Chapter 14.2 - Starting a Fire (2/2)

Translator: Superbulat

Song Mo turned and walked towards his house. As he walked, his body suddenly froze.

In the distance, thick smoke billowed.

That was his house, and she was living inside…

He had heartlessly yanked her hand away that day as she cried behind him saying that she would keep waiting for him to return. What did he say at the time? He had told her to give up, saying that as long as she was in his house, he would never return.

When Song Mo returned to his senses, he was already running back home.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he ran, by the time he arrived at the hill, most of the fire had been extinguished, and only a few small flames remained here and there.

Several nuns stood in the courtyard, dousing the remaining fire that had spread to the surroundings.

Song Mo could hardly breathe. He stared at the nuns one by one from the back and the sides, trying to find her.

But he was disappointed; she wasn’t there.

A middle-aged nun approached him and inquired, “Donor, are you the owner of this house? Please do not be too anxious. Although your house had been destroyed, fortunately, all of the items inside were still intact. You will be able to rebuild your house after a few days of hard work. If you have any difficulties, you can follow this poor nun to see the Head Nun. Jade Spring Nunnery is willing to help Donor to tide over your current predicament.”

Song Mo stared at his house that had completely collapsed and asked tremblingly, “Ha-have you seen a-anyone…”

The nun appeared surprised but she quickly calmed down before replying, “Donor, please be rest assured. When we rushed over here, we had already confirmed that there was no one in the house. There was another person who moved all of your belongings outside, but she had already left, probably to attend some urgent matters.”

“Martial Aunt, the fire had been completely extinguished.” The nuns who had been scattered throughout the courtyard gathered around them.

The middle-aged nun nodded and said to Song Mo, “We will be taking our leave now. Donor, if you require any assistance, feel free to go to the nunnery for help.” After finishing speaking, she left with the rest of the nuns.

Song Mo was completely unaware of their departure. Only the words ‘there was no one in the house’ echoed in his ear. She had left after saving his belongings.

Was it because she had given up on him that she left?

Song Mo numbly picked up a wooden stick. No, he needed to make sure that she was all right.

The ashes still radiated residual heat, scorching the hems of Song Mo’s trousers. However, as if he couldn’t feel it, he fiddled with everything to make sure that there was really no one inside. He slowly walked towards his belongings.

Luckily she was fine.

But where did she go? Would she still come back?

She was a penniless little nun who had just left the nunnery. Where could she have gone to?

Song Mo’s gaze skimmed over the money jar and landed on something red. There were also some below his feet and some in front

He unconsciously followed the bloody trails, which were almost buried by the ashes. He walked out the back door and down the hill, where he noticed a figure lying in the grass. The person was dressed in the gray robe he was familiar with, and many parts of the robe had been scorched.

“Minghui!”

Song Mo sprinted over, and when he saw her bloody calf, pangs of heartache, regret, and self-blame rushed to his heart.

“Minghui, Minghui…” He trembled as he hugged her. As he looked at her closed eyes and her pale little face, as well as the ashes on her face, he could picture her running in and out of the fire to save his belongings. Why was she such a fool? How could those things be more important than her?

He was about to carry her to the doctor when she woke up in his arms.

“Song- dage ?”

Tang Huan grabbed him, not letting him get up, and apologized, “Don- Song Mo, I’m so sorry. I accidentally fell asleep while cooking lunch, and when I woke up, the house was already on fire. Don’t worry, I have rescued all of your belongings. As for the cabinets and the house, you can calculate how much they are worth, and I will pay you back in the future.”

“Let’s not talk about that first. I’ll take you to the doctor right now.” Song Mo felt too guilty to look her in the eyes.

“There’s no need to do so.” Tang Huan shook her head and smiled bitterly. “My leg is fine; it’s just a burn. It will only take a few days to heal. But if you carry me down the mountain, what will other people think when they see us?”

Song Mo looked at her hurt leg, where the charred black skin and bloody wound lay. His heart ached beyond words for her. As a girl, how would she not mind about her wound?

“You are injured. It is more important to get your wound treated. Don’t think about anything else.”

Tang Huan observed the distress and self-blame in his eyes. The guiltier he felt, the better her chances were. She pushed him away, stood up with much difficulty, and sneered at him, “Song Mo, I don’t need your fake concern. Through this fire, I’ve learned that no matter how much I like you, you don’t like me. Now that my legs are burnt like this, needless to say, I know that I am even less worthy of you. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore. As for ruining your house, I will compensate you sooner or later.” She turned around and walked away.

“Where are you going?” Song Mo grabbed her arm.

Tang Huan replied to him with the exact same words, “It’s none of your business!”

“Your leg-” Halfway through his words, Song Mo realized that the conversation was very familiar, and he understood in a flash that she was upset with him.

He hadn’t shown up for five consecutive days. She was not a docile person, so how could she not get upset?

But was this the time to be upset?

He bent over and lifted her. “I will take you to the doctor,” he sullenly said.

“I don’t need your fake kindness! Put me down!” Tang Huan deliberately struggled, pushing him and kicking in the air.

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Song Mo was worried that she would hurt her leg, so after a brief pause, he carried her on his shoulder, pressing on her thighs and knees with both hands to stop her from moving.

That was the difference in strength between men and women. When Tang Huan wanted him to stay, she couldn’t match his strength, so she could only watch him leave. Now that it was Song Mo’s turn, no matter how much she had scratched, beat, or scolded him, as long as he didn’t let go, she couldn’t do anything about it.

“Song Mo, let me down! You don’t want me, but I still want to find a good man down the mountain. If you carry me down the mountain like this, what will other people think? It will not cause any harm to you because you are a man. There will still be many gentle and kind girls lining up to marry you. But, as for me, I am a bad woman no one wanted, and now my leg is ruined. If I even lose my reputation, how am I supposed to get married? Let me down! I will pay you back for burning your house. You don’t have to be so petty and destroy my chances of finding someone to depend on for the rest of my life, right?”

Song Mo didn’t say a word, but his expression darkened even more.

Tang Huan was lying on his back, unable to see his expression, but she could tell what he was thinking by his tightening grip on her. She smiled triumphantly and continued to provoke him, “Song Mo, hurry up and let me go, otherwise if Laoniang , 1 cannot find a good man in the future, Laoniang will stick by your side! Laoniang warn you, if you still want to live a good, uninterrupted life with your future wife, you better put Lao -”

With a “pa!”, she was slapped on the butt, followed by the man’s cold voice, “If you say those two words again, I will throw you down the mountain.”

Except for her master, Tang Huan had never been spanked before in her life. She was really angry this time. She scratched his back fiercely. “ Laoniang like to say that. If you don’t want to listen, let Laoniang down. Lao -… ah, stop smacking me, Lao -I dropped my hat on the floor. Quickly pick it up for me!”

Song Mo paused in his tracks. He looked at the nun’s hat on the ground, turned her into his arms, and sarcastically asked, “Didn’t you say you don’t want to be a nun? Why bother with the hat?”

Tang Huan didn’t want him to see her bald head so she covered her head with her hand and buried her face into his chest. “I don’t want to be a nun, but my bald head is so ugly. It looks better to wear a hat, right?”

Song Mo couldn’t help but smile, but then he remembered the day she came to ask for alms and his smile froze. “Last time you fainted due to hunger was also an act. You ‘woke up’ because I knocked your hat off, am I right?”

Tang Huan fell silent.

Song Mo sneered, threw her back on his shoulder, and strode down the mountain while ignoring her yelling.

She was a nun. Why should she care if she looked good or not? After looking good with a hat on, who else did she want to seduce?!

The author has something to say: OK, this dream is ending in 2 more chapters, hehehe~

If you liked my translations,

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老娘 (Laoniang/I, your mother): It’s an arrogant way of referring to oneself for female. The equivalent for a male is 老子 (Laozi/I, your father)