Is there something for sand rats to do?
The wooden box in the ancestral hall was still there. The village chief decided to open it, and inside were three talismans, with even the characters appearing blurred.
As the Dragon Head Raising Day (the second day of the second lunar month) was approaching, the villagers debated whether they should invite another Taoist to perform rituals. However, last year’s poor harvest left them without much surplus money, and inviting a Taoist from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple wouldn’t come cheap.
Even though he had anticipated it, when Mo Li heard them mention the Zangfeng Taoist Temple, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
“Can the Taoist from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple bring rain? How much does it cost?” Mo Li pretended to ask the village chief casually.
Upon hearing the word “money,” the village chief couldn’t help but grimace, and he complained, “At least a guan, and that’s not even counting the tea and water fees, transportation fees, as well as the offerings of meat and fruit and the alcohol for the ceremony. Altogether, it’s quite a sum!”
“But are there no distinctions among the Taoists from that temple? Are there no slightly cheaper options?” Mo Li asked further.
The village chief shook his head vigorously, “Young man, you can’t say such things casually.”
The old man, holding a lantern, walked back while stroking his beard, sighing, “In theory, what the young man says is correct. However, our village is small and a bit remote. The money we save by tightening our belts is still not enough to cover the tea and water fees paid by the wealthy households. With this in mind, what hope do we have? If we can invite the apprentices of those true masters, it’s enough. After all, the Taoist disciples from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple are all capable; it’s just a matter of a small difference.”
As it was already the middle of the night, some people who were planning to go to the market or sell goods the next day decided to get up. They were going to leave at the fourth watch anyway, so the village began to come alive.
The village chief, being old, didn’t need to.
He returned home, and his old wife was still shedding tears over the dog’s body.
The village chief’s eldest son picked up some firewood, planning to wait until dawn to light a fire outside the village and burn the body before digging a hole to bury it. He was quite puzzled about the gaping hole in the roof.
Mo Li naturally offered to help repair the roof.
The village chief’s eldest son found this suspicious since Mo Li didn’t appear to be someone capable of doing such manual labor.
Luckily, every household had some reserves of roof tiles and bricks, especially during the winter when they needed to be prepared for drafts and leaks. The village chief’s family hadn’t reached a point where they couldn’t make ends meet, so the tiles they had were slightly used but still usable.
Wanting to avoid drawing attention, Mo Li used a ladder from the village chief’s house. Just as he got on the roof, he fished out a certain sand rat from his leg.
Walking this way was incredibly awkward, and he had to maintain an appearance of nonchalance.
Mo Li couldn’t blame Meng Qi since the sand rat was holding still and didn’t wriggle or climb up. It was just his lower leg, similar to an elbow, not that sensitive, and he endured it as best he could.
The sand rat calmly scratched its fur with its paws, straightening them out.
Meng Qi had a guess about the identity of the thief, but now he was preoccupied while using the sight of a sand rat. Unable to speak, he patiently watched Mo Li fix the roof.
The hole wasn’t small, but it wasn’t severe either since the roof beams remained intact.
Mo Li moved the broken tiles aside and started to repair the roof piece by piece, quickly and skillfully.
Back in the days when he was at Mount Qimao, Qin Lu had Mo Li stay at a temple that had fallen into disrepair. It would leak rain and wind now and then. Once Mo Li was skilled enough to easily jump on and off roofs using lightness skills, he began repairing the roofs himself.
Qin Lu made sure his disciple wouldn’t fall and then let him do it.
For him, it wasn’t a big deal for a disciple to help in such matters.
Later, when Physician Mo practiced medicine in Zhushan County, he found that about half of the kids who had broken arms or legs had gotten them from climbing roofs. He tolerated the mischievous children, but if there was no able-bodied person in the house, after receiving the consultation fee, Physician Mo would also check the condition of the roof. It was usually minor issues like loose or displaced tiles, and as long as he was there, Mo Li would fix them.
For a hole this size, they would likely need to find a skilled roof repairer.
Pingzhou wasn’t like Yongzhou; the wind and snow were stronger there, and a house would collapse if it wasn’t properly built.
After Mo Li got on the roof and assessed the situation, he realized the village chief’s family had some resources left from the past. The house was solidly built, and the beams were sturdy enough. Placing these roof tiles back should be enough; there was no need for additional repairs.
The village chief’s son climbed up the ladder and handed over the roof tiles. Worried about the dark, he had brought a lantern along.
Mo Li waved him off, saying it wasn’t necessary. Looking up, he noticed a woman next door holding a child, peering in their direction. As soon as she saw the village chief’s son on the ladder, she hurriedly retreated into the house.
Continuing to inquire about the affairs of the “Zangfeng Temple” the village chief’s son was more straightforward in his speech, not as cautious as his father.
It turned out that the Daoist invited by the village wasn’t actually from the main Zangfeng Temple. Instead, he was a disciple from a smaller nearby Daoist temple named “Qingfeng Temple.” However, they still referred to him as being from the Zangfeng Temple when addressing outsiders.
This was the way of the martial world. Regular folks or those with insufficient status could only come into contact with outer disciples.
Inner disciples received true teachings, while outer disciples only learned surface-level knowledge and mainly performed tasks to earn money for the sect.
After hearing this, Mo Li realized that trying to catch this money-grubbing Daoist was pointless. He probably didn’t know any secrets at all. Placing the wooden box on the roof was likely just a way to deceive people, with no hidden meaning.
What remained odd was why thieves kept coming to pry on the roofs if it was all a sham.
Having finished repairing the roof, it was still early in the morning, but smoke was already rising from the village as the fires were being lit.
It was the first day of the second month, and the next day was the Rain Prayer Festival. Although they weren’t going to invite Daoists anymore, there were still preparations to be made. The villagers were already bustling about – some were going to the market, while others were staying back to prepare for the ceremonies at the ancestral hall.
The unconscious thief was tied up near the ancestral hall, guarded by several men.
The village chief’s son, after confirming the roof was repaired, patted his head and awkwardly thanked Mo Li. Then, he went over to the ancestral hall. As his family was directly involved, he wanted to get to the bottom of things.
The sand rat slipped away with the child. Mo Li wanted to stop it, but he couldn’t very well capture a rat right under the eyes of the village chief’s family. He had no choice but to let it go.
The village chief insisted that Mo Li stay for another day, citing a poor night’s sleep and the need to rest during the day.
Mo Li had originally planned to extract information from the captured thief, so he agreed without any resistance.
Inside the house, Physician Mo repacked his belongings. The troublesome golden silk armor, which almost caused a problem, was still placed at the bottom. Afterwards, he started pondering whether the village chief’s family had heard the thief’s cry for “gold silk” last night.
The sound was quite loud, and the night was quiet.
It was possible that they had heard it, but they might not have recognized the phrase “gold silk” without knowing what it referred to.
In an era where most people spoke in heavy dialects, unless they were familiar with the term “golden silk armor,” or if their thoughts were solely focused on money, they wouldn’t immediately think of the words “gold silk.”
The courtyard was spacious, and compared to the main residence where the village chief lived, the neighbors on the other side of the courtyard might have heard the sound more clearly.
Mo Li looked in that direction with a contemplative expression.
If he remembered correctly, it was the home of the child who had been crying loudly. When he was repairing the roof earlier, he had seen them – the woman was mending her clothes with patches, and the child looked the same.
Children from poor families often made do with whatever clothes they had because they grew quickly and changed sizes every month. It was common for their clothes to be patched up, and the practice of “wearing a hundred families’ clothes” was widespread. So, Mo Li hadn’t paid much attention to it.
He had noticed the child and their guardian in normal clothes yesterday. How come they were wearing such ragged clothes now that they were home?
The neighboring house wasn’t small, and it wasn’t in ruins either. It had been renovated a few years ago, which indicated that life had been manageable for them.
If someone suddenly ran out of money but wanted to hide it, there were usually only a few reasons: they had suffered a disaster, were struck by a serious illness, or had fallen into gambling, addiction, or promiscuity.
Disasters were significant events, but even in the smallest village, news of a theft would spread quickly. Also, there was no need to hide it. In this village, almost every household had a tradition of drying and selling medicinal herbs, so basic medical knowledge was widespread. If someone had fallen gravely ill and spent all their money on treatments without recovery, the villagers would have known.
So, that left the last category?
Mo Li felt uncertain. What if the woman was just wearing a shabby garment casually?
As he pondered this, he heard a noise near the window.
The round sand rat struggled to squeeze through the window crack, losing a couple of fur strands in the process.
Hurriedly, Mo Li retrieved his clothes from his belongings, locked the door, and when he turned around, there was already another person in the room.
Meng Qi was lazily putting on his clothes, and when he saw Mo Li, he raised an eyebrow.
Mo Li’s gaze lingered on Meng Qi’s chest and abdomen for quite a while until the latter pulled up his robe.
“What’s the matter, Physician?” Meng Qi asked knowingly.
Having experienced the sand rat’s touch, he knew Mo Li had a more slender build.
Since their transformed appearances were fixed and only varied by age, they couldn’t change their body shapes, and they wouldn’t age. Everything remained according to their current form. Therefore, becoming a burly man like those legendary figures wouldn’t be possible for them.
Meng Qi was quite satisfied with his human appearance. Relatively speaking, Mo Li’s appearance would be less impressive.
Seeing this, Meng Qi assumed that the Physician might be envious of him.
Mo Li: “…”
When it was hard to fathom Meng Qi’s emotions, he was unreadable, but when it was easy to guess, the answer was practically written on his face.
Expecting him to be envious?
Ha, what would he envy? Envy the fact that he had a corpulent sand rat’s body?
Mo Li would prefer to have a slender build, rather than transform into a fat fish, especially the kind that stupidly ate themselves into obesity, resulting in a small head and a body five times its width, like a bloated carp.
Of course, Mo Li wouldn’t express his thoughts directly. He pointed with his finger.
“I was thinking, you lost two strands of fur just now.”
Meng Qi stiffly turned his head, and indeed found fur stuck in the window gap.
“I deliberately left this gap. I thought it would be enough, but I didn’t expect… Brother Meng, it’s all my fault,” Mo Li said with feigned regret.
Meng Qi had no words to respond.
After the jest, Mo Li felt it was enough and returned to his gentlemanly demeanor. He asked seriously, “Where did that thief come from?”
“He had exceptional lightness skills and ample experience in the martial world. He almost escaped last night. So, I have a guess. Do you remember that martial world master thief who stole the Gold Silk Armor from that villa?”
“You mean Li Kong’er?” Mo Li had a good memory and was surprised. “Isn’t he dead?”
“Perhaps it’s his disciple, maybe his fellow disciple, or it could even be him personally. Last night, when he saw the Gold Silk Armor, he blurted it out immediately. Normally, when people see such a treasure, they would be stunned for a moment, wouldn’t they?”
Meng Qi’s explanation didn’t quite convince Mo Li, who presented an alternative perspective. “Maybe this person came for the Gold Silk Armor just like us. When he heard about Qingwu Ancestor using the dragon veins for his rituals and finding treasures elsewhere, and now hearing about Emperor Li’s Tomb and the Gold Silk Armor’s rumors, he might suspect that this is a scheme by Qingwu Ancestor. So, he speculated that the missing Gold Silk Armor is in Qingwu Ancestor’s possession.”
There was a spiritual cave near the village, quite conspicuous and discernible even to ordinary people. Upon hearing about the rain-making objects on the rooftops, the thief took action.
Though Mo Li was suspicious that the Taoist might have placed something valuable in the box, he hadn’t considered the notion of valuable treasures. After all, it was someone else’s rooftop, not the unnoticed mud at the riverbed.
Otherwise, what would be the difference between giving away money?
While the Taoists were indeed wicked, they weren’t foolish to this extent, right?
“We need to figure this out. I have a bad feeling about this,” Mo Li frowned.
Meng Qi wasn’t surprised. He knew the Physician quite well. Mo Li wasn’t someone who cared about how many people he helped, and he wouldn’t boast about it. He acted from the heart, doing things as he saw fit.
“Is the thief awake?”
“Yes, he’s awake. His acupoints are still sealed. But he refuses to say anything.” Meng Qi, without wearing an outer robe, just leaned back onto the bed lazily and said, “He intends to wait until his acupoints naturally disperse and then escape. But that will take until the afternoon at least. For now, he can take a nap.”
“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll go outside the village and take a look.”
Mo Li stood up and was promptly halted by Meng Qi.
“Physician, you can’t do everything yourself. Aren’t I here too?”
“…”
Mo Li glanced at him and sat down again, saying nonchalantly, “I feel there’s something odd about the family next door. Can you keep an eye on them later?”
Meng Qi readily agreed.
So, the sand rat once again scuttled out of the window gap, disappearing in an instant.
This time, there was no shedding of fur.
Author’s Note:
This time, there was no shedding of fur.
Is there something for sand rats to do?
The wooden box in the ancestral hall was still there. The village chief decided to open it, and inside were three talismans, with even the characters appearing blurred.
As the Dragon Head Raising Day (the second day of the second lunar month) was approaching, the villagers debated whether they should invite another Taoist to perform rituals. However, last year’s poor harvest left them without much surplus money, and inviting a Taoist from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple wouldn’t come cheap.
Even though he had anticipated it, when Mo Li heard them mention the Zangfeng Taoist Temple, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
“Can the Taoist from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple bring rain? How much does it cost?” Mo Li pretended to ask the village chief casually.
Upon hearing the word “money,” the village chief couldn’t help but grimace, and he complained, “At least a guan, and that’s not even counting the tea and water fees, transportation fees, as well as the offerings of meat and fruit and the alcohol for the ceremony. Altogether, it’s quite a sum!”
“But are there no distinctions among the Taoists from that temple? Are there no slightly cheaper options?” Mo Li asked further.
The village chief shook his head vigorously, “Young man, you can’t say such things casually.”
The old man, holding a lantern, walked back while stroking his beard, sighing, “In theory, what the young man says is correct. However, our village is small and a bit remote. The money we save by tightening our belts is still not enough to cover the tea and water fees paid by the wealthy households. With this in mind, what hope do we have? If we can invite the apprentices of those true masters, it’s enough. After all, the Taoist disciples from the Zangfeng Taoist Temple are all capable; it’s just a matter of a small difference.”
As it was already the middle of the night, some people who were planning to go to the market or sell goods the next day decided to get up. They were going to leave at the fourth watch anyway, so the village began to come alive.
The village chief, being old, didn’t need to.
He returned home, and his old wife was still shedding tears over the dog’s body.
The village chief’s eldest son picked up some firewood, planning to wait until dawn to light a fire outside the village and burn the body before digging a hole to bury it. He was quite puzzled about the gaping hole in the roof.
Mo Li naturally offered to help repair the roof.
The village chief’s eldest son found this suspicious since Mo Li didn’t appear to be someone capable of doing such manual labor.
Luckily, every household had some reserves of roof tiles and bricks, especially during the winter when they needed to be prepared for drafts and leaks. The village chief’s family hadn’t reached a point where they couldn’t make ends meet, so the tiles they had were slightly used but still usable.
Wanting to avoid drawing attention, Mo Li used a ladder from the village chief’s house. Just as he got on the roof, he fished out a certain sand rat from his leg.
Walking this way was incredibly awkward, and he had to maintain an appearance of nonchalance.
Mo Li couldn’t blame Meng Qi since the sand rat was holding still and didn’t wriggle or climb up. It was just his lower leg, similar to an elbow, not that sensitive, and he endured it as best he could.
The sand rat calmly scratched its fur with its paws, straightening them out.
Meng Qi had a guess about the identity of the thief, but now he was preoccupied while using the sight of a sand rat. Unable to speak, he patiently watched Mo Li fix the roof.
The hole wasn’t small, but it wasn’t severe either since the roof beams remained intact.
Mo Li moved the broken tiles aside and started to repair the roof piece by piece, quickly and skillfully.
Back in the days when he was at Mount Qimao, Qin Lu had Mo Li stay at a temple that had fallen into disrepair. It would leak rain and wind now and then. Once Mo Li was skilled enough to easily jump on and off roofs using lightness skills, he began repairing the roofs himself.
Qin Lu made sure his disciple wouldn’t fall and then let him do it.
For him, it wasn’t a big deal for a disciple to help in such matters.
Later, when Physician Mo practiced medicine in Zhushan County, he found that about half of the kids who had broken arms or legs had gotten them from climbing roofs. He tolerated the mischievous children, but if there was no able-bodied person in the house, after receiving the consultation fee, Physician Mo would also check the condition of the roof. It was usually minor issues like loose or displaced tiles, and as long as he was there, Mo Li would fix them.
For a hole this size, they would likely need to find a skilled roof repairer.
Pingzhou wasn’t like Yongzhou; the wind and snow were stronger there, and a house would collapse if it wasn’t properly built.
After Mo Li got on the roof and assessed the situation, he realized the village chief’s family had some resources left from the past. The house was solidly built, and the beams were sturdy enough. Placing these roof tiles back should be enough; there was no need for additional repairs.
The village chief’s son climbed up the ladder and handed over the roof tiles. Worried about the dark, he had brought a lantern along.
Mo Li waved him off, saying it wasn’t necessary. Looking up, he noticed a woman next door holding a child, peering in their direction. As soon as she saw the village chief’s son on the ladder, she hurriedly retreated into the house.
Continuing to inquire about the affairs of the “Zangfeng Temple” the village chief’s son was more straightforward in his speech, not as cautious as his father.
It turned out that the Daoist invited by the village wasn’t actually from the main Zangfeng Temple. Instead, he was a disciple from a smaller nearby Daoist temple named “Qingfeng Temple.” However, they still referred to him as being from the Zangfeng Temple when addressing outsiders.
This was the way of the martial world. Regular folks or those with insufficient status could only come into contact with outer disciples.
Inner disciples received true teachings, while outer disciples only learned surface-level knowledge and mainly performed tasks to earn money for the sect.
After hearing this, Mo Li realized that trying to catch this money-grubbing Daoist was pointless. He probably didn’t know any secrets at all. Placing the wooden box on the roof was likely just a way to deceive people, with no hidden meaning.
What remained odd was why thieves kept coming to pry on the roofs if it was all a sham.
Having finished repairing the roof, it was still early in the morning, but smoke was already rising from the village as the fires were being lit.
It was the first day of the second month, and the next day was the Rain Prayer Festival. Although they weren’t going to invite Daoists anymore, there were still preparations to be made. The villagers were already bustling about – some were going to the market, while others were staying back to prepare for the ceremonies at the ancestral hall.
The unconscious thief was tied up near the ancestral hall, guarded by several men.
The village chief’s son, after confirming the roof was repaired, patted his head and awkwardly thanked Mo Li. Then, he went over to the ancestral hall. As his family was directly involved, he wanted to get to the bottom of things.
The sand rat slipped away with the child. Mo Li wanted to stop it, but he couldn’t very well capture a rat right under the eyes of the village chief’s family. He had no choice but to let it go.
The village chief insisted that Mo Li stay for another day, citing a poor night’s sleep and the need to rest during the day.
Mo Li had originally planned to extract information from the captured thief, so he agreed without any resistance.
Inside the house, Physician Mo repacked his belongings. The troublesome golden silk armor, which almost caused a problem, was still placed at the bottom. Afterwards, he started pondering whether the village chief’s family had heard the thief’s cry for “gold silk” last night.
The sound was quite loud, and the night was quiet.
It was possible that they had heard it, but they might not have recognized the phrase “gold silk” without knowing what it referred to.
In an era where most people spoke in heavy dialects, unless they were familiar with the term “golden silk armor,” or if their thoughts were solely focused on money, they wouldn’t immediately think of the words “gold silk.”
The courtyard was spacious, and compared to the main residence where the village chief lived, the neighbors on the other side of the courtyard might have heard the sound more clearly.
Mo Li looked in that direction with a contemplative expression.
If he remembered correctly, it was the home of the child who had been crying loudly. When he was repairing the roof earlier, he had seen them – the woman was mending her clothes with patches, and the child looked the same.
Children from poor families often made do with whatever clothes they had because they grew quickly and changed sizes every month. It was common for their clothes to be patched up, and the practice of “wearing a hundred families’ clothes” was widespread. So, Mo Li hadn’t paid much attention to it.
He had noticed the child and their guardian in normal clothes yesterday. How come they were wearing such ragged clothes now that they were home?
The neighboring house wasn’t small, and it wasn’t in ruins either. It had been renovated a few years ago, which indicated that life had been manageable for them.
If someone suddenly ran out of money but wanted to hide it, there were usually only a few reasons: they had suffered a disaster, were struck by a serious illness, or had fallen into gambling, addiction, or promiscuity.
Disasters were significant events, but even in the smallest village, news of a theft would spread quickly. Also, there was no need to hide it. In this village, almost every household had a tradition of drying and selling medicinal herbs, so basic medical knowledge was widespread. If someone had fallen gravely ill and spent all their money on treatments without recovery, the villagers would have known.
So, that left the last category?
Mo Li felt uncertain. What if the woman was just wearing a shabby garment casually?
As he pondered this, he heard a noise near the window.
The round sand rat struggled to squeeze through the window crack, losing a couple of fur strands in the process.
Hurriedly, Mo Li retrieved his clothes from his belongings, locked the door, and when he turned around, there was already another person in the room.
Meng Qi was lazily putting on his clothes, and when he saw Mo Li, he raised an eyebrow.
Mo Li’s gaze lingered on Meng Qi’s chest and abdomen for quite a while until the latter pulled up his robe.
“What’s the matter, Physician?” Meng Qi asked knowingly.
Having experienced the sand rat’s touch, he knew Mo Li had a more slender build.
Since their transformed appearances were fixed and only varied by age, they couldn’t change their body shapes, and they wouldn’t age. Everything remained according to their current form. Therefore, becoming a burly man like those legendary figures wouldn’t be possible for them.
Meng Qi was quite satisfied with his human appearance. Relatively speaking, Mo Li’s appearance would be less impressive.
Seeing this, Meng Qi assumed that the Physician might be envious of him.
Mo Li: “…”
When it was hard to fathom Meng Qi’s emotions, he was unreadable, but when it was easy to guess, the answer was practically written on his face.
Expecting him to be envious?
Ha, what would he envy? Envy the fact that he had a corpulent sand rat’s body?
Mo Li would prefer to have a slender build, rather than transform into a fat fish, especially the kind that stupidly ate themselves into obesity, resulting in a small head and a body five times its width, like a bloated carp.
Of course, Mo Li wouldn’t express his thoughts directly. He pointed with his finger.
“I was thinking, you lost two strands of fur just now.”
Meng Qi stiffly turned his head, and indeed found fur stuck in the window gap.
“I deliberately left this gap. I thought it would be enough, but I didn’t expect… Brother Meng, it’s all my fault,” Mo Li said with feigned regret.
Meng Qi had no words to respond.
After the jest, Mo Li felt it was enough and returned to his gentlemanly demeanor. He asked seriously, “Where did that thief come from?”
“He had exceptional lightness skills and ample experience in the martial world. He almost escaped last night. So, I have a guess. Do you remember that martial world master thief who stole the Gold Silk Armor from that villa?”
“You mean Li Kong’er?” Mo Li had a good memory and was surprised. “Isn’t he dead?”
“Perhaps it’s his disciple, maybe his fellow disciple, or it could even be him personally. Last night, when he saw the Gold Silk Armor, he blurted it out immediately. Normally, when people see such a treasure, they would be stunned for a moment, wouldn’t they?”
Meng Qi’s explanation didn’t quite convince Mo Li, who presented an alternative perspective. “Maybe this person came for the Gold Silk Armor just like us. When he heard about Qingwu Ancestor using the dragon veins for his rituals and finding treasures elsewhere, and now hearing about Emperor Li’s Tomb and the Gold Silk Armor’s rumors, he might suspect that this is a scheme by Qingwu Ancestor. So, he speculated that the missing Gold Silk Armor is in Qingwu Ancestor’s possession.”
There was a spiritual cave near the village, quite conspicuous and discernible even to ordinary people. Upon hearing about the rain-making objects on the rooftops, the thief took action.
Though Mo Li was suspicious that the Taoist might have placed something valuable in the box, he hadn’t considered the notion of valuable treasures. After all, it was someone else’s rooftop, not the unnoticed mud at the riverbed.
Otherwise, what would be the difference between giving away money?
While the Taoists were indeed wicked, they weren’t foolish to this extent, right?
“We need to figure this out. I have a bad feeling about this,” Mo Li frowned.
Meng Qi wasn’t surprised. He knew the Physician quite well. Mo Li wasn’t someone who cared about how many people he helped, and he wouldn’t boast about it. He acted from the heart, doing things as he saw fit.
“Is the thief awake?”
“Yes, he’s awake. His acupoints are still sealed. But he refuses to say anything.” Meng Qi, without wearing an outer robe, just leaned back onto the bed lazily and said, “He intends to wait until his acupoints naturally disperse and then escape. But that will take until the afternoon at least. For now, he can take a nap.”
“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll go outside the village and take a look.”
Mo Li stood up and was promptly halted by Meng Qi.
“Physician, you can’t do everything yourself. Aren’t I here too?”
“…”
Mo Li glanced at him and sat down again, saying nonchalantly, “I feel there’s something odd about the family next door. Can you keep an eye on them later?”
Meng Qi readily agreed.
So, the sand rat once again scuttled out of the window gap, disappearing in an instant.
This time, there was no shedding of fur.
Author’s Note:
This time, there was no shedding of fur.
