Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Chapter 675

"This soup is incredibly delicious!" Fatty Wang exclaimed sincerely after taking a sip of the hot soup. "Mr. Yang, could you tell me how this soup is made? Is there some secret recipe?"

Yang Shu lowered his head, his face slightly flushed. "There's no secret recipe involved. Everyone here knows how to make this."

"That's great! People who marry into your family are so lucky!" Fatty Wang said, slurping the soup in his bowl while his eyes darted around.

Wu Xie sat to the side, and this time he was unusually wearing the same black-rimmed glasses he had worn when he first met Fatty Wang.

"What, have you taken a fancy to any of the girls here?" Wu Xie raised his head, adjusting his slipping glasses with one hand, and teased Fatty Wang, "If you really have your eye on that girl, you'd better ask Mr. Yang to give you some advice on how to make a good impression on her."

Fatty Wang sipped his soup guiltily, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting! Don't you see how old that young girl is? I'm over thirty, an old codger, how could I be worthy of such a beautiful young girl?"

"Mr. Wang, why are you looking like this? There's nothing wrong with the girls here. If two people really hit it off, they'll bring their parents over directly," Yang Shu teased from the side.

After hearing this, Fatty Wang looked at Yang Shu with shining eyes and asked, "Is that even possible?"

Wu Xie nudged Wang Pangzi on the shoulder and asked, "You've really taken a fancy to some girl?" His winking made Wang Pangzi, who was usually a smooth talker, a little embarrassed.

Fatty Wang just kept his head down, drinking his soup. "People like us are hardly worthy of this pearl in the Northwest desert!" His hand unconsciously shook the soup spoon. "She's in the prime of her life, with endless possibilities ahead. As for me, I'm not good-looking, I'm old, I haven't saved much money, and I work in the wild all year round. Who knows when I might be killed by wild animals while collecting folk songs, or fall into some unknown sinkhole while protecting some precious plant."

Fatty Wang kept sniffing. "You've forgotten! That little girl we met in Banna a few years ago, just like her name, came like a cloud and left like a cloud, so light that no one even noticed."

After hearing what Wang Pangzi said, Wu Xie also thought of the girl who had taken away all of Wang Pangzi's emotions. He still remembers her to this day. Yun Cai was very beautiful, not the kind of beauty he saw in Hangzhou, but a kind of lively beauty with a natural aura.

"Are you planning to live a life of widowhood for someone else?" Wu Xie teased the soup in the iron pot with a ladle. "Back then, everyone had their own difficulties, and Yun Cai's situation was something no one expected."

"Actually, Yun Cai mentioned a few words to me back then, but I didn't take them to heart, which led to her tragedy. How can I not feel guilty?"

Wang Pangzi's tears rolled into the soup, which he then put into his mouth. "If I had understood what she meant back then, perhaps I could have changed her fate."

"Little Fatty, have you ever thought that a person's fate is already predetermined?" Butler Xu asked in return. "Everyone's fate is already predetermined. If you shield someone from a calamity, then that person's karma will fall on your head."

Butler Xu overturned all of Fatty Wang's previous ideas from another perspective: "Are you really willing to trade your life for someone else's? Even if it's just to let him live a few more years?"

“I…” Fatty Wang didn’t know how to answer Butler Xu; he had never thought about this question before.

Butler Xu stood up and stroked Fatty Wang's head. "Fatty, if you and Yun Cai truly love each other, then no matter who dies, the one left behind will suffer the most."

"Because the one who stays will live on, cherishing the beautiful memories you shared, but..."

Fatty Wang looked up at Butler Xu, and even Cheng Ye, who was far away from them, looked up at them.

"But how long can you hold out?"

Butler Xu's words were like a final, sharp arrow piercing Wang Pangzi's heart, and also piercing Cheng Ye's heart.

Cheng Ye kept his head down and didn't see Butler Xu's gaze sweep over him. He was reflecting on how he had caused so many people to be harmed in that cold, bottomless pit because of Cheng Jia. If Cheng Jia were still alive, would she blame him?

Yang Shu turned his head and saw Cheng Ye with his head down. As if sensing that Cheng Ye was having a slight retreat, he quietly tugged at Cheng Ye's sleeve when no one was paying attention.

"Ono, I have something I need to discuss with you. Please come with me."

Yang Shu dragged Cheng Ye to a sheltered spot in the cave. It was a dead end with nowhere to hide, but it was also a place to avoid being seen by others.

"Cheng Ye, you're not going to back out, are you!" Yang Shu shoved Cheng Ye inside, while he pressed himself against the stone wall to make sure they wouldn't hear him if someone came.

"I didn't." Cheng Ye kept his head down.

"Don't forget, my master has already returned Cheng Jia to you. If you can't even handle this small matter, you don't want to know how my master will punish you," Yang Shu whispered threateningly as he approached Cheng Ye.

"These are the only people left for the final ceremony. I understand the stakes." Cheng Ye frowned, his fists clenched, yet he was helpless against Yang Shu.

"I hope that's really what you did." Yang Shu gave Cheng Ye a final warning before straightening his clothes, which he had messed up while pulling Cheng Ye. "Calm yourself down and don't let them find out anything."

After Yang Shu finished speaking, he turned and left. Cheng Ye stood there with his head down, his hand habitually stroking the bead strung on a red string around his neck.

"Gaga, what do you think I should do now?" Cheng Ye asked in a low voice.

A gentle breeze caressed Cheng Ye's cheek, whispering in his ear, "Do what you think is right."

Cheng Ye gripped the bead tightly in his palm. "Gaga, nothing can stop me from getting past you!"

After Cheng Ye composed himself and came out, only the night watchmen remained by the campfire. He sat in a spot not too far from the two men.

Wang Pangzi followed Wu Xie back into the tent, his mind still replaying what Steward Xu had just said.

"Wu Xie, if you were given such an opportunity, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else?" Fatty Wang threw the question he had just asked Wu Xie.

Wu Xie paused, his hand that was patting the blanket. "I don't want to."

Fatty Wang plopped down on Wu Xie's bed. "Why don't you want to?"

"Because the people I need to sacrifice are the people I love most, and the people who love me most. And the people I love most and who love me most want me to live well, to live on with their share."

Wu Xie used the motion of patting the blanket to brush Wang Pangzi off, saying, "It's late, time to sleep. There's a fierce battle to fight tomorrow."

After thinking about it carefully, Fatty Wang realized he was right. "What you said makes some sense."

If Wu Xie had known that tonight's conversation was his last with Fatty Wang, he probably wouldn't have said that.