Beast-eared Dijia flicked his tail and said with a hint of grievance, “Alright then, what’s your name?”
Bai Lixin replied, “I’m Bai Lixin.”
‘Call me ‘wife’!’
Beast-eared Dijia: “Did you come from the mountain below?”
Bai Lixin: “Yes, I came up the mountain for a hike today.”
Beast-eared Dijia shook the tips of his ears and asked, “Are you planning to go back down later?”
Bai Lixin: “How about you come down the mountain with me?”
“Can I? Great! Should we go now?” The previously lifeless Beast-eared Dijia suddenly perked up, looking excitedly at Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin proposed, “Let’s go back later. I’d like to explore the fog first. Would you like to come along?”
Beast-eared Dijia replied, “You can’t go into the fog.”
Bai Lixin: “Why not?”
Beast-eared Dijia explained, “It’s a barrier. Once you enter, you can’t come out.”
A barrier? Was it like his first copy where the task can only be completed within the village and you can’t leave its boundaries?
Was the edge of the fog the boundary of this welfare copy?
Bai Lixin then asked, “Do you know the person in the red clothes I was chasing?”
Beast-eared Dijia: “I know it. It has been here since I arrived. It’s been wandering in these woods, neither human nor ghost.”
“What do you mean by neither human nor ghost?”
“It means it’s not human or ghost; it’s a demon.”
Bai Lixin was puzzled. “A demon?”
“It’s above humans, stronger than ghosts. It’s not afraid of sunlight or death. However, it usually only appears in the fog and rarely elsewhere, so we’ve been living peacefully all these years.”
Bai Lixin inquired, “Have you seen it take away children from the village?”
Beast-eared Dijia: “I haven’t paid attention to that, but I do occasionally hear children crying in the fog. I don’t know if they are from the village.”
“By the way, do you like pears?” Now that Bai Lixin had learned what he wanted to know, he found a reason to propose, “I can take you to pick and eat pears.”
Dijia’s furry ears immediately perked up, and he stood up from the carpet excitedly. “Great, let’s go, Xin Xin! I’ll take you, I know where there are delicious pears!”
Without waiting for Bai Lixin’s reaction, Dijia directly lifted him up in a princess carry and leaped out into the trees.
——————————-
As the sun began to set, Bai Lixin led a handsome young man into the village.
The young man had a thin layer of sweat underneath his fine hair, and his black and white eyes remained glued to Bai Lixin’s figure, following him closely.
Seeing Bai Lixin bringing someone in, the man, who had been preparing to have dinner, suddenly stood up and asked, “Who is this?”
Bai Lixin replied, “He’s my younger brother. He heard I came here to help and specially rushed over to learn.”
Unlike his warm attitude when facing Bai Lixin, the man showed a hint of dissatisfaction upon seeing an unexpected guest in the courtyard. “Did you tell the village chief about this?”
Bai Lixin answered, “Not yet. Let’s talk to him tomorrow.”
The man glanced at the food on the table. “But today’s meal is only enough for us, and you didn’t say anything about your brother was coming. We could have prepared more food in advance. Now, what will your brother eat?”
The mute woman stood beside the man, still smiling tenderly.
Bai Lixin glanced at the steaming food. “Oh, don’t worry. We had dinner outside before coming back. My brother brought these as gifts for you from the city.”
Saying this, he reached behind him and took out several cans of fish that had been stored in his backpack.
Seeing the food, the man’s expression immediately changed. He quickly came over, saying enthusiastically, “Since you’re here, come on in. You’ve brought so many gifts and are still so polite. It’s like treating us as outsiders.”
Although he said this, the man’s speed in taking the gifts was far from polite. “So, where will your brother stay tonight? Yours was the only vacant room. You two are brothers anyway, and that bed is quite large. How about sharing it tonight?”
Dijia, who was originally cool and silent, heard this sentence, and his black and white eyes suddenly lit up, but his gaze never left Bai Lixin.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the man, Bai Lixin returned to his room with the impatient Dijia.
As soon as they entered the room, the formerly aloof Dijia instantly jumped onto the bed, grabbed the blanket, and started arranging it excitedly. “Xin Xin, is this your room and your blanket? Are we going to sleep on the same bed tonight?”
Bai Lixin watched Dijia’s actions, and in his mind, an image of a big dog playing with a plush toy suddenly appeared.
He smiled helplessly, “The bed is quite large, as long as you don’t sleepwalk, there’s enough space for you. It’s just a blanket, there’s no need to get so excited, okay?”
“This isn’t just an ordinary blanket,” Dijia said as he hugged the blanket, slightly lifting his head to look at Bai Lixin. “This is my future wife’s blanket. Since we’re not having dinner, how about we go to bed now, Xin Xin?”
Bai Lixin looked at the sun, which hadn’t completely set yet, and sighed internally.
‘This kid’s sleep schedule is even healthier than a baby’s.’
By the time he met Dijia, Dijia had already become the lord god.
He had seen the cold and domineering Dijia, as well as the tender Dijia. Plus, in these copies, he had seen all sorts of Dijias. But a Dijia as innocent as the one in front of him was a first.
He had heard Dijia talk about his birth from chaos. From the very beginning, he had carried the mission of maintaining the rules of the universe. The sense of duty instilled in him from a young age had robbed him of his childhood.
He had to make himself grow up quickly in the harshest way possible because he knew that he bore the responsibility of governing billions of realms, and within those billions were endless lives.
The weight of carrying all those lives made him tough and strong.
It could be said that Dijia had no childhood.
Now, seeing this carefree Dijia before him, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but wonder if Dijia might have been like this too if he hadn’t carried so much on his shoulders.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard approaching footsteps outside.
Dijia’s ears perked up, as he had already heard them long ago.
He put away his smile and looked in the direction of the door warily, instinctively ready for defense.
“Shh.” Bai Lixin put his finger to his lips and gestured to Dijia to keep quiet, considering that everything here was still very unfamiliar to the beast-eared individual.
Soon, the footsteps reached their door.
There was a rhythmic knocking, and Bai Lixin waited until the door had been knocked several times before asking, “Who is it?”
“Err-ahh, ah-ah.”
Hearing the voice of the mute woman, Bai Lixin then opened the door, only to find her holding a blanket and a pillow in her arms.
She raised the blanket and pillow, then pointed inside at Dijia.
Bai Lixin asked, “Is this for him?”
The mute woman nodded quickly.
“Thank you,” Bai Lixin said with a polite smile as he accepted the blanket and held it in his arms. “You’ve worked hard. Haven’t you had dinner yet? Go and have your meal now.”
The mute woman lowered her eyebrows and nodded before leaving.
Once the mute woman had left, Dijia seemed a bit sulky.
Bai Lixin asked, “Why the long face?”
Dijia pouted, “I don’t like her. Take the blanket away. I don’t want to cover myself, I want to my wife, kids and a warm bed tonight.”
Bai Lixin’s smile froze for a moment. “Where did you hear the phrase ‘my wife, kids and a warm bed’?”
‘Already learning bad things so quickly?!’
* ‘My wife, kids and a warm bed’ means ‘the simple and good life’.Dijia buried himself in the blanket. “I overheard it when we passed by a house earlier. I thought it sounded good.”
“What’s so good about it?” Bai Lixin hurried to address the issue before it got worse. “Human affairs can be good or bad, and some things should not be learned. If you want to learn something, learn from me, okay?”
“Alright,” Dijia peeked his head out from under the blanket. “Then, Xin Xin, can you teach me how to ‘heat the kang for my wife and child’? Is that okay?”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘It’s not okay at all!’
…
In the evening, Bai Lixin wanted to check on Small Beard’s injuries.
Originally, Dijia also wanted to go along, but after Bai Lixin coaxed and deceived him, he finally chose to stay behind, curling up under the covers to warm the bed.
Bai Lixin walked out of the courtyard. Next to it was still the only entertainment for the men, poker.
He walked in and glanced at it, only to find that the male player who had been playing poker yesterday was still there.
After observing the player who seemed deeply engrossed in the game for a while, Bai Lixin left.
He quickly found Small Braid’s home on the pitch-black main road. He reached the door of the house and was about to knock when he heard faint sounds coming from the neighboring house.
The sound was like the gentle murmuring of water. Bai Lixin only listened for a second, but he immediately realized what the sound was.
He paused for a moment and couldn’t help but slow down his steps, quietly approaching the door next door.
Through the door frame, the smacking-like sounds became more pronounced.
Mixed in with the sounds of kissing were the gasps of a man and a woman.
“I missed you so much. Did you miss me, baby?”
“You shameless bastard, you have one at home, yet you come running here every day. Can you face your wife? Your wife is so beautiful, how can you do this?”
“Even if I’m not good to my wife, I can’t let you be alone. While home flowers are beautiful, wild flowers have their fragrance too. Hey, I missed you so much. Can we go inside?”
“No, Pan Pan just fell asleep, I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Alright, alright, then let’s stay here. You have to endure it, don’t let anyone find out.”
“Ha,” the woman gasped and chuckled, “My business is known throughout the village, am I afraid of being found out?”
Suddenly, a muffled noise rang out, followed by the intermittent slapping sounds echoing through the door frame and into Bai Lixin’s ears.
Bai Lixin looked at the swaying door frame and silently retreated from the scene.
The woman’s voice was Pan Pan’s mother, and he wasn’t sure who the man’s voice belonged to, but he seemed to have heard that voice during the Hundred Days Banquet; it should be a man from some family in the village.
Known throughout the village…?
Does that mean all the men in the village…
Bai Lixin shook his head and looked at the neighboring house with a complex expression, hesitating as he stood in front of Small Braid’s door.
Should he knock, or should he not?
Just as he was hesitating, there was a muffled sound from next door, and then there was no more sound.
It seemed like it was over.
He heard the rustling of clothes and the sound of a belt buckle, then the neighboring door creaked open.
Realizing the situation, he quickly hid himself in a shadowy corner, concealing his presence.
Soon, he saw a man in a tank top happily coming out of the woman’s house. He hummed a little tune and handed some money to the woman. “You take this money for now, but tell me if you need more. I’m going to play poker now. See you later, my little slut.”
The woman’s expression twisted for a second, but she quickly resumed her submissive and gentle demeanor. “Alright, go quickly.”
The man laughed heartily and then left.
Once the man had completely left, the woman looked left and right, making sure no one was around before gently closing the door.
In the darkness, Bai Lixin waited for another five minutes before walking out of the shadows and standing in front of Small Braid’s door.
After a gentle knock on the door, he waited for a while before hearing a soft response. Then, the latch was pulled, and the door was opened.
“It’s you,” the woman said. Half of her hair hang behind her, and the other half rested on her shoulder. She spoke softly, “You’re friends with Xiao Zhao from the city, right? Are you here to see him? Come on in, Xiao Zhao hasn’t slept yet.”
As Bai Lixin followed the woman inside, he silently assessed her. She was wearing slippers, and her clothes were different from what she had on in the morning; she had changed into a dress.
She lowered her head slightly, the long graceful curve of her neck partially concealed by her black hair.
Bai Lixin followed the woman into Small Braid’s room, where Small Braid was lying on the bed, his legs wrapped in thick bandages.
However, he looked quite well, with rosy cheeks, and there was a pair of chopsticks and a meal by his bedside.
The food in the bowl was only half-eaten.
“Xiao Zhao,” the woman called softly, “Your friend has come to see you.”
Small Braid had already spotted Bai Lixin. He smiled at Bai Lixin and pointed to a nearby chair. “You’re here. Please sit down quickly. I’m having a meal.”
The woman had already sat down at the bedside. While Small Braid was talking about having his meal, the woman skillfully picked up a piece of meat and gently brought it to his mouth. “Here, eat the meat first. Eating more meat will help you recover faster.”
Small Braid didn’t hesitate and immediately opened his mouth to take the meat in, licking the sauce off the corner of his lips and swallowing it.
Seeing this, the woman quickly picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, apologizing as she did so. “I’m sorry, Xiao Zhao, I fed you up to the corner of your mouth. I’m really useless, I can’t even feed someone. I’m sorry for making you fetch some spring water for me, which led to you getting caught in a trap and suffering like this.”
Small Braid panicked, “Sister, what are you talking about? My injury has nothing to do with you. You told me in advance that there were many traps on the mountain. It’s my own fault for being too arrogant and not paying attention to my steps, which led to me stepping on a trap.”
The woman looked at Small Braid, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
Small Braid became even more flustered, looking at the woman, not knowing how to comfort her.
It was the woman who managed to regain her composure first. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears with a smile, and said, “I’m fine now. Hurry up and eat, Xiao Zhao. I still need to clean the kitchen after your meal. If my husband comes back and sees that the kitchen isn’t cleaned up, he’ll get angry again.”
Bai Lixin noticed that when the woman mentioned her husband, Small Braid’s expression subtly revealed a hint of disgust.
In the time that followed, Small Braid quickly swallowed his food, and in the blink of an eye, he devoured the meal.
After seeing that Small Braid had finished his meal, the woman smiled in satisfaction and said, “Alright, Xiao Zhao, you two chat. I’ll go tidy up the kitchen.”
With that, she picked up the bowls and chopsticks and left.
Once the woman had walked away, Bai Lixin finally spoke, “You seem to really dislike her husband.”
“I don’t like abusive men. Her husband is not worthy of Sister Song at all. I noticed it on the first day I arrived here. Her husband has been verbally abusive to her,” Small Braid’s expression turned cold as he talked about the woman’s husband. “And I’ve heard Sister Song say that she didn’t originally plan to marry her husband. She was deceived into marrying him and brought here.”
“Such a wonderful woman, she could have had a better future, but it was ruined by such a despicable man. She’s trapped in this narrow courtyard every day, like a caged bird.”
Beast-eared Dijia flicked his tail and said with a hint of grievance, “Alright then, what’s your name?”
Bai Lixin replied, “I’m Bai Lixin.”
‘Call me ‘wife’!’
Beast-eared Dijia: “Did you come from the mountain below?”
Bai Lixin: “Yes, I came up the mountain for a hike today.”
Beast-eared Dijia shook the tips of his ears and asked, “Are you planning to go back down later?”
Bai Lixin: “How about you come down the mountain with me?”
“Can I? Great! Should we go now?” The previously lifeless Beast-eared Dijia suddenly perked up, looking excitedly at Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin proposed, “Let’s go back later. I’d like to explore the fog first. Would you like to come along?”
Beast-eared Dijia replied, “You can’t go into the fog.”
Bai Lixin: “Why not?”
Beast-eared Dijia explained, “It’s a barrier. Once you enter, you can’t come out.”
A barrier? Was it like his first copy where the task can only be completed within the village and you can’t leave its boundaries?
Was the edge of the fog the boundary of this welfare copy?
Bai Lixin then asked, “Do you know the person in the red clothes I was chasing?”
Beast-eared Dijia: “I know it. It has been here since I arrived. It’s been wandering in these woods, neither human nor ghost.”
“What do you mean by neither human nor ghost?”
“It means it’s not human or ghost; it’s a demon.”
Bai Lixin was puzzled. “A demon?”
“It’s above humans, stronger than ghosts. It’s not afraid of sunlight or death. However, it usually only appears in the fog and rarely elsewhere, so we’ve been living peacefully all these years.”
Bai Lixin inquired, “Have you seen it take away children from the village?”
Beast-eared Dijia: “I haven’t paid attention to that, but I do occasionally hear children crying in the fog. I don’t know if they are from the village.”
“By the way, do you like pears?” Now that Bai Lixin had learned what he wanted to know, he found a reason to propose, “I can take you to pick and eat pears.”
Dijia’s furry ears immediately perked up, and he stood up from the carpet excitedly. “Great, let’s go, Xin Xin! I’ll take you, I know where there are delicious pears!”
Without waiting for Bai Lixin’s reaction, Dijia directly lifted him up in a princess carry and leaped out into the trees.
——————————-
As the sun began to set, Bai Lixin led a handsome young man into the village.
The young man had a thin layer of sweat underneath his fine hair, and his black and white eyes remained glued to Bai Lixin’s figure, following him closely.
Seeing Bai Lixin bringing someone in, the man, who had been preparing to have dinner, suddenly stood up and asked, “Who is this?”
Bai Lixin replied, “He’s my younger brother. He heard I came here to help and specially rushed over to learn.”
Unlike his warm attitude when facing Bai Lixin, the man showed a hint of dissatisfaction upon seeing an unexpected guest in the courtyard. “Did you tell the village chief about this?”
Bai Lixin answered, “Not yet. Let’s talk to him tomorrow.”
The man glanced at the food on the table. “But today’s meal is only enough for us, and you didn’t say anything about your brother was coming. We could have prepared more food in advance. Now, what will your brother eat?”
The mute woman stood beside the man, still smiling tenderly.
Bai Lixin glanced at the steaming food. “Oh, don’t worry. We had dinner outside before coming back. My brother brought these as gifts for you from the city.”
Saying this, he reached behind him and took out several cans of fish that had been stored in his backpack.
Seeing the food, the man’s expression immediately changed. He quickly came over, saying enthusiastically, “Since you’re here, come on in. You’ve brought so many gifts and are still so polite. It’s like treating us as outsiders.”
Although he said this, the man’s speed in taking the gifts was far from polite. “So, where will your brother stay tonight? Yours was the only vacant room. You two are brothers anyway, and that bed is quite large. How about sharing it tonight?”
Dijia, who was originally cool and silent, heard this sentence, and his black and white eyes suddenly lit up, but his gaze never left Bai Lixin.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the man, Bai Lixin returned to his room with the impatient Dijia.
As soon as they entered the room, the formerly aloof Dijia instantly jumped onto the bed, grabbed the blanket, and started arranging it excitedly. “Xin Xin, is this your room and your blanket? Are we going to sleep on the same bed tonight?”
Bai Lixin watched Dijia’s actions, and in his mind, an image of a big dog playing with a plush toy suddenly appeared.
He smiled helplessly, “The bed is quite large, as long as you don’t sleepwalk, there’s enough space for you. It’s just a blanket, there’s no need to get so excited, okay?”
“This isn’t just an ordinary blanket,” Dijia said as he hugged the blanket, slightly lifting his head to look at Bai Lixin. “This is my future wife’s blanket. Since we’re not having dinner, how about we go to bed now, Xin Xin?”
Bai Lixin looked at the sun, which hadn’t completely set yet, and sighed internally.
‘This kid’s sleep schedule is even healthier than a baby’s.’
By the time he met Dijia, Dijia had already become the lord god.
He had seen the cold and domineering Dijia, as well as the tender Dijia. Plus, in these copies, he had seen all sorts of Dijias. But a Dijia as innocent as the one in front of him was a first.
He had heard Dijia talk about his birth from chaos. From the very beginning, he had carried the mission of maintaining the rules of the universe. The sense of duty instilled in him from a young age had robbed him of his childhood.
He had to make himself grow up quickly in the harshest way possible because he knew that he bore the responsibility of governing billions of realms, and within those billions were endless lives.
The weight of carrying all those lives made him tough and strong.
It could be said that Dijia had no childhood.
Now, seeing this carefree Dijia before him, Bai Lixin couldn’t help but wonder if Dijia might have been like this too if he hadn’t carried so much on his shoulders.
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard approaching footsteps outside.
Dijia’s ears perked up, as he had already heard them long ago.
He put away his smile and looked in the direction of the door warily, instinctively ready for defense.
“Shh.” Bai Lixin put his finger to his lips and gestured to Dijia to keep quiet, considering that everything here was still very unfamiliar to the beast-eared individual.
Soon, the footsteps reached their door.
There was a rhythmic knocking, and Bai Lixin waited until the door had been knocked several times before asking, “Who is it?”
“Err-ahh, ah-ah.”
Hearing the voice of the mute woman, Bai Lixin then opened the door, only to find her holding a blanket and a pillow in her arms.
She raised the blanket and pillow, then pointed inside at Dijia.
Bai Lixin asked, “Is this for him?”
The mute woman nodded quickly.
“Thank you,” Bai Lixin said with a polite smile as he accepted the blanket and held it in his arms. “You’ve worked hard. Haven’t you had dinner yet? Go and have your meal now.”
The mute woman lowered her eyebrows and nodded before leaving.
Once the mute woman had left, Dijia seemed a bit sulky.
Bai Lixin asked, “Why the long face?”
Dijia pouted, “I don’t like her. Take the blanket away. I don’t want to cover myself, I want to my wife, kids and a warm bed tonight.”
Bai Lixin’s smile froze for a moment. “Where did you hear the phrase ‘my wife, kids and a warm bed’?”
‘Already learning bad things so quickly?!’
* ‘My wife, kids and a warm bed’ means ‘the simple and good life’.Dijia buried himself in the blanket. “I overheard it when we passed by a house earlier. I thought it sounded good.”
“What’s so good about it?” Bai Lixin hurried to address the issue before it got worse. “Human affairs can be good or bad, and some things should not be learned. If you want to learn something, learn from me, okay?”
“Alright,” Dijia peeked his head out from under the blanket. “Then, Xin Xin, can you teach me how to ‘heat the kang for my wife and child’? Is that okay?”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘It’s not okay at all!’
…
In the evening, Bai Lixin wanted to check on Small Beard’s injuries.
Originally, Dijia also wanted to go along, but after Bai Lixin coaxed and deceived him, he finally chose to stay behind, curling up under the covers to warm the bed.
Bai Lixin walked out of the courtyard. Next to it was still the only entertainment for the men, poker.
He walked in and glanced at it, only to find that the male player who had been playing poker yesterday was still there.
After observing the player who seemed deeply engrossed in the game for a while, Bai Lixin left.
He quickly found Small Braid’s home on the pitch-black main road. He reached the door of the house and was about to knock when he heard faint sounds coming from the neighboring house.
The sound was like the gentle murmuring of water. Bai Lixin only listened for a second, but he immediately realized what the sound was.
He paused for a moment and couldn’t help but slow down his steps, quietly approaching the door next door.
Through the door frame, the smacking-like sounds became more pronounced.
Mixed in with the sounds of kissing were the gasps of a man and a woman.
“I missed you so much. Did you miss me, baby?”
“You shameless bastard, you have one at home, yet you come running here every day. Can you face your wife? Your wife is so beautiful, how can you do this?”
“Even if I’m not good to my wife, I can’t let you be alone. While home flowers are beautiful, wild flowers have their fragrance too. Hey, I missed you so much. Can we go inside?”
“No, Pan Pan just fell asleep, I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Alright, alright, then let’s stay here. You have to endure it, don’t let anyone find out.”
“Ha,” the woman gasped and chuckled, “My business is known throughout the village, am I afraid of being found out?”
Suddenly, a muffled noise rang out, followed by the intermittent slapping sounds echoing through the door frame and into Bai Lixin’s ears.
Bai Lixin looked at the swaying door frame and silently retreated from the scene.
The woman’s voice was Pan Pan’s mother, and he wasn’t sure who the man’s voice belonged to, but he seemed to have heard that voice during the Hundred Days Banquet; it should be a man from some family in the village.
Known throughout the village…?
Does that mean all the men in the village…
Bai Lixin shook his head and looked at the neighboring house with a complex expression, hesitating as he stood in front of Small Braid’s door.
Should he knock, or should he not?
Just as he was hesitating, there was a muffled sound from next door, and then there was no more sound.
It seemed like it was over.
He heard the rustling of clothes and the sound of a belt buckle, then the neighboring door creaked open.
Realizing the situation, he quickly hid himself in a shadowy corner, concealing his presence.
Soon, he saw a man in a tank top happily coming out of the woman’s house. He hummed a little tune and handed some money to the woman. “You take this money for now, but tell me if you need more. I’m going to play poker now. See you later, my little slut.”
The woman’s expression twisted for a second, but she quickly resumed her submissive and gentle demeanor. “Alright, go quickly.”
The man laughed heartily and then left.
Once the man had completely left, the woman looked left and right, making sure no one was around before gently closing the door.
In the darkness, Bai Lixin waited for another five minutes before walking out of the shadows and standing in front of Small Braid’s door.
After a gentle knock on the door, he waited for a while before hearing a soft response. Then, the latch was pulled, and the door was opened.
“It’s you,” the woman said. Half of her hair hang behind her, and the other half rested on her shoulder. She spoke softly, “You’re friends with Xiao Zhao from the city, right? Are you here to see him? Come on in, Xiao Zhao hasn’t slept yet.”
As Bai Lixin followed the woman inside, he silently assessed her. She was wearing slippers, and her clothes were different from what she had on in the morning; she had changed into a dress.
She lowered her head slightly, the long graceful curve of her neck partially concealed by her black hair.
Bai Lixin followed the woman into Small Braid’s room, where Small Braid was lying on the bed, his legs wrapped in thick bandages.
However, he looked quite well, with rosy cheeks, and there was a pair of chopsticks and a meal by his bedside.
The food in the bowl was only half-eaten.
“Xiao Zhao,” the woman called softly, “Your friend has come to see you.”
Small Braid had already spotted Bai Lixin. He smiled at Bai Lixin and pointed to a nearby chair. “You’re here. Please sit down quickly. I’m having a meal.”
The woman had already sat down at the bedside. While Small Braid was talking about having his meal, the woman skillfully picked up a piece of meat and gently brought it to his mouth. “Here, eat the meat first. Eating more meat will help you recover faster.”
Small Braid didn’t hesitate and immediately opened his mouth to take the meat in, licking the sauce off the corner of his lips and swallowing it.
Seeing this, the woman quickly picked up a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, apologizing as she did so. “I’m sorry, Xiao Zhao, I fed you up to the corner of your mouth. I’m really useless, I can’t even feed someone. I’m sorry for making you fetch some spring water for me, which led to you getting caught in a trap and suffering like this.”
Small Braid panicked, “Sister, what are you talking about? My injury has nothing to do with you. You told me in advance that there were many traps on the mountain. It’s my own fault for being too arrogant and not paying attention to my steps, which led to me stepping on a trap.”
The woman looked at Small Braid, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
Small Braid became even more flustered, looking at the woman, not knowing how to comfort her.
It was the woman who managed to regain her composure first. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears with a smile, and said, “I’m fine now. Hurry up and eat, Xiao Zhao. I still need to clean the kitchen after your meal. If my husband comes back and sees that the kitchen isn’t cleaned up, he’ll get angry again.”
Bai Lixin noticed that when the woman mentioned her husband, Small Braid’s expression subtly revealed a hint of disgust.
In the time that followed, Small Braid quickly swallowed his food, and in the blink of an eye, he devoured the meal.
After seeing that Small Braid had finished his meal, the woman smiled in satisfaction and said, “Alright, Xiao Zhao, you two chat. I’ll go tidy up the kitchen.”
With that, she picked up the bowls and chopsticks and left.
Once the woman had walked away, Bai Lixin finally spoke, “You seem to really dislike her husband.”
“I don’t like abusive men. Her husband is not worthy of Sister Song at all. I noticed it on the first day I arrived here. Her husband has been verbally abusive to her,” Small Braid’s expression turned cold as he talked about the woman’s husband. “And I’ve heard Sister Song say that she didn’t originally plan to marry her husband. She was deceived into marrying him and brought here.”
“Such a wonderful woman, she could have had a better future, but it was ruined by such a despicable man. She’s trapped in this narrow courtyard every day, like a caged bird.”
