Zhang Wuji also laughed. "Most of me have died of starvation, a little part of me is still alive," he said.
The peasant girl giggled and sat by his side. Suddenly she extended her foot and kicked his broken leg, asking, "Is this part dead or still alive?"
"Aiyo!" Zhang Wuji cried out, "Don't you have any conscience?"
"What conscience?" the girl replied, "What did you do to me that I should be good to you?"
Zhang Wuji was taken aback. He said, "Three days ago you hit me really bad, but I don't hate you. In fact, I have been thinking about you often these past two days."
The girl's face reddened, she was angry, but forced herself to bear it. "Who wants to be thought by you, an ugly freak?" she said, "Most likely you did not think good things about me. In your belly, you must be cursing me as ugly and evil girl."
"You are not ugly at all," Zhang Wuji said, "But why must you hurt others first before you can be happy?"
With a chuckle the girl said, "If others do not suffer pain, how can I be happy?" She could see the disagreement in Zhang Wuji's expression, but she also noticed the half-eaten cake in his hand, which after three days he had not finished eating. She said, "You keep that cake until now? Won't it taste awful?"
Zhang Wuji said, "This cake was given by Miss, I hate to part with it." Three days ago, he said those words half-jokingly, but today he was very sincere.
The girl knew he was not talking empty words, her face blushed slightly. "I have fresh cake," she said, while taking many more food from the basket. Other than cakes, there were a roast chicken and a roast mutton leg.
Zhang Wuji was very happy. He had been eating raw eagle meat these days; it was dripping with blood, smelly, and tough. The roast chicken was delicious; it was still hot that it burned his hand somewhat, but in his mouth it was delicious beyond measure.
The girl watched his appetite while she chuckled and sat down, hugging her knees. "Ugly freak," she said, "You are eating happily, it's fun watching you eat. Apparently you are different; I don't have to hurt you for me to be happy."
"Others are happy, you are happy. Now that is the real happiness," Zhang Wuji said.
"Humph!" the girl sneered and said, "Let me tell you first: right now I am happy, so I won't hurt you. There will come a day when I am not happy. I can't say for sure; perhaps I will torture you until you are neither dead nor alive. At that time you must not blame me."
Zhang Wuji shook his head, "Bad people have been torturing me since I was little until I am a grown up. The more I was tortured, the stronger I became."
With a cold laugh the girl said, "Don't be so sure of yourself. We'll see."
Zhang Wuji said, "In that case, as soon as my legs are healed, I am going to go far away from you. Even if you want to torture me, hurt me, you won't be able to find me."
The girl said, "Then I am going to cut your legs first, so you won't be able to leave me for the rest of your life."
Hearing her icy-cold voice, Zhang Wuji could not help but shiver. He believed that she was capable of doing whatever she said. Those words were certainly not an empty threat.
The girl stared at him for half a day. She sighed and then her expression changed suddenly, "Do you think you deserve it? Ugly freak! Do you think you deserve me cutting your dog legs?" She leaped up, grabbed the half-eaten roast chicken from Zhang Wuji's hand, the mutton leg, and the cakes, and tossed them all far away. Lastly, she also spat on Zhang Wuji's face.
In shock Zhang Wuji looked at her. He felt that she was not actually angry with him, nor did she hold him in contempt; yet her face revealed her deep misery. Apparently she bore an unspeakable burden in her heart. He wanted to comfort her, but in that instant he was not able to find any appropriate words to say.
Seeing the expression on his face, the peasant girl suddenly shouted, "Ugly freak, what are you thinking?"
"Miss," Zhang Wuji said, "Why aren't you happy? Would you tell me?"
Listening to his gentle words, the girl could not throw a tantrum anymore. She dropped herself next to him, holding her head in his hands, and sobbed uncontrollably.
Looking at her shaking shoulders and her waist as delicate as a bee, Zhang Wuji felt sorry for her. "Miss," he said in low voice, "Who bullied you? Wait 'till my legs are healed, I am going to vent your anger for you."
The girl was sobbing continuously. After a while she said, "Nobody bullies me. It's just that I have been unfortunate ever since the day I was born. I always think of one person, and cannot forget him."
Zhang Wuji nodded and said, "He is a young man, isn't he? Was he cruel to you?"
"That's right," the girl replied, "He is very handsome, but also very arrogant. I wanted him to come with me and be with me forever, but he did not want to. That was all right, but why did he have to scold me, hit me, and even bite me bloody?"
Zhang Wuji angrily said, "This man is so rude and irrational. Miss, from now on, forget him."
The girl burst into tears and said, "But … but I can't forget him. He ran far away; I have been looking for him everywhere without ever finding him."
Zhang Wuji thought, "This love affair between a man and a woman is indeed difficult to resolve. Although this miss' appearance is somewhat lacking, but it is obvious that her love is genuine. Her temperament is rather strange, that is because of the grief in her heart, because of her deep disappointment. It's hard to imagine that that man's heart is this callous toward her!" In soft voice he said, "Miss, don't be sad. There are plenty of good men in this world, why do you have to worry about this man, who do not have any conscience?"
The girl heaved a deep sigh. Her eyes gazed toward a distant place, as if she was in a trance. Zhang Wuji knew that she would not be able to forget this boyfriend, the desire of her heart. He said, "That man scolded you, hit you; but the misery I suffered was actually ten times worse than Miss'."
"What is it?" the girl asked, "Have you been cheated by a beautiful girl?"
Zhang Wuji replied, "At first, she did not intentionally cheat on me; I was stupid, seeing her beauty, I was captivated by her. Actually, how could I deserve her? In my heart, I have never had any vain desire. But she and her father have arranged in secret a treacherous plan to inflict an unspeakable harm on me." While saying that, he pulled his sleeve to show the countless scars on his arm. "These teeth marks were from the bites of her vicious dogs," he said.
Seeing that many scars, the girl flew into a rage. "Was it that girl Zhu Jiuzhen who harmed you?" she asked.
"How do you know?" Zhang Wuji wondered.
"Everybody within the surrounding area of several hundred 'li' knows that that lowly girl loves to raise vicious dogs," the girl replied.
Zhang Wuji nodded. "Yes, it was Miss Zhu," he said indifferently, "But these scars have been healed a long time, I no longer feel the pain. I am fortunate to be alive, I don't need to hate her anymore."