chapter 6

The moon was dark and the wind was high-a night for murder and arson. Yet here I was, smiling sweetly.

“Aren’t you going to run?” Yan Ci asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice. “Girls your age usually scream when they see me.”

My sign language was already quite practiced. I gestured: “I’m a Mute.”

“How pitiful.” Yan Ci’s cold hand slithered around my neck like a snake. “In your next life, make sure to choose a good family.”

His palm suddenly tightened. Choking, I flailed desperately, kicking over the food box.

The sour-smelling swill spilled out, reeking unbearably. Yan Ci hesitated for a moment, then released his grip on my throat.

“You put this food here-why didn’t you say so?” He frowned. “You don’t seem very smart, do you?”

Momo always said that great wisdom often appears foolish. If that’s the case, then being foolish is a kind of wisdom. In truth, not being clever is also a kind of cleverness.

I nodded, sneaking a glance at his expression, then mustered my courage and crawled over to the corpse, taking off Eunuch Su’s shoes and socks.

A few plump Gold Beans rolled out from Eunuch Su’s shoes. I hurriedly picked them up and eagerly offered them to Yan Ci.

Yan Ci pinched the Gold Beans, chuckling. “Little Mute, what do you do in the kitchens?”

He could tell from my gestures that I was a Mute, but he couldn’t understand my sign language. After a long round of gesturing, he finally managed to guess my meaning.

“Slaughter pigs?” Only then did Yan Ci notice the iron axe strapped to my back, and he humbly asked for instruction. “How do you do it?”