Chapter 17: There Is a Monster
Taoya’s legs shook like reeds in the wind.
She had never seen such a “person” before—completely jet-black, bald-headed, barefoot, and wearing a suit of coarse brown clay-cloth. He practically blended right in with the wild grass.
But his eyes and teeth were startlingly white.
And so, Taoya was treated to a bizarre spectacle: the wild weeds of the mountain had turned into a spirit, suddenly sprouting a face, opening its mouth, and jabbering away in a strange tongue.
Terrified out of her wits and fearing the monster was targeting Jian Xingxia, her knees went soft, yet she still bit the bullet and shielded Jian Xingxia with her own body.
Jian Xingxia, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid at all. After all, she was a modern person and had long since seen Black people, White people, and people from Southeast Asia.
This strapping fellow’s skin tone fell somewhere between Black and Southeast Asian, and looking at his facial features, he leaned closer to Southeast Asian.
Jian Xingxia mentally replayed his heavily accented words before finally deciphering his meaning.
“Are you here looking for work?”
The big, dark fellow took a step forward on his bare feet. His face was too black to discern any expression, but he spoke fairly clearly.
“Yes, yes. I heard that working here means getting fed. I can work. I want to eat.”
The moment he spoke, Taoya grew even more frightened.
Jian Xingxia patted Taoya’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. He’s just here to work too.”
He is too?
Taoya blanked, then took a closer, careful look. Though this black monster was tall, he was nothing but skin and bones, looking no better off than she was.
Taoya’s heart softened instantly. “He can’t get enough to eat either.”
Jian Xingxia turned back to the dark fellow. “I need someone here to reclaim the wasteland and farm. Do you know how to do that?”
He was surprisingly quick at picking up her words. “I do. I am a Kunlun Slave. I am exceptionally skilled at farming, and I can also carry heavy loads and hunt.”
A Kunlun Slave!
Jian Xingxia never imagined she would see a living, breathing “Kunlun Slave” with her own eyes.
According to Tang Dynasty history, Kunlun Slaves had curly hair and dark bodies, and were renowned for their loyalty and bravery.
Jian Xingxia instinctively asked, “If you are a Kunlun Slave, where is your master?”
The Kunlun Slave’s starkly black-and-white eyes cast downward, revealing a deep sorrow. “My master loved mountains and rivers. I accompanied him across the entire Great Yu Empire. While passing through this place, my master fell suddenly and severely ill, and became bedridden.”
“Before he died, he told me to bury him in the mountains. He said that although I have great strength, I am foolish by nature, and my stomach is like a bottomless pit; if I returned to our home city, I would only be sold off again by others.”
“So he returned my deed of indenture to me and told me to return to my homeland to find my family. But… I have no family left.”
The Kunlun Slave possessed a simple nature and an unyielding stubbornness. He believed that since his master had bought him, he was his master’s servant; even though his master was dead, he had to guard his grave.
“I kept watch for several months, from summer through winter, never daring to leave my master’s grave. I couldn’t find any food, and my thin linen clothes couldn’t keep out the chill. I nearly froze and starved to death right before his tomb.”
He spoke slowly, his eyes brimming with sorrow and aimlessness over his master’s passing.
“On the brink of death, my master came to me in a dream. He told me to enter the mountain, saying there was a noble person within. He told me to recognize the noble person as my new master and work diligently to earn food and warmth.”
Jian Xingxia surmised that his late master must have been a highly educated, refined, and kind-hearted person to have taught a Kunlun Slave how to speak Central Plains Mandarin, with a phrasing that was even somewhat elegant.
He had granted the Kunlun Slave his freedom on his deathbed. Then, seeing how simple and stubborn the fellow was, and that he was about to starve, he had guided him to Jian Xingxia through a dream.
Though Jian Xingxia had never met this late master, she couldn’t help but feel a thread of respect and affinity for him.
Except…
From Taoya to Old Man Xu, and now to this Kunlun Slave, she had already heard three different pretexts: guidance from the Mountain Goddess, a divination by Immortal Auntie Xu, and a dream from the deceased.
This system was remarkably adept at adopting local customs. It could precisely match every single laborer and arrange an unexpected yet entirely logical method of transposition for them.
Jian Xingxia was filled with wonder.
The Kunlun Slave looked at Jian Xingxia and Taoya, asking blankly, “Which one of you is my new master?”
After hearing his story, Taoya was no longer afraid, though she still didn’t quite dare look directly at his pitch-black face.
Jian Xingxia waved her hand toward him. “I am your employer. I hired you to work.”
The word “master” was just too embarrassing!
But the Kunlun Slave accepted it with absolute composure. With a heavy thud, his knees slammed straight onto the ground.
“Master!”
Jian Xingxia rushed to make him stand up. “Whoa! Don’t kneel, don’t kneel!”
She had been knelt to multiple times over the past few days. Even with Old Man Xu, the very first thing he did upon receiving his rewards was drop to his knees before her.
Jian Xingxia lamented to the heavens: Good heavens! I didn’t make them kneel, please don’t let this chip away at my karmic blessings!
Standing nearby, Taoya heard this and said quickly, “Fairy Sister, you are so kind-hearted, you will definitely have a massive amount of karmic blessings.”
Kneeling a bit was no big deal.
Jian Xingxia felt like weeping. Fortunately, the Kunlun Slave was obedient; he stood up, arms hanging loosely at his sides, standing in place and staring blankly at Jian Xingxia.
Upon learning that he didn’t have a name, Jian Xingxia discussed it with Taoya and decided to call him Da Hei.
Taoya politely addressed him as “Brother Da Hei.”
Jian Xingxia instructed Da Hei: “There is a hoe over there. Start by turning the soil outside the courtyard. Work from about a meter away from the courtyard wall and head straight back into the mountain. I want to plant crops.”
For the time being, she didn’t dare let Da Hei directly enter the courtyard; she wanted to observe him first. Though looking at his near 1.9-meter height, vaulting over the iron fence would probably take him mere seconds if he wanted to.
Da Hei, however, had no inkling of Jian Xingxia’s reservations. Though his stomach was growling with hunger, whatever his master commanded, he executed.
He picked up the hoe, hefted its weight, and quickly adjusted. Then, he began to vigorously turn the earth.
With every strike of the hoe, a large chunk of soil was completely unearthed. He would follow up with a swift kick of his foot to crush the dirt clod.
He was still completely barefoot.
Jian Xingxia’s feet throbbed just watching him.
Yet Da Hei seemed entirely impervious to pain. Digging and kicking, it took him only a brief moment to cultivate a neat soil ridge right along the back courtyard.
Seeing this, Taoya forgot all her fear. Her mind was entirely consumed by the thought: Fairy Sister has recruited someone even more diligent and capable! The speed of her weeding practically soared.
She was terrified that if Jian Xingxia kept Da Hei, she would no longer hire her.
Jian Xingxia: “……”
What is this feeling? It feels suspiciously like the joy of a black-hearted capitalist.
Seeing their fervor, Jian Xingxia clapped the dirt off her hands and drew water to wash them. She intended to whip up a meal for Taoya and Da Hei.
These two truly didn’t spare an ounce of strength when working. Jian Xingxia wasn’t chubby herself, but compared to these skin-and-bone individuals, she felt like a plump, wealthy landlord’s wife. She certainly didn’t want anyone to view her as an oppressive tyrant mistreating a group of helpless peasants.
The water on the small clay stove had already boiled. Jian Xingxia lined up the massive porcelain bowls she had bought at the market and poured the boiling water into them to let it cool down faster.
Then she drew another kettle of well water, this time dropping five or six ears of corn inside. She stripped the outer husks but left the innermost layer of silk and leaf intact; corn boiled this way was much more fragrant and wouldn’t turn mushy easily.
With plenty of firewood inside the small stove, the water boiled rapidly. The sweet aroma of corn drifted out through the kitchen windows along with the steam.
Taoya’s nose twitched, but she didn’t lift her head, continuing to pull weeds with all her might.
Da Hei glanced toward the kitchen, a flash of surprise surfacing in his eyes, but the hoe in his hands didn’t pause for a single second.
Jian Xingxia worked up a sweat in the kitchen.
Holding the kettle, she poured the corn-infused boiling water into a separate bowl. This water was perfectly drinkable, tasting clean and sweet, and it was excellent for replenishing fluids after sweating in the summer.
Once the water was drained, the corn was easy to retrieve; she fished the ears out and set them on a plate to cool.
She proceeded to boil a third kettle of water, this time packing in seven or eight sweet potatoes. The kettle used on the small stove was simply too small; the sweet potatoes Uncle Lu provided were large, and it became tightly packed after inserting six or seven. Jian Xingxia had to forcefully wedge a small one into the remaining gap.
In another couple of days, once the grand stove was fully dry, a single pot would be able to boil over ten jin of corn and sweet potatoes at once.
Jian Xingxia peered out through the kitchen window.
The window faced the back courtyard directly, where both Da Hei and Taoya were laboring intensely. She knew neither of them had eaten their fill—in fact, they hadn’t eaten a thing—but precisely because of this, she didn’t dare feed them right away.
The freshly boiled corn was far too hot. For someone who was starving, gulping it down whole would likely scald their mouth and esophagus severely.
The third kettle of water came to a boil, but Jian Xingxia was in no rush to pour it out; sweet potatoes took longer to cook thoroughly, so they could boil a while longer.
She carried two bowls of the warm corn-water outside, calling out to Da Hei and Taoya to come have a drink.
