Grabbing Your Hand, Dragging you Away

Chapter Sixty-Six

Regarding such attitude of his – dragging me down to die with him – I disdain it from the bottom of my heart, and so, I resolutely come to a decision: give this guy a punch to let him know how much I disdain it.

I go by the principle of people becoming lighter in water, using my left hand to grab the clothing at his chest and lift him up, whilst my right hand clenches into a fist and makes a clean swing, preparing to give him ‘the reason why a panda’s eyes are so black’, who knew this rascal would easily move his head and dodge it, all whilst clenching his claws at my waist even more, pulling me to tightly stick against his chest.

Just as I wanted to push him away and continue to give him a punch, he starts to bring me along in sinking down, swallowing water as he vaguely says something about not being able to swim blah blah blah. Oh how furious I got, if you can’t swim then why are you still clinging to me? You want us to die together ah? Scoundrel. I put all my effort in kicking my legs to swim upwards, just that suffering from my body being tightly clutched onto by him, I couldn’t do much, resulting in me unable to get anywhere despite how much I kept kicking, when I stretched my leg, preparing to kick him away, he suddenly gives me an immoral smile, then before I could even react to this, his lips touches mine, doing his all to suck over and over again, in attempt to open my mouth and……steal my oxygen.

May you all make a judgement of this, how could there be such a scoundrel in this world?!

I tug at his ears and pull them back, seeing his pained expression soothed my feelings, just that before I could get overly arrogant, I once again grit my teeth, this scoundrel of a ladyboy actually pinches my cheeks to force me to open my mouth, then grandly inhales as well as letting his tongue in – entangling?

I am speechless, dare I ask, is he taking advantage of me whilst saving himself?

At a time like this, whoever endures it is a b*stard!

I fiercely punch his chest, taking advantage of the moment he was struck with pain, I kick him away and swim up towards the water surface, having just breathed in the sweet and delicious air, I feel my waist tighten, once again being desperately dragged down by someone. After entering the water, that scoundrel once again comes sticking close to me, of course I kick him and swim up, once again breathing in the air, once again getting dragged down by him……

This went on in a cycle, until we were rescued.

I am wrapped in a blanket Bai Wei handed me, shivering, Bai Wei lets out a sigh of relief beside my ear, speaking with lingering fear: “Fortunately you can swim, if not, what to do when met with a situation like this……?”

I wipe my hair and raise my head, just when I wanted to say something, I see Ladyboy Pan opposite me, currently with his head lowered, wiping his hands with a white handkerchief, several strands of black hair, dampened by seawater, restlessly sticking to his fair face, black and white clearly distinguished, looking in particularly enchanting. He seems to have sensed my eyes on him, raising his head to look at me, the look of romantic ambiguity and teasing flashing past his black orbs, he purse his thin lips and smiles, meaningfully saying: “That’s right ah, thankfully Lady Ah-Lan can swim, if not, I really wouldn’t know what to do……Lady Ah-Lan, you truly have been ‘overworked’ just now.”

Bai Wei hears this and doesn’t find it strange, just helping me hook my dampened hair behind my ears, quipping: “Gentleman Pan indeed needs to greatly thank Ah-Lan then.”

Ladyboy Pan’s beautiful eyes makes a turn, eyes fixing onto me as he softly says: “That is of course.”

The corner of my eyes twitches, lightly smiling as I say to Bai Wei: “Can you bring me a bowl of water?”

Bai Wei brings me a bowl of water as asked, I deliberately look towards Ladyboy Pan after taking it, then fill my mouth with water, and spat it out in front of Ladyboy Pan and Bai Wei’s faces, repeating this four or five times before stopping.

After I finished doing all that, Bai Wei and Ladyboy Pan were both staring at me, I take the handkerchief and wipe my lips, saying: “A bit sickening.”

Bai Wei was understanding, whilst the romantic ambiguity and mischief in Ladyboy Pan’s eyes instantly fades, changing into an expression of being unable to laugh nor cry.

The sea breeze carries the unique moist and salty taste as it brushes against the face, I could not refrain from shivering and sneezing, inwardly making little complaints to myself, what kind of life is this ah? Not even safe to travel the sea, so miserable!

Travelling the sea had naturally gone to ruins, Bai Wei and I, as well as Ladyboy Pan, return to the inn together –– don’t ask me why Ladyboy Pan is returning to the inn with us, in his own words, he said the inn is closer, and his real thoughts are unknown to anyone.

In consideration to my sneezing before, Bai Wei had made the judgement that I may have caught a cold from the seawater, immediately telling the kitchen to brew a bowl of ginger soup for me, and so, my current condition is facing this bowl of ginger soup, wanting to cry but failing to produce tears. Say, how could humans make such a ‘bitter-tasting good medicine’, ginger soup, ginger soup, when I see this thing called ginger, I truly become unspeakably fretful.

Bai Wei brings the bowl over to me, “Ah-Lan, quickly drink it.”

I look at the hot curling steam, waving my hand as I say: “Leave it on the table to cool down first, it’s too hot.”

Just when Bai Wei had placed the bowl onto the table, a knock is heard from the doors, opening the doors for a look, the one knocking is actually Ladyboy Pan. Ladyboy Pan has already recovered from his sorry state of being soaked, and has changed into a clean set of red brocade robes, slowly greeting Bai Wei: “Lady Bai.”

“Gentleman Pan.” Bai Wei shyly smiles, “Did the kitchen send some ginger soup to you?”

“Yes.” Ladyboy Pan shallowly smiles, paired with that stunningly beautiful smile, it actually could captivate people’s soul, “Many thanks to Lady Bai.”

A suspicious blush surfaces on Bai Wei’s face, she hastily heads out, all whilst saying: “I still have matters to busy with, may Gentleman Pan help yourself.”

Ladyboy Pan gracefully replies: “Alright, see you later.”

……

Hey, I say, have you two got the wrong place, this is my room and not the lobby of the inn, alright?

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After Bai Wei leaves, only Ladyboy Pan and I remain in the room, with Bai Wei leaving, he switches to a frivolous attitude, squinting his eyes at me as he says: “Ah-Lan.”

I only smile on the surface with the corner of my lips tugged up, “What matters do you have here?”

He acts according to the books in bowing to me, “Came to pay my life saviour a visit.”

i rest my head in hand as I look at him, “I’m your life saviour?”

He walks up to the table and sits down, “Of course.”

I then ask: “Then, you will repay me?”

His black eyes flashes, carrying teasing in his tone as he says: “Should you request it.”

“Very good.” I clap my hands, pointing to the bowl of ginger soup on the table, saying: “Drink that bowl of ginger soup.”

“Eh.” He slightly pauses, somewhat unable to react to this, “Ginger soup?”

I nod, saying with ease: “Drink that bowl of ginger soup, to repay my lifesaving grace.”

The look in Ladyboy Pan’s eyes shatters when it sets on that bowl filled with ginger soup, the corner of his lips twitches as he says to me: “That’s it?”

“What else do you want?” I coldly say: “Are you drinking it or not, how could you be so wishy-washy? Just like a sissy.”

The corners of Ladyboy Pan’s lips twitches even more intensely, taking a deep breath before saying to me with a smile: “Alright, I’ll drink it.”

I sit and wait as I watch him reach out to get the bowl, just that before his fingers had touched it, the doors were opened, and the one who opened the doors is none other than Gentleman Yuwen, who has been very busy as of late. Yuwen Rui’s long and fine eyes slowly sweeps across Ladyboy Pan and I, something of unclear meaning surfaces in his eyes, he elegantly enters the room then closes the doors, then greets Ladyboy Pan with a seeming smile: “Gentleman Pan.”

Ladyboy Pan retracts his hand, hooking up one corner of his lips, saying: “Gentleman Yuwen.”

“I heard you two accidentally fell into the sea whilst touring today, is Gentleman Pan feeling fine?” Yuwen Rui says this with a polite smile.

Ladyboy Pan lets out a chuckle, although replying to Yuwen Rui, his eyes were set on me as he says: “That’s right ah, if not for Lady Ah-Lan’s rescue, I would have drank a lot of seawater, I was just thinking of how to repay Lady Ah-Lan for her lifesaving grace.”

Yuwen Rui narrows his fox eyes, clear and cold voice seeming to ridicule: “There are often women repaying lifesaving grace with marriage pledges, Gentleman Pan, why not learn from these women?”

The corners of Ladyboy Pan’s eyes very slightly twitches, “Hoho, Gentleman Yuwen must be joking.”

I’m a little puzzled by the sight, why does this Ladyboy Pan like to twitch his eyes and lips so much? Isn’t his endurance ability too weak?

Yuwen Rui lightly glances at the ginger soup on the table, then walks up to the bed, reaching out to check my forehead, “Caught the cold?”

I send him a lovable smile, “No.”

He lightly purses his thin lips, “No?”

I heavily nod my head, “Really didn’t.”

He turns and goes to the table, bringing the ginger soup over, and lightly says: “Drink it.”

“No, I didn’t catch a cold.”

“Drink it.”

“No.”

“Are you drinking it?”

“No.”

“Very well.” He elegantly narrows his eyes, “Really not drinking it?”

I look at his gentle face and dangerous eyes, my body shudders, very spinelessly saying “……I’ll drink it.” I take the bowl and with one mouthful, I gulp it down, it really is far too horrible.

The look in Yuwen Rui’s eyes simmers down, he turns to say to Ladyboy Pan: “Gentleman Pan has witnessed an embarrassing sight.”

At the side, Ladyboy Pan appears to have his interest aroused, looking back and forth between Yuwen Rui and I, he says: “How is that so? It’s getting late now, I shall return first, Gentleman Yuwen, Lady Ah-Lan, let’s chat another day.”

Yuwen Rui sends him off with a smile, “May Gentleman Pan walk safely.” After closing the doors, the look on his face turns a few points colder, turning to wickedly smile at me, “En? Looks like you two get along well?”

“Cousin,” I endure the strange taste in my mouth as I speak up: “Who is this person ah? How could we be so familiar at first meeting?”

Yuwen Rui curls his pretty finger and mercilessly give me a resounding knock, “Didn’t you and Lady Bai meet him the day before?”

I cover my forehead and innocently laugh, “Accident, just an accident.”

He coils my hair around his long and slender finger, lightly saying: “Don’t get too involved with him.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask: “He’s not a good person?”

His eyes faintly darken as he looks at me, “You think he’s a good person?”

“Eh.” I shake my head, “Of course not, just that, isn’t he the one Cousin came here to find?”

A bright shine flashes past Yuwen Rui’s eyes, a light and casual smile hooks up on his handsome face, “He is.”

“He’s also a ‘Mén’?” I also start to play with his hair, “Then what kind of ‘enthusiast’ is he?” He doesn’t want what Yuwen Rui offered him, yet says, should I be given to him, he will accept Yuwen Rui’s request? I really cannot think of what kind of enthusiast this is.

Yuwen Rui falls silent for a while, coldly saying: “Love for beauty made him an enthusiast.”

……ah?

I blink, ‘love for beauty made him an enthusiast?’ One who became an enthusiast due to their love for beauty, wants me to go with him?

Yuwen Rui slowly says: “In Yun Mi ten years ago, there was once a Gentleman Yun Shang, with stunning beauty and likes beautiful woman. He is a dissolute character, as long as he likes a woman, he must obtain her, not caring whether the woman is a precious daughter waiting to get married, or whether the woman is already the wife of another man, and those women, no matter what level of loyalty they possessed to start with, in the end, they would all lose themselves to him. Should he have taken those women in, then forget it, just that every time, he would always deeply stir the women’s hearts into refusing to marry none other than him, then flutter away, don’t know how many young women’s hearts he had shattered with such behaviour, but it just happens that the women still wouldn’t hate him, hearts set on waiting for him to turn back to them.”

I make a short and strong judgement, “Scumbag.”

A light smile surfaces in Yuwen Rui’s eyes, he continues to say: “Until one day, he once again set eyes on the daughter of merchant, of course he spent all methods on trying to obtain this young lady, just that the young lady already has a husband-to-be, ignoring all of his excessive attention. He thought she is avoiding the taboos of society, and is abstaining herself for the husband-to-be, and so, he schemed to have the husband-to-be marry another family’s young lady. That night, he went to comfort this young lady, that young lady remained silent at the time, he originally thought the young lady was overly heartbroken, it’ll be fine once she gets over it, but only when he went to see her that next morning, did he find that the young lady had already hung herself. Since then, there was no longer a Gentleman Yun Shang.”

I’m a little speechless, “He……didn’t want that either, right?” Although he’s a scumbag, he presumably would have felt horrible about it too.

Yuwen Rui half narrows his eyes, “What, sympathising with him?”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, this person really is…..“What did you originally find to trade with him then? A beauty?”

“Found a woman that looks exactly the same as that merchant’s daughter.”

“……” I pause, “Cousin.”

“En?”

“Are you certain you’re wanting to bring him back, and not deliberately provoke him?”

“En……” Yuwen Rui strokes his chin, lowering his eyes as he says: “That merchant’s business went into ruins two years ago, entire family’s life went down and out, was just about to sell his youngest daughter into a brothel……”

“So?” I come to a clear understanding, “They’re sisters?”

“En.”

“You have yet to tell him all this?”

“En.”

“Because he says he wants me?”

“Perhaps.”

“You’re……” I was just about to say ‘you’re so brutal’, but upon meeting his eyes, I immediately change my words, “Cousin is the wisest.”

Yuwen Rui draws back his line of sight in satisfaction, whilst I secretly wipe away my tears, truly is a tragedy of kind people getting bullied, kind horses getting ridden ah.

“Ah-Lan.” Yuwen Rui rubs his forehead against me, long and thick lashes gently brushing over my face, “Bai Jian Fei and I have found Liao Jun.”

Seeing his skin up close, my heart itches with hate, nevermind not having any spots, nevermind not having any uneven skin tone too, but how could he not have any pores as well? The heavens are unfair ah, what kind of world is this?! I say to him: “What did Liao Jun say?”

Yuwen Rui wraps his arms around my waist, face burying into the crook of my neck, “Saving her is possible, but it requires the snow lotus on Mount Tian that blooms once every ten years, as well as having someone using pure inner energy to force the poison out every day.”

“I say……” I suspiciously say: “The person with pure inner energy isn’t you, is it?”

He uses the slightly cold tip of his nose to poke at my neck, speaking with a muffled laugh: “Smart.”

“Cousin.” I am even more suspicious, “Why do you care about Bai Qiang’s matter so much? Taken a liking to her?”

He doesn’t answer, neither lightly nor strongly biting my neck.

I push his head away and seriously ask: “Or is it because……Bai Jian Fei could be of use to you for something in the future?”

Yuwen Rui’s long and fine fox eyes slightly narrows, a delighted smile spreading on his handsome face.

I powerlessly rub my forehead, this man……is indeed……really…… ╮(╯▽╰)╭

After Yuwen Rui had told me the reason why he has been so busy, he proceeded to be too busy to be seen, after Bai Wei comes to the awareness that they have found Liao Jun, she had also followed along in excitement, which also means that only I am left in the inn. Days spent alone is something I am accustomed to, so I am not unhappy about it at all, just taking a few light novels as I hide in bed and read them in comfort.

This day, I have the windows open and sit at the desk, reading the {{Record of Strange Scents}} I had just bought, just as I was relishing the moment of seeing the ‘jiang shi (Chinese hopping zombie/vampire)’ part, my shoulder receives a pat from someone, startling me into abruptly jolting up. I cover my chest as I look at Ladyboy Pan who had suddenly appeared behind me, snappily saying: “Could it be that Gentleman Pan doesn’t know to knock before entering?”

Ladyboy Pan looks at me innocently, “I did knock ah, just that I almost knocked the door loose.”

I regulate my breathing, thinking of the intently focused state I get into sometimes, I had nothing more to say, I speak up again: “Gentleman Pan came to find Cousin for some matters today? Such an unfortunate coincidence, Cousin isn’t here.”

Ladyboy Pan smiles, “It’s you I’ve come finding today.”

I ignore his words as I continue: “Oh right, remember to close the door tightly when you leave.”

“I’ve only just got here, and Lady Ah-Lan is already sending the guest away like that?” Ladyboy Pan raises his pretty brows, “Is this how a lady treats their guest?”

I lazily lean back on the chair, “Cousin has said, don’t speak to strangers.”

“Such words are incorrect, how could you and I still be considered strangers?” Ladyboy Pan meaningfully taps at his lips, saying with romantic ambiguity: “What does Lady Ah-Lan think?”

“Gentleman ah, “ I let out a big sigh, “Say, if one day you get bitten by an ugly little dog, you can’t possible bite back at it now, can you? As people live on in this world, they must learn to be calculative, whatever feelings ah, love ah, are all passing clouds ah, passing clouds.”

Ladyboy Pan pauses, once again standing behind me, leaning in towards my ear to say: “Do you really not mind it at all?”

His warm breath blows against my cheek, lips just barely brushing over my earlobe as he speaks, it is originally an action of such romantically ambiguous harmony, but when the subject is me……I don’t even bother avoiding him as I say: “Gentleman Pan.”

Ladyboy softly chuckles, charmingly saying: “Here.”

“I say……”

“En?”

“Can you not disturb me from reading my book?”

“……”

Ladyboy Pan stiffens his pretty face and sits opposite me, and I, being happily at ease, pick up the book and start reading again, sinking into my own little world. A long while later, Ladyboy Pan once again opens his mouth, “Ah-Lan.”

I reluctantly raise my head, “En?”

Ladyboy Pan squints his eyes as he thinks for a moment before speaking again: “You are the second woman that isn’t enticed by me at all.”

I half-heartedly say: “With pleasure, with pleasure.”

He rest his chin in one hand as he looks at me, that stunningly beautiful face containing deep meaning, “Do you like Yuwen Rui that much?”

I turn a page of the book, “En, indeed a question worth thinking about.”

“Ah-Lan.” He suddenly hooks up a trace of a wicked smile, both hands propped on the table as he leans over to me, “Want me to help you test that cousin of yours that has been accompanying another woman to treat her illness every day?”

“No.”

“Testing just how……” He wickedly smiles, an unusually dangerous sparkle flashing in his long eyes, “……deep his feelings for you, runs.”