Chapter 37

A week later, Mo Shu went over to the riverside with Nan Ge Er.

“It is Jun Yao Country from here on out.” Zhu Xi spoke behind them.

True enough, the doctor only took a week to restore Nan Ge Er’s face moderately. It complied with Nan Ge Er’s request entirely – a typical and average look, completely different from the appearance he had from his memories. Xiao Xia led a horse while walking behind them. Only the two of them sent Mo Shu and Nan Ge Er off. Nan Ge Er touched his own face, finding it novel. He paid no attention to the two’s uneasy expressions.

Thinking that they were just reluctant to let Nan Ge Er go, Mo Shu assured, “We will be back soon, the two of you don’t have to make such an expression.”

While fully occupied with touching his face, Nan Ge Er still took time out to scorn Mo Shu—My good sir, they are scared that I might witness your horrifying side, and we would – what is it again?- split up and go in different ways from then on.

When Mo Shu noticed Nan Ge Er looking at him, he gave him a smile immediately.

Alright, just look at that totally unaware expression of his; what can I say more?

Four people were patrolling the river course leading outside. Noting Mo Shu and the others were approaching, they nodded towards them before continuing to stand guard.

Mo Shu took over the reins from Xiao Xia. After mounting on the horse with a light jump, he reached his hands out towards Nan Ge Er. Mo Shu only addressed to the two after having Nan Ge Er held tight in his arms, “We will be back soon. However, we probably would spend the New Year outside.”

Both Zhu Xi and Xiao Xia nodded, a little sorrowful.

“They don’t want to let you go, hmm?” Mo Shu smiled as he stroked Nan Ge Er’s hair.

Nan Ge Er threw a contemptuous look at him. He moved around after that, wanting to find a warm area that was sheltered from the wind to nest himself in. Turning his head to look at the slightly troubled looks of the two people sending them off, he still couldn’t help laughing, “Don’t worry, it will be fine.”

The two forced themselves to smile towards them. Nan Ge Er was disinclined to speak more when he realized his words were useless to them. He turned back, positioning himself properly.

With all that said; it is none of my business if you still want to be worrywarts. He thought irresponsibly.

The horse started a slow gallop when Mo Shu shook the reins. Actually, Nan Ge Er prepared quite an amount of luggage, but everything was dismissed with a few words from Mo Shu.

There is a bunch of people from Guang Tian outside; don’t you find it troublesome to carry so much? As soon as we got out, there will be lodgings for us.

The thing Nan Ge Er couldn’t tolerate the most was being looked down upon by Mo Shu. Since although he was currently a murdering maniac(allegedly) and a love-struck fool(confirmed), all of that still couldn’t prevent that idiot from rushing into the path of stupidity. Is there anything more embarrassing than being looked down upon by an idiot? Which was why Nan Ge Er threw the luggage in his hands and smashed it towards Mo Shu’s head calmly.

Mo Shu said that the river course had an array, similar to a smokescreen, cast on it, so anyone outside couldn’t see the passage there at all. When they passed Guang Tian’s gate, Nan Ge Er looked back. Sure enough, only a green forest could be seen; the soaring gate vanished.

Mo Shu was able to detect Nan Ge Er’s, who was in his arms, movements without lowering his head. He smiled, “Told you long before; you can’t see anything once you’re out of the gates.”

“It is an array!” Nan Ge Er expressed his admiration, “So it really does exist.” Those so-called martial arts experts, arrays, oh and… He touched his face. and face alteration… This should be face alteration…right? Or is it actually plastic surgery?

“Guang Tian really is an amazing place.” Nan Ge Er’s tone was sincere.

“Your compliments will definitely delight them,” Mo Shu chuckled, “Do you want to sleep? You woke up earlier today.”

“It’s a little shaky.” Nan Ge Er murmured, displeased. Although the saddle pad was made from the pelt of the thick-furred beast Mo Shu specially hunted, all in all, they were still on a horse, so it was incomparable to the ground.

“Bear with it for a bit,” Mo Shu got his hand out to stroke on Nan Ge Er’s forehead, “we will be able to reach a resting point before noon.”

“Ugh.” Nan Ge Er groaned a little before continuing to lean in Mo Shu embrace, gazing at the scenery passing by in front of him in a daze while doing so.  His face got mildly cold from the wind. However, Mo Shu had prepared a heater with an unknown fuel for him. It supposedly could last for a day.

So I said, the existence of Guang Tian really defies nature in itself, ok?! Who can imagine being able to use a heater for an entire day? As he thought about that, he recalled the issue about plastic surgery again, and the formidable people in Guang Tian. He ended up concluding: unbelievable, inconceivable.

Nan Ge Er went silent for a long time, but from his breathing, it was clear that he was awake. Mo Shu assumed he was worrying about the past he had to face later. Thus, he whispered, “Don’t worry, You have me here; I will definitely protect you well.”

Nan Ge Er froze a little before chuckling, “I’m not worrying,” he continued after a moment of pondering, “since I decided to come along with you, of course, I will believe in that. This is how I deal with things.”  When I decided to believe, I will follow along without any hesitation.

Mo Shu seemed to have noticed the implication behind his words. He smiled, “What a good child.”

“I’m not a child.” Nan Ge Er hmphed.

The heater was placed in a bag, in Nan Ge Er’s arms. He reached his hands into the bag to warm up.

He lifted his glance up, looking at Mo Shu’s hands, which were holding onto the reins. He took his hands out again, covering the back of Mo Shu’s hands, “Is it warm?” The skin beneath Nan Ge Er’s hands was icy cold.

Mo Shu lowered his head slightly, laughing, “It is.”

Nan Ge Er thought for a bit, before comparing Mo Shu clothes to his. Mo Shu seemed to be highly skilled in martial arts and unafraid of cold, so he only had a white coat wrapped around him, while wearing a white robe. In spite of that, Nan Ge Er was still mindful as he turned over.

“What are you trying to do?” Mo Shu had one of his hands out to support Nan Ge Er’s shoulders, preventing him from falling off.

After finally turning his body over, he hugged onto Mo Shu’s waist to steady himself. When he was stabilized, he took out the heater in front of his chest, snuggling it between both of their chests. He lifted his head up, asking Mo Shu, “Is it warm?”

However, as his face was stuck close onto Mo Shu’s chest, he could only see Mo Shu’s lips curling up, “Yea, it is really warm.”

“Hehe.” Nan Ge Er chuckled, before nuzzling at Mo Shu’s chest, “You must hold onto me, or else I will fall off.”

“Of course I won’t have you fall off.” Mo Shu laughed.

“And, the wind is blowing onto my butt, it’s a little chilly.” Since Nan Ge Er’s back was facing the wind, he started complaining.

Mo Shu rolled up the coat on him, using it to cover both of them, “How is it?”

“Mn.” Resting in front of Mo Shu’s chest, Nan Ge Er blinked a little wearily. Really warm.

Although his butt was still bumping up and down, Zhou Jia Gege ¹ had started beckoning him. Thus he yawned.

“I’m going to sleep…” He harped quietly, “Hold on to me…” while instructing.

“Alright.” Mo Shu answered with a smile.

Hence, Nan Ge Er shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep dozily.

Perhaps due to the unsound sleep, he started dreaming—in a moment, he dreamed about the parents he had a long time ago; a while later, it turned into him being burnt alive; in another moment, his toddler brother was smiling innocently while running towards him; next, it was a scene of the dayless-ly dark, icy cold, and damp water prison…

“…Nan…Xiao Nan…” The soft and gentle voice pulled the sleepy Nan Ge Er away from his nightmare.

Nan Ge Er could only feel himself being dizzy and light-headed. His eyes opened…just in time to be in contact with Mo Shu’s slightly anxious eyes. “…What’s the time?” His eyes couldn’t regain their focus momentarily; he was only able to have a clearer vision after blinking a few times.

“It’s almost noon.” Mo Shu replied, “We’ve entered a town.”

“Oh.” Only then did Nan Ge Er realize the area outside wasn’t as silent as the route they traveled just now. It wasn’t as bumpy as before too, with only slight jerks here and there. He poked his head out from Mo Shu’s arms to peek outside.

Indeed, they had arrived at a bustling small town at that moment. Quite a number of passersby were on the streets. Sounds of peddling flowed continuously out from the wine store along the way, while the shop’s banner fluttered to the wind inside it. Scholars were drinking with their friends upstairs…

“Not as good as Guang Tian.” Nan Ge Er murmured.

Mo Shu chuckled as he stroked Nan Ge Er’s head, “They are looking at you.”

“You are the one they are looking at, Mo Shu-xiansheng.” Nan Ge Er hmphed.

Nan Ge Er did feel the majority of others’ gazes falling on Mo Shu and him. Maybe Mo Shu was unaware himself, but Nan Ge Er knew perfectly what kind of attraction Mo Shu’s appearance had to a typical person. The world did have its share of beauties, but even Nan Ge Er had never met a person with bearing as noble and unsullied as Mo Shu.

Moreover, Mo Shu donned on a luxurious pure white coat currently. The white horse he mounted on now was robust and sturdy; its fur was shining bright, as flawless as snow; its posture was even more so immaculate and prestigious. Who had ever seen such an elegant figure in this small town? Therefore, Nan Ge Er completely understood the stunned gazes of the people in the streets.

He poked his head out, scanning the surroundings. He was wearing a white coat as well, just that instead of wearing it as stylishly as Mo Shu, he had himself wrapped up. Thus, only because of that, when his head was moving around, just a slim and graceful face could be seen on the white fur ball. With the ink black eyeballs on his face shifting around, he looked exceedingly quick-witted and adorable.

“Look at that little guy,” Sure enough, a madam at the wine store nearby began smiling in an instant, “so…ugh…”

Before Nan Ge Er even had the time to react, fresh red blood flew out from that madam’s chest right in front of his eyes. A perfectly fine head landed from the air, rolling around on the ground for a while. The headless body collapsed onto the floor. The thick red blood trickled down to the ground, dyeing the head red instantly.

The whole street was deadly silent.

In a flash, screams of a woman rang out, but it was immediately cut short. A head, together with a splatter of fresh blood, rushed onto the air.

Only when Mo Shu killed his third victim did everyone in the streets began to scream and run all over the place in an uncontrolled panic, as if awakened from the shock. Some fainted straightaway; some stood on the same spot while trembling, looking on helplessly as corpses fell down one by one, not even thinking about running away; some even drooped down onto the ground in fear, while emitting a foul bodily fluid from their trousers. In front of a mighty power, any kind of resistance was pointless.

As though cutting fruits and vegetables, Mo Shu unsheathed the bendable sword on his waist, his actions remarkably smooth as he sliced them one after another. By the time Nan Ge Er started to react, more than ten people had already fallen near the horse’s hoof. Regardless of age or gender, none was spared; all had their body parts separated from their bodies. “Mo Shu!” He hollered, “What are you doing?!”

“They are blocking our way.” Mo Shu gave such an indifferent yet chilling reply. Within a mere second, he turned from an elegant gentleman to a bloodthirsty Asura. ²

T/N

¹ Zhou Jia Gege: similar to ‘Zhou Jia Dage in Chp 19; Nan Ge Er was affectionately referring to the God of Dreams. More info:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Zhou#God_of_Dreams

² Asura: from wiki- divine beings or power-seeking deities. More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura OR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura_(Buddhism)