I Won't Fall for It (Please Vote)

What a quick change of face!

Seeing this, how could Fang Yue not know that Zhang Shu's tearful scene of life-and-death separation earlier had all been an act?

Yet before that, she had seemed so sincere and heartfelt. If she had not mentioned that bowl of rice afterward, the few of them truly might not have seen through her.

Mischievous, scheming, and good at acting.

In an instant, Fang Yue had added several labels to this girl, who was about his age but had entered the sect before him and thus counted as his senior sister.

Well then, with Zhang Shu along for the journey home, it looked like it would not be lonely or boring.

They had been away from home for five days.

They had come full of high spirits.

Now, they were returning with their hearts flying home like arrows.

It took only a little over a day to reach the riverbank where they had camped for the first time on their way here.

After all, the donkey cart now carried only some medicinal herbs, so it was much lighter.

Naturally, they traveled much faster.

At their current pace, Daliushu Village was only a little more than half a day's journey away.

But night was already approaching.

Traveling at night was too dangerous, so they could only camp here.

"Master, I'll go catch a few fish. We'll have grilled fish tonight." Once camp was set up, Fang Yue volunteered.

Although the Xiahe River's water level had dropped considerably, and this bend in the river was narrower than when they had camped here last time, only three zhang across, it did not affect the fishing.

Knowing Fang Yue's skill, Fang Hu nodded and told him to be careful.

Fang Yue immediately found some tools, cut a suitable stalk of bamboo from the bamboo grove by the roadside, and made a simple fishing rod.

After digging up some earthworms and finding some grass to use as bait for chumming the water, Fang Yue went to the riverbank.

This place was some distance from the camp. As long as they did not speak too loudly, Fang Hu and Fang Ergou definitely would not hear them.

Having put on the act of being a "proper lady" all the way here, Zhang Shu finally revealed her true colors.

"Hey, Zhi Di."

"You poor little bumpkin know how to fish?"

"You think you can catch fish like this? Just grass and earthworms? What a poor bumpkin's way of fishing. You definitely won't catch anything!"

Standing beside Fang Yue, Zhang Shu watched his movements, then looked at the muddy river water before them.

She was deeply skeptical that Fang Yue could catch fish with nothing more than these simple things.

At an age when she was lively and restless, she chattered nonstop beside Fang Yue.

She had apparently forgotten how she had wanted to use that bowl of chili rice to scheme against Fang Yue earlier. Perhaps she did not know that Fang Yue had seen what she had done.

Thus, Fang Yue was quite wary of her.

"Shh. You need to be quiet when fishing. You're so loud, you'll scare all the fish away." Fang Yue hurriedly stopped Zhang Shu, who kept shouting and firing off questions.

This girl's tongue was sharp. Her voice was pleasant enough, but what came out of her mouth was anything but.

"Hmph. If you don't want to tell me, then don't. What's so great about that?"

Zhang Shu snorted coldly, lifting her delicate little chin and shooting Fang Yue a disdainful glance.

Then she went to a stretch of riverbank not far away, stretched out her hand, and began playing with the water on her own.

At that moment, the fishing rod bobbed up and down.

Clearly, something had taken the bait.

"It bit! It bit! Poor little bumpkin, hurry up and pull it in, or the fish will get away!"

Zhang Shu was even more anxious than Fang Yue. Seeing this, she stopped playing in the water and cried out excitedly.

But with that sudden shout, the fish was frightened straight off the hook.

"You!"

Fang Yue turned to look at Zhang Shu's innocent face. He wanted to scold her a little, but seeing that innocent expression, he suddenly could not tell whether she had done it on purpose or not.

"You ugly little freak, go play somewhere else. Don't hold me up while I'm fishing."

"You dare call me ugly? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

Zhang Shu narrowed her eyes and rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to fight.

"If you get any louder, my master will definitely hear you. You don't want anyone seeing you act so unladylike, do you?"

With just that one sentence from Fang Yue, Zhang Shu's arrogance was immediately cut down by more than half.

Over the course of the journey, Fang Yue had just discovered this.

Zhang Shu was mischievous and loved playing tricks on people, but in front of her elders, she actually worked hard to maintain the appearance of a proper lady.

Though perhaps the elders all knew what she was like and simply chose not to expose her.

"Tch, it's obviously because you're not skilled enough. You can't catch any fish, so why are you taking it out on me?"

Zhang Shu curled her lips in disdain. In the end, she did not come over to beat Fang Yue up, though she did move a little farther away.

After waiting a while longer and seeing that Fang Yue still had not caught anything, she perhaps grew bored. She sat on a jutting rock, took off her shoes and socks, dipped her pair of fair, tender little feet into the water, and happily began splashing around.

Splash—

At that moment, water sprayed everywhere.

Fang Yue jerked up his fishing rod, and a carp about a foot long flew straight out of the water and landed on the ground behind him.

"You actually caught one. Must've been a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse."

Zhang Shu's rather spiteful voice drifted over, and Fang Yue could not help looking toward it.

He happened to see her snow-white calves and delicate little feet.

Since crossing into this world, all the girls Fang Yue had encountered had been sallow and skinny country girls, their skin darkened by the sun.

Only Widow Yu next door had much fairer skin because of her former background, but this was the first time he had seen a girl like Zhang Shu.

For a moment, his gaze seemed nailed in place, unable to move away.

"Hmph, poor little bumpkin, what are you staring at? Keep staring, and I'll gouge your eyes out."

Zhang Shu noticed Fang Yue's gaze at that moment. Unlike ordinary women of ancient times, she did not panic at all and simply shot him a fierce glare.

But the angry look on Zhang Shu's face vanished in the next instant, replaced by terror.

"Ah! Poor little bumpkin, look! What's that behind you?"

Fang Yue immediately turned around and looked toward the water. Its surface shimmered in the light, but there was nothing there.

He instantly realized he had been tricked. Just then, a fist-sized stone splashed into the river, and the spray hit Fang Yue square in the face.

"Hehehe~"

A clear laugh like silver bells rang in his ears. Zhang Shu covered her mouth as she laughed so hard she bent forward and backward, swaying like a flower branch in the wind.

Unfortunately, she had not developed yet, so there was not much to see.

She was just a little girl, after all. Fang Yue could not be bothered to argue with her. Was he supposed to go over and spank her now?

Besides, he might not even be a match for Zhang Shu. Fang Ergou seemed to have been taught a lesson by her several times already.

"What was there to see on an airstrip?" Fang Yue muttered after getting splashed all over.

"What did you say? What's an airstrip?" Zhang Shu looked utterly confused, having no idea what an airstrip meant.

But instinctively, she felt that Fang Yue could not have said anything nice. Just as she was about to return the favor—

She suddenly saw Fang Yue's face turn terrified.

"Zhang Shu, get away from there! There's a tiger behind you!"