After two days of searching without finding Pei Jiya, Wu Zhen couldn’t help but wonder if her sickly cousin had quietly died in some obscure corner. However, considering his abilities, she thought he wouldn’t die so easily. She could only patiently try various search methods with Mei Zhuyu, starting from where he had last been seen and slowly expanding outward.
Meanwhile, the person they were concerned about, Pei Jiya, was currently in Xiangshui City, south of Tangshui City.
Xiangshui City, due to its proximity to the inner canal, had a geographical advantage and was much more prosperous than Tangshui City. The city had clearly defined wards and markets, with a network of streets and alleys. The southeastern area of the city, in particular, was lined with magnificent mansions, their towering eaves forming a continuous skyline – this was where the city’s wealthy congregated.
Among these was the Tao residence, owned by a middle-aged, wealthy merchant who dealt in silk and cloth, and was a notable figure in Xiangshui City. The Tao family compound was filled with pavilions and multi-story buildings. The servants wore fine silks and satins, their faces ruddy, clearly living well.
However, even in this splendid residence, there was a dilapidated area. In the northwest corner was a small courtyard, far from the main house and rarely visited. Compared to the exquisite beauty of other areas, this courtyard was overgrown with weeds. The roof tiles were broken and unrepaired, with grass growing on the eaves, making it look like a haunted house.
At the base of the courtyard wall, a clump of weeds rustled, and a slender shadow emerged. It was a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen, carrying a food box. Her hair was disheveled, and her face and the hem of her skirt were smeared with dirt.
After carefully covering the hole in the wall corner with weeds, the girl, clutching the food box, ran into the house as lightly as a small bird, her face beaming with joy.
“Master, Master! I found something delicious!” she called out in a hushed voice, rushing to the side of a couch and kneeling on a worn footstool. She poked her head, leaves still stuck in her hair, into the curtains.
A lazy male voice responded from within, “What delicious thing could make you so happy?”
The voice was gentle and pleasant, with a hint of nonchalance. However, its owner wasn’t a handsome man, but rather… a white rat lying on a soft grass pillow.
The white rat elegantly turned over, looking at the girl who had poked her head in. She truly looked pitiful and haggard, thin and sallow, with only her eyes shining brightly.
“It’s pastries, sweet ones. Master, you said I’d be able to steal some good food from the small Buddhist shrine in the west room today. I did, and nobody noticed. Master, you’re amazing!” The girl, sitting happily by the bed with a dirty face, looked more like a grimy little mouse compared to the pristine white rat lounging on the grass pillow.
As she spoke, she carefully pulled out the food box she was holding, opened the lid, and presented it to the white rat like a treasure, swallowing as she said, “Master, please eat.”
The white rat finally got up, glanced into the food box, and chose the smallest flower-shaped pastry, taking a bite.
“Too sweet, cloying,” he said, his tone somewhat disdainful.
The girl blinked, also taking a piece. She held it in her hands, squinting as she nibbled, looking very satisfied. “It’s so delicious, so sweet! When my mother was still alive, I think she gave me pastries this sweet too.”
Seeing her continuously munch on several pieces of pastry, the white rat said, “I’m thirsty. Pour me some water.”
The girl immediately got up and pattered over to a low table, pouring a cup of clear water and bringing it to the white rat. The rat took a sip and waved its paw, indicating it didn’t want anymore. The girl, not minding at all, picked up the cup and finished it herself, then happily continued munching on the pastries, looking both greedy and hungry.
The small figure burying her head in the food looked pitifully endearing.
The white rat – Pei Jiya – had been staying here for two months. Earlier, he had encountered some trouble and was severely injured, nearly dying on a mountain path. Fortunately, he met the Tao family’s carriage and, in his current noble form of a white rat, was picked up by Madam Tao Afu and brought here.
Tao Afu was the young girl now sitting by the bed eating pastries. Though she looked only twelve or thirteen, she was almost sixteen. Years of malnutrition had left her with this small, thin appearance.
Despite the Tao family’s wealth, Tao Afu, the biological daughter of Master Tao, ended up in this state for a reason. Master Tao was once just a small-time peddler who married a farmer’s daughter and lived in poverty. However, he somehow struck it lucky, and his business grew increasingly successful, making him a local tycoon within a few years.
As this man became wealthy, he began to despise his original wife for being coarse, ugly, and of low birth. He abandoned his wife and daughter, marrying a beautiful young lady from a fallen official’s family, who bore him three daughters. The new wife and three daughters became the apple of Master Tao’s eye, while Tao Afu, the ‘foolish daughter’ born to his farmer ex-wife, irritated him just by existing. Combined with her stepmother’s lack of kindness, the little Tao Afu, whose birth mother died early and whose father didn’t love her, lived a miserable life.
Master Tao had only seen this daughter a few times. Seeing her as foolish and incapable of anything, appearing dull and wooden compared to her pampered younger sisters, he thought her an idiot and cared even less for her.
It wasn’t until two months ago, when Master Tao took his family back to their ancestral home for worship, that he reluctantly remembered Tao Afu, his eldest daughter who was still in the family genealogy and brought her along. This twist of fate allowed Tao Afu to inadvertently save Pei Jiya, who had transformed into a white rat.
With Pei Jiya’s intelligence and skills, coaxing a young girl to obey was child’s play. When he first arrived, he was severely injured and could barely move, and it was Tao Afu who took care of him. He told her he was a demon, and she believed him. Later, he said he was immortal, and the simple-minded Tao Afu believed that too. When Pei Jiya said he would teach her ‘immortal techniques’ to help her eat and dress well, Tao Afu happily called him master and followed his instructions. In the past two months, she had been living much better than before, making her even more devoted to this master, following his every word.
Pei Jiya was in no hurry. He stayed in this dilapidated courtyard to recover, not caring about what commotion his disappearance might cause in the Pei family.
Every day, he occupied the girl’s pillow to recuperate, eating the food and water she offered. Although living in poverty, Pei Jiya was in quite a good mood. Seeing Tao Afu, this little girl he had thoroughly fooled, was truly amusing.
Tao Afu was confined to this courtyard, and not allowed to leave freely. Master Tao didn’t want her to go out and embarrass him, and her stepmother didn’t want to see her. An old woman guarded the courtyard entrance, supposedly to take care of her but actually to prevent her from leaving. The old woman was negligent and often forgot to bring Tao Afu food.
Afu was small and couldn’t escape, nearly starving to death here. The day after Pei Jiya was brought back by her, he summoned a black-armored creature in front of Afu, which dug a hole from the ground in an inconspicuous corner of the wall, just big enough for Afu to crawl through.
From that day on, when Afu was hungry, she could crawl out through that hole to find food. She told Pei Jiya about the layout of various places in the house, and he would tell her when and where to go to find food, and how to avoid people. Tao Afu obediently followed his instructions and was never discovered. During this time, she ate better and finally gained a little weight.
After finishing a box of pastries, Afu was again instructed by her white rat master to fetch water from the courtyard to wash the bedding and curtains. Without dragon liver or phoenix marrow to eat, nor good wine or tea, Pei Jiya could tolerate it, but he absolutely couldn’t stand an unclean sleeping area.
Fortunately, although young Tao Afu was a bit slow and dull, she was extremely obedient, doing whatever she was told without ever asking why or refusing. This easily satisfied little girl hugged the bedding and curtains as she washed them, then invited her white rat master out to bask in the sun.
Her arms were thin and weak, unable to wring out the bedding properly. She hung it on tree branches, where it dripped water. Luckily, the sun was strong today and could dry it quickly.
The white rat, comfortable in the sun, turned over to warm his other side. After a while, feeling it was too hot, he tapped the pillow. Afu, who was washing her hair, ran over with her hair still dripping wet, moved her “lord” to a cool, shady spot, and then ran back to continue washing her hair.
Since Pei Jiya’s arrival, Tao Afu had become much cleaner overall, as her white rat master couldn’t stand dirty things.
Though she was clean now, her spare clothes were old and worn. She had very few clothes, with only one set that fit properly – the one hastily provided by Master Tao for appearances when he took them back for ancestral worship. Her other dresses were washed pale, with many holes. If she hadn’t been short and slow-growing, these tattered dresses probably wouldn’t fit anymore.
Afu didn’t care much about this herself; as long as she could eat her fill, she was happy. After washing, she squatted in front of the white rat, resting her chin on her hands, and asked, “Master, are you feeling a bit better now?”
Pei Jiya had previously told her that he had been beaten back to his original form while fighting with someone, was severely injured, and would need several years of good rest to transform back into human form. Afu, unaware that men could be deceitful scoundrels, believed her master wholeheartedly, caring about his injuries every day and treating him like her own father.
Pei Jiya’s injuries were almost healed. A month ago, when he regained some of his abilities, he had summoned various little ghosts to find medicinal herbs for him to take. The reason he was still here now was simply because he was being willful.
He watched the lonely little girl slowly come to trust him, smiling more and more each day, feeling as if he had raised a pitiful little mouse. Seeing her struggle to survive each day so tenaciously was far more interesting than going back to the Pei family to bother his elders and sisters.
As the sun set, Afu brought the clean bedding back to the room and made the bed. Pei Jiya lay down to rest. Perhaps because the bedding still carried the scent of sunlight, Pei Jiya dozed off without realizing it. In his hazy state, he suddenly heard a commotion outside in the courtyard, including what sounded like Afu’s terrified cries and the scolding voices of several people, vaguely saying things like “It’s her,” “Little thief,” and “stolen offerings.”