The development of things until now were not always as the baby wanted, but this kind of hard-pressed emotion that seemed to slide into the abyss of ignorance would not be understood by a second person (He's referring to the difficulties they've faced, and having to see how miserable the protagonist's childhood really is). Despite that, one point still made Zeno happy.
Ya Sang had unknowingly rushed to his own demise by tormenting the protagonist. "Curse" was a supernatural novel, and within it the protagonist was almost always miserable. Even so, the guy who made the protagonist even more miserable was faced with a fate 10,000 times worse than the protagonist.
Xi Wei had struck Ya Sang with the stick mercilessly. One of the men in the gang picked up the fainted boy by the collar and dragged him in front of Xi Lun. The man asked what to do with him and Xi Lun just waved him off, "He dares come to Fenhong Street making a scene and lying to my face, he needs to suffer the consequences. Although his looks are poor, anyone will do in the dark. Throw him into the men's brothel. "
With these words spoken by Xi Lun, Ya Sang's future was set. As the saying goes, dishonest men will hang in their own web of lies. Ya Sang wanted to take the protagonist's baby and sell it to the red light district's boss. We should all learn from this experience ah.
Zeno rested his head on the protagonist's shoulder, exhausted after his high fever. He did not even have the energy to look around the famous Fenhong Street. Xi Wei occasionally brushed his forehead, checking the temperature, relieved that it had not gone back up to the burning temperature from before.
After all, that strange little elf had run off. This left Xi Wei anxious about a relapse. He still did not have xue nu and therefore he could not relax.
If you asked ten people about Xi Wei they would all say the same thing—stoic. His life creed was that less was more and low key was king. Xi Lun was feigning casual indifference while closely observing as Xi Wei interacted with the little baby, his eyes showing a strange and sly glint.
Fenhong Street came alive at night, so during the day it felt deserted.
The silence was abruptly broken by a crisp voice.
A girl with her long hair pulled into a scorpion braid and wearing a lovely pink cotton dress ran by like a gust of wind and headed straight to the scar-faced man's side. Grabbing onto his thigh, she immediately complained, "Baba (daddy/dad), where have you been all morning? Xiao Wu was looking everywhere."
Xi Lun laughed heartily, then bent over the girl and suddenly hoisted her onto his shoulders. He was tall and sturdy so this action was very relaxed, without any hint of strain while he asked, "Were you a good girl?"
The little girl, Xiao Wu, turned her head down gracefully, "Xiao Wu does not want to be good, unless baba takes me to see the Brave Devil."
A helpless look crossed Xi Lun's face and he tried to coax his daughter, "That kind of drama is a lie, those evil actors are just trying to cheat you out of your money. Xiao Wu is a good girl, you wouldn't understand. "
The little girl heard her idol being questioned and suddenly grew angry, "Baba you are a bad guy, you do bad things and don't believe others will do good deeds, Xiao Wu hates you."
Having fallen low in his daughter's eyes, Xi Lun promised to spend the afternoon making it up to his daughter, even seeing the drama she wanted to watch. This left Xiao Wu reluctantly satisfied.
As the scene played out before him, Zeno found it to be very strange. He did not expect the 190 cm (6'3), muscular macho man to be such a fool for his daughter. He really was gentle to death, and despite her claim to hate him; it was obvious that she was very happy. This little girl had clearly grown up in a bubble, and did not know of human suffering.
In "Curse," Xiao Wu was a sister with a very strong sense of justice. She accidentally met the injured Xi Wei and due to her compassionate nature she did not hesitate to bring him home, taking good care of him. According to the normal routine in x stories, the protagonist underwent a period of recuperation during which Xiao Wu grew to like that unique, low-key, quiet teenager. The protagonist was ignorant to this, leaving before he fully healed to avoid placing her in danger.
Completely heartbroken, Xiao Wu ran to her father seeking comfort. After hearing her story, her father realized that the protagonist's mother was an old acquaintance—she used to work as a prostitute under his business. He could not bear to tell Xiao Wu the truth of his origins, and in the end she never saw him again.
Aside from that, Xi Lun did not want to leave his daughter to such a cold-hearted person in the first place. Xi Wei welcomed this turn of events, and the two men were unified in their desired outcomes.
It seemed that similar brain make-up, in fact, does not need to be genetic.
Xiao Wu would grow up to be simple and just, inseparable from the pure fatherly love of her unprincipled father.
Xi Wei was unmoved by this. Other's warmth and sweetness could not shake him. He came here solely to get medicine to save the baby's life.
Xi Wei seemed to have most of the characteristics of x literature protagonists; he was determined not to let anything outside his little bubble move him.
Zeno, who silently gave his protagonist a thumbs-up, had to face a cruel fact.
On the one hand the protagonist's task was to convert Xiao Wu into a dark girl. If the task failed = no xue nu = Zeno would die in three days. On the other hand, if Xiao Wu was blackened, she would no longer believe in pure justice. That meant that there was one less safety net in the world to save the frustrated protagonist. The protagonist would still be on the path of self-destruction that brings the world with him.
This world was really filled with the viciousness of those who caused Xi Wei's suffering.
Zeno understood that whether or not the storyline was faithful to the novel, the world adhered to its treatment of the protagonist. There would be no change to the unwarranted abuse towards him, be it of the body or the heart.
A small boy and a group of muscular warriors silently followed the father and daughter duo back to the Fenhong Street base camp. Upon arrival, Xi Lun sat down on a comfortable armchair and played with his daughter. He teased her with a toy, drawing out musical giggles while her face radiated sunshine. Xi Wei formed a sharp contrast to this happy scene, hidden in a shadowy corner of the room while he silently held Zeno.
Zeno was hungry and thirsty. Since he could not speak, he could only look hopefully at Xi Wei.
Xi Wei was also very hungry. He had hardly eaten a thing for two days, but he was forced to consume more energy than usual. Zeno surmised that it was the protagonist's halo that had kept him alive; most children in his situation would have already starved to death.
Looking over the meagre amount of food in his possession, and then taking in Zeno's aggrieved expression, Xi Wei pursed his lips and seemed to be pondering a difficult problem. Finally he opened his mouth, quietly asking, "Sir…can you give me a bowl of water?"
Xi Wei's attitude was very humble and he kept his head bowed, his cold and hoarse voice not revealing any emotions. Maybe because he was a lot more talkative than usual, but his voice finally lost some of its dry rasp and became much smoother.
The father and daughter in the midst of their little family reunion finally remembered there were two children in the same room. Xi Lun was in a good mood at that moment, and going along with the atmosphere, he merely cocked an eyebrow at the boy's question and then sent over a warrior with a bowl of sweetened hot water and a small spoon.
Xi Wei opened the compressed biscuits and submerged them all in the hot water. It quickly became a bowl of paste-like mush, and although the smell was not particularly fragrant, it was enough to make the two small children gulp down some saliva. Xi Wei scooped some food up with the spoon and awkwardly fed it to Zeno, watching him slowly swallow. He fed him in this way until Zeno refused to eat any more. Xi Wei carefully consumed the remainder without leaving a single drop to waste.
Having eaten a hot meal to fill and warm their bellies, the spirits of both boys were lifted.
There was a wood-burning fireplace in the room that made it a paradise in the midst of the barren landscape of snow and ice outside, but it was a little quiet for Xiao Wu. After Xi Wei finished eating, she finally gave in to her curiosity, asking "Baba, who are they?"
After asking, she seemed to remember something and pouted, "Baba did you kidnap someone again? You're really bad, making them eat that yucky food. Let them go home or I'm ignoring you."
Xi Lun could only smile helplessly, "Baba didn't kidnap anyone. They are homeless, and because Baba is so busy and can't always accompany you, when I saw how poor they are I decided to bring them back to be your companions."
The self-righteous little girl tilted her head and looked at Xi Wei and Zeno, then bounced from in front of Xi Lun and landed in front of Xi Wei. Xi Wei warily stepped back and maintained a distance between he and Xiao Wu. Despite several attempts, she found that she could not approach him and queried in dissatisfaction, "Why are you dodging me ah?"
Xi Wei shook his head and retreated into the shadow of a corner, his head lowered to prevent others from seeing his eyes. He did not wish to reveal the emotions displayed in his eyes. He eventually spoke in a humble voice, "It would dirty Miss's clothes."
Zeno was able to see clearly, and rather than a look of humility, only indifference and rejection could be found.
He truly deserved to be the protagonist of my family—he has raised lying to an art form.
Xiao Wu placed her hands on her hips and scolded, "What are you stressed out about? Dirty clothes can be washed, how about you play with me."
Xi Wei cried a bit inside, and finally stopped evading Xiao Wu. He certainly would not tell the little girl that different classes of people had different living standards. If it were not for the task given him by the scar-faced man, he would not be in contact with the young girl.
Not just being used, he was also being asked to compromise.
What was more, the young lady did not seem to have a lot of motivation.
Xi Wei and Zeno each thought on the matter at hand.
Zeno was familiar with the plot, and was naturally aware that this simple girl, Xiao Wu, did not change through the early years. At some point, interacting with the protagonist made her blacken. Since they have crossed paths so early, it was hard to say what strange direction things would go.
Xiao Wu always pursued what she wanted, but she had no interest in the quiet and timid looking Xi Wei. The one that made her heart itch was the baby. Because she was an only child, Xiao Wu rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with babies. She was always curious towards these small, soft, and toothless little creatures.
Realizing that Zeno was watching her, Xiao Wu was instantly overwhelmed by the meng factor and cheerfully asked, "Such a cute doll, can you let me hold it?"
Xi Wei pulled his arms in tightly and refused her request. Although Xiao Wu was a little disappointed, she had always been the messenger of justice; her nature would not permit her to do anything to take away the little one. She instead stood beside Xi Wei and Zeno. From a distance, this scene appeared quite harmonious and loving.
Xi Lun chose not to disturb them until he needed to inform them that something had to be dealt with, so he must go. Before leaving he reminded Xiao Wu to behave and then left the three children to play on their own.
Zeno deliberately matched the behaviour of the protagonist and Xiao Wu, so the performance was particularly clever. Xi Wei observed Zeno's eyes, his appearance taking on a slightly gloomy undertone.