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The thrown spear carried a hint of the monk’s own strength, whether intentional or not. Gu Jiao almost couldn’t catch it. She steadied her stance and firmly planted the spear into the ground, avoiding being knocked down.
The monk raised an eyebrow slightly, “Oh, you caught it.”
“So you did it on purpose?”
“To test how well you’ve recovered. If your stamina isn’t enough, I can’t teach you the next few moves.”
He said “to test how well you’ve recovered,” not “to test your original strength.” The difference in wording made a world of difference in meaning.
He knew what she was like before she was injured.
Could she then a.s.sume that five days ago, when she fought against the six embroidered-uniform guards from the Crown Prince Estate, he was already there?
He had been observing her in secret, only stepping in when she couldn"t hold on any longer?
“Why aren’t you starting? Didn’t remember it? Then I’ll perform it again for you.”
“No need.”
The spear techniques taught by Old Marquis had given Gu Jiao a very solid foundation. She could understand most of the complex moves.
The only issue was that her injury hadn"t fully healed, and her stamina was indeed lacking a bit. However, since she wasn"t fighting to kill but merely practicing, her strength was sufficient.
The monk stood at the doorway, staring at Gu Jiao without blinking, "First move."
The first move was the simplest. It was not much different from the most important move taught by Old Marquis, but the spearhead was raised two inches higher, and the force required to thrust it out was more than twenty percent greater.
Gu Jiao retracted the red-ta.s.seled spear, adjusted her breathing, and muttered to herself, “It looks simple, but I didn’t expect it to be so physically exhausting.”
The monk untied his wine pouch, took a big gulp, and leisurely watched Gu Jiao, saying, “Second move.”
The difficulty of the second move increased. Gu Jiao leapt up, and the spear thrust down forcefully from above.
Her angle was precisely the same as the monk’s when he demonstrated it.
To be able to imitate it to this extent after just one demonstration was indeed quite astonishing.
After completing these two moves, Gu Jiao’s stamina was half depleted, and her wound started to hurt.
However, the monk had no intention of letting Gu Jiao stop.
“Third move.” He said seriously.
It seemed that ever since the monk started demonstrating with the red-ta.s.seled spear, and even now as he watched her practice, his aura was different from what she had seen before.
The third move was a move within a move, with a deceptive feint, requiring extremely high speed and body flexibility.
Fortunately, Gu Jiao had never stopped training even after arriving in this world. Otherwise, she might have strained her waist.
After finishing this move, Gu Jiao was slightly out of breath.
The monk looked at Gu Jiao with some surprise, “You still have strength left.”
Gu Jiao completed all the moves in one go. Though it was called "all," there were actually only six moves, but with each subsequent move, the difficulty increased exponentially.
The monk muttered, "This girl, I originally intended for you to practice these in three sessions..."
Gu Jiao’s legs were weak, and she was on the verge of collapsing, but she supported herself with the red-ta.s.seled spear.
She raised her hand, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and panted, “Is there more?”
The monk was slightly stunned, "Yes, there are."
He paused, seeming to hesitate, as if making a significant decision, "Three more moves."
Gu Jiao was exhausted, her vision swimming with stars. She didn"t notice the monk"s conflicted expression. She handed him the red-ta.s.seled spear and said, "Let me catch my breath, then you can start again."
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to see clearly.
The monk stood on the open ground in the twilight, holding the red-ta.s.seled spear. The night wind blew, lifting his monk robes, making them billow. He gazed at the sky.
"I’m ready." Gu Jiao said.
The monk didn’t move.
Gu Jiao tilted her head, “Monk?”
The monk tightened his grip on the red-ta.s.seled spear, "Since you want to learn, I"ll teach you. But remember, you must not use this spear technique for evil, nor harm the innocent with it. Otherwise, I will personally kill you."
Gu Jiao sat on the threshold, resting her chin in her hand, looking at him, “You’re suddenly so solemn, it feels a bit unusual.”
The difficulty of the last three moves far exceeded that of the first six. Although Gu Jiao could understand them by watching, she found it challenging to fully execute them.
“Let’s stop here for today.” The monk said.
“Okay.” Gu Jiao put away the red-ta.s.seled spear.
They had been practicing all night without eating. The monk went to the small stream behind the ruined temple and caught two fish to roast.
He also picked some wild fruits from nearby.
When he returned with a bundle of wild fruits, he found that the two roasted fish had already been reduced to bones. Gu Jiao"s cheeks were puffed out, and her little mouth was moving rapidly as she tried to destroy the evidence.
The monk exploded on the spot, “Why did you eat them all again! Can’t you leave me some?”
With her cheeks bulging like a chubby little squirrel, Gu Jiao mumbled, "I was too hungry, couldn"t resist."
The monk: “...”
The monk went to catch two more fish, but this time he didn"t leave her side, determined to prevent her from sneaking a bite.
Gu Jiao had released the little snake, as it had nothing to do with the situation anymore.
The monk focused on roasting the fish.
Gu Jiao sat on the dry straw mat, taking a piece of cotton cloth from her back basket to carefully wipe the red-ta.s.seled spear, treating it like a precious treasure.
The monk observed her as she meticulously cleaned the spear, his thin lips tightly pressed together.
Gu Jiao noticed his gaze. When she looked at him, he had already shifted his eyes back to the fish.
The monk had never asked why she appeared in the State of Yan, why she was dressed as a man, or why she confronted the Crown Prince"s embroidered-uniform guards.
Was he not curious about her at all, or did he already——
The monk coldly snorted, "Stop looking. No matter how much you look, I won"t give you any fish."
Gu Jiao’s thoughts were interrupted. After a pause, she decided to ask him, “What’s your name?”
Monks didn"t have a name; she was naturally asking for his Dharma name. For example, Jing Kong was a Dharma name, and although Jing Kong liked this name and continued using it even after returning to secular life, it was still a Dharma name.
After Gu Jiao asked, she wondered what kind of Dharma name the monk might have. Then she heard him softly say a single word.
Gu Jiao was stunned, “Steamed? Steamed what? Steamed rabbit or steamed ribs?”
The monk roared, "Is there anything in your mind besides food?!"
Gu Jiao: No, I’ve been starving these past few days.
The monk sighed, picked up a dry branch, and wrote a word on the ground in the language of the State of Yan: “Zheng.”
This word——it didn’t seem to be his Dharma name but his secular name.
The monk ended the conversation, “It’s late, you should go to sleep.”
Gu Jiao: “I want to eat fish.”
The monk: “…”
After eating another delicious, juicy roasted fish, Gu Jiao patted her round belly and fell asleep contentedly.
……
That night, Gu Jiao had a dream.
Since coming to Shengdu, she had been dreaming much more frequently than before. Interestingly, she would forget most of her dreams upon waking, but in the dreams, all her memories seemed to be connected.
For example, upon entering the dream, she remembered the courtyard filled with flowers and the grave with nameless tombstones.
Tonight, however, it was neither the courtyard nor the grave. Instead, it was an endless battlefield with clashing weapons, blood-stained yellow sand, and ceaseless slaughter. Soldiers kept falling, and the blood mist turned the sky crimson.
Amidst thousands of dry bones, a man clad in silver armor rode a Black Wind Cavalry horse, also adorned in silver armor. One hand tightly gripped the reins, while the other held a red-ta.s.seled spear.
His silver armor was already stained with blood, yet there was no trace of retreat in his eyes.
He looked at the vast enemy forces before him and said word by word, "Even if the last man of the Xuanyuan Family falls in battle, we will never surrender!"
The next second, the dream’s scene shifted.
It was still the same man.
He stood in the camp in his silver armor, coldly speaking to the official opposite him, “Rebel? So what if my Xuanyuan Family rebels? Heaven has wronged my Xuanyuan Family, so my Xuanyuan Family will defy this Heaven!”
“Yinyin… Yinyin…”
It was the voice of that man.
The scene changed again.
His voice was extraordinarily gentle and doting in this scene.
However, his appearance was too tragic to behold.
An arrow had struck his shoulder, and two more arrows had pierced his thigh. He lay on the ground, blood flowing like a river.
He struggled to support himself with his hands, trying to sit up.
Beside him squatted a little girl of about two years old.
“Uncle, you’re bleeding, you’re bleeding a lot.”
He smiled nonchalantly, discreetly wiping the blood from his palm onto his armor. Then he lifted his hand to gently pat the little girl"s head, "Uncle isn"t bleeding. Uncle is just playing with Yinyin."
The little girl tilted her head, seemingly discerning the truth of his words.
Then she asked, “Uncle, does it hurt?”
The man smiled and said, “It doesn’t hurt, not at all. Yinyin, let’s play a game, okay?”
“What game?” The little girl asked.
He struggled to lift his head, enduring the searing pain throughout his body, and pointed to the small dilapidated house ahead, "Do you see that little house over there?"
The little girl nodded, speaking in a childish voice, “Yinyin sees it.”
The man gave a weak smile, "I"ll count to three, and you run over there as fast as you can. Don"t stop, and don"t look back. When you get to the house, find a place to hide. If Uncle can"t find you, he"ll buy you some candy, alright?"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…