You Shu's heart was terrified. He tried to raise his feet and dash away, but his collar was lifted by a shapeless large hand, and he was thrown into the water tank. The water tank was at least four feet high, and You Shu at most was only three feet. Once he fell inside, his whole person would be immersed in water, even his hair couldn't be seen.
You Shu desperately moved his limbs, wanting to float up. However, a hand was holding the top of his head and pressing him down with a lot of force. This was not the first time You Shu faced death. In fact, he who had come from the apocalypse had long since experienced many hardships and dangers, hence he was not panicked at all. He couldn't float up, so he'd just sink to the bottom of the water. Squinting his eyes he sized up the surroundings. This was not a tank for water storage. It was used to plant water lilies. In the water, there were also several koi carps being nurtured, and a few piled up stones.
You Shu's eyes gleamed. He immediately picked up a stone and viciously knocked it against the wall of the tank. After several dozen consecutive knocks, and he seemed about to drown, his collar was suddenly caught by a warm hand that pulled him out of the water. You Shu hastily gripped the edge of the tank, panting heavily.
"You seem to enjoy suffocating yourself very much?"
The sound lingering in his ear was that familiar voice. You Shu wiped away the water droplets on his face and looked over. He discovered that the handsome youth was now withdrawing his hand and retreating two steps, his eyes and brows full of puzzlement.
You Shu had no way to explain this bizarre situation. He said his thanks in a low voice, then placed his small legs on the edge of the tank and attempted to climb out. But he had long since been exhausted, and the calves of his legs were trembling unceasingly. After lifting them onto the rim of the tank, they quickly fell again. He repeated this several times, but still remained splashing in the water, like a small kitten who had fallen in. At a glance, he looked extremely pitiful.
The youth silently sighed and stepped forward. His pair of hands slid under his knees and smoothly carried him out. In a sincere tone, he advised, "In the future, there's no need for excessive playing, be careful not to play away your own life someday."
You Shu vaguely agreed. Spreading open his left hand, he discovered that the cornbread he had only taken a few bites of was already soggy and he could not help but heavily lament. In the water, he had been struggling and had picked up a stone to smash the water tank. Still, he hadn't forgotten to firmly grip the food, vividly acting out the phrase 'birds die for food'.
The youth placed his fist below his lips and coughed twice. From his cold phoenix eyes, diffused the slightest intentions of smiling. This child was really interesting.
"This life-saving grace cannot be forgotten, I, You Shu, owe you a life." You Shu tossed away the corn-bread and turned around to hit the heart area of his small, skinny chest. His face was full of brave passion to 'walk in boiling water and step through fire for the lord.'
The five-year-old child was only three feet tall, unable to reach his own thigh. The short stature, accompanied by a large and soaking wet head, made him look like a bean sprout stubbornly imitating the appearance of valiant forest outlaw. The youth was unable to restrain his amusement. Originally, he had already thought that the child was pretty interesting. Now, he saw that he rather valued loyalty and righteousness, knowing gratitude and to seek repayment. Hence, he became more interested in teasing him.
"You're called You Shu? How do you plan on repaying me?" The teenager bent his waist and stared intently at the child's eyes.
You Shu felt that this was a good opportunity. Therefore, he earnestly cupped his hands in salute. "I'll promise my body to you, what do you think?" Only by constantly staying at the side of this youth, could he protect his life. Yesterday he was even worried about how to to get closer to this youth; today, the chance had come.
"Promise your body? Do you know what this sentence means?" The youth glanced up and down the bean sprout, then smiled with closed lips, "This small body of yours, even if a grass marker* is tied to it and dragged off to market, there would be no one willing to buy. What would I want you for? Moreover, you're not a woman either, how can you use this phrase, 'promise the body'? Forget it, meritorious deeds require no thanks. Quickly return to change your clothes so that you don't freeze."
*Grass marker: used to indicate an object for sale in ancient times.
The youth had saved him twice, and You Shu was naturally very grateful. Seeing him this generous and benevolent again, his degree of goodwill instantly soared steadily. He indeed wanted to use the youth to avoid the demon, but the part about repaying kindness was also absolutely not a lie. In the base, if you wanted something, you had to exchange it with something of equal value, otherwise no one would illogically just give it away. Growing up in such an environment, You Shu understood very well the principle of give and take. When he used the other party, he would also pay the corresponding price.
"I'm very capable, you will absolutely not suffer losses in receiving me." You Shu rolled his eyes, and thought of counting his strengths one by one, but because his skills were too numerous and diverse, he did know where the should start.
"Don't make a fuss. Quickly return." Young lightly laughed and left.
You Shu hurriedly chased him, running back and forth around the youth. He even smoothly plucked a weed from the side of the road and inserted it into the top of his head,* pledging with sincerity and seriousness, "I'm really very capable, and I can do accounting, planning, cure illnesses, repair machines, wash clothes, cleaning... The things I can do are truly too many, I can't finish listing even with several days and several nights! You should just buy me, you only need five taels of silver, to you five taels of silver shouldn't count as anything right? Guaranteed to lose out if you can't afford, if you can't afford you're putting on an act…."
*You Shu is using the weed as a grass marker, which was used to indicate an object for sale in ancient times.
To sell himself to someone, this was something You Shu had never done before. He could only desperately recall shopping advertisements he'd once seen. The demon's killing intent was each time denser than the last, and the situation was also each time more dangerous than the last. If one day, the youth could not arrive in time, he would definitely die. In order to protect his life, You Shu had to stay with the youth all the time. Even when sleeping, he had to stick to him. And he couldn't think of a better method than by selling himself. As the youth's follower, he would hence have an excuse to openly and righteously stay by his side. Of course, You Shu did not intend to become a slave, and was instead preparing to sign redeemable life-contract. He did not want to give away his life, but did not want to lose his freedom either. In the future, after he thinks of a method to kill the demon, he will hence leave.
The youth never expected that the little child's behaviour was not only eccentric, his speech was also very interesting. All the way, he smiled as he walked forwards. Noticing the guards outside the courtyard coming forwards, appearing to have the intent of driving away the child, he thus stealthily waved his hands. The guards immediately retreated, and followed at a distance neither too close nor far.
You Shu struggled forwards with his small legs, running ahead of the teenager. As he walked backwards he painstakingly tried to persuade him. However, he had always been silent and introverted. After reciting all the advertisement phrases he could think of, he was instantly stuck, stuttering without speaking. In his panic his left leg tripped his right leg and he fell onto the snowy ground. Recently, it had been continuously snowing for several days. Unbeknownst to him, the roadside had accumulated a thick layer. When the three-foot-tall little doll tumbled in head-first, only a pair of small, short legs could be seen from outside. Due to his desperate struggling, he was shaking and jerking, and at a glance it looked extremely comical.
The youth placed his fist below his lips to avoid laughing. The two guards also couldn't resist their mirth, under their Master's signaled command they came forwards to fish out the person.
You Shu's legs were caught by someone, as if yanking out a radish he was pulled out of the snow pile. His exposed skin was already pale and blue, his lips had also lost the colour of blood. The youth glanced him from top to bottom. He pinched his eyebrows and said, "You can't even take care of yourself, why talk about repaying the debt of gratitude? Quickly return and change your clothes."
"I can take care of myself and I can take care of other people. Really." You Shu refused to leave, and thought of pouncing to hug the youth's legs, but was worried that the snow on his body would soil the other's luxurious clothes. He worked hard to open his eyes wide and stare fixedly at the teenager, trying to use his strong mental strength to hypnotize the other party. This trick, he had commonly used in his previous life. Anyone he focused his sight on would succumb to his will.
However, this was a huge misunderstanding. In actual fact, You Shu's spiritual power couldn't be extended externally at all since he was a Super-Brain Aberrant. Let alone reach the outcome of hypnotizing someone. The reason why everyone made allowances for him was only because they had been fascinated by his damp and watery eyes. You Shu liked silence, and had never communicated with people much. As such, he did not know that he was the research institute's small, cute animal. This really was a sad story.
He desperately gathered his spiritual energy at his eyes. Besides seeing even more ghosts floating in the air, it didn't birth any special chemical effects. However, because he had widened his eyes for too long, a layer of watery mist slowly condensed in them. The youth lowered his head; he and the three-foot-tall child looked at each other. His heart was slightly moved. He hadn't thought that the yellow-faced and skinny little beansprout boy, would surprisingly have a pair eyes this pure and bright. The yearnings and hopes inside them were cleanly exposed, making people unable to refuse him.
Ever since childhood, the youth had grown up in the palace that sheltered corruption and traded in filth. Saying a sentence, walking a road, it all required repeated thought and another three times of consideration. He had yet to learn to read when he learned to conceal himself. He had seen before all kinds of muddy eyes, some hypocritical, some vicious, some indifferent, some profound and unfathomable. Over time, he was hence able to discern peoples' good or evil from their eyes. However, he had never seen such a pair of eyes. Like it was colored-glass that had been soaked in Spiritual Liquid*, it was clear and transparent; at a glance you could see the end.
*Spiritual Liquid: What the ancients used to call mercury.
The youth came forward by several steps and took down the stalk of grass on the child's head, lightly saying, "This grass marker, I want it. You should return." Then the words settled down and the heads covered.
There was great joy in You Shu's heart, but his face had no expression. Only his eyes had brightened, suddenly flashing several times. Seeing that the youth was taking a step and about to walk away, You Shu hastened to close the distance with bigger steps, and blindly followed behind him.
"Where do you live? Lead the way." Reaching a fork, the teenager turned his head to look over.
"You want to go to my quarters?" You Shu's face revealed doubt.
"Look at how you take care of yourself. Someone who can't even take care of himself well, how can you wait on me?" The teenager swept his eyes up and down You Shu. He clearly feared that You Shu, who was alone, would not be able to keep himself warm or clean, even though his mouth refused to reveal it.
You Shu had a sudden realization; the youth was investigating his ability to take care of himself. Hence, he hastily walked towards his wing. The youth who fell behind waved his hands towards the two guards, and the two people understood the hint. They slightly bowed their heads then went down to trace the child's origins.
You Shu pushed the door open and invited the youth to enter. Originally, he wanted to climb up the stool and pour a cup of hot tea, but he was stopped by the teenager. "There's no need to serve me, hurry and replace your clothes."
"Alright. Your cloak is also wet, after I wash it clean I'll give it back to you. Rest assured, I won't be using water to wash it. I'll be using a mixture of rice flour and salt to brush it again and again and get the soiled area brushed clean. Then I'll pat away the powdered mixture. This can even get rid of the odor. You see, I'm very smart and have knowledge on anything." He was worried that the youth would change his decision after seeing his thin and weak body.
A young child from a poor family – How could he know how to deal with expensive mink furs? This should have been a suspicious point. However, facing the child's occasional glances that carried a slightly arrogant and eager gaze, in the end, the youth suppressed his heart full of doubts and softly laughed once.
You Shu saw that his life-protecting talisman had laughed. Thus, his dallying and dawdling motions became agiler. In two or three tries, he pawed away the sticky and icy clothes, exposing his thin and feeble body that was full of ribs.