Volume Two: An Eventful Autumn, A Series of Twists and Turns. Chapter 121: Crawling into the Wrong Bed, Eating and Wandering Along

"Why, why, why are you all watching me sleep? You could have at least woken me up when you got up."

Though Chen San did not speak softly, the gaze of Chang Yu and the others made him feel somewhat guilty, and his voice gradually faded.

Chang Yu stroked her chin and asked with a stern expression, "Did you sneak around and do something behind our backs last night?"

Chen San was stunned. He weighed whether to say yes or no. If he said yes, he couldn't remember a thing and would be unjustly accused. If he said no, and the girl got angry, he would have a miserable time ahead. Swallowing hard, he asked timidly, "Was it a good thing or a bad thing?"

Seeing his attitude, Chang Yu clearly grew impatient. "Good thing, bad thing—what does it matter? If you did it, just admit it! Tell me why you did it. If it’s reasonable, I’ll let it slide. If not, I’ll chop you to pieces right now!"

Chen San was terrified by her ferocity, but he gathered from her words that he really had done something, and she was here to settle the score. He looked at Yang Chengzi, who stood with his arms crossed, looking at him with a silent, exasperated expression, offering no help. He then looked at Chen Xin, whose face was flushed; she was looking at him with a hint of amusement, leaving him completely unable to guess what had happened.

"I... I... I was asleep. I don't know what happened. Why don't you just tell me? Guessing is such a hassle."

Chang Yu, as if ignited by gunpowder, suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Chen San by the collar, and yanked him close. "You’d better explain yourself clearly! What do you mean by crawling into my husband's bed in the middle of the night and hugging him? If you don't have a reasonable explanation, I'll carve you up right now!"

Chen San felt his death was imminent. Out of everyone to hug in the middle of the night, he had chosen Yang Chengzi! Hugging a girl would have been a stroke of luck, but hugging a grown man—how was he supposed to explain that?

"I... I... I was in my own bed! Don't... don't try to scare me."

"Scare you? Ask Sister Chen Xin! She saw you crawl into my husband's bed with her own eyes. And ask my husband! He was the one who dragged you back to your own bed! You ask, go on, ask... still trying to deny it!"

Chen San looked at Chen Xin and Yang Chengzi. Both nodded helplessly, as if telling him to answer properly, otherwise even they couldn't save him. Chen San swallowed hard; he felt as though the blade was already at his throat, and whether it fell depended entirely on his answer.

"I... I... I was cold, okay? It’s so cold, what’s wrong with me hugging him? It’s not like we haven't slept together before. Why are you all getting so worked up?"

He didn't know where the sudden wit came from, but Chen San blurted this out weakly. He nodded to himself after speaking, and seeing Chang Yu’s surprised expression, he felt a surge of pride, thinking he had successfully bluffed her.

"You were cold? Why didn't you ask the waiter for a quilt instead of hugging my husband? And when you hugged him, did you ask for my permission?"

As she spoke, Chang Yu slapped Chen San on the shoulder, and he raised his arms to defend himself. Suddenly, Chang Yu stopped and turned to Yang Chengzi.

"Husband, I'm cold tonight~" she said, feigning shyness as she leaned toward him.

Yang Chengzi, bewildered by the situation, held her face back with his hand and urged, "If you're cold, go ask the waiter for two quilts. What are you doing coming to me?"

"Hmph, no fun! See if I don't spend all your silver tonight, hmph!"

Chang Yu brushed his hand away and walked to the table, pouting as she drank tea. Yang Chengzi knew she was teasing him, so he ignored her.

"What did you dream about last night? You were muttering, and I couldn't wake you up this morning. The waiter is almost here with our meal. Get up, quickly."

"What? It's time for lunch? I... I..." Chen San seemed to recall something and lifted the quilt to check his trousers.

Chen Xin blushed and scolded, "How indecent! Why are you lifting your quilt?"

Chen San replied with utter seriousness, "I really did have a long, long dream last night. I was just checking if I’d wet my pants. I was nearly scared to death last night!"

"Hehe, let's hear it then, amuse me," Yang Chengzi said with a laugh.

"You won't believe it. A crazy Taoist priest was trying to hack me with a sword. When he couldn't hit me, he used a lightning summoning spell to strike me. If it weren't for my brilliant and heroic nature, I would have been fried!"

"Oh, 'brilliant and heroic'? You were almost wetting your pants and you're still bragging? You're something else," Chang Yu said, shaking her head.

"A Taoist tried to hack you and strike you with lightning? Why? What heinous crime did you commit to make a priest do that to you?"

"What could I have done? I..." Chen San remembered the girl, the one covered in blood, whom he had held in his arms.

"Hmm? Why do you look so guilty? Keep talking. Judging by your look, something really did happen. It wouldn't happen to be related to a girl, would it?" Yang Chengzi asked tentatively.

"Who looks guilty? I'm just thinking," Chen San said, sneaking a glance at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin caught it immediately. She darkened her face and asked, "What did you do to that girl?"

Chang Yu nearly spat out her tea. She turned and leaned in, looking as if she were about to enjoy a good show. Chen San was startled; they had guessed it so quickly. If they kept guessing like this, he wouldn't even need Chang Yu to carve him up—Chen Xin wouldn't let him go either. Thousands of thoughts raced through his head, but he couldn't grasp a single one. He spoke guiltily, "What girl? What girl are you talking about? There is no girl. Just a crazy Taoist, hehe, no girl at all."

Chen Xin asked with a grim face, "Then who is Qin'er? You were calling that name for half the night. Don't tell us the crazy Taoist was named Qin'er."

"Qin'er? You must have misheard, ha-ha-ha. What Qin'er? Maybe I meant Xin'er. I must have been thinking of you all night long. There’s no such thing as Qin'er, you heard wrong, you heard wrong."

Just as Chen San was wondering what would happen next, a "thump-thump-thump" at the door signaled the waiter bringing their meal. Chen Xin glared at Chen San with murderous intent. Chen San gave an awkward laugh, "Hehe, the waiter is here. You two go open the door. I’ll get dressed. We have the night market to visit later; I need to eat my fill so I can protect you tonight."

"Tch, you little brat. You're clever, so I'll let you off this time. But if you crawl into my husband's bed again, I'll chop you on the spot." As she spoke, she made a hacking gesture that made Chen San jump.

With nothing else to do, Yang Chengzi pondered how to find the Puxian Temple in Yutai Town. It was a bustling place with people coming and going; if no one here knew, then the people in the smaller villages and towns certainly wouldn't. He had to find out where the temple was while they were here.

He thought, but found no good way to go about it. They were strangers in a strange land; asking people on the street would be awkward, and he wouldn't know if the answers were true or just random chatter. Posting a reward at the magistrate's office was risky—he feared being swindled, and if the information was wrong, it would be a major setback. He couldn't find a good solution.

As they strolled through the night market, the two women were enthralled, seeing everything as novel. They wanted to touch everything, try everything on, and show off. Chen San had exchanged one hundred taels from their silver notes for Chang Yu and Chen Xin, and only then did the two girls agree to continue.

The hundred taels made Chen San's heart ache. He gripped the silver tightly, refusing to let go, until Chang Yu almost bit his hand. Only then did he reluctantly release it. Fortunately, they had a few hundred taels left—their travel funds for Puxian Temple—which he couldn't let them squander on useless trinkets all day long.

Though the two girls were dressed as scholars and looked refined, they couldn't help but skip about when they saw so many pretty and fun things. They were happy, eating and buying all the way through the market. They hadn't even finished exploring the entire town of Yutai, and the hundred taels were already almost gone.

Chang Yu picked out a few hairpins and bought two for Chen Xin, but since their hands were full, they stuck the beautiful kingfisher-feather hairpins into the hair of Chen San and Yang Chengzi. Yang Chengzi had just one, which wasn't too conspicuous, but Chen San’s hair was so full of them he looked like a hawker selling candied haws. Wherever he walked, people turned to stare.

Though others were looking at them, Chen San and Yang Chengzi were preoccupied with their own concerns. Their eyes never left Chang Yu and Chen Xin; they had no time to worry about the gaze of others.

Yutai Town was neither big nor small, and the night market was dazzling, spanning the entire town.