Everything seemed sudden, yet not.
Although the dirty-faced man had never truly rejected any woman, based on his own experience, he understood that being rejected felt unpleasant. Therefore, he had already anticipated what this girl might do after his words.
It was obvious she was provoked by him, but even so, he felt it was best to play dumb. "What's wrong?" he asked, his gaze flitting away.
"You are the hundredth man to reject me," the girl stated coldly, her voice noticeably steadier than before, carrying a profound undertone.
Hearing this, the dirty-faced man's heart sank. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, while instinctively glancing down at the lantern the girl had thrown to the ground.
"Do you know what happens to men who reject me?" the girl countered, leaping over his words.
A chill went down the dirty-faced man's spine. "What happens?" He didn't know why he'd even asked. The moment he finished speaking, his expression froze, and regret instantly washed over him.
"Choose one," the girl said again.
At this moment, the dirty-faced man felt a surge of panic. "Choose one..." he repeated, a wry smile playing on his lips. "What do you mean? I don't quite understand?"
"Here..." the girl said, a smirk tugging at her lips as she held out her palm to the dirty-faced man. "I have ten ways to die. Which one do you want, tell me."
"Ten ways..." the dirty-faced man murmured. He happened to notice the girl's eyes had turned a mixture of red and blue. His nerves tightened, and he finally grasped the gravity of the situation. "Can I not choose?" his voice trembled.
"No," the girl replied sternly, her eye color intensifying.
"I am a friend of the General. If I die here, it won't be good for you either," the dirty-faced man began to try and save his life, taking half a step back.
The girl let out a cold laugh.
Seeing her sudden smile, the dirty-faced man's nerves snapped taut. "Miss, your smile confuses me."
"You and the General probably have no direct connection, do you?" the girl suddenly stated.
"No direct connection," the dirty-faced man replied truthfully.
Upon hearing this, the girl chuckled. "As expected, you are a little..."
"I am the General's drinking buddy outside, an indirect relationship. To put it directly," the dirty-faced man interrupted, smiling at the girl, "it is indeed somewhat inappropriate."
"..." The girl's face stiffened.
Then, the dirty-faced man deliberately said, "Miss, we actually have no relationship. If you kill me, it might..." He lowered his gaze to the girl's slightly clenched hands, continuing, "...it might soil your hands."
"What does it matter?" the girl responded nonchalantly.
"What does it matter..." the dirty-faced man started, but then remembered he was the hundredth. His expression froze, and with a shiver, he asked, "Miss, forgive my presumption, but what was the fate of the ninety-nine men before me?"
"They all died," the girl stated coldly.
The dirty-faced man's expression froze. "You mean... all dead?" He blinked, his own life suddenly feeling precarious.
Seeing the dirty-faced man's reaction, the girl couldn't help but sneer. "It seems you're scared."
"I..."
"If you're scared, you're scared. There's nothing wrong with admitting it."
"Did they all choose one of these ten ways to die..." the dirty-faced man tried to stall for time. "Is that right?"
"None of them talked as much as you do."
"None of them talked as much as me?"
"Yes," the girl thought that as long as her objective was achieved, she didn't mind wasting any amount of time.
"Is that so," the dirty-faced man repeated, his eyes darting away again. "Were those men all from the General's mansion?"
"There aren't many men in this General's mansion."
"Aren't you a maid in the General's mansion?" the dirty-faced man tried to steer the conversation back to the beginning.
The girl felt nothing out of the ordinary about the dirty-faced man's actions. Instead, she calmly replied, "I am. But speaking of it," she lowered her eyes and smiled, "we are quite fated to meet."
"Fated?" The dirty-faced man found the girl's statement hard to accept.
The girl continued, "Before I met you, I had given up. Speaking of which, those ninety-nine men," she gave a bitter laugh, "had all sorts of strange ways of rejecting me. Some hurt me, some coaxed me, some lied to me. You are the most straightforward one."
"What do you mean?"
"You are direct," the girl explained simply.
The dirty-faced man didn't know if the girl was praising him or subtly insulting him. The feeling was so subtle, it felt like he was seeing his own reflection, so subtle... he didn't know what to say.
"..." He was stunned into silence.
Seeing this, the girl frowned. "Why aren't you talking anymore?"
"Actually, you are very much like me."
"And then?" The girl wasn't the least bit curious about the dirty-faced man's words; she was merely following his lead.
"And then..." the dirty-faced man repeated, recalling his relationship with A Chu, and said casually, "The person I like doesn't like me."
"Unrequited love?" the girl blurted out.
The dirty-faced man wanted to deny it, but he couldn't, and nodded his head.
"Did you confess your feelings to her?" the girl asked.
Anyone who went to the 'inn' to find A Chu liked A Chu. Although everyone's liking for A Chu differed, in his opinion, they were all more or less the same.
Therefore, he felt that his visit today was also a confession.
But in reality, A Chu had given him no response. Regarding this, he suddenly didn't know what to say. But if he didn't say anything, it wouldn't be right.
In his helplessness, he gathered his courage and said, "I confessed, and was rejected."
"Rejected?" The girl's expression turned to surprise.
"I was rejected, so what are you surprised about?" The dirty-faced man couldn't understand the girl.
The girl replied, "I thought only men rejected women. Honestly," she stared intently at the dirty-faced man's face, "I am quite surprised."
"What's surprising about that? Men and women are the same; everyone gets rejected." The dirty-faced man spoke, suddenly remembering his mission. He thought that if he could find the coachman, perhaps he could survive. With a flash of inspiration, he said, "Right, can you do me a favor?"
"What?" The girl was surprised he would ask for a favor at such a moment.
"Do me a favor," the dirty-faced man said with firm eyes.
The girl let out a cold laugh.