Setting a trap
On the Shangsi Festival, in the third month of spring, the dew on the bamboo leaves was crystal clear. Gu Youan looked up at the window and suddenly, the bamboo forest rustled. A dart suddenly flew from a distance and hit the window with a "bang". There was a note under the dart. Qingyang took the note down.
He frowned slightly. Gu Youan looked at him and asked, "Has our mission begun?"
Qingyang nodded, and Gu Youan teased, "Then why are you frowning?"
Qingyang handed her the note: "Save General Ye's youngest son, Ye Qingchen."
Gu Youan paused, her raised hand. "Could it be that I'm seeing things? This is an assassin organization; they only kill, they don't save people."
Qingyang sighed, "General Ye is loyal to the country, but now the war in the western border is critical, and the Ye family's situation is precarious."
Gu Youan frowned. "General Ye is fighting valiantly on the front lines. Will His Majesty punish the Ye family in Biancheng?"
Qingyang lowered his eyes, and Gu Youan already understood what he meant.
She took the note and carefully stroked the notes on it. "After nearly three years, I can finally leave the mountain."
The training inside the mountain has ended, and the training outside the mountain is about to begin. Now that Ye Qingchen has fallen into his hands, she must suppress Ye Qingchen's internal energy.
Gu Youan smiled as Qingyang leaned against the doorframe and looked at her. "There are many experts outside the mountains. We must cooperate with each other."
She nodded. Snatching someone from the current emperor's hands meant they couldn't underestimate the enemy.
"Host, you can't go too far with Ye Qingchen."
"System, don't worry, I won't kill him." Killing Ye Qingchen would make things no fun later. She chuckled. Without Ye Qingchen, Xie Daoqing would be sad.
Gu Youan burned the paper over a kerosene lamp. The paper quickly turned to ashes, and the black ashes flew around.
Qingyang looked down into her eyes and said, "Aren't you curious about who dared to snatch someone from under the emperor's nose?"
Gu Youan smiled slightly, "What does it matter if we know or not? This person is someone we want to save. No matter who wants to kill him, nothing can stop our determination."
A light drizzle fell outside the window, the raindrops on the eaves making a crisp sound as they hit the bluestone slabs. The sound of a flute drifted on the air, and she looked in the direction of the sound to see a white crane gently perched on a bamboo stalk.
Through the light drizzle, the rain obscured her vision. "I heard you're going down the mountain tomorrow. May I ask you something?"
Gu Youan glanced at Qingyang, who could no longer remember what had happened before.
Suddenly, with a "bang" above her head, silk threads wrapped around her waist, and Gu Youan was dragged out.
In the blink of an eye, her body was suspended in mid-air, her hand on his shoulder. "Bai He, what are you doing?"
Bai He looked into her eyes and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't come, Xuanji. This journey is fraught with danger, so I plan to travel with you."
Gu Youan turned her head. "Traveling with me? Bai He, are you worried about Qingyang?"
Bai He's eyes flickered, and he suddenly let go of her hand. Gu You'an was caught off guard. She reached out her hand, and the silk thread in her hand flew out and stuck into the bamboo.
She landed lightly on the bamboo. "Your lightness skill is indeed amazing."
Even though she crippled his internal energy, this person's lightness skill should not be underestimated.
Gu Youan drew the soft sword from her waist, a sword she had reforged. "Let me see your strength."
Bai He took two steps back. "Please enlighten me!"
The bamboo leaves rustled, rain fell on her eyelashes, a blue light flashed, thunder rumbled, and the two were locked in combat. Soon, the white crane was defeated.
Rainwater streamed down her neck and into her clothes. Gu Youan looked at Qingyang kneeling on the ground and said, "You are no match for me, and we don't need you on this journey."
She plunged the soft sword in her hand into Baihe's right shoulder. "Go back and recover."
She didn't know why the white crane was provoking him, but only in this way could he protect himself.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her arm. "Xuanji, don't hurt him."
Gu Youan turned her head and saw Qingyang looking at her with pleading eyes.
She pulled her sword back, leaned down to look at him, and said, "Bai He, you like him that much?"
She gently grabbed his neck, forcing him to raise his head. "Bai He, you're willing to put on a show of self-inflicted suffering in front of Qing Yang!"
Gu Youan pushed Qingyang away, "Since you're protecting him like this, then you should stay on the Emperor's Ship too, there's no need to go down the mountain."
Gu Youan left angrily, her clothes soaked by the rain. Jian Nan waited for her not far away, holding an umbrella.
Gu Youan ignored him and walked past her.
Jiannan grabbed her arm, "Who made our young lady angry?"
Gu Youan shoved him away, "You know perfectly well why I'm asking!"
"Alright, Miss, I'm here to see you off. By the way, please change your clothes; you're soaking wet."
She looked down at her clothes. "Are you here to laugh at me, or are you afraid I'll kill them and offer them protection?"
“Young Miss, my goodness, she’s really angry.” Jian Nan tilted his umbrella and looked at her sideways. “Alright, Young Miss, their business is none of our concern. I’ll take you to eat some wild game.”
Gu Youan wasn't angry; she just hated being schemed against. She had been schemed against by Bai He twice, and she had even thought that Bai He had some unspeakable reason.
Gu Youan glared at him angrily, "Jiannan, why are you waiting for me here!"
Jiannan wouldn't have appeared here for no reason; things couldn't have been such a coincidence.
Jiannan grabbed her arm. "I know you're angry. Qingyang can't go down the mountain with you, so I'll go with you."
Gu Youan looked at him with a probing gaze, "Why you?"
"The dangers down the mountain are numerous. Qingyang can heal your wounds, what can you do for me?" It wasn't that Gu Youan was unwilling to take him with her, but rather that she had other plans and was afraid that Jiannan would affect her actions.
"Don't worry, I'll provide you with a quote and support."
Gu Youan sighed. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but rather, "If you're being chased, I don't want to save you."
In the blink of an eye, Jiannan disappeared in the snowy night, and Gu Youan simply couldn't trust him.
He grabbed Gu Youan's arm. "Please believe me, I can bring you help."
Gu Youan turned to look at him, "If we leave the Emperor's Domain, we shall follow my orders."
Jiannan's aptitude on the Emperor's ship was higher than hers, and conflicts were bound to occur if they went down the mountain. She didn't want her plans to be affected.
Gu Youan looked at him and said, "If you can agree to my request, I'll let you go down the mountain with me."
She had a vague feeling that there was a reason why Jiannan and his group were trapped in the back mountain. Everyone in the world has secrets, and Gu Youan did not want to know their secrets, nor did she want to trouble others.
Jiannan tilted his head and looked at him, "Alright, my young lady, I'll take you to eat some wild game."
Stop being so cheeky!
Jiannan grabbed his arm, and in no time, Gu Youan's clothes were dry.
She looked down at Jiannan and said, "You'd be perfect for roast duck!"
"Then let me prepare a sumptuous feast for you." He glanced at Qingyang and Baihe out of the corner of his eye.
Gu Youan glanced at him, her eyes flashing, "Don't look anymore, what happens between them has nothing to do with you."
The two left amidst their bickering, and Gu Youan's eyes dimmed as she reached out to touch the Gu worm on her chest.
Jiannan noticed her unusual behavior. "What's wrong? Are the Gu worms bothering you again?"
Gu Youan nodded. "I can remove it for you two years from now."
Gu Youan turned to look at Jian Nan, "Is it really true?"
She was affected by the Gu worm, and when facing Qingyang, she even suspected that the Gu worm had influenced her to some extent.
Gu Youan silently closed her eyes, and Jian Nan supported her, saying, "This is a love curse. This curse should have been on Bai He's body."
She shook off Jiannan's hand. "I don't need you to remind me again and again, Jiannan. I know you two have a deep friendship, but I'm not a weak person either."
"Take a deep breath, don't think about anything else, you're just feeling tightness in your chest and shortness of breath." He gently patted her back. "Xuanji, you have to believe me, I treat them the same way I treat you."
The phrase Gu Youan heard most often was "focus on the issue, not the person," but there are never that many instances of focusing on the issue and not the person; it's always the person who's being targeted, not the issue.
Jiannan had prepared wild game long ago. Gu Youan looked at the plate full of delicacies and smiled gently, "It seems you came prepared."
He took out a plate of food and looked at her. "Xuanji, this is what I prepared for you. The rest of the food is our rations after we go down the mountain."
Gu Youan tilted her head and looked at her, "Are you so sure I'll agree to your request?"
Jiannan smiled softly, "When Baihe is injured, Qingyang always loses his memory and will not leave Baihe when he is injured. Xuanji, the tradition of the Emperor's ship is to carry out missions in pairs. You have no choice but to leave me."
Gu Youan pursed her lips, "Then I'll go find Xingxiu. I won't let you have your way."
Jiannan grabbed her arm. "Miss, I am your best partner."
Gu Youan looked her up and down. "You are very confident, but Jiannan, no one forces me to do anything. I will not agree to anything I do not want to do."
Suddenly, Jiannan pressed Gu Youan's acupoint, and Gu Youan slowly turned around, "You actually went to such lengths for the two of them."
She's the type of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force; the more others try to stop her, the more enthusiastic she becomes.
"Xuanji, I heard from Xingxiu that you know Ye Qingchen?"
Gu Youan frowned. "Where did you hear this rumor? How did I meet him? I entered the Emperor's Mansion when I was seven years old. How could I have had the opportunity to meet him?"
Jiannan gently shook his head. This matter has been spread like wildfire. Regardless of whether you know him or not, I must go with you on this mission.
Gu Youan was stunned, clearly not having realized what was happening yet. "So you're spying on me?"
"Don't say that. If I go with you to rescue Ye Qingchen, we might be able to save the lives of the rest of the Ye family."
Gu Youan lowered her head slightly, clearly also considering Jiannan's suggestion.
Do you want to save him?
"General Ye was extremely loyal; his family shouldn't have met such an end!"
Jiannan shook his head. "Not the Ye family. Do you want to save Ye Qingchen?"
Now that the Emperor's Order has been issued, how to rescue people, and what the outcome will be, are all up to Gu Youan to decide.
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