“Why aren’t you afraid at all?” the second villager asked, confused.
“They’ve all left, what am I afraid of?” his wife retorted.
The second villager looked at his wife, who appeared unfazed, and the image of the fool resurfaced in his mind, causing his body to tremble again.
He had been in this state since entering the house. At first, his wife hadn’t paid much attention, but now, seeing him like this, she was genuinely frightened.
“Husband, what’s wrong with you?”
“Come here, I have a secret to tell you.” After much hesitation, the second villager decided to share some of his worries and fears with his wife.
“Secret,” his wife repeated, leaning forward.
The second villager began, “I’m telling you, our village…” He stopped mid-sentence, remembering the first villager’s instructions, and lowered his head.
“Why did you stop talking?”
“I won’t talk about it. I won’t talk about it,” the second villager shook his head.
His wife showed no curiosity, withdrew, stood up, and walked away without another word.
The second villager looked up at his wife’s indifferent attitude, his mood collapsing. “If I don’t say it, you won’t ask. What kind of woman is this?” he muttered, shrinking his neck.
At the inn, Tian Jiang hid in her room, suppressing the sudden burning sensation in her hands for a long time.
Outside the room, Lü Bing worried about his senior brother’s safety, so after a while, he mustered the courage to knock on Tian Jiang’s door.
Tian Jiang had already sensed Lü Bing’s presence but had ignored him because she was healing. Hearing Lü Bing knock, she stood up from her desk without asking who it was, walked to the door, and unhesitatingly opened it. “Are you worried about your senior brother?”
“Yes,” Lü Bing nodded.
Tian Jiang said, “I’m also worried about Mu Anxiao.”
“Shall we go and see?”
“See,” Tian Jiang said, glancing at her hand. “Not yet, but I think your senior brother should be able to handle it. After all, he’s from the cultivation sect.”
“But I heard that the people in that village have violent tendencies. Will my senior brother be alright?”
“Why aren’t you concerned about Mu Anxiao?”
“It’s… inconvenient for me.”
“Inconvenient, yes, it is indeed inconvenient. But don’t worry,” Tian Jiang said, “although your senior brother’s magic isn’t great, his persuasive skills are. Think about it, if he speaks nicely to the villagers, everything will be fine.”
“I don’t think the people in that village are as simple as you think.”
Tian Jiang knew better than anyone whether the villagers were simple or not, but this was a human matter, and she couldn’t use demonic arts. If she did, it would inevitably attract heavenly officials, and she would be branded a sinful demon. Thus, she was willing but unable to help.
“Alright, don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” Tian Jiang said, comforting Lü Bing as well as herself.
“The more you say he’s fine, the more I feel…”
“Oh, right, how are you taking care of the person Hei Feng brought back?” Tian Jiang asked, intentionally changing the subject.
Lü Bing was startled by Tian Jiang’s question. “Oh, he won’t let me see his face. He keeps saying he’s disfigured. It’s a real mess, and I can’t do anything about it.”
“I’ll go and see,” Tian Jiang said, stepping over the threshold, bypassing Lü Bing, and heading towards the front hall.
Lü Bing turned and followed Tian Jiang.
In an instant, Tian Jiang pushed open the door and entered the wolf demon’s room.
The wolf demon stood by the window, wearing a bamboo hat and a veil, looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside, muttering, “Disfigured, disfigured, I’m truly disfigured.”
His voice was soft, but due to the size of the room, Tian Jiang heard him clearly. Lü Bing did too.
“He hasn’t even eaten,” Lü Bing said, standing behind Tian Jiang and pointing to the untouched food on the table.
Tian Jiang glanced at the food and took a few steps forward. “Young master, the person who brought you here said we should take good care of you. If you don’t eat or drink, you’re making things difficult for us, aren’t you?”
“I won’t eat,” the wolf demon said, standing still with his hands behind his back.
Seeing the wolf demon’s stubborn stance, Tian Jiang remembered what Hei Feng had told Lü Bing: if he didn’t eat, Hei Feng wouldn’t pay for the dishes. Thinking of Hei Feng’s words, she looked at the food on the table again and said, “Man is iron, and rice is steel. Not eating for a meal makes you hungry. Eat something, and it’s not too late to lament.”
Lü Bing frowned as he heard Tian Jiang say the same words he had, thinking it would surely be useless.
“That man said the same thing,” the wolf demon continued to gaze outside, feeling the gentle breeze.
Tian Jiang had expected to persuade the wolf demon with a few gentle words, but she hadn’t anticipated he would be so difficult to serve. She took a deep breath and said, “If you don’t eat, I’ll pour this entire table of food away.”
“Pouring away the food and losing money is a small matter, but… wasting grain is not good,” the wolf demon said calmly.
“Then, if you eat it, it won’t be wasted.”
“I don’t like vegetarian dishes,” the wolf demon said, raising his chin.
“Then what do you like to eat?” Tian Jiang forced herself to remain patient.
“I want to eat meat.”
“Meat.” Tian Jiang uttered the word and understood the wolf demon’s intention. He was simply displeased that Lü Bing had served him vegetarian dishes!
“I only eat meat,” the wolf demon added.
Tian Jiang sighed.
Lü Bing, worried that Tian Jiang would compromise, quickly said, “Proprietress, that young master said he cannot eat meat because of his injury and can only eat vegetarian. Meat is too greasy.”
Tian Jiang glanced at Lü Bing, who was worried, and considered the wolf demon’s ability to hold out and his constant mumbling. Then, she smiled, “Alright, he can have meat. Just remember, meat is greasy food and not good for wounds. If you are truly disfigured in the future, don’t blame our inn’s food.”
Ever since he had obtained Hu Yuan’s body, the wolf demon had told himself that his face was his pride. He could be injured anywhere, but not his face. If he were disfigured, he would lose his dignity. Hearing Tian Jiang’s words, a sense of crisis surged within him. Clenching his fists, he temporarily set aside his craving for meat, turned around decisively, and said, “I’ll eat.”
Tian Jiang was not intimidated by the wolf demon’s appearance, but Lü Bing was startled again and quickly lowered his head.
The wolf demon happened to see Lü Bing’s reaction and said, “If I remember correctly, you act like this every time you see me. How many times has it been? Three times or more.”
Lü Bing pursed his lips. “…”
The wolf demon said, “I’m talking to you, are you just ignoring me?”
Lü Bing wished he could ignore the wolf demon’s words, but reality did not allow it.
Thus, Lü Bing forced himself to speak, “How would I dare? You are too fierce.”