Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 39 Reluctant

Even the fat man, a close friend of Lord Gu, couldn't figure out who was with him. A young woman was immediately noticeable; she was said to be Lord Gu's brother's wife, but the brother's whereabouts remained a mystery. Just now, as she poked her head out of the car, the fat man vaguely saw what appeared to be a man in the courtyard. However, after saying a few words, both the young woman and the man vanished, leaving only Lord Gu. The fat man had to help and carry him out of the car.

"Mr. Su," Lord Gu invited him into the courtyard, "Don't rush off. Tell me in detail why you can't go?"

Mr. Su shuffled his chubby little feet, clad in leather shoes, and rolled gracefully into the yard. "Sigh," he said, "everything was arranged, but the old marshal's young master suddenly fell ill. At first, we thought it was just a cold, but it's gotten worse every day. We've been to the hospital, tried both Chinese and Western medicine, but nothing's worked. Everyone says the young master ran into the garden a few days ago, but the garden is too big and not clean enough. Perhaps he encountered a spirit, so the old marshal invited a high-ranking monk and a Taoist priest to perform exorcisms. However, after several days, it still didn't work. Today I called the marshal's residence and heard that although the young master is still breathing, his body is cold. You know, the youngest son is always the most beloved. The old marshal is about to lose his young master; how can he possibly have the heart to promote you? He simply can't see any idle guests!"

Lord Gu opened the door and invited Mr. Su into the main room, then thoughtfully called for Yueya to make tea. He sat down opposite Mr. Su across the table, and after Yueya brought the hot tea, he hesitated before saying, "Mr. Su, to be honest, I do know a truly powerful sorcerer. It's not hearsay; I've seen him with my own eyes. The problem is… I don't know if we can persuade him to come."

Mr. Su's eyes lit up, and he smiled: "It would be best if we could get him, and we should do it quickly. If you can save the old marshal's young master, the old marshal will surely give you an official position, won't he? Where is the sorcerer? You can ride in my car."

Lord Gu pondered for a moment and then smiled: "I don't need to take a car. He's in Tianjin, so it's very easy for me to find him. However, I'm not sure if he'll be willing to help."

Seeing that he was speaking vaguely and not clearly, Mr. Su guessed that he might have something difficult to say, so he did not press him. He stood up and said, "I still need to go to Chief Ma's house to play cards. Once you have some leads, you can go to my servants. They will always know my whereabouts."

Master Gu nodded repeatedly, respectfully seeing him out and helping him into his car. Once Mr. Su's car was far away, he turned to walk towards the west wing, just as Yueya, having changed into her old clothes, came out of the door. The two met face to face, and Yueya asked him, "Is it alright if I cook cabbage again for lunch?"

Lord Gu grabbed her and pulled her into the kitchen: "I have something to tell you."

Crescent Moon inexplicably withdrew her hand, bent down, and picked up a large cabbage from the corner: "What's up? Speak!"

Lord Gu lowered his voice and replied, "Haven't I been waiting for the old marshal to return? Now the old marshal has returned."

As Crescent Moon listened, she peeled away the outer leaves of the cabbage, not understanding a word. Seeing her bewildered expression, Lord Gu continued, "It seems the old marshal's young master is possessed and about to die. If I were to revive him, wouldn't the old marshal look at me with much more respect?"

Crescent Moon pointed towards the door, her voice softening: "You want him to go?"

Lord Gu continued, "Crescent Moon, you should know who I am. If I became successful, would I leave you behind? I plan to go talk to him now and ask him to help. If he refuses, I'll just scare him a little. You just focus on cooking your cabbage. If you hear any noise inside, don't go over and get involved. Don't worry, I won't really beat him up!"

Crescent Moon thought for a moment, her heart pounding: "He's just grown out... I just saw there are still white hairs in his ear canals, and his skin is as tender as tofu. Is he okay to go out?"

Lord Gu scoffed and waved his hand dismissively: "I'm not sending him to sell meat. What does it matter if he's not tender or not? Anyway, don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing. If I manage to get close to the old marshal, I'll definitely treat you all well when I have money in the future. Go cook your meal, and add more pork belly to the cabbage; I can't eat vegetarian food!"

Crescent Moon knew that Lord Gu was blinded by greed and obsessed with becoming an official and making money. He had always been loyal to her and Wuxin, so she also wanted to promote him. However, Wuxin had just come of age, and she didn't know if he was capable enough. Slowly chopping the cabbage, she pricked up her ears to listen for any sounds.

Lord Gu strode into the west wing and saw Wuxin sitting on the large bed with her legs stretched out, eating the sweets that Yueya had brought back. Looking up at Lord Gu, Wuxin smiled with a sweet in her mouth.

Lord Gu stood before the bed and examined him closely again, noticing that he was slightly different from a normal person. First, his eye sockets were too large; second, his skin was too thin; and finally, he lacked eyelashes. Clearly, he would need a few more days to fully recover.

He plopped down on the edge of the bed, then turned to Wuxin with a smirk: "Master, I have something I need to trouble you with."

Unintentionally chewing, his cheeks bulged, and the veins under his skin were visible at his temples, calm and barely perceptible, like a thin line of blue: "Speak."

Lord Gu took off his shoes, moved closer to Wuxin, put his arm around Wuxin's shoulder, and said with a friendly smile, "I came to Tianjin to curry favor with a very important person. Now that person's youngest son has been possessed by an evil spirit. Could you go and exorcise the demon, giving me a chance to climb the social ladder?"

Wuxin slowly swallowed the pastry in her mouth, her brow furrowing as she looked up at the two dark circles on her brow: "I...I'm not fully grown yet."

Lord Gu said sternly, "Who said you haven't grown up properly? You look exactly like a person now; you couldn't tell the difference even if you were stripped naked!"

Wuxin curled up one leg and pulled up his trouser leg to show Lord Gu: "My hair hasn't been completely removed yet..."

Lord Gu glared at him: "I never told you to go naked! When you came to my house to exorcise ghosts, did I check if you had any body hair?"

Without thinking, he pulled down his trouser leg and stretched out his legs: "I haven't even grown eyebrows yet..."

Lord Gu waved his hand: "It's alright, acting strangely makes them seem even more mysterious! People with great abilities are usually quite eccentric!"

Wu Xin crossed her arms over her chest, shrinking back as if afraid of the cold: "Lord Gu, I don't want to go. Ever since I started exorcising ghosts, I've had no luck. First, I lost half my head, then I was left with only one hand. Now that it's finally fully grown back, I'm planning to switch professions to fortune telling or feng shui. If I attract another Yue Qiluo, my good days will be over again!"

Upon hearing this, Lord Gu immediately became agitated: "Fine! Back then, you were like a giant maggot, hated by everyone. Who took care of you every day? Let me tell you, even if I were your reborn parents, your reborn parents, if you don't listen to me, you're just asking for a beating, like a walnut!"

Wu Xin replied nonchalantly, "I'm not going." Then he stuffed the whole pastry into his mouth.

Lord Gu straightened up and got out of bed, turned around and pointed at him: "Wuxin, if you dare not go, I'll really slap you!"

Unmoved and indifferent, he chewed while tilting his head to pick at his ear, pulling out a clump of white hair.

Lord Gu changed direction, aiming at the kitchen through the door: "You don't believe me? If I don't beat you up, can't I beat up Yueya? Don't give me that nonsense about a good man not fighting with a woman. I'll hit anyone except my parents!"

Wu Xin flicked the white hair to the ground: "If you hit Crescent Moon, I definitely can't go."

Seeing that he wouldn't listen to force, Lord Gu immediately decided to change tactics: "Wuxin, you really aren't going?!"

Wu Xin shook his head: "I'm not going."

Lord Gu's tone changed instantly. He clasped his hands together and bowed to Wuxin: "Brother Xin, don't be stubborn with me. You won't give face to others, but you won't even acknowledge my face?"

He choked unintentionally, and in vain, he swallowed hard while looking up at Lord Gu.

Seeing that he remained silent, Lord Gu had no choice but to lower his stance further: "Master Xin, if I achieve some success in the future, how could I possibly mistreat you two? Let's not talk about the distant future; once I've gained some benefits, I'll buy Yueya a diamond pendant. How about that? Generous enough, isn't it?"

A whole piece of pastry, half-chewed and lodged in Wuxin's throat, was stuck there. He wasn't suffocating, but he could only open his mouth without making a sound. Lord Gu leaned down, cupped his fists, and bowed to him repeatedly, his voice growing sweeter: "My darling, have mercy! I, Gu, am not young anymore. If I don't improve soon, won't my whole life be wasted?"

Wuxin clenched his fist and punched himself in the chest. With a "gulp," the pastry went down, and he finally spoke: "You can go find Chenzi too."

Lord Gu was overjoyed to hear that the man's tone had softened: "What do you know? We shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders!"

Wu Xin truly didn't want to go, but he had no choice but to go. Lord Gu's future was of utmost importance, and he hoped Lord Gu could achieve a promotion.

Crescent Moon prepared the food and served it steaming hot. The three of them sat around the round table. Lord Gu was delighted with Wuxin's reply and couldn't help but wave his chopsticks and talk loudly, believing that he was full of great talent and ambition and that he would surely achieve great things if given the opportunity.

"You think Ding Datou and Zhang Xiaomaozi can defeat me?" he said between bites, spilling cabbage soup all over the table. "I, Gu Xuanwu, have never been a coward!"

Crescent Moon remained silent, scooping out slices of fatty meat from the soup and eating them. Wuxin glanced at him: "Oh, so your full name is Xuanwu."

Lord Gu said smugly, "How about it? My original name was Gu Shitou (Gu Stone), which didn't sound very respectable, so after I became commander, I spent some money to have an old gentleman in the county give me a new name!"

Wuxin nodded: "Xuanwu... is a tortoise!"

Lord Gu opened his mouth: "Huh?"

He then turned to Crescent Moon: "Crescent Moon, is Xuanwu a tortoise?"

Crescent Moon immediately shook her head: "I don't even know how to write the characters for Xuanwu."

Lord Gu then turned to Wuxin: "You're not joking with me, are you!"

Without thinking, he poured half a bowl of cabbage soup into the rice: "Believe it or not, a snake crawling on a tortoise's back, together they're called Xuanwu."

Lord Gu slammed his chopsticks on the table: "Damn it! That old bastard still demanded a silver dollar from me!"

Wuxin took a bite of rice soaked in soup, then changed the subject: "I need to change my clothes before going to the Marshal's Mansion. A monk should look like a monk. Lord Gu, go and get me a monk's robe. The color and style don't matter, but the material must be good."

At this point, his large eyes darted from left to right within their sockets, taking in both Lord Gu and Crescent Moon: "Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse; when it comes to putting on airs, I'm a master!"

(End of this chapter)