Chapter 14: You're All I Have Left
"No, that won't work."
Jinzha shook his head repeatedly and waved his hands. His brows were tightly furrowed, his reluctance clearly etched on his face. The young man said earnestly, "I've never worn a skirt before. What if I behave inappropriately and someone notices?"
"It's nothing," Nezha said nonchalantly. "Anyway, I'm going to become a refugee, so it's not unusual for me to be a cripple or a mute."
He had barely finished speaking when a porcelain bowl full of water suddenly appeared before him. He looked up and saw Pingyu's gentle appearance through the other side of the bowl. The girl asked, "Would you like some water?"
Pingyu was afraid that Nezha would lick his lips when he was thirsty after saying so much, and then poison himself to death.
Nezha felt a little uncomfortable at the girl's sudden eagerness. By the time he realized it, he had already taken the water and had no choice but to drink it all in one gulp.
Seeing that he had finished drinking, Pingyu took another bowl and poured a portion for Jinzha as well.
The bowl full of water swayed slightly in the young man's hands. Ripples on the surface of the water clearly reflected Jinzha's awkward expression. His eyes flickered, and he muttered a couple of times before saying, "If it were any other woman, that would be one thing; cultivators don't distinguish between genders. But this time I'm going to be your mother! This...this isn't appropriate..."
Jinzha didn't seem to have much of a problem with dressing as a woman.
He just felt that being assigned the role of "a mother of two" was very strange. How could a man be a mother? Images of himself and Nezha calling Li Jing "mother" kept popping into his head.
Alarm bells rang in Jinzha's heart. His unyielding principles were no match for his younger brother's casual remark: "Elder brother, you are all I have left for this matter."
Nezha said that he could only rely on me!
Boom! The walls in my heart crumbled and collapsed completely.
Jinzha clutched his chest, remaining silent for a long while. Just when Pingyu thought Nezha's attack had missed, the young man slowly nodded: "Alright... then."
It's like the brain is fighting with the tongue, reason and emotion are battling within the skull.
Ping Yu was utterly amazed, silently reciting a single sentence in his heart:
I've found my brother complex for life.
.
The next day, in the morning.
Due to the ongoing warfare, a large number of displaced people had already gathered outside the city walls, unable to find temporary shelter. Most of them were emaciated and lay on the ground like rotten wood. Some were better off with a tattered mat, but most lay naked on the ground.
Neither men nor women were fully clothed, their chests and bellies exposed, like withered vines laden with wrinkled berries. Yet no one cared; most were only concerned with clinging to life and prolonging their days.
They would avoid getting too close to each other, lest they become so hungry that they could eat each other, or be eaten alive.
This unwritten rule, which wasn't explicitly stated, actually made things easier for Pingyu and the other two.
Nezha used a transformation spell, changing his and his companions' appearance to resemble those of the refugees. They mingled among the half-dead, pitiful people to absorb some of their filth.
They found a corner to sit down, and the three of them huddled together to discuss important matters. Pingyu looked around and told the other two about his findings.
“This won’t do,” she said. “These refugees are all holed up between the villages and the city walls, like they’re being kept in a pen. Why don’t they try to break in and enter the villages? They’re frighteningly well-behaved…”
Nezha glanced at her, propped his chin on his hand, and replied, "Because Li Jing is ruthless, any refugees who try to force their way in are executed on the spot. Most of the people living in the villages outside the pass are scattered households. They are slightly better off than refugees in that they have household registration, but that's about it. There is no etiquette or rules in the villages, and life is not particularly easy. I've heard stories of refugees breaking into other people's homes and being dismembered and cooked into soup by the homeowners because they were too weak. Refugees are afraid of being eaten, so over time they have stopped going near the villages."
Uneducated humans are actually more terrifying and insane than wild beasts. After all, even tigers don't eat their cubs, and pack wolves don't dismember the bodies of their own kind. Yet humans are keen on hunting their unfortunate kin, studying how to cook their flesh and blood, and decorating their bones. Pingyu subconsciously hid behind Nezha, clutching the tattered hemp cloth she wore, which was only used to cover her body, and said to the two of them, "If the refugees don't enter the village... if we rashly enter the tavern owner's house like this, he'll probably see through our ulterior motives at a glance. We need to think of a way to legitimately run all the way to the village from here."
"This is indeed..." The plan sounded simple, but in practice, many details needed to be considered. The girl picked up a stone and began drawing on the dusty ground. She drew a circle, then a few curves. Although her gaze was somewhat vacant, it was clear she was deep in thought. Nezha also looked at her profile. Pingyu's face still had a touch of baby fat; when she focused, the soft flesh on her cheeks would puff up, revealing tiny, translucent downy hairs like peaches. Suddenly, when he saw those eyes, dulled by her blank expression, regain their dazzling light, Nezha knew that Pingyu must now have an idea.
"What can you do?" he asked, gently stroking the girl's round cheeks with his fingers. Pingyu gets goosebumps when touched, and she turned her head to bite the boy's finger hard.
Awoo!
Nezha dodged in time, leaving Pingyu only enough time to have his silver teeth collide with Pingyu's.
She bared her sharp canine teeth, trying to tell Nezha she wasn't someone to be trifled with. Then, the girl revealed the plan she had just come up with: "How about we put on a show?"
Ping Yu nodded: "Yes, it's all about acting. The best scenario would be a kidnapping of children by human traffickers, followed by two children fighting back to the death. Under the threat of death, people often forget many established rules. That way, even if they run into a village and, in their desperation, knock on every door, no one will suspect anything!"
"That's a good idea." Ping Yu always managed to find unconventional solutions, discovering ways to resolve issues from ingenious angles. Judging from the young man's tone, his suggestion was undoubtedly accepted once again. However…
"Then, who will be the human trafficker...?"
He thought to himself, "This shouldn't be my turn," but when he looked up, Pingyu and Nezha were both staring at him again. His younger brother cleared his throat and said, "Elder brother, I only have..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jinzha covered his ears and ran away. Nezha raised an eyebrow and silently cast a soundproof spell. Sure enough, Jinzha yelled in exasperation, "You don't just have me, you have two older brothers! I'll call Muzha over for you... I have a teleportation talisman!!!"
But Nezha's soundproofing spell prevented Jinzha's voice from coming through. Pingyu, unable to read lips, turned to Nezha and asked, "What is your elder brother saying?"
Nezha smiled, clearly in a good mood.
He replied, "He only said 'okay,' and the rest of the time he was laughing because he was so happy."
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It will be modified, so please check back carefully!
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