Chapter 42: Treehouse

Although she had said she would come back and discuss this with Hamoyin, how should she start?

Should she first say that he was deceived and that he has no chance of becoming human?

For Nagu, telling Hamoyin directly was too tricky. She was very afraid of how Hamoyin would react upon hearing this. It was like scoring only forty out of a hundred and fifty, and the teacher insisted that the test paper must be taken home for a parent’s signature. In the end, the student could only stand at the door with a pale face, holding the test paper.

Nagu hesitated in front of the curtain of the storage room. Hamoyin was still sick, but Duogaluo needed the scales by tomorrow. To get the scales from the treehouse, she had to explain this to Hamoyin.

Finally, Nagu lifted the curtain and entered the storage room. Hamoyin had taken the medicine several times by now; his fever had long subsided, and he looked much better, though he still spoke weakly and continued to cough.

At this moment, Hamoyin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking at the stone tablet Nagu had brought in earlier. When he heard Nagu come in, he put down the tablet and looked towards the door.

“I-I’ve brought the things back.” Being stared at by Hamoyin’s golden pupils at this moment was really anxiety-inducing. Nagu was still thinking about what to say next. Saying it directly seemed too abrupt, but…

Hamoyin just looked at Nagu standing dumbly at the door, staring at the ground with a conflicted expression: “What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking about something.” Not daring to bring up the topic directly, Nagu took out the pain relief medicine Duogaluo had given her. “I brought some pain relief medicine for you.”

“Pain relief?” Hamoyin frowned. “I’m not in pain anywhere.”

“How can that be? When I was helping you wipe your body while you were sleeping, I found that the stump of your tail still hurts, right?” Nagu opened the small clay jar and half-knelt in front of Hamoyin. “Apply a little and see if it helps.”

“I won’t apply it.”

“Why?”

“Because it doesn’t hurt.”

Nagu squinted her eyes, clutching the jar: “I know it hurts, and it must hurt when you walk. Don’t lie to me.”

“…I’m not lying.”

He was definitely lying; his tone was hesitant. Nagu grabbed the edge of Hamoyin’s pants and began to coax him gently: “It’s just a layer of sticky ointment. Don’t be afraid. Pull your pants down a bit, and I’ll help you apply it.”

“I don’t want to.” Hamoyin grabbed Nagu’s wrist, his face extremely tense. “I won’t apply it.”

This is bad.

Hamoyin, who was halfway recovered, had regained his strength. Once he grabbed Nagu’s wrist, she couldn’t move: “What’s wrong with applying some medicine? Do you like having your wound hurt all the time?”

“I’m used to it; it’s no big deal.” At this moment, Hamoyin dared not let go of Nagu’s hand. He was afraid that if he let go, his pants would be pulled down. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I have to worry about you.”

“…”

“And if you don’t apply it now, I’ll secretly apply it while you’re asleep.”

“…”

Hamoyin gave in. He took the small clay jar from Nagu’s hand: “I understand. I’ll apply it myself.”

“That’s fine.” Nagu handed over the jar and sat properly before Hamoyin, staring at him intently. “Go ahead and apply it.”

“…Can you not look at me?” Nagu’s gaze made Hamoyin feel like he wasn’t wearing any clothes. “I will apply it.”

“No, I need to make sure you apply it.”

The two stared at each other in a stalemate for a while. In the end, Hamoyin decided it was better to handle it himself now than to be turned over unconsciously by Nagu while asleep.

So Nagu watched as Hamoyin, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaned forward slightly. He used one hand to pull his pants down a bit from behind, and with the other hand, he applied some of the oily pain relief ointment to the exposed wound. When he touched the old scar, he instinctively let out a muffled groan.

“One layer isn’t enough; you need to apply it three times.” This was what Duogaluo had told her, and Nagu repeated it earnestly.

“Oh.” Hamoyin lowered his head. He knew Nagu was still watching, and this feeling was so strange that he thought it might be better if Nagu applied it while he was asleep.

Actually, Nagu, who was ‘supervising’ him, also noticed something. Although Hamoyin kept his head down and didn’t look at her, his ears seemed a bit red.

Nagu stared blankly at Hamoyin. He bent over, his hands behind his back pulling down his pants, his arms moving rhythmically, and he made slight sounds of pain. His expression was somewhat restrained and stifled.

Wait a minute. This is just applying medicine. Nagu quickly felt her cheeks heat up because of her dirty thoughts.

Hamoyin is just applying medicine to himself!!

What are you thinking!

“Done.” Hamoyin withdrew his hand and straightened up, closing the jar and handing it back to Nagu.

“Oh… oh.” Nagu, her eyes wandering, took the jar, but after realizing it, she quickly shoved the jar back into Hamoyin’s hand. “You keep this. Apply it yourself if the wound hurts again, and don’t lose it.”

Hamoyin silently placed the jar beside him. “Okay.”

Nagu just looked at him. “Um…”

Awkward silence.

Half a minute later, Nagu mustered the courage to speak: “Actually, I want to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?”

“Can I go to your treehouse?”

“Sure.”

Hamoyin didn’t ask why she wanted to go back or what she wanted to do. He just agreed to her seemingly random request. “Should I take you there now?”

“No, no, you still need to rest.” Nagu breathed a sigh of relief at not being questioned. If Hamoyin had asked, she wasn’t sure she could come up with a good lie. She had already decided to go to the treehouse to get the scales.

The plan was to get the medicine while Duogaluo provided cover. By then, Hamoyin’s illness would surely be better, and she could find a suitable time to tell him about the deception. If he didn’t want to use the medicine, he wouldn’t have to, but if he did, it would be ready.

“I’ll have someone else take me there.”

“Someone else?”

Hamoyin frowned. “Who?”

“Just… someone from the village.” Nagu nervously touched her earlobe, then realized it was silly to lie about this. “Duogaluo, I’ll try to ask him to take me there.”

“I’ll take you.” Hearing Duogaluo’s name made Hamoyin frown even more. “You don’t need to ask him.”

“No, you still need to rest.”

“Then tell me, what do you need to do at my place?” Hamoyin, who hadn’t questioned it before, sensed something was wrong. He felt it was related to Nagu’s hesitation when she entered. “Why can’t it wait until I’m better and take you myself? Why does Duogaluo need to take you? Is it urgent?”

Nagu had forgotten how perceptive Hamoyin was. Half of what he said hit the mark, and Nagu looked distressed. “I swear I’m not doing anything bad, really.”

“I know, I just want to ask if you’re in some kind of trouble.”

“…”

Azuran has deceived you; becoming human is not going to happen.

The words stuck in Nagu’s throat. She looked at Hamoyin’s face, pale from illness, and the faint worry in his eyes, which was purely concern that she might be in trouble. He probably never thought he would be deceived, as everyone in the tribe seemed to believe what Azuran said without question. So, having sacrificed so much from a young age just to become human, how devastating would it be to learn the truth?

Nagu knew Hamoyin was much stronger than she thought, but she felt this situation was different. In the past, he endured the pain of having his scales pulled out, and his tail cut off because he had the hope and desired that doing these things would make him human.

It was a feeling Nagu often sensed in Hamoyin, his loathing for his own identity. He minded the ways he was different from ‘others,’ he didn’t like exposing his scales to others, and he didn’t like his current existence. This made Nagu think, what if he knew he couldn’t become human? What would he do?

Hamoyin wasn’t pessimistic, but he was very extreme. What would an extreme person do when their desire is unfulfilled?

Nagu had imagined many scenarios. Maybe he would kill Azuran, maybe he would continue searching for a way to become human, or maybe, upon realizing there was no way to become human, he would commit suicide because he couldn’t bear his own disgusting existence.

All these possibilities made Nagu afraid to tell Hamoyin the truth. She wanted to tell him that he was fine the way he was now, that he didn’t need to become human, but that was just her own thought. She had no idea what Hamoyin had gone through before.

It’s not the right time to tell him, right?

“I haven’t encountered any trouble. I just need to go to your place nearby.” Nagu lowered her head. “I’ll explain the specific reason to you later.”

Hamoyin looked at Nagu as if waiting for her to say more, but after a long time, the girl didn’t continue.

He sighed. “Okay.”