Chapter 800: Coming Home
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The maiden in the lake looked at Mo Wen as if she had been wronged. Her expression was as gloomy as it was possible for a person to be.
“Stop your nonsense. Who are you? Why have you appeared here?” Mo Wen said with a cold face.
The village his house was in was nearby and was the only settlement round here. The fact that this woman, who was clearly not a normal human, had appeared here made him cautious. Mo Wen was certain that there was no one in his village like this maiden. If there was, he would certainly have heard about such an alluring person living in the village.
Right now, Mo Wen was not interested in how enchanting this maiden was. He would get to the bottom of things and ask questions later.
“I am who I am. This is my home. Why can’t I appear here? It’s you who is the villain, coming out of nowhere to startle people! What are your intentions?” The maiden pouted, her expression one of complete innocence.
Mo Wen averted his gaze and intentionally did not look at the fairy. He was afraid that if he glanced at her again, he would not be able to bring himself to ask any further questions.
“You had better come clean now. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I drag you out and ‘interrogate’ you in detail,” Mo Wen said enigmatically, specifically emphasizing the word ‘interrogate’. Anyone could tell what his words meant. For a maiden, this was undoubtedly the most frightening threat.
“You are exceedingly unreasonable! In fact, you are an absolute scoundrel! You are bad, so bad…”
The maiden in the lake looked at Mo Wen. Her wronged and innocent expression disappeared completely. Instead, the gaze she gave Mo Wen had a deep sense of meaning.
“Seems that you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.” Mo Wen was now certain that this maiden was problematic. Without saying much, he suddenly made a grab towards the lake, his expression grim. Out of the blue, a gigantic swirl appeared in the lake. The surrounding water sank quickly with the maiden in the center of the swirl. A powerful force enveloped her, trying to pull her out of the water.
Mo Wen couldn’t care less about whether his act was virtuous or acceptable. This maiden was very suspect. He was worried that she would be a danger to the village.
“Little rascal, you have not changed a bit since you were young. I will entertain you no more.”
Enigmatically, the maiden rolled her eyes at Mo Wen. Then, she disappeared from her original spot, not leaving a single trace behind.
“Huh? Where did she go?” Qin Xiaoyou rubbed her eyes. She wondered whether she was hallucinating. How could a human being disappear just like that? She searched the surrounding area carefully, yet she still could not locate the maiden.
“She’s gone.” Mo Wen’s expression was serious. Even he had no clue to how the maiden left. He sensed nothing as she disappeared into thin air. Even his Defied Soul Power could not pick up any trace of her.
“She… Could it be that we have encountered a ghost?” Qin Xiaoyou covered her mouth with both hands and her eyes were bewildered, as though she was going to scream at any second. It was too scary. How could a human being disappear without a trace?
“Either way, it was not something normal. Let’s go. We’ll go to the village immediately.”
Mo Wen’s expression was serious. He moved quickly as he held onto Qin Xiaoyou’s hand. Right now, he really wanted to go back to the village. Hopefully, nothing was wrong there.
“It was unusual for a ghost to be so pretty. She is most likely a vixen of the mountain, specialized in seducing men. Otherwise, why would she look so charming?”
On the way, Qin Xiaoyou slowly regained her senses. When Qin Xiaoyou was no longer under the influence of the maiden’s charm, a sense of admiration and envy immediately welled up in her heart. Most likely any woman would be envious of the maiden’s beauty.
Mo Wen couldn’t care less what the maiden was. He would be relieved as long as the maiden did not harm others in the village. It did not seem like good fortune for them to encounter such a maiden in the barren mountain.
After the two of them left, ripples once again formed on the lake, which had previously calmed down. An alluring face rose from the water. It was none other than the charming maiden.
“This is strange. The young master is so different from before. He seems to have changed into a totally different person. What did he encounter outside? However, his resolve has improved greatly. He was actually able to stay calm in front of me. His attitude is worlds apart from his younger self, who peeked at Xiaocui next door when she was showering.” The fairy-like maiden had a big smile on her face. Even the corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
“He went off to study, and he comes home with a lady! I wonder what madam’s face will be like when she finds out. However, the girl is good-looking and has a good personality. The young master’s taste is not bad.”
“It’s time to go home. The young master has been away for so long. I have missed him badly.” Without a sound, the maiden once again disappeared in the lake.
…..
After crossing a thirty-mile-wide forest, they stood on a hill from where they could see a farm in the distance. Smoke could be seen curling up the chimneys of the farm. The village was surrounded by farmland and approximately 40 to 50 families lived there. Mo Wen’s village was tiny and they were almost cut off from the world. They rarely interacted with the outside world. He was the only one in the village who went out to study. Every time he came home, the villagers would tease him and call him master scholar.
The village was very secluded and so many of the villagers knew nothing about the world outside. Their understanding of many things remained at the level of the Ming Dynasty or even earlier.
“Our village is secluded from the world. The villagers have little knowledge. However, they are simple and friendly people. You probably won’t be able to treat the villagers in the way you would treat people from the outside world. Otherwise, you might have misunderstandings about some of the practices here.”
Mo Wen held hands with Qin Xiaoyou as they walked towards the village. He briefly filled her in on what to expect.
“Don’t worry. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’m not a pampered rich girl anyway.”
Time passed as they talked and they had soon reached the village. It was noon and the sun was blazing. Almost no one was working in the farmland; everyone had gone home to make lunch. Smoke was coming out from the chimneys, and the aroma of food could be smelled from far away.
The houses were densely arranged along the village lane. As they passed by some of the farmhouses, quite a few people recognized Mo Wen and greeted him.
“Aiya. Isn’t this the master scholar from the Mo Clan? He has come home.”
“The master scholar from our village is home. This is big news. We should burn a string of firecrackers at the entrance of our village,” someone said teasingly.
“Huh? That girl is so pretty. Whose daughter is she? Mo Wen, your luck in finding beautiful women is not bad.”
……
The villagers were enthusiastic. There were not many people in the village, so Mo Wen, as the only scholar who was studying outside, would receive great attention when he came home.
Mo Wen greeted the villagers while sighing in relief. Fortunately, everything looked the same in the village. Nothing had gone wrong.
After a while, Mo Wen had reached the front gate of his home. His house was located on higher terrain. The area was surrounded by mountains and covered by the shade of trees. There were five families living in the area. Mo Wen’s house took up quite a lot of space. It was a courtyard house with two enclosed, separate backside buildings. There were more than ten wooden buildings in his courtyard house. There was plenty of land and woods around, hence the cost of building wooden houses was not high. However, it was clear that the Mo Clan’s courtyard house was a wealthy mansion compared to the rest of the houses in the village.
Just when Mo Wen was about to walk through the gate of the house, a maiden walked out from the neighboring house. She had a basin in her hand and was emptying the water from it. There were a few green leaves in the water. It was likely that the maiden had just finished rinsing vegetables.
“Aiyo! Isn’t it Xiaocui? You’re getting prettier,” Mo Wen said teasingly with a smile.
“Mo Wen! Ptui! Lecher! Rascal!”
The maiden named Xiaocui was slightly stunned when she saw him. Clearly, she had not expected Mo Wen, who had gone out to study, to come home. However, the next moment, she recalled something and glared at Mo Wen. She did not look happy.
Xiaocui was wearing a plain greyish-white skirt. The skirt was made of very rough cloth, and her overall attire was very traditional. Her skin was a little rough from farming regularly. However, overall, Xiaocui was a comely maiden.
“Don’t be like that. We were both young then, weren’t we?” Mo Wen said with a smiling face.
Of course, he knew why Xiaocui was so angry. When they were young, Mo Wen had actually gone over to watch Xiaocui showering. What was worse was the fact that she had caught him doing so.
Xiaocui was four years older than him, so she was not really young at that time. Her body had fully developed. She was enraged when she found out that she was peeped at by a brat. Since then, she was on cat-and-dog terms with Mo Wen.
“You were a rascal when you were young. Most likely you aren’t any more decent now that you have grown. Young girl, are you his girlfriend? Beware of this scoundrel. Who knows whether he will fool around with other women? You need to pay close attention to him!”
Xiaocui snorted, then walked towards her house as she turned around with the basin in her hands. Before she left, she had sowed discord between Qin Xiaoyou and Mo Wen, as revenge for what had happened in the past.
“What did you do to her?” Qin Xiaoyou stared strangely at Mo Wen.
The maiden had called Mo Wen ‘rascal and lecher’ and treated him with contempt. It was likely that he had wronged her.
“What could I have done to her? I am a good man, a well-educated man with manners and high moral standards,” Mo Wen said willfully with a serious expression.
Even if he was beaten to death, he could not possibly tell her what stupid act he had committed in the past.
“The maiden has a valid point. As soon as I’m not paying attention, you will sneak out and fool around with other women. Unfortunately, it is useless even if I monitor you 24/7. No one can stop a cat from eating fish.”
“Hey, I am a faithful person, okay?”
“Right, you are faithful in fooling around with women.”
Mo Wen was left speechless.
With a creaking sound, Mo Wen opened the door of the courtyard house. First of all, they entered the big courtyard, then after passing a door, they reached the small courtyard.
As soon as they entered the small courtyard, Mo Wen noticed that the square table had been set with all kinds of food, and a silhouette was busy preparing in the kitchen. The courtyard was huge, yet other than that figure, there was no one else around.
“Mom, I’m back.”
Mo Wen’s eyes reddened suddenly as he stared at the figure in the kitchen. In his heart, it was as though a century had passed and he had been reborn. Even though he had only been away from home for a year, tens of years seemed to have passed in his memory.
No matter what he dreamt about regarding his previous life, he was still himself after all. And his mother would always be his mother.