The man remained silent for a moment, but some people nearby were already itching to act, and one said urgently, "Old Sha! What are you waiting for! There are words engraved on this thing! This girl must be the one we're looking for..."
Old Sha suddenly looked up and asked calmly, "Young Master, how can we summon the Divine Dragon?"
"What 'Dragon Princess'?" Xiao Man looked at him with a pitying gaze, as if he were an idiot. Old Sha stared at her for a while, then finally slowly let go of her hand. Her stepmother and father, who had been hiding behind her, trembling with fear, quickly came out and climbed onto the platform. Her stepmother took Xiao Man's hand, trying to quietly take her away.
Old Sha asked with a casual smile, "Boss, is that your daughter? How old is she?"
Her father, thinking these people had ill intentions, stammered, "She...she's only sixteen...gentlemen, this little girl is ignorant and has offended you. Please be magnanimous and forgive her this time..."
Old Sha laughed and said, "Boss, don't worry. I just thought this girl was clever and cute, like my daughter. She's quite pretty, not much like you and your husband."
Her father said with a forced smile, "Yes...it doesn't quite look like her. This child looks more like her deceased mother..."
Old Sha nodded and asked no more questions. Seeing that he didn't move, the restless men in white naturally didn't say anything and could only continue drinking and eating. Her father stayed with them anxiously for most of the night, only secretly breathing a sigh of relief when they left at dawn.
When he went upstairs, he saw that Xiaoman was already up, wiping the windowsill and tables and chairs with a rag. He sighed, "My little darling, what did you do to offend those men?" Xiaoman hurriedly dropped the rag and said in a trembling voice, "Father...it was my fault! I poured wine for that old man, but just as he picked it up to drink, the wine accidentally spilled on his hand, and he got angry at me. It was my fault! I'm always so clumsy, always embarrassing you all."
Seeing her on the verge of tears, her father couldn't bear to scold her anymore. He quickly stepped forward and gently comforted her, saying, "It's really not suitable for a young girl like you to show your face in a restaurant. It's all my fault. I'll hire a waiter later, and you can obediently work upstairs as a hostess. You won't have to go downstairs and suffer this humiliation anymore."
Xiao Man chuckled, "I don't like being a young lady. I just like helping Dad and Mom with chores. I'll be more careful next time and won't cause you any more trouble."
Just then, her second aunt came up to call her for breakfast. Upon hearing this, she laughed and said, "My husband is right. We should hire a helper. How can our daughter be out there soliciting customers? Every time I see those lecherous customers staring at Xiaoman, I feel like hitting them on the head with a rice paddle!"
Rice got up too. When he heard they were looking for a helper, he thought it meant more people would come to play with him. He was so happy that he ran around up and downstairs. Finally, he stopped and shouted, "Let's ask Brother Shovel to be our helper! He's strong, capable, and likes Sister. He'd be the best!"
Xiao Man looked at him helplessly. People say that children's loose tongues are annoying, and it's really true. Sure enough, her father's eyes lit up. "Shovel? Is he the boy from the Zhao family on the east side of town? His family is very well-off, and that boy is honest and kind. He learned a lot of skills from Master Qian. How do you know he likes your sister?"
Rice chuckled and said, "Of course I know! Brother Shovel blushes like an idiot whenever he sees my sister!"
Her father and stepmother were overjoyed. They exchanged glances, and the stepmother quickly pulled Xiaoman into the inner room, smiling as she said, "Xiaoman, that Zhao family boy is a good person. You're not young anymore, how about you get engaged to him?"
Xiao Man's stomach churned with fear. Even with her quick wit, she was at a loss for words. Good heavens! Was she really going to marry that greasy-faced fool?! She stamped her foot, blushing and pouting, "Mother! Why are you asking me this! I don't know! I don't want to get married! I want to serve you all!"
Her father, who was outside, heard this and said with a smile, "Alright, since you're only sixteen, let's get engaged first. In a couple of years, you can go to his house in a bridal sedan chair and become his bride. We'll both be in town, so you can come visit your parents anytime you miss them."
Xiao Man almost lost her composure, finally mumbled something incoherently, and hurriedly ran downstairs. Her parents just assumed she was shy and laughed it off.
Xiaoman wandered aimlessly through the streets, racking her brains for a solution. No matter how good she was at pretending, she couldn't use this as a bargaining chip. Marry a shovel? She'd rather be an old maid for life!
She couldn't handle her father's side; as long as things didn't escalate, all her refusals would be dismissed as coy or shy. What to do? She sighed, then suddenly saw Shovel walking towards her from around the street corner, accompanied by a girl in a floral dress.
Isn't that the second daughter of the Chen family? Suddenly, a thought flashed through Xiaoman's mind, and she quickly found an alley to hide in. She saw the second daughter of the Chen family looking at the shovel with a dazed and infatuated gaze, squeezing and nuzzling against him, exchanging flirtatious glances. The poor shovel was squeezed so tightly that he was almost pressed against the wall.
Everyone knows that Miss Chen likes shovels. She goes to the martial arts school almost every day to watch shovels practice. Shovels are driven crazy by her, but he can't do anything to a young lady like her, so he can only pretend to be stupid.
Hey, Xiao Man's eyes lit up, and an idea came to her. She couldn't refuse, so why not make up a lie? Lying or playing the innocent were both her forte. She'd go back and complain to her father that Chanzi was being nice to her while simultaneously entangled with Chen Er-guniang. The Chen family was considered middle-class in town, much better off than hers; her father certainly wouldn't dare offend them and would have no choice but to give up on the matter.
Thinking about this, she felt like a genius. Her mind cleared up, and she turned to walk home, mentally preparing how to tell them and whether she should rehearse her expression beforehand.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard someone behind her say, "Miss, we meet again."
Xiao Man hurriedly turned around, only to see more than a dozen tall camels standing behind her. The old man, Lao Sha, who had grabbed her wrist last night, was riding on the lead camel, looking down at her with a burning gaze.
She was startled, and countless thoughts raced through her mind in an instant, but finally she smiled with delight and said, "Ah, it's you all! You haven't finished your seclusion yet? Why don't you come to my restaurant for dinner again today?"
Old Sha chuckled leisurely, "We came here to find someone. We wouldn't dare leave the pass until we found them. Why are you wandering around alone, young lady? Aren't your parents worried?"
"None of your business!" she wanted to say, but she still said with a smile, "We poor girls are not like the rich young ladies in boudoirs, so we don't care about these things. But I have to go back soon."
Having said that, she quickened her pace, not wanting to get entangled with them. But Old Sha followed her at a leisurely pace, still saying, "Girl, are you really that boss's daughter? I'm not bragging, but Old Sha has lived half his life and has developed a keen eye. Your manners are much more refined than your rude parents."
Xiao Man finally stopped walking, and said calmly, "What this gentleman said is very profound. I don't quite understand it."
Old Sha laughed and said, "Are you really not clear-headed or just pretending? Young master, I heard that you were well protected from birth and knew nothing of the dangers of the world. I never expected that the rumors were not entirely true. You are actually a sly little fox!"
It's the young mistress again! Xiao Man was both puzzled and curious. In the morning, she heard them talking about the young mistress of Cangya City. Could it be that they mistook her for someone else and thought she was the young mistress?
Seeing that she didn't speak, Old Sha assumed she agreed and laughed, "Your Highness, hiding here under an assumed name has made it easy for us to find you. The annihilation of the Cangya City clan is indeed terrible, but you are the only hope for survival, so you must not give up on yourself. You must have heard of Mount No Return, so we would like to invite you to come and have a chat. It would be better for Mount No Return to take care of you than for you to wander out alone as a young lady."
Xiaoman remained silent, knowing that this person had already decided she was some kind of mistress, and whatever she said would be ignored. Since she was going to be ignored anyway, why waste her breath and say so much nonsense?
Old Sha continued, "Does the young master have anything to say? With your abilities, being buried in this remote borderland would be a waste of talent. Even though the people here are kind and honest, the entire world is watching the power of Cangya City. How could your adopted parents, whom you took in halfway through your life, possibly protect you? Even if it's to repay a debt of gratitude, you shouldn't cause them any trouble."
Seeing that Xiaoman remained silent, he felt a slight annoyance and said coldly, "Is the young master determined to remain obstinate? Do you not care about the lives of the thousands of people in this town? If they are to die, it is all for you!"
Xiao Man finally spoke up this time. She lazily tossed her hair and said, "If you want to die, then die. What does it have to do with me?"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Old Sha was completely taken aback by her cold-blooded words and stood there stunned. The white-clad men behind him couldn't contain themselves any longer and said in a deep voice, "Old Sha! Why waste words with her! Just arrest her and take her back! We from No Return Mountain gave her face by inviting her over, but she refused. If she gets killed later, the martial arts world will blame us for our negligence!"
Old Sha shook his head and remained silent. Strange, how could the young master of Cangya City be such a person?
Chapter 5 of the Horned Scroll: My Little Master (Part 2)
Updated: 2008-10-04 15:08:49 Word Count: 3282
When Xiaoman returned home, her stepmother was already busy washing and chopping vegetables. Seeing her, she smiled knowingly and said, "You're back? I left your breakfast in the pot. This child, why are you being shy with your parents..."
Xiao Man, pale-faced and sobbing, threw herself into her mother's arms, crying out in a pitiful voice, "Mother! What should I do? My heart is breaking!"
Second Aunt was startled and quickly put her arm around Xiao Man's shoulder, asking her questions in detail. Xiao Man sobbed and murmured, "I...I went out just now and saw Brother Shovel at the market. I greeted him, but he ignored me completely. He was only talking intimately with the Second Miss Chen, and he didn't even glance at me. So I asked him, 'Why aren't you talking to me?' Brother Shovel said, 'Don't come to the martial arts school to see me anymore. The Second Miss Chen will be unhappy. She's my darling, and I don't want her to misunderstand.'"
Upon hearing this, the second aunt flew into a rage, gritting her teeth as she said, "How could the Zhao family's child be so wicked! A heartless scoundrel! What does he take our daughter for?!"
Xiaoman's father was doing accounts upstairs when he heard the commotion and rushed downstairs to ask what had happened. His stepmother angrily said, "Honey, the Zhao family and the Chen family are ganging up on our daughter! Come here and seek justice for our daughter!"
Xiaoman knew her father was a bit smarter than her stepmother, so she had to make the lie believable. She continued haltingly, "When I heard him say that, I wanted to dig a hole and disappear. That Miss Chen was so arrogant, telling me to get lost, so I left. But then Brother Shovel caught up with me, grabbed my hand, and apologized, saying that Miss Chen's family had some influence in town, and he didn't like her, but she kept pestering him, so he couldn't shake her off. He also said that what he said earlier was nonsense, and told me not to take it to heart, that he only had eyes for me… Later, I asked him, 'So what are you planning to do?' Brother Shovel said that his father wanted to arrange a marriage between the Chen family, but he wanted to marry me, so he wanted me to be his concubine, and he would spoil me for life…"
Before she could finish speaking, her father was so angry he almost smashed the kitchen. He shouted, "This is outrageous! Outrageous! Our daughter is going to be his concubine?! In what way is our daughter inferior to that pig from the Chen family?! This is utterly disrespectful! Xiaoman, don't associate with this kind of person anymore! I will definitely stand up for you and find you a wealthy family to marry into, in a grand and glorious way, as their principal wife!"
"Okay, then take your time looking." Xiao Man secretly made a face.
The two elderly people were still grumbling angrily. The second aunt blamed her father for being incompetent, which made his daughter disliked by others. Her father had nothing to say, so he could only come over to comfort the crying Xiaoman and said softly, "Good child, don't be sad. Dad will definitely help you find a better family. At worst, you can stay at home with your parents for the rest of your life! Although we are a small family, we can't let others trample on us."
Xiao Man quickly comforted the two elderly people to prevent them from getting angry and going to confront the Chen and Zhao families, which would make her very unlucky.
As a result, the two of them were angry all day, but neither of their elders had met, and there was no sign of a marriage proposal. They couldn't very well go and cause trouble, so they could only sigh and lament. Even Da Mi didn't dare to speak loudly.
Xiaoman, feeling "heartbroken and on the verge of breaking," slept soundly in her room. When she woke up, it was already dark. Her stepmother cautiously came to find her for dinner, afraid of hurting her "sensitive and fragile" little heart.
When she went downstairs, she saw the table full of her favorite dishes. Dami, tempted, secretly reached for some eel with her hand, but her mother slapped her down: "No manners! Your sister hasn't eaten yet!"
Her father, with tears still on his face, served her food and said softly, "Child, eat more. You'll have more energy if you eat more."
She nodded haphazardly, reached for some food, and suddenly noticed a patch of bright red on the dish. Startled, she looked closer and saw that her sleeve had broken off and was lying on the table, her arm soaked in blood, with strands of blood falling down.
Before she could figure out when she was injured and why it didn't hurt, the windows and doors on all four sides were suddenly blown open by the wind, and a violent storm rushed in, extinguishing the candle flame with a "whoosh".
Rice let out a soft whimper, then its mouth was quickly covered. In the dark room, besides the howling wind and rain, there was also a strange "rustling" sound, like something was swinging rapidly.
Xiao Man murmured, "Father?" The words had barely left her lips when she suddenly felt a tightness around her, as if she were bound by some extremely thin and hard thread, which caught right on the wound on her arm. She screamed in pain, and then the thing pulled her into the air, slamming her into someone's arms. The person grabbed her by the neck and said in a rough voice, "Caught her! She has horns on her body, so she really is the young mistress of Cangya City!"
"It's the young master of Cangya City again!" Xiaoman opened her mouth to retort, but the man was choking her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe, so she couldn't speak.
A few more whistles came from the other side, and another person said, "What should we do? What did the leader say we should do?"
The man holding her by the neck said in a deep voice, "Take him back alive!"
What will happen to this family?
"Kill them all!"
He grabbed Xiaoman by the hair and roughly dragged her outside the door, tears welling in her eyes from the pain. Suddenly, she heard a muffled thud, and hot, bloody blood splattered all over her face. The man loosened his grip, and she rolled to the ground. She tried to struggle, but to her surprise, she was bound with steel wire, which tightened the more she struggled, leaving bloody welts all over her body.
She was in so much pain that stars were flashing before her eyes. In the dark of the stormy night, she couldn't see anything. She heard shouts and the buzzing of the steel wires ahead, but she couldn't see anything. After what seemed like an eternity, the candles were finally lit again in the room. Only then did she realize that many people in white were standing around her. They were the same group of people who had ridden the camels.
Old Sha walked up to her with a candle, cut the wire binding her with his dagger, and said, "Does my lady now believe me? Someone of your status, wandering among the common people, will only bring danger. Do you understand the consequences if we hadn't arrived in time tonight?"
Xiao Man pursed her lips, and after a long while, she said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a mistress at all. This little horn was dropped by a man in black, and I picked it up to use as a pendant. That's all."
Unfortunately, this little fox usually lies too much, so no one believes her when she speaks seriously now. Old Sha smiled and helped her into the house. Her family members huddled timidly in the corner, and they all trembled when they saw her covered in blood.
A group of men in white rushed in and surrounded them. Da Mi burst into tears, and his second aunt quickly covered his mouth, his whole body trembling like a leaf.
Old Sha waved his hand: "Don't be afraid... please sit down, come, sit down."
Second Aunt and Xiaoman's father shakily shuffled onto the stool and sat down.
Old Sha said gently, "Boss, I felt a fondness for your daughter the moment I saw her, and I'd like to adopt her as my goddaughter. What do you think?"
Her father's face turned ashen; he had no idea what was going on and just nodded hastily. Old Sha beckoned, and immediately two men in white robes brought over two sandalwood chests. They gently opened them, and everyone was stunned to see that the two chests were filled with silver!
Second Aunt and the others had never seen so much silver before; their eyes widened in disbelief.
Old Sha said, "These are just a small gift. I'm planning to take my goddaughter on a trip to the Western Regions. I wonder if you two would agree?"
What goddaughter! He's clearly trying to buy her with money! Xiaoman was both shocked and furious.
Her father stared at the silver, his face trembling, his mind reeling. After a long pause, he finally asked softly, "Master... just now... what exactly happened...?"
"Oh, they were just bandits. We've dealt with them all. If the authorities investigate, they won't find a single clue." Old Sha pointed to the three or four corpses piled up outside the door, gave a wink, and immediately several men in white went out and carried the corpses away.
Her father stammered, “This…sir…so much silver…we’re a small family…how could we dare…”
Old Sha laughed and said, "Boss, you don't need to be so polite. My eldest daughter passed away a few years ago. The other day, I saw your daughter and her appearance and mannerisms were eight or nine parts similar to my eldest daughter, and I felt a special connection with her. Don't mention a mere three hundred taels of silver, even if it were three thousand taels, I wouldn't care at all."
The second aunt and father's faces gleamed in the silver, their eyes sparkling as well. The father couldn't resist reaching out to touch it—three hundred taels of silver! For a small family like theirs, this was a windfall they might never see in their entire lives. He trembled as he touched it for a long time, finally stammering, "Xiaoman…you…it's rare that this gentleman likes you, you…you should go with him…"
Xiao Man said calmly, "Does Father want to sell me for three hundred taels of silver?"
Her father muttered, "What do you mean by selling...selling or not selling? This old man is just..." But what? In fact, he knew the answer very well. They were here to buy people, carrying a huge sum of money, and they were going to use money to make these poor people dizzy.
Dami broke free from her second aunt's grasp and cried out, "You're going to sell my sister?! I won't! I want my sister to stay!"
His shrill childish crying was irritating; his stepmother made a move to hit him, but he only cried harder. Her father stared blankly at the silver, then suddenly, as if making a decision, he closed his eyes tightly and whispered, "Go away! I won't sell my daughter!"
Old Sha was surprised that he would refuse, and immediately laughed, "Could it be that the gift is too small... Someone, bring another thousand taels of silver!"
Her father shouted, "Even if you send me 100,000 taels of silver, I won't sell my daughter! Get out of here!"
The second aunt nodded and said, "A thousand pieces of gold and silver are not as good as a family living happily together. You should leave quickly! Won't you feel guilty spending the money you got from selling your daughter?!"
Old Sha was momentarily confused.