Chapter 19: Chapter 12: Playing the Hero Fix
After travelling peacefully for over ten days and now nearing the Liuzhou Region, Gu Changsheng suddenly felt the anxiety that often strikes when one is close to home.
According to Xiao Cui, an Old Daddy Song was still residing in Liuzhou, who had watched Gu Changsheng grow up, someone widely acquainted with his background. Would she be exposed as soon as she returned, and then be treated as a monster and roasted over a fire?
“Mistress… is it really safe to carry so much Silver?” Xiao Cui, clad in a pale blue cloth dress, huddled in a corner of the carriage, guardedly embracing the bundle in her arms.
Gu Changsheng glanced at her, continuing to explain the Three Character Classic to Little Meat Bun and Han Mo. This time, even when she distorted the teachings, Xiao Cui didn’t interrupt with dissatisfaction. Gu Changsheng felt quite proud of his cleverness in entrusting the silver note to her, “Xiao Cui, , if I were a bandit, I would definitely rob you.”
The obvious “this place has no Silver of three hundred taels” situation was really about ten thousand taels—was it really worth such fuss?
“Mistress, why don’t you keep it after all? Your maid… your maid won’t talk nonsense anymore.” Xiao Cui relented.
Gu Changsheng took the silver note and casually stuffed it into a hidden pocket in his garment, smiling serenely, “Xiao Cui, you really need to get rid of this petty bourgeois spirit. There’s nothing your mistress loves but Silver, and rest assured, I will get plenty of it! Remember, having money isn’t scary; what’s scary is not having it!”
Little Meat Bun Gu Ze cuddled into the soft cushions and tried not to laugh too loudly.
Han Mo remained silent, but the corner of his mouth unmistakably twitched.
“Mistress, it’s another eighty li to Linyang City. Should we camp out for the night, or continue on our journey?” Han Qiu’s voice came from up front, breaking the awkward silence among them.
Gu Changsheng lifted the carriage curtain to look outside at the sky. The sun was setting, and the clouds where thick, foreshadowing rain with his sharp brows slightly furrowed, “Let’s keep going. An intense downpour is imminent, and whether we stop or continue, the journey will be difficult.”
Linyang was quite a distance from the previous town, a day and a half’s journey without a single resting shed, and unfortunately, they were also about to encounter a torrential downpour.
Han Qiu also looked up at the sky, acknowledged with a response, and then spurred the horses on again.
Just as Gu Changsheng had predicted, they hurried along, but still were caught in the rain at the time of humans’ rest (currently 9 pm to 11 pm), with the “pitter-patter” of heavy rain beating on the roof of the carriage, causing Gu Changsheng’s brow to furrow even more. She hated rain more than anything, and although they had a pass from Elder Du and were using the official road, it was just a wider dirt road after all. The rain turned the road into a muddy mess, greatly slowing down the carriage.
“Hush…” With a loud cry, Han Qiu brought the carriage to a halt and lifted the curtain.
Gu Changsheng, steadying both her son and Han Mo, looked puzzledly at Han Qiu through the moisture-laden air blowing in.
“Mistress, there’s a person who has suddenly appeared lying in the middle of the road, blocking our path,” Han Qiu explained gravely.
The furrow in Gu Changsheng’s brow deepened—when it rains, it pours. Under these circumstances, coming across such a situation, she truly didn’t know how to handle it.
Grasping a straw cape nearby, Gu Changsheng jumped down from the carriage.
The person on the ground must have sensed someone approaching and slowly lifted his head with great effort.
Gu Changsheng suddenly didn’t know what words to use to describe the person before her, even just a profile was so Soul-Dissolving; the chiseled features, the nose, eyebrows, eyes, and lips were all like the creator’s masterpieces, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs… all stirred the imagination…
Damn! Who was this person? Were the men of ancient times all so disarmingly handsome? How could he dare to go out looking like that?
Gu Changsheng swallowed hard, damn it, Heavenly Father, I’ve wronged you. You were so generous—was sending me to ancient times to save beautiful men the plan all along? How considerate!
The person on the ground tried to prop himself up with one hand, his torn brocade robe sliding down on one side in the process, revealing a starkly naked and muscular shoulder.
Gu Changsheng narrowed her Red Phoenix Eyes, her pupils contracted, and she shivered.
That guy’s muscular shoulder and back were covered with wounds of various sizes, crisscrossed in a frightening manner. The most alarming wound, a knife cut, revealed rolling flesh and stretched from his solid shoulder to his chest. The wounds around it were mutilated beyond recognition, bloodied and blurred, startling even her, a military doctor.
Knife wounds, arrow injuries, fresh blood…
It was as if she could smell that distinct odor of blood from battlefields and slaughter.