El viaje de un mendigo alrededor del mundo

Capítulo 41

Before he could respond, she abruptly pulled away, her arms still around his neck. She looked at him with passionate and impulsive eyes.

"This is not indecent assault, not frivolous behavior, not violation, but rather—scholar, marry me!"

Author's Note: Volume 1 is almost finished XD There's one more side story left, about a day when I ran away from home.

Preview of Volume 2: My Lady, Please Have Some Self-Respect.

27

27. Extra Chapter: Fan Bing's Confession...

My name is Fan Bing, I am thirteen years old, and I am an all-around little helper who serves as housekeeper, guard, cook and many other roles.

I love my name, even though it's often called "Illness," but that doesn't diminish my affection for it at all. This is probably because my name before I was eight was even more awful. Back then, everyone called me—"Two Hundred and Fifty."

You might say there are no people in the world with the surname Er, and I used to think so too, until I met a bad guy named Shusheng.

Of course, none of that matters. The important thing is that I'm an orphan, I don't have a name, and "250" is my number. Although I'd like them to call me 250, they clearly prefer to call me 250.

It was a snowy winter day when the Shadow Master found me, still an infant. He said something to me, and then took me away.

He said: "Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent; you are a martial arts prodigy, one in a hundred years..."

Don't ask me how I remember things from when I was still an infant; these are all things the shadow master told me. I could vaguely sense that he wanted me to be grateful and moved by his kindness in recognizing my talent. I tried, but every time I saw his weasel-like smiling face, I completely lost the will to be sentimental.

There was another boy around my age who was in the same group. He was the only person in the Shadow Pavilion besides the Shadow Master who didn't have a number.

Everyone calls him Young Master Bao.

I'm quite unhappy about this, but I'll forgive his special treatment because his chubby cheeks are so easy to pinch. What? Why can I pinch his cheeks? Well, it's simple, he can't beat me!

Who am I? I am the martial arts prodigy handpicked by the Shadow Master, a once-in-a-century talent with extraordinary bone structure!

—Later I asked many people, and they all told me, as people who had been through it, that this was just a catchphrase used by the film's creator when abducting children.

Eight years old was a turning point in my life. That year, many things also happened in the Shadow Pavilion. For example, one after another, the beautiful and grown-up Shadow Guards were sold off by Emperor Yuanzuo to marry foreign rulers. Another example is that Yao Yaoling accidentally blew up the alchemy room while refining pills, which also blew up the roof of the Shadow Master next door. Yet another example is that the Shadow Pavilion took on a very difficult mission.

The defeated Shadow Guards could be tied up in several bundles, and in the end, the Shadow Master set his sights on me and the baby.

The task actually seems very simple: get close to the First Lady, Gao Yi'ai.

However, it was very difficult to implement. The instructions from above were: to cheat, swindle, rape, and plunder.

I decided to divide the tasks with my baby by playing rock-paper-scissors, but to my surprise, he just rolled his eyes at me and walked away, completely ignoring me. So ungrateful! I could have easily chosen an easier way to cheat or trick him, but I didn't. I decided to play rock-paper-scissors fairly, and he still wasn't satisfied? Of course, in the end, he still played rock-paper-scissors with me. I reminded him of his bedwetting incident on his first day at the photography studio—note, it was a reminder, not a threat; I never threaten my friends.

The results of the rock-paper-scissors game are in, and I won! Actually, it's very easy to beat the baby; he likes to choose scissors because he looks like a steamed bun.

We've divided the tasks fairly, justly, and openly. I'll be in charge of swindling and deceiving, while Bao Bao will be in charge of rape/abduction. Although Bao Bao kept rolling his eyes while I was explaining the division of labor, I believe he was just too embarrassed to express his admiration for my great leadership abilities.

It was a bleak autumn evening. On Gao Yi'ai's usual route home, I disguised myself as a hungry and cold little beggar.

The moment I saw her, I hugged her leg. She didn't push me away, and I saw a glimmer of hope. She draped her coat over me and bought me some steamed buns. I felt like I was halfway there. She said something to me with that perpetually icy face, and then I just lay there like a corpse, pretending to be dead.

She said, "I will take you to the Prefect's residence."

This woman has absolutely no maternal love! And she's even the same gender as the legendary "mother"!

The next day, I disguised myself and went to the same spot to wait.

This time, I met someone else before I even met Gao Yi'ai.

That person, despite her weak aura, had such a bright smile. She seemed to notice me looking at her, paused for a moment, then smiled back at me. In that instant, I made a decision; knowing she wasn't a target, I still firmly clung to her leg.

But I soon discovered that although the icy female official wasn't as cheerful as her, she was definitely gentler.

She kicked me away and disgustedly brushed the dust off her clothes. I lunged at her again, but she pressed her hand against my forehead, preventing me from advancing. With my skills, it would have been easy for me to push her away, but right now I'm a sick and weak child, and I can't use too much strength.

Then, to my surprise, she said something and then took me away.

She said, "You little brat, you're filthy! Come home with your great-aunt and take a bath."

I followed her to her house and found that she lived alone. The house wasn't big, and it felt rather empty; the yard was overgrown, and the house was covered in dust. I figured she was probably an orphan like me. This made me happy, but then I heard people on the street calling her "Miss Fan." She actually had a name! For an orphan to have a name? That was just too much.

Later, she boiled water for me, and I realized she wasn't very good at starting a fire; it took her four or five tinderboxes to get it lit. Then, she took out two hardened steamed buns from somewhere, put them on the lid of the boiling water pot, heated them for a while, and handed them to me.

She coughed, seemingly a little uncomfortable, and said, "Let's eat this first, and then we'll go to a restaurant after we've cleaned you up."

I held the steamed bun, its outer layer so soft it was almost melting, yet the inside as hard as a rock. I really wanted to tell her that hot steamed buns weren't supposed to be this hot, but for some reason, I didn't say anything in the end. Not only did I not say anything, I also used my inner strength to swallow the bun.

Then I heard her mutter softly, "Poor thing, so hungry, yet she's eating spoiled bread so happily. Sigh."

My heart was filled with mixed feelings.

The water was boiling. I knew there was a well in the backyard, and I could have taken a cold shower, but I liked watching her prepare the hot water for me. So even if she accidentally dropped oil or a rag into the water, I pretended not to see it, and I took the longest shower of my life.

For some reason, I washed off the disguise. Later I realized I had made the right decision.

This person really likes children, especially pretty ones. I suddenly felt incredibly lucky. Although I hate to admit it, I have to say, the baby is prettier than me, and has more chubby cheeks—so cute! If he had been the one to go first, I probably wouldn't have had a chance.

Obviously, I had completely forgotten that this woman was not our target.

She borrowed clothes from the neighbor's child, helped me put them on, and even dried my hair. She was very kind and gentle to me, her attitude completely different from before.

A mix of emotions welled up inside me. Sigh, I never imagined I'd be forced to use my looks to please someone.