Chapter 13 - Don’t be afraid, Moxi (1/2)

No sooner had I awoken the next day than Accountant Liu came to see me. He pulled me to a pile of empty jars and looked as though he wanted to cry but simply couldn’t.

I heaved a sigh while slapping on a helpless look: “White wine isn’t very popular among the customers anyway. Let’s sell yellow wine.”

Seeing that even the owner herself didn’t really care, Accountant Liu naturally had nothing more to say.

I was still upset enough not to go home, and remained the entire day at the tavern.

And when I didn’t see anyone coming to look for me, I got even more peeved. The stubbornness of a rock kept me at the tavern for another night.

On the third day, I loitered outside the pub for an entire morning with a sour face on and ended up scaring all our customers away. Half pulling and half dragging, Accountant Liu begged me to go back inside. I found a corner to drink. At times I felt angry, and then at times I felt sad. After consuming some alcohol, the idea that perhaps something had happened to Moxi began to nip at me. I could hardly stood still because of this fear. I got up and was about to go home when, without any warning, a small figure flew into my arms and clung onto my waist.

I looked down. Moxi?! Hugging me, his face was firmly pressed against my stomach.

He was out of breath, and after a while, still didn’t calm down.

“Moxi.”

He ignored my call. I had to call a few more times before he would nod his head against my stomach to show that he heard me. “What’s wrong?”

He only now looked up from my arms with reddened eyes. He signed to tell me that he thought I had left and hadn’t wanted him anymore.

I frowned, unable to help myself from grumbling: “You’re the one who doesn’t want me!”

His eyes reddened again as though he was going to cry when I said this to him. He hastily gestured something to the effect that yesterday, Bai Jiu took him to the outskirts to practice martial arts and he also didn’t return for the day. This morning, they got back only to find me gone. He thus quickly came over here to look for me.

He asked me not to chide him or to get angry with him. “Since Sansheng doesn’t like Master, Moxi won’t learn from him anymore,” he wrote onto my palm after some deliberation.

When I saw him like this, my anger, no matter how bad, also vanished.

I couldn’t but sigh. I crouched down, ruffled his hair and asked, “Why do you like Bai Jiu so much? Is he prettier than Sansheng?”

He resolutely shook his head. Pleased, I smiled. “Then how about we find another master for you?”

He kept still for a moment before writing on my palm: “Moxi wants to learn martial arts.”

My brows raised in surprised. I didn’t expect Moxi to have such thoughts. As I was about to ask him why, I suddenly heard a crass male voice shouting in front of the store: “No white wine? You run a tavern but you’re actually telling me you have no wine? I don’t give a damn. I have to drink today!”

Accountant Liu profusely apologized to him.

I scowled and told Moxi: “Stay here. We’ll go back together after I take care of this.”

Moxi nervously tried to pull me back. I patted his head to reassure him and then walked out. I frowned upon seeing the person in question. The third young master of the Guan family that ran the capital rampant had actually picked my tavern to crash today. The world is full of wonders, indeed. The third young master’s father was a first-rank official in court, his older sister was the Imperial Consort, and his entire family was favored by the emperor. Normally, anyone who came across them would need to show some minimal courtesy. This third young master was a notoriously rotten dregs. He never worked, and was always found at various entertainment establishments. He loved women, money, and alcohol – a classic player exemplar.

It surprised me beyond words that such an infamous man was suddenly making an appearance at my little-known tavern.

Accountant Liu was still apologizing to him. I stopped Accountant Liu and said to the third young master: “Our store doesn’t have white wine today. If you must have some, sir, I believe there are several large restaurants at the main intersection ahead.”

The third master looked me up and down with his squinted eyes – eyes so vulgar I just wanted to gouge them out. He rubbed his chin, smiled and said, “Just now on the street, I heard that the owner of this tavern is a widow with a kid, but that she wasn’t old in the least, and even rather pretty. I didn’t believe them… but it turns out the rumor wasn’t wrong. You are quite a fetching woman.”

I lightly replied: “I guess half of that is true.”

He didn’t get mad or angry. For a second there, he forgot how to reply. By the time he recovered, the smile on his face grew even more leering. He went up to me and grabbed my hand. “Haha! They forgot to tell me that this sweet lady was also a lonely little slut! Why don’t you let me give you some love and care today?”

I eyed him more deliberately, wondering whether to cut his tongue off first or to claw his eyes out first, or to simply neuter him and hang his winkie above the city gate tower as a favor to every woman in the world and as a warning to everyone else.

Out of the blue, a tiny figure dashed over and fiercely pushed him to the ground.

While I was still stupefied, a jug had hit the third young master and bathed him in yellow wine.

Silence all around.

Moxi’s anger appeared to not have cooled down. He went behind the counter, looked for a piece of paper and wrote a huge ‘SCRAM’ on it, then threw it at the man.

Apart from the time he threw a fireball at me in the underworld, I had never seen him this furious. Maybe he had also been this furious, but he was a mature adult who knew how to control himself. As a child presently, his temper just broke loose.

I saw the onlookers quickly dispersing out of the corner of my eye. Accountant Liu looked as though an apocalypse had arrived. The helpers in the pub also turned ashen. Everyone knew what sort of retaliation was in store for us.

But I was not scared even if they were.

I was about to praise Moxi when, at the same time, he pulled me down and hugged me tight. He patted me on the back as if to give me comfort, as if to say: “It’s okay, Sangsheng, don’t be afraid. Moxi will protect you.”

I was so touched despite not knowing whether I should laugh or cry at his action.

While I was squeezing him in my hug, I suddenly saw the third young master climbing up, then slamming a piece of broken shard onto Moxi’s head.

My mind went blank that instant. All I could think was that nobody must ever hurt my Moxi. I immediately pressed Moxi’s head into my chest, myself leaning forward.

A sharp sting pricked my head. Even though I was the spirit of a stone, the fierce blow blackened my sight and made me dizzy for a moment.

Moxi was petrified in my arms. He outstretched his hand to gingerly touch the warm and sticky blood that was slowly trickling down my forehead. Shock and fear gradually filled his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid, Moxi.”

His face was blanched.

The third young master complained of a headache and then menaced to have our heads chopped off as compensation.

Incensed, my desire to kill rose from within.

I had never been treated this way in the past one thousand years. This third young master of the Guans was really the first. At this point, I seriously wanted to snip his little wiener off, stir-fry it, feed it to him, and see whether he could grow another one. Compensation? Like hell that’d happen!

Yanwang wouldn’t let me kill in the human world, but there are plenty of ways to make people suffer living deaths.

Wrath condensed in my eyes as I drew the forces of darkness to my fingertips. If he took another step, I shall directly maim his family jewels.

Just then, a figure suddenly yanked the third young master’s arm away and forced him into an awkward fall onto the ground. That person seemed to not have cooled down, for he stepped over and gave him a hard kick. “Why are there such scum in broad daylight?!”

This voice sounded very familiar. I wiped my blood away to take a closer look at him.

Bai Jiu.

013a

I pursed my lips, then turned around to look at Moxi only to find him in joy. Jealousy crept up inside of me. I covered my head and pretended to weakly fall against Moxi, feebly saying: “Moxi, it hurts so much…”

Moxi panicked and wrapped his arms around me. His round eyes reddened, but he did not dare to cry.

I leaned against Moxi while giving Bai Jiu a provocative glance. But how could he find the mood to be vindictive with me right now?

That third young master was a real useless piece of thrash. He actually passed out from a single kick! Arguing with this bully was one thing, being immature with him was one thing, fighting with him was one thing, but knocking him out cold was an entirely other issue.

Bai Jiu’s eyes swept to the far distance before he said to Accountant Liu: “We’re closing shop today!” Then he came over and asked me: “Can you still walk?”

Now that the third young master got beaten this badly, his father would never it let go. Offending a big official wasn’t a good thing for Moxi in this lifetime. The only way left was to quickly make our escape before soldiers could come to find us. We ought to flee the capital, change our identities, and then think of what to do next.

I dropped my weakling act and wiped the blood on my head. “Just some scratches. Nothing to worry about.”

Bai Jiu arched an eyebrow and said nothing.

After returning home, I had wanted to quickly pack and escape before all, but Moxi insisted on helping me bandage my wounds first, refusing to go anywhere.

In this lifetime, I had never used magic in front of Moxi. At this point, I naturally did not dare to expose myself. The only thing I could do was wait for Moxi to slowly clean and dress my wound with shaking hands.