Back inside the house, Bryson picked up a bottle of yellow liquid and motioned for Missy to apply it to her face.
As soon as she put it on, her face turned dull and yellowish-brown.
Bryson was very careful and reminded her to also apply it on her hands, neck, and any other exposed skin.
He said she looked too pretty, and going out like that could cause trouble, so she needed to hide her looks.
Missy didn't quite get it. She knew she looked okay, but not to the point where walking outside would attract problems. Was Bryson overreacting?
Did this place really have those bad guys like in stories who harass girls?
She still looked like a little girl anyway.
She didn't want to ask too many questions since she really didn't understand anything about this place.
Since Bryson said so, he must have his reasons. She decided to follow his advice.
People say fair skin hides flaws.
Missy had very fair and clear skin. Her facial features were also very nice.
That kind of look wasn't easy to hide, so Bryson had to work with her skin color.
After she applied the yellow liquid, her beauty dropped a bit right away.
Bryson looked at her but still wasn't satisfied. She didn't look stunning anymore, but she still seemed special.
So he took another bottle, this time with black liquid.
He told Missy to dab black spots on her face, especially around her nose and cheeks, to make it look like she had awkward dark moles.
This finally made her look more normal.
Then Bryson gave her a serious reminder not to speak when they went out. He would handle everything.
Missy was confused but understood. She couldn't even understand the local dialect here, so even if she wanted to talk, she wouldn't know what to say.
She nodded to show she understood.
But just before they left, Bryson asked her to wait.
He came out holding a thin scarf and gave it to her to cover her face.
Missy was puzzled. She already looked this plain, was that still necessary?
Bryson seemed to know what she was thinking.
He touched his nose and simply said, "Missy, follow my arrangements."
He didn't want her to know that he just didn't want anyone else to see her face.
Missy never got the chance to go out because someone came to visit Bryson.
"Master, is she the little wife you bought?"
Wren was sitting in the main room.
He spoke with Bryson in the local dialect and sounded a bit playful.
Bryson had always hinted for Wren to use dialect when speaking to him, like he didn't want Missy to understand what they were saying.
Wren didn't know the reason, but he still listened.
Missy just gave Wren a small smile, and Bryson quickly asked her to go back to her room. So she didn't hear their conversation.
Wren was from the nearby Shanyuan Village and had just turned thirteen.
His older brother had helped Bryson in the past, so Bryson agreed to teach Wren martial arts.
But now, Bryson didn't look happy.
He sat across from Wren.
"Wren, why are you here right now?"
Bryson asked with some doubt in his voice.
Lately, Wren had been preparing for the children's scholar exam. He shouldn't have had time to come here.
He must have sneaked out.
"Master, you know I don't like studying!"
Wren answered with his head down, sounding unhappy.
These past few days, his older brother Gael had been keeping him at home, making him study all day for the upcoming exam.
Bryson looked at him and sighed.
"Wren, did you forget that your chance to learn martial arts depends on passing the exam?"
When Gael agreed to let Wren learn from Bryson, he gave one condition, that Wren had to pass the exam.
"Master, I didn't forget."
Wren said as he nervously played with his fingers.
"I've been studying every day. I just wanted you to take me to the mountain to relax and relieve some stress."
But Wren didn't expect Bryson to be so distracted by a girl.
The way Bryson seemed eager to send him away, Wren noticed it clearly.
Wren was silently mumbling in his heart.
Suddenly, he looked up at Bryson, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"Master, aren't you going to let me meet my little mistress?"
Bryson let out an awkward cough and didn't answer Wren's question.
"Wren, I've been really busy lately. I think you should go back for now."
Bryson didn't want Wren to stay any longer and interfere with his time with Missy.
The real issue was that Wren seemed to be around the same age as Missy, and he had the kind of looks that girls would like.
If Missy ended up liking Wren, what was Bryson supposed to do?
Wren could clearly see that his master was openly trying to get rid of him.
He really wanted to get a better look at the little mistress!
But his master wasn't giving him any chance.
He had just heard her voice, which was unexpectedly sweet and beautiful, more pleasant than any girl's voice he had ever heard.
If only he could talk to her a little more.
Well, maybe next time!
From the look in his master's eyes, if he didn't leave soon, Bryson might actually get physical!
Better not stay and make his master annoyed. Just as he was about to say goodbye—
Missy stepped into the main room, her face still covered by the veil, just like when she had left earlier. Clearly, she believed Bryson's words completely.
Bryson was visibly relieved, grateful that Missy was quick-witted and didn't make any mistakes.
Missy carried a tray with tea and walked toward Bryson with a gentle smile.
"Bryson, you and Wren must be thirsty from chatting. I brought you some tea."
Bryson gratefully stood up, walked over to her, and took the tea.
"Thank you, Missy. You're always so thoughtful."
Missy came into the room hoping to hear more of what Bryson and Wren were talking about.
She wanted to learn more about this world from their conversation and hoped she could find some connection between the two worlds.
She also wanted to speak with Wren a bit.
She felt that kids might unknowingly share helpful information.
Also, when Bryson saw Wren earlier, his reaction was a little strange, which made her curious.
She wanted to find out the reason.
After Bryson took the tea, he reminded her again,
"Missy, you should go back first. I'll take you there once I'm done, alright?"
Bryson thought Missy had come only to remind him about that place she wanted to go to.
But when Missy heard him, she didn't leave.
Instead, she looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Bryson, can I listen to what you two are talking about? I want to hear you speak more so I can learn the local dialect faster."
Missy assumed that Bryson would agree like he always did.
After all, he had always treated her kindly.
But this time, Missy was bound to be disappointed.
Bryson looked at her seriously, and there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
"Missy, be good. I'll be done soon."
At this moment, the last thing Bryson wanted was for Missy to learn the dialect.
He didn't want her to stay any longer either.
If she noticed anything unusual, things could get complicated.
Hearing Bryson's reply, Missy felt embarrassed.
She lowered her head and stood there, not knowing if she should try again to convince Bryson to let her stay, or just go back to her room as he said.
While she was still unsure—
Wren stood up first and walked to Bryson's side.
Still speaking in dialect,
"Master, it's nothing important. I'll head back now. I won't get in the way of you and little mistress spending time together!"
Wren had a cheeky grin on his face.
Bryson gave him a sharp look, then glanced at Missy.
Seeing that Missy truly didn't understand the dialect, he finally relaxed.
He turned back to Wren and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll visit you when I have time."
He also used the dialect when he spoke.
Just like Wren thought, Bryson was indeed eager for him to leave.
He even gave Wren a look, signaling him to stop talking nonsense and get out quickly.
Wren smiled to show he understood.
Then, he turned to Missy, gave her a friendly smile, and politely said goodbye.
After that, he quickly walked out of the room.
But when he turned around, the main door was already tightly shut.
He could only stare helplessly at the closed door,
maybe feeling a bit of regret inside.
…