Moonlit Reunion

Tao Afu was seized by a large crowd and pushed toward a brightly lit building.

Since she had washed her hair in the afternoon and it hadn’t fully dried, Afu had left it loose. After being jostled and shoved all the way here, she stumbled along, her disheveled hair making her look like a little madwoman. After being pinched twice by a matron, Afu didn’t dare make a sound anymore, keeping her mouth shut as she was dragged forward.

The Tao family’s estate was vast, but Afu had never been to any other part of it, nor had she ever seen such a beautiful building. Even as those fierce-looking men roughly hauled her inside, she couldn’t help but turn her head to glance at the intricately carved window lattices—they were truly lovely.

A stout middle-aged man sat on the raised couch at the head of the room. When he saw Afu enter, his face twisted in disgust as he coldly barked, “Kneel!”

Afu was thrown to the ground with a thud, one arm still tightly gripped by a servant. She scrambled up and looked at the middle-aged man before finally recognizing him as her father—she had only seen him a handful of times in her life.

Tao Langjun was irritated by her dazed, dull expression. Beside him sat a finely dressed woman—his second wife, Lady Yang—and behind her stood three delicate, flower-like daughters. The mother and her daughters were all beautiful, but their expressions were haughty, their eyes filled with identical disdain as they looked at Afu, as if she were a clump of mud accidentally splattered onto their skirts.

None of them spoke to Afu directly. Only Lady Yang addressed the servants, asking, “So it was her who’s been stealing from the household all this time?”

“Yes, madam. The eldest young lady stole all those food items. Several of us saw it with our own eyes.”

Tao Langjun slapped the couch. “Just as expected from the spawn of a country peasant woman! Just like her mother—utterly disgraceful, only good for shaming me!”

“How could I have a child like you? I should’ve just strangled you at birth—at least then you wouldn’t be doing such shameful things now!”

No matter how Tao Langjun raged, Afu simply knelt there, staring fixedly at the small table to his left, her attention wholly captured by the pastries that looked irresistibly soft and flaky.

After a long tirade, Tao Langjun grew even angrier when she remained silent. Lady Yang condescended to glance at the mouse-like Afu and said, “Husband, this child is beyond reproach. I think she must be disciplined.”

Tao Langjun’s expression softened when he turned to her. “Whatever you say, my lady. Deal with her however you please.”

Lady Yang smiled primly. The three girls, adorned in lavish jewelry and elegant dresses, scrutinized Tao Afu for a moment before whispering into their mother’s ear. Lady Yang gave them a doting look before turning to the matrons holding Afu. “Teach her some proper manners, then lock her in the confinement room. She can come out once she’s had time to reflect.”

The two matrons answered in unison—they knew exactly what “teaching manners” entailed.

Tao Langjun added, “My lady is too kind. If it were up to me, I’d have her beaten to teach her a proper lesson.”

Lady Yang shot him a reproachful look. “She’s still your own flesh and blood. How could I really have her beaten? You’d probably regret it.”

Tao Langjun waved a dismissive hand. “A useless girl—what’s there to regret? Might as well beat her to death.” Without sparing Afu another glance, he ordered the servants, “Before locking her up, give her a beating—a thorough one!”Only then did A-Fu realize the gravity of the situation and began trembling in fear. She turned her head to look around, but all she saw were faces filled with ill intent or pity—no one here would save her.

Suddenly, A-Fu twisted her hand free from the servant's grip, ducked low, and scrambled out from under the feet of a tall maidservant, rolling and crawling her way out before dashing away without looking back.

Her movements were so abrupt that the others were caught off guard, failing to grab her in time. However, a few quick-reacting servants immediately gave chase.

Small and nimble, A-Fu dodged as one servant lunged at her from behind. But soon, several more servants closed in, and just as she thought escape was impossible, a voice rang out in her panicked ears.

"To the left."

It was her master's voice. A-Fu recognized it—her master had come to save her! Though she couldn’t see where he was, hearing his voice instantly eased her fear, and she mustered all her strength to sprint left. To the left lay a vast lake, its banks lined with lush lotus leaves and blossoms, breathtakingly beautiful in daylight. But now, under the cover of night, only two dim lanterns cast a faint glow, rendering the lotuses as mere shadowy silhouettes.

Just as she neared the lakeshore, A-Fu stumbled—a servant had caught up and shoved her hard from behind, sending her sprawling to the ground.

By sheer misfortune, her fall was toward a protruding rock, aimed straight at her head. Terrified, A-Fu squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact.

Yet, instead of pain, she felt something soft cushioning her head. Behind her, however, a chorus of agonized screams erupted.

Twisting around, A-Fu saw enormous bees swarming the servants' heads, stinging relentlessly. She had no idea where they’d come from.

More servants were rushing toward her when her master’s voice whispered in her ear again: "Jump into the lake."

Without hesitation, A-Fu scrambled up and, before the next wave of pursuers could reach her, plunged into the water with a loud splash.

As she sank, it dawned on her—she couldn’t swim. Thrashing in panic, she suddenly spotted something dark swimming toward her, startling her. Upon closer look, it was a giant turtle.

The turtle swam beneath A-Fu and lifted her onto its back. Clutching the shell in terror, she was carried across the lake.

Just as she felt she might suffocate, the turtle surfaced with a splash. Coughing up water, A-Fu gasped for air. Lying on the turtle’s back, she breathed in the crisp night air and saw the moon emerging from the clouds, casting a frost-like glow over the reeds—and a man in white standing before her, extending a hand.

A-Fu stared blankly at that hand. It was as pale as jade, shimmering faintly under the moonlight, its knuckles elegantly shaped—a hand of exquisite beauty.The owner of this hand was an exceptionally beautiful man. Though he was a man, Ah Fu felt he was as lovely as a fairy from the moon, even more beautiful than her stepmother and three younger sisters.

The ‘fairy’ smiled faintly, using that hand to pluck a strand of waterweed from her head, saying, “Aren’t you getting up yet?”

Ah Fu suddenly snapped back to reality—this voice was her master’s! She immediately grabbed the reeds by the man’s feet and scrambled ashore. They were now far from where she had jumped into the water, and in the darkness, the commotion from the other side was barely audible, though the distant clamor could still be faintly heard.

“Master, they want to beat me! Let’s run!” Gone was her earlier silence in front of Tao Langjun and the others. Now, Ah Fu chattered incessantly: “They’re really bad, and there are so many of them! We have to run! If we’re caught, we’ll be locked up!”

Seeing her drenched like a drowned rat, Pei Ji Ya flicked a finger through her waterweed-like hair and said leisurely, “Run? If they want to hit you, whether they succeed or not, you should hit them back.”

This was the first time Ah Fu had heard such reasoning. She thought for a moment and decided her master must be right. “But… I can’t beat them.”

Pei Ji Ya smiled gently under the moonlight. “Since you call me master, of course I’ll teach you how.”

“Come, let’s catch a few rats first.”

Ah Fu was bewildered. “Catch rats?”

Pei Ji Ya waved his sleeve to part the reeds, his tone casual yet tinged with anticipation. “Yes. You have one father, one stepmother, and three half-sisters, right? So we’ll catch five rats.”

“Your master will teach you to make something, then take you to play a game where living people turn into rats. It’s quite fun.” He chuckled softly, tapping Ah Fu’s dripping forehead. “But if you can’t learn or make what I want, your master will have to turn you into a little rat instead.”

Though his tone was light, Pei Ji Ya wasn’t joking. Ah Fu couldn’t discern humor from seriousness. Struggling to lift her soaked skirt, she stumbled after Pei Ji Ya, following him back to their dilapidated little courtyard.

“What I’m going to teach you to make is called ‘Rat Earth Skin.’”

Pei Ji Ya had been sickly as a child, and the Pei family had hired countless physicians—even eccentric mystics and practitioners of the occult. Among them was a mad old woman who crafted all sorts of strange things. Pei Ji Ya had a brilliant mind but no interest in conventional studies. Instead, he was fascinated by these ‘unorthodox arts.’ Within two years, he had mastered everything the old woman knew.

Not only that, he sought out similar ‘unorthodox arts,’ scoured ancient texts, and even experimented with creating new techniques, producing many bizarre creations. His talent in this field was once-in-a-century. Even the old woman had said he was born to learn such arts.

And today, Pei Ji Ya suddenly realized that the little rat Ah Fu, whom he had picked up on a whim, possessed talent no less than his own—perhaps even greater.He taught her how to make 'Mouse Earth Skin.' Apart from the first failure, she succeeded in making it on her second attempt—out of five mice, she crafted four Mouse Earth Skins. Even he had failed several times before succeeding back then.

Pei Ji Ya couldn't help but look at A-Fu with a somewhat peculiar gaze.

Yet A-Fu remained oblivious, absentmindedly fiddling with her successful creations.

Suddenly, Pei Ji Ya lifted A-Fu's chin, scrutinizing her unremarkable face carefully before finally smiling at her in satisfaction. "You're good, very good. From now on, you are my beloved disciple. I will teach you everything I know."

Pei Ji Ya began to wonder what she would become in the future.