Mo Sang – CH 188

Chapter 188. So Naive

Lin Sa had a smear of ink on her neck. Even after drinking two pots of tea, she still looked dejected and utterly discouraged.

Blind Mi, preoccupied, hunched his shoulders, head bowed, eyes downcast, and drank his tea until it was ice-cold.

Li Sangrou sipped her tea, turning her head to observe the scenery. Hei Ma, Datou, and Mazha had thoroughly explored the area around the house and courtyard, then strolled along a well-trodden path towards the back of the mountain.

“Boss, boss!” A short while later, Hei Ma came bounding back. “Boss! Up on this mountain, further up, and further back, there are wild mountains and dense forests, pheasants, deer, roe deer, and even wild boars! Shall we go? Today is not the fifth day of the month!”

Hei Ma rubbed his fingers together at Li Sangrou.

“What are the hunting rules here?” Li Sangrou asked Lin Sa.

“Do not hunt pregnant birds or those with young, do not hunt immature birds, and do not hunt pheasants, ducks, or wild birds in spring and summer—that’s when they are nesting. Also, only hunt as many as you can eat,” Lin Sa said quickly.

“Did you hear that? Get a wild boar,” Li Sangrou turned and instructed Hei Ma.

“Alright!” Hei Ma cheerfully agreed and darted into the woods.

“Do you have any wine on the mountain? Can we drink?” Li Sangrou nudged Blind Mi.

“Yes, we do.” Blind Mi placed his now-cold teacup on the table. “Where are you staying tonight? Can the four of you eat a whole pig?”

“Are you not going to eat?” Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow, looking at Blind Mi with surprise.

“Hmm,” Blind Mi gave a vague “hmm.”

“Let’s just stay here for the night.

Sister Lin, why not have dinner with us tonight? It will be more lively with more people. And invite Junior Sister Li, too.

Junior Sister Song and her senior brother and uncles, are they far from here? Could you invite them over for dinner? It’s my way of apologizing to them.” Li Sangrou looked at Blind Mi from Lin Sa’s perspective.

“Not far.” Blind Mi stood up. “I will go ask Senior Brother Tao to see where would be suitable for you.”

Watching Blind Mi walk out with his hands behind his back, Li Sangrou put down her teacup and pointed at Lin Sa, who was lost in thought. “Let’s go check the back. One wild boar might not be enough. Let’s hunt a few more pheasants and make some soup.”

Lin Sa hesitated for a moment, then stood up.

Junior Brother Mi was gone. Now that she was the hostess, she had to act like one.

Li Sangrou walked ahead, asking a question at the intersection.

After turning two corners, Li Sangrou paused slightly, looking at Lin Sa, who was always a step behind. She leaned closer, examined her carefully, and asked with concern, “You look so listless. Is it because you lost to me? Have you never lost before? Or is it because you lost to me that you are so upset?”

“I am fine!” Lin Sa insisted, then deflated. “It’s not because I lost. Winning and losing happen all the time, do they not?”

Lin Sa paused, and Li Sangrou stopped, turning her head to look at her.

“I am not good at interpersonal relationships. I’ve been learning from the senior brothers and uncles on the front mountain for over half a year, and I’ve gone down the mountain twice for training, but I have not made much progress.

My master told me that my lack of social skills is because I am too focused on martial arts. He said that only by focusing wholeheartedly can one master a skill and reach its peak.

He said that many of the senior brothers and uncles in the Gezhi Division are like that too and that I should not worry about it.

I’ve always felt that this is true; if someone is proficient in one thing, they will inevitably have a deficiency in another.

But you are not like that.” Lin Sa glanced at Li Sangrou.

“Are you praising me? I will take that as a compliment.” Li Sangrou turned around and continued walking forward. “Did Mi Yisheng tell you that I can use a crossbow?”

“He did not, but I’ve heard of General Sang.” Lin Sa followed behind Li Sangrou.

“Yes, every arrow hits its mark.

When Mi Yisheng first saw me throw pebbles at birds, he was overjoyed, dancing with excitement, saying that the legendary archers described in books actually existed and that he had actually encountered one.

Later, he worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, diligently practicing fortune-telling. In about a month, he swindled seventy or eighty taels of silver, which he used to have a crossbow made for me.

Li Sangrou pulled up her left sleeve, showing Lin Sa the small steel crossbow strapped to her wrist.

“The first time, I did not have enough silver, so it was an iron crossbow, bigger than this, but not as good, and the accuracy was worse.

Later, after I took over the Ye Xiang Guild, I had money and had one remade—this one.

This crossbow is too small, and the arrows are very short; when used to kill, it can only enter through the eye, going straight into the brain.”

As Li Sangrou spoke, she raised her hand, pulled the trigger, took a few steps forward, and lifted a large pheasant from the bushes.

Lin Sa quickly stepped forward to look at the pheasant. Half of its head had been severed by a small arrow.

Li Sangrou picked up the pheasant, her narrow sword flashing as she slashed its neck, twisting it to bleed it.

Lin Sa hurriedly turned her head away.

After bleeding it, Li Sangrou shoved the pheasant back to Lin Sa. “Here, this one’s plump, best roasted. There are many of us; we need to get two more.”

Lin Sa grabbed the pheasant’s legs, squinting, straining to see what Li Sangrou was looking at.

Li Sangrou took two steps forward and, after two soft clicks, picked up two more pheasants and quickly bled them.

Lin Sa sighed in frustration.

She had not seen a single one. Her eyesight was usually quite good.

Li Sangrou finished bleeding the two pheasants. From deep within the dense forest came the shrill cries of Mazha, “It’s caught! It’s caught! Quick, bleed it!”

“Your courtyard is too small. Where’s a more spacious place?” Li Sangrou asked Lin Sa with a smile.

“Junior Brother Tao will definitely arrange for you to stay in the courtyard to the south. That courtyard is bigger. Shall we go now?” Lin Sa, though still shaken, seemed somewhat better than before.

“Let’s wait for Hei Ma and the others to arrive, and then we will go together. It takes some time to prepare a pig,” Li Sangrou replied with a smile.

A short while later, Datou and Mazha carried a wild boar on a thick branch, with Hei Ma swinging his arm and following behind with an air of arrogance, trotting out from the depths of the forest.

Lin Sa walked ahead carrying a pheasant, while Li Sangrou carried two pheasants, walking beside her.

“Just a few days after Shunfeng Express arrived in Nanzhao City, I received a letter from Junior Brother Mi saying he was in Jianle City and doing well,” Lin Sa said, head bowed. “Before, I thought he was dead.”

“How could Mi Yisheng be dead? A scourge lives a thousand years,” Li Sangrou retorted bluntly.

“He’s a bit stubborn and argumentative, but he’s not a bad person; he’s not a troublemaker,” Lin Sa explained earnestly.

Li Sangrou could not help but laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Lin Sa frowned, thought for a moment, but could not figure it out, so she looked at Li Sangrou and asked.

“I am Little Mi Yisheng. I have two faces, one inside the sect and one outside.

When Hei Ma and the others were begging for food in Jiangdu City, Mi Yisheng was also there. They were only six or seven years old then.

Hei Ma said that Mi Yisheng often gave them food. He said that if you wanted food from Mi Yisheng, you absolutely could not say ‘Please have mercy’ or ‘You are a good person, a great philanthropist,’ or anything like that.

If you said ‘good person,’ you definitely would not get any.

You had to curse him, call him heartless, and curse him as a jinx who will live a thousand years, and you’d definitely get food. Even if he did not have any, he’d find a way to tell fortunes and swindle a few coins to buy them some steamed buns.”

Li Sangrou spoke casually.

Lin Sa paused, then lowered her head and remained silent.

“What is it now?” Li Sangrou patted Lin Sa with the back of her hand.

“You are too cunning.” Lin Sa looked up.

Li Sangrou chuckled. “You are quite clever.

Let’s talk about this then.

First, you probably do not know how your Junior Brother Mi behaves with us. What did he say to you about our relationship?”

“He said he’d made a few friends who’d taken good care of him,” Lin Sa replied reluctantly.

“Hei Ma and his group, about sixteen or seventeen in total, only six are still alive.

When they met your Junior Brother Mi, the youngest was only four or five, and the oldest was seven or eight. They all survived to adulthood entirely because of Junior Brother Mi’s care. He gave them food before they starved to death, medicine when they were extremely sick, and a warm coat before they froze to death.

Although Hei Ma and the others were always playfully bickering and arguing with your Junior Brother Mi, calling him ‘Uncle Blind,’ they truly regarded him as an elder, like the master and disciple in your sect—a master-disciple relationship as close as father and son.

You know that my life was saved by Junior Brother Mi.

For the first few months after I woke up, I was in a daze. It was Junior Brother Mi who took care of me, guiding me to regain my composure and truly come back to life.

I’ve known him for six or seven years, back in Jiangdu City, when we fought together for territory at the southern city wall for the Ye Xiang Guild.

I traveled from Jiangdu City to Jianle City, and he also traveled to Jianle City. The Shunfeng Express branch outside Nanzhao City was the location he chose.

I think your Junior Brother Mi’s relationship with us is no less than his relationship with your sect.

You probably do not know this backstory.

If any of your fellow disciples who grew up together said that your Junior Brother Mi is a jinx who lives for a thousand years, would you defend him?”

Lin Sa thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head.

“I think we get along really well. It felt like fate at first glance. I did not treat you like an outsider, so I was not as wary. When I heard you defend your Junior Brother Mi, I just laughed out loud.

Of course, if we were not so compatible, I would not have said to your face that Blind Mi is a jinx and can live for a thousand years.

You asked why I laughed. We are familiar, but not to the point of being completely unreserved, right?

You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder, so should I not be careful? I cannot just laugh at you directly, right? I have to be more tactful.

But I do not want you to keep misunderstanding, so I have to explain to you tactfully why I said that, and that I really did not mean any harm, right?

When I said Blind Mi is a jinx and can live for a thousand years, I genuinely hoped that even if he could not live for a thousand years, he could at least live to be a hundred.”

“You are so cunning!” Lin Sa glanced sideways at Li Sangrou.

“I do not have a sect like yours. My brothers rely on me for protection; I cannot afford to be naive.

If I were this naive, I’d only have a few brothers left.” Li Sangrou sighed softly.

“Junior Brother Mi is saying you watched your brothers die right before your eyes without even blinking.” Lin Sa hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Well, the first time Blind Mi and I had a huge argument was because I taught Da Chang martial arts, showing Hei Ma and the others how to kill someone with a single stab.

Blind Mi said I was leading the brothers down a path to death, pushing them towards their demise.

Blind Mi always said that the more useless a person is, the more carefree they are; rushing forward to fight and kill only results in their own deaths, benefiting others.

The first time we robbed those private dens near the south wall of Jiangdu City, it was I who lured out Qing Laizi and killed him directly.

That day happened to be the time to collect money from the various private dens. We collected over thirty strings of coins, found a small eatery, and for the first time, everyone enjoyed a hot meal with food, wine, and meat. After the meal, we went to a clothing shop, and everyone bought a brand-new set of cotton-padded clothes, jackets, shoes, and socks.

When we robbed the Ye Xiang Guild, that was our first battle. Little Sha died on the spot, and Erleng was seriously injured, but after an hour or two, he also died.

Blind Mi hugged Erleng and wept.

Erleng told him not to cry, saying he had eaten in restaurants, worn embroidered clothes, bathed in public bathhouses, and slept with the most beautiful woman in the southern part of the city. Dying was no loss.

After we seized the Ye Xiang Guild, we had money, lots of money.

I told my brothers that everyone should think carefully about how to live comfortably from now on.

If you want to get married, have children, and live a peaceful life, and do not want to keep risking your life, then each of you should give a thousand taels of silver, leave Jiangdu City, go south or north, find a prosperous place that is not a hotly contested area, buy property, and settle down.”

Li Sangrou paused, and Lin Sa could not help but ask, “Did anyone leave?”

“Yes, quite a few.

I’d love to see their wives and children living a simple life.

But that life requires a house and a courtyard, enough to eat and wear, and meat two or three times a month. We cannot trade our daughters for daughters-in-law. We cannot live like beggars.”

“When I went to Nanyang City for training, it was during the lean season. On the road, I saw many people starving to death, clinging to trees and gnawing on bark.

Later, when I returned, I told Senior Brother Wu about it. At that time, Senior Brother Wu had not changed his surname to Wu yet.

Senior Brother Wu said, ‘How can every family be well-fed and clothed? As long as there’s no major disaster, no mass starvation, no war, and no death for many li, that’s considered a good life.’ He also said that if a family has seven or eight children and can raise half of them to adulthood, that’s already very good.

I never wanted to go down the mountain again; it was too heartbreaking to see.’ Lin Sa sighed.

Just as Li Sangrou was about to speak, Blind Mi and Li Qi’an approached from the front.

“Boss, Aunt Lin,” Li Qi’an quickly stepped forward, bowing respectfully. “Uncle Tao said he would like to invite Boss to the South Courtyard.”

Li Qi’an looked from the pheasant in Lin Sa and Li Sangrou’s hands to the wild boar that Datou and Mazha were carrying behind them.

“Do you have all the seasonings in your kitchen? Do you have a big pot?” Li Sangrou asked cheerfully, lifting the pheasant.

“We have a big pot in the South Courtyard, and we also have cutting boards and everything else.

We do not have many seasonings in the kitchen, but if the Boss wants any particular seasoning, I will ask my senior uncles and brothers.

Uncle Mi said the Boss wanted wine, and he’s already sent two barrels to the South Courtyard,” Li Qi’an said with a smile.

“Let’s go to the South Courtyard first, then check the kitchen.

Hurry up!

Why not eat with us? It will be easier to get anything if we are missing,” Li Sangrou invited with a smile.

“Alright,” Li Qi’an glanced at Lin Sa and replied with a smile.