Chapter 8 Aren't you afraid of me too?

The boy's silvery fingers touched the wine cup in mid-air, as if it weren't a peddler's wares, but something he had originally left there. His blunt claim of "freeloading" came across as perfectly natural, like returning something to its rightful owner.

No wonder he hadn't said a word, Pingyu thought. So that's what he was thinking.

The peddler was also taken aback, and he reluctantly uttered a single syllable: "This..."

"If you're not going to send it, then I don't need it."

He spoke succinctly and decisively, then took Pingyu's hand and turned to leave.

Ping Yu hadn't reacted yet when he heard the peddler frantically shout, "Deliver! I'll deliver!" as he was being pulled.

Nezha chuckled and stuffed the wine cup, wrapped in red silk, into Pingyu's arms.

Pingyu: !

The goblet fell like a heavy object, almost causing her to miss it.

She hurriedly grasped the wine glass in her hand, and looking at the crack on its belly, she breathed a sigh of relief. The damage was so severe that if she had accidentally dropped it, the glass would have shattered completely.

Ignoring the peddler's pained expression, the boy walked away incredibly fast.

Pingyu snapped out of her daze and had to jog to keep up. Hearing the footsteps behind her, Nezha gradually slowed down. Just as Pingyu caught up, she asked, "Are you sure we don't have to pay?"

Although Pingyu clearly understood the peddler's intentions, he still found it difficult to accept the idea of ​​"taking for free".

The thought that the wine cup had been stolen made her feel a little hot. She could only treat it like a dirty rag, handling it with two fingers.

Upon hearing this, the boy's face suddenly turned cold. Looking at Ping Yu's bewildered expression, he said, "He knew this wine vessel was made from the bones of a child sacrificed alive, yet he disregarded human life simply because he coveted the inexhaustible supply of fine wine. His heart was already wicked. Now, even though he's being threatened by a demon and his life is in danger, he still refuses to sacrifice himself for help. Of the five poisons, greed is the most wicked. Do you expect me to spend money to save his life for nothing?"

The boy snorted coldly, his phoenix eyes glancing sideways behind him, and said sarcastically, "Dream on."

No wonder it's often said in the pass that Nezha acts eccentrically; anyone who displeases him will never let them get the slightest benefit.

"That's true!" He didn't see the same fear and disgust on Ping Yu's face as he did on the others. The girl clutched her purse, first looking around nervously, then leaned close to Nezha's ear and said, "Actually, I don't like that peddler either!"

"Oh?" Nezha's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Why?"

"Because I didn't like the way he looked at me."

The gentle, soothing words whispered close to his ear, each word carrying a warm breath. Like a kitten's tail brushing against him, soft and ticklish:

"He looked down on us because we were just kids. That's really strange! Nezha, the peddler is afraid of you, but that fear doesn't make him any more timid. It's as if he thinks we can take his words as gospel just because he's old... Humph, if you had asked for it earlier, I would have just given him a single cowrie shell like a beggar. But now, thanks to you, I don't even have to pay a penny!"

"Is that really what you think?"

"really!"

Ping Yu said with certainty, “He was certain that you wouldn’t ignore his plea for help because of the bad things he’d done. He was afraid of you, yet he felt entitled to your help. He had no attitude of asking for help whatsoever, and he was so stingy with even a kind word. My wallet isn’t empty, but this windfall shouldn’t have fallen into the hands of such a rat-like person.”

This sounds like they're speaking up for Nezha.

The boy's eyes were like a deep, inky pool, utterly black, even the pupils and the light in his eyes were gone. Cold, they exuded a damp, deathly stillness. He looked into Pingyu's eyes, instinctively doubting the truth of her words.

Pingyu was unaware of his probing. The girl had already gotten emotional, recalling the cartoons she watched as a child. She thought of Nezha, who clearly rid the people of a demon dragon, yet was still scolded by his father, heard the people's grievances, and finally cut off his flesh to return to his mother and his bones to return to his father. People disliked him so much, yet they still wanted to use him to gain fame and fortune and ensure their own safety.

The girl thought that although Nezha in front of her seemed harmless in her memory, he was still young, and in this open-minded era, it wouldn't be a big deal if he was a little naughty.

Moreover, he doesn't treat people like dirt. When it comes to his favorite things, he only cares about cultivation and slaying demons—both of which can be considered acts of charity! Like now, even though he says the peddler is annoying, he still takes the wine cup that puts the other person in mortal danger. You know, Nezha could have easily taken the stolen goods after the demon had killed someone!

Oh, right, speaking of monsters and wine cups...

Nezha didn't know what Pingyu had thought of, but the color drained from her face again. The girl's cheeks, puffed up with indignation, felt like cotton, making Nezha's hands itch. He was never one to hold back, so he directly grabbed the soft flesh on her cheek.

Like a fat rabbit caught while hunting, it feels great to handle.

He asked, "Aren't you afraid of me too?"

“I’m not afraid of you, I’m afraid of monsters,” Pingyu replied, carefully lifting the handle of the goblet, and countered, “Since you can take it away, doesn’t that prove…”

"Yes." He nodded in agreement: "It's true."

In an instant, the cup was switched places. Pingyu regarded it as a poisonous insect and, with lightning speed, shoved it into Nezha's hand. She put her hands behind her back, looking as if she absolutely refused to take it anymore: "In that case, it's best to leave this to the Third Young Master for safekeeping. Pingyu is too weak; I'm afraid he can't handle it!"

No wonder she found the texture of this wine cup to be so oily and greasy, making her dizzy and lightheaded. It truly lived up to Nezha's saying, "With you here, there will be no shortage of demons." The two of them had only been out in the market for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and they had already casually acquired one from a peddler. Recalling the origin of the wine cup, she felt as if the two fingers she had used to hold it had been stirred inside a cut-open fish's belly, becoming incredibly fishy and foul-smelling.

He looked at the girl who seemed troubled and said with amusement, "You're only starting to feel scared now? Isn't that a bit too late?"

"I was too angry just now, I didn't react in time..."

Ping Yu slipped behind Nezha.

Nezha caught the wine cup and played with it in his hand. Pingyu watched, her heart pounding, constantly imagining a demon leaping out of the cup and swallowing her whole. Nezha knew she was afraid, and hearing her admit that she was afraid of demons, not him, his mood inexplicably improved. The boy, unusually considerate, comforted Pingyu, saying, "What's there to be afraid of with me by your side? Since I dared to bring you out, I will naturally protect you."

Pingyu only clutched the clothes on Nezha's back. Her fingertips flicked against his back as she whispered, "What should we do with this yellow-mouthed goblet? Should we smash it?"

Listening to the peddler's words, Pingyu felt that this wine cup was more like a seal from a novel. It suppressed the soul of a child within, forcing it to dissipate its spirit, to brew wine for people's appetites. Just thinking about it made Pingyu feel nauseous. She was grateful that she had been born into a good family; if she had been a slave, she probably would have been captured and used as a sacrifice by this age.

Huang Kougong seemed to be inspired by Ping Yu's words. Nezha suddenly felt the object in his hand tremble a few times, struggling to jump out of his palm. The boy suddenly tensed up, tightened his grip on the long neck of the goblet, and fiercely pinched it.

"Let's go back to the manor first."

Nezha calmly put away the wine cup that had been lying still, and said to Pingyu, "Now that we have this thing, we should make the best use of it."

"How do you make the most of everything?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"There is no family dinner prepared to welcome you today."

As Nezha replied, the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) emerged from behind and wrapped around the girl's waist. Pingyu didn't understand why Nezha liked to bind people so much, while she held the other end and pulled her along. It was like tethering a pet, afraid she wouldn't be able to control its movements. But Pingyu was used to it. She followed Nezha and asked, "Although the gong (a type of ancient Chinese wine vessel) is used to hold wine, the one we have is cracked. There's such a deep crack, it looks like you could stuff a bamboo sliver inside. How can a defective product be used to its fullest potential?"

"Isn't it sought after because it can be used to brew fine wine? Since this is a family banquet, how can we be without good wine!" Nezha said, a smile appearing on his beautiful face. The corners of his mouth lifted up like smeared bloodstains, revealing a sinister demonic aura in the light of the sunset: "My old man at home loves to drink that 'floating white wine' the most."

Nezha actually wanted to give the wine to Li Jing!

Pingyu wanted to criticize Nezha for calling his father "Old Deng," but she also felt that his relationship with Li Jing was indeed as hostile as the records described. After all, the wine in this yellow-mouthed goblet was brewed from the blood and flesh of young boys and girls, which, in Pingyu's eyes, was no different from fermented corpse water. She figured that Nezha was probably retaliating against Li Jing for making him kneel down and apologize in the guest room.

She didn't want to get involved in the father-son conflict that she had caused, but then she thought of related matters and said, "But is there any wine in this cup? I think the peddler is willing to sell it not only because the cup is haunted, but also because it can't produce wine for him to drink to his heart's content."

"Since it is an object that seals the soul, it must possess sentience."

Nezha raised the wine cup again and pressed his thumb against the crack on its belly.

The boy gently inserted his fingers into the crevice, lightly lifting a small piece of bone with just a flick of his fingertip.

“I have a way to make anything that can understand human speech obey me.”

Watching his actions, Pingyu felt a sudden pain in his stomach. The boy's threatening tone was flat, sounding like a joke. But Pingyu knew that if this cup of wine didn't come out at the family banquet as Nezha had promised, he would likely meet a gruesome end tonight.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she seemed to see a hint of glistening water in the crack.

It couldn't be that she was scared to tears.

well…

Ping Yu sighed, feeling pity for the demon for the first time.

A note from the author:

Nezha: I need to give Old Deng something energizing.

Pingyu: If you poison him, you can't poison me!