Las bellezas de la dinastía Song

Capítulo 89

Master and Qingyan (Part 2)

The little girl cried out with joy and snatched it away. She handed the grasshopper to him, then happily ran off, holding the pretty little bead in her hand.

He laughed triumphantly, eagerly stuffing the grasshopper into his mouth, almost swallowing his own tongue. After finishing, he stared blankly at the empty bamboo stick, lost in thought for a long time.

The third encounter occurred several months later. It was the middle of the night, and the little girl was sitting alone on the windowsill, gazing at the stars with her chin in her hand. Suddenly, she saw a large fireball, trailing a long streak of light, fall from the sky and land in her backyard. Startled, the little girl mistook it for a star and ran to look in her pajamas. It turned out to be him, injured during his tribulation. This time, his injuries were severe, and his true form was partially revealed. Panicked and in pain, he was about to forcefully transform and escape when the little girl suddenly appeared from the side and called out, "Hey!" Startled, he choked, unable to recover, and collapsed to the ground, barely breathing. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Who said that the destined one would bring happiness? If he couldn't get up by tomorrow, it would be terrible if he were discovered.

The little girl looked at him with pity, "Brother, are you sick?"

He was in a state of being half-demon and half-human, unable to speak, so he could only stare at her.

She wasn't afraid; she just squatted to the side, tilting her head to observe. After a while, she suddenly clapped her hands and laughed happily, as if she had just remembered something. "Ah, when I was sick, my mom always made me delicious food. I would be very happy after eating what I wanted, and I would get better quickly. I'll make it for you too! What do you like to eat?"

Speechless...

"Ah—, I know, my brother likes to eat bugs!" the little girl exclaimed.

She remembered that this was the brother who had given her a beautiful bead a few days ago in exchange for a grasshopper. She had run away, and when she turned back, she saw her brother eating a grasshopper.

Sweat beaded on his face, and an embarrassed expression appeared on his face. Well, that's true, but... well... Subconsciously still searching for an excuse to enjoy delicious food while maintaining his handsome image, the demon had unknowingly begun to faint.

Under the starlight, a small fire blazed, and a broken bowl filled with various insects and grasses caught by the little girl. The water slowly boiled, emitting a strange smell. The little girl choked, tears streaming down her face, yet she remained squatting to one side, gradually regaining consciousness amidst the thick, eerie odor.

As dawn broke, he had fully recovered from drinking the demon soup, but the little girl was already asleep beside him. He picked up the sleeping girl and placed her in the soft, fragrant bed in the nursery. His gaze swept over the grass and leaves she had fallen on while chasing insects, as well as the red, thread-like scratches on her face and hands, and then he made a decision.

From then on, he gained a disciple, and she gained a master.

However, the apprentice became less and less like an apprentice, and the master never acted like a master.

At first, her resentful master teased her until she crawled all over the floor. Later, the disciple grew rapidly and soon learned to retaliate. Her ability to counter-teasing increased exponentially, and her skill in teasing others improved day and night. Later still, master and disciple had their share of victories and defeats. Then, to avoid mutual destruction, they had no choice but to join forces. And then...

This led to countless people being bullied so badly that they turned pale at the sight of them.

Chapter 193: A Slight Distance

Ru Ying looked at me with a slight smile. How could she not know my personality?

I made a funny face, feeling a little embarrassed, and exclaimed, "Let's go, we'll talk about it when we get home." I took Ruying's hand and we went back to the backyard of Zhongfang Garden.

Ru Ying was very busy upon her return. First, she explained some matters, and then she exchanged information with Jin San Ziru. In fact, they were connected in many ways, and they knew each other's general situation through the exchange of information. What they were exchanging now was just some details.

Ru Ying hadn't been gone long, and upon closer examination, it became clear that a great deal had happened recently. Jin San and Zi Ru were recounting the details, while Ru Ying listened with increasing bewilderment, her gaze frequently sweeping over me. I sat on the other side, pretending to be boisterous and joking with Lü Ju, but actually feeling a bit embarrassed by Ru Ying's stare. Zi Ru and the others had been with me all along, so they had some buffer time, making it easier to accept. But Ru Ying had suddenly heard everything all at once; for someone living in this time and space, it was indeed quite unbelievable, wasn't it? Hehehe...

After finally finishing talking about everything, Ru Ying snapped out of her daze and sighed.

"What's wrong, Ruying?" I asked, puzzled. Had something happened to her outside? I quickly leaned closer to examine her closely. Her features were still exquisitely beautiful, but there was a faint melancholy in her eyes, her face was pale, and her lips were white.

"Ruying, is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" I asked, startled.

Ru Ying smiled faintly, "No, I'm just a little tired. I've been traveling for several days, I'll be fine after a rest."

For some reason, I suddenly felt uneasy. Ru Ying's demeanor made me feel somewhat distant, and I felt empty inside. I paused for a moment before smiling, "Uh, okay, you should go and rest for a while."

Ru Ying reached out and tapped me on the head, then rolled her eyes at me. "Of course you need to rest. If you hadn't caused such a huge commotion in Huaicheng, keeping everyone on edge, would I have had to rush like this? I'm exhausted. Don't expect me to help you these next few days."

As soon as Ru Ying tapped me, the unease in the air vanished without a trace, and everything seemed to return to normal in an instant. Relieved, I immediately clutched the spot where I'd been tapped, glaring angrily at Ru Ying, "You damn Ru Ying, you hit me as soon as you got back! I should have known better than to call you back, hmph!"

Zi Ru chuckled, glancing sideways at him teasingly, "Who's been thinking about Ru Ying all day long, and now they're saying they don't want her to come back, huh?"

I glared at Ziru, huffing and puffing, "Jin San, go and fetch all the accounts from Zhongfangyuan. Ziru, are you bored? I'd like to know how the income has been these past few months. Just tell me tomorrow."

Zi Ru smiled, "No need to go get it, and don't be angry. If you want to know about Zhongfangyuan's accounts, why wait until tomorrow? I can tell you now. Since I'm in charge of Zhongfangyuan, do I need to check and calculate these things on the spot? So, do you want to hear it now?"

I pointed at Ziru, speechless and dumbfounded. I couldn't help but look up to the sky and scream in grief and indignation, "Heavens above! This is another dimension! Aren't the people here supposed to be honest and easy to bully? Why did I end up with such a bunch of unruly and troublesome friends?!"

Kim Sam suddenly interjected, "Where's Mama Yong?"

Uh, right, didn't Rong's mother go out with Ruying? And what happened to all the girls they bought while they were gone for so many days?

"I was in a hurry, so I rushed back first. She and the girls are behind me," Ru Ying said softly, her voice weak, clearly exhausted from rushing.

Chapter 194: Declaration of War

"You don't look too well, why don't you go and rest early?" Zi Ru looked at Ru Ying with concern and said, "Lu Ju, would you go and help tidy up?"

“Yes. Ruying, Lüju, you two should go quickly,” I said.

Lüju agreed and left first. Ruying stood up, smiled, and followed her.

I chatted with Ziru for a bit, stretched with a grin, and was just about to get up and go to sleep when Lüju suddenly ran back.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to help Ruying pack her things?" I asked, puzzled.

"Miss, I did go, but I was only halfway there when the maid from the front building came and said that a strange guest had come to the building. Sister Ruying told me to ignore her and take care of things herself, and asked me to come and report this to you. She also said that she has been exhausted these past few days and needs to rest. She told you that if you have any troubles, it's best to handle them yourself, no matter how complicated they are, and not to bother her. Hehe." Lüju said with a grin.

I was wondering what kind of guest had come when I heard the first half of Lü Ju's sentence, but when I heard the second half, I almost fainted. Seriously, is my personality that obvious? Why does everyone seem to be able to see through my weaknesses? I turned around, grabbed Zi Ru's arm with a pained expression, "Zi Ru, Zi Ru..."

Ziru was dizzy from my shaking and quickly said, "Alright, alright, I know you can't stand being impatient. When have I ever let you handle such a troublesome little thing? Do it if you want to, or it's up to you if you don't." As she spoke, Ziru glanced at me with a half-smile, "I wonder what I owed you in my past life?" She couldn't help but laugh out loud as she said this.

Before I could even put on a smile, I saw Jin San, who had just been whispering a few words with a member of the gang, suddenly change his expression, turn around, and walk quickly over.

"What's wrong?"

"Boss, the one coming from the front building is that mysterious man who escaped," Jin San said in a deep voice.

Huh? It's him?! — I gaped in astonishment.

"Yes, the men we sent to follow him managed to shake him off. His men are very capable; they almost made it back for our men. Just as the servants were about to report, they saw him swaggering back in from among the guests at the entrance of Zhongfang Garden. He was sitting down there enjoying the singing and dancing, just like a customer visiting a brothel. I have now sent men to keep an eye on him again."

I frowned. "How many people came with him?" Was he alone?