Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 8 Love Story

It was a hot afternoon, so Lord Gu ordered his orderly to set up a small table on the kang (heated brick bed) in the west wing. He sat cross-legged on the kang, picked up the teapot, poured three cups of chilled Biluochun tea, and then took out a small, gleaming gold bar from his pocket and threw it onto the table with a "thud."

Wuxin, barefoot, climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed) and called Yueya over to sit. Yueya didn't want to sit around a table with two men, so she quietly sat in the corner of the kang, fiddling with two nearly new silk handkerchiefs, wondering if she could sew a nice purse from them. Wuxin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and found that sugar had been added to the tea, making it sweet and fragrant. He then picked up a cup and turned to bring it to Yueya.

Crescent Moon didn't say anything, but as if drawn by something, her eyes kept glancing at him. Suddenly, she noticed a small, pale, whitish cut on his palm. She immediately remembered it and thought to herself that she would have to take a look at it after Lord Gu left, as skin wounds are prone to inflammation if they get wet.

She remained silent, and Wuxin did the same. They crawled back to the kang table on all fours and sat opposite Lord Gu. Seeing that no one was interested in his gold bar, Lord Gu pushed it towards Wuxin, saying, "Here's a thank-you gift, keep it!"

Wuxin had originally planned to tell a short story after dinner, but now that the elaborate storytelling was underway, he seemed in no hurry. He glanced at the gold bars and said calmly, "A small yellow croaker isn't even worth ten thousand silver dollars!"

Lord Gu, who always relied on force to reason, was terrified a couple of days ago. He would have agreed to pay 100,000 silver dollars, let alone 10,000. But this noon, after witnessing the female demon being burned to ashes by Wuxin, his fear vanished, and his true nature resurfaced, making him eager to renege on his debt. With a smug smile, he replied to Wuxin, "Hmph, this commander's money didn't come from thin air. It's solid gold, not something you can just take as much as you want."

Wu Xin peeked at him, his face dark and gloomy: "Lord Gu, are you going back on your word?"

Before Lord Gu could answer, Wuxin closed his eyes, tugged at his right sleeve, dipped his right index finger in tea, and began scribbling on the table while muttering to himself. Lord Gu, startled, exclaimed, "Hey? What are you doing?"

With a grim face, he forced out a reply through clenched teeth: "I'll curse you to death!"

Lord Gu immediately stretched out his two large hands, grabbing Wuxin's hand from both sides: "No, no, no, I was just kidding! To tell you the truth, my money is in my concubine's little mansion. I'll go get it tonight, and I'll give you nine small yellow croakers. May I be struck by lightning if I lie!"

Wu Xin opened his eyes and pulled his right hand out of Lord Gu's hands. Wiping the water stains on the table, he picked up the gold bar, crawled back to Yueya, and handed it directly to her: "Keep it."

He then turned around, climbed back to the table, and sat down again, slapping the table with a forced smile: "So Lord Gu was just joking with me! Haha, Lord Gu, you're really funny."

Master Gu grinned, a bitter smile on his face, thinking to himself, "I didn't even spend ten thousand silver dollars on this house." He cleared his throat rather awkwardly and uncomfortably changed the subject: "Master, didn't you say you'd tell us a little story? Tell us, I've been wanting to hear it!"

Wuxin nodded: "Alright, the story isn't long. Please listen carefully, Lord Gu and Yueya. The story goes that over a hundred years ago, there was a minor official in the capital named Yue, who was framed and demoted to Wen County by the court. The official had a concubine's daughter named Qiluo. When she was young, she often talked about her past life, speaking very truthfully, which terrified her family, so none of them liked her much. As she grew older, she talked less about her past life, but her personality became mischievous and naughty. She only had one close friend, a little maid. When the official arrived in Wen County, Qiluo was already thirteen years old. One day, the women of the Yue family rode in a large carriage to a temple outside the city to offer incense. Qiluo met a man named Duan Sanlang. Sanlang was handsome, and Qiluo was beautiful; they fell in love at first sight. On their way back to the city..." Afterwards, Qiluo and Sanlang met many times, gradually falling deeply in love. However, the Duan family personally came to propose marriage to the Yue family, but the officials in the capital resolutely refused, because the Duan family was of humble origin and the two families were not a suitable match. Since the marriage was off, Qiluo and Sanlang secretly made a pact: if they could not live together, they would die together. One night, Qiluo secretly went out to meet Sanlang. The two went to a secluded place and each took a knife, intending to slit their throats. Unexpectedly, Sanlang actually slit his throat, but Qiluo became frightened and refused to do so. After Sanlang died, Qiluo fled home alone, only telling her maid what had happened. A year passed peacefully, and the Yue family women went to offer incense as usual. Unexpectedly, due to a moment of negligence, when they returned to the city, they discovered that Qiluo and her maid had both disappeared!

At this point, Wuxin paused and asked, "What are your comments, gentlemen?"

Lord Gu spoke first: "The Duan family lost a son, and they just let it go without a word? Duan Sanlang died so suddenly, without even leaving a message for his family?"

After Lord Gu finished speaking, Yueya continued from the corner of the kang (heated brick bed), "I don't think Qiluo is any decent person. She was already having an affair with a man at thirteen. Besides, they both agreed to die together. Since she's so cowardly, why didn't she think to stop Sanlang beforehand? Didn't she like Sanlang? Could she just watch him die? After Sanlang died, she went home and lived peacefully for a year? She really has no heart!"

Wuxin waited until they had both finished speaking before asking again, "Then guess where Qiluo and the little maid were lost?"

Crescent Moon couldn't guess, and Lord Gu hesitated before answering, "If you had asked me before, I would have definitely said I was kidnapped; but now that you're asking me, I'm a little confused—it couldn't have been captured by a ghost, could it?"

Wuxin picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Mostly right, they were abducted by the Duan family. There's no need to go into the details of their methods, but in short, they took advantage of them being alone and used some kind of sleeping potion. Lord Gu is right; Sanlang must have thought things through carefully before his suicide, so of course he would have left a will to explain things to his parents—"

Before Wuxin could finish speaking, Lord Gu slammed his hand on the table: "Oh dear, Qiluo and her maid are both doomed. Won't they be raped and then murdered?"

Crescent Moon had originally intended to offer some commentary, but after hearing Lord Gu's witty remarks, she immediately blushed and decided not to get involved with them anymore.

Wuxin shook his head slightly: "The Duan family believed that Qiluo was responsible for Sanlang's death, so they nailed Qiluo alive into the coffin. At that time, Wen County was not this big. After the coffin was buried in the wasteland, the little maid also could not escape death. The Duan family gouged out her eyes and stuffed them into a small well next to her."

Wu Xin gave Lord Gu a meaningful look and suddenly smiled: "The Duan family disappeared without a trace, and the Yue family made a fuss for a while, but couldn't find anyone, so they let it go. Later, Wen County became more and more prosperous, and the wasteland where Qi Luo's bones were buried gradually became lively. Houses and streets appeared, and eventually it became a bustling and nice place."

Lord Gu's face paled: "The wasteland... could it be my home?"

Wuxin replied with a smile, "The female demon couldn't control her soul at the time, and time was limited, so she only told me this much. I was wondering, if the little girl cultivated into a female demon after her death, what about Qiluo?"

Lord Gu stared blankly into space, while Crescent Moon spoke from the corner: "It's hard to say, but Qiluo is not as wronged as the little maid."

Wuxin knew she despised Qiluo's actions and was about to reply when Lord Gu suddenly slammed his fist on the table, cursing furiously, "Damn it! I've lived for twenty-eight years and never been treated like this! I paid for this house; those two damned women who are now ghosts didn't contribute anything. Why can't I live here and have to leave it to the ghosts? What does this filthy affair from over a hundred years ago have to do with me? I'm telling you, I've had enough! Tomorrow morning I'll take a battalion there, dig three feet into the ground, plant explosives, and blow up wells and coffins alike!"

After saying this, Lord Gu got off the kang (heated brick bed), put on his shoes, and stormed out. Wuxin didn't stop him, and took advantage of the quiet to move closer to Yueya.

Seeing that Lord Gu had really left, Yueya breathed a sigh of relief. She tugged at Wuxin's right hand by his sleeve, intending to check his injury, but upon closer inspection, she found that his palm was flat and unharmed.

She paused, then immediately looked at Wuxin's left hand. Wuxin's left hand rested casually on the kang (heated brick bed), palm up, and was perfectly intact. Yueya considered herself to have excellent eyesight and couldn't have been mistaken, but she wasn't wrong then, and she wasn't wrong now either. She quickly loosened Wuxin's sleeve, feeling both puzzled and somewhat embarrassed. Taking a gold bar from her pocket, she presented it to Wuxin, saying softly, "It's yours, keep it."

Wuxin picked up the gold bar and put it back on her handkerchief: "No, you keep it."

Crescent Moon lowered her head and said, "I can't afford to pay for it if I lose it."

Without thinking, he smiled at her and said, "What's mine is yours."

Crescent Moon, like a cow, couldn't utter any clever words; she just blushed and said, "I don't want to."

Wuxin squatted down, clasped her fists, and bowed to him, pleading, "Please, take it."

Crescent Moon felt feverish all over and whispered, "A grown man like that, worthless, just begging like that."

Wuxin immediately wrapped the gold bars in a handkerchief and stuffed them into Yueya's hand. He then took Yueya's hand in his own, happily refusing to let go. Yueya was now destitute and her marriage was entirely her own decision, so he wanted her to fall in love with him quickly. Once she was in love, she would be captivated by love and wouldn't easily leave. Then he lowered his head and looked at Yueya's hand with interest. Yueya was used to manual labor; her hands were much rougher than her face. But Wuxin believed beauty was in the eye of the beholder. As long as Yueya was willing to live with him, even if she were extremely ugly, he would be content.

Crescent Moon let him hold her hand, her heart pounding in her throat. For some reason, she was trembling with panic. Forcing out a voice, her face burning hot, she said, "One gold bar is quite a lot... let's go!"

Wuxin wasn't a greedy person. If Lord Gu insisted on haggling over the reward, he wouldn't bother playing along. He squeezed Yueya's hand tightly and said softly, "We can leave tomorrow. I'd like to go to the manor again tonight."

Crescent Moon suddenly looked up: "Where have you been now?"

He casually patted her knee, as if not trying to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, I'm just going to take a look. I won't disturb anyone. If there's really nothing inside, we'll leave early tomorrow. Lord Gu can do whatever he wants; I won't interfere. Okay?"

Crescent Moon felt it was very wrong, but since they weren't a couple yet, there were some things she couldn't say.

(End of this chapter)