Chapter 42: The Penniless Party

 

Mu Sui's reaction caught Meng Ruji off guard.

She studied him carefully—his injured arm still bound against his chest, his complexion pale and sickly. Yet those eyes fixed on her with an intensity that seemed bottomless, dark as an abyss. The confident smile playing at her lips faltered involuntarily.

But still.

Meng Ruji steadied herself with a sharp internal reminder: What's there to fear? The marriage certificate is in hand—victory is practically guaranteed. Once we return to Zhuliu City, half the city's wealth will be mine, and escaping this cursed realm back to the mortal world is within reach!

So she swallowed her unease and allowed Mu Sui to gently smooth the hair at her temples, forcing a sweet smile onto her face. "We husband and wife will return home together. I haven't seen Zhuliu City yet."

"Dream on! Bad woman!" The rabbit perched on Mu Sui's shoulder hurled the insult at Meng Ruji with surprising venom.

Meng Ruji opened her mouth to retort, but a cheerful voice from above interrupted her.

"Oh, so lively?"

All three people and one rabbit tilted their heads upward. Mo Li lay sprawled at the opening of the pit, head hanging down as he surveyed the scene below with obvious amusement. "So many people. Take me along, let's chat together."

The sight of him made Mu Sui's eyes darken ominously. Ye Chuan watched with open curiosity, while Meng Ruji's face lit up with relief. "You're back at just the right time! Come down quickly, I'll use you to cast spells to get up—"

Her words died as something tightened around her waist. Startled, she looked down to find Mu Sui's arm encircling her.

"What are you doing?" Confusion colored her voice as she met his gaze.

Mu Sui held her waist firmly with his one good hand while the other hung suspended from his neck. He leaned close, his breath warm against her ear. "With your husband here, why does my wife still seek help from others?"

The unexpected intimacy made her pulse jump. She glanced at his bloodless face with concern. "Can you manage?"

Before the question fully left her lips, Mu Sui—holding Meng Ruji securely and using the jutting chunks of earth and stone embedded in the pit walls as leverage—launched them both directly out of the pit. They brushed past Mo Li's head in a blur of motion, the rabbit clinging on for dear life.

"Good skills, Qianshan Jun."

Mo Li remained sprawled on the ground, watching Mu Sui and Meng Ruji with an infuriatingly knowing expression. "So afraid of little Meng using me?"

Mu Sui favored him with an icy glare. The rabbit leaped from Mu Sui's shoulder to the ground, planting itself protectively by his feet before launching into a tirade. "How dare you! Being rude to my City Lord big brother!"

"Oh, there's a little white rabbit here, too? Can it be eaten?"

The rabbit practically vibrated with fury. "Shameless scoundrel! Exactly like this bad woman!"

"Such a temper. Let's make spicy rabbit then."

This sent the rabbit into an absolute frenzy of chattering curses directed at Mo Li.

The rabbit's relentless noise seemed to give Mu Sui a headache, though he made no move to silence the creature. He simply walked aside, cradling his injured arm, while Meng Ruji stared at him in bewildered surprise. "You could bring me out? Then, when we fell earlier, why didn't you come out immediately?"

Having finished cursing Mo Li, the rabbit caught Meng Ruji's words and immediately bounded behind Mu Sui, redirecting its ire toward her. "Didn't you see that City Lord big brother's hand is injured!"

Meng Ruji cut in flatly. "Wasn't that your fault?"

"It was clearly to save you!"

"So noisy."

Mu Sui's single sentence silenced the rabbit instantly, who closed his mouth with a pitiful whimper.

Mu Sui coughed—a dull, hollow sound—then said nothing more. He made his way to a nearby tree, leaned against it heavily, and lowered himself to the ground. Picking up one of the fruits they'd left scattered earlier, he bit into it absently.

The rabbit followed, heartbreak written all over its small face. "City Lord big brother…"

"Shut up."

The rabbit crouched miserably to the side, not daring to utter another sound.

Meng Ruji observed Mu Sui with growing unease. He definitely seemed unwell. Now that she thought about it, he'd seemed somewhat weakened ever since emerging from the illusion.

Could using the power of his Inner Core have affected him somehow?

If so, why had he insisted on carrying her out of the pit?

Was he truly so unwilling to accept help from others?

Insisting on this pointless display of strength?

Unable to puzzle him out, Meng Ruji abandoned the effort.

She turned away and walked over to Mo Li. "You pull him up." She gestured toward the pit where Ye Chuan still waited.

Mo Li looked up at her with theatrical tears glistening in his eyes. "Little Meng, I went out to help you deal with Luo Yingfeng, encountered danger and barely made it back, and you don't even care about me before starting to order me around?"

"Stop acting." Her tone could have frozen water.

Mo Li pouted dramatically. "Earlier, when you controlled me to deal with Luo Yingfeng, I had just seriously injured him and stolen three gold when your spell was withdrawn, and I fell directly to the ground, returning to human form. Luo Yingfeng was fierce, desperately striking me with a palm, and his subordinates chased me for a long way. I spent the night barely escaping death. But I didn't expect…"

He pointed toward Mu Sui, then gestured at Ye Chuan in the pit. "You're here enjoying romantic fortune."

Meng Ruji's expression remained cold and unmoved. "I'll leave this romantic fortune for you to enjoy. Quickly fish him out!"

"Sigh, unfilial daughter, you don't care about me either." Mo Li sat up with a theatrical sigh, spreading his hands helplessly. "I'm injured and can't use my powers."

The words hit like a physical blow. "Can't use your powers? I can't use you to cast spells either?"

Mo Li nodded solemnly. "It'll take at least a month to recover."

She knew it…

A free tool to use for spells—how could such good fortune possibly fall to her…

Meng Ruji pressed her fingers to her temples, fully accepting her identity as the "Unlucky Person of the Land of No Return."

"Let's find a vine." She glanced around, digging out a sturdy vine from the soil and extending it downward. "Ye Chuan, grab this and come up."

"Thank you, Miss Meng." From the pit, Ye Chuan's voice remained polite and proper. He grasped the vine and began climbing.

Mo Li settled beside them, supporting his head with one hand. He studied Ye Chuan in the pit, then glanced at Mu Sui leaning against the tree munching fruit. Beckoning to Meng Ruji like an old patriarch ready to gossip, he stage-whispered:

"I think this polite one is better. Why don't you switch?"

A cold gaze pierced through the air from behind them. Meng Ruji didn't need to turn around to identify its source.

She rolled her eyes at Mo Li. "Shut up."

"Don't refuse so quickly. We can ride the donkey while looking for a horse—more options."

"I'm about to go to Zhuliu City. Things are finally back on track. Don't cause trouble for me."

"Oh, you still want to find someone rich. Then Qianshan Jun is richer. This one looks like he'd have to start from scratch—too hard in the early stages, can't provide a good life for us, father and daughter."

"Are you sick!?"

Meng Ruji snapped at him, but strangely, the penetrating gaze from behind her head vanished.

This time, curiosity got the better of her. She couldn't help turning to look at Mu Sui.

He sat beneath the tree eating fruit with the innocent air of the obedient little wild man she'd first encountered, without a trace of killing intent—as if he hadn't heard a word of their discussion about "riding the donkey while looking for a horse."

"Thank you, Miss Meng."

Ye Chuan climbed out of the pit along the vine. While he'd been trapped below, Meng Ruji and Mo Li's conversation had drifted down to him—no matter how quietly they'd spoken, the pit had acted like an echo chamber, transmitting every word to his ears.

The first thing Ye Chuan did after emerging was bow deeply to both Meng Ruji and Mo Li.

"Senior should be Miss Meng's… elder?"

"I am."

"He's not." Meng Ruji interrupted with decisive firmness. "Just someone with a signed contract, nothing more."

"A care contract." Mo Li supplemented with obvious pride. "Taking care of me until I die."

Meng Ruji said nothing, her expression speaking volumes.

"…Uh… In any case, I must speak clearly." Ye Chuan's face grew serious. "I have already caused Miss Meng much trouble. My life should have ended long ago. Now, coming here must be heaven's opportunity. Ye Chuan asks for nothing else, only hoping to spend the rest of my life serving Miss Meng, at her disposal, to atone for my sins."

The solemnity of his words gave them weight. Meng Ruji watched him bow deeply and found herself somewhat stunned. "It's not necessary to go that far…"

"No, I caused Miss Meng to mistakenly enter this place. If Miss Meng doesn't want to stay here, then I must send you back. This is what I must do. Please don't drive me away, Miss Meng. Fulfill my 'bearing thorns and pleading for forgiveness.'"

Mo Li clicked his tongue in admiration. "Good young man, very reliable. Little Meng, how about choosing a good tree to nest in?"

"Senior, please don't speak such jests!" Ye Chuan's serious tone cut through before Meng Ruji could scold Mo Li. "I now only feel guilt toward Miss Meng, no improper thoughts. I want to follow Miss Meng only to atone for my sins."

His position couldn't have been clearer.

Meng Ruji found herself willing to trust him. She considered the situation—although Ye Chuan had previously been possessed by malevolent qi and acted with dangerous extremity, that corruption had been purged from his body. Back in the mortal world, he'd been powerful enough to require her Five Guardians joining forces to subdue him. He must possess considerable capability.

Now, Mu Sui was scheming, and Mo Li no less calculating—they both had their own agendas and weren't wholeheartedly on her side. She desperately needed someone who was truly "one of her own." Ye Chuan had achieved enlightenment precisely because of his upright nature. Keeping him would mean having someone trustworthy.

Moreover, he was a medical immortal…

He should definitely be kept.

It's just…

No matter what happened, in Zhuliu City she would still be living under someone else's roof…

Her gaze drifted back toward Mu Sui almost against her will.

This time, she discovered he wasn't eating fruit anymore—he was looking directly at her. Their eyes met. Meng Ruji blinked, but Mu Sui remained perfectly calm. "This is your matter. You decide for yourself."

Surprise flickered across her face. "Qianshan Jun is so generous?"

Mu Sui casually reached for another fruit, wiped the dust from it on the bandage of his suspended hand—the one Meng Ruji had bound for him—peeled it with practiced ease, took a bite, and said: "Being good to my wife is part of my duty."

The words settled something in Meng Ruji. "Ye Chuan, let's set off for Zhuliu City together."

"Yes, Miss Meng."

"Then… the money you brought with you when you came here?" Her eyes widened hopefully as she fixed her gaze on Ye Chuan. "How much is there? Is it silver? Or gold?"

With that single sentence, Ye Chuan's face transformed into a mask of misery.

"Money…" He looked toward the rabbit sitting at Mu Sui's feet.

The rabbit hopped anxiously in place twice, but constrained by Mu Sui's earlier command, it kept its mouth firmly shut.

"Let it talk!" Anxiety sharpened Meng Ruji's voice.

"Speak."

"You dare mention money!" The rabbit exploded with fury, bouncing high in the air. "You possessed me and cast spells all the way here, which already drained most of the spiritual power from the two or three silver I had hidden. Then you opened an illusion! My money exploded when your illusion broke! Not even dust remains!"

After this outburst, silence descended on the forest like a heavy blanket.

"That is to say…" Meng Ruji's hands trembled as she pointed at everyone present in a slow circle. "Four people and one rabbit can't scrape together a single coin…"

Mo Li pursed his lips and whistled twice with complete detachment. "It's not my fault."

Ye Chuan sighed heavily. "It's all my fault, all my fault!"

"It's all your fault! All your fault!" the rabbit echoed.

Mu Sui continued eating his fruit in silence. After a moment, he stood and began gathering more fruits, stuffing them methodically into his clothes. While he collected them, Meng Ruji emerged from the depths of her despair.

"What else can we do…" The sigh carried the weight of resignation.

At her words, Mu Sui had already reached her side. He pressed a fruit into her hand, then strode off purposefully in one direction.

Meng Ruji accepted the fruit with weary defeat, bit into it to fill the emptiness in her stomach, and followed.

"Where are we going?" Mo Li called out.

"To the market." Meng Ruji's voice was utterly lifeless. "To find work…"

A life of toil—it wasn't joking with her after all.

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