usatvline Chapter 276 Jade Fall 13 Scarface Beauty
Chapter 276 Jade Fall 13 Scarface Beauty
"It is not my fault that I have encountered disaster."
Finally, before the large stone with inscriptions on it, the calm woman spoke solemnly again, "This town is called Innocence. Here, gender, strength, nobility, beauty, or ugliness are not the original sins to be blamed for suffering. Not even stupidity is the original sin. The evil deeds that harm others are sins."
Even someone as dull as Qin Tao suddenly understood it!
On the way, I heard that some women were bullied by the bandits raised by Chu Shiqi. Many women committed suicide because of this, but not every woman chose to end her life. This town seemed to be their haven...
But what surprised them even more was... In Daxia, even if a woman who had lost her innocence chose to live, she would avoid discussing her past, doing everything she could to conceal her experiences, even going so far as to hide her identity. To argue over who was right and who was wrong in such a high-profile manner was unheard of...
After looking at a few stones, the calm woman led them to a simple inn. It was already dark, and there were only a few diners sitting in the hall.
"Don't go out of the inn before the hour of Mao. There will be patrols at night. If the patrol encounters a strange man wandering outside, they will most likely open fire. You will be responsible for your own life and death." After the calm woman gave her final instructions, she said hello to the middle-aged man who managed the inn and turned back.
On the road a short while ago, Qin Tao and his companions were inexplicably cautious and reserved. Perhaps it was because they were facing a woman who might have a special experience, and they were afraid of saying something inappropriate...
There were no women around at the time, and the innkeeper was a man, which made them feel relieved. One soldier started chatting with the innkeeper and joked, "Your town is really strange. Usually women are told not to go out at night, but here you tell men not to wander around?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Our wife ordered it. She said it's dangerous for women to go out, mostly because of men with bad intentions. So why not just restrain the men directly?"
Qin Tao's brows furrowed and then relaxed. It sounded reasonable, but it also made him feel unhappy. He muttered, "Not every man would do evil things... By the way, from what you said, this town is run by a lady?"
"Well, you could say that even this inn was organized by the madam. It's to generate income for this town and also serve as a place for communication with the outside world." The shopkeeper said with reverence, while motioning them to look at the wooden board with the labels of a dozen or so guest rooms, some of which had been turned over.
A soldier asked curiously, "I see you're in a remote area. How come there are other visitors?"
"Of course it's remote. This place was originally a bandit stronghold, built to conceal their whereabouts. The bandits were captured by the Dog Emperor..."
The shopkeeper was about to curse the dog emperor, but then realized they were strangers and restrained himself, saying, "The bandits are gone, and after the stronghold was deserted, Madam gathered many of us who had nowhere else to go and took over this place. In Madam's words, since it was the bandits who destroyed our home, isn't it only natural for us to occupy their territory?"
Qin Tao nodded in agreement and expanded on his point, "The town has a good terrain, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although the earth and stone wall looks simple, even if a few dozen people were deployed, even a thousand would still find it difficult to capture it..."
"But why are all the guards women? I thought there were only women here." Qin Tao looked at the shopkeeper with a strange look. There were obviously men, but he let women guard the home.
The shopkeeper understood the implication and said with a hint of embarrassment, "Madam said that a woman's physical weakness can be compensated for with weapons, wisdom, and sweat, but inner weakness is the true weakness. Having women serve as guards is also to help them break away from the mentality of needing to hide behind men and rely on others for protection. They should understand that they can protect themselves and even others."
"Actually, it wasn't that only women were allowed to guard the town. It was just that after Madam said that, all the women over sixteen started vying to be guards. Now we have enough women, and since many women here... are very hostile to men, that's why it's now the only women guarding the town."
After hearing the bizarre and complex reasons, the soldier who asked the question earlier couldn't help but ask the same question again: "You still haven't explained it. How come there are still guests staying in such a remote place?"
"Visitors like you are rare. Most of those who live here have encountered difficulties. They heard there is a place of refuge here, so they came here to escape the world temporarily. They don't want to stay for a long time and have some family wealth, so they live here."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "But usually, after living here for a few days, I feel comfortable in Wuzui Town and want to settle down here."
Although it still felt strange, the fact that everyone here spoke freely reassured the soldiers who were a little wary. The young general was inexperienced and unguarded, so they had to...
After the conversation, the group booked guest rooms, ordered hot water to take a shower and get ready. They had been sleeping in the open air all the way, and there were not many opportunities to rest and relax under a roof.
Falling asleep to the sound of rain and waking up to the sound of thunder...
Qin Tao originally wanted to continue his journey early in the morning, but on such a rainy day, he had to postpone it.
Fortunately, as an inn, the basic food and drink are all available. However, after breakfast, I was a little uncomfortable with the idleness I had experienced recently, so I sat in the inn's hall, bored and listening to the rain...
"My dear guests, if you find this place boring, how about I invite you to the teahouse up ahead for some tea and some reading?"
The innkeeper's attitude was much friendlier than last night, for no other reason than this traveler was incredibly generous! The total cost of food and lodging was two taels and six cents, but last night this traveler had given ten taels and didn't ask for change, as long as the inn prepared some dry food...
Wuzui Town had only been established for a little over a month, and the shopkeeper wasn't very well-informed. The town required all goods and services to be clearly priced, so he felt a little uneasy about the extra money he had to pay...
Qin Tao was not a person who liked drinking tea and listening to books, but seeing that the rain was not going to stop for a while, he nodded. It was better to have some entertainment than to sit there doing nothing.
The innkeeper personally led them to the teahouse, which was just over ten feet away. After they ordered tea, the innkeeper paid the tea fee in advance, and then they felt relieved and returned to the inn.
Qin Tao and his companions found this strange. In the capital, or in most other places where businesses operate, people would be overjoyed if a noble person gave them a reward, fearing it would be taken back... But here, the people seemed to have some strange persistence...
When they sat down in the teahouse, the storytelling had not yet begun, but as luck would have it, as soon as their tea and snacks were served, the storyteller came on stage.
Just like this peculiar town, the storyteller was also a peculiar person! It was a little boy, barely ten years old! With rosy lips and white teeth, and a delicate figure, he took the stage with a confident and graceful demeanor and began the show: "Continuing from the last chapter, today's story is about Chapter 22 of 'Water Margin'..."
Perhaps it was because the tone and rhythm of the child's storytelling were just right, the already large number of people in the teahouse gathered even more and more, including men, women, young and old, all listening with great interest. Some who arrived a little late even whispered to those who had arrived earlier about the content of the story.
There were even a few short-haired women with scars on their faces.
After chatting with the shopkeeper yesterday, Qin Tao and his group learned that not all women in the town had suffered from banditry. At least those who were unharmed never mentioned such incidents.
Most of these women with short hair and scars have suffered hardships, but not all of them have. The scars on their faces and the short hair are not signs of what they have experienced, but rather proof of the vows they have made. The vows vary, some to sever ties with the past, some to remain unmarried...
But in general, they all have some degree of aversion to men, and some even feel uncomfortable around men. But at this moment, everyone is at peace, listening to the children's clear voices reading aloud on the stage, their emotions fluctuating with the story's plot...
Qin Tao, who initially thought he had no interest in listening to books, became more and more excited the more he listened, and felt that the children on the stage became more and more friendly and lovely!
Wu Song gripped the top of his head tightly with his left hand, then snatched out his right hand and raised his fist as big as an iron hammer...
The child waved his little fists and spoke passionately about how Wu Song finally killed the tiger!
Qin Tao stood up along with the people around him and shouted loudly: "Good! Well said!"
Qin Tao and his group were sitting in a relatively corner seat, and they had not turned their eyes to look at the child when he was telling the story.
At this moment, perhaps because Qin Tao was cheering too hard, his voice was louder than anyone else's, and the child turned his head and glanced...
Everyone saw the always calm and composed child's sidelong glances fixed on the subject. His little face slowly followed the gaze, seeming to be cautious as he turned towards a certain place...
The child's lips seemed to have faded a bit, and they parted slightly as if to shout something, but no sound came out...
And the look in those big eyes with clear black and white was so complicated at this moment!
There was a moment of silence, and the child took in the confusion and unfamiliarity in the eyes opposite him. Suddenly, the child turned around and leaped off the podium like a flash! Braving the roaring rain, he ran towards the shop across from the teahouse!
The storytelling hadn't even finished yet, but everyone had forgotten about it and were all concerned about the child's reaction!
I didn't understand why for a moment, I just knew that the person who made the child look like this must be someone who left a deep impression on him...
In this town, which is used to hearing about bad luck, the first thing people think of is their enemies.
A few short-haired women with scars led the way. The original listeners in the teahouse walked a few steps indistinctly. At a glance, it seemed that there was nothing wrong, and there was not even the hostility that was loud and fierce when they entered the town last night.
But Qin Tao and his group had all been practicing martial arts for many years, and they immediately realized that these people were blocking their way!
Without further ado, the soldiers formed a formation around Qin Tao and protected him...
Qin Tao didn't push his left and right like he did yesterday. He could tell what was real hostility, compared to last night's deliberately ferocious threats! Now was the moment when the slightest mistake would lead to a fight!
But he was still angry. They had done nothing, yet they were misunderstood and suspected again and again!
There was an eerie silence in the teahouse.
Fortunately, it didn't last long. The deadlock started with the child suddenly running away and ended with the child hurriedly coming back.
"Mom! I really didn't remember it wrong!" The child's anxious voice of defense came.
Outside the teahouse, in the rain, a half-grown child came with a petite figure...
It was a graceful figure full of feminine charm. Even without seeing her face, it could easily make men with insufficient self-control imagine that she was a beauty.
But when the woman was dragged into the teahouse, even those who had never met her couldn't help but tremble in their hearts!
Like those women with branded scars, this woman also had short hair about an inch long, but the difference was that she had branded scars the size of a finger...
A beauty... or rather, a beauty...
Half of her face was fair, smooth, and charming, but what was even more striking was that the other half was covered in hideous burns. Even the beautiful eye, which should have been as bright and radiant as the other almond-shaped eye, was deformed by the scar...
Regret, pity, no matter how many times I see this face, I will feel this way.
As the two people who had just met for the first time sighed inwardly, the woman hadn't even taken a firm step when the half-grown child eagerly gestured for her to look, pointing to the group of strangers, and the tall young man surrounded in the center...
Following the direction the child pointed, her almond-shaped eyes and the eye that had changed shape suddenly widened, as if she had seen something she had never expected...
Strong and complex emotions clouded those different eyes, mixed with so many emotions that people couldn't even tell whether it was love or hate, only knowing that the underlying color was pain...
"Madam Liu?! Have you met an enemy? If so, we will help you get revenge!" The scarred women came forward with concern, feeling her feelings as if they were experiencing the same thing.
The woman was stunned for a moment, too busy to respond to the others' concern. Instead, she hurriedly turned her hideously scarred face to the side, pulling up one sleeve to cover her face, hiding the scar that had just been so openly exposed...
Only the child saw it, and as he dodged silently, the woman's tears were hidden by her sleeves...
"mother…"
The child couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have asked his mother to come and see him. But when he turned around and saw the face that was imprinted in his memory, it was alive in this teahouse. He couldn't help but say again: "Mom, I remember correctly, right? It was with..."
Before the child could finish, the woman pulled him over to stop him. She lowered her hand from covering her face and gently but firmly turned her hand back to the child's face. Mother and child stared at each other for a few moments, and the child understood what his mother was thinking.
The child also fell silent, his expression much more downcast. He turned his head and leaned on his mother's arm, no longer looking at the unfamiliar young man with a familiar face...
"Mrs. Liu? Are you an enemy?" the scarred woman asked again with concern, but she was much more cautious.
"Just a little resemblance to an old friend, a stranger."
The woman looked back to normal. She gently hugged the child she was reluctant to let go of, then turned and walked out of the teahouse into the gradually thinning wind and rain.
"Just treat outsiders as usual. No need to respond specially." The woman called Madam Liu softly instructed the women who followed her. Surrounded by children and other women, she returned to the shop opposite.
At this time, the teahouse was quiet and the sound of rain outside gradually stopped. Qin Tao and his party heard some clanging sounds coming from the shop opposite, like the sound of iron hammering.
"Young General? Let me go ask... what's going on?" The soldiers following him were confused, but they felt a sense of familiarity with the child, thinking perhaps there was some connection...
"No need! Didn't you see that others don't like us?" Qin Tao didn't understand why, but he was inexplicably treated coldly, which made him very angry! But thinking that most of these women had suffered misfortune, and the woman with hideous scars on her face was even more so, he didn't want to make a fuss...
"Let's go. Since the rain has stopped, let's get going." Qin Tao shook his head and put all the troubles behind him.
The soldiers were also simple-minded. They turned their heads to the matter at hand and responded, "The village where the general is should be not far away."