Chapter 566 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

On the Ghost Festival, Lin Yuesha accompanied Xiao Qi to pay respects to his mother. He didn't mention much about the past.

As the younger sister, Lin Yuesha felt it was inappropriate to pry into her stepbrother's privacy from her own perspective. If he was willing to talk, then he would.

No matter how good or sincere Chen Shi was to Xiao Qi, she could not replace his biological mother.

"Brother Yun, wait for me a moment."

Lin Yuesha solemnly arrived at the landmark, knelt down on both knees, and kowtowed several times towards the other side of the mountain.

Xiao Qi's expression was complicated, and after a long while, he finally spoke, "What is this...?"

“There is a grave mound further in from the landmark, where my stepbrother’s mother is buried.”

Lin Yuesha assumed it was just a coincidence that she had been brought here by the pockmarked man and had no suspicions. "Since we're passing by, I'd like to pay my respects to your mother."

Without incense, paper money, or offerings, all we can do is kowtow.

Xiao Qi suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "You're so good to your stepbrother."

When her stepson was mentioned, Lin Yuesha suddenly remembered something that she found contradictory.

The pockmarked man once said that he had a sister who had died, so he was nice to her because he was thinking of his sister. That's utter nonsense. Madam Qi only had one son back then, and then the entire Qi family was wiped out. Where did she get a sister from?

"Brother Yun, if your sister were alive, you would treat her very well, wouldn't you?"

Lin Yuesha probed subtly.

"younger sister?"

The pockmarked man paused for a moment, then remembered that he had said that, and hurriedly tried to correct himself, "Yeah."

What should one do when reminiscing about loved ones? Xiao Qi gazed at the crescent moon overhead, his face filled with sorrow.

Go ahead and pretend, then.

Lin Yuesha couldn't bear to look. She smiled and thought, "That's why it's better to be honest and lie less. It's quite embarrassing to be caught lying like this."

Pockmarked face has no biological sister, only a romantic sister. However, women in the Great Qi Dynasty prefer the appearance of a scholar, and with his masked face, he has almost no chance of being chosen, so he can be basically ruled out.

So why did he lie about this small detail?

Lin Yuesha was carried into the mountains by the pockmarked man under his arm. Her eyes were covered, and all she could feel was the whistling wind in her ears. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on.

At the time, she admitted that she was somewhat tempted, and then he said those things that dampened her enthusiasm.

It turns out that he lied because he was afraid she might have feelings for him, so he made up a clumsy lie.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of the wind in my ears finally stopped.

Lin Yuesha opened her eyes and realized that she had already climbed halfway up the mountain.

The back hill is covered with lush weeds and surrounded by towering trees. Not far away are stone platforms and clear mountain springs. The mountain air is slightly cool at night.

Not far from the mountain stream, there is a tall wooden house, just like those in the north.

"Today I hunted pheasants and rabbits, and I kept a few blackfish in the bucket. I'll roast them over a fire; they're all your favorites."

The cabin has a tea room on the outside, which is filled with a lot of things, such as rice, flour, cooking utensils, and a stove. The mountains are sparsely populated, so you can definitely live a life of seclusion.

The pockmarked face suggests he's a cunning man with multiple burrows, indicating he's prepared for any eventuality.

Seeing him busy doing so much, Lin Yuesha felt a little sorry for him.

If he were a young master from a wealthy family, at this age he would either be studying and pursuing knowledge, or relying on his ancestors' good fortune to indulge in drinking and womanizing in brothels. But the pockmarked man had to proceed cautiously and painstakingly prepare for revenge.

Watching him boil water and pluck chicken feathers, he was even more efficient than a farmer's son.

Children without parents suffer so much, Lin Yuesha sighed softly in her heart.

Forget it, it's all in the past. She won't hold it against him anymore. She figured that the pockmarked man had been honest with her and had helped her a lot. He was just trying to do something for her own good by deceiving her.

If she really falls for him and gets involved, it wouldn't be a good thing.

Over here, Xiao Qi had already set up a fire, skewered the pheasant with an iron skewer, and then rubbed salt on the chicken to marinate it.

The firelight illuminated his face, making the pockmarks on his skin even more prominent. Lin Yuesha stood to his left, staring at his face.

What exactly is this little girl trying to do? Xiao Qi was completely baffled, so he pretended not to know and focused on roasting the chicken.

After waiting for a moment, Lin Yuesha moved to his other side and stared at him intently again.

"Sister Yue Sha..."

Just as Xiao Qi was about to turn his face away, Lin Yuesha called out to him, "Brother Yun, wait a moment."

Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven...

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Qi pointed to the pheasant on the grill and asked, "What flavor of roast chicken do you want? With honey?"

"add!"

Lin Yuesha nodded excitedly. The pheasant was very fat, and its skin was full of oil. When the fire was lit, drops of oil from the chicken skin fell into the middle of the fire, making the fire rise a little higher and making a sizzling sound. The aroma soon wafted far away.

Lin Yuesha swallowed hard. The roasted chicken skin was brushed with honey, making it sweet and juicy, while the chicken meat inside was savory and fragrant. The combination of the two eliminated any fishy smell and elevated the deliciousness of the pheasant meat to another level.

"just……"

Xiao Qi hesitated, as the little girl had just looked at his left and right profiles, and he wondered what she was looking at.

"Brother Yun, do you have any fruit wine?"

Lin Yuesha blinked, looked away, and deliberately changed the subject.

She was just studying the mask, and Lin Yuesha expressed great interest. It's unlikely that he disfigured himself to become ugly and unrecognizable.

Because he wears a mask, apart from changes in his eyes, he has a completely expressionless face.

The person who made the mask had skillful hands. Lin Yuesha couldn't see where the joints were, whether they were glued on or something. Based on her careful observation, there were forty-three large and small pockmarks on the left side of the pockmarked face, and the same number on the right side. Perhaps the person who made the mask had obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Xiao Qi had no idea what his little sister was thinking. Seeing her smirking, he assumed the girl was very happy.

“Sister Yue Sha, you weren’t this close to me before. I thought there was a misunderstanding between us, about the girls’ school…”

Xiao Qi stared at the roast chicken, his starry eyes slightly narrowed, and he turned to test Lin Yuesha.

"Brother Yun, have you misunderstood something?"

Lin Yuesha denied that back at the girls' school, if it weren't for the pockmarked face helping to move Li Ruoshuang's bracelet, even if Lin Yuesha could hide the bracelet, she wouldn't have had the chance to turn it into silver.

All of this was thanks to the pockmarked face, so it was only right for the pockmarked face to take a high commission, and I wouldn't hold a grudge against him because of it.

As for whether he was going to the Northwest or the capital, there was even less need for him to report to me.

"Fruit wine is available, but it has a strong aftereffect."

Xiao Qi went into the cabin and, a moment later, took out his treasured wine.

The wine had been aged for three years, making it even more fragrant and mellow. Enjoying the moon and scenery, eating roast chicken, and being with the pockmarked man, Lin Yuesha felt that this was still quite romantic.