"Shu Yao, come on. Aunt Li made you some honey water. You've had a tough day today. Drink the honey water and then have a good sleep. Don't wear yourself out." That night, Aunt Li filled a bowl of honey water and handed it to Shu Yao.
Shu Yao took the honey water from Aunt Li without suspecting anything. After drinking it, he felt his head grow heavy and drowsy. He was so exhausted that his eyelids couldn't stop drooping.
"Aunt Li, I... feel a bit dizzy."
Seeing that the medicine was taking effect, Aunt Li smiled. "Maybe the honey water relaxes your nerves. It's brought out all your tiredness from the day. Well, you've been working hard all day. You should go to bed early today."
Shu Yao nodded absent - mindedly. As he walked, he felt his head getting heavier. It was so much more comfortable to flop onto the bed.
On the bed, Shu Yao wasn't in a hurry to sleep. First, he hugged little Shu Yue and played with him for a while. Little Shu Yue was tickled by Shu Yao and giggled merrily.
Only then did Shu Yao take a good look at his precious son. You know what? This kid was growing so fast. It seemed like just a few days and he had become chubby and fair - skinned.
Shu Yao was overjoyed at the sight. He played with Shu Yue even more vigorously.
"Shu Yue, Shu Yue, you have to grow up quickly. When you're older, I'll teach you to call your dad."
Before long, his eyelids couldn't resist the drowsiness any longer. Shu Yao dozed off in a daze.
It was midnight. The night was quiet.
Shu Yao was a light sleeper. He'd wake up at the slightest sound. In a daze, he vaguely felt the door being opened. Given his previous bad impression of Xu Yi, he immediately became vigilant.
He secretly opened one eye a crack. He saw a thin and sneaky figure tiptoeing into his room.
The figure was wearing a Taoist robe with a Taoist bun on his head. He looked like a Taoist priest, but he had a sharp - mouthed and monkey - faced look, with beady eyes and a sallow complexion. He looked mean - spirited and there was a hint of lechery in his eyes.
Shu Yao frowned in disgust. Who was this person and what was he doing sneaking into his room in the middle of the night?
The slovenly Taoist priest's aura immediately made Shu Yao think of Xu Yi. Both of them exuded such a sneaky and lecherous air that made him uncomfortable. He didn't like it.
Since he had been scolded by Aunt Li for kicking Xu Yi away last time, he didn't want to make things difficult for Aunt Li again. After all, Aunt Li had kindly taken him in. So he decided to wait and see what this guy was up to.
The slovenly Taoist priest tiptoed into Shu Yao's room. He had a lecherous smile on his face. His already small eyes were now squinted into slits, and his mouth was wide open. A tuft of his beard twitched from time to time as he smiled.
He rubbed his hands in anticipation and stepped forward to take a good look at Shu Yao. Xu Yi hadn't lied to him. Shu Yao was truly a rare beauty. It was a pity that he was a man.
But so what? Just because of his looks that were even more charming than a woman's, he had to have a taste.
Thinking of this, the slovenly Taoist priest actually let out a lecherous laugh. He reached out his hand to tentatively touch Shu Yao's little hand. When he found there was no reaction, he laughed even more heartily.
This kid's hands were truly irresistible. They were softer and smoother than a girl's. He had really struck gold. He'd be happier than a god later!
Unexpectedly, the slovenly Taoist priest's lecherous laughter woke up Shu Yue beside him. Shu Yue let out a loud wail. Maybe because he saw the slovenly Taoist priest having evil intentions towards Shu Yao, his cry was even louder than usual.
"Stinky brat, shut up! What if you wake someone up?"
The slovenly Taoist priest roughly covered Shu Yue's little mouth. He picked up Shu Yue and rushed out of the door. He stuffed the child to the person keeping watch outside.
"This annoying brat is yours now. If he keeps crying so loudly and wakes someone up, it'll be bad. It'll mess up our big plan. You go and tell your mother that getting rid of the evil spirit requires no disturbance. I don't care how you get out of this situation."
The slovenly Taoist priest stroked his little beard and had a sly smile on his face. Xu Yi frowned unhappily. If he could handle that stinky brat alone, he wouldn't have let this stinky Taoist priest share the spoils.
"Alright then. I'll ask my mother to stay at a relative's house at the west end of the other alley. You'd better not try to enjoy it all by yourself. I'll be back soon."
The slovenly Taoist priest knew that Xu Yi was dissatisfied with him. But because of the beauty waiting inside the room, he had to humble himself to appease Xu Yi. "Hey, Brother Xu, go quickly and come back soon. I'll be waiting for you here with this beauty."
Saying this, the slovenly Taoist priest couldn't wait to close the door. He didn't care what Xu Yi was thinking. Xu Yi, who had been rebuffed, was surely even more dissatisfied.
He spat angrily. "Humph, stinky bastard, dead Taoist priest. I'll settle the score with you after this is all over."
Xu Yi carried Shu Yue and found Aunt Li. "Mom, the Taoist priest said that getting rid of the evil spirit requires no disturbance. I see that his ritual is quite a big one. Why don't you take the child and stay at a relative's house at the west end of the other alley?"
Hearing the uncompromising tone in Xu Yi's words, Aunt Li thought it over and nodded. After all, the child was still young. She had taken a fancy to this child.
Xu Yi was at the age to get married, but no girl wanted to marry into their poverty - stricken family. Seeing her sisters with their grandchildren, she couldn't help but feel envious.
It was impossible not to be envious. She also hoped to have a large and happy family with children and grandchildren around her.
She regarded Shu Yue as her own grandson. She truly felt sorry for him. If Shu Yao was a monster, she'd rather believe that the child had been abducted by the monster.
It was better to take the child away. Aunt Li quickly packed her luggage and took the child out. But strangely enough, as soon as the child left Aunt Li's house, he started to cry loudly.
The crying made Aunt Li's heart ache and Xu Yi annoyed.
"Mom, make him stop crying. It's so annoying. What's wrong with this kid? He starts crying as soon as he goes out." Xu Yi said impatiently.
Aunt Li was also puzzled. "This child is so strange. He's usually so well - behaved. Why is he crying so loudly now?"
Aunt Li hugged Shu Yue and started to coax him. They walked for a while, stopped for a while, walked for a while, and stopped for a while.
When they could see the door of Shu Yao's room in the distance, Shu Yue finally stopped crying. Aunt Li noticed something and quickly pulled Xu Yi.
"Look how strange this child is. He cries as soon as he goes out, but stops crying when he's not far from Shu Yao. Could it be that the monster has cast a spell on the child? Otherwise, why is it so strange?"
Xu Yi didn't think that much. All he could think about was Shu Yao's angel - like appearance, and his heart was itching.
His mouth kept talking, and his hands were even faster.
Xu Yi picked up the luggage and hurriedly pushed Aunt Li out of the door. "Oh, Mom, what are you talking nonsense about? Go quickly. The exorcism can't be disturbed. Go quickly. Can't I stay at home and take care of the child? Go quickly."