Gu Qiantong never thought time could be so hard to endure.
She finally managed to change out of her stained dress and unwearable high heels. Changning threw her a set of simple white long-sleeved clothes and a pair of chafing canvas shoes.
If she didn’t wear them, she would have to change back into her original clothes, no other options.
But wearing clothes and shoes that would chafe the skin was the least of her worries. Nearly a day and night later, she was forced to see Wu Hua again.
No coffin and no cremation, the corpse just lay on a bare bed, surrounded by symbols drawn in vermilion that she couldn’t understand.
Even though there were several braziers burning in the room, it still felt cold and eerily terrifying to her; she couldn’t help but shiver as soon as she entered.
She didn’t dare to look at the bed any longer.
Such a room was even scarier than a horror film set.
And she had to stay here to keep watch!
Regaining her ability to speak, Gu Qiantong, ignoring her sore jaw, immediately pleaded, "Let me do other tasks, I would rather die than stay here!"
Changning patted her shoulder and smiled in a way that made Gu Qiantong shiver again, "There are definitely other tasks, you can have that wish fulfilled. But that last one isn’t possible, there’s only this task now, whether you want to or not, you have to do it." The rightful source is N()velFire.net
"Actually, this task is the easiest, you just have to stay in there and make sure the fires in these braziers don’t go out, that’s it."
"What use are these fires?"
"Some people just die and that’s it, but some people’s corpses still have some degree of danger after death. We need someone to watch over it, these fires can eliminate some dangers and can also keep you a bit warmer. Just don’t touch Wu Hua’s corpse."
She would have to be crazy to think about touching a corpse!
But Changning’s words didn’t comfort her at all, she still wanted to run away, to leave this place as soon as possible.
"I-I can’t do this, I’ve never even started a fire before, aren’t you afraid I’ll mess everything up?"
"It’s fine, I’ll stay with you tonight, teach you for one night, you’ll learn eventually unless you’re a pig brain. Don’t think about sneaking out, I will seal off this courtyard before I leave, and there are guards outside too."
Gu Qiantong was completely desperate.
They arrived here at dusk, even had dinner right there.
Gu Qiantong hadn’t eaten or drunk much all day and night, but even starving to death, in this environment, she couldn’t eat anything at all.
In Changning’s view, it meant she wasn’t hungry enough.
She didn’t urge Gu Qiantong to eat more, anyway, when she was starving enough, she would know to eat.
When the night fell, the already cold room got several degrees colder.
Gu Qiantong hugged her arms and shrank in the corner, shivering, feeling drowsy, yet unable to sleep due to fear and cold.
By now, if she still didn’t know what kind of punishment Jiang Lingxi planned for her, then she truly was a pig brain.
The cold, the fear, time dragged on infinitely, it felt like forever passed, but when she looked at her wristwatch, only a few minutes had gone by.
She didn’t have a single physical scar, but mentally she felt utterly worn out.
Was Jiang Lingxi trying to drive her insane?
She regretted it, truly regretted it!
A man, how could he be more important than her life!
The night finally passed, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains.
Gu Qiantong groggily lifted her head, squinting against the light.
She had been in a half-asleep, half-awake state all night, feeling as if she’d been asleep yet somehow always awake.
Her head felt incredibly heavy, as if her brain were turning to stone.
Until a fairly nutritious meal appeared in front of her.
"Hurry and eat, once you’re done, go to the next room to sleep. You’ll need the energy to continue the night watch tonight, because you’ll be on your own."
Just as Gu Qiantong instinctively took the chopsticks, those words made her vision go black, nearly collapsing face-first into the plate.
Jiang Lingxi merely acknowledged with a light hum after hearing from Changning about Gu Qiantong’s behavior the previous night.
It’s understandable for children, but for someone like Gu Qiantong who has been an adult for years and still can’t discern right from wrong, the punishment had to be thorough for her to remember the lesson.
Taking her back home to discipline her wouldn’t be effective, she was sure her own way of disciplining would work better.
Shen Yunqing, standing by, offered no opinion, he unconditionally supported Jiang Lingxi’s decision.
He merely asked, "Are Zhang Ying and Chang Fu coming over today?"
Wu Jue nodded, "I plan to let them rest for tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go to the main base of the Changcang Sect. Also," he glanced at Jiang Lingxi, "Yin Chong said before he leaves, he wants to see you."
"See me?" Jiang Lingxi couldn’t understand why Yin Chong wanted to see her, there didn’t seem to be much to talk about between them, "Let him come."
She wanted to see what he was after.
When Yin Chong arrived, Jiang Lingxi was in the courtyard enjoying the sunshine, just as she had the day before.
The sky was beautifully fair these days, clear and bright.
She was dedicated to her sunbathing, after all, beside her was someone silently supervising while healing.
Noticing a gaze on her, she immediately opened her eyes to look over.
In that moment, Yin Chong’s gaze was something Jiang Lingxi couldn’t quite read.
"Wu Jue said you wanted to see me, what do you want to say?"
Yin Chong approached, glanced at Jiang Lingxi’s hand.
In the sunlight, the purple-red patterns were prominent.
He stopped, saying, "I was picked up by Wu Hua for the Changcang Sect."
His words confusingly abrupt, but before Jiang Lingxi could frown, he continued, "Before being picked up, I was just a parentless street punk, gravely injured from fights and on the verge of death. I owe today’s life to Wu Hua who showed mercy that once."
"Or, perhaps it wasn’t mercy, just a whim. But she indeed gave me a second life."
"I didn’t betray her, but she met you, which led to her demise. To me, it might be a relief for her."
"I wish Your Majesty success in your endeavors, may your future be bright."
Jiang Lingxi watched Yin Chong solemnly deliver strange words before turning to leave, "What did he mean by all that?"
Shen Yunqing had been processing emails from He Zhu, but hadn’t scrolled the page since Yin Chong arrived.
He pursed his lips and replied, "Perhaps he’s delivering a final message."
Jiang Lingxi couldn’t help but mutter softly, "Are we that close for him to deliver such a message? Wait, did Wu Jue say he’s going to die? When did he say that, I don’t remember?"
"Wu Jue didn’t say, but he mentioned before when meeting Yin Chong that he used to be Wu Hua’s experiment. Wu Hua liked kids with strong vitality. Now that Wu Hua is gone, he’ll die sooner or later."
Though the guy remains detestable.
But his detestability has lessened ever so slightly.