Chapter 33 - Trivial Matters in Xuzhou (Part 2)
"Cat got your tongue?… Don't stop talking now…"
Ye Beizhi sat there and calmly folded his hands over his knees, as if genuinely looking forward to what they had to say.
The two remaining men of the jianghu finally came to their senses. They quickly scrambled up off their stools and assumed defensive postures. One of them was aware enough to grab a knife from the table.
"How unwelcoming," Ye Beizhi commented, getting up too.
The man pointed his knife at Ye Beizhi menacingly. "You son of a—"
A sharp glint passed by, and he saw his knife go flying while still held in his hand. Blood trailed his severed hand as it flipped over his head and flopped lifelessly behind him.
Blood gushed out.
The man turned around in shock, staring uncomprehendingly at the hand that had fallen to the ground, still tightly gripping the knife, then at his own arm, which was bleeding profusely. Finally, he looked back at Ye Beizhi, his eyes widening in terror.
Seeing the man with his arm severed looking at him in abject horror, Ye Beizhi put a finger to his lips in a silent shushing gesture.
"Ahhh… Aaah… my hand…" The terrified man held the stump with his remaining hand, gasping as he backed away from Ye Beizhi, "My hand!"
The scream got cut off.
"I warned you… don't be too loud." Ye Beizhi pulled the Tang Blade out of the man’s neck and then stared down the last person in the room.
"Now it's just you." Ye Beizhi said. The bloodstains on his face shifted as tilted his head. "Do you want to keep talking?"
"I… I, no…" The last man stammered incoherently as his legs shook uncontrollably.
Ye Beizhi walked around the table, wiped the blood from his blade on the trembling man’s shirt, and then looked into his eyes. "I almost forgot," Ye Beizhi said, "You have no one to talk to."
A foul stench wafted through the room. The man had lost control of his bladder.
Eying the man’s wet pants, Ye Beizhi asked, "Are you afraid of dying?"
"Wha… yes, yes." The man bit hard on his lower lip, nodding repeatedly as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Ye Beizhi sheathed the blade and reached out to wipe the tears from the man’s mouth. "Don't be," he said, grabbing the man’s throat with an inescapable grip.
"Don’t… no," the man choked. His tears flowing all over his face as he shook his head fiercely begging, "Please don’t, don’t kill me."
"It will be over—"
Snap—
"Just like that."
Ye Beizhi walked out of the room, and gently closed the door behind him. His hands and face were still damp, because he had just cleaned up.
A door creaked open as he passed by Chi Nanwei's room.
She peeked out, hair still damp, and asked, "Dummy, is that you?" She looked at Ye Beizhi and the direction he came from suspiciously. "I thought your room was on the other side?"
"Got rid of some pests," Ye Beizhi nonchalantly said. He quietly wiped his hands on his clothes.
"Some pests?" Chi Nanwei frowned, looking even more puzzled.
"Hmm… three big ones." Ye Beizhi walked past Chi Nanwei toward his room, "It’s all taken care of. Let’s get ready for dinner."
"Uh… Okay, sure." Chi Nanwei withdrew her head and closed the door again.
At dinner, Chi Nanwei had changed into a new set of clothes. Ye Beizhi had also changed his clothes because he was concerned that Chi Nanwei might notice the bloodstains on it.
After eating, Chi Nanwei lounged in Ye Beizhi’s room and asked, "Dummy, how long will it take to get to Luzhou tomorrow?"
Ye Beizhi called in a waiter to clean up the dishes and answered, "We’ll set out at dawn and should arrive by noon."
"So early? I definitely won’t be able to get up…" Chi Nanwei said worriedly.
"You can continue sleeping on the carriage."
"But the carriage isn't as comfortable as a bed…"
It was a peaceful night.
Ye Beizhi woke up as soon as the rooster crowed. Packing his belongings and bundling them over his shoulder, he prepared to set out early.
He instructed a worker to bring the carriage to the door before he went to check on Chi Nanwei.
Knock, knock, knock—
There was no response.
Knock, knock, knock—
Still no response.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!
"Keep knocking and I'll knock you out!" someone yelled angrily.
It appeared that the other guests at the inn didn't appreciate Ye Beizhi's punctuality.
Ye Beizhi sighed and stopped knocking. Instead, he applied a firm force against the door. With a click, the lock on the door was disengaged. Ye Beizhi gently pushed open the door and saw that despite the commotion, Chi Nanwei was still soundly asleep. Her coat and shawl covered the hanger while she curled up, only wearing her nightclothes.
Ye Beizhi tidied up the room and packed her belongings. Once everything was packed, he came up to the bed. He gently patted Chi Nanwei on the shoulder. No response. He prodded her again. Chi Nanwei turned her back to the disturbance so she could continue sleeping.
At this time, a worker lightly knocked on the door and said, "Guest, your carriage is ready for you at the entrance."
Ye Beizhi waved his hand to indicate he understood, and the worker returned downstairs.
Ye Beizhi sat at the bedside, looking at the sleeping Chi Nanwei, then bent down and carefully scooped her into his arms. He carefully carried her like a princess downstairs.He placed Chi Nanwei into the carriage and covered her with a blanket.
She looked at Ye Beizhi through half-lidded eyes and drowsily murmured, "Mmmm… Dummy…"
By the time Ye Beizhi had thought of a response, he realized that Chi Nanwei had already fallen asleep.
At nearly noon, Chi Nanwei woke up again. After a satisfying stretch, she realized she was no longer in her room, but in the carriage.
Ye Beizhi heard the rustling noises from the carriage. Knowing that Chi Nanwei was getting dressed, he kept on driving the carriage.
Before long, Chi Nanwei was dressed and ready. She lifted the curtain and asked, "Dummy, how did I end up in the carriage?"
"I put you in there."
Imagining how she was put in the carriage, Chi Nanwei's face flushed.
"Why didn’t you wake me up first!" she protested, her face completely red.
"I couldn’t wake you."
"How could you not wake me up!"
"I just… couldn’t wake you."
"Liar, you definitely didn’t call loudly enough."
Chi Nanwei suddenly realized, "Wait… I locked my room. How did you get in?"
"…"
Chi Nanwei grabbed Ye Beizhi by the shoulder, "Wow, you dirty dummy! You even know how to sneak around! Did you sneak into other girls' rooms before? Be honest!"
"… No."
"You hesitated! You’re definitely lying!"
"…"
As they bickered, a city gradually appeared in the distance.
They had arrived at the city of Luzhou.
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