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Unlike the food of the State of Zhao, the dishes in the State of Yan had different taste—not dominated by spiciness.
Luckily, several people were not picky eaters. Actually, Gu Yan was, but now that he was sick, even if there was something spicy, Gu Jiao wouldn"t dare to let him eat it.
At the dinner table, Lady Nan said, "We can go to Shengdu tomorrow. You go report to the academy first, and Xiaoshun and I will find a suitable place nearby."
Gu Jiao had no objections.
Lady Nan continued, "Rest early tonight."
After dinner, everyone returned to their respective rooms.
Every night, Gu Jiao would check on Gu Yan once. As it wasn"t time yet, she decided to check on the carriage and horses.
To her surprise, she found that one of their carriages was showing signs of excessive wear and tear, with cracks appearing on the wheels and the bottom of the carriage. If they continued on the road, it might break down halfway.
She went to the lobby and asked the innkeeper about buying a new carriage.
The innkeeper said, "Young Master Xiao is really lucky. We happen to have the last carriage at the post station!"
Gu Jiao was dressed as a young man and spoke with a slightly juvenile voice she had learned from Gu Chengfeng. But her appearance remained unchanged, still with a red birthmark on her left cheek.
The innkeeper’s ability to not judge people by appearances was largely due to her ident.i.ty as a student of Tianqiong Academy.
"Thank you." Gu Jiao said.
"It will be two taels of silver in total." The innkeeper said.
Gu Jiao took out two taels of silver from her purse.
As the innkeeper was about to take it, suddenly there came the sound of hurried horse hooves from outside, and a magnificent carriage stopped at the entrance of the post station.
The curtain was lifted, and a veiled girl in pink attire lightly jumped off the carriage.
The innkeeper’s body trembled at the sight of the guards, showing an excited expression.
The girl in pink walked in briskly without even looking at others, her hand carrying a whip. She said to the innkeeper, "Give me a carriage! With two good horses!"
“That….” The innkeeper looked at Gu Jiao awkwardly and silently withdrew his hand reaching out for the silver.
"What are you dilly-dallying for?" The girl in pink asked.
The innkeeper awkwardly pointed at Gu Jiao and said, "The last... carriage... This young master... also wants it."
Only then did the girl in pink turn to look at Gu Jiao. Seeing that she was a slightly disfigured young man, she couldn"t help but show a hint of contempt, "Give it to me! I"ll compensate you!"
Gu Yan"s life was ticking away every day. Gu Jiao didn"t want money, she wanted to enter Shengdu as soon as possible to find an operating room to treat Gu Yan.
Gu Jiao said calmly, "No."
With that, she forcefully placed the silver taels on the counter.
The girl in pink snorted, “Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
The innkeeper whispered to Gu Jiao, "Young Master Xiao, they are the Su Family... This one must be Young Miss Su... You... perhaps... should just give it to her..."
While the ident.i.ty of a student of Tianqiong Academy was indeed prestigious, the Su Family ranked ninth in the State of Yan and held a significant position in Shengdu. It wasn"t something just anyone could afford to offend.
"I said no."
"You!" The girl in pink snorted, "Do you believe that I’ll hit you!"
Gu Jiao remained fearless, "If you dare hit me, I"ll hit you back."
The girl in pink swung her whip, and the innkeeper turned pale with fear, quickly crouching down and covering his head!
But the whip didn"t even touch a single hair of Gu Jiao’s head, as it was easily caught by her.
The girl in pink was stunned, not expecting this unremarkable... no, disfigured youth to have such skills, capable of catching her whip!
She tried to pull the whip back, but it wouldn"t budge.
She gritted her teeth, "Let go!"
Gu Jiao calmly let go.
It was just, she didn"t expect Gu Jiao to let go so quickly, and she continued to pull the whip back. As a result, she fell backward with a thud, her b.u.t.tocks. .h.i.tting the ground, making her face pale with pain while the whip flew out of her hand.
Enraged, she grabbed the whip and got up, once again striking at Gu Jiao.
"Enough!"
Suddenly, a man"s low voice came from the carriage.
The girl in pink"s hand paused.
"Come back." The man in the carriage said, his voice wasn’t loud but his tone brooked no refusal.
The girl in pink glared at Gu Jiao unwillingly, "Just wait! I’ll remember this! Don"t let me see you again in the future. Otherwise, every time I see you, I"ll hit you!"
Gu Jiao paid no attention to her threat and had the innkeeper take her to get the last carriage.
After finishing her business, Gu Jiao planned to go upstairs when suddenly, on the other side of the lobby, a young man dressed as a scholar waved at her.
"Brother! Yes, you!"
Gu Jiao looked at him strangely, "Are you calling me?"
The young man nodded eagerly. Seeing Gu Jiao didn"t move, he stood up and walked towards her.
The two stood at the stairway. There were guests coming down, and both instinctively moved aside.
The young man cupped his hands to Gu Jiao, a hint of excitement in his voice as he said, "My surname is Zhong, named Ding, with the courtesy name Heming. If you don"t mind, you can just call me Zhong Heming."
Extravagant lifestyle. This name was quite interesting.
Gu Jiao asked, "Do you need something from me?"
Zhong Ding said, "Ah, I came after you. I saw you take out the Tianqiong Academy"s admission doc.u.ments. You"re also a student of Tianqiong Academy."
Gu Jiao looked at him, "You too?"
"I am!" Zhong Ding said excitedly. Then, as if afraid that Gu Jiao wouldn"t believe him, he quickly took out his own admission letter from his pocket. "I"m from the State of Qing. And you are..."
Gu Jiao said calmly, "From the State of Zhao."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhong Ding"s eyes. He seemed to want to say something but hesitated. He then smiled and asked, "Are you also new to the State of Yan? May I ask for your name, brother?"
"Xiao Liulang." Gu Jiao answered.
Zhong Ding smilingly said, "Liulang, that"s a good name. It rolls off the tongue."
The boring conversation ended just like that.
Gu Jiao was about to go upstairs.
"Um..." When Zhong Ding saw she was about to leave again, he hesitated for a moment, then mustered up the courage to express his surprise, "You"re not from the upper states, so how come you dare provoke that girl just now? Didn"t you realize she"s from the Su Family? If it wasn"t for the person in the carriage who spoke up in time, you would have been in trouble by now."
"Are you done?"
"Um? Yeah..."
Then Gu Jiao went upstairs.
Zhong Ding: "..."
References
1. — His name kinda sounds similar to the idiom Zhong Ming Ding Shi, which means extravagant lifestyle. Raz P."s Thoughts
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Description:
In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succ.u.mb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.
When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.
The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.
From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.
***
Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.
After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"
Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"
Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
—
Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don"t abandon me, alri—”
Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."
Jiang Baiyan: ...?
He hasn"t finished his lines yet though…