Eating and an Unexpected Incident

"Your name is really Husband? You're not taking advantage of me? How come I've never heard of anyone with the surname Lao?"

The young girl was deceived by Duàn Yì's superb acting and clear conscience. A little confused, she asked him; she truly had never heard of anyone surnamed Lao.

"Of course there is. The Wei Shu Feng Su Pian records: 'In Lin'an there was Lao Zuo, clever from a young age; when grown, he excelled at writing.' It was speaking of my ancestor. Say, do you not read much? You don't even possess this little bit of knowledge?"

Duàn Yì spouted nonsense with a solemn expression, yet to the girl, it sounded exceptionally sarcastic. So what if she did not read? She simply did not like reading.

She wanted to retort, but could not find an opening. In the end, she shot Duàn Yì a hateful glare, wishing she could poke several holes into that face she found especially appealing.

Only then did the girl realize that her hand was still being held by him. It was limp and weak, and she could not muster any strength no matter what. She snorted again and said with a look of disgust,

"Why haven't you let go of your filthy hand?"

Duàn Yì was still waiting for the girl to treat him to a meal, so he did not dare offend her too badly. Chuckling, he released her hand and secretly thought, This Minor Capturing Hand is quite useful. That acupoint-striking technique alone is already beyond the reach of ordinary rural martial arts. Not bad.

"Since I've told you my name, shouldn't you tell me yours as well?

"Where do you live? Did you get lost, or sneak out on your own? Do you want me to take you home?"

Duàn Yì was genuinely curious about the girl's background. Judging by her clothes, the pearl around her neck, and her proud temperament, she was clearly either wealthy or noble. He simply did not know why someone so young had run out alone.

These were not peaceful times. The girl was so pretty and adorable that if someone set their sights on her, would she not be in danger? Human traffickers were especially likely to target someone like her.

"Why should I tell you? Don't talk to me."

Yet reality told Duàn Yì that good intentions were often treated as donkey liver and lungs. The girl completely ignored him and instead looked displeased, as though blaming him for meddling in other people's business. Of course, it was even more likely that she suspected him of making a fool of her.

Before the two could interact any further, the woman at the stall had already begun serving the dishes.

The two large bowls of Wang Family's Small Noodles that served as the staple were an oily golden color, the noodles springy and chewy, topped with chopped scallions, chili, and other seasonings. Their fragrance wafted through the air—the true culprit that had drawn both Duàn Yì and the pretty girl here.

The four side dishes were braised beef brisket, marinated tofu, black fungus tossed with bell peppers, and lily bulb and honey date soup to ward off summer heat and clear internal heat.

Though they did not look particularly exquisite, they had both fragrance and flavor. By the standards of a roadside stall, they were already quite good.

Once all the dishes had been served, Duàn Yì noticed that the girl across from him was staring at the food with shining eyes, her flawless jade-white throat bobbing. Even so, she still maintained proper dining etiquette.

She slowly drew a pair of wooden chopsticks from the bamboo holder. Seeing Duàn Yì staring at her, she gave a snort through her delicate nose and pretended not to see him, beginning to eat in small bites. Yet the blush on her cheeks still betrayed the shyness in her heart.

This was her first time sharing a table with a stranger. It felt somewhat strange, but she did not dislike it.

Under normal circumstances, Duàn Yì would have long since wolfed down his food. But with a girl before him, he still cared about appearances and followed proper dining etiquette, not embarrassing himself.

At the stall, people at the other tables ate and chatted, the atmosphere lively. Yet Duàn Yì and the pretty girl's table was eerily quiet; even the sounds of chewing had been suppressed to the lowest possible level.

However, neither of them ate slowly. Before long, the once-heaping plates had been reduced to a shallow layer.

The girl did not eat much. The main eater was Duàn Yì, a strapping young man still in his growing years, whose appetite was truly astonishing...

At some point, a group of people had surrounded Wang Family's Small Noodles. Seeing this, passersby hurried away, avoiding them as if they were snakes and scorpions.

Even the stall-owner couple looked frightened and at a loss, keeping far away from the dining tables. They clearly feared that when the city gate caught fire, the fish in the moat would suffer. The people at the neighboring tables, who had been loudly calling for drinks, also fell silent. They wanted to leave, but did not dare.

Only then did Duàn Yì and the girl notice that something was wrong. There was no helping it—the delicious food before them had absorbed all their focus and devotion. The two of them were birds of a feather, a pair of foodies.

After wiping his mouth a few times, Duàn Yì looked around. There were roughly a dozen of them, dressed in coarse short-sleeved shirts of the same style. Every one of them was broad-shouldered and burly, their faces full of fierce flesh. They were probably servants of some wealthy household, yet they merely stood surrounding the stall without taking any further action.

He did not know whether the real person they were waiting for had yet to arrive, or whether they were wary of someone inside the stall.

*I knew it. This girl is so pretty and adorable, and her family background is not bad. There was bound to be some trouble.

These clearly doomed cannon fodder are either lackeys serving some young master who wants to seize a woman by force, or they're here to bring a runaway young miss home.

Duàn Yì glanced sideways at the girl. Seeing that she remained utterly unconcerned in the face of such a lineup, he understood. It was obviously the latter.

"Hey, hey, hey. Just who are you, anyway? The entourage here to pick you up isn't small."

Duàn Yì tapped his porcelain bowl with his chopsticks and gestured toward the girl across from him with his chin.

Yet the girl looked utterly baffled. Her gaze at the people surrounding the stall clearly held only unfamiliarity.

"What are you talking about? I don't know these people. Are they here for me?"

This was bad.

Hearing her say that, Duàn Yì began to feel uneasy. Could it be that today's scene was not about welcoming a young miss home, but about him, Duàn Yì, saving a beauty like a hero?

But there were more than ten people outside. Whether they knew martial arts or not aside, their sturdy builds and tiger-backed, bear-waisted figures alone made them hard to provoke.

He was now merely an ordinary youth with only a Minor Capturing Hand to rely on. He was no Superman wearing red briefs.

Against three to five burly men of this caliber, he would still dare to trade blows. But if all dozen of them attacked together, even with only their fists, they could pound him to death alive.

Yet if he cowered like a turtle and let the girl be taken away to live in dire straits, that was absolutely impossible as well.

Though the girl's attitude toward him had been somewhat nasty from beginning to end, fair was fair: if she truly hated him, would she have treated him to a meal? It would already have been good enough if she had not simply driven him away.

Therefore, out of sentiment alone, he could not stand by and do nothing.

But blindly charging in would not work either. Duàn Yì appeared calm on the surface, but secretly considered a way to escape. He had even begun observing the surrounding environment and studying possible routes of retreat.

The girl remained indifferent toward the people surrounding the stall. Instead, she watched Duàn Yì's furrowed brow as he pondered a strategy with great interest, and for some reason found herself much happier.

Just as Duàn Yì was thinking of a way to rescue the girl without placing himself in danger, he suddenly saw the burly men surrounding the stall bow together toward a certain direction and shout in unison,

"Greetings, Eldest Miss!"

Eldest Miss? Shouldn't it be Young Master? Could this woman possibly be a rare lily?

Then a woman who shattered Duàn Yì's understanding entered his sight.

This was a woman whose weight hovered somewhere between two hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds. Yet she was probably only a little over five feet tall. She wore gold and silver, silks and satins, but they were stretched tight over her body. She was entirely a round ball of flesh, as if her clothes would burst apart at any moment. It truly made one worry that the fabric was not sturdy enough.

As for what she actually looked like, it was impossible to tell, because her facial features had all been squeezed together beyond recognition. Her eyes alone were mere slits; her eyeballs could not even be seen.

Even if she lost another hundred pounds, the improvement to her looks would still be but a drop in the bucket.

Then the woman grinned at their table, her fat trembling wildly as powder sifted down in flurries.

Her teeth were black and yellow, with bits of vegetable leaf stuck between them. Her gaping, blood-basin mouth was truly rather frightening.

Duàn Yì sucked in a cold breath. He had seen the gentle and poised older sister Yuè Jiāo Nú, and he had seen this proud, adorable girl with features so exquisite they were beyond reproach. Looking at this woman now, he could not help but feel that Heaven was unfair.

Heavens, everyone is a woman, so why, why couldn't you give even a tiny bit of Yuè Jiāo Nú's or this pretty girl's beauty to this fat woman?

Of course, Duàn Yì was absolutely not discriminating against her, because the flesh was merely an outer shell. What people should truly care about was the soul.

A beautiful soul was true beauty.

At this moment, that was what he believed.

"Hey, good, good! You did well. I like this one. He's the one. Tonight, I'm marrying him!"

Shocked by the fat woman, Duàn Yì had overlooked the people accompanying her. It was not until she spoke to someone beside her in a voice like a broken gong, then pointed in what seemed to be his direction, that Duàn Yì realized something was wrong.

Standing beside the woman was none other than the fat innkeeper from the inn where Duàn Yì had stayed before.

Yet the innkeeper, who had originally possessed a plump and ample figure, now appeared dainty and delicate before this eldest sister. In comparison, she was practically of standard build.

Then, seeing the fat innkeeper's fawning attitude toward the woman and the strange look she cast his way, Duàn Yì's heart began racing. He suddenly recalled a meme from his previous life.

"Boys traveling outside must protect themselves."

Could it be, could it be that this group's true target was actually him, rather than the pretty girl?

At this moment, he desperately hoped his guess was wrong.

But he possessed the same looks as the plain and ordinary Brother Le in his youth—he was simply too attractive. At least in women's eyes, he was like a firefly in the night sky: so distinct, so outstanding.