Chapter 4: Covering Up

After Chen Wuji's long, messy explanation, Huo Sanniang finally decided to give it a try.

She took out the few yellow eels and snakes she had, carefully stored them in a jar, and only steamed the crabs as Chen Wuji said.

Then she lifted the only remaining baby fish from the bamboo basket, which said helplessly, "You jerk, every time you go out you bring back weird stuff—this really can't be eaten."

Chen Wuji looked bewildered: "How come this can't be eaten either?"

"This is a dead child transformed, a resentful spirit—truly inedible," Huo Sanniang said gloomily.

"It just means our family has nothing left to fear; otherwise, merely bringing this thing into the house would be extremely inauspicious."

"If you ever take a dislike to someone, you can toss one of these fish into their home—guaranteed they'll come into some silver, tidy up for a few days, and maybe even have a Taoist ritual performed."

Chen Wuji remained silent for a moment.

These locals really know how to spin tales.

This tasty thing, they've somehow linked it to evil spirits.

How did they come up with that?

If he had eaten a pot of wild baby fish in his previous life, it would really have caused trouble.

But now the Court doesn't care, and this delicious-tasting thing has instead become an evil spirit.

One's vision not only determines knowledge, but also determines one's blessings of food.

"Eat, I've eaten it……it's delicious, really delicious," Chen Wuji said emphatically.

Huo Sanniang's eyes widened, and after a moment she suddenly seemed to recall something, delighted she said, "Wuji, do you think you might have become stupid from eating baby fish? If so, this can be cured—just perform a few rituals."

Chen Wuji: ……

He felt like pinching his philtrum.

Her train of thought is beyond anyone.

He shook his head repeatedly.

But his explanation now sounded a bit pale.

In Huo Sanniang's eyes, his condition now should be such that even eating an evil spirit could cure him?

"It must be, Wuji, it must be—we need to save money and perform rituals!" Huo Sanniang exclaimed delightedly, her smile impossible to suppress.

She clung to Chen Wuji's neck like an inexplicably delighted child and bounced up and down.

Chen Wuji silently enjoyed it, yet felt somewhat sad.

How should he persuade Huo Sanniang to eat this evil spirit?

It's fresh and filling.

He had never eaten wild ones, but he had eaten farmed ones in his previous life.

It's truly delicious.

Such a big fish, to just throw it away like that—he truly couldn't bear to.

With this family, there's truly no luxury to that extent.

"Wuji, you'll get better, believe me, you will." Huo Sanniang loosened her grip on Chen Wuji's neck, turned away, quickly wiped the two tears from her eyes, then snatched up the crude bamboo basket.

"I'll go find a place to bury this evil spirit, then eat."

"Tomorrow, tomorrow—it's too dark." Chen Wuji urged hurriedly.

Huo Sanniang poked her head out to look at the pitch‑black night, hesitated a moment, nodded, and said, "Then let's leave it outside for now."

This time, Chen Wuji did not insist further.

The dread inspired by the two words "evil spirit" in people's hearts is comparable to the red‑blue lights on a lawbreaker's vehicle; whether it's related to him doesn't matter—just seeing it makes one feel a shudder.

Huo Sanniang went out once, came back, and took the crabs out of the pot.

In an era scarce of seasonings, Chen Wuji's household was even more destitute, having only coarse Qing salt and home‑grown Sichuan pepper.

Too bad they couldn't be used for steaming the crabs.

This pot of crabs was as natural as it gets.

Yet after they were served, the starving Chen Wuji still tasted a delicacy.

His tongue almost fell off from the freshness.

As for that faint fishy smell, he completely ignored it.

He wolfed down a crab in a gust, yet saw Huo Sanniang still fussing over the crab legs with a troubled expression.

He opened another, handed it to Huo Sanniang, and said, "Eat, it's delicious."

Huo Sanniang took a deep breath; ultimately the loneliness of the Five‑Visces Temple overcame her doubt, and she began to eat in the same way as Chen Wuji.

A mouthful of crab roe made her eyes light up.

"Wuji, it's indeed delicious—even if it were poisonous, I'd accept it."

She feigned ferocity and took a hard bite of the crab leg.

Chen Wuji chuckled lightly, "No… no… poison."

Once you've eaten it, all doubt disappears.

The real pity is that baby fish.

Tomorrow we need to figure out how to alter its appearance before bringing it back.

On the table there were only these crabs, nothing else.

Relying on just that bit of crab roe, neither of the two adults could hope to be full.

To avoid stomach discomfort, Chen Wuji gnawed every edible part of the crab, barely managing to feel like he'd eaten something.

After the meal, Huo Sanniang boiled a pot of water, poured it into a wooden tub, and carried it into Chen Wuji's room.

"Wuji, take off your clothes—I'll wipe you down."

Chen Wuji had just sat down on the kang when hearing that, he felt as if struck by thunder.

No, woman, this is not appropriate……

"You hit the evil spirit; this is mugwort water, wash with it, to dispel evil." Huo Sanniang explained in a sentence, "You've become so foolish that if the evil spirit touches you again, it'll be trouble."

Seeing Huo Sanniang's overly solemn demeanor, Chen Wuji could only comply.

But letting Huo Sanniang help him wash was still out of the question.

He was afraid he couldn't control himself.

"I, I myself, will do it myself." Chen Wuji said embarrassedly.

"You big idiot, what are you trying to do yourself? Can your hands reach the back of your head? Hurry up and take off your clothes; this water needs to wash your whole body, top to bottom, without missing a spot." Seeing Chen Wuji suddenly bashful, Huo Sanniang puffed out a laugh.

"How many days have you lain in bed? Want to guess how you ended up like that? Hurry up."

Chen Wuji: ……

Seeing Chen Wuji still not moving, Huo Sanniang simply went ahead and did it herself.

That soft little hand touched his body, and Chen Wuji instantly felt as if immobilized.

He was honestly stripped of his Sun Wukong–like skin by Huo Sanniang, then forcibly pulled to stand beside the wooden tub.

Huo Sanniang's cheeks flushed slightly, she glanced at Chen Wuji, gave a light cough, and said, "Cover yourself; men and women should not be intimate."

Chen Wuji:???

Woman, do you want to hear what you're saying?

It's you who insisted on washing me……

Actually, Chen Wuji understood why Huo Sanniang was so candid in helping him.

The root of it all is simply that he's an idiot.

In Huo Sanniang's eyes, perhaps this big idiot is just a child who grew a few extra inches.

If he regained his sanity, he wouldn't deserve such treatment.

By then, not to mention washing, if he merely took off his outer garment, she'd probably flee in panic.