Chapter 5
Two Worlds
In the carriage, Gu Yanfei lowered her eyes and drank tea elegantly. There was a faint smile on her naturally curved lips.
Fang Mingfeng had been a knot in her heart for many years.
She did not understand why he liked Gu Yunrong. Why did it have to be her?
Since he didn’t like her, why didn’t he just break off the engagement? Why did he have to kill her? Later, he even ruined her reputation and made the Gu family take the initiative to break off the engagement in shame. Meanwhile, their Fang family occupied the moral high ground.
She had never done anything wrong. The person in the wrong was Fang Mingfeng. Even if the engagement was to be broken off, she should be the one to end it.
At the side, Juan Bi looked at Gu Yanfei with a complicated gaze. Initially, she was afraid that Crown Prince Fang would misunderstand her and Young Master Chu. She did not expect that the girl would not even look at Crown Prince Fang.
Her lady was so smart and had a keen eye. Young Master Fang was probably a loser.
Yes, that must be it!
The carriage moved slowly through the gates with the sound of horse whips ringing in the air.
Gu Yanfei’s hand that was holding the cup suddenly paused, and the tea in the cup rippled.
She put down her cup as if nothing had happened. There seemed to be a rock crushing her heart.
It was a familiar feeling…
Gu Yanfei lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out of the carriage.
The sun was halfway down, turning the western sky a rouge red.
On the other hand, the sky to the southeast was unusually dark. Layers of black clouds pressed down on the city, as if a storm was brewing. It exuded an ominous aura.
Gu Yanfei’s other hand hidden in her sleeve quickly calculated…
However, just as her thumb brushed past two fingers, the pressure in her heart became even stronger. There was a metallic taste in her throat.
Before the blood could spill out, she swallowed it back.
Unperturbed, she withdrew her hand. Her pupils were hidden under half-lowered lashes. Only she knew that her heart was throbbing in her chest.
She was already very familiar with this feeling. She was once again suppressed by the laws of this small world.
From the divination calculation just now, she could barely predict that Danyang City would face a great calamity. Less than 30% of the people in the city would survive!
After pa.s.sing through the gates, the carriage began to pick up speed.
Gu Yanfei lowered the curtains absent-mindedly. When she looked at Young Master Chu again, she was slightly stunned.
A dark aura lingered between the other party’s handsome eyes.
Gu Yanfei’s eyes were as deep as a black pool. She looked at Young Master Chu’s glabella.
When she first saw him, she realized that there was a faint green-black aura between his eyebrows. Unexpectedly, after entering the city, this wisp of black aura became even richer.
In physiognomy, this meant that dark clouds covered the sky.
“Young Master Chu, thank you for giving me a ride.” Gu Yanfei took out a red brocade pouch from her sleeve pocket and placed it on the table. “This peace talisman is for you.”
From the not-quite-tightened opening of the silk bag, a folded beige note could be seen tucked inside.
“…” Young Master Chu put his right fist to his lips and chuckled, his eyes relaxing.
“We’ve arrived at Hua’an Street!”
From outside came the rough and clear voice of Xiao Shi again. The carriage stopped steadily outside a mansion.
Juan Bi led the way out of the carriage. Her pale and bleak face lit up in relief.
Xiao Shi looked at Gu Yanfei with a strange expression and felt that this beautiful girl was really strange. She actually gave their young master a peace talisman. Did she think that it was because of this peace talisman that she could survive the fall?
Gu Yanfei was about to get off the carriage when Young Master Chu suddenly took out the short sword by his waist and handed it to her.
“This sword is for you.” He looked straight at Gu Yanfei with a hint of interest in his smiling eyes.
Gu Yanfei was stunned. She knew that the other party had misunderstood, but she still accepted it graciously.
This sword was quite handy. Gu Yanfei pulled the sword out two inches in satisfaction and put it back into the scabbard. She kindly advised the other party, “Danyang City hasn’t been peaceful recently. If there’s nothing else, it’s better for you to leave early.”
“This is goodbye.”
Gu Yanfei held the scabbard and said goodbye to Young Master Chu with a smile.
Young Master Chu raised his beautifully shaped eyebrows and his eyes flashed. He nodded and said, “I’ll remember it.”
Gu Yanfei smiled slightly, knowing very well that the other party would not listen to her advice. He should have other motives for coming to Danyang City. If he did not achieve his goal, he would not leave.
She gave him this peace talisman as a form of repayment.
Thinking of this, Gu Yanfei subconsciously rubbed the scabbard in her hand with her fingertips.
When she first saw Young Master Chu’s sword, she thought of something.
She had seen this sword before.
In her previous life, after she had been rescued from the bottom of the cliff, she had spent most of her time unconscious. She had only woken up once in a daze in the carriage and vaguely seen her savior.
At that moment, she did not see his face and only vaguely saw his sword.
She was sure it was the same sword.
In other words, Young Master Chu must have saved her in her previous life and sent her back to Danyang City safely.
Gu Yanfei sighed in her heart and got out of the carriage with Juan Bi’s help. The taste of blood in her mouth had yet to dissipate, and her throat was burning.
Only Young Master Chu was left in the carriage again, as well as the unfinished chess game. The dense black and white chess pieces were evenly matched on the chessboard.
“Miss Gu, we’ll meet again if fate allows.”
Xiao Shi waved goodbye to Gu Yanfei. Their green-canopied carriage sped along the wide street and quickly disappeared into the heavy twilight.
...
The sound of hoofbeats faded. The empty street was silent and there were no more pa.s.sersby.
Gu Yanfei stood quietly and looked up at the dim sky.
The clouds in the sky were thicker now, heavy and threatening to fall.
“Knock, knock…”
Juan Bi raised her hand and knocked on the corner door of the mansion. She shouted at the doorkeeper inside, “Old Li!”
A moment later, the corner door creaked open, revealing only an inch-long gap. The sallow face of the doorkeeper, Old Li, appeared behind it.
The door paused. Old Li’s turbid eyes were filled with schadenfreude. His gaze swept past Juan Bi and Gu Yanfei, who was behind her, and he said meaningfully, “Second Lady is back!”
“Old Madam Zhang, hurry up and tell Granny Xu.” Old Li turned around and shouted for the old woman to pa.s.s the message.
Seeing that the door was only slightly open, Juan Bi frowned and urged, “Old Li, open the door!”
Old Li blocked the door and sighed with a fake smile. He did not answer the question. “Granny Xu said that it’s improper for girls to leave early and return late. She said that if the Second Lady doesn’t return to the residence before the sun sets, she’s not allowed to enter.”
Hearing this, Juan Bi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
...
She had lived here with the lady for three months and had been neglected by these servants who were used to bullying the weak. She did not expect them to be so overboard as to not let them in today!
Juan Bi was so angry that her face turned red. However, the situation was beyond her control. If Old Li insisted on not opening the door, there was nothing they could do.
She explained patiently, “Old Li, we had an accident on the way back to the city from Daxing Temple. The carriage fell off the cliff…”
“Juan Bi, step back.”
As Gu Yanfei’s calm and soft female voice sounded, Juan Bi obediently took two steps back.
“Swoosh!”
Gu Yanfei nimbly pulled out the short sword from its sheath. The narrow blade shone coldly under the setting sun.
Gu Yanfei slashed out without hesitation.
Her movements were light and skillful, like a pretentious flourish, but the blade split the door easily, splitting the thick door in two as if it were tofu.
The half-split door swung back and crashed to the floor, leaving the other half hanging from its hinges.