Xie Xun looked at Chen Sixi.
The other should not have slept well the previous night, coming to Shi Mo Village before daybreak.
His body was damp with morning dew, eyelids dark, lips pale.
The whole person looked disheveled.
"What's the matter?"
Xie Xun's morning grumpiness had not yet dissipated, his tone rather cold.
"Brother, brother I was wrong," Chen Sixi grabbed his hand, "I shouldn't have mocked you like that yesterday. You can hit me, scold me, anything, but please save my life!"
Xie Xun shook him off, rubbing his brow, his irritated mood becoming more apparent, "Get to the point!"
"Okay, okay, I'll say it!" Chen Sixi was afraid Xie Xun would really get angry, so he quickly explained what had happened.
Apparently, after his father returned home yesterday, he reenacted Xie Xun's words in front of his father, laughing as he did so, almost laughing himself out of breath.
But after listening, his father's face stiffened, cursing him as a fool who didn't recognize nobility when he encountered them.
Chen Sixi was dumbfounded.
Xie Xun's unlucky reputation, the villages within ten li of Taoyuan Town probably all knew it, right?
Chen Sixi didn't think much of other nobles.
But Xie Xun?
That wasn't a joke!
His father berated him mercilessly, giving the disobedient son a beating before personally escorting him back to town and locking him up, not allowing him to leave.
With the young master away, the worker Ma Liu was in charge of the shop.
Last night in the middle of the night, another worker Song Zi rushed pale-faced from the county to the Chen family shop in town to report a death, saying Ma Liu had hanged himself.
At the time, Chen Sixi was having a nice dream when his father dragged him out of bed.
Chen Sixi's mind was still a muddle when he heard that Ma Liu, who had been watching the shop for him, had died.
The two workers at the shop had a good relationship with Chen Sixi.
Chen Sixi didn't believe that someone who had been fine during the day would suddenly grow despondent, so he said he wanted to take a look.
"You dare go out at a time like this!" His father berated him again, telling him to go to Shi Mo Village to find Xie Xun, while he accompanied Song Zi to the county.
On the way to Shi Mo Village, Chen Sixi grew more and more apprehensive the more he thought about it.
His demeanor when asking the villagers about Xie Xun's residence even frightened them considerably.
After finishing his story, Chen Sixi asked weakly, "So, brother, do you think there's any way I can still be saved?"
Seeing Xie Xun remain silent, he continued, "I have money, just name your price!"
As he spoke, he deftly untied his money pouch and shoved it all into Xie Xun's hands.
Xie Xun said, "It's not me who will save you, but someone else. However, I can accept this money on her behalf."
Hearing this, Chen Sixi felt his anxiety lessen somewhat.
He asked in a low voice, "Brother, can I stay at your place for a couple of days?"
"No!" Xie Xun refused outright.
Chen Sixi pulled a long face, "You won't let me stay even if I pay?"
Seeing Xie Xun's expression that brooked no negotiation, Chen Sixi's voice grew weaker, "Then you have to at least tell me what to do?"
Xie Xun said, "As long as you stay home and don't go out, before the day after tomorrow, a master will come find you."
"Alright, brother you truly are a good person." Chen Sixi expressed his gratitude profusely and left.
After returning inside, Xie Xun casually tossed the money pouch onto the table, then grabbed Jiang Xiaoxiao from her little nest, pouring her a small bowl of face-washing water as well.
During her transformation period, Jiang Xiaoxiao grew sleepy easily. She had been woken up earlier by Chen Sixi, clearly not having slept enough.
Now standing in front of the little bowl, her head bobbed slightly as she nodded off.
Xie Xun went in and out a couple times, seeing she was still standing there, calling out, "Are you going to sleep in or eat breakfast? Choose!"
"Eat!" Jiang Xiaoxiao hurriedly perked up, bending down to wash her face.
For breakfast, he cooked eggs and vegetable porridge.
Xie Xun had one egg, Jiang Xiaoxiao three. Xie Xun had one bowl of porridge, Jiang Xiaoxiao three bowls.
Xie Xun watched her eat, his mind naturally turning to thoughts of that rabbit...
Ah, never mind, the rabbit couldn't eat like her.
Jiang Xiaoxiao ate her fill satisfactorily, wiping her little mouth and asking Xie Xun, "What will we be doing today?"
Xie Xun asked back, "What can you do?"
In her current form, one careless move could cause her to get squashed.
Jiang Xiaoxiao said, "Make a list of anyone who's ever bullied you before, and when I recover, I'll avenge you."
"When about will you recover?" Xie Xun asked.
"After the midnight hour tonight."
Xie Xun's gaze couldn't help but shift to the little nest he had just prepared for her.
Once she recovered, she certainly wouldn't be able to sleep in the little nest anymore.
He had probably grown accustomed to Jiang Xiaoxiao's miniature form during her transformation period these past couple of days. Just thinking about suddenly having a girl of around ten years old in the house felt a bit strange to Xie Xun.
The next night, Xie Xun didn't dare sleep, waiting until midnight just in case something else untoward happened.
Jiang Xiaoxiao did indeed recover on schedule.
The three-inch little person once again transformed before Xie Xun's eyes into the fresh and translucent girl he had first met.
Her features were exquisite, her skin smooth and delicate, her red lips soft, her eyes possessing a rare purity untainted by worldly matters.
Although he had been prepared, Xie Xun still couldn't help but show a few traces of shock.
Jiang Xiaoxiao, however, seemed long accustomed to it, her expression unchanged.
Xie Xun asked her, "Were you not caught by some demonic arts?"
Otherwise, how could it be possible for a person to suddenly shrink and then suddenly grow again?
"It should be a curse," Jiang Xiaoxiao calmly replied. "My master ancestor said I was cursed in the womb. In all my years studying arcane arts, I've never encountered such a curse before."
To this day, she had never found a way to break it.
Her only hope was Xie Xun.
That was what her master ancestor had told her too.
As for the specifics of what to do, once Xie Xun regained his Dragon Qi, she might have to return to Cangwu Mountain to ask her master ancestor.
Xie Xun seemed to think of something, slowly narrowing his eyes, "You came looking for me intentionally on the fifteenth of the seventh month, surely not without reason?"
Such a matter would inevitably be exposed sooner or later, so it seemed unnecessary to conceal it.
Jiang Xiaoxiao said most earnestly, "The Purple Gold Dragon Qi within you can help me break the curse. Although you don't have it now, you will eventually be able to regain it."
Hearing this, Xie Xun let out a mocking laugh.
"Then why didn't you just go find Murong Yuan directly? If you found him, you might even become the imperial princess consort one day. But if you find me, you might end up being devoured by me instead - haven't you heard? My own mother was devoured by me."
As he spoke these words, the corners of his lips curved up, a mixture of hatred and grievance towards being robbed of everything intermingled, his eyes reflecting a dejected madness.
Jiang Xiaoxiao gazed at him silently.
Although unable to empathize, she felt a sense that he was very angry, and that it was probably not a good time to say too much more.
Thinking it over, she said, "It's nothing, I just simply want to become your wife."
Xie Xun: "..."
