Chapter 14: - Something Happened

After breakfast and a fresh round of “map exploration” from Blind Man Bei, Zheng Fan wandered around the front hall for a while before returning to the rear courtyard.

He felt rather like a dog.

He only dared roam within the small area he already knew. He did not dare run outside, and he did not even possess the courage ordinary dogs had to piss around and mark their territory.

Certainly, going out now did carry one rare benefit: he could see a genuine ancient city without anyone trying to sell him flower cakes or charge him an old-town maintenance fee.

But here at the inn, there was food, drink, and a little maid waiting on him.

There really did not seem to be any urgent need to go out for a walk.

The row of single-story rooms in the rear courtyard was arranged like this:

At the center stood a small reception room, the place where everyone had gathered for meals several times already.

Zheng Fan’s bedroom was on the west side of that room.

Everyone else’s rooms lay farther out along the row.

When Zheng Fan wandered back, he saw a small, busy figure inside the reception room.

The dining table had been moved away and replaced with a much larger, thicker wooden table.

Xue San was kneeling on top of it with tools in hand, carving at extraordinary speed.

Curled strips of wood shavings fell away one after another.

The clean scent of fresh-cut timber filled the air.

“Master.”

Xue San raised his head and smiled at Zheng Fan, then immediately bent back down and continued working.

“Are you making a sand table?”

Zheng Fan looked over the areas already carved.

The central section was obviously Tiger Head City, with the surrounding terrain beginning to take shape around it.

“Master’s eyes are sharp.”

Xue San delivered one obligatory line of flattery before continuing:

“The Blind Man told me to make it. Some details still need to be filled in. Right now I’m only carving out a rough version. Our next goal is to establish ourselves firmly in Tiger Head City, so getting a strategic sand table ready first will make things more convenient later.”

“Oh. You’ve worked hard.”

“It is what this subordinate should do.”

Xue San wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, then returned to his work.

Zheng Fan stood nearby watching.

Every so often, he helped pass over a tool.

Several times, when Xue San paused to drink water or check a reference, his lips pursed as though he wanted to say something.

But each time the words reached his mouth, he had no idea how to begin.

For quiet types like A’Ming and Liang Cheng, saying even a few words could easily make them seem sincere, heartfelt, as though speaking at all had cost them something.

For someone like Xue San, who spent his days flattering, joking, grinning, and pouring out words without end, perhaps exactly because he was so skilled at polished lines and social talk, he had no idea what to say when the moment came for something genuinely moving.

Fortunately, he had work in his hands.

At least they did not need to fear the awkwardness of “when the air suddenly goes quiet.”

But everything was relative.

Everything affected everything else.

After experiencing A’Ming, Liang Cheng, and then Blind Man Bei all coming over for their own versions of “please hug me,” Zheng Fan seemed to have absorbed a little something himself without realizing it.

As he prepared to leave the reception room, Zheng Fan reached out and patted Xue San on the shoulder.

“Keep working. I’ll go look around elsewhere.”

The shoulder pat really did seem to be a supernatural skill possessed by those above.

Whether anyone had taught you or not, once you reached a high enough position, you somehow learned this cheap but effective way of showing favor.

Besides, standing there watching Xue San work kept giving Zheng Fan the guilty feeling that he was exploiting child labor.

Xue San froze on the wooden table.

Even after Zheng Fan had already left the reception room, he did not move.

A trace of warmth lingered on his shoulder.

Somewhere unseen, it felt as though invisible threads had appeared from nothing, gradually sharpened into clarity, then vanished again.

His three-dimensional self seemed to flatten back into a two-dimensional image, then return, again and again, cycling endlessly between the two.

In that haze, he seemed to see a man bent over a desk, slowly, stroke by stroke, weaving his existence into being.

“Cough... cough...”

Xue San suddenly began coughing violently.

The wooden table shook beneath him and looked ready to overturn.

Rather than allow his entire morning’s work to smash to pieces, Xue San decisively chose to flip himself off the table.

Better to take one painful fall than repeat hours of wasted work.

But then, in midair, Xue San’s body suddenly froze.

The suspension lasted only an instant.

Yet shock appeared on his face.

Immediately afterward, every joint in his body seemed to make some minute adjustment.

The frozen instant ended.

His waist exerted the slightest force, and in the blink of an eye, his falling body changed direction.

Both feet landed firmly on the floor.

And there was not a single unnecessary sound.

Not even the dust on the floor tiles stirred.

After landing, Xue San drew in a deep breath.

Then released it heavily.

He could not stop himself from sticking out his tongue and licking his lips hard.

Clatter!

The tool in his hand fell to the floor.

Xue San covered his mouth with his left hand.

“Heh... heh...”

At first, the sound was restrained.

“Hehehe...”

Then, in the end:

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

His smile, from expression to volume, grew more and more arrogant.

...

When Zheng Fan pushed open the door to his room, he vaguely heard Xue San laughing behind him.

Before he had time to react, he was suddenly bounced backward.

The awkward part was this: whoever manufactured those volleyballs had clearly taken product durability very seriously.

Even after all these years since leaving the factory, their elasticity and the resilience that came with it were still astonishing.

And so Zheng Fan... was bounced away, as though he had walked straight onto a spring bed.

Duang!

“Master, are you all right?”

Fourth Lady’s voice came from the doorway.

Zheng Fan staggered backward several steps before regaining his balance.

Only then did he see Feng Siniang standing where the door had opened.

She had apparently already been inside his room.

“Fourth Lady, you’re here.”

“Master, I came to bring you some clothes. Over the past half year, I made several sets whenever I had spare time. But because Master never woke up, I couldn’t actually test the fit. They should be roughly correct, but I still need Master to try them on while standing so I can make some final adjustments.”

“Oh. All right.”

Zheng Fan followed Feng Siniang into the room.

Under her direction, he tried on the clothes one set at a time.

Fourth Lady held a measuring strip and a small ink pencil, carefully recording every place that needed alteration.

The outfits she had made were all based broadly on hoodies, but she had blended in many elements from this era.

They were loose without looking baggy.

Tiger Head City stood beside the desert, where the wind and sand were heavy.

Many people wore robes or other broad garments to block the dust.

The city also received many caravans from foreign regions.

Their clothes, in truth, did not look dramatically different from the very modern hoodie Zheng Fan had worn these past few days.

Thinking about it that way, A’Ming could stubbornly continue wearing his battered old tailcoat.

Clearly, in a place like this, the concept of “strange clothes” barely existed.

After Zheng Fan tried on the final outfit, took it off, and changed back into the clothes he had started with, he said with some emotion:

“Thank you, Fourth Lady.”

“It is what this servant should do. Besides, among Master’s subordinates, I’m the only woman. Whatever Master needs, simply tell this servant. This servant will satisfy Master.”

Every smile and glance from Feng Siniang carried a sensuality soaked deep into the bones.

Yet Zheng Fan had no improper thoughts at all right now.

Instead, he said:

“When I was little, I was always pretty envious of other kids whose mothers took them shopping and helped them try on new clothes.”

Feng Siniang froze.

The Demon Kings knew a certain amount about Zheng Fan.

But they could not possibly know every detail of his past.

Zheng Fan drew a breath and smiled.

“My mother divorced my father not long after I was born. I heard she went to Guangdong, found another family, and never came back to see me. My father drove freight trucks and was away from home for long stretches. He never had the time or patience to take me clothes shopping either.”

“Later, he died in a traffic accident. After that, I never had another chance to have an elder accompany me to buy clothes.”

A trace of sorrow appeared on Feng Siniang’s face.

Slowly, she reached out and took both Zheng Fan’s hands.

She understood.

Deep inside, their Master might have grown up starved for affection.

“Master, Fourth Lady is a little older too. This servant is hardly some young maiden anymore. If Master likes, Fourth Lady... Fourth Lady can play the role of Master’s mother.”

“Whatever Master wants to do to your mother, this servant can cooperate. Roleplay is something this servant is very good at.”

“Hm?...”

Zheng Fan froze.

In the past, Zheng Fan had considered himself somewhat heavy-flavored compared with ordinary people because of his obsession with horror.

But faced with these Demon Kings, he increasingly felt that he might actually be far too innocent.

And all too often, he found himself unable to fit in simply because he was not perverted enough.

Creak!

The door opened.

The atmosphere Fourth Lady had worked so hard to create inside the room shattered instantly.

Blind Man Bei stood in the doorway.

AAAAAAAAAH!

Fourth Lady was furious.

She pointed directly at him and cursed:

“Damn blind man! Don’t you know how to knock before coming in?”

Blind Man Bei raised one hand and tapped his knuckles against the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Then he said:

“Something happened outside the inn, Okaa-san.”

[End of Chapter 14]