointed to the stack of papers on his left. The boy understood and rummaged through it, then took out two official passes and handed them to Zhongli Jian.
Zhong Lijian looked at it, paid the money, took the things and left with Mu Lin. They couldn't just rely on cheating every time they entered and left the city, it was better to have a certificate. Although this place was run-down, it was actually a famous underground official certificate counterfeiting center in the city, and the things produced there were difficult to distinguish between the official and the fake.
"Let's go out of town and take you to visit the Flower City in Lin County."
"Well, okay."
Zhongli Jian saw Mu Lin's cheeks moving, "What are you eating?"
"Do you want the remaining candy that the little boy stuffed into my hand just now?" Mu Lin blinked and stretched out his hand. In his palm was a small piece of maltose wrapped in oil paper.
Zhong Lijian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he still put on a serious face and taught her: "Don't eat things given by strangers in the future, even children are not allowed to do so."
"Why?" Mu Lin asked casually. In fact, the candy was not that delicious. It was not as good as the osmanthus cake he bought yesterday. Mu Lin just wanted to try it for novelty. Seeing that he didn't take it, he simply put the candy back into his pocket.
Zhong Lijian sighed, "Let's not talk about whether it's clean or not, what if there's a drug inside? This world is not so peaceful, there are many kidnappers who specialize in kidnapping little girls like you.
Mu Lin was a little confused, "Why did they kidnap me?"
Zhong Lijian was speechless, "… Sell you for money. Sell you to a place where you have no freedom and are forced to work day and night to make money."
Mu Lin swallowed the candy, "Terrible."
Nothing is as important as freedom. If life is confined to a corner and one cannot feel the changes in the world, what is the point of having an eternal soul
"Then you should listen to Zhongli and don't run around."
"Oh." It turned out that Zhongli was waiting for her here, and he knew how to coax the child.
Zhongli Jian hired an ox cart and took them out of the city, following the wilderness path towards Lin County.
Mu Lin peeked out through the car curtain. There were colorful wild flowers blooming on the roadside, and white butterflies dancing among the flowers and plants. She looked for a while, then the novelty wore off. She pinned the curtain aside and sat in the car, enjoying the breeze and sunshine.
Mu Lin fell asleep in a short while. The ox cart was shaking, and Zhongli Jian was afraid that she would be bumped into, so he sighed and held her in his arms. He was lost in thought while gently stroking her long hair from time to time.
Mu Lin's body seemed to stiffen for a moment, then relaxed again.