Book 1, Chapter 42 - Talk in the night by the candle

Inside the room.

The furniture here was even better than when he lived at the Mo Mansion in Dong Yang City. The bed frame was carved from mahogany and had a cotton cushion. It was covered with a thin, white tiger fur blanket, and it looked very comfortable. And there was a sheet made of smooth, pale yellow silk. It gave off the elegant feeling of a daoist.

In the center of the room was a bronze incense stove. It was divided into two layers and had carved gaps to allow fragrance to escape from time to time. This fragrance was only used by extremely rich families. It was created from grinding sandalwood, dried pine, moon dew, gold sand, eight treasures, deep branches, and many other spices and herbs.

Zhao Jiuge took one sniff and felt like his spirit was refreshed. The anger in his heart dissipated a lot and he felt a lot better. There was an empty platform in the room, and next to it was a square table made of Chen Wood with a few chairs made of the same wood. On the table was a jade porcelain tea set, and along with the painting hanging on the wall, the room gave off a luxurious feeling.

Zhao Jiuge had been living inside a brick house his whole life and had never seen a room as fancy as this. Even when he was at the Mo Mansion, the conditions were not as good. The boy named Chang Feng came with a wooden tray that had a porcelain plate on top, loaded with fragrant osmanthus flower cakes. There was also a jade pot filled with something unknown.

The little beggar looked at the seductive osmanthus flower cakes and smelled their fragrance, causing him to swallow hard. Zhao Jiuge was prepared to tell the child to eat when he saw that the child’s hands were still a bloody mess from the fall earlier.

Zhao Jiuge turned and ordered Chang Feng, “Get some medicine to wipe his hands.”

Chang Feng had just put down the tray when he heard Zhao Jiuge’s words. He suddenly frowned and revealed a look of impatience and disdain. Just as he was about to say something, he seemed to remember his teacher’s orders and suddenly changed what he was going to say. “I’ll go get it now.”

Looking at Chang Feng’s expression, Zhao Jiuge felt the anger that was just about to disappear rise up again. His expression was not kind and he was about to explode.

When the little beggar saw Chang Feng’s impatient expression, he lowered his head due to his low self-esteem. He no longer dared to look at the osmanthus flower cakes, and his expression became bleak. Then he noticed that Zhao Jiuge was going to erupt. He became even more timid and just sat there, not daring to move.

The little beggar’s skinny body and pitiful appearance touched Zhao Jiuge’s heart. He crouched down and gently asked, “What is your name?”

The beggar’s dried lips moved a bit and his eyes secretly looked at Zhao Jiuge. After a good while, he timidly said, “I… I… I don’t have a name. For as long as I can remember, everyone has called me ‘little beggar.’”

With a sigh, Zhao Jiuge asked ,“What about your parents?”

The little beggar pursed his lips and his expression dimmed. He shook his head and said in a voice that could barely be hard, “I don’t know where my parents are, I don’t have any parents.”

Zhao Jiuge felt very emotional and didn’t know what to say. He remained silent and felt sympathetic toward the little beggar. Chang Feng brought the medicine and applied it to the little beggar’s hands. The little beggar began wolfing down the cakes he had been salivating over. It was unknown how many days it had been since he last had enough to eat. He swallowed one cake after the other without even any time to chew.

Zhao Jiuge poured a cup of the unknown, light tea from the jade pot. He handed the cup to the little beggar and softly said, “Eat slower, no one will steal it from you. If it's not enough, I’ll get them to send more.”

The little beggar’s mouth was filled with cake when he mumbled something in agreement. Then he finally swallowed it with difficulty and took the teacup from Zhao Jiuge. When he drank the tea, the fragrance rushed into his nose. It contained a bit of sourness, followed by a sweet aftertaste. Then he turned and smiled at Zhao Jiuge. This was the first time Zhao Jiuge had seen the little beggar smile in the half-day that he had known him. He couldn't help but feel pleased with himself.

As he looked at the little beggar devouring the cake, Zhao Jiuge only revealed a faint smile on the surface, but in his heart, he was thinking about what to do with this child. He decided to go to Su Su’s room to talk to her about it.

“When you finish eating, rest early. Sleep on the bed made of carved mahogany.” After saying this to the little beggar, he got up to find Su Su.

But at this moment, the little beggar became startled. His eyes widened and he just motionlessly stared at Zhao Jiuge.

“Don’t worry, be good. Treat this place as your home. When I leave in a few days, I’ll take you with me.” He comforted the little beggar a bit more before leaving through the wooden door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The wooden door was pushed open to reveal Su Su’s delicate face, but she had no expression. When she saw that it was Zhao Jiuge, she turned around and sat down on the large bed covered in silk.

“Oh, I didn’t even say anything when I was angry, and now you’re angry!” Zhao Jiuge was angry but also found this funny.

“Hmph, what did you come here for? If you think you’re so great, then don’t speak to me. A big man like you was so narrow-minded that you completely ignored me, and now you come to talk to me.” Su Su had a frown and spoke with an angry tone.

Only now did Zhao Jiuge understand why. He revealed a helpless smile as he rolled his eyes and sighed. Then he said in a heavy tone, “You probably came from a good family and never had to suffer. To you, the matter today with the dogs and the fat man was irrelevant. But I grew up in poverty, so I simply can’t ignore such matters. I can ignore how Daoist Yi Qing acted, but how can you be like this? It is simply too disappointing.” After saying that, Zhao Jiuge pretended to shake his head.

Originally, when Su Su heard Zhao Jiuge’s words, her face began to soften. However, when she heard Zhao Jiuge’s final words, her expression immediately became gloomy and she shouted, “What about me!? Am I someone who doesn’t know good and evil? I was just angry at what you did today. You shouldn’t have just ignored me when I tried to talk to you. When you’re angry, you can ignore me, but when I’m angry, I can’t ignore you!?” After a few words, she returned to her spoiled self. She was like an angry, little lioness.

Zhao Jiuge let out a long, exaggerated sigh, then he shook his head. Pretending to be helpless, he said, “Forget it, you don’t understand what the world is like for poor children like us.”

Su Su glanced at Zhao Jiuge and questioned, “What was your childhood like? We have known each other for a while now, but you haven’t told me what your family situation is like.”

“There is not much to say. I was abandoned by my parents on the official road and was picked up by a kind old man. Although we were poor, we lived a happy life, but earlier this year, the old man died of a serious illness.” His voice was plain, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. At this moment, Zhao Jiuge’s eyes became more profound.

As Zhao Jiuge spoke, Su Su’s anger gradually dissipated. Women all have a maternal instinct, so after hearing Zhao Jiuge’s tragic story, her mood became heavy as well.

The candle light in the room gently flickered, illuminating their figures. After a long period of silence, Su Su quietly said, “When the time comes, follow me home.”

“What? No need, I still have to find a sect.” He was startled at first, but once he realized what she meant, he quickly shook his head.

After hearing Zhao Jiuge’s words, Su Su felt like she was struck by thunder and became a bit anxious, but she didn’t give up. “Come back with me. There will be someone to teach you about cultivation and there will be a lot of resources. How about it?”

Zhao Jiuge considered Su Su’s words for a while and thought about why he had stepped onto this path. It was his desire for power and the figure of that woman from the cold pool! After a while, he gently shook his head.

Su Su felt bitterness in her mouth and revealed a self-deprecating smile. She cursed this block of wood in her heart!

After rejecting her, Zhao Jiuge felt a bit embarrassed and let out a stiff smile. “Su Su, what does your family do? You should tell me a bit about your situation.”

Su Su was angry or unreasonable, but her voice was cold as ice and calm like a pool of still water. “Since you aren’t going to go, I won’t tell you.” Zhao Jiuge could only maintain his awkward smile.

“Since you don’t plan to come back with me, what do you plan to do in the future?” Su Su’s cold voice echoed once more. Given her stubbornness, she shouldn’t care anymore, but there was a bit of her heart that was still unwilling, so she couldn’t help but ask.

Zhao Jiuge thought for a bit. “I guess I’ll walk until I reach the capital city and find a sect. I’ll see what sects are recruiting disciples. Oh, yes, what should we do with that child?”

He didn’t expect Su Su’s expression to become even colder, and she got up to push Zhao Jiuge out. “That’s your problem, you deal with it. It’s not early, you should go back and rest.” She didn’t even look at Zhao Jiuge, and her face was as cold as ice.

Zhao Jiuge, who was kicked out, felt helpless and couldn’t figure her out. Figuring out a woman’s heart was like searching for a needle at the bottom of the sea.

Inside the room, the candlelight on the table was still swaying, but the flame could not melt Su Su’s ice-like face.

Su Su quietly sat on the bed, thinking about what Zhao Jiuge had said. His words still echoed in her ears.

“No need, I still have to find a sect.”

“And find a sect. I’ll see what sects are recruiting disciples.”

Those words continued to echo in her ears over and over. Not only did her face become colder, her heart became cold as well. Once Zhao Jiuge joined a sect, there would be no way for him to get along with her family. After being together for this long, Zhao Jiuge’s figure was buried in her heart. How should she deal with this?

Outside the door, Zhao Jiuge saw that Su Su was serious and returned to his own room with thousands of thoughts in his head. How could he not understand what Su Su meant? He was a man, how could he just follow Su Su back? He still had a lot of things he had to do, and there was still that vague figure in his heart. He revealed a self-deprecating smile and shook his head as he buried that feeling deep inside his heart. When his cultivation was powerful enough, he could talk about love. What qualifications did he have to think about this now?

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