Chapter 402 Dragon Shadow Guard (Second Update)

The matter of Tang Yueshan and the old Marquis going to the border together was thus settled.

One of them belonged to Empress Dowager Zhuang's camp, and the other was the emperor's confidant. They used to be at odds with each other, but after being fooled by Empress Dowager Zhuang, Tang Yueshan's hatred was completely absorbed by the mastermind behind the scenes who wanted to benefit from the conflict between the two.

Empress Dowager Zhuang told Tang Yueshan that the mastermind behind it all was Consort Jing. Although Consort Jing was dead, she had accomplices, namely those remnants of the previous dynasty who were hiding on the border.

Tang Yueshan was putting all his effort into killing the enemy this time.

The old Marquis had no objection to the arrangement. He and Tang Yueshan worked in the shadows and in the open, with a clear division of labor and no interference between them.

The suppression of the rebels and the rescue of Ning'an were both urgent matters, and the emperor hoped that the two would set off as soon as possible.

After leaving the palace, the old Marquis returned to his residence by carriage. When he passed Qinghe Academy, he asked the carriage to stop. Unfortunately, Qinghe Academy had already let out for the day, and Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun had gone to learn from Master Nan and Master Lu.

"Never mind, let's go back to the manor." The old Marquis waved his hand, paused, then, as if remembering something, added, "Wait, let's go to the Taihe Martial Arts School."

There were many pedestrians on the road at this time, and the road was a little congested. It took the coachman a bit of effort to get the carriage to the front of Taihe Martial Arts School.

"Sir, we've arrived at the martial arts school," the coachman said.

The old marquis got off the carriage.

He came to see Brother Gu, as he was about to leave the capital and wanted to say goodbye.

However, after he went inside and asked the people there, he discovered that Brother Gu had not been to the martial arts school for many days.

"Wasn't he fighting just fine? Why did he suddenly stop coming?" the old marquis muttered.

The martial arts school's servant said, "Well... to be honest, I saw him with a man named Lao He the other day. Lao He is a manager of an underground martial arts school. He always comes here to scout for experts and has poached many of them. The school master is furious with him, but we can't afford to offend the underground martial arts school, so we can only let him do as he pleases."

The old marquis frowned: "An underground martial arts arena?"

Today was Gu Jiao's tenth match. She defeated her opponent with a beautiful counterattack, taking the victory in this duel.

This masked young man in blue robes, wielding a blindingly long spear, made a name for himself in the underground martial arts arena.

It's hard to say whether it was her fancy footwork, her skillful fighting, or the sheer ugliness of her red-tasseled spear, but in any case, everyone initially disliked it, and then one after another, people started to find it surprisingly appealing.

The old marquis happened to arrive here and witnessed Gu Jiao's final performance.

That was a beautiful play.

The young man stood on the ring, his eyes bright and clear, his heroic bearing radiating light.

A feeling of satisfaction, like that of an old grandfather, suddenly welled up in the old Marquis's heart, though he didn't know why.

Before stepping off the stage, Gu Jiao received her first exclusive badge, which had a large "一" (one) character engraved on it in her native language. This meant that from today onwards, she was a certified Level 1 expert in the underground martial arts arena!

Gu Jiao hung the small tag on her little purse and shook her head.

happy!

Seeing her swaying and shaking her head, a smile unconsciously appeared in the old Marquis's eyes: "Young Brother Gu!"

He strode over.

Gu Jiao looked up at him, her eyes asking, "Why are you here?"

The old Marquis actually understood it, which he found amazing. He laughed and said, "I went to the martial arts school to find you. They said you came to the underground martial arts arena. I was a little worried about you, but after seeing you fight just now, I was just overthinking it."

Since it was inconvenient for Gu Jiao to write while holding the red-tasseled spear, she handed it to him first.

Weapons are the private property of martial artists and are generally not allowed to be touched by others. Gu Jiao's action shows her trust in the old Marquis.

But the old marquis was not moved by her trust; on the contrary, his brows furrowed deeply.

Is this... is this still the divine weapon from the Yan Kingdom that he gave her?

How did you become so ugly?

What exactly happened to it?!

Gu Jiao took out her notebook and quickly wrote: "Did you need something from me?"

The old marquis decisively looked away from the red-tasseled spear, afraid that even a second longer would make him blind from its ugliness.

He said, "I'm leaving the capital, and I wanted to see you before I go."

Gu Jiao did not enter the palace today and is unaware that he has been sent to the frontier.

Although they were brothers, she never liked to pry into other people's privacy, so she didn't ask him what he was going to do in the capital, but simply wrote: "Will you be gone for a long time?"

The old marquis nodded: "I'm afraid he won't be able to come back this year."

The journey to the border is long, and besides, investigating the remnants of the previous dynasty and settling Princess Ning'an will also take some time.

Gu Jiao looked at him, as if waiting for a more specific answer.

He continued, "If things go smoothly, we can come back in the spring; if things go slowly, we can come back within a year."

"It's been so long," Gu Jiao wrote. "I'm treating you to dinner to see you off!"

The old marquis laughed heartily: "Good! Perfect timing, I have one last move to teach you. The move you used on the stage just now was too hasty. Next time you encounter a situation like this, just do it like this..."

The two ate for a full two hours, with the old Marquis mainly instructing Gu Jiao. Gu Jiao might get annoyed by classical Chinese, but she found this very interesting.

The old Marquis felt he could teach a little more, but unfortunately it was getting late, and Brother Gu should go back. He also needed to start preparing for his departure from the capital.

The old lord didn't let his brothers pay for the meal; he went downstairs to settle the bill.

The old man is quite adorable as long as he's not her grandfather. Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then took off the small tag from her waist and handed it to him.

The old marquis looked puzzled: "What are you trying to do?"

He asked what it was meant to do, not what it was.

Clearly, he recognized the token.

Gu Jiao didn't think too much about it. She picked up the small notebook beside her and quickly wrote: "My first master token is for you!"

The old marquis asked, "You're willing to give me something so precious?"

It takes ten wins to obtain such a token, and it is the first master token in his life. The old marquis knew how important this token was to him.

The old marquis is overthinking it.

Gu Jiao felt that she was about to obtain the token of a second-level expert, so as for this piece... it didn't matter if she gave it away.

The main issue is that she can't bear to spend money on gifts for him as a parting gift.

The old marquis saw that he was genuinely giving it to him... and wasn't he genuinely giving it to him? Since it didn't cost him any money, the old marquis readily accepted it.

"It's getting late, let's go back." He stood up with a smile.

Gu Jiao suddenly remembered something and wrote in her notebook: "By the way, last time you..."

She crossed this out and rewrote: "What happened to that friend of yours who said he was going to elope with the woman he liked?"

This was something the old man had brought up with her on his own initiative; it wasn't considered prying into his privacy.

The old marquis stiffened slightly, and where Gu Jiao couldn't see, he gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands: "We won't elope."

"Why?" Gu Jiao wrote.

The old marquis opened his mouth, looked out the window, and said with difficulty, "...She's gone."

Gu Jiao: Oh.

Gu Jiao didn't ask any further questions.

Gu Jiao didn't take a carriage today. The old Marquis wanted to escort her, but she naturally couldn't reveal her residence, so she shook her head and refused, saying that she had other things to do.

Seeing that Gu Jiao didn't seem like someone without sense of propriety, the old Marquis gave her a few words of advice and then got into his carriage and left.

In early August, Tang Yueshan was ordered to go to the border. The official reason was to go as an imperial envoy to bestow the title of Princess Ning'an, a first-rank princess, and to bestow the title of Marquis of Wu'an, a first-rank title, upon Princess Ning'an.

His Majesty also sent Tang Yueshan with many rewards and supplies for the border region during the winter.

In fact, the rewards and supplies were secondary; the army that escorted them was the main focus.

The old Marquis, however, concealed his identity and mingled in the group, accompanying them as a staff member of Tang Yueshan's household.

The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Gu Jiao went to the underground martial arts arena again.

She's now a level one expert, capable of fighting against people two levels higher than herself. Today, she's not sure if she should say she's lucky, as her first opponent was a level three Turkic swordsman.

The Turks were exceptionally strong physically, and Gu Jiao felt an unusual pressure as soon as they stepped onto the field.

Sure enough, the higher you go, the stronger the opponents you face.

Gu Jiao tested her opponent's strength with her first punch, and was forced back several steps, accidentally biting a piece off the corner of her lip.

Gu Jiao smiled. Interesting.

Next, Gu Jiao was about to use her real skills, but before she could make a move, a black figure leaped onto the arena like a ghost. Before anyone could see what happened, the Turkic swordsman was kicked away!

The Turkic swordsman stumbled into the crowd, fell to the ground, and immediately vomited blood and fainted!

"What's going on? Who's causing trouble!"

The martial arts judge, who was banging the gong, rushed forward to shoo the black-clad expert away, but the expert grabbed him by the neck and lifted him high in the air.

Seeing the situation was dire, the martial arts experts were about to rush forward to surround and kill the man. Gu Jiao was surprised; wasn't this the same Dragon Shadow Guard she had encountered in the forest the night she rescued her aunt—the one even more powerful than the Emperor's Dragon Shadow Guard?

Why did he come? And why did he kick his opponent off the stage?

Could he think he's being bullied?

Gu Jiao found this guess utterly absurd. After all, they were not related, and he would never help her. But in any case, he didn't kill her this time like he did last time.

Gu Jiao walked to his side, hesitated for a moment, and gently patted his wrist, signaling him to put the person down.

He looked at Gu Jiao, then at Wu Pan, whom he had almost strangled to death, and actually let him go.

Gu Jiao took out her notebook and wrote down why he had come here, but he didn't say anything.

Is it because they can't read?

Gu Jiao stroked her chin and looked at him, pondering how to communicate with him, when he turned and walked away.

Gu Jiao: "..."

Are all the Dragon Shadow Guards this capricious?

Gu Jiao apologized to Wu Pan and promised to cover the medical expenses for the Turkic swordsman and send him to Miaoshoutang. Then she jumped off the stage and followed the Dragon Shadow Guard.

The Dragon Shadow Guard arrived outside the house of the Yan Kingdom pharmacist and then stood guard there without moving.

Why is he guarding that place?

Is his master inside?

His master was that pharmacist from the Yan Kingdom?

After pondering for a moment, Gu Jiao boldly walked up to the Dragon Shadow Guard.

The Dragon Shadow Guard did not drive Gu Jiao away, as if to him, Gu Jiao was just a wisp of air, or... something that could exist around him.

Gu Jiao wanted to see who his master was. If the Dragon Shadow Guards were not exclusive to the Zhao Kingdom's royal family, did that mean she could also buy one through some channel?

As Gu Jiao thought this, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but was blocked by the Dragon Shadow Guard with the hilt of his sword.

Can't I knock?

Can't... disturb the owner inside?

It seems that his master gave him an order not to be disturbed by anyone.

Then let's just wait.

Gu Jiao squatted outside the door.

She was bored out of her mind while ostensibly waiting, so she even took out a charcoal pencil and started drawing circles on the ground.

As she was drawing, she used too much force and broke the charcoal pencil. One piece of the pencil bounced up and hit the Dragon Shadow Guard's mask with a snap.

Don't underestimate this mask; it's tantamount to a slap in the face.

Wait, a mask?

Gu Jiao touched her face; her mask was still on.

She wasn't wearing a mask in the woods that day, but she is today. She was wearing black night clothes that day, but she's wearing blue clothes today.

How did the Dragon Shadow Guards recognize her when she was all armed like that?

Gu Jiao tilted her head and looked at Long Yingwei, "Do you have special skills in recognizing people?"

The Dragon Shadow Guard, whose mask had been knocked off, paused slightly, and for a fleeting moment, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Gu Jiao changed.

He touched the mask just like Gu Jiao did.

Oh no, is he angry?

He's not going to kill me, is he?!

It's no wonder Gu Jiao is so paranoid; this Dragon Shadow Guard is unpredictable. The first time he saw her in the forest, he almost killed her, and he even pinched her husband's face!

Gu Jiao couldn't win a fight, and it seemed she wouldn't have enough time to run away...

Just as Gu Jiao's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to escape, the door behind her creaked open.

On the first day of the new year, I'm asking for a guaranteed monthly vote to get things off to a great start!

(End of this chapter)