Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 37 Hunger

Lord Gu squatted in the kitchen, poking at the stove, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a flame out; instead, the kitchen filled with thick smoke. He was completely clueless about housework, and the more he poked, the worse it got, until finally he made a huge, earth-shattering coughing fit as he fled.

He banged on the window of the west wing, inevitably waking Yueya. Yueya was fast asleep when she hurriedly got up and looked outside. She saw a thin layer of frost on the windowpane, and the courtyard outside was blurry and not the same as before. Gu Daren's face was pressed against the glass, and he was frantically shouting at her.

Crescent Moon was startled, thinking the house was on fire. She quickly put on her cotton-padded coat and pushed open the door, asking, "What's wrong?"

Lord Gu, choked by the smoke, cried out with tears streaming down his face: "What's wrong with the stove? It's just smoking and not lighting up!"

Crescent Moon asked, puzzled, "What are you doing with the stove in the middle of the night? Are you hungry?"

Lord Gu pointed behind him with his thumb: "It's Master—Master is shivering, probably from the cold. Quickly go boil some water and give him a soak!"

Upon hearing this, Crescent Moon turned and ran to the kitchen.

Crescent Moon successfully started a fire and placed a large pot of water on the stove: "He's even shivering?"

Lord Gu stood aside with his hands in his sleeves: "He even hums. If he doesn't hum at night, I won't think to go see him."

Crescent Moon immediately turned to look at him: "How is it now?"

Lord Gu pondered for a moment and said, "It's starting to look somewhat human..."

Crescent Moon was inexplicably excited: "Let me take a look!"

Lord Gu was in a dilemma: "You want to see it? But... well, let me tell you in advance, although he looks somewhat human, he's still one part human and nine parts monster. If you insist on seeing it, I can't stop you, but you're not allowed to cry or make a fuss after you see it."

As Crescent Moon tested the water temperature in the pot, she couldn't help but laugh, "I'm braver than most men, why would I be afraid of him?"

Even so, when the pot of water was heated to a slightly scalding temperature, Yueya still felt uneasy and imagined many terrifying scenes. Lord Gu, being strong, lifted the large iron pot from the stove and carried it outside. She followed behind, her heart pounding with every step, counting the days; it had truly been a long time since she had seen Wuxin's face.

Lord Gu walked with a powerful stride, and as he approached the door, he didn't stop, simultaneously ordering, "Crescent Moon, open the door for me!"

Yueya agreed and was about to run forward when, unexpectedly, Lord Gu slipped and fell flat on his back on a frozen puddle of urine in front of the door. A whole pot of warm water was poured over his head. Yueya quickly grabbed the pot with one hand and helped him up with the other. Fortunately, Lord Gu was thick-skinned and not afraid of falling. He rolled over and got up in no time.

Lord Gu was soaked from head to toe, and he was about to curse, but before he could utter a word, he suddenly remembered that he was the one who had urinated. He was like a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express his suffering. Seeing that he was alright, Yueya pushed open the door and went inside. Lord Gu shook the water off his head and followed her in with a pained expression.

The room was brightly lit. Crescent Moon reached out a hand towards the small blanket on the jar, then hesitantly turned to Lord Gu: "I...I saw it!"

Just as Lord Gu was about to answer, before he could even open his mouth, a sound suddenly came from inside the jar, a sound that was both a groan and a sigh, like Wuxin's, but with a slightly more tender voice: "Hmm..."

As if pricked by a needle, Crescent Moon abruptly threw off the small blanket. Peeking inside, she froze, speechless and motionless. Lord Gu watched her anxiously, fearing she might be frightened into something dangerous.

Five or six minutes passed before Crescent Moon finally raised her head. Letting out a long sigh, she smiled at Lord Gu: "You always said he was ugly, which scared me so much I didn't dare think about him. But now that I see him, he's not ugly at all!"

Lord Gu's eyes widened: "Not ugly?"

Crescent Moon rolled up her sleeves: "It's just a white-haired monkey, right? I can raise it! Lord Gu, could you do me a favor and get it out of the vat? I'll take care of it from now on!"

Lord Gu stammered, "No—did you see clearly? That's called a white-haired monkey? Don't try to flatter him!"

Crescent Moon shook her head dismissively: "He's actually much prettier than I imagined. Come and look at him, big head, small arms, so complete!"

Lord Gu stepped forward and carefully examined Yueya's expression. He found that her face was full of sincerity, and he sighed inwardly, thinking that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Yueya couldn't even distinguish between beauty and ugliness.

Master Gu, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, bent down and reached his hands into the jar, supporting Wuxin under his armpits. He slowly lifted it up, and Wuxin's full form became visible in the lamplight. Crescent Moon opened her eyes wide to examine its face. She saw that its cheeks and chin were already taking shape, and a faint bridge of the nose was rising in the center, below which were two barely visible holes, perhaps to become its nostrils. Wuxin's face was covered with layers of white fur clinging to its skin, except for its smooth, sunken eye sockets. A bluish halo shone through thin, transparent eyelids, making it unclear whether eyeballs existed within.

From the neck down, there was a thin, bony body. The two arms were like featherless wings, curled up and pressed tightly against the sides of the body. A tuft of white hair clung to the wrists, and there was no trace of hands. The lower body was still in the embryonic stage. Although the hip bones could be vaguely seen, there was still a worm tail below.

Just now, Yueya thought he did look like a monkey, but now, looking at him again, she felt there was still a difference between him and a monkey. Lord Gu, unfazed and showing no displeasure, picked him up and carried him to the bedside. He reached out and pinched its tail. Noticing Yueya's slightly off expression, Lord Gu comforted her, saying, "Feel it. Two new long bones have grown down its hip. In a few days, its tail will probably separate into two legs."

Crescent Moon composed herself and said, "Lord Gu, please move the vat to my room first!"

Lord Gu was taken aback: "Huh?"

Crescent Moon said, "I'm really not afraid. I wasn't afraid when it looked like a maggot, but now that it looks like a person, I'm scared?"

Lord Gu couldn't compete with Crescent Moon for Wuxin. Crescent Moon was willing to take care of it, and he was happy to have some peace and quiet. However, as Crescent Moon's older brother, he really didn't agree with Crescent Moon taking Wuxin away so early.

Helpless, he moved the large water vat and began the heavy work in the dark. Meanwhile, Yueya pulled Gu Daren's quilt over and wrapped Wuxin in it, carrying him like a sack of rice and flour, and left.

Lord Gu placed the large water vat in the corner of the west wing, then, feeling he had accomplished his task, took his quilt and went back to his room to sleep, leaving Yueya to chop wood and boil water again. The next morning, he sat in Yueya's room eating melon seeds and saw that Yueya had wrapped Wuxin up completely with two quilts, making it look at first glance as if she were making dough on the bed.

"Haha!" He happily spat out a pile of sunflower seed shells. "How was it?"

Crescent Moon sat cross-legged on the bed, radiant with joy: "So well-behaved!"

Lord Gu chuckled twice more, thinking to himself, "Fish find fish, shrimp find shrimp, and the old monster finds the silly girl."

With Yueya now occupied, she spent all her time tending to Wuxin. Lord Gu, now with some free time, continued to wait for the old general's return from Baoding. His portly friend sent a servant with some silk fabrics, saying it was for him to have clothes made. He didn't intend to find a tailor, and carrying the fabrics, went straight into the west wing: "Yueya—"

Crescent Moon knelt on one knee on the bed, turning to look at him. Her right hand gripped her left index finger, the tip already brimming with bright red blood. Upon seeing the fabric in Lord Gu's hand, Crescent Moon's eyes lit up: "Oh, what kind of fabric is it?"

Lord Gu placed the silk on the table beside him and asked, "What happened to your hand?"

Crescent Moon was both angry and amused: "That little bastard grew a mouth overnight! Just now, when I reached my hand under the covers to touch it, it bit my finger!"

Lord Gu asked curiously, "You have teeth now?"

"Yes, it's really sharp, like a knife, it draws blood in one bite."

Intrigued, Lord Gu stepped forward and lifted the quilt, exclaiming excitedly, "Wow! Legs too! And hands too?" He picked up Wuxin's hand and examined it, saying, "Luckily, I don't have fingernails yet, otherwise I'd definitely scratch someone!"

Crescent Moon, forgetting her pain, leaned forward to show Lord Gu her heartless face: "Look, it's exactly the same as before. It'll be even more beautiful once the white hairs fall out."

When Lord Gu looked down, he found that the face was indeed the same as before. The bridge of the nose was higher and straighter, and the lips had become more angular. However, the eyes were not yet open, but there was a faint bulge under the eyelids, which showed that the eyeballs had fully grown.

Lord Gu was quite pleased, looking him over from top to bottom, and finally, prying Wuxin's leg open, he threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, even the testicles are coming out!"

Although Yueya was a married woman, she blushed upon hearing his laughter and felt unable to respond. Just then, an awkward silence fell over the room as someone said, "Hungry."

Lord Gu's laughter abruptly stopped, and he and Crescent Moon stared down at Wuxin. Wuxin slowly curled up, lazily turned his back to them, and said, "Hungry."

Crescent Moon spoke softly, "Wuxin, are you hungry? Want to eat?"

Wuxin replied, "Mm."

Crescent Moon shrieked with joy. She bent down and hugged Wuxin tightly, showering his white hair with kisses over a dozen times, then scolded him in a tearful voice, "You little ingrate, you bite me when you're hungry? You wait, I'll go cook for you, and I'll deal with you after I've fed you!"

Crescent Moon hurriedly cooked a pot of noodle soup, adding plenty of potatoes and meat. After letting the soup cool in the yard, she carried the pot into the house.

Holding a soup bowl, she squatted by the bed, gesturing for Wuxin to come and eat. Lord Gu sat to the side, smoking, drinking tea, and cracking melon seeds, watching with a slight smile as Wuxin stuck his head into the bowl, eating and drinking without taking a breath. His belly quickly swelled, and finally, he licked the bowl clean with his tongue, then suddenly bit down on Yueya's hand. Yueya was startled, then realized he wasn't really biting; he was just gently closing his teeth to scare her.

She put down the soup bowl, wrung out a towel, and crescent moon held his head to wipe his face. His limbs were thin and curled up, with a big belly in the middle, sparse white hair on his belly, each hair crooked and askew; his bones were not yet fully formed, his shoulders were slumped, but his neck was quite long.

Upon reading this, Lord Gu was moved and couldn't help but ask Yueya, "Tell me, given his current character, aren't we the only two people in the world who find him agreeable?"

Although Crescent Moon loved him, she still retained basic rationality, so she nodded in agreement: "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)