The Love Gu - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I have a sword. Its name is Wine Fiend.

And me? I’m a pauper.

A thousand taels of gold-how much wine would that buy?

If Cang Guan really got sold into Nanfeng House and Wanjiang Sect became the laughingstock of the martial world, I was afraid his father would come charging into the Capital on a giant centipede and go on a rampage.

His father’s name was Cang Tian. A name like that sounded fierce as hell.

So what was I supposed to do?

I frowned at the mask in the room.

I was the enemy Cang Guan had unilaterally decided on.

And, to be fair, I really had made him suffer badly.

Should I save him?

What if he turned on me the instant he woke up and sicced his bugs on me?

Though it was also possible that, because I’d rescued him from utter misery, he’d be so grateful he’d write off the whole bug business.

As for the Love Gu…

That could wait. That could definitely wait.

After thinking it over and over, guilt won out in the end.

While my conscience was still alive and kicking, I waited for an opportunity, planning to sneak in at midnight when the traffickers grew drowsy and quietly drag Cang Guan out.

But those traffickers guarded that lump of gold more tightly than their own crotches, eyes wide as brass bells as they kept watch all night.

Before dawn the next day, they hauled over a handcart and carried Cang Guan away like he was a slab of dead pork.

No idea what drug they’d used on him, but he still didn’t wake up in the slightest.

I swiped a braised-meat bun from the kitchen and trailed after them at a leisurely pace.

Nanfeng House was a place where the noble ladies of the Capital went for amusement. It was full of beauties of every kind who would drink and chat with you.

As long as you had enough money, you could do whatever you wanted.

Sadly, I had no money, so I’d never dared go in.

I hid on the eaves and watched the traffickers carry Cang Guan into the back courtyard of Nanfeng House.

A young man in red came out from inside. The traffickers called him Second Young Master.

What a beautiful man.

Nanfeng House really had something special going for it.

Second Young Master reached out with pale, jade-white fingers and pulled open the sack, revealing Cang Guan’s face.

From a distance, I caught a glimpse of that little face, pale as paper and strangely fragile-looking.

He really was beautiful. The kind you’d want to marry and bring home as a husband.

Though maybe I wasn’t exactly in a position to say that.

Second Young Master seemed stunned by Cang Guan’s beauty. He clicked his tongue in admiration, then without another word carried out a chest from the room.

When he opened it, gold light blazed out.

A thousand taels of gold.

The traffickers’ eyes turned green.

Mine too.

Cang Guan was carried into a room that looked indecent at a glance.

Red gauze and purple drapes. Lavish, but tacky.

I crouched outside the window. The faint fragrance drifting out of the room made my mind go hazy.

The traffickers left in a hurry. Second Young Master sat by the window, hooked a finger under Cang Guan’s chin, and looked him over from side to side, marveling all the while.

I was just wondering how I could preserve Cang Guan’s innocence when a servant came to knock on the door.

“Second Young Master, the chief is looking for you.”

Second Young Master let out what sounded like a regretful sigh, then got up and left.

That left Cang Guan unconscious on the bed, tied up so tightly he looked like a common man who’d been forcibly abducted.

Poor Young Master of Wanjiang Sect.

With no one around, I flipped into the room, pushed aside the layers of annoying gauze curtains, and crouched by the bed to look at him.

He was good-looking, all right. Pity that the moment he opened his eyes, he always looked murderous enough to make people keep their distance.

I cautiously took his pulse and found his meridians in complete disarray, his inner energy rampaging through his body like a pack of wild dogs off the leash.

It looked like qi deviation. His life might be in danger.

I tried feeding a little of my own inner energy into him, carefully smoothing out the violent currents in his meridians.

Huh?

I don’t know if it was because my cultivation method was naturally mild and not prone to clashing with others, but the internal energy in his meridians actually showed the faintest sign of obedience.

Though it was little more than a drop in the bucket.

Just as I sent my internal energy probing toward his dantian, trying to find the source of the disorder, a hand suddenly came down over mine.

It clamped hard around my wrist.

In that instant, a black insect shot straight at my face like lightning.

Its wings gleamed with a dark blue sheen, hard and razor-sharp.

At some point, Cang Guan had slipped free of the rope around his wrist. He opened his eyes and stared at me coldly.

…

As if I’d be scared of you.

I twisted my wrist, caught hold of him instead, and hurled him viciously to the side.

My sword slid two inches from its sheath. A flash of white cut through the air, and the black insect was sliced cleanly in half.

Its corpse hit the floor, and the wood began to corrode with a sizzling sound.

That really hurt my feelings.

I was only trying to be a good person!

Using the force of my throw, Cang Guan rolled to the other side and tore off the ropes binding the rest of his body.

He staggered a little when he landed, his face still deathly pale.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was some frail beauty stricken with illness.

The kind that made your heart ache at the sight.

His expression, however, was anything but friendly.

Only compared with before, there was now a trace more wariness in it.

“Hey now, I came to save you. Don’t go misunderstanding a good person!”

Holding my sword, I raised both hands and took three steps back to show my good faith.

Cang Guan stared at me for a long while, clearly unconvinced.

“You…”

His voice was so hoarse that even I was startled.

In the past day or two, he probably hadn’t even had a drop of water.

After a brief silence, he asked,

“…Where is this?”

He looked around at the room and frowned in discomfort.

There was tea on the table, but I guessed he didn’t dare drink it.

“Nanfeng House in the Capital.”

As I spoke, I picked up the wineskin at my waist, gave it a shake, and tossed it over to him.

Under his angry yet wary stare, I went on,

“The tea here isn’t clean. If you don’t mind, I’ve got wine?”

As long as you dared drink it, it definitely wouldn’t kill you.

I had only meant to tease him, but Cang Guan shot me a glance, then actually pulled out the stopper, tipped his head back, and drained the entire wineskin in one go.

My heart ached.

Brother, that wine was expensive.

As if drowning his sorrows in drink, he tossed the wineskin back to me, then slumped down against a pillar in the room, leaning his head back in a daze, looking utterly exhausted.

I could see the confusion in his expression, the fear, and even a trace of despair.

I couldn’t help thinking, I didn’t do anything to you, did I?

I hesitated, then said,

“Young Master Cang, please be magnanimous. It’s been over a year already. For the sake of me coming to save you, can you stop holding that bowl of bugs against me…?”

Please?

I’m already sick of our little game of you slashing me once and me stabbing you once!

At that, he rubbed the wrist I’d nearly crushed in my grip and turned to look at me darkly, his gaze rather complicated.

After a long while, Cang Guan let out a mocking laugh and said,

“None of that matters anymore…”

Hm?

I was just about to speak when he said flatly,

“Forgive my poor eyesight. I failed to recognize a true disciple of the immortal of Buzhou Mountain. Cang has been truly disrespectful.”

I was shocked!

How did he know?

Cang Guan glanced at my sword.

I’d left in too much of a hurry and hadn’t yet wrapped the two characters Wine Fiend on the sheath.

Cang Guan drew one knee up and lifted his gaze to stare into my eyes.

“Isn’t that right, Lady Yao Tai?”