Escape the Miaojiang Villain - Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Prophetic Bizzare Dream-Rage
Lian jing’s voice echoed in her ears for a long time, leaving her utterly stunned.
What kind of nonsense was he talking about?
Did he drop his brain somewhere?
Last time he told her to kiss him, and now he was doing it again. There ought to be a lower limit to playing tricks on her. How could he say such a thing with a straight face?
How shameless!
She simply did not believe he could ever say something like that to Sang yue.
“Then I’m not going back,” she pushed him away, leaped off the bed, and ran out the door.
Coming back to his senses, Lian jing looked out the window at her retreating figure.
Her red dress dissolved into the intoxicating sunset glow, surrounded by the green leaves of the lotus pond—looking just like a slender, graceful red lotus standing in full bloom.
He kicked a stool under the table and swore, “What a rubbish dream! It’s doing nothing but causing trouble!”
With a flick of his finger toward the window, the wooden frame swung shut, completely blocking Tu Lingxiang’s figure from sight.
Out of sight, out of mind.
—
Early the next morning, someone arrived at Tu Lingxiang’s courtyard, though she had no idea.
Stepping out of her room, she was thoroughly surprised to see Sang qing, who had clearly been waiting for a long time.
“Fourth Young Master, why are you here? And why are you holding so many clothes?”
Sang qing had come alone without a maid.
In his arms, he held several sets of bright, colorful Miao garments stacked nearly to his shoulders.
He smiled and said, “Miss Ling, yesterday I noticed a small tear in your sleeve, so I thought I’d bring you some new clothes. These were all newly made for my sister this year, but she hasn’t worn them—they’re brand new. You’ll definitely look great in them, so I’m giving them all to you!”
“Huh???”
Tu Lingxiang looked down at her sleeve.
There was a tear, but it was tiny—so small it was practically negligible.
Yet he had actually run all the way here to deliver clothes to her.
Scratching her head, she thought to herself that she wasn’t short on clothing.
Although Lian jing didn’t give her enough food, he provided plenty of clothes, probably out of fear that she would embarrass him.
Sangqing carried the pile of clothes over to her and said, “Miss Ling, take them.”
Tu Lingxiang waved her hands, refusing to accept.
“I can’t take something for nothing, Fourth Young Master. I cannot accept your clothes.”
Sang qing, however, was quite silver-tongued.
“Miss Ling, if you don’t take them, I’ll just have to give them to your master. He’ll definitely accept them, and won’t he just end up giving them to you to wear anyway?”
Hearing that he would give them to Lian jing, Tu Lingxiang realized this would directly touch Lian jing’s raw nerve.
He would surely throw another temper tantrum.
She immediately reached out both hands to take the clothes: “I’ll take them, I’ll take them! Thank you, Fourth Young Master.”
Sangqing knitted his fine eyebrows and said, “Stop calling me Fourth Young Master. Just call me Sang qing.”
“Wouldn’t that be improper?”
“Our Miao village doesn’t have as many rules as you do. Just calling me by my name is fine. Alright, Miss Ling?”
“Alright then.”
Tu Lingxiang hesitated for a moment before calling out, “Sang qing.”
A faint flush tinged Sang qing’s fair face, as if a rosy cloud had settled on his cheeks.
For some reason, he felt her calling his name sounded exceedingly sweet.
He pulled her by the arm toward the house.
“Miss Ling, come inside. I have something to tell you.”
“What is it? Why so secretive?”
Sang qing pulled her to the center of the room, glanced outside to make sure no one was around, and lowered his voice, “Miss Ling, did you see anything when you fell beneath the Baiyue Pool?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Whether you saw anything or not, you need to be careful over the next few days.”
Tu Lingxiang looked up in shock.
“What do you mean?”
“Miss Ling, I’m only telling you this in secret, so please don’t repeat it to anyone else. An ancient curse circulates in our lands, saying that anyone who falls into the Baiyue Pool will suffer a vicious curse. Be careful these next few days—don’t wander around outside alone, and try to stay with your master as much as possible.”
Tu Lingxiang was taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to come all this way just to warn her, which instantly boosted her impression of him.
“Miss Ling, don’t be afraid either. Staying by your master’s side should keep you out of trouble.”
Looking at the clothes in her arms, Tu Lingxiang felt a wave of warmth in her heart.
“Sang qing, why are you telling me all this?”
Sang qing scratched the back of his head and said sheepishly, “Miss Ling, rest assured, I have no ill intentions. I just feel a sense of familiarity around you and didn’t want anything bad to happen to you, so I came to tell you.”
“Now that you’ve accepted the clothes, I’ll be off.”
With that, he trotted out of the room.
It was the first time Tu Lingxiang had heard anyone describe her as “familiar.”
She was the author, after all; all the characters in this book were created by her, so calling her familiar was hardly an exaggeration.
She lowered her head and smiled.
Thanks to the gifts from Sang qing, her heart felt considerably warmer.
“Young Master Lian jing, you’ve arrived.”
Sang qing’s voice sounded outside.
She immediately looked toward the yard and indeed saw Lian jing standing at the entrance of the garden.
Quickly putting down the clothes, she walked to the doorway and called out in surprise, “Young Master, why are you here?”
Lian jing walked over step by step, his face devoid of expression, but his tone exceptionally soft and sinister, “Didn’t you say you wanted to go back? This Young master came specifically to pick you up.”
“We’re going back already?”
“What? You don’t want to leave?” Lian jing glanced at the clothes inside her room, his voice growing even colder.
“Does this young master’s maid look so destitute that she needs others to give her charity clothes?”
“Of… Of course not. Young Master, he was just… being hospitable.”
“Hospitable? Then how come I didn’t see him bring a few sets of clothes for me?”
Tu Lingxiang knew he would get angry again—no matter what she did, he would find a way to be angry.
“Young Master, then what do you want me to do?”
She threw the question straight back at him.
“What else? Take them back,” he said before turning around and stepping out the door, his fluttering robes stirring up a bone-chilling gust of wind.
She immediately gathered the clothes, hugged them, and hurried to match his pace.
After bidding farewell to Sang yue, they left the Guyue Village.
They did not see the Miao King. Suppedly, he was still resting in his quarters due to the energy he had expended while suppressing that demonic beast earlier.
Sangyue sent people to escort them out of the village.
As soon as they returned to the Xiaoli Village, Lian jing began bossing her around again, ordering her to clean the house one moment and demanding she cook dinner the next.
Cook dinner?
“Young Master, I’m not a good cook! How about I go outside and buy something for you?”
“I want you to make it,” Lian jing said unreasonably.
Fine! Don’t blame me if it tastes terrible!
First, she cleaned the house inside and out, then she headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
Fortunately, Huo xin was kind enough to come over and help her tend the fire; otherwise, she really might have burned the kitchen down on her own.
“It sounds like the Young Master is calling you,” Huo xin said while she was chopping vegetables.
“Calling me?”
She immediately set down the kitchen knife and ran upstairs.
Upon reaching the third-floor room, she was greeted by the sight of shredded clothing strewn all over the floor.
Those were the clothes Sang qing had given her.
Lian jing had cut every single piece into shreds with scissors, scattering them across the wooden floorboards.
Standing amid the ruins, Lian jing said gloomily, “Just in time. Take them and burn them.”
She stepped into the room in disbelief.
Colorful shreds were scattered everywhere—messy, broken.
She felt as though she had walked into a junkyard, except those scraps of trash were the gifts she had just received.
In this unfamiliar world, it was the very first piece of warmth she had ever received.
They were given to her by someone else; what right did he have to cut them up like this?
It felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over her head, leaving her chilled to the bone—especially her heart.
She squatted down, picking up the torn pieces of clothing one by one, the resentment towards him growing deeper in her heart.
Damned Lian jing, damned villain, I am definitely going to curse you to death.
“Next time you dare to accept these absurd things again, I’ll destroy as many as you take.”
Lian jing’s voice rang out icily above her head.
Having picked up all the shredded clothes on the floor, she turned around and walked out, answering just as coldly, “Understood.”
Behind her, Lian jing let out a cold sneer upon seeing her reaction.
“Heh, you dare give me an attitude?”
Carrying the armful of shredded clothes, Tu Lingxiang went down to the kitchen and walked up to the stove.
“Huo xin, help me burn these clothes.”
“Ah? Why are these clothes shredded like this? Did the Young Master cut them?”
Looking down at the pieces, she let out a quiet sigh and turned back to cooking.
Huo xin picked up a fragment embroidered with a blue floral pattern and sighed, “These clothes were so pretty. Why did the Young Master cut them up? His temper really is getting stranger and stranger.”
Tu Lingxiang, who was mincing meat, brought the knife down with a heavy slam that rang sharply through the kitchen.
She looked less like she was chopping meat and more like she was chopping Lian jing.
“Hasn’t his temper always been this weird?!”
The loud thud made Huo xin’s hand tremble.
“Young Master’s temper has always been quite strange, true. But didn’t he become like this because of you guys?”
Tu Lingxiang’s hand holding the knife froze.
She said in a muffled voice, “Even so, he shouldn’t have cut up someone else’s clothes. The clothes didn’t do anything to offend him.”
She then resumed chopping the meat, treating every slice as if she were chopping Lian jing himself.
After busying herself for two full hours, she finally finished making dinner.
Lian jing glanced at the table full of dishes; the presentation was decent enough. However, the moment he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, he slammed them down with a loud clack.
“Disgusting. How on earth did you manage to get married?”
Tu Lingxiang stood attending by his side and said, “Young Master, that just shows what you don’t know. My husband and I were betrothed before birth—a match made in heaven. Besides, just because someone is a bad cook means they can’t get married? Careful saying things like that, or you might never find a wife yourself!”
Lian jing sat upright on his stool, looking at her sideways.
“Your husband? Heh, after all this time, I doubt your husband is even looking for you anymore.”
“He definitely will look for me!”
“So what if he finds you? A woman who was abducted by a demon—do you really think he’ll still want you?”
Tu Lingxiang retorted sharply, “Master, do you live by a river? Why are you interfering so far beyond your bank?”
He replied unhurriedly, “As luck would have it, my home is right by the river.”
“…”
He stared at the full table of food, having completely lost his appetite.
“Furthermore, where I come from, a girl who doesn’t know how to cook will never find a husband. You are definitely going to be single forever.”
Tu Lingxiang fired back at the top of her lungs, “As long as my husband likes eating it, that’s all that matters! You’re not my husband, so why do you care so much?!”
“You…”
Lian jing’s face turned dark with rage.
“Sharp-tongued brat—you are guaranteed to get divorced.”
“Young Master, with an attitude like yours, would Miss Sang yue really like you?”
Lian jing abruptly stood up.
Rising to his full height, he towered over her by a head.
His overwhelming, pressuring aura enveloped her, causing her to step back half a pace in fear.
“Take all these dishes away. I want to eat Sour Soup Fish. Go buy it.”
She was already accustomed to his bizarre demands.
Respectfully, she replied, “Yes, Master.”
Having to run out late at night just to buy him Sour Soup Fish… I really want to kick him to death.
She arrived at a nearby restaurant.
Seeing that no one was following her, she said to the waiter, “I’d like to order a few more dishes. Could you help me deliver them to Young Master Baili Xi at Xiaoli Village?”
“Of course, Miss. Please tell me what you’d like.”
She examined the menu for a moment, pointing at items one by one.
“I’d like to order a Crispy Pork Meatball, a Dream Swan, a… a…”
She searched through all the dish names, but not a single one sounded like the character “Xuan”. She had originally wanted to form a acrostic hidden name—Su Meng Xuan—so that Baili Xi would understand the clue.
“Add a bowl of plain white porridge as well. Remember to sprinkle a little salt on top.”
When she was writing the male lead, she had given him this specific habit: he liked to sprinkle a little salt on his porridge. She hoped this detail would spark a shred of suspicion in him.
After giving her instructions, she carried a food box and walked back to Xiaoli Village. Lian jing was sitting in the room waiting for her. The moment she opened the box, the rich aroma of Sour Soup Fish drifted out, making her mouth water.
However, Lian jing was definitely not going to let her have a single bite.
She pursed her lips tightly, swallowing her saliva every now and then.
Before long, someone walked in through the doorway. It was one of Lian jing’s subordinates. He was also holding a food box.
Stepping forward, he called out, “Young Master,” put the box down, and left without another word.
Not a single extra word was spoken.
Lianjing looked at her with a smile.
“Little Slave Bell, were you afraid this master would go hungry, so you ordered a second meal for me?”
Tu Lingxiang already had a bad feeling. The contents of that food box were almost certainly the dishes she had ordered for Baili Xi.
She hadn’t expected Lian jing’s spies to be so formidable, hiding in the dark to monitor her even at night.
Lianjing opened the box and pulled out the three dishes inside.
“Little Slave Bell is so thoughtful. Everything you ordered happens to be this master’s favorite.”
The more she heard him speak like this, the more terrified she became.
Lian jing glanced at her while she stood there, silent as gold, and said, “Little Slave Bell, are you tired? Go sleep on the bed. Tonight, this young master’s bed is yours.”
She shook her head hastil.
“Young Master, I’d better sleep on the floor. I don’t want your reward.”
“How can that be? This young master isn’t the type to go back on his word. I’ll count to three—get up there quickly.”
“One…”
“Two…”
Before his “three” could leave his mouth, Tu Lingxiang scrambled frantically over and climbed onto the bed.
She saw him pick up the bowl of white porridge from the table, take a sip, and immediately set it down with a curse.
“Is this person an idiot? Are they trying to kill me with salt in the porridge?”
With that, he turned back to her, flashed a gentle smile, and spoke softly, “Little Slave Bell, I’m not scolding you. I’m scolding the idiot cook. You go to sleep peacefully. Before I finish eating, you must be asleep. Otherwise, I’ll have to come over and coax you to sleep myself.”
The moment Tu Lingxiang heard that, she immediately lay down onto the embroidered pillow.
The “coaxing” he spoke of—without even thinking, she knew it would definitely be torture.
