Chapter 30: Jade Rabbit traps the human monk, holy monk, save my daughter (……
Adrian Moran is trying to keep himself busy these days and avoid that young lady.
There are also a large number of parishes in the suburbs of London, which allows Tzu Chi pharmacies to continue to expand outside the city. Even the lower-class residents in these places have much fewer resources and opportunities than those in London, and they need such a pharmacy even more.
This morning, Miss Alice came to discuss this matter. He had John send her away, but he put the matter on the agenda. This was a future direction they had discussed. Perhaps if he could deal with this matter quickly, they wouldn't have to interact so frequently. The man took a deep breath and sighed softly.
He had just negotiated a new location for a Tzu Chi pharmacy and was returning from the Diocese of Camden. Camden, a fiefdom inherited by successive Earls of Camden, was a suburban estate, but it was quite large and rich in assets. The current rectorship had been given to his uncle during his father's Earldom, so the family had arranged for him to have a parish priestship elsewhere.
Adrian Moran rode along the road back to the countryside, his surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar. On either side lay vast plains, a crisscross of grasslands and various woodlands, making the passerby feel neither bored nor drowsy. However, he preferred the vibrant spring countryside to the barrenness of winter, when only branches remained.
The oak forest in front of him had always been the hunting ground of the Camden family. After the autumn came, hunting activities were held almost every few days. He did not like blood and had never participated. Instead, he was scolded by the current Earl of Camden for being useless.
Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a whimpering sound coming from the woods, like some small animal crying for help.
He dismounted, quickly tied the horse to the nearest tree, and went into the woods to search.
It was a snow-white rabbit caught in a trap.
Sensing someone approaching, the rabbit struggled twice but couldn't get away, crying pitifully at him. He rushed forward to rescue it, and just as he had struggled to open the trap to check the rabbit's injuries, he was ejected by the furry guy.
The rabbit, transformed from Alice's original form, pounced on the man and started scratching him, completely ignoring what he said.
Tear off his collar.
Let you hide!
Scratching his neck.
Let you hide!
Mess up his hair.
Let you hide!
Alice looked at the small tuft of golden hair mixed in with the white fur of the paw. Ah, I'd better not pull the hair out. It would be ugly if it became bald. She silently returned the hair to the man and reluctantly let him go.
The gentleman, finally able to catch his breath, finally finished his words: "Don't get me wrong, I'm not the one who put the trap, I won't hurt you."
As he spoke, he reached out to try to comfort the rabbit that was still stepping on him, but Alice knocked it away with a claw.
Adrian Moran didn't force herself and sat up by supporting herself on the ground. As the man moved, she nimbly jumped onto his right shoulder.
The man couldn't help but tilt his body.
So heavy? A flash of doubt crossed my mind. Having never been this close to an animal since I was a child, I assumed I didn't understand.
Finally steadying himself, this familiar movement brought back memories: "Do rabbits like to step on people's shoulders nowadays?" Thinking of the rabbit he met in Bath that didn't like to get wet and had a bad temper, he couldn't help but chuckle for the first time in a while.
He peered at it from the side. The rabbit before him was even larger than the one he'd encountered at the hot springs, about the size of an average adult rabbit. They looked quite similar, both snow-white with scarlet eyes. Even the lively glint in their eyes was identical. However, he didn't know how to identify them. He simply figured that perhaps all white-furred, red-eyed rabbits looked the same, with similar habits. After all, the two places were over a hundred miles apart, so it was impossible for them to be the same rabbit.
"Okay, go home quickly. Remember to avoid this forest next time." Adrian Moran wanted to pick up the rabbit on his shoulder and put it on the ground, but was directly pushed away. The furry claws held him tightly.
What a joke. Today's action is not just to catch him twice. Don't even think about letting her loose.
Furthermore, her current mana was limited, and her sleight of hand was unreliable. Leaving the target within three meters would expose her flaws. Slowly nourished by the power of merit, she had grown to the size of a fawn, noticeably larger than an ordinary English rabbit. This sleight of hand had completely obfuscated Adrian Moran's vision and senses. Even with her on his shoulder, he could only sense the size of an ordinary rabbit.
"You can't just come with me?" The man said helplessly, looking up at his surroundings. "It's so nice to be free in the mountains and jungle."
She wasn't a real hare. Alice tugged at his cloak, causing him to turn his head. She nodded immediately to show him that he was right and that they should go together.
Adrian Moran understood her statement and was a little surprised, but not very shocked. After all, he had seen the intelligence of Bass's rabbit.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately led her out of the oak forest. "There are still some beautiful forests along the way. If you find one you like, you can leave at any time. But once you enter the city, you can't wander around. Someone will catch you and sell you for money."
He returned to the horse, untied the rope, and led it back to the middle of the country road.
The man put his right shoulder close to the horse's back, wanting the rabbit to get on the horse first, so that he wouldn't lose his balance and fall off.
It's not comfortable to carry a horse. Alice shifted her position and jumped into the hood of his cloak. Even the thick, broad wool hood couldn't support the weight of his cloak in its current form. Suddenly, she heard the faint sound of the hood's seams splitting. She quickly grabbed his shoulders with her paws, taking some of the pressure off the hood and resolving the dilemma.
Seeing that she had found a comfortable place for herself, Adrian Moran no longer insisted and directly carried her on his back and set off.
Along the way, whenever he saw a nice forest, he would deliberately walk slower, wanting to let the new resident of the hood see if she liked it. Unfortunately, she seemed to only like his hood.
As they were about to enter the city, Alice was still sitting peacefully in his hood.
"This is our last chance to return to the wild." The man pointed to his arms. "If you still want to come with me, stay here for a while."
Riding a horse with a rabbit on its back would still be a bit conspicuous. In the city, you can't ride as fast as you can in the wild, and you don't know how many people will look at you along the way. It's a bit strange and unnecessary.
Upon hearing this, Alice jumped onto his shoulders first, then onto his chest and grabbed his robe which had been slightly damaged by her earlier attack.
The man straightened his cloak and held her in his arms. Not a single breeze could blow in. In the darkness, only the heat from his body temperature remained, making her feel sleepy.
As sleepiness began to creep in, it didn't seem like long before she arrived at the familiar courtyard. John was still the only one to greet her.
Too lazy to move, and her anger had subsided, Alice finally agreed to let him hold her when she dismounted. The man just thought that the rabbit had finally gotten to know him and trusted him.
"Sir," John said as he came to take the horse. He first saw his master's drastically changed clerical robes, then saw the white furry creature in his arms. He was surprised and said, "What is this? Where did you get it? You couldn't have snatched it from a wild animal's den, did you?"
"Rabbit, I rescued it on the way." The man didn't explain much and went straight into the house carrying Alice.
John had to tie up the horse first.
Adrian Moran led her upstairs. There were four rooms on this floor, one of which was his bath. Nearby, several wooden barrels held boiling water. The master needed to bathe and cleanse upon returning from a long journey, and the servants had long since mastered the art of calculating the time and preparing water in advance. The hot water had been sitting for a while, and now it was just the right temperature.
He was going to put Alice in the large tub in the middle of the room. John happened to come upstairs and wanted to take the rabbit to the smaller spare tub to the side. "Sir, you take your bath first. I'll clean the rabbit."
Alice glared at him, looked at John's outstretched hand with disgust, turned around and jumped onto the man's chest again, and Adrian Moran had no choice but to continue to hold her up with his hand.
Knowing that the rabbit on his chest only wanted to be close to him, he told John to fill his bathtub with water, which earned him a glare this time.
Her human body can still be washed, but no one can let her original form get wet.
She stretched out her white claws and held them before the man's eyes. Look! How white!
"No." Adrian Moran touched her paw, put her on the ground, and pointed to the basin filled with water. "You can move around freely in the house after you wash."
As he spoke, he remembered something and stared into Rabbit's eyes and asked, "Are you Mr. Rabbit or Miss Rabbit?"
Alice only reacted when he said the word "Miss".
"It's Miss Rabbit." Adrian Moran said, "I have something important to do. You can play here by yourself for a while."
John watched the man and the rabbit communicate so well, and he couldn't help but wonder: Wasn't it Mr. who had been having a disagreement with Miss Alice recently and seemed to be in a trance? How could it be me who was hallucinating?
Before I could figure out what was going on, my husband led me out of the bathroom and closed the door.
"Troublesome man." Alice turned back into human form and washed herself casually.
"Sir, are you going out again?"
"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute."
Hearing this, he suddenly remembered Adrian Moran's recent unshakable escort, and quickly wiped himself dry with the towel spread out beside him, transformed back into his original form and chased after him.
Just like every time she came out of the Tzu Chi Hall, Alice took a leisurely stroll along the road back to her new home.
The familiar footsteps of the priest followed, but as usual, he kept a distance, just wanting to confirm whether she had arrived home safely.
Thinking that he had just returned home and was in a hurry to send her off, Alice turned around and walked back again with malicious intent, chasing him even faster than before, and forced him into an alley.
Noticing that the man was running and hiding with bated breath but couldn't control his breathing, she laughed out loud, turned around and walked away leisurely.
Since we are bound to fall into the trap anyway, why rush it?
When Adrian Moran returned to his house, went upstairs and entered his bedroom, he saw Miss Rabbit pacing freely in his room as if she were patrolling her territory. It didn't seem like she was in someone else's house, but more like a man stumbling into her own cave, feeling very comfortable and at ease.
The man and the rabbit looked at each other and raised their chins provocatively.
The man smiled and went to the bathroom with his dressing gown.
After Adrian Moran finished his bath, he went straight into the study next door.
Alice tilted her head and hopped into the study.
Seeing the man writing something at his desk, she jumped onto the desk lightly.
The man who was concentrating on his work noticed that there was a furry creature in front of him. He looked up and saw Alice glance at him with the same arrogant look.
Adrian Moran pursed his lips, twirled the quill in his hand, his eyes flashing with emotion, and continued to do what was at hand.
Alice sat comfortably on his desk, watching him busy.
On the table was a list of all the parishes and rectories in London. The top list of city parishes had been crossed out, leaving only the suburban parishes. Many of the parishes were marked with italicized text. For example, next to the recently crossed-out Camden parish, there was a note about the rector's attitude and the best possible location for a pharmacy in the church's charity hall.
It was considered thoughtful, and she nodded in satisfaction.
After finishing his work, the man took Miss Rabbit to the bedroom to rest. He wanted to put her in the nest he had made of clothes, but Alice ignored him and chose a comfortable position for herself.
This time, she couldn't sleep on top of Adrian Moran's head. After all, her current size wouldn't allow her to fit into the small space between him and the headboard. So, she chose the large open space next to his pillow. She'd tried it before, and it worked well. She could fall asleep sniffing the man's pleasant scent up close. So, the man and the rabbit lay down.
Early in the morning, just as the sky was getting light, Alice was awakened by the sound of people talking downstairs.
Soon John was heard knocking on the door and announcing, "Sir, Mr. Bingley is here."
Charles? He must be here to deliver the invitations. Alice yawned, her eyes half-closed, and she felt a little sleepy.
Hearing the announcement, there was movement on the bed beside her, and the man quickly stood up. Before she could look, he gently covered his head with the quilt. When she lifted the quilt, he had changed from his dressing gown into clothes suitable for meeting guests and hurried downstairs.
"Mr. Moran, please forgive me for disturbing your sleep so early. When I visited you a few days ago, I learned that you were out busy." Yes, she could testify.
"John did tell me that he was indeed busy... and he never returned the visit." He was busy, perhaps just trying to avoid her. Alice snorted.
"The reason why I am so eager to meet you is that I want to extend my most sincere invitation in person. My friend, please allow me to call you that. My fiancée and I were able to hold our wedding so smoothly at St. James's Church in Piccadilly thanks to your selfless help, whether it was guaranteeing our marriage registration or looking for our naughty sister. Really, I want to express my gratitude to you again, and I sincerely hope that you can attend our wedding in two days. We will be extremely honored and happy to have your blessings and presence." It turned out to be an invitation to Jane's wedding.
"Mr. Bingley, congratulations to you and Miss Bennett in advance." Don't want to go?
Charles obviously thought so too: "Mr. Moran, if you have time that day, even if you can't attend the church ceremony, I hope you can attend the wedding reception held in our bridal chamber. The address is on this invitation."
"No, I mean, I'll try my best to attend your wedding ceremony and reception." Alice was a little surprised to actually agree to go.
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The author has something to say: Rabbit: Although I torture you, play with you and force you, you can't hide, otherwise I will punch you with my fists and make your hair fly!
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