"Screw you!"
Yan Xingxiao didn't even need to make a move.
Song Yueyao, who had been holding him back just a moment ago, suddenly let her explosive temper flare up.
Looking down on women was the ultimate way to push her buttons.
She spun and unleashed a sweeping kick, sending the innkeeper's plump body instantly crashing to the floor.
He even bounced with a highly elastic "boing."
"Ouch!" he cried out in pain. The layers of fat on his belly folded together, leaving him unable to get up for a moment.
"How are women inferior to men? Your grand-auntie here can knock you flat with one kick!" Song Yueyao rolled her ankle as if doing warm-up exercises.
"I could even kick you around like a ball, believe it or not!"
Saying that, she raised her foot to deliver another kick.
"Wait—!"
A crisp voice rang out from upstairs. Without even looking up, one could guess it was Xiaomi's. Song Yueyao's movements abruptly halted.
Chai Xiaomi ran down the stairs with a clatter, lifting the hem of her skirt. Sometimes she felt that the clothing of Central Plains women was extraordinarily bothersome. The skirts of the Miao people were much more convenient; she never had to worry about tripping over them. Once they returned from Liangya Prefecture, she absolutely had to change back into her Miao skirt.
Wait? Return?
Chai Xiaomi froze for a moment. Would she even be able to return?
In her memory of the original novel, after Wu Li left with the protagonist group, he only went back to Mount Chi once, returning to his own Gu-wielding tribal village. That was his final return.
What did he go back for that time?
To slaughter the village...
Yes, a massacre! He wiped out almost everyone in the entire village!
Because of this, he completely turned against the High Priest. However, he paid a massive price for it. The original novel didn't specify what that price was. Ultimately, as the villain, he forcibly planted a Gu in his own body, suffering a backlash that led to his death and tragic end.
Thinking of this, Chai Xiaomi paused in her steps.
She looked up at Wu Li on the second floor. He always seemed to prefer staying away from the crowd, a solitary figure.
Right now, he was crouching there alone, fiddling with one of the wooden slats. If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed to be repairing the railing...
Since when did he become so warm-hearted?
Or maybe he was just bored.
After all, his hands were rarely idle during the journey. Whenever they passed by foxtail grass, he would always pluck a stalk to twirl between his fingers. Sometimes, when he got tired of playing with it, he would whimsically stick it into her hair.
Pulling foxtail grass out of her hair had become a common occurrence for Chai Xiaomi.
The short distance didn't allow her to let her imagination run wild for long. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the innkeeper.
Chai Xiaomi looked down and stared closely at the innkeeper for a moment. He was groaning and rubbing his butt without shying away from the onlookers.
Then, Chai Xiaomi looked up and glanced around at the others.
At this moment, she recalled various historical dramas she had watched in the past. Whenever a female character wanted to disguise herself as a man, all she had to do was tie her hair up, wear a hat, and put on men's clothes. Everyone around her would suddenly seem to lose their intelligence, completely unable to discover "his" true gender.
Looking at it now, it was absolutely true.
They really couldn't tell.
Earlier, when the innkeeper was chattering endlessly with spit flying everywhere, she had been observing his neck from upstairs.
Initially, she thought he was just too fat and the extra flesh on his neck made his Adam's apple less prominent. But upon closer inspection, she realized it simply wasn't there.
And when Song Yueyao delivered that kick, he didn't instinctively protect his crotch like a normal man would. If that detail only meant he had slow reflexes, then the sharp, high-pitched cry of pain he accidentally let out the moment he hit the ground definitely contradicted the gruff voice he usually maintained on purpose.
"Boss Zhu," Chai Xiaomi crouched down, her eyebrows curving gently as she reached out a hand to "him." "Did the fall hurt? Let me help you up."
Zhu Yu stared blankly for a few seconds. "He" hadn't heard the address "Boss Zhu" in two years. Hearing it again after such a long time actually stirred up some emotion.
"He" had noticed the girl in front of him shortly after she checked into the inn.
It was hard not to notice her.
Because every time she passed by the front desk, she would always cheerfully call out "Good morning," "Good afternoon," or "Good evening" to the people inside...
"He" didn't understand what it meant; it sounded like a formal greeting.
For reasons "he" couldn't explain, "he" remembered this lively, smiling face. Perhaps it was because her eyes held something "he" had been pursuing "his" whole life.
It was an innate confidence, brightness, and flamboyance, and above all, a sense of self-acceptance. That must have required an abundance of love to nurture, right?
Zhu Yu reached out a chubby hand, completely losing the arrogant attitude from before, and said awkwardly, "Thank you for the trouble, miss."
Just as "his" hand was about to touch Chai Xiaomi's...
It was suddenly intercepted by another slender hand.
Wu Li grabbed the innkeeper and hauled him off the ground with a rough motion, as if lifting a sack. After executing this move cleanly and smoothly, he silently walked to the side and pulled out the cloth he usually used to wipe his bow, using it to wipe his hands.
As if he had just touched something utterly disgusting.
Chai Xiaomi glanced at the young man wiping his hands with a look of utter disgust, then turned back to look at the innkeeper.
Such rude behavior that left no room to save face might have been brushed off by a man, but the innkeeper's face clearly flushed with a faint redness, revealing a mix of shyness and embarrassment.
Wu Li's looks were basically the type that appealed to all ages. If there was physical contact, it was hard for anyone's heart not to flutter.
The innkeeper's flushed face further confirmed Chai Xiaomi's suspicion.
The final step to verify her theory was to make "him" realize that the secret was out, forcing "him" to confess voluntarily.
So, Chai Xiaomi's eyes flashed quickly. She wickedly raised her two paws and, catching the innkeeper off guard, said, "Pardon me."
She placed them accurately on the innkeeper's chest.
Although it was a bit shameful, it wasn't the first time she had done something like this. Back when she lived in a girls' dorm, a few close roommates would discuss cup sizes. She didn't know who suddenly had the bright idea, but they laughingly suggested feeling who was the biggest.
That night, Chai Xiaomi was the one whose chest got grabbed the most in the dorm.
The final conclusion was that hers were shockingly impressive.
Why shockingly impressive?
Because it defied everyone's expectations. Her figure was on the slender side, and she always preferred casual, loose-fitting clothes. In short, she hid them very well.
But no matter how well they were hidden, they couldn't withstand a hands-on inspection.
Chai Xiaomi unceremoniously gave a couple of squeezes, and a gratified smile immediately appeared on her face.
Hmm, although it seemed wrapped in cloth strips, she could still feel the bouncy elasticity.
The innkeeper's face went from red to white, and then from white back to red.
The color shifts were more dramatic than the eighteen bends of a mountain road.
The air froze at this moment.
Jiang Zhiyu: "..."
Song Yueyao: "..."
Yan Xingxiao: "..."
Waiter: "..."
Such a bizarre scene caught everyone present completely off guard.
