Chapter 619 Gu Yan Awakens (First Update)

It's obvious even to a fool that this admission letter is for Gu Jiao.

"Why didn't you show Jiaojiao's school admission documents earlier?"

If the little monk hadn't been only five years old, he would have suspected that the guy was doing it on purpose!

Xiao Jingkong protested, "You didn't ask!"

"That's because..." You fell asleep? Xiao Heng grew angrier the more he thought about it. "Why didn't you put Jiao Jiao's documents together with ours?"

Xiao Jingkong said matter-of-factly, "Of course, delicate things can't be put together with the things of you stinky men!"

Xiao Heng scoffed, "Ha, as if you're not one yourself."

Xiao Jingkong looked completely bewildered.

Uh...it seems I've hurt myself...

Xiao Heng looked at the neatly written admission notice, with a delicate pink lotus flower woven from silk gauze at the end, and he was completely dumbfounded!

...

The State of Yan was located to the west of the State of Zhao, separated by the Yan River.

Gu Jiao took the admission documents of the group and the travel permit given to her by her aunt, rented a boat, and left the border of Zhao Kingdom.

There were five people in total on this trip. In addition to her, Gu Yan, and Gu Xiaoshun, Nan Shi Niang and Master Lu were also in the group.

Gu Jiao still didn't ask much about the two men's identities and backgrounds, but she was very clear about one thing: the two men had traveled a long way for Gu Yan.

"Alright, have something to eat. We should be ashore in half an hour," said Madam Nan.

They rented a large awning boat, with beds, tables and chairs placed inside. With the curtains drawn, it resembled a small room. At this time, apart from Master Lu observing the situation outside, the other four were inside the awning.

It is worth mentioning that after leaving the capital of Zhao Kingdom, Nan Shi Niang and Lu Shi Shi stopped speaking Zhao Kingdom language and communicated with each other and with Gu Jiao and the other two in Yan Kingdom language.

Gu Jiao and her brother went from being completely bewildered at first to now being able to communicate simply without much trouble.

"Okay," Gu Jiao replied in Yan language. "The dried meat is finished, but there are some snacks left. Let's make do with these for now, Xiao Shun!"

“Hey, sis!” Gu Xiaoshun replied.

"Speak the language of Yan," Nan Shi Niang reminded her.

Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head sheepishly: "Oh, I see."

Gu Jiao opened the food box and asked Gu Xiaoshun to take a bag of pastries to Master Lu.

She then put the rest into a large plate and placed it on the table.

She looked at Gu Yan, who was leaning against her back, and asked, "How are you feeling? Seasick?"

Gu Yan shook his head slightly, his pale lips moving slightly: "I'm not dizzy."

Gu Jiao raised her hand and touched his forehead.

Gu Yan woke up in the carriage the night after being rescued last time, but her health was not as good as before. She was always weak and had no energy.

Whenever Gu Jiao saw Gu Yan like this, she would think of Nangong Li, who had slapped him in a fit of anger.

Indeed, after learning about the other person's appearance and figure from Gu Yan, Gu Jiao was certain that the heartless man was Nangong Li.

Gu Yan had only bumped into him by accident, but he took his anger out on Gu Yan and beat him severely.

Did he not know that this slap would keep Gu Yan bedridden for half a month even if he didn't have a heart condition?

Besides, it was he who suddenly sneaked into the academy, causing Gu Yan to run into him.

How can this person be so unreasonable?

Indeed, if they were reasonable, they wouldn't have done something like the secret assassination attempt in Zhao State.

Gu Jiao fed Gu Yan a piece of pastry, but when she offered him a second one, Gu Yan turned his face away and refused.

"Have some water." Gu Jiao didn't force him to eat.

After drinking a couple of sips of warm water, Gu Yan leaned against Gu Jiao's back and fell asleep.

After getting ashore, there is still a stretch of road that must be walked.

Gu Jiao carried Gu Yan off the boat.

Nan Shi Niang led the way, while Master Lu and Gu Xiaoshun followed with their luggage and weapons.

Gu Yan, clinging to her sister's back, said weakly, "I can walk by myself."

Gu Jiaobu said resolutely, "No need, I'll carry you."

I'm not tired.

As long as I'm carrying you, I won't get tired no matter how far it is.

Under the blazing sun, Gu Jiao, dressed in a youthful blue robe, carried Gu Yan on her back, sweating profusely. Along the way, Nan Shi Niang offered to help her several times, but she refused each time.

There were many people at the border checkpoint, but the reputation of Tianqiong Academy was too great. As soon as the official saw the stack of dark blue enrollment documents, his attitude changed. He directly processed their procedures separately and issued them travel permits for travel within the Yan Kingdom.

The group successfully set foot on the territory of the Yan Kingdom.

The customs and culture of Yan were very different from those of Zhao, but the group was too busy taking care of Gu Yan to appreciate the scenery along the way.

After another month of arduous travel, they finally arrived at the last post station near Shengdu one evening as the sun was setting.

Shengdu was the capital of the Yan state.

Gu Jiao and her group used two carriages, with Gu Jiao, Gu Xiaoshun, and Master Lu taking turns driving.

Upon arriving at the post station, Gu Jiao jumped off the horse from the carriage.

Nan Shi Niang lifted the curtain and, with Lu Shifu's help, stepped down from the carriage.

They had been traveling for two whole months, and it was now the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The weather was hot, and all of them were soaked in sweat. Even the weak Gu Yan was sweating profusely in the carriage.

While wiping her sweat, Madam Nan said to Gu Jiao, "Sit down for a while, I'll go book a room."

"I'm not tired," Gu Jiao said.

"You silly child." Seeing that she was covered in sweat, Nan's wife took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead and neck.

Gu Xiaoshun called over the inn's staff, handed over the horses to them to feed, and then went to the lobby to request three guest rooms.

The post stations in Yan were generally larger and had more luxurious rooms than those in Zhao; naturally, they were also more expensive.

The currency of the Yan state was mainly silver and knife-shaped coins. Knife-shaped coins were actually copper coins, but they were made in the shape of small knives and engraved with the emblem of the Yan state.

One knife coin was roughly equivalent to three copper coins.

In the Zhao Kingdom, a steamed bun cost one copper coin; in the Yan Kingdom, a steamed bun cost one knife of coins.

This shows that prices in Yan were higher than in Zhao.

There were no international banks within the six states. Fortunately, gold and silver could be circulated anywhere. After entering the Yan state, they exchanged the several boxes of gold they carried for silver notes and deposited them in the largest bank in the Yan state. The silver was also exchanged for official silver of the Yan state.

Not to mention the hefty handling fee.

Gu Jiao carried Gu Yan up to the second-floor side room. Gu Yan shared a room with Gu Xiaoshun, Nan Shi Niang shared a room with Master Lu, and Gu Jiao was alone in another room.

Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's house is in the middle.

Dinner was served in Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's room.

The cuisine of Yan State differed from that of Zhao State; it was not spicy.

Fortunately, none of them were picky eaters. Gu Yan was a picky eater, but since he was so sick, we didn't dare give him spicy food.

At the dinner table, Madam Nan said, "We can go to Shengdu tomorrow. You all go to the academy to report first, and Xiao Shun's godfather and I will go find a suitable place to stay nearby."

Gu Jiao had no objection.

Nan Shi Niang then said, "Everyone should rest early tonight."

After the meal, the group returned to their respective rooms.

Gu Jiao would check on Gu Yan every night at Hai Shi (9-11 PM). Since it wasn't time yet, she went down to check the carriages and horses.

They were surprised to find that one of their carriages was so worn out that the wheels and the bottom of the carriage were cracked. If they continued on their journey, it was likely to break down halfway.

She went to the main hall and asked the postmaster to buy a new carriage.

The postmaster said, "Young Master Xiao is very lucky. Our post station happens to have only one carriage left!"

Gu Jiao was dressed as a teenager, and spoke in a slightly immature boyish voice that she had learned from Gu Chengfeng.

But her appearance remained unchanged; a red birthmark still adorned her left cheek.

The reason why the postmaster did not judge people by their appearance was largely due to her status as a student of the Sky Dome Academy.

"Thank you for your trouble," Gu Jiao said.

"It's two taels of silver in total," the postmaster said.

Gu Jiao took out two taels of silver from her purse.

Just as the postmaster was about to accept the gift, a series of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the door, and a magnificent carriage stopped at the entrance of the post station.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a pink-clad girl wearing a veil gracefully jumped down from the carriage.

Upon seeing the guards' attire, the postmaster paused, revealing an expression of extreme excitement.

The girl in pink, carrying a whip, walked in with light steps. Without even glancing at anyone else, she said to the postmaster, "Give me a carriage! And two top-quality horses!"

"This..." The postmaster looked at Gu Jiao awkwardly and silently withdrew his hand that had been reaching out to take the silver.

"What are you dawdling about?" the girl in pink asked.

The postmaster awkwardly pointed at Gu Jiao and said, "The last... carriage... this young master... also wants it."

The girl in pink then turned to look at Gu Jiao, and seeing that he was a young man with a disfigured face, she couldn't help but feel a bit contemptuous: "Give it to me! I'll compensate you!"

Gu Yan's life is counting down every day. What Gu Jiao wants is not money, but to get into Shengdu as soon as possible to find an operating room to treat Gu Yan.

Gu Jiao said calmly, "No."

After saying that, she forcefully placed the silver on the postmaster's table.

The girl in pink put her hands on her hips and snorted, "Don't be stubborn and refuse to listen to reason!"

The postmaster whispered to Gu Jiao, "Young Master Xiao, they are from the Su family... This must be the Su family's daughter... You... why don't you... give it to her..."

While the students of Tianqiong Academy are undoubtedly of high status, the Su family is the ninth most prestigious family in the Yan Kingdom, holding a very important position in Shengdu. They are not people that just anyone can afford to offend.

"I said, I won't allow it."

"You!" the girl in pink sneered, "Believe me or not, I'll hit you!"

Gu Jiao said without any fear, "If you dare to hit me, I'll beat you up."

The girl in pink lashed out with her whip, startling the postmaster so much that he turned pale and quickly crouched down, covering his head!

However, the whip didn't even touch a single hair on Gu Jiao's head before Gu Jiao easily caught it.

The girl in pink was taken aback, clearly not expecting this unassuming... no, rather, disfigured boy to be so skilled, even catching her whip!

She tried to pull the whip back, but she couldn't budge it.

She gritted her teeth: "You...you let go!"

Gu Jiao gently released her hand.

She hadn't expected Gu Jiao to let go so quickly. She was pulling back when suddenly she cried out and fell to the ground with a thud. The pain made her pale, and the whip flew out of her hand.

She was furious, grabbed the whip, got up, and lashed out at Gu Jiao again.

"stop!"

A low growl suddenly came from inside the carriage.

The girl in pink paused in her movements.

"Come back," the man in the carriage said, his voice low but his tone leaving no room for refusal.

The girl in pink glared at Gu Jiao resentfully: "You just wait, I'll remember you! Don't let me see you again, or I'll beat you up every time I see you!"

Gu Jiao ignored her threat and had the postmaster take her to get the last carriage.

After finishing her business, Gu Jiao was about to go upstairs when suddenly a young man dressed as a scholar waved to her from the other side of the lobby.

"Brother! Yes! This is the way!"

Gu Jiao gave him a strange look: "You called me?"

The young man nodded vigorously, and seeing that Gu Jiao had no intention of coming over, he simply stood up and walked towards her.

The two were standing at the top of the stairs when guests came down. They both instinctively moved aside to make way for each other.

The young man cupped his hands in greeting to Gu Jiao and said with a hint of excitement, "My surname is Zhong, my given name is Ding, and my courtesy name is Heming. If you don't mind, you can just call me Zhong Heming."

The name "A family that enjoys a life of luxury and prosperity" is quite interesting.

Gu Jiao asked, "Did you need something?"

Zhong Ding said, "Ah, I came after you. I saw you take out the documents from Tianqiong Academy. You are also a student of Tianqiong Academy."

Gu Jiao looked at him: "You too?"

"Yes, it is!" Zhong Ding said excitedly, then, as if afraid Gu Jiao wouldn't believe him, he quickly pulled out his admission certificate from his pocket, "I am from the State of Zhao, and you are..."

Gu Jiao said calmly, "A person from Zhao Kingdom."

A hint of surprise flashed across Zhong Ding's eyes. He seemed about to say something, but hesitated, then smiled and asked, "Are you also new to the Yan Kingdom? May I ask your esteemed name, sir?"

“Xiao Liulang,” Gu Jiao said.

Zhong Ding smiled and said, "Liu Lang, that's a good name, easy to pronounce."

The conversation died down.

Gu Jiao went upstairs.

"Hey—" Zhong Ding hesitated for a moment when he saw her about to leave again, but still mustered up the courage to express his surprise, "You're not from Shangguo, how dare you provoke that girl just now? Didn't you realize she was from the Su family? If it weren't for the person in the carriage stopping you in time, you would be in big trouble now."

"Are you done talking?"

"Uh-huh."

Then Gu Jiao went upstairs.

Zhong Ding: "..."

(End of this chapter)