Chapter 5

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Gu Yan Fei, sitting in the carriage, lowered her gaze slightly and elegantly sipped her tea, the naturally curved corners of her lips holding a faint, almost imperceptible smile. Once, Fang Ming Feng had also been a knot in her heart that troubled her for many years. She didn’t understand why he liked Gu Yun Rong, why it had to be Gu Yun Rong.

Since he didn’t like her, why didn’t he just break off the engagement? Instead, he tried to kill her, and later ruined her reputation, forcing the Gu family to withdraw from the engagement out of shame, while the Fang family stood proudly on moral high ground. She had done nothing wrong; it was Fang Ming Feng who was at fault. If the engagement were to be called off, it should be by her.

Juan Bi, sitting nearby, looked at Gu Yan Fei with a complicated expression. She had been worried that the young master might misunderstand her lady and Chu Gongzi, but it turned out her lady had no regard for the young master at all. Her lady was so clever, with eyes as sharp as torches. The young master must be someone who is impressive on the outside but rotten within.

Yes, it must be like this!

The carriage slowly passed through the city gate, with the sound of whips cracking outside.

Gu Yan Fei’s hand holding the cup suddenly paused, and ripples spread through the tea. She calmly put down the cup, though it felt as if a stone were pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe. This feeling was very familiar…

Gu Yan Fei casually lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out of the carriage. The sun had set halfway, dyeing the western sky a rouge-like red. The hand Gu Yan Fei had hidden in her sleeve quickly began to calculate…

But as her thumb brushed past two fingers, the feeling of oppression in her chest intensified, and she tasted a sudden sweetness in her throat. She swallowed the blood before it could spill from her lips. She quietly withdrew her hand, her pupils hidden beneath her half-lowered lashes. Only she knew her heart was throbbing in pain.

She was all too familiar with this feeling; once again, she was being suppressed by the laws of this small world. From her hasty divination, she could barely discern that Dan Yang City would face a great catastrophe, with less than a third of the city’s population surviving.

After passing through the city gate, the carriage began to pick up speed. Gu Yan Fei absentmindedly lowered the curtain, then glanced at Chu Gongzi again, only to be slightly startled. A wisp of dark, ominous energy lingered between his handsome brows, refusing to dissipate.

Gu Yan Fei’s eyes were as deep and unfathomable as a black pool, her gaze circling around Chu Gongzi’s brow. From their first meeting, she had noticed a faint dark aura around his forehead, but after entering the city, it had grown even denser.

In terms of face reading, this signified impending doom.

“Chu Gongzi, thank you for giving me a ride.” Gu Yan Fei pulled out a red silk pouch from her sleeve and placed it on the table. “This safety talisman is for you.”

Through the slightly open mouth of the pouch, a folded piece of beige paper could be seen inside.

Chu Gongzi pressed his right fist to his lips and let out a soft laugh, his brows relaxing.

“We’ve arrived at Hua An Street!”

Outside, Xiao Shi’s coarse yet cheerful voice rang out again, as the carriage smoothly stopped in front of a residence. Juan Bi was the first to get off the carriage, her previously pale and dim face instantly brightened, completely relieved.

Xiao Shi gave Gu Yan Fei a strange look, thinking this pretty girl was really odd. She actually gave their Gongzi a safety talisman—did she believe it was the talisman that saved her from the cliff fall?

Just as Gu Yan Fei was about to get off the carriage, Chu Gongzi suddenly unfastened the short sword from his waist and handed it to her.

“This sword is my gift to you in return.” He looked steadily at Gu Yan Fei, his smiling eyes carrying a hint of intrigue.

Gu Yan Fei was momentarily stunned, realizing he had misunderstood, but she still accepted it graciously. This sword feels quite handy. Gu Yan Fei contentedly drew the sword two inches from its sheath before returning it, kindly advising, “Dan Yang City has been unstable lately. If you have no pressing matters, it’s best to leave early.”

“Farewell.”

Gu Yan Fei held the sword sheath, smiling as she cupped her hands in farewell to Chu Gongzi.

Chu Gongzi raised his finely shaped brows, his eyes flickering with a deep light as he nodded, “I will remember that.”

Gu Yan Fei smiled faintly, knowing full well that he wouldn’t heed her advice. He must have another purpose in coming to Dan Yang City, and he wouldn’t leave until it was fulfilled. She gave him the safety talisman merely to repay a karmic debt.

As she thought, Gu Yan Fei subconsciously stroked the sword sheath with her fingertips. The moment she saw Chu Gongzi’s sword, she remembered.

She had seen this sword before.

In her previous life, after being rescued from the bottom of the cliff, she spent most of her time unconscious, only waking once in a daze inside a carriage, where she had a vague glimpse of her savior. At that time, she didn’t see his face, only vaguely glimpsing his sword. She was certain—it was this very sword.

In other words, it must have been this Chu Gongzi who saved her in her previous life and safely returned her to Dan Yang City.

Gu Yan Fei sighed inwardly as she took Juan Bi’s hand to disembark from the carriage, the taste of blood still lingering in her mouth, her throat burning.

The carriage was now left with only Chu Gongzi and the unfinished game of chess, where the densely packed black and white pieces divided the board, evenly matched.

“Miss Gu, until we meet again.” Xiao Shi waved goodbye to Gu Yan Fei as their green-canopied carriage sped down the wide street, soon disappearing into the deepening twilight. As the sound of hooves faded, the empty street fell silent, with few passersby remaining.

Gu Yan Fei stood still, lifting her eyes to the darkening sky. The clouds overhead had grown heavier, pressing down as if they might fall at any moment.

Knock, knock, knock…

Juan Bi raised her hand and knocked on the side door of the residence, calling out to the gatekeeper inside, “Old Li!”

After a moment, with a creak, the door opened just a crack, revealing the sallow, aged face of Old Li behind it. The door stopped, and Old Li’s murky eyes gleamed with schadenfreude as he glanced at Juan Bi and then at Gu Yan Fei behind her. He said with a vague tone, “Oh, the Second Miss is back, huh!”

“Zhang Pozi, hurry and inform Xu Momo,” Old Li turned and called for an old maid to deliver the message.

Seeing the door was still only slightly open, Juan Bi frowned and urged, “Old Li, open the door quickly!”

Old Li pressed firmly against the door, giving a forced smile as he sighed and responded irrelevantly, “Xu Momo said that it’s improper for young ladies to be out late. If the Second Miss doesn’t return before sunset, she’s not allowed inside.”

Upon hearing this, Juan Bi widened her eyes in disbelief. She and the young lady had been living here for three months, often enduring the neglect from these servants who flattered the high and trampled the low, but she never imagined they would go so far as to refuse them entry today!

Juan Bi was so angry that her round face turned bright red, but the situation was beyond her control. If Old Li insisted on not opening the door, there was nothing they could do. She forced herself to patiently explain, “Old Li, we had an accident on our way back from Da Xing Temple, the carriage fell off a cliff…”

“Juan Bi, step back.”

As Gu Yan Fei’s calm and gentle voice sounded, Juan Bi obediently stepped back two paces.

Swish!

Gu Yan Fei swiftly drew the short sword from its sheath, the narrow blade gleaming coldly in the setting sun, buzzing with a sharp sound. Without hesitation, Gu Yan Fei struck out with the sword. Her movement was light and delicate, like a mere flourish, yet the blade easily sliced through the thick door panel, as if cutting through tofu.

One half of the split door tilted backward and fell to the ground with a thud, leaving only the other half still hanging on the hinge.

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