Gu Jianli dreamed of Zhao Fengxian. In the dream, Zhao Fengxian was bleeding from all his orifices, with blood holes all over his body. He lunged at Gu Jianli, pinning her on the Luohan bed, and strangled her neck with his hands. His face, a mess of flesh and blood, was so close that the rotting stench made Gu Jianli nauseous. Terrified, she screamed, groped for a dagger beneath her, and stabbed wildly at Zhao Fengxian with her eyes closed. One stab after another.
The force strangling her neck disappeared. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a different environment. The dark room had transformed into Yama’s hell. Countless ghosts surrounded her, reaching out to her. Each ghost was more terrifying than the last, clamoring to tear her apart and devour her alive.
Gu Jianli ran desperately, but she couldn’t outrun the ghosts. Eventually, she was surrounded by floating ghosts, crouching helplessly and sobbing uncontrollably.
Ji Wujing was awakened by the faint sound of crying. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Gu Jianli. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her upper body leaning on the bed rail, with her back to Ji Wujing, her shoulders trembling slightly.
“Gu Jianli.”
The only response Ji Wujing received was her faint sobbing.
A nightmare?
Ji Wujing propped himself up on his forearm, lifting his upper body to look at her. His night vision was excellent, and he squinted his eyes, allowing him to see without obstruction. In the darkness, Gu Jianli’s snowy cheeks and jade-like neck gleamed white, her silky black hair spread out on the bed like ink. She frowned, her eyes moist. Ji Wujing watched as a tear dropped from her trembling eyelashes, sliding down her nose, into her other eye, merging with the moisture there, and finally soaking into the bedding.
She was trembling.
Ji Wujing’s slender, bony fingers found an acupoint on the back of her neck and pressed firmly. The pain caused her eyelashes to flutter, but in the next moment, her furrowed brow relaxed, her face became serene, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Ji Wujing supported himself up, bent over to remove her shoes, glanced at her feet, which were smaller than his hand, then slipped his arm under her legs and lifted her onto the bed.
Gu Jianli slept deeply, unaware of anything.
Ji Wujing propped his chin with his hand, watching her sleep for a long time. Suddenly, he reached out and patted her cheek. The skin under his palm was excessively tender.
Tsk, she is indeed quite pretty.
Ji Wujing pinched the fingers that had touched her snowy cheek, slowly drawing them across her cheek again.
Pausing, Ji Wujing’s fox-like eyes drooped as he looked at her face, feeling a bit disappointed.
When she was very young, Ji Wujing had saved her once. Back then, she had thanked him in a childish voice, calling him “uncle.” Now that she had grown up and he had saved her again, she not only didn’t thank him, but she also refused to call him “uncle” anymore.
Ji Wujing felt a bit dejected and bored, so he lay down, ready to sleep.
In her deep sleep, Gu Jianli turned over, facing Ji Wujing. Her hand slipped out from under the blanket and unconsciously rested on Ji Wujing’s forearm.
Ji Wujing glanced at her hand, pushed it away, turned his back to her, and went to sleep.
Gu Jianli hadn’t slept so soundly in a long time. She vaguely remembered having a nightmare, filled with many terrifying and disgusting ghosts entangling her. She ran desperately, running and running, and accidentally fell. When she looked up, she saw the most fearsome ghost in the underworld, with nine heads and six arms, which seemed to be Fifth Master Ji. Fifth Master Ji didn’t pick her up and devour her in one bite; instead, his six arms waved, grabbing the smaller ghosts and throwing them away one by one. After that, she didn’t remember much, only that she hadn’t slept so peacefully and securely in a long time.
Gu Jianli’s eyelashes fluttered as she finally opened her eyes. As soon as she opened them, she felt disoriented, not knowing where she was. She groggily thought she was still in her boudoir at the prince’s mansion. Rubbing her eyes, she turned around until she finally saw Ji Wujing lying beside her, slowly realizing where she was. She blinked slowly.
Oh, right, the prince’s mansion was sealed, her boudoir was smashed, and her family was driven out. Her father was unconscious, and she relied on her stepmother and younger brother, while the Guangping Marquis’s mansion added insult to injury, throwing her into Fifth Master Ji’s room…
Gu Jianli sat up abruptly, her heart pounding.
How did she fall asleep? And why was she sleeping on the same bed as Ji Wujing?
Instinctively, she looked down at her clothes and saw her nightwear neatly in place, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. The next moment, she bit her lip in embarrassment, scolding herself for overthinking. Habitually, she tidied her hair, leaned towards Ji Wujing, and bent down to look at his face. Ji Wujing’s face was pale, devoid of any color.
Is he still alive?
Ji Wujing lay there silently, without any sound or movement.
Gu Jianli’s heart tightened, and she began to panic.
“Fifth Master?” she called softly.
There was no response.
Gu Jianli grew even more nervous. She cautiously raised her hand, wanting to touch Ji Wujing’s cheek to see if it was cold. Her hand approached his cheek but then hesitated and pulled back. She bit her lip, her gaze shifting to Ji Wujing’s hand resting at his side. That slender hand.
His hand was originally under the blanket, but when Gu Jianli sat up, she pulled the blanket off Ji Wujing, exposing his hand. Gu Jianli suddenly realized that last night she and Ji Wujing had shared the same blanket, and she felt extremely embarrassed. She couldn’t remember how she ended up under Ji Wujing’s blanket last night.
This was not the time to worry about such things.
She reached out, cautiously moving towards Ji Wujing’s hand, her fingertip brushing against the back of his hand before quickly pulling back. She recalled the sensation, feeling that Fifth Master’s hand seemed…cold!
Gu Jianli’s flushed cheeks turned pale in an instant.
She trembled as she reached out to Wujing again, her delicate hand gradually covering his.
Wujing suddenly twisted his wrist, grasping Gu Jianli’s hand in his palm. Caught off guard, Gu Jianli stumbled and fell against Wujing’s chest. Wujing was very thin, and his body was hard, causing Gu Jianli’s chest to ache. She let out a soft “oof,” her brows involuntarily furrowing.
Wujing spoke lazily, his voice hoarse, “Why are you scratching like a little cat?”
Gu Jianli bit her lip and carefully got up, resisting the urge to rub her chest. She sneaked a glance at Wujing’s face. He still had his eyes closed. She quickly averted her gaze after just one look, whispering, “Fifth Master is awake.”
“No, I’m not.”
Gu Jianli mouthed silently, “Liar.”
She gently moved her wrist, trying to withdraw her hand, but she failed.
“Fifth… grumble…” Gu Jianli looked down, staring blankly at her stomach. Was that her stomach growling? She was momentarily stunned and turned to look toward the window. Thick curtains covered the window, but sunlight still streamed in, indicating it was late.
Her lips parted slightly, about to ask what time it was, but realizing there was no one to ask, she swallowed her words.
“It’s just past noon.”
“Noon?” Gu Jianli was shocked. She had slept the whole morning?
“I-I’ll go fry some fish!” Gu Jianli broke free from Wujing’s hand, sat on the edge of the bed, and put on her shoes. As she got up and walked to the door, she turned back and saw that Wujing still hadn’t opened his eyes. She didn’t look any longer, quickly turning her gaze away and hurriedly going outside to freshen up.
Stepping outside, Gu Jianli stood at the door, the clean winter afternoon breeze brushing her face.
Lizi was squatting in the yard playing with stones. Seeing Gu Jianli come out, she threw down the stones and ran to her, smiling foolishly, “You’re awake!”
Gu Jianli wiped a bit of mud off Lizi’s cheek, nodded, and smiled, “Yes, I’m awake.”
Lizi’s dark eyes rolled around, noticing the mud on Gu Jianli’s fingers, and her grin widened. Happily, she ran off to fetch hot water for Gu Jianli.
Today was the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, Little New Year. Yesterday, Gu Jianli had promised Wujing to fry fish for him. She thought about it and decided to make a few more dishes, even though her cooking skills were not that great.
There was a small kitchen in Wujing’s courtyard, but it was rarely used. Only occasionally did Nanny Lin use it to make snacks for the two young masters.
It was indeed late. Gu Jianli hurriedly freshened up and quickly left the house, heading to the small kitchen in the backyard.
As she stepped into the yard, she ran into Changsheng.
Changsheng greeted her and reported that the Second Madam had arrived and wanted to see Wujing.
Gu Jianli looked up and saw the Second Madam waiting with a maid by the shadow wall. Lowering her eyes, she kept her expression calm, turned, and continued towards the backyard, not intending to greet the Second Madam. Just as she reached the gourd-shaped door leading to the backyard, Changsheng had already come out of the house and was walking briskly to the Second Madam, bowing and speaking to her.
Gu Jianli stepped through the door and looked back. To her surprise, the Second Madam had left with her maid. A hint of astonishment appeared in Gu Jianli’s eyes. Was Wujing refusing to see the Second Madam?
Gu Jianli had guessed correctly. When Changsheng reported to Wujing that the Second Madam had something to discuss with him, Wujing’s response was just two words: “Not seeing.” He didn’t listen to a single word of the messages the Second Madam had asked Changsheng to convey.
From the backyard came some faint sounds, as if something was being chopped. Gu Jianli pulled her clothes tighter to keep the cold winter wind out and stepped forward. From a distance, she saw Xinglou with his back to her, bending over, doing something with strange movements.
Curiously, Gu Jianli walked towards him. As she got closer, she detected a faint smell of blood. Observing Xinglou’s actions, she began to vaguely guess what was happening.
She stood behind Xinglou, hesitantly speaking, “Sixth Brother?”
Xinglou straightened up and turned around. His face was smeared with some blood, and there was a chicken feather in his hair. In his small hands, one held an axe, and the other held a chicken with its neck cut off. Fresh blood was gushing from the severed neck of the chicken.
Gu Jianli felt the world spin, stumbling back two steps, her eyes wide in disbelief, and asked in a panicked voice, “Xinglou, what are you doing?”
Xinglou rolled his eyes at her disdainfully and replied impatiently, “Killing a chicken.”
“Why… why are you killing a chicken?” Gu Jianli’s voice trembled.
Xinglou lifted his small chin, giving Gu Jianli a strange look, and said, “To eat.”
To eat.
A perfectly reasonable answer.
But something was still not right! Isn’t this child only four years old?
While Gu Jianli was still in shock, Xinglou had already turned around, dragging the freshly killed hen towards the small kitchen. His small body pulled the hen, whose bottom dragged on the ground, leaving a trail of chicken blood and small footprints.
Gu Jianli stared at Xinglou’s tiny back for a long time, unable to react.