Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 100 The Only Companion

This is a small house outside the city.

Pei Nian woke up from his coma and lay on a small broken bed in a daze for a long time. His eyes turned from the beam covered with spider webs to the window. Through the old and dilapidated window, he saw a desolate forest in the snow.

It was very cold today, but the quilt she was wearing was quite thick, and the warm bed allowed her to lie there for a long time.

She hadn't slept in for many years since she entered the officialdom, but thinking about what happened yesterday and the death of her subordinates, she was in a low mood and didn't feel relaxed.

"Squeak."

There was an unpleasant sound when the door was broken, and someone came in with a bowl of porridge in his hand. He looked around and saw that there was no place to put it, so he said, "Take it and eat it."

Pei Nian sat up, took the porridge, and looked at Gu Jingnian. He saw that the young man was handsome and his temperament was even more extraordinary than before.

"You are indeed not dead."

Gu Jingnian asked: "What about you? Why are you helping me?"

"Not to help you, but..."

Pei Nian held the hot porridge to warm his hands, but did not drink it. He sat at the head of the bed in silence for a long time before he spoke again: "I found out that Mei Chengzong colluded with the caged people, and I didn't want them to succeed. And Xu Tisi was ready to deal with him, so I took the opportunity to find a reason to attack, but I didn't expect his skills... Is he also an extraordinary person?"

Gu Jingnian said: "Not to mention who he is, you are too weak, don't get involved in these things anymore."

Not only did he no longer call her "Jishi" now, he also spoke to her impolitely. However, Pei Nian did not show off his authority as before. She lowered her head and spoke firmly in a not-so-loud voice.

"There are strong and weak people, and there are right and wrong things. I can't just ignore everything because I'm weak."

Seeing that she was so stubborn, Gu Jingnian stopped talking.

Pei Wujiu couldn't control her, so he couldn't control her even more.

He can't change anyone. It's already difficult for him to rescue Gu Caiwei, so he can only respect Pei Nian's fate.

"But you are indeed very strong." Pei Nian suddenly said this, with a hint of envy in his tone.

After a moment, perhaps to cover up her envy, she quickly changed the subject and asked, "That postman Zhao Ming is really you, right? That letter was also forged by you."

"Yes."

"Gu Beiming betrayed his country because of Gu Jizu's death?"

"may be."

"Why did Gu Jizu die?"

"I killed him."

"But it is definitely because of alchemy." Pei Nian said, "And Lu Yanning's rebellion, I also find it strange. In Wanchun Palace, I know him well. He doesn't seem like someone who would plot rebellion. Moreover, how could such a big thing be revealed by Gu Jiye first? It must be related to alchemy. You are also investigating this matter, right?"

"I won't check." Gu Jingnian said, "I came back to look for my sister."

"You don't investigate because you know it is true." Pei Nian said, "Since the incident in the western suburbs, the more I investigate, the more I see that alchemy is rampant. If it is not banned, Rui may follow in the footsteps of Yue."

Gu Jingnian said: "You can't stop it."

"I can."

"Can you stop people's desires?"

"So what are your plans? If you can't win, then just go along with them? How did you get your fire wings?"

After hearing this, Gu Jingnian looked at Pei Nian in surprise.

They couldn't say what kind of relationship they had with each other, but they had worked together so many times, and she even risked her life to save him yesterday, but they didn't expect that he didn't even have this little trust.

"I refined it." Gu Jingnian replied.

"That's not what I meant. I probably know everything about what happened to you at Deadwood Cliff." Pei Nian said, "I just said that to provoke you."

"What do you want me to do?"

Pei Nian did not answer immediately, but examined his own heart first.

On the road to fighting against alchemy, the opponent was too powerful, and she was too weak and lonely. Gu Jingnian was almost her only companion. She didn't realize this at first, until she learned of his death. She suddenly realized that the truth she had discovered could not be discussed with anyone else. Telling others would only kill them.

It was precisely because of this state of mind that when she realized yesterday that Gu Jingnian was not dead, she decided to save Gu Jingnian without hesitation, risking her life for it.

She thought they would still fight side by side.

But when Gu Jingnian asked this question, Pei Nian did not invite him, but asked: "What are your plans?"

"Find my sister and leave Zhongzhou."

"Ah."

Pei Nian responded and lowered his head to drink his porridge.

The porridge was still warm, and after a bowl of it, I felt very comfortable, but the atmosphere was a little awkward, so Pei Nian said, "You are a good cook."

An old woman pushed the door open, looked inside the room, went in, and took the empty bowl from her hand.

When he first saw the old woman, Pei Nian actually felt that her eyes were a little strange, but he couldn't tell why.

"Young Master, is this your wife?" The old woman said, and exclaimed, "She is so beautiful."

Pei Nian was slightly stunned, because no one dared to use the word "beautiful" to describe her for many years. Then she remembered that she was still dressed in women's clothes.

Presumably, Gu Jingnian was staying at this old woman's house and lied that they were a couple.

Seeing that Gu Jingnian didn't say anything, Pei Nian had to help pretend and replied, "Thank you for taking me in, old man."

The old woman smiled mischievously, glanced at Gu Jingnian, and said, "Don't be polite. You two are a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman. I am delighted to see you and I hope you can stay longer." Pei Nian didn't know how to answer, nor could he deny it, so he simply lowered his head, awkwardly adjusted his temples, and acted shy.

In fact, his eyes remained calm.

While they were talking, Gu Jingnian said nothing. After a while, he went out with the old woman, leaving Pei Nian to rest alone.

But Pei Nian couldn't lie down, and he got up after a while.

She looked out through the crack in the door and saw Gu Jingnian talking to the old woman. She was puzzled, so she gently opened the door and quietly moved to listen.

"Sir, I just saw clearly, that is Pei Jishi, she looks so beautiful in women's clothes."

"Does it look good?"

"Well, that's why you like it, sir."

"No, why are you teasing her?"

"I thought you liked it, so I helped you."

"Don't say it's useless. Today I will..."

As Gu Jingnian spoke, he turned around and saw Pei Nian coming over, his expression unchanged.

After all, he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Pei Nian was a little annoyed. He looked at him, then at the old woman, but he didn't know what to say. He simply said, "I've rested well, and I'll leave now."

"You have offended Mei Chengzong, what are you going to do next?"

"It doesn't matter. He has the final say over the Kaiping Division." Pei Nian said, "I will go find the pacification envoy and report the situation."

Gu Jingnian said: "Whether Min Yuanxiu is trustworthy or not, you decide for yourself."

"Yes, how about you?"

Gu Jingnian said: "I also have things to do."

Pei Nian nodded and was about to turn around and leave, but suddenly stopped and asked, "Do you know who captured Gu Si Niang?"

The two exchanged information and both knew that the person who secretly supported alchemy in Rui State was Prime Minister Zheng Kuangfu. Qin Jun, who instructed Gu Jiye to falsely accuse Lu Yanning, was also from Zheng Kuangfu's faction. It was also Zheng Kuangfu who sent people to take Gu Caiwei away from Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion.

"So, although we have different plans, we have the same enemy?"

"Looks like it."

"So, together?"

In the wild forest, the door of the hut opened, and two people walked out, walking side by side into the heavy snow.

The old woman leaned against the door, looking at their figures, and thought they were a perfect match.

But in her heart she sighed with some distress, thinking that the young master had become too handsome now, and as a maid she was definitely not worthy of him, and she could only be Miss Pei's mistress in the future.

"Fortunately, Miss Pei doesn't seem difficult to get along with."

Xing Er muttered something, and then began to worry about Gu Caiwei again. However, she felt relieved because Gu Jingnian was back.

--------

Jing, the prime minister's residence.

In the study, the white cloth wrapped around Zheng Kuangfu's eyes was taken off. He opened his bright and wise eyes, looked around, and surprise and joy gradually revealed in his eyes.

"well."

After praising him twice in succession, Zheng Kuangfu stroked his long beard and nodded.

"You just had your eyes replaced. It's best not to use them too frequently."

Standing next to Zheng Kuangfu was a man in a white robe. Unlike Chu Danqing's handsome and elegant appearance, this man was extremely ugly, with a pair of uneven eyes under his short and shallow eyebrows, a pointed face under his sunken rosacea, and some buck teeth.

His name is Xia Juqi.

In the list of seven people who originally formed the Gentlemen's Society of Chongjing Academy, his name was ranked fifth, after Zheng Kuangfu.

But only the seven of them knew that the list was not ranked by strength, and Chu Danqing was at the top simply because he was a versatile person and older than the others. Zheng Kuangfu was aiming for an official career and did not want to stand out too much in the Gentlemen's Society. As for Xia Juqi, although he did not have many advantages, his level of alchemy was not inferior to Chu Danqing.

"Your skills have improved again." Zheng Kuangfu said with emotion. He stared at the wall for a long time before closing his eyes. "Perhaps it won't be long before you can stand shoulder to shoulder with your uncle."

Xia Juqi said, "I hope so. I really want to see the medicinal herbs that Uncle Shi has."

"There's a chance." Zheng Kuangfu closed his eyes and said, "You also know that the best medicinal materials have appeared recently."

"Phoenix bloodline is something that is hard to come by in Zhongzhou in hundreds of years." Xia Juqi's eyes were filled with fanatical yearning, and there was also some concentration in his yearning. He asked, "Can we catch it?"

“Hunting is nothing more than laying bait and traps.”

Xia Juqi usually only cared about refining and didn't care about these things, but this time he was really interested and enthusiastically participated in the discussion. He analyzed: "The medicinal material should be looking for his sister, right?"

Zheng Kuangfu nodded and said, "Since he has questioned Gu Jiye, the next step must be to find Qin Jun to find out the whereabouts of Gu Caiwei. With the bait, we don't have to worry about him not coming. Now it depends on whether the trap can be set."

After saying that, he opened his eyes again. His sharp gaze penetrated the wall, and he could see rows of black-clad guards holding crossbows standing behind the wall.

He could even see the venom on the crossbow arrows.

On a high pavilion farther away, several men in green were sitting cross-legged, ready to call the wind and rain and wet Gu Jingnian's fire wings at any time.

This trap will never give the prey a chance to escape...

(End of this chapter)