bookbashuk Chapter 12 walkthrough progress: 50%
Chapter 12 walkthrough progress: 50%
She opened her mouth, but found herself speechless.
Okay, that's true. She knows her own personality well. If you don't beat her into submission, she really won't listen to anything you say.
"You still have some residual poison, and you have two more days of treatment. If you want to live, don't use any force during these two days." Seeing that Mu Wanqing had stopped moving, Russell continued.
Mu Wanqing bit her lip and nodded slightly, which was considered an agreement, but her heart was in complete turmoil.
Her vow was as firm as iron. When she left the valley, she made a vow with her master that the first man to see her face would either kill her or marry her.
The man in front of her was her savior, and his martial arts skills seemed to be far superior to hers. She couldn't kill him. Did she really have to marry him?
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her ears began to burn, her heart inexplicably raced, and the shame she felt when she was beaten earlier seemed to return, mixed with a strange emotion that she couldn't quite explain.
Before she could sort out this mess, a clear "gurgling" sound suddenly came from her stomach, which sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet room.
Mu Wanqing silently covered her face with her hands, so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground.
"Oh, is the heroine hungry?" Russell teased, seizing the opportunity. Mu Wanqing dared not look at Russell anymore, turning her head away, lowering her eyes, and whispering in a barely audible voice, "Hungry."
"The temple only serves vegetarian food, which is bland and lacks any oil or grease," Russell reminded her.
Mu Wanqing buried her face in the blanket and softly hummed in agreement.
"Wait here." Russell then stood up, straightened his slightly wrinkled robes, and turned to walk towards the door.
Pushing open the door to the side room, the courtyard outside was empty and silent. This was because Kumārajīva was going to give a sermon in the main hall today. The Great Wheel King of Tibet was giving a sermon, and every monk in the temple, including Duan Yu, would not miss this great opportunity to listen to the true teachings.
Of course, this had no effect on Russell. He walked into the kitchen, glanced at the leftover rice and vegetables, and started boiling water and cooking rice and other dishes.
Having lived alone for many years in his previous life, cooking skills were an essential survival skill that he had mastered long ago. Even with just a little bit of cabbage, radish, and lettuce, he could carve flowers out of them, then put on a label and sell them to people in Shanghai for 29998.
In less than a quarter of an hour, three dishes and a soup were freshly cooked. Russell found a plate, picked up the fried rice and vegetarian dishes, and prepared to return to his room. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out of the kitchen, he was blocked by a beautifully sculpted little girl.
The little girl didn't say anything, she just stared at Russell, or rather, at the food in Russell's hands.
Russell tried moving the plate in his hand from side to side, and the little girl's eyes followed the direction of the plate. Then, drool dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Russell was amused by the little girl. He was wondering where such a small girl came from in this temple when he heard hurried footsteps and calls coming from outside the courtyard:
"Ayan! Ayan! Where have you run off to again?"
The young novice monk Jingxin rushed in through the moon gate, panting and looking anxious. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the little girl standing in front of Russell. He bowed to Russell, then knelt down, took out a clean handkerchief, and gently wiped the little girl's mouth, his tone both helpless and loving.
"Ayan, haven't I told you so many times? Don't wander off alone. The temple is a big place; what if you get lost?"
The little girl remained silent, but pointed with her chubby little finger at the food in Russell's hand.
Russell asked curiously, "Master Jingxin, where did this adorable little girl come from?"
Jingxin picked up Ayan and explained, "Amitabha, Benefactor Luo, you may not know this, but Ayan's mother is an embroiderer in Shifo City. Her skills are excellent. These days, the temple needs to rush to make a batch of monks' robes and quilts for the winter, so they asked her mother to come up the mountain to help. Ayan is young and can't be separated from her mother, so she brought her along as well."
During the day, while her mother was busy, we fellow disciples took turns looking after Ayan. Just now, this humble monk was listening intently to the sermon by the Ming King in front of the main hall and didn't notice that Ayan had wandered off and ended up in the kitchen, causing trouble for Benefactor Luo.
"There's no trouble at all," Russell said with a smile as he looked at Ayan's expectant expression. "I think the little girl is hungry. I happen to have extra food. If Master Jingxin is comfortable with that, why don't I take Ayan to the side room to eat some together? That way, we won't delay the little master from going to the main hall to listen to the sutras."
"This..." Monk Jingxin hesitated at first, but when he saw Ayan's eyes filled with longing for food, his heart softened and he said to Russell, "Then I will trouble you, benefactor. Ayan is very well-behaved. I will come to pick her up after we finish eating."
"No problem."
Russell held the tray steadily in one hand and naturally took Ayan's little hand in the other. The little girl was not shy at all and followed Russell.
Back in the room, Mu Wanqing had changed from lying down to sitting up against the headboard, though her movements were still noticeably stiff and unnatural. Hearing the door open, she looked up and saw Luo Su return. Her gaze softened slightly, but then she immediately noticed the little girl he was holding. A strange, uncomfortable feeling welled up inside her, her face instantly darkened, and her voice turned cold: "Who is this little girl? Your daughter?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Russell gave her an annoyed look. "The embroiderer's daughter from the temple, named Ayan, was someone I met on the road. She was so hungry she was drooling, so I brought her over to have a bite together. What's going on in your head all day?"
Ayan shrank back in fright at Mu Wanqing's cold gaze, but then curiously peeked out and secretly sized up the pretty older sister whose face was expressionless.
Russell gently patted her little head, and Ayan immediately ran to Mu Wanqing's bedside and grinned at her.
Ayan was already adorable, and Mu Wanqing, knowing that the little girl in front of her was not Russell's daughter, lost all emotion. She quickly picked up Ayan and sat her down to the side, her tone unconsciously softening considerably: "My name is Mu Wanqing."
[Causal connection↑]
Current causal link: 50%
The system notification rang clearly in his mind. Russell's heart stirred slightly, but he only gave a faint "hmm" on the surface.
He seemed to remember that in the original story, Duan Yu explained the meaning of the name "Wanqing" to please Mu Wanqing, but he couldn't recall it for the moment. However, it didn't matter, as he wasn't a sycophant like Duan Yu.
Mu Wanqing wasn't bothered by Russell's coldness. She was a quiet person by nature, and now that she and Russell had exchanged names, she was overjoyed. She scooped up a spoonful of radish soup and fed it to Ayan.
Seeing that they got along well, Russell went to the other side of the room, sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes and focused his mind, and began to recover the internal energy he had used to heal Mu Wanqing's poison over the past two days.