"Who are you!? Why are you here? State your business before I cut you down!" The young woman shouted, trying to muster her courage.
It was then that Junjie refocused on the sharp steel Jian in her grasp and visibly retreated a step. Getting cut by her sword would be detrimental to his beautiful face.
'Shit.'
"Woah, woah, woah, how about we calm down for a moment?" He replied, not knowing what to make of the situation, all prior thoughts having vanished.
"I know I look like some weirdo, but I was simply attracted by the smell of meat coming from your home, okay?" He understood that he was technically trespassing, but what kind of lunatic would strike him down for wanting some meat? Surely not this very reasonable-looking young woman.
...
Not even he could convince himself of that logic when he saw her readying herself to cut him down; in fact, by the time she responded, he had already retreated 10 steps back into the forest! What was even more absurd was that their distance remained the same because every step he took, she would mimic.
"I don't believe you, not even slightly. Come here, and let's have a little chat about why you're really here, shall we?" The woman had a smile on her face, but it was not the nice and kind one a person would show to a cute animal or little child; instead, it was more like the sort of smile the devil would flash before torturing his poor victim for eternity!
However, before Junjie could even think of a witty reply and run with his tail between his legs, a third voice, which was very calm and soft, abruptly interjected.
"Lihua, what in heaven's name are you doing?" The third person, a tall middle-aged woman, asked.
The woman had the same golden eyes as the young lady, leading Junjie to believe this may be her mother. Hopefully the saying 'Like mother, like daughter' wasn't true in this pair's case.
"Mother, this strange, perverted man was staring at me from the forest like a creep, and I thought I ought to teach him a lesson with my blade." These words were hurtful in more than one way, and Junjie wouldn't have it.
'How could a handsome man be perverted!?' He thought. Maybe the real problem Junjie needed to tackle first was his double standards surrounding beauty.
"Strange!? Perverted? Why did you already jump to such conclusions? I've done nothing at all!" He cried. Talking to this woman was like talking to a brick wall. Receiving another deadly glance from the youth, he finally decided to stop arguing and instead turned his attention to the middle-aged woman.
"Miss, you must believe me. I was merely attracted here by the heavenly smell of meat and was wondering if the chef would let me indulge. I can't remember the last time I ate! I truly have no evil intentions." He wasn't really lying, as he did just want some food, and he didn't have any mischievous intentions.
"Alright, I believe you. How about you come inside, and we chat about this over a meal?" The woman's words were calm and collected, and Junjie celebrated inwardly as this hostile encounter would end. There was nothing better than a nice meal to help cure amnesia. Well, there was, but Junjie doesn't really care.
The young lady seemingly wanted to protest but didn't and begrudgingly headed inside. However, before entering, she had one last thing to say.
"If you dare plot against me or my family, I won't hesitate to slay you, boy." With that stunningly vicious remark, she opened the door and disappeared inside the cottage.
'I mean, we look the same age, but whatever, girl, and wow, what a warm welcome to this strange land!' Junjie inwardly exclaimed, bewildered by her intense final statement and remarks surrounding his age.
Laughing to himself, Jia Junjie followed the two women, albeit with a bit of hesitancy, and yet he stopped again at the porch in front of their home.
'Where in the gods name did they even get dark oak in this sea of bamboo?'
Now Junjie was curious about the origins of the cottage, but even he couldn't deny the skilful craftsmanship that went into its architecture.
He walked to the door, a bit nervous that perhaps he was being led into a trap and that the only meat that awaited him on the other side was the cottage's special 'Jia Junjie filleted with salad dressing.' Unwavered by the thought and still tempted by the smell, Junjie opened the door.
However, there was no woman ready to make him into a nice Sunday roast, and instead there was...
---
True to the exterior the cottage was rather small inside but that didn't make it feel even remotely cramped instead it felt rather cozy. Looking around on the inside, he saw a fireplace, which was currently spewing a litany of flames that were pouring out of its small confines. He also saw a modest wooden table, which was set in the very centre of the room and had many plates of meat covering its otherwise bland surface.
On the opposite end of the cabin from the fireplace was a kitchen. It wasn't overly large but had all the utensils and cooking appliances that one might need to make any dish they could think of.
'This is a really nice interior, probably one of the best I've ever seen for a cabin of this modest size.' Even in his head, Junjie was lying straight out of his ass, acting like a senior architect when this was in fact the only interior he had ever seen.
"You look like an idiot just standing there." Lihua spoke, for no reason, of course.
"How hospitable you are' Lihua'" Junjie added extra emphasis to her name for the sole purpose of pissing her off. Safe to say his plan succeeded outstandingly well. Her face was now painted with mild irritation, and although she didn't outright unleash her verbal fury upon him, he could tell his comeback had irked her.
"Now now, let's calm down, you two. How about we properly introduce ourselves before something terrible occurs?" The middle-aged lady spoke.
The way she said 'something terrible occurs' sent shivers down his spine, and he suddenly reconsidered whether it was the right decision to come into these strangers home, let alone eat food prepared by them.
Interrupting his thoughts, the woman continued,
"My name is Xu Xingjuan; I am this fierce young lady's mother and the chef of this meal." Xu Xingjuan flashed him a warm smile.
'Fierce is certainly one way to describe this girl.' Although Junjie would undoubtedly die if he were to utter that aloud, his mind was a safe haven and his place of free speech, and no one could take that away from him!