Qu Xiaojue’s straightforward request for the stone seal prompted Xu Wanzhi’s playful exasperation. “Do I have a choice?” he responded, rolling his eyes but conceding to her enthusiasm for his craftsmanship. Their playful banter continued, with Qu Xiaojue expressing her joy over his work and reminding him about the ink paste he forgot to buy.
Arriving in Qingyun Town near nightfall, they made their way to the inn, which welcomed them with flickering lanterns that illuminated the main hall. The innkeeper, a robust woman dressed in blue, recognized them and extended her warm greetings.
“Madam Li,” Qu Xiaojue acknowledged her with a smile, dictating their stay for the night.
Please prepare some dinner first.”
“Right away.” Shifting her gaze to the others, Li Sanniang bowed and nodded with a smile before turning to order food and prepare rooms. Sitting at the table again, Zhou Xian smiled and asked, “Is Master Qu familiar with this innkeeper?”
“How many times have I rested here, roughly acquainted.”
Zhou Xian smiled, drinking the tea her husband had poured, her gaze casually sweeping across the hall. Moments later, hot dishes were served. The second young lady was still a teenage girl, carrying a tray, with dimpled laughter. She leaned over and poured a bowl of rice wine for each of them, saying crisply: “Honored guests, this glutinous rice wine is quite mild, a gift from the innkeeper, please try it.” Qu Xiaojue nodded from afar to Li Sanniang in thanks, who smiled and continued to work her abacus.
Xu Wanzhi, having sat in a carriage all day, had no appetite even with a table full of dishes. After eating a few bites, he put down his chopsticks. Qu Xiaojue naturally noticed this and reached out to hand him the bowl of rice wine: “It’s sweet, you can’t find this taste elsewhere.” Xu Wanzhi took the bowl and slowly drank. Zhou Xian and his wife showed no unusual expression, smiling faintly.
Li Sanniang’s arrangements were precise, giving them four rooms – two couples, two sets of servants, perfectly arranged. After finally resolving physiological needs, Xu Wanzhi returned to the assigned room to find Qu Xiaojue standing at the table, rolling up her sleeves to wash. Seeing him, she twisted a towel and called out: “Come here.”
In such a situation, even a fool would understand they were to share a room. He frowned, asking: “Can I request a separate room?”
“No.” She stood in the room, candlelight casting a somewhat dark shadow, her tone brooking no argument. Hesitating, Xu Wanzhi turned to leave: “I’ll go borrow bedding.” It was her money, so he indeed had no grounds to make excessive demands.
“Husband!” She called softly, suddenly throwing down the face towel, moving a few steps to grab him from behind, declaring firmly: “I will not separate rooms with you, nor will I separate beds!”
She couldn’t let him stay alone in a room, nor sleep on the floor. Of course, she didn’t plan to sleep on the floor either, so sharing the bed was the only choice. This stern tone stung Xu Wanzhi. He twisted the arm she was grabbing, saying: “I’m a bad sleeper…”
“It’s fine.” Qu Xiaojue held his wrist and pulled him to the table, handing him the just-wrung towel: “Are you going to sleep with a dirty face?”
“…My face isn’t dirty.”
” His eye twitched uncontrollably. Silently washing his face, he soaked his hands in the basin. He felt his thoughts were truly going crazy – he should go check if there were other options. Suddenly sharing a bed with an unfamiliar woman was just… uncomfortable. As he turned, a sudden wind passed behind him. Qu Xiaojue immediately followed, reaching out to press a point near his shoulder, grabbing his waist and throwing him onto the bed: “Husband, you indeed won’t listen.” With a “thud”, Xu Wanzhi roared: “Qu Xiaojue, you go too far!” ”If I truly went too far, you wouldn’t have the chance to say this to me now.” She turned to close the door. Xu Wanzhi was speechless, shouting: “Come unblock my acupoint, I won’t run.” ”Can your words be trusted?” Walking to the bedside, she asked softly. ”Of course! I say what I do.” He lay stiff as a corpse – quite a technical challenge! ”Is that so?” Arriving at the bed, Qu Xiaojue removed her outer garment and lay down beside him. Feeling the obvious anger from the person next to her, she still pressed a point on his shoulder, and Xu Wanzhi immediately felt his meridians were completely clear. What an overstepping world! He silently complained internally. “
Seeing him actually lying still, Qu Xiaojue was somewhat puzzled and propped herself up to look at him.
Suddenly, a cold wind swept by. Her waist tightened, a hand swiftly reaching to her spine. She was slightly shocked, but her other incoming arm was quickly pressed against her neck, pushing her back onto the bed! The speed and movement were crisp and decisive.
Meeting her gaze was naturally her husband’s cold, black eyes. Qu Xiaojue’s line of sight moved to the arm on her neck, her eyes darkening as she softly asked: “Would you actually hit me?”
Threatening fingers traced her spine, Xu Wanzhi stared at her and ground out: “I’m telling you, if I truly don’t want something, no one can force me.”
She silently watched his face without responding. Xu Wanzhi glared at her, then suddenly withdrew his hand and turned to lie beside her, curling inward and closing his eyes to sleep.
Qu Xiaojue was somewhat caught off guard. Seeing his actions, she found it amusing, touching her forehead to pull up the blanket. The voice beside her now carried a hint of nasal tone: “Go put out the lamp.”
Following his words, she turned back. Moonlight still lingered in the room. Without much fumbling, she returned to the bedside. She reached to pull the blanket, suddenly discovering another issue. Xu Wanzhi, already alert to the room’s movements, had his calf suddenly pressed, immediately withdrawing: “What are you doing!”
“You didn’t take off your shoes.” The hand again pressed his ankle, removing the shoes and placing them on the ground. Feeling the sudden coolness on his foot, he instinctively pulled it back under the blanket, mumbling: “Thank you.”
“Sleep.”
She lifted the blanket and lay beside him. Although the person seemed intent on staying as far away as possible, she still pulled the blanket to a suitable position covering them both. After a day of carriage travel, they couldn’t deny being tired. These two finally stopped their antics and, not long after closing their eyes, slept quietly.
However, the development of events was destined to make this a night of trouble.
Perhaps there were sounds gradually becoming clearer from the roof outside, until they completely woke Xu Wanzhi. He suddenly flipped over and pressed down on Qu Xiaojue, questioning: “Are you sure the inn your acquaintance knows is safe?”
“…Probably, if nothing unexpected happens.”
Xu Wanzhi immediately understood they had encountered that “unexpected” situation.
Reality indeed has a spasmodic syndrome. Inns for travelers must have incidents. As the protagonist, you’ll encounter robbery or being robbed, killing or being killed.
As a bystander, you’ll be disturbed in your sleep, have your doors and windows broken, or even sacrifice your life to add a fresh stroke to some protagonist’s glorious journey.
At this moment, he truly felt helpless and speechless. Qu Xiaojue remained calm, letting him press her down and even comforting him: “Don’t worry, Boss Li will handle it.”
So the sounds of knives and swords almost reaching the door were just clouds?
“What if they break in?”
“They won’t.” She suddenly propped herself up slightly, unexpectedly bumping his nose. He frowned and said: “I’m going to sleep first.” He indeed turned over and lay down, truly sleeping despite the increasing noise outside.
