I Just Want to be a Throwaway Character - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: World Two

A month later, Lin Morou had genuinely gained a lot of stamina from practicing at the training grounds. She could even make the large sandbag move a tiny bit now.

That day, Ji Wan was incredibly excited. It was the time of the month when the sect gave disciples their allowance to go down the mountain and buy what they needed. After a month of suffering through the sect cafeteria, Ji Wan had given up all hope. The fact that they could invent dishes she couldn’t even bring herself to eat showed just how horrifying the cafeteria was.

For a whole month, Ji Wan had survived on carrots. The reason she only ate carrots was simple: if she didn’t, all that was left was lettuce, raw meat, and various other “dark dishes” that were so bad she couldn’t even tell what they were. As a person who lived on instant noodles in her past life, she had considered cooking for herself, but that ended when the kitchen exploded. Looking at her own black, burnt creations compared to the unidentifiable, multi-colored meals from the cafeteria, Ji Wan gave up. She had also tried to eat a Fasting Pill, but it tasted so bitter she couldn’t swallow it. It was a truly miserable experience.

Lin Morou looked at Ji Wan, who had woken up early for the first time ever, and her expression showed a rare hint of surprise. In the last month, Ji Wan hadn’t gotten up early once. Everyone else thought she was secretly cultivating, and they’d often be in the training field discussing how talented and diligent Senior Sister Ji Wan was. Lin Morou would listen to them expressionlessly, but a trace of disdain would appear in her eyes.

“Hmph, Ji Wan. Diligent?” Lin Morou thought, a cold laugh forming in her mind. She almost wanted to bring everyone to see the real Ji Wan, wrapped in a blanket in the morning, bargaining with a junior sister a head shorter than her for just a few more minutes of sleep.

By now, Ji Wan was dragging Lin Morou toward the town at the foot of the mountain. Without anyone else around, Ji Wan completely let herself go. Her “perfect” image had died the moment she started bargaining with Lin Morou.

Ji Wan and Lin Morou, both dressed in their normal sect uniforms, looked like two sisters out for a stroll. The people on the street were immediately drawn to the two pretty girls. They had never seen children so perfect before, like little immortals from the heavens. And there were two of them!

“Whose girls are these? So pretty! Come eat some candy, dear,” an auntie selling sweets called out warmly to them.

“Come here, I have Osmanthus cake,” a young girl passing by offered them.

“Here, grandpa has candied hawthorn,” an old man with white hair shouted.

The entire street was in a frenzy. The townspeople were kind and simple-hearted. When they saw cute kids, they couldn’t help but want to feed them.

“Thank you, auntie, thank you, sister, thank you, grandpa…”

Compared to Ji Wan’s carefree enjoyment, Lin Morou was extremely awkward. She had never been stared at by so many people in her life. She watched Ji Wan happily eating with a mouth full of food, and her feeling of disgust rose again. How could this woman be so… so shameless? Lin Morou, a child from a rich family, couldn’t find any other words to describe it. This scene of being given food was something she had only seen when her family was giving charity to beggars.

But what Lin Morou didn’t see was that Ji Wan was secretly giving all the money for the food back to the kind aunties, sisters, and grandpas who had given them the food. After thanking the kind townspeople, Ji Wan walked on, carrying a large bag of food.

Throughout the entire process, Lin Morou stood far away from Ji Wan, pretending not to know her. She stared at Ji Wan, who was laughing brightly with the crowd, her own face cold and expressionless. Everyone just assumed the little girl was too shy to speak, so they all talked to the lively Ji Wan instead.

As she walked, Ji Wan happily looked around, giving off a strong “country bumpkin” vibe. As a modern person, she had never seen a true ancient-style street. All the old streets she had visited in her past life felt the same. This was a real, authentic ancient street.

Then, Ji Wan realized she had forgotten about a certain little kid for a while. She turned to see Lin Morou’s cold expression. Ji Wan genuinely found an expressionless face on a ten-year-old child to be very unnatural. How can she not be cute when she scowls all the time? Ji Wan thought to herself.

Thinking about it, Ji Wan took a candied hawthorn from the large bag of sweets and held it out to Lin Morou’s mouth.

“Eat,” Ji Wan said, looking at the slightly dazed Lin Morou.

Lin Morou was walking, thinking about how to intensify her training, when a sweet taste suddenly appeared at her lips. She instinctively took a bite after hearing Ji Wan’s words. The sourness of the hawthorn immediately made her composed expression twist. Lin Morou didn’t spit it out; her good manners wouldn’t allow her to do so on the street. She swallowed it with a frown. A little embarrassed, she glared at the woman who was laughing at her expression.

“Was it good? Hahahaha…” It was rare to see Lin Morou act like a little kid, so Ji Wan couldn’t help but tease her.

“Hmph, so boring,” Lin Morou said, likely out of embarrassment. She walked past Ji Wan without looking back.

“Hey, wait for me, little short legs!” Ji Wan shouted, pleased that she had longer legs.

“Vulgar. Ill-mannered,” Lin Morou thought, defining Ji Wan once more without turning around. She felt a bit angry for some reason.

Lin Morou walked faster and faster. By the time she stopped and turned to look back, Ji Wan was nowhere to be seen. A feeling of panic rose in her. Lin Morou knew something was wrong and quickly walked back to look for Ji Wan. But there was no one. Only she was left alone. Lin Morou felt the deep fear and anxiety rise in her heart. Her pace grew more and more hurried.

At that moment, two shifty-eyed men dressed like thugs began following Lin Morou into an empty alley. Lin Morou was completely unaware. By the time she entered the alley, it was too late.

Lin Morou calmly watched the two men, one in front and one behind, blocking her escape.

“Hehe, Boss, if we tie her up and sell her to the brothel, we’ll get a lot of money.” A burly, foolish-looking man said.

“Tsk, tsk, with this girl’s looks, she’ll definitely be a top courtesan in the future. We don’t have to worry about the money.” A thin, sickly-looking man with a few tufts of mustache smiled lecherously.

Lin Morou could tell they meant no good. Her eyes darted around, looking for a way out.

“Daxiong, this little girl is trying to run. Grab her!” the thin man commanded. The two of them rushed forward, planning to finish it quickly.

Lin Morou dodged them skillfully, watching as the two men crashed into each other and wailed in pain. She quickly ran toward the street. Suddenly, a large net fell from the sky, trapping her.

“Hehe, Boss is so smart, he was prepared all along,” the burly man said, rubbing his aching head as he helped the thin man up.

“Thank God I had a backup plan. Damn you, you little brat, I’ll kill you!” the thin man cursed, and the two of them walked toward Lin Morou with evil intentions.

Lin Morou watched them coldly, struggling to break free. But she was too weak, unable to move at all. Just as their hands were about to reach her, a sweet, familiar voice rang out like a clap of thunder from a clear sky.

“Who are you trying to kill?”

Ji Wan stood at the end of the alley, looking coldly at the two thugs.

“Hey, Boss, another pretty one just showed up!” the burly man said, rubbing his hands together and getting ready to grab her too.

Ji Wan’s expression was icy. She looked at the approaching burly man, a frown of disgust on her face. The moment he came close, she summoned her life-bound spiritual sword. The man’s face twisted in shock as he fell to the ground. Ji Wan expressionlessly wiped a trace of blood from her face and slowly looked at the other thug who was about to attack her. She looked like a Shura descended to earth.

However, under Ji Wan’s intimidating facade, her mind was in a complete frenzy. “Help, this is scary! I only meant to scare him. I just gave him a small cut on his arm, not his carotid artery. Why did he faint? People are going to think I’m a murderer.”

Ji Wan’s mind was already coming up with headlines for herself: “Shocking! A twelve-year-old girl commits murder on the street, all because…”

“Heroine, heroine, please… please don’t kill me,” the short man begged on his knees. A foul smell and a puddle of yellow liquid appeared from his pants.

Ji Wan wrinkled her nose in disgust, quickly picked up Lin Morou, and moved away from the man. A second later, a large group of soldiers flooded the narrow alley, capturing the two men who had been kidnapping girls. They thanked Ji Wan for her help and for reporting the incident.

After being rescued, Lin Morou looked at Ji Wan closely. Ji Wan had been standing against the light, like a ray of hope in the darkness, dazzling and brilliant. Lin Morou remembered that she hadn’t even seen Ji Wan move her sword. This strengthened her resolve to cultivate diligently. Someday, she would use her strength to take revenge and protect the people she wanted to protect, just like this.

Seeing Lin Morou staring at her blankly, Ji Wan waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you in a daze? Did you get scared? Do you want Senior Sister to give you a hug and comfort you? Don’t be shy, I’m very gentle.” This was her big chance at a hero-saves-the-damsel moment, or rather, a hero-saves-the-loli moment. She had to show off the charm of a gentle senior sister.

Suddenly, a greasy and sleazy vibe reappeared, but this time on a very beautiful face. Ji Wan was showing her true colors, completely abandoning her previous cold persona. Ji Wan felt it was a great deal of effort just for some Troublemaking Value. She had intentionally hidden behind Lin Morou to give her a sense of abandonment, hoping to raise her score. But she didn’t expect to run into kidnappers. Was this one of the female protagonist’s trials? she wondered. Oh my god, did I just interrupt her chance to show off? Ji Wan’s expression changed, and she looked at Lin Morou with a hint of guilt.

Lin Morou gave Ji Wan a cold look and didn’t speak. She forgave herself for admiring this woman just a moment ago. Now, she was just a weirdo.

“Ding! Troublemaking Value +2.”

“What? I was offering her a hug, and that counts as making trouble?” Ji Wan glared at Lin Morou again. You ungrateful brat, you little rascal. But looking at the girl’s cute face, she couldn’t bear to actually say it.

Ugh, the burden of being a face-con. On the way back, Ji Wan was carrying a bunch of bags, and she made Lin Morou help her. Lin Morou didn’t have much of an appetite for mortal food and usually ate Fasting Pills. But she still had the sweet and sour taste of the candied hawthorn in her mouth.

The Lin family was the number one righteous family in the mortal realm. Since she was a child, her parents had never let her eat street food; she only ate the elaborate, delicate meals prepared for her at home. She had never truly gone out before. Her parents had only arranged for her to learn what was expected of a young lady from a righteous family, hoping that one day she would be chosen by the four great sects, just like her grandfather had been, and bring glory to the Lin family.

This was honestly the first time she had ever gotten out of a carriage to walk and browse the street. Overall, the feeling was…

“What are you thinking about? Let’s go, Little Momo,” Ji Wan said, turning her head to remind Lin Morou. The golden light of the setting sun shone on Ji Wan, making her look warm and sweet.

Seeing Ji Wan struggling to walk ahead, a smile appeared on Lin Morou’s face, a smile that a child her age should have. Unfortunately, Ji Wan didn’t see it. Her mind was entirely focused on what she would eat today and tomorrow. She looked like she was preparing for a New Year’s Eve feast.

When they finally got back to the residence, Ji Wan called out to Lin Morou, who was about to turn back to her own room. She handed her a candied hawthorn. “Here, your reward. Thanks for helping me carry everything back.”

Lin Morou didn’t take it. She just looked at Ji Wan’s smile, feeling a bit dazed. Ji Wan, seeing her expressionless face, knew the little kid was full of bad habits. She grabbed Lin Morou’s hand and placed the candied hawthorn in it before heading into her room. Lin Morou was left standing there, staring at the red, candy-coated hawthorn on a stick.

Finally, she gently licked the candy coating. A small smile appeared on her lips. “It’s so sweet.” Lin Morou looked at Ji Wan’s closed door. This woman isn’t so bad after all. Remembering how Ji Wan had acted spoiled and shameless, Lin Morou thought she might even be a little cute.

“Little Momo, get me a basin of bathwater!” a voice called from inside the room.

Lin Morou took a bite of the hawthorn. Its sourness made her frown. This woman is so annoying, she thought. But she still accepted her fate and went to fetch a bucket of bathwater that was half her height.