Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 2

Abruptly meeting those wide, rounded eyes filled with terror and dread, Mu Jinyu was still startled. Images of this person regaining her memory and becoming a decisive, cold-blooded executioner flashed through her mind.

This was the Prince Regent of the Great Rong Kingdom!

How could someone who ascended to such a position at such a young age be a kind-hearted soul?

According to the “web novel recommendation” accounts, this person was bloodthirsty. Having suffered memory loss and abuse at the hands of the original host, her temperament had allegedly become even more erratic and crazed.

It was only after meeting the other female lead of the book that she was slowly healed.

Thinking of this, that innocent, harmless gaze was likely a disguise. In reality, Rong Heng probably wanted to tear her into ten thousand pieces!

If she had known, she wouldn’t have brandished that stone in front of Rong Heng!

Even under the blazing sun, Mu Jinyu felt a terrifying chill seep through her body. She couldn’t help but distance herself from Rong Heng, shivering as she asked, “Are… are you alright?”

Rong Heng had no idea that the person in front of her was scared to death of her.

Seeing the other person holding a stone as if to smash her, she was also scared to death!

This was the first time she had encountered such a vicious person—someone who wanted to silence her just because the “marking” had failed!

What should she do?

Rong Heng did not respond to Mu Jinyu. Instead, she cautiously looked up to peek at Mu Jinyu’s expression, then quickly averted her gaze and pulled her legs close, trying her best to make herself inconspicuous.

She curled up amidst a patch of rotting leaves.

Waiting for death.

She couldn’t defeat the person before her; she only hoped this person wouldn’t torture her and would give her a quick end.

Mu Jinyu didn’t know what she was thinking and was afraid she might have a hidden trick up her sleeve, waiting for the right moment to attack.

Thus, she didn’t approach Rong Heng. Instead, she took several deep breaths, propping up her weak body to stagger to her feet.

She tucked the stone she was holding into the gap of her waistband, thinking that if Rong Heng tried to ambush her, she could use it for self-defense.

After stealing another glance at Rong Heng lying on the ground, Mu Jinyu walked toward the kitchen, planning to scoop some water from the vat to clean herself.

The original host hadn’t bathed for days. She felt itchy all over and feared she might have lice.

Besides that, the wound on her neck needed to be cleaned and treated with medicine.

The “Great Rong Kingdom” she had traveled to didn’t exist in history, but she knew that in ancient times, any injury or illness left untreated could cost her life.

However, once Mu Jinyu reached the water vat, she discovered many leaves at the bottom and thick moss growing on the walls. The water was a bright, glowing green.

One look was enough to know it was unusable.

Mu Jinyu: “…”

Fortunately, there was a well right next to the kitchen.

Louxu County happened to be adjacent to the capital of Great Rong—Bianjing City.

Benefiting from its proximity to the capital, the infrastructure of Louxu County was well-maintained. While not every household had a well, at least ninety percent did.

The remaining ten percent were houses where people rarely lived, so no wells were dug.

The County Magistrate of Louxu, considering that such households still needed water, had dug public wells and ponds throughout the county for everyone to use.

When the original host’s parents—a Qianyuan and a Kunze—were still alive, the family had some money, so their well was dug larger than most.

Mu Jinyu came to the well, removed the wooden cover, and leaned over to look inside.

The stone-lined well was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, pitch black and impossible to see through.

With a plop, Mu Jinyu lowered the bucket, shaking the rope tied to it as she struggled to scoop water.

What she didn’t notice was that the sound of the bucket hitting the water made Rong Heng flinch, causing her to hug herself even tighter.

Fearful and helpless, Rong Heng couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

She was covered in wounds, and her mind was a total blank.

She didn’t know who she was, where she was, or why she was so injured.

When she first opened her eyes, boundless darkness and the heavy scent of a Qianyuan’s pheromones had assaulted her.

It was a woody scent.

It was gloomy and decayed—a smell so weak it couldn’t withstand the onset of autumn or the gnawing of maggots, a scent on the verge of rotting into sludge.

It was the scent of a Parasol tree.

The foul stench of this Qianyuan was aggressive, making her throat churn with the urge to vomit.

A strange Qianyuan had wanted to forcibly mark her.

She was afraid—utterly terrified.

Her body was as stiff as a piece of porcelain sealed in mud and thrust into a kiln to be scorched.

The porcelain had taken its shape.

And she was being pressed down by the Qianyuan, twisted into another form.

She resisted, and the Qianyuan struck her.

Her head hit the ground; her face stung with pain, and her abdomen throbbed.

In that moment, she wondered wildly: Was I a wicked person who committed every possible sin in my past life?

Is that why I was sent to hell to be tortured by a demon?

Fortunately, she was lucky; she felt a sharp stone on the ground.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the stone and smashed it against the Qianyuan’s head!

The enraged Qianyuan then dragged her body and slammed it against the ground.

Both of them lost consciousness together.

When she woke up again, she tried to seize the initiative to kill the Qianyuan first to protect herself.

But the Qianyuan who had wanted to violate her—who had wished her dead—had suddenly changed her attitude.

She had actually started asking if she was alright.

Why? Why did this Qianyuan change her tune?

Rong Heng desperately wanted her brain to function, to analyze the current situation.

Unfortunately.

For some reason, her mind was a blank. No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t figure anything out.

She only felt relieved that the Qianyuan in front of her didn’t seem to want to hurt her anymore.

Rong Heng’s mind was empty, forgetting the rules and taboos of the mortal world. Everything she did was based on pure instinct, with no regard for right or wrong.

Seeing that the Qianyuan was no longer harming her, she relaxed, no longer sensing danger.

Instead, she began to secretly observe the Qianyuan’s movements.

She watched as the Qianyuan struggled to haul up half a bucket of water. As the water rippled, a look of joy appeared on the other woman’s face.

Seeing the clear water in the bucket, Mu Jinyu knew it was usable.

She glanced toward the stove, thought for a moment, and indeed found a fire starter on the floor beneath the stove opening.

The original host was lazy. After her parents died, she never did any work and didn’t even know to buy more firewood when it ran out.

Mu Jinyu gathered the few remaining sticks of wood, placed them in the stove, and stuffed a large pile of dry leaves from the floor inside.

Flames flickered in the stove, casting a reddish glow on her face.

Having successfully started the fire, she began using the water to scrub the dust-covered pot clean before placing it on the stove.

She drew water twice more until the pot was more than half full.

Then, she sat by the stove to warm herself, waiting for the water to boil.

The entire time, she didn’t look at Rong Heng, who was huddled on the other side of the yard.

She didn’t dare to look.

The air in the courtyard was silent and stagnant.

After a while, the water in the pot began to churn, and bubbles burst with a gudong sound.

This meant the water was nearly boiling.

Unable to wait any longer, Mu Jinyu ladled the water into a basin. She first scrubbed a found rag clean and then began to wash her face vigorously.

She had felt uncomfortable for a long time—her face felt tight and heavy, as if coated in a thick layer of grime.

Sure enough, after wiping her face, the rag turned black!

One could only imagine how filthy her face had been!

After scrubbing her face so hard she almost took off a layer of skin, Mu Jinyu began to wipe the bloodstains trailing down her neck.

Finally able to clean herself, Mu Jinyu’s movements were urgent and forceful. She quickly wiped down her neck, chest, and limbs.

Only then did she feel refreshed.

She didn’t touch the wound on her neck, fearing that contact with water might cause an infection. Without proper medical treatment, it could be fatal.

So, it was better to let a doctor handle that wound.

She took off the pouch tied to her waist and began to count the money inside.

There were three small pieces of broken silver and a few dozen copper coins.

In ancient times, silver was calculated by weight. Mu Jinyu weighed the three pieces in her hand; they felt like about one or two taels, which should be enough to see a doctor.

Clutching the silver, she walked weakly toward the courtyard gate. Halfway there, she remembered she still had Rong Heng at home.

Mu Jinyu’s footsteps halted. She didn’t dare turn back to look at Rong Heng, but she stood rooted to the spot, her mind racing.

If she left Rong Heng alone at home, would she take the opportunity to escape?

If she escaped and went to the authorities, would she be thrown in jail?

“Definitely,” the three words flashed through Mu Jinyu’s mind.

It wasn’t that she was determined to keep Rong Heng by force. If Rong Heng’s departure wouldn’t affect her, she would be more than happy to see this “Great Buddha” go.

But right now, Rong Heng leaving meant she might face death again, which was something she didn’t want to deal with.

Mu Jinyu’s expression was torn—frowning one moment and wide-eyed the next—as she pondered how to avoid this outcome.

Finally, she took a deep breath, returned to the stove, and rummaged through the empty woodpile to find a length of rope.

With a look of grim determination, she turned around. After a quick, fleeting glance at Rong Heng, she averted her head and walked toward her.

She kept the hand holding the rope behind her back so Rong Heng wouldn’t see it.

Rong Heng had been secretly watching Mu Jinyu. However, after watching for so long and seeing that Mu Jinyu was only boiling water and not doing anything to hurt her, her guard slowly lowered.

Once a person relaxes, physical pain and mental exhaustion come flooding back.

Rong Heng felt her head grow heavy and her eyelids start to droop.

She nearly drifted off.

It wasn’t until Mu Jinyu drew near that Rong Heng shivered and snapped awake.

She stared at the Qianyuan, who was now only a few steps away, as if she were seeing a ghost!

She immediately recalled the various atrocities committed against her and didn’t dare stay put. Instead, she turned and scrambled to her feet, trying to run!

Behind her was a brick-and-tile house.

The house was quite large, with two bedrooms.

One was larger, where the original host’s parents used to live, and the other was smaller, Mu Jinyu’s room.

There were also two smaller rooms totaling less than twenty square meters—one used as a latrine and the other as a storage room.

The storage room contained a bathtub for bathing.

In her panic, Rong Heng ran into the house.

She wanted to shut Mu Jinyu out, but she was covered in injuries, and her movements were sluggish. Just as she stepped into the house, Mu Jinyu caught up!

Feeling her arm seized by the Qianyuan, tears instantly spilled from Rong Heng’s eyes. After a short, sharp scream, she began to struggle desperately.

She didn’t care if her injuries worsened.

She was too terrified.

She didn’t know what would happen if she was caught by this Qianyuan, but she knew this person wasn’t good; she would surely suffer!

Without thinking, Rong Heng threw a punch toward Mu Jinyu’s face!

Rip—

The sound of coarse cloth tearing rang out. While Mu Jinyu narrowly dodged the punch, the sword wound on Rong Heng’s arm ripped open.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly staining Rong Heng’s entire arm red and forming a pool of blood on the floor.

Perhaps Rong Heng didn’t know how she got her wounds, but Mu Jinyu did.

The beginning of the book explained that someone had plotted against Rong Heng and poisoned her. She narrowly escaped death, so the mastermind sent assassins to silence her.

The sword wounds on Rong Heng’s body were from those pursuers.

Seeing Rong Heng bleeding uncontrollably, Mu Jinyu panicked.

If Rong Heng died here, she wouldn’t even know how to dispose of the body!

The sight of the piercing red blood made Mu Jinyu tense up. She gripped Rong Heng almost in terror and roared:

“If you don’t want to die, behave yourself!”

Rong Heng’s eyes widened in fear, and her body went limp.

Mu Jinyu: Wait? I’m the villain?