Chapter 5747: I Don't Want to Lend a Hand Anymore
"Quick, quick, pull it up! Pull it up!"
"Oh, don't push! It's just a low-tier, small fish. Are you that desperate?"
"It's just one portion of food!"
"You people are utterly heartless, not even sparing a low-grade mystic beast. I'm ashamed to be associated with you." Peach Blossom Divine Venerable fanned himself with a small, gold-painted red fan, leaning disdainfully against the ship's railing, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Pfft! That's what you say now, but will you refuse to eat it later?"
"Hmph, if I don't eat it, wouldn't I lose out? No way!" Peach Blossom Divine Venerable fanned himself and pointed at the fish constantly leaping out of the green lake. "Quick, just catch them all."
"Shameless," everyone muttered.
"How is it shameless? It's just eating a..." Feng Chen's voice trailed off as his gaze swept across the emerald lake. "Look, isn't there a person floating there?"
"Where's the person? Let me see!" Red-clothed and Green-clothed scrambled to the ship's railing.
Saint Son Miyan, standing nearby, impatiently brushed off his clothes, huffing, "Utterly undignified."
"Qiao Qiao." Mo Lian emerged from the cabin, clutching a handful of roasted colorful divine fish. His gaze swept the deck, unable to find his wife.
"Oh, food!" Peach Blossom Divine Venerable floated over, casually grabbed a roasted fish, and took a bite. "It tastes pretty good."
"Food, food!" Everyone swarmed around, casually grabbing fish—one for you, one for me. Mo Lian quickly tried to put the roasted fish away. Damn it, these were all for his wife! These people, shameless! Shameless, shameless!
"Ah, we've been talking for so long, and Qiao Qiao hasn't come back."
"Qiao Qiao went on the small boat to pick up Little Dumpling and the others. Hey, this roasted fish is really well-made."
"Mo Lian's cooking skills are getting better and better."
"Should we make him do the cooking from now on?"
"I think that's an excellent suggestion."
"They're back!" Princess Wushuang called out, and everyone turned to look.
Duan Yue's figure flickered. He picked up Little Dumpling and leaped from the small boat onto the large ship.
"Qiao Qiao, you're finally back! I roasted a dozen fish, and they were all snatched by those Rotten Peach Blossoms, Miyan, and your Little Red, Little Blue, and Chickadee, etc."
"Only this one is left. I snatched it from the jaws of a tiger!"
Qiao Mu's eyes lit up. She leaned forward and took a bite, her gaze wistful. "Mother said that when you're a mother, you have to be sensible. Let's leave it for our son to eat..."
Mo Lian's lips twitched, and his phoenix eyes couldn't help but curve into a smile, seeing how wronged his wife felt. The group behind them chuckled, bursting into laughter.
Little Mo Xiao reached out, took the roasted fish from his father's hand, took a small bite, and then offered it to his mother's mouth. "Mother, eat."
Suddenly, the lake churned, and a two-headed monster fish abruptly burst from the water, letting out a roar. Red-clothed and Green-clothed, who were leaning against the railing, quickly clapped their chests. "Oh my goodness, you scared me."
"Why is it just a Level 3 mystic beast? Why's it roaring?"
"Ignoring it, and it's getting bolder!"
"Catch it too; we'll roast it along with the others."
Amidst the chatter, Red-clothed suddenly covered his mouth, as if remembering something. "Hey, didn't we see a person floating on the water earlier? Why was there no follow-up?"
Everyone: ...
Oh, right. Everyone had been busy snatching the colorful divine fish, chattering away, eating and talking, and somehow, they had completely forgotten about the person floating on the water.
"Who exactly is it?" Now, everyone crowded to the ship's railing again, looking into the water. They saw the figure that had been floating on the water had drifted a bit further away, with fish occasionally leaping out to chase it.
Qiao Mu quickly pushed through the crowd, looking into the distance and saying, "How about we pull them out?"
Princess Wushuang leaned close to her, pouting. "I noticed you're not the type to meddle." Today, you're suddenly feeling charitable.This little poker face isn't like her sister, Little Lin, who loves to make a fuss about everything.
"By the way, why isn't Little Lin with us this time?"
"Once she gets here, she'll be like a wild horse unbridled," twelve-year-old Qiao Sen, hands clasped across his chest, huffed. "This used to be our territory. Second Sister knows it well!"
Qiao Mu laughed and sighed, reaching out to tap her brother's forehead. "Don't talk about your Second Sister like that."
"Alright, alright," Qiao Sen pouted, tugging Qiao Mu's finger and pointing at the water. "Sister, didn't you say you wanted to pull them up? I'll go!"
With that, he soared like a swallow through the trees, his feet skimming the water's surface, creating ripples. In a moment, he was in front of the floating person.
"How disappointing," Peach Blossom Divine Venerable muttered, biting into a colorful divine fish. "How could a corpse be floating in such beautiful green water?"
Qiao Sen, carrying the "corpse," had already clambered onto the ship's railing and gently landed on the deck.
"Sister, it seems to be alive."
He laid the person down. Everyone gathered around and saw it was a young woman. Dressed in rough cloth, her natural beauty was still evident. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she had already fainted. Her arms and legs had several wounds, bitten by small mystic beasts in the water, and were still bleeding. If Qiao Sen hadn't decisively leaped to rescue her earlier, this girl might have floated in the water for a day or two, and even if she didn't starve, she would have been devoured by the mystic beasts.
Peach Blossom Divine Venerable leaned to the side, lazily saying, "Hey, don't just rescue people indiscriminately. Who knows what you might save?"
"What if you save a lovesick woman? This Venerable cannot stand being entangled by a lovesick woman."
Red-clothed, Green-clothed, and the others all thought this made sense and quickly stepped back, no longer watching. They had encountered such situations before. Sometimes, out of kindness, they would offer help, only for the other person to insist on offering themselves in return. Tell me, is that reasonable?
Qiao Sen was speechless. "How can there be such coincidences? Are all the girls in the world lovesick?"
The moment he spoke, he felt a chill beside him. Turning, he saw An Wushuang and Qiao Mu glaring at him. You little brat, dare to say that again!
Qiao Sen quickly waved his small hands. "I, I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about other women, heh, heh."
"Alright, stop the nonsense. I can wake her up with two needles," Qiao Mu said, taking out her needle pouch and pricking the girl twice.
"Cough, cough cough."
The woman slowly regained consciousness, her limpid eyes fixed on Qiao Sen, staring unblinkingly. The group of handsome young men, watching from a distance on the deck, instantly shivered and repeatedly called out to Qiao Qiao, "Qiao Qiao, we're going inside!"
See, see? We told them not to save her, but they insisted. And sure enough, they saved a lovesick woman.
Terms of Rescue
They could already guess what the woman would say next, surely something like: "Young master, your saving grace, this humble girl has nothing to repay you with but herself." Cliché, it's all just clichés! These people, during their past experiences, had more or less encountered or heard of such situations. That's why, kids just lack experience and are easily fooled. But after being tricked a few times, they'll learn. It's so much better to listen to your older brothers, isn't it? They won't turn back until they hit a wall. Ah, pitiable, lamentable, tragic!
Qiao Mu turned to look, only to see Feng Chen, Miyan, the Seven Flowers, and the Phoenix clan members had all vanished without a trace. Fu San, holding his child nearby, couldn't help but twitch his lips. He quickly grabbed his wife's hand and whispered, "Let's go, wife, let's go too." Leaving this chaotic world to the boss's family. Anyway, the person was saved by the boss's wife's younger brother, so it was their responsibility.
An Wushuang laughed and pouted, following her husband, looking back three times as they headed to the cabin.
They heard the rescued woman speak softly, "This young master, was it you who saved me?"
Wushuang: ...
Don't even mention it, Feng Chen and his group were probably tricked too many times in the past. They could see through this cliché instantly.They immediately steered clear, truly sharp individuals.
Qiao Mu subtly cleared her throat, then suddenly reached out and slapped the girl's cold forehead. Her voice was chilling. "Don't mistake me for someone else. Your savior is here. If you want to repay with yourself, you can only do so to me." With that, she took a piece of paper from her sleeve and slapped it onto the girl's face. "Sign it."
An Wushuang and Fu San, who hadn't gone far, looked back simultaneously, child in arms, and stared speechlessly at their Qiao. Oh, heaven, what is Qiao Qiao doing?
The rescued maiden, who had been dazed, gazing infatuatedly at the dashing and extraordinary young man before her, was suddenly slapped in the face with a piece of paper. She took it down and looked at it, her face instantly turning pale with anger. "A, a slave contract??"
"Mm." Qiao Mu rose indifferently, her expression calm as she nodded. "I saved you, so of course you must repay me with yourself."
"However, I am also a reasonable person. Since I merely saved you incidentally, gave you two needles, and didn't use any expensive medicine, the cost of treatment isn't high. So, let's exchange your half a year of freedom for this life-saving grace."
Everyone: ...
Young Master Qiao Sen twitched his lips, coughed lightly, and silently moved behind his sister. Don't even mention it, it's likely no one in this world has been born who can outwit his sister! His sister always manages to deviate from the usual script and leaves those trying to outwit her in a state of utter ecstasy...
The young woman's pretty face was pale, trembling with anger. She struggled to sit up, staring intently at Qiao Mu. After a long moment, she finally found her voice. "You want me to be a slave for half a year??"
"Otherwise?" Qiao Mu asked, suddenly furious. "Why else would I save you? Ungrateful wretch, throw her back in!"
Everyone: ...
Qiao Qiao, can you please stop being so unpredictable? It's really hard on people's hearts.
"Wait, wait, wait!!" The woman trembled all over, frantically and angrily withdrawing her gaze from Qiao Sen and looking fearfully at Qiao Mu. "This, this young lady, you, you saved me, wasn't it, wasn't it just a simple good deed?"
"But I don't want to do simple good deeds anymore!!!" Qiao Mu yelled at the girl.
"Pfft." Feng Chen and his group, who were peeking from the cabin window, couldn't help but burst into laughter. Oh my god, Qiao's thought process is truly unique compared to everyone else's.
The young woman, tears welling in her eyes, looked at Qiao Mu, trembling as she picked up the paper in her hand. She cried out mournfully, "I never expected to escape the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's maw."
Qiao Mu expressionlessly watched her sign the paper, then waved her hand at her. "Go to the kitchen and prepare some tea. A warning first: don't do anything foolish. My eyes can see everything within a hundred-mile radius."
The young woman tremblingly stood up, looking back every few steps, casting them a resentful glance.
Qiao Mu waved at the people hiding inside the window. "Why are you hiding!" It's ridiculous. With her here, what can't be solved? Dealing with a mere village girl is a piece of cake. With the slave contract in her hand, that girl wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
An Wushuang ran over, laughing. "Qiao Qiao, you knew this person was lovesick, and you still saved her?"
"I didn't know," Qiao Mu said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "There are plenty of decent women in this world."
An Wushuang stroked her chin. "That's true." There were many independent and aspiring women in this world, so one couldn't generalize.
Feng Chen and the others gradually emerged, blinking as they looked at her. "Qiao Qiao, why are you keeping this person by your side?"
"The mechanical puppets have been consuming too many spirit stones recently; we should save where we can." On her Crimson Azure Wave ship, the helmsmen, boatmen, and servants who brought tea and water were all mechanical puppets. They were constantly consuming spirit stones. Now that there was a free laborer offering herself, why not use her?
Aside from the two or three mechanical boatmen who steered and hoisted sails, the other mechanical puppets could be allowed to rest. All the miscellaneous chores could be handed over to this woman. If this woman had expressed gratitude upon waking, Qiao Mu naturally wouldn't have deliberately made her sign a slave contract to humiliate her. But what was infuriating was that she immediately cast flirtatious glances at her twelve-year-old brother. Utterly audacious!
"From now on, all chores like serving tea, fetching water, mopping floors, and wiping benches will be her responsibility." She's idle anyway.Shouldn't a life-saving grace be repaid generously?
Don't think that just because she was rescued, she can act like a young lady, Qiao Mu snorted, glancing at her brother. "You are not allowed to talk to her."
Qiao Sen nodded his small head. His brother was only twelve years old; he couldn't be corrupted by those inappropriate women. Qiao Mu reached out and stroked her little brother's head.
Author's Note
Just a quick note to everyone: This Sky-Null Star extra story, which takes place in the lower star region, should be the end of the book. Once the Sky-Null Star extra story concludes, without a doubt, the book will be marked as finished.
We began in the lower star region and will end in the lower star region. The timeline for this Sky-Null Star extra story: it happens before the protagonist's team goes to the Holy Region. In other words, it connects to the aftermath of the main story's grand finale.
I originally didn't plan to write this section. But thinking about it, having written this far, it's better to make it a little more complete. Family reunion and national celebration are the main themes of this extra section. There's no main plot, no major conspiracies; it's entirely about... eating! Drinking! Playing! Having fun!