Chapter 246: Xiao Yun > Zhao Yun!?
Chapter 246: Xiao Yun > Zhao Yun!?
As soon as Zhao Bao had heard Cao Mao’s voice, he beamed with a bright smile as he had an inspiration.
“Good timing, Junior Mao! This monk has a favor to ask you.”
Cao Mao pointed at the ruined guest house behind Zhao Bao, “Before that, can you explain what had happened?”
“It’s a long story…”
“I have time.”
Zhao Bao sighed. He turned toward the destroyed house, “Very well. An avatar of this world’s guardian had descended here yesterday to steal the divine pill. It killed Yun’er and Xin’er, but a god punished them.”
Cao Mao pointed at Xiao Yun, “If Xiao Yun’s dead, who is this?”
“After everything had been over, Xin’er was resurrected and taken away by an unknown god. As for Yun’er…”
Zhao Bao had a wry smile on his face, “This monk had fed her the divine pill that you had given me. She has come back to life, and… she has grown up a little.”
Cao Mao frowned. The monk still hadn’t told him how Xiao Yun turned into a girl. Moreover, Zhao Bao seemed to have skipped a lot of information since the story was too vague.
But then, Cao Mao remembered a popular trope in Japanese novels, the reverse trap trope. Sometimes, a male character might turn up to be an attractive female character, who had been cross-dressing throughout the story.
From the monk’s reaction and testimony, it seemed that Xiao Yun had been hiding his true gender, and Zhao Bao had just discovered it recently.
“In other words, you mistook her as a boy all along. Is that right?”
“It’s embarrassing, but this monk admits his mistake. We really thought she was a boy.”
Cao Mao scratched his head. He glanced at Xiao Yun, who had been wiggling her hips and her bouncy breasts, playing with them as she had not gotten used to the new physique.
The girl hadn’t realized that her movements might be stimulating for men. The white mountains sometimes slipped out of the hole of her robes, which attracted the sight of three men.
Cao Mao coughed, “What do you want me to do?”
Zhao Bao also coughed to regain his composure, “This monk would like to entrust her to you.”
Cao Mao froze. Again, someone had tried to give him a woman with an ulterior motive, “Do you even realize what you’re asking? I might turn her into another one of my concubines, you know?”
“This monk is aware. However, Huangjin Monastery consists of male monks and male disciples. An adolescent girl like her couldn’t possibly fit in our sect since she would surely awake the sleeping beasts among the stoic monks. Moreover, she doesn’t even know how to behave properly like a mature woman. She will surely be ravished or cause an uproar if she returns to the sect. Since she is fated to become someone’s wife anyway, At least, this monk wishes to leave her in the hands of someone who treasures his wives.”
“And I fit the bill.”
“You can say so.”
Cao Mao rolled his eyes. Lately, he felt like he scored new wives too easily. Although Cao Mao didn’t hate it, he began to get tired of adjusting new schedules for his wives and his children.
“Did you even ask for her consent?”
Zhao Bao shook his head and gave Xiao Yun a pitiful look, “I asked her, but she didn’t understand.”
“Ha! And you call yourself a monk…”
“This monk is ashamed. But for her safety and her future, it has to be done. This city has the best environment for her to grow, and you are the best possible candidate to be her husband. Please take care of her.”
Cao Mao shrugged as he no longer cared about morals. He patted Xiao Yun’s head and stroke her silky smooth hair, “Fine. But I have a condition.”
“Please speak.”
“Is Yaksha Fist Technique something from your sect?”
Zhao Bao raised his eyebrows, “Yes. We practice that art. It’s a common technique that we teach our disciples and apprentice monks. Is your request related to the technique?”
“Sort of. I’ve obtained a skill book from someone from your sect, and I’ve been practicing the technique. I’ve found that this fist technique is incomplete, so I would like to request for a completed version of this art.”
Zhao Bao’s eyes beamed in golden light, “Oh! So, you wish to become a monk!?”
“Heck, no! I just want to learn the fist art!”
“Haiz,” Zhao Bao sighed in disappointment. “This monk thought that you wished to join our monastery. What a pity.”
“If I do, I wouldn’t be able to have so many wives, would I? Well, back to the topic, can I have the technique?”
Zhao Bao smiled, “It’s not like the technique is a secret of our monastery. The complete version of Yaksha Fist is a sky-grade fist technique, which isn’t something worthy to be used as a core technique for someone of your caliber. Are you sure you want this?”
“Yes, please.”
The monk took out a bamboo scroll and handed it over to Cao Mao, “You can have it.”
“Thank you, senior!”
“Now, this monk also has a request.”
Of course, nothing in this world was free. As Cao Mao extorted a skill book from Zhao Bao, the latter also wanted something in return.
Cao Mao understood the notion. His face turned solemn, “What can I do for you?”
“It’s nothing serious or materialistic. It’s just a whimsical request of this monk, so you don’t have to be on guard,” The monk smiled and patted Xiao Fei’s head, warning him to behave himself. “Yun’er has no surname, and this monk has no descendant. Is it alright for her to have a surname?”
“Wait, isn’t [Xiao] her surname?”
Zhao Bao chuckled, “[Xiao] is just an honorific. We use it as a pseudo surname for our orphan disciples, so they won’t be treated as a common slave without a surname. Now that she is about to have a husband, it is inappropriate not to give her a proper family name. At least, she should have an origin.”
Cao Mao froze. As his brain was still under the influence of Buddha’s blessing, he could already predict what Zhao Bao was about to do.
His jaw dropped. Then, he covered his mouth, hiding his shocked expression.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yun blankly looked at Zhao Bao in confusion, “What’s this about, master? I don’t understand a thing.”
“I’m giving you a new surname, Yun’er,” Zhao Bao warmly smiled, “You aren’t Xiao Yun anymore.”
“I’m no longer titled as [Xiao]?”
“Yes. Yun’er, ever since I’ve rescued you, I’ve been treating you as my own child.”
“I-I also think of you as my dad!”
“Hahaha! You’re a sweet girl. You see, I’ve been thinking about adopting you.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. Do you mind having this old man as your father?”
“No! Not at all! I’m all alone since I was born! I also love to have a father!”
Zhao Bao had a bitter smile on his face. This poor girl was too pitiful to the point that he no longer wanted to give her away to Cao Mao.
Still, the monk couldn’t keep her around as the other monks and disciples might be tempted to take her. The rabbit girl was too sexy, yet innocent, which could potentially transform any saint into a dire wolf.
“Yun’er. How about you greet me as [Father] from now on?”
“Okay! Xiao Yun greets father!”
“No, no. You can’t use that pseudo surname anymore,” Zhao Bao laughed. “From now on, your surname is [Zhao], the same surname as me.”
“So, my name is Yun, and my surname is Zhao?”
“Yes.”
“YAY! Zhao Yun greets father!”
“Hahaha! Good! Good!”
While the rabbit girl and the monk were in a merry mood, Cao Mao had been massaging his temples, having a severe headache.
‘Figured as much. Ma Shoucheng is Ma Teng. Ma Moxi is Ma Chao. Ju Shoufen is Ju Shou. Jia Wenhe is Jia Xu. Now, I get myself Zhao-fucking-Zilong in a gender-bender version. Well, if some of the historical figures turn into pretty sexy girls in this world, I can’t complain.’
Cao Mao had figured out long ago that some of the natives were the counterparts of historical figures from his previous world, such as Dong Zhongying, who was the counterpart of Dong Zhuo, an infamous tyrant.
Although their names were similar, historical events that took place in Cao Mao’s world never happened here. The Yellow Turban Rebellion didn’t occur as their counterpart organization, the Huangjin Monastery, never openly rebelled against the emperor or Liu Bian. Moreover, other clans didn’t wage war against Zhao Bao and the monks.
All history knowledge was useless here. Yet, these people with the same name as the famous heroes from his world could be used as a reference since they were all talented.
‘I guess I should be wary of people with famous names now. If Lu Bu or Guan Yu’s counterpart shows up, I have to make sure that they’re not on the protagonist’s side or join forces with the Yuan Clan.’
…
Xiao Fei and Zhao Bao had a long chat with Xiao Yun, now Zhao Yun, as they taught her about marriage life and her future.
The rabbit girl was still confused about her marriage as it was too sudden. She didn’t even have the chance to express her opinion about her decision since Zhao Bao insisted that she had to marry Cao Mao no matter what.
In the end, Zhao Yun parted ways with Zhao Bao with teary eyes. She felt bad as she had been chased out of the monastery because of her true gender.
Zhao Yun couldn’t stop crying. Her tears and snort dirtied her pretty face, and her sobbing noise broke Cao Mao’s heart.
‘Damn Zhao Bao! You call yourself a monk!? Because this girl can turn your friends into lustful beasts, you drive her away? You call this parenting!? You don’t deserve to call yourself her father, you sick fuck!’
Making a little girl cry was the worst thing that a man could do. Cao Mao was pissed. Yet, he didn’t dare reveal his thoughts in front of Zhao Bao as he was afraid of the repercussion from offending the 7th-stage monk.
Although Cao Mao might not be a gentleman, he still had a soft spot for a little innocent girl. He patted her head to soothe her, but she couldn’t stop crying.
He sighed. Since it had come to this, Cao Mao had no choice. He guided her toward Ju Shoufen’s residence, hoping to place her under Mao Xueyan’s protection since they were all beast folks.
Unfortunately, when they got there, the house was in ruin because of the previous tribulation and the intervention of Heaven Eyes.
As Ju Shoufen had been busy with the construction of the reservoir and the water systems, she hadn’t returned to her house. Mao Xueyan, Dandan, and the fox cub were also nowhere to be seen.
Cao Mao assumed that Mao Xueyan might have left for Tian Long Forest to gather her subordinates here. There was also a chance that she might not return.
Without the beast girls, Cao Mao didn’t know what to do.
“Shit. They’re gone. What am I going to do with you?”
Cao Mao shook his head and looked at the sobbing little rabbit girl. He knelt in front of her and wiped her tears on her face, “How long have you been with Zhao Bao and the other boys?”
He tried to distract the girl from the sad thoughts.
“… About half a year.”
“I see. What about your real parents? Where are they?”
“I don’t have one.”
“…”
This was the worst-case scenario. Cao Mao was not a psychiatrist, so he didn’t know how to deal with a depressed young girl, who never had a parent.
Since she had no one to rely on, Cao Mao pulled her into a hug and patted her back.
“You know what? You actually have many new family members now.”
“???”
“Many sisters are waiting for you in my mansion. They will be your new family from now on. Also, don’t worry. I won’t do anything bad to you.”
“What sister? What bad thing?”
“Eh, I guess I have to show you the place first.”
Cao Mao carried her with one arm, letting her sit on his right arm. Then, he stood up.
Zhao Yun wrapped her arms around Cao Mao’s neck by instinct as she was afraid that she might fall. But after she was used to the balance and the sitting position, she was stunned from the view.
It was nice seeing things from a high-ground.
Finally, she had stopped crying completely.
Seeing that the girl had forgotten about the sad thought, Cao Mao slowly shifted her position, letting her climb his shoulders and sit on his neck.
Zhao Yun awkwardly sat on Cao Mao’s neck. When she had gotten into the position, she remembered a scene that she had once seen when she was alone in the wild.
She had seen so many kids at her age, sitting on top of their parent’s shoulders, laughing in happiness.
She envied them.
She wished she had parents.
She wished she had a happy family, too.
But now, something was changing.
“Hang tight. I’ll be jumping from roof to roof to your new home.”
“New home? What Roof to Roof-AHHHHH!!”
Cao Mao laughed and began leaping over one building to another. Zhao Yun screamed in panic.
Shortly afterward, the scream changed into laughter. Tears still rolled on her face, but they were no longer the tears of sadness.