Chapter 717: Reunion
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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Galetron]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Alma S.] [Christine G.-L.] [Fazzienaz] [K.Rom]
[Onepiece] [Suong D.] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Passerby] [Xena]
G O L D S T A R
[Nevy] [Roxanne C.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Debra W] [Kiiayame]
T H E S U N
[kuroneko_chan] [Michelle K.] [Smurfinbatik]
CELESTIAL CONQUEROR
[Ava C.] [BritnaeM] [Leticia P.] [Lily J.] [Manon] [Sophia W.][Val Nes]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)
Xiao Heng furrowed his brow slightly as he glanced at the woman, wondering if she had overheard the sensitive conversation earlier. He decided it would be best to take her away first, figure out the situation, and then let her go.
“She’s coming with me.” Xiao Heng told Xu Fengxian.
The woman paused with the spoon in her mouth, her action of eating watermelon halting as a fleeting sparkle appeared in her eyes when she looked at Xiao Heng.
Xu Fengxian put one hand on her hip and pointed the other holding a handkerchief at Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao, who had already gone upstairs, "You two are really going too far! First, stealing gold, and now what? You’re trying to take my people too!"
Xiao Heng replied calmly, “She’s not one of your Tianxiang Pavilion people.”
No one from Tianxiang Pavilion would dress like that.
Xu Fengxian choked on her words, “Well, that’s…”
Xiao Heng spoke leisurely, “Quite a few distinguished guests have come to Tianxiang Pavilion today. I heard people from the Crown Prince Estate are also here. The Crown Prince is known for upholding justice. If he finds out you’re forcing good women into prostitution, do you think your Tianxiang Pavilion can still stay open?”
As soon as Xiao Heng finished speaking, the woman cooperatively raised her chin and huffed, "Humph!"
Xu Fengxian: “...”
Thus, the woman was taken upstairs by Xiao Heng.
Xu Fengxian was furious.
She managed to save the gold, but the beauty slipped away.
This woman's beauty, even while unconscious, was already unparalleled in the world, and now that she was awake, she was even more stunning than a celestial fairy.
“What a shame, what a shame!”
……
Gu Jiao wasn’t surprised that Xiao Heng brought the woman along. After all, she had overheard sensitive information, so it was necessary to make sure she wouldn’t leak anything before letting her go.
After entering the room, the woman showed no signs of guilt or unease. Meanwhile, a performance was starting in the main hall.
Gu Chengfeng’s private room had a unique location, with a modest-sized balcony from which one could overlook the entire stage. The view was actually quite decent.
The woman walked to a stool on the balcony, holding her watermelon, and sat down.
Gu Jiao noticed that the watermelon in her hand was no longer the half she had before; it was a completely new half, bright red and seemingly still glistening with ice shards, looking particularly sweet and delicious.
Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Heng, wondering when she had picked up another half watermelon.
Xiao Heng shrugged, indicating he didn’t know either.
He had been walking ahead, and she had been following behind.
He didn’t notice her leaving at all.
But——
Earlier, there were two servant girls carrying two large trays covered with cloth, who passed by them.
Could it be that she swiped the watermelon then?
And not only did she swipe it, but she even placed her half-eaten watermelon rind beneath the silk cloth.
He really didn’t know which unfortunate soul would end up with that empty watermelon rind.
——That unfortunate soul was Ming Junwang.
……
The woman sat on the balcony, happily scooping out watermelon.
With her back to Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao, the two couldn’t see her expression clearly.
However, her focused demeanor as she enjoyed the watermelon somehow put them at ease, making them feel that she wouldn’t spill what she had just overheard.
“Maybe she didn’t hear anything at all.” Xiao Heng said as he sat by the Eight Immortals table, talking to Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao sat beside Xiao Heng, resting her chin in her hand as she stared thoughtfully at the woman’s back.
A normal person, after hearing such a huge secret, wouldn’t remain so calm. At the very least, they would worry about whether they would be silenced.
Not everyone knew that Nangong Li was a complete scoundrel. People in Shengdu viewed Nangong Li as a good person, so if they killed a good person, they would naturally be seen as the villains.
And for villains, silencing witnesses was standard practice.
The fact that she dared to follow them indicated she wasn’t afraid at all.
She didn’t believe they were villains.
Gu Jiao responded, “Maybe.”
Whether she heard or not was no longer important. What mattered was that Gu Jiao also had a gut feeling that she wouldn’t leak the secret.
It was pure intuition.
On the stage, the sound of the erhu instrument began, and the singing rose, drowning out all the voices in Tianxiang Pavilion.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng were still some distance from the balcony, and with the noise from the performance, the woman couldn’t hear their conversation.
Xiao Heng took off his mask and asked Gu Jiao about her disappearance over the past few days. Gu Chengfeng had said she was fine, but Xiao Heng didn’t believe it.
She was the kind of person who would brave a snowstorm to cross mountains and valleys to return home. If she were unharmed, there was no way she would have lingered outside for seven days.
“It’s fine now.” Gu Jiao said.
“Where were you hurt? Let me see.” Xiao Heng said.
Gu Jiao showed him the cut on her arm, which had already healed.
Xiao Heng understood that the injury she showed him was far from the only one she had. He clasped her hand in his and asked in a low voice, “Why did you have to go after the people from the Crown Prince Estate?”
“I had a question in my heart that I wanted to confirm with the Crown Princess.” That was why she couldn’t let the Crown Princess be killed by them. She added, “But I still didn’t get to meet her.”
Xiao Heng could guess without asking that the question was related to himself.
His heart felt uneasy, “Don’t do such dangerous things again.”
Gu Jiao looked at him intently, “Do you have the same question in your heart?”
Neither of them explicitly stated what the question was.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Heng nodded, “Yes. I came here today to find the answer as well.”
While they were talking, they didn’t notice that the woman had stopped digging into her watermelon.
Suddenly, a squad of guards rushed in downstairs and halted the performance on stage.
Xiao Heng stepped onto the balcony, looked down, and frowned, “They’re from the Jingzhao Office.”
After speaking, he turned around to grab the mask on the table.
The woman reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to grab his sleeve.
But in the end, she didn’t exert any force, and the cool, wide fabric slipped past her fingertips.
Xiao Heng put the mask back on his face, “Strange, why are people from the Jingzhao Office here?”
Gu Jiao glanced down and replied, “Judging by their demeanor, it seems they’re looking for someone. Has another important person gone missing in Shengdu?”
Anyone the Jingzhao Office personally came out to search for must be of great importance.
Gu Jiao said, “I’ll go down and take a look. You wait for me here.”
Her identity was more legitimate, while Xiao Heng’s “Long Yi” was an alias, so it was best for him to avoid direct contact with the authorities.
Gu Jiao went downstairs.
Xiao Heng returned to the balcony, pulled down the bamboo curtain, and observed the activity in the hall through the gaps.
Beside him, the woman still sat on the stool, but her aura had changed somewhat.
She seemed… a bit displeased.
Xiao Heng glanced at her, then turned his attention back to Gu Jiao and the authorities below.
Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
He looked down at her, “What is it?”
The woman held out the watermelon she had scooped out.
Only then did he notice that, after sitting on the balcony for quite a while, she hadn’t eaten a single bite.
She was using a new small golden spoon, which must have been swiped earlier as well.
The watermelon balls she had scooped were perfectly round and neatly arranged.
“For me?” Xiao Heng asked.
The woman nodded, her eyes looking at him innocently and heavily, with a hint of hesitation, like a child afraid of being rejected.
A strange, indescribable feeling surged in Xiao Heng’s heart.
It was as if something had forcibly tugged at his heartstrings.
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 succumb 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…