Water Margin: Gao Yanei is actually a Gal Genius

next day

The morning bell tolled dully across Tokyo, autumn chill seeped into the cracks between the bricks, and a thin layer of white frost covered the eaves. The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was a murky, crab-shell blue.

Having long been accustomed to waking up early, Gao Jin had just stepped out of the house when he shivered and went back to his room. He obediently put on a thick brocade robe, tapped the iron armor underneath through the clothing, and then nodded in satisfaction before walking out.

The autumn chill came too quickly. I didn't feel cold yesterday wearing just a single layer of clothing, but today I need to wear a thick robe.

Gao Jin wasn't in a hurry to go to Suanzao Gate today; he planned to go to a clothing store to buy some warm clothes for Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong.

As they approached the market, the number of pedestrians increased, and Gao Jin had no choice but to dismount and lead the horses forward.

The various shops on Panlou Street are taking down their door panels.

At the entrance of "Liu Family's Superior Colored Sandalwood Shop," apprentices displayed newly made osmanthus-scented cakes, their sweet fragrance filling half the street.

Under the banner of "Yang Family Seasonal Brocade," shop assistants were carrying out bolts of thick cloth and silk.

A banner proclaiming "New Method of Winemaking" has been raised at the entrance of the shop, and the aroma of wine mixed with the steaming heat of steamed buns is especially enticing in this chilly autumn.

After considering Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen's physiques, Gao Jin found a clothing store and quickly bought them a set of autumn and winter clothes.

After putting his newly dressed clothes on his horse, Gao Jin turned around and leisurely walked towards Suanzao Gate.

On the way, they passed a morning market where large pots of roasted chestnuts were sizzling and the sweet aroma made Gao Jin's mouth water.

I originally just wanted to buy some as a snack, but then I remembered how the monk Lu Zhishen loved sweets, and he swallowed most of the sweet powder cakes that made my throat hurt yesterday.

I simply bought a whole bunch and had the vendor wrap them in seven sheets of oil paper. I put the chestnuts in the saddlebag on my horse, reaching in to take one out to eat while lamenting that there were no roasted sweet potatoes.

Holding that thing in your hands, it tastes delicious and warms you up.

Speechless all the way.

When Gao Jin arrived near the courtyard, Chen Liqing was already standing outside, looking around without going in, clearly looking for Gao Jin to take revenge.

Feeling safe and secure in his armor, Gao Jin was brimming with confidence and started greeting people from afar, "Miss Chen, you're quite punctual today too."

Upon hearing this, the woman hidden under the green veil looked up and glanced in this direction, about to speak.

Gao Jin tossed a bag of chestnuts over from a distance. "Miss Chen, please wait a moment. I'll get the chestnuts for my brothers before I spar with you." Wearing his inner armor, Gao Jin appeared relaxed and at ease.

Chen Liqing took the oil paper package, glanced at it and found it contained warm chestnuts. She then looked at Gao Jin who was walking over, whispered a "please," and then remained silent.

Gao Jin leisurely led his horse into the courtyard, where Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong were already seated.

"Brother, why are you so late today? We should drink three cups."

"Brother, be careful. That girl will definitely keep an eye on us after she arrives, saying she's waiting for you. I suspect she has some martial arts skills; I'm afraid she's up to no good."

"I woke up early this morning and suddenly felt really cold, so I went to the market to buy some warm clothes for my two brothers." Gao Jin took out the bundle of clothes from his horse and handed it to Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen.

After Gao Jin finished doing all this, he kept a close eye on Lin Chong's favorability rating.

"Brother, you're so kind! I thank you." "I thank you, brother."

Lin Chong's favorability rating: 69.

Gao Jin was nearly driven mad inside, but he still managed a smile as he took out some roasted chestnuts from his satchel. "Try them, brothers. They taste great, and they're piping hot."

"Thank you, brother!"

"Brothers, please go and eat and drink first. Brother, please deal with that woman first, then come and have some wine."

"Brother, go ahead." After saying that, the two of them, each carrying a bundle of clothes in one hand and taking the chestnuts in the other, walked towards the stone table.

After tying up the horse, Gao Jin turned and walked out of the courtyard, where there was still trouble.

[Chen Liqing's favorability rating: 10.] Gao Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized. This Miss Chen should be awake by now.

A thought suddenly struck her: her husband's favorability rating was almost 69 points. As the saying goes, if one door closes, another opens; even if the old Taoist priest was also stuck at 69 points, she'd have two samples to compare and try different approaches.

But how can I reasonably establish a relationship with the old Taoist priest? I can't exactly go and date his crazy daughter.

Gao Jin felt that no matter what he did, he would be misunderstood as having feelings for his daughter, so he might as well just visit her in person.

Approaching Chen Liqing, Gao Jinxing bowed and said, "Hello, Miss Chen. I would like to ask if Uncle Chen has any free time recently? I have some questions about the stick and would like to come and ask for your help."

Chen Liqing remained silent, raised her head and glanced at Gao Jin from head to toe, then nodded slightly: "Okay, as long as you beat me." After saying that, she turned around and went to the saddle to get her weapon.

[Chen Liqing's favorability rating: 20.] That can't be right, lady.

"Wait, Miss Chen..." Gao Jin was interrupted by a thud before he could finish speaking. It was the sound coming from Chen Liqing's side.

She somehow found an iron rod, dragged it by one end, and smashed the other end off the horse's back, making a huge noise.

"Hiss." Gao Jin gasped.

This thing is considered a top-tier blunt weapon, right? Even inner armor can't stop it.

"What's wrong, Brother Gao?" Chen Liqing dragged the iron rod to Gao Jin's side, her free hand taking out the green gauze cover.

"Uh..." Gao Jin didn't know how to start the conversation.

He wasn't unfamiliar with heavy weapons; Lu Zhishen's iron staff was much heavier than this stick.

But the current situation is like in his past life he had a kitchen knife at home and often used it, but one day he encountered a mentally ill person carrying a kitchen knife on the street.

Gao Jin felt pretty much like that right now; he felt very uneasy.

"This is my weapon, Brother Gao, are you afraid?" The voice was as clear and melodious as a nightingale's, but Gao Jin sensed a chilling intent in it. "If Brother Gao is afraid, it wouldn't be impossible for you to apologize to me."

Gao Jin swallowed hard and said, "If I admit my mistake, will we not have to fight?"

Although Gao Jin didn't know where he had gone wrong, it was clearly not the time to ask that.

"Even if you admit your mistake, you'll still have to be hit. But I'll hold back."

[Chen Liqing's favorability rating: 25.] Were mental illnesses really that terrible in ancient times?

"So where exactly did I go wrong?"

Gao Jin thought to himself, but dared not actually ask, for fear that this crazy woman would shout, "You don't even know what you did wrong?!" and then hit him with a stick.

"I promised to accompany the girl in the duel, so I definitely have to..." Gao Jin's eyes darted around, and he quickly came up with a solution: "...But I've been busy with this and that since I left home this morning, I need to go to the restroom now."

Chen Liqing visibly froze, and after a long while, she said, "Brother Gao, please go and come back quickly."

"Definitely, definitely." Gao Jin, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, hurriedly ran into the courtyard. As he passed Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen, who were watching the play, he didn't forget to tell them, "That girl is Chen Xizhen's daughter. I'll hide for a bit."

After saying that, Gao Jin hurriedly ran to the back of the house.

Lin Chong chuckled and said to Lu Zhishen, "Our brother is too chivalrous. He scared a woman so much that she hid away."

Lu Zhishen's expression was strange. "That woman is insane. She even brought an iron rod with her today."

Lin Chong remained silent, no longer speaking to the mentally ill, women, and children.

This has gone beyond what can be resolved by force.

After all, Lin and Lu are people with relatively normal values. As long as their bottom line is not crossed, these two are practically their natural enemy.

"Never mind her, I think my brother handled it very well. If you can't afford to offend someone, then avoid them. Here, Brother Lin Chong, have some chestnuts, they won't taste good when they get cold."

"Let's drink to each other, brother."

Chen Liqing waited for almost half an hour, but Gao Jin did not return. She had already understood everything, and silently took the green gauze cover from the maid Yang'er.

After putting on the protective cap and re-tying the iron bar, Chen Liqing mounted her horse and galloped away.

The maidservant and her son rode on a donkey, anxiously chasing after them. When she urged them on, the donkey stubbornly refused to move.

The young man glanced at the missing lady, then at the donkey that wouldn't budge, and his eyes welled up with tears.

Fortunately, the place wasn't too remote, and there were people coming and going, so there wasn't much danger. After thinking about it, Yang'er decided to wait for the young lady there.

After a long time, the sun had begun to set, and the adopted son, who still hadn't seen the young lady, started to get anxious.

She hurriedly rode her donkey towards the city to inform Old Master Chen.

Not long after Yang'er entered the Suanzao family, Chen Liqing rode up to her side like a gust of wind.

"Miss, Miss! Where have you been? You scared me to death!"

"I didn't go anywhere, I just went for a horse race to relax... Let's go home."