18
Encountering Evil Sorcery
Wang Wen-Bin lingered until Liu Zhi was out of sight before reluctantly returning home. Upon arrival, he immediately told his father he wanted to marry Liu Zhi. Grandma Wang was the first to object upon hearing this, exclaiming loudly:
“What’s so good about that Liu Zhi? She’s just as vicious as her mother. Do you think you can survive playing with her?”
Wang Wen-Bin looked at his parents, who seemed hesitant. “If you won’t let me marry Xiao Zhi, I won’t take the Tongsheng examination,” he declared.
Hearing this, the Wang couple had no choice but to agree. When their son added that he wanted to marry immediately after the Children’s Examination, they felt they should listen to the future mother-in-law’s advice.
They shouldn’t have let them interact so much. See now: she’s bewitched their son to the point where he doesn’t even care about his studies anymore.
Once she marries into their family, they must teach her the rules and make her a proper daughter-in-law.
A few days later.
The Wang family brought gifts to propose marriage. They wanted to see how beautiful Liu Zhi had become after the New Year to be worth six taels of silver. Truthfully, they didn’t want to agree.
But their son insisted on marrying no one but Liu Zhi. Their family was moderately well-off and had some savings. But that was their son’s tuition money! They had originally held a good impression of her.
But the Liu Family was too unreasonable. There would have been nothing wrong with waiting until after the examination results were posted – why did they have to be in such a hurry?
While the adults were discussing the marriage arrangement, Liu Zhi listened from behind the curtain. When she heard they would marry after the Children’s Examination, she blushed with happy embarrassment.
…
“Brother He, come look at my makeup in the water.” Liu Shuhuai found He Xunzhou’s ugly appearance somewhat amusing and couldn’t help laughing.
“Hahaha, Brother He, you look so strange!” Liu Shuhuai held his stomach while laughing heartily.
He Xunzhou looked at his reflection in the water – sallow complexion, face full of pockmarks, looking as if he were starving.
He instantly felt he had potential as a teacher.
Hearing Liu Shuhuai’s continued laughter, he looked at the boy with some helplessness. But this was good – Xiao Huai finally had a smile on his face.
He Xunzhou stood by the shore, gazing fondly at the beaming child on the bank. How wonderful to be carefree like this. Even the wind favors you, while the earth and trees serve as your backdrop.
As do I!
Liu Shuhuai watched as the gentle breeze ruffled He Xunzhou’s hair, the sunlight illuminating his figure. He looked at him with a smiling face, like a sacred holy child.
They seemed to exist in two separate worlds – one of light, one of darkness.
He was like a painting, where everything existed merely to accentuate him.
Suddenly the image shattered as the figure from the painting walked toward him, embracing him gently and asking: “Are you stunned?”
He snapped back to reality. He would never let Brother He leave him.
Never.
“Yes, Brother He is very beautiful.” So beautiful that I want you to belong to me forever.
“Men should be described as handsome and dashing, elegant and graceful,” He Xunzhou slowly corrected.
Liu Shuhuai insisted stubbornly: “You’re beautiful, more beautiful than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
“Alright, alright, beautiful then,” He Xunzhou conceded.
“Practice more when we return, understand? You need to apply makeup to your body too – I’ll check tomorrow. Be good~.” Because He Xunzhou occasionally gave him Spirit Spring water to drink, Liu Shuhuai’s skin had become fairer and he had gained some weight.
Liu Shuhuai’s height had now reached 133 centimeters, whereas before it was only 123 centimeters – this was the result of He Xunzhou’s care.
He was very pleased.
Although still far behind normal ten-year-old children, he would continue working hard.
The Spirit Spring’s effects weren’t very noticeable on him – probably because all its energy was going toward healing his internal condition.
He Xunzhou examined Liu Shuhuai from head to toe again. Good—he couldn’t see the nutritious food he had eaten, only that he seemed a bit taller.
Perfect!
“Shall we have braised pork today?”
“Sure! I’ll eat whatever Brother He makes. Your cooking is truly delicious. I like Brother He the most.” Liu Shuhuai wrapped his arms around He Xunzhou’s neck, speaking coquettishly:
“Brother He, say you like me the most too.”
“Brother He likes Xiao Huai the most.” He Xunzhou comforted the uneasy Liu Shuhuai.
This braised pork had been prepared in his Dimension and stored in a bowl.
When taken out, it was still warm. After all, he had Asian sorcery at his disposal and needed to properly nourish Xiao Huai.
This makeup was something he made himself. While in the Dimension, he had wished for cosmetics, and in response, a book appeared, detailing how to create all kinds of cosmetics.
As he flipped through it, he realized he didn’t have ginseng. To his surprise, a ginseng plant sprouted from the soil in front of him. Was this even possible?
At that moment, all he could say was:
Incredible.
He spent several days carefully studying and finally managed to make it. After testing it on himself without any adverse effects, he dared to apply it to Liu Shuhuai’s face.
What’s more, it was waterproof. He didn’t believe anyone could detect it.
Now, he could finally focus on feeding Liu Shuhuai without worry.
He Xunzhou spread a cloth on the ground, picnic-style, and arranged the dishes on it. They sat facing each other, their faces filled with happiness.
This was probably one of the most beautiful things in the world—sharing a meal with someone you love.
The dishes included braised pork, Dongpo pork, spicy chicken, mapo tofu, and more.
A balance of meat and vegetables was truly the best.
Looking at the lavish spread before him, Liu Shuhuai felt that no one could be happier than him.
Brother He would occasionally give him a special kind of water to drink. He knew it was good for his health—almost a cure-all. Now, his skin had improved significantly.
“Here, eat more.” He Xunzhou picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Liu Shuhuai’s bowl. His thin frame pained him.
Liu Shuhuai immediately ate it and also served He Xunzhou some food, saying, “Brother He, you eat too.”
Liu Shuhuai knew that the Wang family had sent someone over this morning, but it had nothing to do with him. He heard the betrothal gift was six taels of silver—surprisingly, the Wang family was willing to spend that much.
His eldest and second uncles had only woken up on the third day after returning and still needed to stay in bed for three months. His grandmother wanted them to recover quickly.
She would occasionally prepare steamed egg custard for them to nourish their bodies. With two laborers suddenly missing from the household, he could still earn money by selling firewood.
As long as he finished the household chores and brought back four bundles of firewood each day, no one bothered him. After all, everyone else was busy, so he had a bit more freedom.
Besides, Brother He would help him with the firewood.
Now, he was practically invisible at home—his eldest and second uncles had diverted everyone’s attention.
No one even noticed he had grown taller.
By the time he returned home, everyone was gone. His grandparents were likely working in the fields, and he heard Liu Yao Zong had gone to a friend’s house to seek academic advice.
He also heard that Liu Quan had gone to a friend’s place. But when he looked around, Liu Zhi was unexpectedly absent. His grandmother had told her not to go out, yet it seemed she had sneaked off somewhere again.
“Ahem… Is that Shuhuai back?”
“Yes, Eldest Uncle.” Hearing Liu Qing Yang’s voice, Liu Shuhuai wondered if something was wrong.
“Come help your uncle pour a cup of water.”
“Alright.” As Liu Shuhuai entered the room, he noticed a foul smell coming from his uncle but didn’t show any reaction. While pouring water for Liu Qing Yang, he observed that his body seemed to be moldering slightly.
How is this aunt taking care of him?!
Seeing that Liu Qing Yang couldn’t drink by himself, he had to feed him personally.
After Liu Qing Yang finished drinking, Liu Shuhuai asked: “Do you want more, Uncle?”
Seeing Liu Qing Yang shake his head slightly and close his eyes, Liu Shuhuai quietly left.