Chapter 16

In the dilapidated eight seater table, is a cheap looking lamp burning on sheep fats at the corner of the table  faintly flickering in the dark. Zi Li sat on one side of the table absent-mindedly playing with the candle flame while sneaking a peek waringly at this suspicious man with a friendly smile on his face sitting across him. He was thinking of what he should do if ever the other person wants to harm him. Should he shout for help? Or break into a run? Or how about lifting a wooden stool and smash it on other guy’s handsome face?

“Pfft, Hahahaha——” All of a sudden, he heard the other person bursts into laughter.

Zi Li frowned. He narrowed his eyes and asked: “What are you laughing for?”

“I’m sorry, its rude of me!” The man tried his best to stifle his laugh. He then cupped his hand towards the annoyed Zi Li and said: “Hey brother, I’m not really a bad person, you don’t need to act guarded like this!”

Zi Li glanced at him more suspiciously, he asked in a quiet voice: “Why would a bad person admit that he is bad?”

The man stood up to walk over to him looking like he don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? You want to punch me? I’m warning you it won’t be good if you provoke this Lao Zi.”When Zi Li saw him moving, he immediately stood in vigilance and assumed a position ready to wrestle.

The man helplessly stood in his place with an innocent and honest face as he looked at him: “I saw just now that brother’s hand is injured and I happened to have the great medicine for that——“

“Are you selling medicine?”

The man was taken aback, then he was once again between laughters and tears: “It’s a misunderstanding brother! I am not a medicine peddler. I usually just like to bring with me medicine as I travel!” As he said that, he took out a ceramic bottle of ointment from his sleeve and places it on the table in front of Zi Li, “Your wound will fester if you leave it untreated for quite some time. This medicine may not be a top notch and expensive medicine, but it’s effective for brother’s hand injury. It is also my thanks so accept it brother!”

Zi Liscratches the back of his head in embarrassment. Indeed, it was too narrow-minded of me to rush on speculations! As it turns out, he is a kind person afterall!

“That, my apologies! I guess I’m just too jumpy! Thanks a lot for the medicine!” Zi pulled his chair and sat down.

“When we go outside, we really need be mindful at all times. Take me for example, because I was too careless, I let a young beggar stole my money from me, sigh, and so I ended up in this predicament!” The man sits down as well and explained.

Hearing that, Zi Li was struck with a feeling that he encountered a man with similar situation as him! He carefully scrutinized the other person again. He discovered that not only the man is handsome, he also looked like a gentle scholar so he doesn’t really looked like a bad guy in any way! Zi Li can’t help but be puzzled on why was he so oversensitive!

He showed a grateful smile, however, his fake human mask made it look like a montrosity of a smile. He picked up the medicine bottle and unplugged the cork to take a whiff. Not only does it not have any strong smell, it also had a faint flowery scent. He looked at the scratches in his hand and wondered why its taking so long to heal. Even though it already stopped bleeding, but it still looked rather appaling, thought it doesn’t hurt anymore now!

Such bad luck, hopefully he didn’t catch a bird flu virus!

“Let me help you apply it, it’ll be a hassle with just one hand!”

“Oh, oh, thanks a lot!”

Zi Li saw light blue-green colored ointment at the tip of the other guy’s finger being applied in his wound while gently blowing on it. He can’t help but feel embarrassed so he hurriedly open his mouth to ask: “Cough! Um, what is your name?”

After the other person applied the high quality medicine, he tears a small part of his silk clothes and wrapped it in Zi Li’s wound. After that he spoke: “My family name is Mo, my name is Cang Jing.”

“I’m Su Zi Li, how are you?” Zi Li extended his hand with a smile, but then he immediately remembered that this greeting is not practiced here so awkwardly pulled his hand back fast and cupped it together instead.

Mo Cang Jing smiled and looked back at him with an indescribable gaze: “Zi Li, Su Zi Li! Then can I call you brother Zi Li?”

Zi Li quickly nodded his head indicating that he had no problem with it.

“May I know where brother Zi Li is heading to?”

To this question, Zi Li felt complicated that his lips can’t help but twitch: “I don’t really know to where I want to go! Right now, I just want to find a place first with no one knows me so I can hide and lay low!”

“Oh? What do you mean, brother Zi Li?”

“Umm——Sigh, I won’t keep this a secret and be honest with you. I’m from that freak Emperor’s palace——I slipped away from the hands of that perverted old man! For sure, he already sent a lot of his lackeys to come after me. If he catches me——“Zi Li can’t refrain from trembling, “then at that time, I’m afraid I will be grinded down to the bone till none of me is left!”

“Perverted old man? Are they that evil?”

“Of course! Of course! You may not know this brother Cang Jing! But he is very old and ugly, his face is sinister and as cold as ice throughout the day, and his height barely three (chinese) feet. Furthermore, his stomach is bloated and his legs are like radish. Not only that, he is so ruthless he handed down an order to whip the servants to death. He would practically threaten me everday, wanting to force me to do perverted stuff. I really could not stand it anymore and so I ran away.” Zi Li wiped his snot and tears as he grumbled.

“It never occured to me that there is such a heartless man like that!”

“En, en.” Zi Li repeatedly nodded his head with a pitiful expression and wiped with his sleeves not knowing that his tears already dried up. The gears in his head made noise like ‘clack, clack, clack’: “Come on, come on, Cang Jing, your family must be rich and influential. You see that I’m so pitiful, so let your heart overflow with sympathy. Pat pat your chest and say ‘a small case, I will help you fix it!’——

Sure enough, Mo Cang Jing looked at Zi Li with sympathy in his face as he said: “Brother Zi Li, you are weak and vulnerable, and you are in a crisis situation. Even though I, Mo Cang Jing and you are strangers that met by chance, but I don’t want to see you die from not helping you.”

“En en!” Zi Li’s eyes twinkled while looking at him.

“Take this, this is a jade ornament passed down for generations in my family. Even though its not much, it still cost several hundreds. Take it and eat well and buy better clothes. Your escape should not be this sufferable!” Mo Cang Jing doesn’t know whether the jade ornament hanging in his belt is real or fake as he handed it over to Zi Li, ” Well, its very late now, let’s get to sleep soon, or else, it will be inconvenient to not have enough rest!”

Zi Li withdraw his eyes from that jade accessory in his hand and shifted it to Mo Cang Jing who already made his way in the bed and lied down.

Really, this man——