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墨書 Inktalez
“Muxin, after the New Year, come back with me. Let my family meet you.”
Xia Muxin felt a tingle in her ears and instinctively shrank her neck. She was taken aback by Shen Muhan's words, staring at him wide-eyed.
Shen Muhan gently pressed a kiss on her forehead and teased, “I know you're worried about your appearance. Don't worry, my family won't mind. Every ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws eventually.”
Seeing his playful demeanor, Xia Muxin rolled her eyes at him and asked, “Uncle, where is your home? Is it far?”
At that moment, she realized how little she knew about him. She was well aware of everything about her own family, but when it came to him, she only knew him as a person.
“Beijing.”
Shen Muhan glanced at her with some concern and slowly uttered the two words. After all, he hadn’t considered this aspect before. Now that their whereabouts might be exposed, it would be better to take her back and confront a few old immortals rather than wait for them to question him.
Xia Muxin was not overly surprised; after all, novels often depicted male leads as princes or lords. However, she didn’t want to win that kind of prize. What she preferred was the picturesque rural scenery. After a pause, she continued, “Uncle, are you of noble status? A prince? A lord? Or... an emperor?”
“None of those. Just a regent,” Shen Muhan replied.
He hadn’t expected the girl to remain so calm; her composure was almost unsettling. Although she was different from others, it still surprised him.
To his surprise, Xia Muxin’s eyes lit up as she turned to face Shen Muhan and exclaimed excitedly, “Then is your territory large? Where is it? Does it have mountains and rivers or is it just flat land? Or is it in another country?”
A series of questions left Shen Muhan with a dull ache at his temples. The territory he was supposed to receive from Tian Ming Rui had yet to be granted to him, and it felt like a sting.
Moreover, with Jiao Jiao's situation causing him enough headaches to want to bang his head against a wall, how could he possibly focus on this matter?
"The emperor of Tianli Kingdom is quite stingy; he hasn't given me anything, just a title," he lamented, feeling a bit wronged as he glanced at Xia Muxin and pouted.
Did this girl only care about those plots of land? Was he going to have to contend with them in the future? The thought made his head spin.
Upon hearing this, Xia Muxin nodded in agreement. She then patted Shen Muhan on the shoulder and declared with righteous indignation, "The emperor is indeed quite stingy. But don’t worry; the land I bought is large enough to support you."
At that moment, Shen Muhan felt like he might just spit blood from frustration...
He knew that as soon as the topic of land came up, nothing else mattered to her.
Soon after, they gathered some vegetables and headed back home.
"Uncle, what do you think about that spot over there?"
Just as they were nearing their doorstep, Xia Muxin suddenly pointed to an empty plot of land a hundred meters away and asked Shen Muhan with a knowing look.
Shen Muhan couldn’t quite decipher what this girl was up to but nodded nonetheless. As long as it was something she liked, he would agree—except when it came to men or that snake.
Seeing his response, Xia Muxin flashed a fox-like smile and leaned closer to him.
"Then I’ll need you to get to work right away and dig a big pond there. I plan to raise fish and shrimp."
With that, Xia Muxin's expression turned serious as she snatched the basket from Shen Muhan's hands and strode off purposefully.
At that moment, Shen Muhan finally realized that the girl was angry because he had been hiding his identity from her.
Xia Muxin returned home without greeting anyone and immediately dove into the kitchen. Her little mouth was pouted high as she picked up Napa Cabbage, muttering angrily, "You deceived me, you hid the truth. You're a liar, a big liar."
When Shen Muhan walked in with his head down, this was the scene he encountered.
He approached and squatted down beside the Wooden Basin, gazing up at her quietly.
"Are you angry?" After a long pause, he cautiously asked.
Xia Muxin threw the vegetable leaves in her hand aside and shouted in a low voice, "How can I not be angry? Kyoto is so far away! Besides, all those people are young masters and young ladies, each one eloquent and skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Today they invited you to a birthday banquet to make things difficult for you; tomorrow they'll have a flower appreciation event or a poetry gathering to trouble you again. Am I just asking for trouble?"
What she hated most were the schemes and deceptions of others. Yet if things continued like this, she would inevitably be dragged into that whirlpool of life. If she could choose, she would rather he were just an ordinary person.
Listening to her ranting, Shen Muhan observed her for a long time, puzzled. She had never been out of Daimiao Mountain before; afterward, she had only been to Town. Not to mention the rules of those Noble Families. But hearing her speak now made it seem like she was quite familiar with those complicated rituals. Indeed, their lives revolved around such mundane matters—bland yet needing to be flaunted in front of others.
This was also one of the things he disliked the most.
"Don't worry; it won't be like that. I'm just going back to take a look and will return immediately."
Someone as straightforward as Xia Muxin was certainly not suited for the life of a sheltered young lady. She loved freedom, the direction of the earth, and preferred to create various miracles in her own world.
Xia Muxin skeptically curled her lips but continued with what she was doing.
After lunch, Xia Jihua took the dishes to wash in the kitchen, leaving Xia Muxin with some free time. Moreover, since the snow had not completely melted, there was hardly anything for her to do.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
As she stood at the door, lost in thought, a warm hand enveloped hers. Shen Muhan gently took her hand and said something softly before pulling her outside.
"Uncle, didn't you say the snow hasn't melted yet and it's easy to slip?"
The two of them walked along Daimiao Mountain. In the village, the paths were clear, but Daimiao Mountain was different. No one had ventured there since the snowfall; everything was still covered in a blanket of white. The areas touched by sunlight had turned into puddles, with a thin layer of ice on top. Moreover, there were old pits that made it easy to step into nothingness, as it was impossible to see where they were.
Xia Muxin was almost completely nestled in Shen Muhan's strong embrace, listening to his steady breathing when she couldn't help but ask.
The direction they were heading... felt increasingly familiar.
Suddenly, Xia Muxin's eyes lit up as she looked directly into Shen Muhan's dark eyes and exclaimed, "Uncle, are we going to see Python Brother?"
Seeing her excitement, Shen Muhan turned his head away with reluctance and let out a grunt through his nose. He wondered why he had felt such compassion at that moment under Jiao Jiao's knife to save that foolish snake, which had caused him months of suffering...
At that time, just as Jiao Jiao was about to strike, the image of Xia Muxin's tear-streaked face filled with anxiety flashed before him. The snake had risked its life to save her, and in that moment, he couldn't bear it.
Watching Shen Muhan's awkward expression, Xia Muxin giggled and then cupped his handsome face with both hands, giving him a playful kiss before struggling to break free. Shen Muhan was thoroughly intrigued by her kiss; he tightened his grip around her waist and pressed her against his chest.
Xia Muxin furrowed her brow in confusion and murmured, "Uncle... ugh..."
Before she could finish her thought, her lips were silenced.
Shen Muhan seized the opportunity without giving her any chance to escape, forcefully engaging in playful banter with her...
Time passed without notice until Shen Muhan finally released Xia Muxin, whose face was flushed red. She leaned against his broad chest, gasping for breath.
A smirk of triumph appeared on Shen Muhan's lips as he lifted her off the ground and began walking forward.
They arrived at the same cave again. Xia Muxin had been here more than once; the Golden Python lay languidly at the entrance, its copper bell-like eyes half-closed. Its back was smooth in patches where scales had shed but not yet regrown.
Suddenly, the sound of crunching snow caught its attention. The Golden Python lazily turned its gaze toward the noise and immediately sat up straight, extending its neck out of the cave.
Shen Muhan set Xia Muxin down, and before he could smooth out her wrinkled clothes, she took off running.
“Muxin, slow down…”
“Python Brother…”
However, his worried admonition was drowned out by Xia Muxin's joyful cheers. She sprinted forward, almost leaping into the embrace of the Golden Python, wrapping her arms around its neck and rubbing her little face against its golden scales.
The Golden Python thoroughly enjoyed her affectionate hug, its tail happily lifting in response.
In previous years, this time had been spent alone, coiled up in the cave, utterly bored.
“Python Brother, you’ve lost weight. Python Brother, did you miss me? Python Brother, is your injury better…”
Feeling that she had been close enough for now, Xia Muxin twirled around it, her small hand brushing over its injured back as she bombarded it with questions.
The Python Brother simply flicked its tail in response, the only answer it offered.
“Python Brother, Python Brother, let’s go home!”
- End of Chapter -
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