Chapter 78: Where Are You Running, Maid?

In a haze, Wei Wuji was once again supported into his room.

“Tonight I’m happy—I can still drink!” he shouted as he stumbled along, waving his arms without pause.

Zheng Dali, who was helping him, curled his lips in annoyance and muttered, “Can’t handle it but insists on showing off!”

Swaying and staggering, Zheng Dali finally managed to guide Wei Wuji into the room. After carefully settling him onto the bed, Zheng Dali let out a sigh of relief. He had never realized before just how fond this young master was of drinking.

But if you’re going to drink, then drink—yet his capacity was so poor. Just like last time, he’d been bested again and left in a heap.

“Young Master, you just rest here. I’ll go have a few more myself,” Zheng Dali chuckled, not caring whether Wei Wuji heard him or not.

As the chief bodyguard, Zheng Dali had only been able to watch from the side earlier, and it had left him itching for a drink. Now, leaving Wei Wuji behind, he hurried off, paying no mind to what might happen to the young master should he feel unwell.

Dazed and muddle-headed, Wei Wuji lay on the bed, still mumbling incessantly.

“Dabokeo…”

“Penteceo…”

“Translate lahong…”

Before long, muttering as he was, Wei Wuji’s mouth grew parched, and his whole body began to feel hot and restless. He fumbled at the collar of his robe, mumbling, “Water… water…”

“I need water, I’m thirsty…”

Creak—

The door swung open and Huan’er entered, carrying a tray of tea. Pouring a cup of cool tea, she walked slowly to Wei Wuji’s side.

“Young Master, here’s some water,” she said softly.

Why she tried to reason with a drunken man she herself could not say.

Wei Wuji lay there motionless, lost in a stupor, still repeating, “Water…”

Seeing this, Huan’er had no choice but to try and help him sit up. For her, lifting the drunken, limp Wei Wuji was no easy task. Even when he was asleep, Huan’er felt a deep, instinctive fear of him.

After that great battle, she had seen him return, his face splattered with fresh blood; she would never forget the cold, cruel smile she saw. That time she had bathed him herself—a whole bucket of water turning red by the end, making her feel sick to her stomach.

Demon—that was what Wei Wuji meant to her. Even his smile was the smile of a demon.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she struggled to support him, then picked up the cup.

“Young Master, drink some water,” she said in a gentle voice.

She brought the tea to his lips and carefully poured it in, letting it trickle between the corners of his mouth. But soon, Wei Wuji began to cough violently, having choked on the liquid.

Before Huan’er could react, he knocked the cup from her hand, sending it crashing to the floor.

“Fool…” Wei Wuji cursed, his voice echoing in the room.

Huan’er dared not remain on the bed, and immediately knelt by its side, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy. “This servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die…”

Having choked, Wei Wuji could no longer sleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw Huan’er kneeling before him, pleading frantically.

“Raise your head…” he rasped.

Terrified by his outburst, Huan’er trembled as she slowly lifted her face.

Staring at her timid, delicate features, Wei Wuji felt an inexplicable itch in his heart. His already flushed body was now even more difficult to control. The fire of youth was not merely a saying.

Huan’er was not unattractive; compared to Gu Yuyan, she was only less striking for lack of adornment. In Wei Wuji’s ravenous eyes, she was as alluring as a fairy from the heavens.

He swallowed hard, feeling as though he had not satisfied his hunger earlier. He recalled how close he’d come last time to taking Huan’er, and the thought filled him with regret.

Now, she was right before him.

A night of spring is worth a thousand pieces of gold, he thought to himself.

A sudden shriek filled the room.

Wei Wuji leapt from the bed and swept Huan’er into his arms.

The drunken haze was gone; he felt utterly lucid.

With a lecherous grin, he declared, “Little beauty, go ahead and scream! Even if you cry your lungs out, no one will come to your rescue.”

Laughing wickedly, he threw her onto the bed.

As Huan’er shrieked in terror, Wei Wuji exclaimed, “Little beauty, here I come.”

He climbed onto the bed, looming over her like a demon. Huan’er shrank back, retreating toward the corner, her face pale with fear—such an innocent girl had never faced such a scene.

“Please, Young Master, no…” she whimpered as she tried to scoot away.

Wei Wuji had already frightened her before; now, his behavior was even more terrifying.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll treat you well,” he murmured, pressing closer, his face nearing her chest.

Breathing deeply, he was intoxicated by the scent of her body.

Huan’er was pressed into the corner, with nowhere left to go.

Wei Wuji moved in, their faces inches apart, her frightened gaze like that of a startled bird.

Another scream escaped her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, as if it might somehow save her from his grasp.

His eyes drifted to her trembling lips, pink as cherries, and desire flared within him—a hunger to devour her.

He kissed her fiercely, pinning her beneath him. No matter how she struggled, he held her fast, leaving her only able to utter muffled cries.

When Huan’er thought she would suffocate, his mouth finally left hers. As she gasped for breath, Wei Wuji’s hands roamed over her body.

With each desperate plea, her clothes were torn away, until she lay exposed before him.

Even then, she did not give up, her hands pressed feebly against his chest, begging, “Young Master, please let me go…”

But Wei Wuji, consumed by lust, would not let this chance slip away. He was no paragon of virtue, unmoved by temptation.

Indeed, this was far more exhilarating than any test of chastity; even a saint would have faltered.

Huan’er’s sobs and pleas faded at last with a cry of pain as he entered her.

In that moment, Wei Wuji smiled, while tears rolled down Huan’er’s cheeks.

Even as a maidservant, she had dreamed of a prince on a white horse. But tonight, that dream was shattered.

In the quiet of the night, while the front hall still buzzed with noise, two lonely souls became one.

And yet, somehow, in their hearts, each found a safe harbor.

For Wei Wuji, it was his first truly intimate encounter since being cast into this world; the warmth of Huan’er’s body intoxicated him.

Huan’er, resigned to her fate, realized that Wei Wuji was now her only pillar, her first man. For someone who had never known security, the thought of being abandoned by him now filled her with fear.

The gulf between their stations was too vast.

To please Wei Wuji, she endured the pain, her resistance giving way to submission, until at last she clung to him of her own accord.

Before long, she even began to respond to him willingly.

As they surged together, Wei Wuji felt as though he were soaring skyward, all his troubles forgotten. For that brief moment, he was a carefree bird, bound by nothing, free to fly wherever he wished.