Chapter 24: She Did Have Something She Wanted p2
Mu Tao opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, her lips pursed.
Li Yu knew the girl still didn’t fully understand.
But it was fine; a lack of self-worth wasn’t something that could be changed overnight. There was plenty of time; she could guide her slowly.
Thinking this, Li Yu poured the silver onto the table and divided it into two equal piles.
After a moment of hesitation, following the principle of sharing, she divided one pile in half again and pushed it towards Mu Tao.
“This is yours; take the other half to your senior brother.” Li Yu put the largest portion back into the pouch and into her spatial pouch, then said matter-of-factly, “I’ll keep the rest. If you need more, just ask.”
Mu Tao nodded repeatedly, as obedient as a loyal puppy.
A clingy disciple was good, but not too clingy.
She also needed some personal space, free from role-playing.
“Drink some more water, and then go back to your room and rest.” Li Yu poured Mu Tao a cup of tea.
“Mm!” Mu Tao quickly finished her tea, grabbed her share of silver, and happily skipped out of the room.
Her steps were so light she almost seemed to be flying, and Li Yu could almost see a big red tail swaying behind her.
Children were always happy to receive pocket money.
—So happy that she forgot to close the door.
Li Yu smiled, shook her head, got up to close the door, stretched, and then collapsed onto the bed.
As she lay there, she sighed inwardly.
Even as a fish, she couldn’t appreciate the sea.
Staying at an inn was far more comfortable than being on a ship!
It was so comfortable that four days passed in a blur.
And the reason she could be so relaxed was that the Luoyu situation hadn’t been resolved.
Mo Yichu had gone back out to sea on the morning of the second day after they arrived in Lan City. It was now the fourth day, and there was no news from him.
Of course, whether there was news or not, Li Yu wasn’t worried.
He was the male protagonist of a novel; he couldn’t possibly die so easily.
She would just wait for news while he dealt with the monster.
Worrying wouldn’t help; it was better to eat well, sleep well, and stay healthy.
Lan City was a lively place, giving Li Yu her first real sense of being in the human world since arriving.
The shops lining the streets, the vendors with their carts, the children playing, the adults rushing about, everything exuded a vibrant energy she had missed.
Sometimes, as she sat by the window, she would have the urge to go out and explore.
But it was just a fleeting thought.
Realizing she had no one to go with, she’d abandon the idea and go back to bed.
Strangely, Li Yu never thought there would be a day she couldn’t find Mu Tao.
After they checked into the inn, Mu Tao, unable to borrow the kitchen and finding the inn’s food decent, was temporarily unemployed.
Perhaps this made her unhappy, as she hadn’t come to eat with Li Yu for three days.
Not only that, but Li Yu hadn’t even seen her during the day.
If it weren’t for seeing Mu Tao return to the inn every night, Li Yu would have dragged Zhao Xianchen over to ask how to report a missing person.
She was truly curious about what Mu Tao had been doing all these days.
But curious as she was, she didn’t ask.
She had grown accustomed to having the little disciple around and subconsciously felt Mu Tao should be with her every day.
But Mu Tao was a young woman, not a pet.
Lan City was lively, and it was Mu Tao’s first time here. It was perfectly normal for her to want to explore during the day and not have time for her.
With this thought, Li Yu stayed in the inn for six days.
On the morning of the sixth day, Mu Tao, who had been gallivanting around, knocked softly on her door.
Hearing the familiar “Master” from outside, Li Yu felt a strangely shameful sense of…being back in favor after being neglected.
She realized she was probably too bored and prone to overthinking.
This would surely pass once she had something to do.
Thinking this, Li Yu smoothed her clothes, sat down at the table, and calmly replied, “Come in.”
The door opened.
Mu Tao, her hands behind her back, skipped into the room and greeted Li Yu cheerfully.
“Master!”
That sweet greeting instantly made Li Yu forgive her for her five-day absence.
She looked at her adorable disciple, a smile playing on her lips, wanting to say something, but the words felt strange.
Like, I haven’t seen you for days, why did you suddenly decide to visit?
Or, Where have you been these past few days? I haven’t seen you at all.
No, no, those words sounded too clingy!
So, after much thought, Li Yu simply said, “Sit.”
Mu Tao smiled and sat beside Li Yu.
Feeling that she was sitting too far away, she moved her stool closer.
She was already close enough, but Li Yu didn’t react, just poured herself a cup of water.
Mu Tao bit her lip, gently tugged at Li Yu’s sleeve with two fingers, and asked cautiously, “Aren’t you going to ask me where I’ve been these past few days?”
Li Yu paused.
The question she was too embarrassed to ask, delivered right to her?
How could she not ask?
“Where have you been these past few days?” Li Yu asked calmly, her mood brightening considerably.
Mu Tao bit her lip and lowered her gaze.
“This disciple has been…looking for someone,” she said.
Li Yu was confused. “Who?”
They had just left their “starting village.” Who could the little protagonist possibly know here?
“The…the very fierce fan vendor from the day we arrived in Lan City.” Mu Tao said softly. “He was so hard to find. I searched from morning till night for so many days and finally found him last night.”
“Why were you looking for him?”
Mu Tao lowered her head, took a small pearl ornament from her robe, and carefully presented it to Li Yu with both hands.
Li Yu was stunned.
“A fan isn’t worth Master’s belongings.” Mu Tao’s voice was soft but firm. “When Master gave me the silver, I wanted to get it back, but he was already gone when I went downstairs.”
Li Yu: “So you searched for him for so many days?”
Mu Tao: “Mm!”
Li Yu felt a mix of emotions, touched yet exasperated by the girl’s stubbornness.
After a moment of thought, she took the pearl ornament and said gently, “You didn’t have to do this. It’s not a valuable item. As long as you like what you exchanged for it, its value doesn’t matter…”
Mu Tao shook her head. “Master said it’s important to follow your heart. I wanted to get it back, to return it to Master. This is what I wanted to do; I was following my heart!”
Her tone was so earnest that Li Yu didn’t know how to respond, just clutching the small blue pearl ornament tightly.
“Is Master unhappy that I did this?”
“Of course not!” Li Yu gently stroked Mu Tao’s hair. “I’m very happy that you care so much.”
“Really?” Mu Tao’s eyes lit up.
“Of course.” Li Yu smiled, then frowned slightly. “But you didn’t visit me for days because of a small trinket. If you do this again, I will be unhappy.”
Mu Tao nodded vigorously.
She still held onto Li Yu’s sleeve, an unreadable glint in her watery eyes.
Li Yu was about to put the ornament back in her hair, but before she could raise her hand, Mu Tao snatched it.
“Let me do it, Master!”
Mu Tao smiled and hopped off her stool.
She leaned forward, gently placing the ornament back into Li Yu’s hair.
As she looked down, she met Li Yu’s slightly dazed, yet gentle gaze.
Her master had said that if there was anything in this world she wanted, as long as her master had it, she would give it to her.
She thought, she did have something she wanted.
And only her master could give it to her.
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