Gu Jianli couldn’t understand what kind of past grievances existed between her father and Wujing that could make her father so furious every time he encountered him. Yes, her father indeed had a bad temper, but no one else could infuriate him to this extent except Wujing.
Gu Jianli was at a loss. As she watched her father raise a chair to smash it towards Wujing, she recalled the times her father, in his rage, had shattered walls. It seemed that the frail Wujing might very well become the next wall to collapse. Almost instinctively, she threw herself into Wujing’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck to shield him.
Wujing, with an indifferent expression, was toying with a tea cup on the table, showing no intention of dodging the chair. However, the moment Gu Jianli rushed towards him, he paused, grabbed her by the waist, and turned them both to the side. The chair in Gu Jingyuan’s hand landed heavily on Wujing’s back.
“Hiss…” A trace of crimson malice flickered in Wujing’s eyes instinctively.
How many years had it been since someone had struck him?
The chair Gu Jingyuan had thrown couldn’t harm Wujing in the slightest, but with Gu Jianli rushing over, Wujing, in protecting her, took the full impact of the chair.
“Gu Jianli, do you think I need you to protect me?” Wujing’s eyes were dark and terrifying.
Gu Jianli was stunned for a moment before realizing what she had done and just how foolish her action had been. Indeed, Wujing didn’t need her to rush over and protect him. She not only failed to protect him but also caused him trouble. It was a moment of confusion on her part that led to this.
“I…” Gu Jianli opened her mouth, wanting to apologize, to ask if he was in pain. But looking into Wujing’s dark eyes, a sudden sense of grievance welled up inside her, rendering her speechless.
Gu Jingyuan was stunned when he saw Gu Jianli throw herself into Wujing’s arms. Fearing that Gu Jianli might get hurt, he noticed that Wujing still knew how to protect his wife. The anger and shock on his face eased slightly. Just as he sighed in relief, he heard Wujing’s words and flew into a rage again, pointing at Wujing’s nose and cursing, “Ji Zhao, you ungrateful wretch! Are you even human? Being fierce to a woman! Yelling at a wife who rushed to protect you. You’re a mad dog! Even a mad dog knows better than you!”
Hearing her father’s increasingly harsh words, Gu Jianli hurriedly grabbed his wrist, anxiously saying, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, and please stop talking…”
She intended to calm her father, but inexplicably, her eyes turned red.
To be honest, Gu Jianli valued her dignity, and her most embarrassing moments had all been in front of Wujing. She rarely cried in front of others, almost never shedding tears in front of her father. Seeing her red eyes, Gu Jingyuan stopped cursing, feeling as if a knife had been twisted in his heart. He grasped Gu Jianli’s wrist and said in a deep voice, “Don’t cry, don’t let yourself be wronged here! Come home with Father!”
He firmly held Gu Jianli’s wrist, pulling her out. The petite Gu Jianli had no strength to resist, stumbling as she was dragged by her father.
When they reached the door, Gu Jingyuan habitually lifted his foot to step over the threshold, only to realize it had been sawed off, leaving a smooth mark where it once was. He muttered, “What kind of place has no threshold? No wonder it’s so run-down!”
Gu Jianli paused for a moment, grabbing the door frame, which allowed her to stop briefly.
“Father!”
Gu Jingyuan turned to look at her, and Gu Jianli frowned, shaking her head.
“Don’t tell me you still want to stay in this shabby place? All those rules about women obeying men, lifelong fidelity… they’re all rubbish! Nothing matters more than living comfortably!”
“I…”
Gu Jianli only managed to say one word before Wujing interrupted, “You’re hurting her.”
Gu Jingyuan was taken aback, quickly letting go of her hand.
Wujing walked over to Gu Jianli, took her wrist, and saw that it was indeed red. He shot a glance at Gu Jingyuan and gently massaged her wrist, then bent down to blow on it.
Gu Jingyuan, displeased by Wujing’s actions, frowned and shouted, “What are you doing? Let go of her and stay away from her!”
“Hmph,” Wujing laughed roguishly, “Can’t you see what I’m doing? I can not only massage and blow on it, but I can also kiss it.”
As he spoke, Wujing indeed brought Gu Jianli’s hand to his lips and kissed her wrist. He looked provocatively at Gu Jingyuan and asked, “Can you do that?”
“You… you… you’re talking nonsense! I’m her father!”
“You still remember you’re her father and not her husband, right?” Wujing sighed, “Big Tiger Gu, have you ever seen a craftsman blow sugar figurines? You’re just like a sand monk’s belly, inflated by a single breath. Do you think I can poke it and it’ll burst?”
“You—”
“Waking people up from a good dream early in the morning, and not fully awake yet, you start scolding me. You’ve already hit me, and now you want to take my wife away.” Wujing yawned lazily, “Old man, did you have too much for breakfast?”
“What?” Gu Jingyuan immediately looked at Gu Jianli’s stomach.
Gu Jianli hurriedly shook her head, “No… no…”
In front of Gu Jingyuan, Wujing wrapped his arms around Gu Jianli’s waist, bent down, and rested his chin on her shoulder, speaking softly, “I’m hurt. Our father hits really hard.”
Gu Jianli stood there, stunned, with mixed feelings. Finally, she just pursed her lips and softly said, “Wait a moment, I’ll get you some medicine for the swelling and pain.”
“Okay—” Wujing drawled, imitating the coquettish tone that Ji Xinglan often used.
Gu Jianli pried his hands off her waist and went inside to fetch the medicine for Wujing.
Gu Jingyuan stood silently to the side, watching the scene with a complicated expression. Only after Gu Jianli went inside did he ask Wujing, “Are you possessed?”
Wujing, lacking patience, leaned back in the chair, his long legs crossed and lightly swaying. He didn’t respond, not even glancing at Gu Jingyuan.
“Son, your father is talking to you!” Gu Jingyuan emphasized.
Wujing’s swaying legs stopped, and he looked up at Gu Jingyuan, asking, “Should I buy her clothes and jewelry?”
Gu Jingyuan was momentarily stunned and replied, “Of course!”
“Oh—” Wujing nodded, “Good father, lend me some silver to buy your daughter clothes and jewelry.”
Gu Jingyuan froze, “Say that again!”
“I have no money,” Wujing said matter-of-factly.
Gu Jingyuan struggled to suppress the urge to throw another chair at Wujing, shouting, “You have no money? You have no money? Earning a salary higher than a chancellor and claiming to be poor? Don’t think I don’t know the rules of your Xuanjing Sect, where heads are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver. You have no money? Where’s your money? Where’s your money?”
Wujing remained silent.
Gu Jingyuan, looking at Wujing’s face, was surprised to sense that Wujing wasn’t lying.
“I don’t know either,” Wujing frowned.
Gu Jingyuan was again left speechless, and angrily said, “If you don’t have money, go earn it! There’s no rule that a son-in-law should ask his father-in-law for money to support his wife!”
“Good father, didn’t you say that those useless rules don’t need to be followed, and nothing is more important than living comfortably?” Wujing paused and then smiled slyly, “How about this: I’ll be your son, and Gu Jianli will be your daughter-in-law. From now on, I’ll be Gu Zhao, and she’ll be Ji Jianli. How’s that?”
Seeing Gu Jianli walk out, Gu Jingyuan swallowed the insult he was about to hurl and didn’t say it out loud.
Gu Jianli placed the medicine for reducing swelling and pain on the table and went to take off Wujing’s clothes. Wujing grabbed her hand and glared at Jixia, “Out!”
Jixia, startled, quickly knelt and left.
Wujing then looked at Gu Jingyuan, complaining, “I don’t want you to see.”
“Do you think you’re a maiden?” Gu Jingyuan laughed in exasperation. He sighed heavily, his gaze fixed on his daughter, and said, “Father will go back first and come again in a few days!”
“I’ll see Father off…”
Gu Jingyuan raised his hand to stop Gu Jianli, “No, let your old man calm down for a while.”
With a dark expression, Gu Jingyuan strode out.
Gu Jianli watched her father’s back, feeling a bit distressed. Making her father worry and get angry over her affairs several times was indeed unfilial. She withdrew her gaze and walked back to Wujing’s side. She should have said something but wasn’t in the mood, so she quietly took off Wujing’s clothes.
Gu Jingyuan’s strength was considerable, and the force with which he slammed the chair in his rage was evident. Wujing’s back was covered in bruises. Gu Jianli was startled, momentarily setting aside other thoughts. She poured the medicine into her hand, rubbed it, and carefully applied it to Wujing’s back, gently massaging the medicine into the bruises.
After applying the medicine, Gu Jianli lightly fanned his back with her hands until it dried before dressing him again.
Wujing seemed lost in thought, his mind wandering.
Gu Jianli moved in front of him, bent down, and tied his sash. Seeing Wujing still lost in thought, she assumed he was thinking about Luo Muge and said, “I wonder how Miss Luo is doing. Where does she usually stay? Is it in Xuanjing Sect? Should we go see her?”
Wujing snapped out of his thoughts and said, “Go call Changsheng for me.”
Gu Jianli nodded and turned to leave.
“Never mind, I’ll go myself.” Wujing pulled Gu Jianli back by her wrist, sat her in a chair, and went to the backyard himself.
Gu Jianli watched Wujing’s back, her brows slowly furrowing.
Changsheng had returned to the backyard after delivering Luo Muge’s letter and was now sitting in a tree, holding a recently bought parrot and teaching it to talk, oblivious to Wujing’s approach.
“Changsheng is unparalleled in martial arts, Changsheng is unparalleled in martial arts,” Changsheng recited twice, but the parrot remained silent.
“Come on, say it, you dumb bird.” Changsheng frowned and tapped the parrot’s head, “Changsheng is unparalleled in martial arts, Changsheng is unparalleled in martial arts! Say it!”
The green-feathered parrot kept its beak tightly shut, tilting its head to look at Changsheng without making a sound.
“Idiot.” Wujing scoffed, looking up at Changsheng in the tree.
The green-feathered parrot turned its head to look at Wujing standing under the tree, shook its wings, and screeched, “Changsheng, stupid!”
Changsheng’s face turned green with embarrassment. He slapped the parrot’s head in frustration, jumped down from the tree, and approached Wujing, asking, “Sect Leader, are you looking for me?”
“Where’s my money?” Wujing asked directly.
“Huh?” Changsheng was taken aback by the question.
“Oh…” Changsheng suddenly understood, “Sect Leader, you need silver? How much do you need? I’ll go back to Xuanjing Sect and get it for you.”
Wujing asked in surprise, “In Xuanjing Sect? How much silver is there?”
Changsheng was once again dumbfounded by the question.
The green-feathered parrot, seeing Changsheng’s dumbfounded expression, screeched again in its high-pitched voice, “Changsheng, stupid!”
