Chapter 22: Don’t You Think So?
Baixu Ci was looking down at Nannuan, but he was suddenly pulled back, almost losing his balance as a rabbit.
“…”
Because the demon was “rubbing” his rabbit head.
The black mist in mid-air performed its duty diligently. The human infant on the bed was engrossed, even waving its chubby little hands.
Like it was applauding.
Baixu Ci felt inexplicably complicated. He had been afraid that Nannuan would be scared if she knew the one playing with her was a demon.
But now…
He looked down at his rabbit paw, then looked up at the black mist diligently striking poses, and was speechless.
This scene was too bizarre!
However—
“Sir, please change me back!” He turned his rabbit head, complaining somewhat resentfully.
The golden eyes moved slightly, watching the pink ears flexibly slip through his fingers, then spring up.
Standing upright, full of energy.
“Uncle and Auntie will be back soon!” He was a little anxious, and he pushed himself forward with his front legs, wanting to peek outside the window.
Fan Yue shifted his gaze to the little head, then waved his hand.
The barrier with its watery ripples instantly disappeared, and the mid-air black mist “circus” also dissipated.
Just then, a sound came from outside the door…
“Old man, go call Thirteen over. Let’s eat in the yard—”
“Remember to get extra chopsticks!” The woman specifically instructed.
Baixu Ci’s heart almost stopped, his head turning to the demon.
His eyes showed disbelief.
“Quickly change me—”
“Creak—” The wooden door opened.
Uncle Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and looked towards the small bed.
The richly dressed guest was currently…
Uncle Lin thought he had seen wrong and rubbed his eyes.
He was holding their Thirteen in one arm, even gazing at him lovingly, his gaze never leaving Thirteen’s face.
Baixu Ci supported Fan Yue’s shoulders with his hands, his body stiffening.
“Uncle…” He wanted to explain.
But the other party seemed to know not where to look, his eyes scanning the floor, muttering to himself.
“I, I’m looking for something!”
He went to the wooden table, ignoring how strange his behavior was, picking up a teacup and going out.
“Ayao, I’ve brought you the bowls, wait for me.”
He then stumbled away, his eyes vacant.
Baixu Ci painfully covered his face with his hand, feeling utterly despair.
“Sir, your timing for changing me back was too…”
Shouldn’t he have been changed back before the barrier was removed?
Fan Yue didn’t quite understand why the little demon was reacting so strongly.
Was there a problem?
He had fulfilled the other party’s request.
“Too what?” He simply asked directly.
Baixu Ci lowered his hands, revealing a lifeless face.
“Perhaps… you could also throw me on the ground before changing me back.”
At least not like this!!!
Fan Yue suddenly understood something and very obediently released his hand.
He threw him to the ground.
Because Baixu Ci’s rabbit paws had been suspended in the air, his hands now had no stable support.
So, with a gentle toss—
“Thud.”
He landed on the ground, somehow looking like the tragic heroine of a melodrama.
Black eyes swept over, with a rather calm expression.
As if asking, why don’t you get up? I’ve already done as you said.
Baixu Ci: …
Forget it, forget it, why bother arguing with a demon?
He dusted off his clothes and got up, but a voice came from behind.
“You’re also a demon.”
“!!”
Baixu Ci hadn’t relaxed for a second; his nerves immediately tightened.
He quickly tiptoed to the window, making sure Uncle and Aunt Lin were still outside before he breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned around and looked back very disrespectfully.
“I know,” he said softly.
Baixu Ci put his hands on his hips, feeling a headache coming on.
“I’m a demon from Linshan,” he repeated expressionlessly.
Nannuan listened attentively on the bed, the sound of finger-sucking occasionally coming from her, her black eyes rolling around.
“I am, I am…” He was truly heartbroken.
Baixu Ci took a few steps forward, almost pleading.
“But I can’t say it now. What if they hear?” His tone was aggrieved, and he looked up earnestly, requesting.
Fan Yue looked down at the little demon and finally spoke.
“You care about them very much?”
Although it was a question, it sounded like a statement.
Baixu Ci thought, isn’t this obvious? What’s there to emphasize?
“You genuinely care for them, yet you’re afraid they’ll know your identity and distance themselves from you.” His tone was calm, and he glanced down at the human infant on the bed.
What is there to look at? He still couldn’t understand…
“It shows you don’t trust them at all. If the outcome turns out as you fear, then they are not worth associating with,” he added.
He then shifted his gaze, looking directly at the handsome young man in front of him.
Baixu Ci was stunned by this, but then felt helpless.
It’s not like that at all!
Just as he was about to speak—
“For three years, why have you stubbornly come here? What’s wrong with Linshan?”
In the yard—
“Ayao, I, I think I’ve wronged you…” Lin Ping Sheng stood dejectedly by the butchering table, looking at his wife wiping blood with a coarse cloth.
He felt self-doubt for the first time.
The woman called Ayao was already frowning, and now, hearing his nonsensical words, she became somewhat irritated.
“Didn’t I tell you to get chopsticks? Why did you bring a broken teacup?”
Meng Yao had a coarse cloth strip tied around her head, gathering up her black hair, but it was still hot, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
“I don’t know who Thirteen met…” she murmured softly.
Lin Ping Sheng suddenly became excited, grabbing his wife’s hand, and said excitedly:
“Ayao, that’s what I want to say! Do you think Thirteen has really been sold? Just now, I, I saw that person directly holding…”
He stammered, getting stuck at the crucial point.
Meng Yao was annoyed, and directly threw the cleaver on the butchering table into the air.
“Clang!”
The blade landed precisely on the board, and the chicken blood slowly slid down the blade.
“Speak.”
“…”
After a detailed explanation, the couple fell silent.
Years ago, due to a drought in the village, life was extremely difficult. Lin Ping Sheng decided to take his pregnant wife to live in the mountains for a while, at least they could hunt to supplement their diet.
But they unexpectedly encountered bandits and almost lost their lives.
If Thirteen hadn’t appeared in time, whether Little Bao would have been born safely was questionable…
“Thirteen is just too handsome. If you ask me, we should make him uglier, so he won’t attract evil people,” Meng Yao was a little angry, but helpless.
Lin Ping Sheng didn’t want to see his wife so angry. He hadn’t been able to give her a good life when she was pregnant.
Their life had always been tight, sometimes relying on Thirteen for help.
This caused Little Bao, at over two years old, to still not speak much.
“Don’t worry too much. What if it’s not what we think?”
“Isn’t Thirteen still safe and sound?”
This comfort wasn’t very effective, so he shifted his gaze to the house and anxiously pulled his wife.
“What’s wrong?”
Meng Yao looked up, suddenly panicked, grabbed the cleaver from the board and rushed inside.
Baixu Ci felt wronged. What did “What’s wrong with Linshan” mean?
It made him feel like a traitor.
But he didn’t come often, maybe once a month?
And he only brought things…
Why was he looking at him like that?
“There’s nothing wrong with Linshan.” His voice was soft.
Hanging his head, he rarely felt he was somewhat wrong.
Fan Yue looked at the little demon with a good attitude towards admitting his mistake, his expression unchanged.
He raised his hand, intending to check his spiritual energy again…
“What are you doing? How can you hit someone?!” Meng Yao stormed in, still holding the cleaver, looking righteous.
Fan Yue: …
Baixu Ci was hanging his head, but when he looked up and saw Uncle and Aunt Lin entering,
“Eh?” A questioning voice.
A gaze swept over, Baixu Ci quickly became as quiet as a chicken, obediently lowering his head.
“Go explain.”
He said this lightly.
“Oh, oh, oh.” He reacted promptly and quickly ran over.
After a round of explanations, Baixu Ci successfully made Uncle and Aunt Lin believe even more that he was a “fallen youth.”
“He’s my sworn brother.”
“Nonsense!”
“He’s my friend.”
“Lies!”
A moment of silence…
Baixu Ci closed his eyes, deciding to admit defeat, and took a deep breath before speaking:
“He’s my difficult landlord, constantly exploiting me!”
The two opposite him showed understanding expressions.
“He even forced me to sign a contract. I can’t get paid if I don’t serve him.”
The two expressions became even more serious, mixed with pity.
Baixu Ci suddenly felt embarrassed. This feeling was exactly like when he said his family was bankrupt.
He felt very guilty.
“Um, mainly, he only stays for a while, it’s nothing, don’t worry,” he explained seriously.
The couple showed hesitant expressions…
“Oh, I’m so grown up now, I definitely won’t be taken advantage of,” he said cheerfully.
After saying this, further questioning would seem inappropriate.
So they returned, placing the freshly stewed chicken on the table.
A small wooden table surrounded by four small stools.
Bowls and chopsticks were neatly arranged.
Baixu Ci obediently sat on a stool, looking up at his expressionless “boss.”
Uncle and Aunt Lin sat aside, silent…
He reached out and patted the small stool.
He blinked his eyes.
Inner monologue: He really won’t sit? Wuwuwu, this is so awkward!
Finally, he lifted his robe and sat down.
Baixu Ci breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he had survived another ordeal.
“Don’t you eat vegetarian?” he asked softly.
The action of putting chicken leg meat in his mouth stopped. He felt incredibly pained.
“Actually, I’m an omnivore.”
In the end, Fan Yue didn’t use his chopsticks, only watching.
Watching Baixu Ci eat…
This made Lin Ping Sheng and Meng Yao eat less, so only Baixu Ci was sipping soup quietly.
Nervously.
“Uncle Lin, does Nannuan have food?” He asked holding his bowl.
For a moment, three pairs of eyes turned to him, making Baixu Ci almost drop his bowl.
“It’s okay, she can’t eat this, I’ll make something separately for her later,” Aunt Lin explained.
“Oh, oh.” He silently fell silent.
After a while, Baixu Ci felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere and spoke again.
“Auntie, I heard that people have been cutting down trees in town, saying they’re building—” He trailed off.
Meng Yao rolled her eyes, knowing what he was talking about.
“They’re building a villa on the mountain for the new magistrate,” she continued.
Mentioning this, Meng Yao’s face showed worry, but more indignation.
She used her chopsticks to add another piece of meat to Baixu Ci’s bowl, then said:
“They’re mainly cutting down trees on the other side of the mountain, not around here. But what’s wrong with these people? They insist that the mountain is full of demons and ghosts. We’ve been here for almost three years, and we haven’t seen any!”
“They say they’re here to exorcise demons, I think they have demons in their hearts!” Her tone was heavy, clearly having been troubled for a long time.
Baixu Ci wanted to quietly agree, but Meng Yao turned to him:
“Don’t you think so? Linshan has beautiful scenery, there are just some small animals running around, where are the demons and ghosts?”
“…”