"What is going on here?" Jiang Zhiyu looked in astonishment at the sunflower seeds scattered all over the floor.
Song Yueyao had just called him up, yet she had climbed back onto the roof beam, clinging tightly to it.
"Look over there!" She closed her eyes and pointed blindly in a direction, as if something so terrifying was hidden there that a single glance would scatter one's soul.
Jiang Zhiyu knew well that Song Yueyao was usually fearless, carefree, and even possessed a somewhat reckless bravery.
There was only one possibility that could make her show such an expression.
He looked in that direction, and sure enough, in the shadows of the corner of the room, lay curled up over a dozen rats.
Only, they were all stiff and motionless, their deaths bizarre.
In the eye socket of every single one, a sunflower seed was precisely embedded, sunk deep into their brains.
He instantly thought of the bow that had just been on Wu Li's shoulder.
What astonishing archery skills were required to end these swift little creatures so precisely in such a cramped and narrow space, using insignificant sunflower seeds as arrows.
Whether it was intentional or a coincidence, every single one was shot right in the eye.
It was as if they had been deliberately subjected to a final agony before death.
"There's still one more that scuttled off somewhere." Song Yueyao's scalp went numb. Unable to look directly at the pile of rats, she naturally did not know their gruesome state, and only urged Jiang Zhiyu to find the last one that slipped through the net.
She had been awakened this morning by a rustling sound. Opening her eyes, she saw a swarm of rats rummaging through her bundle, having already bitten through several garments.
The table and the floor were covered with the chewed-up remnants of sunflower seeds.
Horrified, she was about to rush out the door to find Jiang Zhiyu when she happened to bump into Wu Li passing by outside.
The young man didn't say a word. He turned around, fetched his bow from horseback, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds to use as arrows, and although the rats scattered extremely fast, he didn't miss a single shot, casually wiping out the whole nest.
There was originally one last rat that slipped into the cracks of the window boards. But after observing by the window for a moment and saying a couple of words to someone below, he didn't even bother catching this last one. He simply turned his head, said he had something to do, and hurriedly leaped out the window.
Before leaving, he even asked her for a cloak.
At the time, Song Yueyao wanted to refuse; after all, it was a woman's personal item, and it wasn't quite appropriate for a man to take it. But Wu Li gave a reason she couldn't refute.
He said this was his for catching rats...
"Reward."
The young man's voice remained cold as he answered the question the girl in front of him had just asked, while tying the cloak's strings for her.
"Oh," Chai Xiaomi replied. Her body was suddenly enveloped in warmth, and the fluffy trim brushed against her cheek, bringing a soft touch.
She felt a bit more at ease in her heart.
So he was just catching rats for the female lead. She had thought he entered her room with ulterior motives.
She was only afraid that Wu Li would plant a love gu on the female lead right under her nose.
However, taking a girl's clothing after just helping with a small favor was a behavior that invited speculation.
Chai Xiaomi moved her lips but didn't expose him.
She secretly grumbled in her heart: Who knows, maybe he just wants to keep it as a souvenir to remember her by.
Just as she was thinking this, Wu Li casually threw in a sentence: "I only lent it to you for a while because I took pity on you shivering like a sieve. Return it to me immediately when you get back to your room."
Chai Xiaomi curled her lips. Why so fierce? It's not like she offended him, yet he acted as arrogant as if she owed him five million!
He even left her alone in the room to be frightened all night.
Although, she was the one who took advantage of him first.
But last night, that was also her first kiss...
Wu Li lowered his head and tied the knot. His gaze inadvertently lifted, right into Chai Xiaomi's slightly pouting lips. That bit of dissatisfaction was plainly written on the corners of her mouth, turning up higher and higher, almost enough to hang the bow on his back.
That soft tenderness from last night crashed back into his mind without warning.
His gaze seemed to be burned by something, and he swiftly looked away from her lips.
His fingertips tying the string trembled imperceptibly, then he continued his movements as if nothing had happened, pulling the knot a bit tighter.
His usually somewhat mocking expression showed a crack for the first time, leaking a bit of a young man's unique, almost flustered shyness.
"Are you done yet?" Chai Xiaomi stood straight. She had stayed still according to Wu Li's orders, but she was tired of standing and had to urge him, "Do you even know how to tie a knot? If not, I'll do it myself."
Wu Li suddenly snapped back to reality amidst her urging, only to realize that he had unknowingly wrapped the string layer upon layer, completely tangling it into a dead knot.
Chai Xiaomi noticed it too. She looked down, picking at the tangled mess, and put on a stern little face: "Tell me, did you do this on purpose?"
Fine, fine, it was just one kiss, and he was finding all sorts of faults early in the morning.
Chai Xiaomi cursed inwardly and started wrestling with the knot.
Wu Li's gaze fell on her temple. That silver dangling hairpin, which he had taken off and placed by the pillow last night, had been put back on by her. It was just tilted a few inches, swaying gently with her movements, rippling with a soft, warm halo, adding a bit of a timid appearance.
"Do you still remember what you did last night?" He suddenly reached out, grabbing the tangled knot to interrupt her movements, his eyes complex and difficult to read. "Or... have you forgotten everything?"
Chai Xiaomi hastily avoided his burning stare.
What is meant to come cannot be avoided.
Even though she had used sleeping as an escape, she still couldn't avoid the reckoning.
Facing Wu Li's interrogation, her heart pounded like a drum, but on the surface, she pretended nothing was wrong. She blinked blankly and said innocently, "What happened?"
"I just remember drinking a few mouthfuls of rice wine, it was quite good, and then..." She touched her head, her face full of distress. "Then I got dizzy. Did you ask me something?"
Wu Li abruptly let go.
Heh, she really forgot.
As expected, it was just involuntary behavior spurred by the love gu, not her true intention. Otherwise, how could she forget so easily?
Even at this very moment, the soft touch and temperature against his lips remained as clear as if it had happened just a second ago.
Yet she said she forgot.
Very well.
It saved him from her clinging to him in the future, demanding he take responsibility for her virtue.
"It's best you forgot." The young man pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes gradually turning bloodshot. His sinister gaze seeped with a chill, devoid of warmth.
His originally aloof temperament suddenly became ruthless and perverse.
He cast her a cold sideways glance, turned around, and walked away.
"Hey, don't go!" Chai Xiaomi swallowed hard. In order to play the part fully, she fearlessly chased after him. "What exactly happened? Explain it clearly."
"Don't bother me." Wu Li didn't stop his steps.
"Where are you going?"
"To catch rats." His voice was cold and hard. "There's still one that hasn't been cleaned up. Rats just love to eat millet like you, eating from the bowl while looking at the pot, and yet some millet just loves to recklessly offer itself up!"
Chai Xiaomi was completely baffled by his words. What was he being so sarcastic and cryptic about?
A bit of anger flared up in her heart, so she simply used a provocation: "Why are you talking in riddles? If you have the guts, explain what happened last night clearly!"
Wu Li suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Chai Xiaomi couldn't stop in time and bumped her head right into his straight back.
She rubbed her temple in pain, only to see him slowly turn his head, the corners of his mouth curling into an almost malicious smirk: "Then let me tell you, last night you drank bone broth, and moreover, it was stewed from human corpses."
"Tch, you are kidding me. I don't believe you." Chai Xiaomi was certain he was just trying to scare her. Did he really think she was drunk? She was perfectly sober.
The smile on his lips deepened, yet it held absolutely no warmth. His voice was light and airy: "That cup of rice wine tasted quite good, didn't it?"
Chai Xiaomi froze completely, standing dumbfounded in the morning breeze.
A voice screamed from the bottom of her heart: He must be lying to me!
But his gaze was far too certain. He did not look like he was lying at all, and a sudden chill ran down Chai Xiaomi's spine.
"Lady Yue!!!"
Right at that moment, an exceptionally agonizing and bloodcurdling shriek erupted from within the inn, tearing apart the tranquility of the early morning.
