Chapter 96 Leaving
"Little Goose," Bu Qingjue gave Yan Shiqun a nickname: "What's the point of hiding all by yourself? Come down and join us!"
Yan Shiqun was suddenly stopped. He turned his head away and muttered a complaint: "...I don't have time to play with you guys."
Aju: "Hahaha, you're such an awkward person."
Bu Qingjue waved his hand: "Come on, come on, since none of us can sleep anyway, let's play some games."
The invitation did not receive a positive response, and several more days passed. Every night, Bu Qingjue would practice swordsmanship at the door during the day, while Ruan Linglai would play the zither.
Later, Aju also joined in. When they couldn't sleep at night, they would sit together and chat and drink after practice.
Bu Qingjue put down his wooden sword and lit a bonfire in front of Jingge during the day. Yan Shiqun originally did not intend to participate, but was attracted by the warm firelight and came down from the tree.
Ruan Linglai's zither music was melodious, and Aju and Yan Shiqun occasionally exchanged a few words.
Bu Qingjue suddenly felt a sense of unprecedented comfort.
This was something he hadn't been aware of since he transmigrated to this world.
But during his stay at Jingge, he did indeed sense the presence of some living people.
What would have been the fate of these characters from Jingge in the original storyline?
Oh, so it probably hasn't ended yet? The original story had a terrible ending.
Bu Qingjue shook his head, feeling a little regretful.
Then he realized that if it weren't for him, they might not have met at Jingge, which was one of the results that propelled the plot forward.
They chatted around the campfire, and Bu Qingjue introduced many modern party games, such as Truth or Dare and King's Game, which were rather cliché but quite novel to them.
“I drew the red slip of paper, I am the lord,” Aju said, stroking his chin. “Then let’s send 2 and 4 back to Jingge and call the Pavilion Master down.”
Bu Qingjue is number 2, and Yan Shiqun is number 4.
Yan Shiqun: "What kind of mission is this?"
"We're using other people's facilities and sleeping in their rooms, but we're not even letting them hang out with us. Don't we feel like we're isolating them?"
Yan Shiqun: "It's his own fault for not coming out, and he talks as if we're not doing anything for him."
Indeed, Wen Tianyu would occasionally assign them tasks, mostly trivial matters in Beishan. Wen Tianyu was ambitious; he wanted to be a good manager of Beishan, so he needed people who could go out and solve problems to help him make his presence felt.
Over time, the local residents became familiar with them and even gave them a general name.
The Six Ministers of Jingge got their name from this.
But the rumors got more and more outlandish, with claims that the six ministers of Jingge were all highly skilled and could control everything. Bu Qingjue was worried that these rumors might attract the enmity of the other three families, so he specifically discussed this topic with Wen Tianyu.
Wen Tianyu said it was alright, such rumors wouldn't matter, and it would be better to say that they had known about Jingge's existence for a long time and had not attacked it.
“I think you’re a smart person, and your fate doesn’t interfere with ours, so I’m telling you this,” Wen Tianyu said. “You don’t really think Aju is someone who has come to betray us, do you?”
"..." Bu Qingjue was taken aback: "Then why did you keep him here?"
"The wheels of fate are rolling in, this is destiny. I only have my own judgment, it will be useful, just not now."
Riddler...
Bu Qingjue shook his head. Although he didn't quite understand, he could roughly grasp the meaning.
After all, what the other person sees is different from what he sees, and their purposes are also different, but they arrive at the same goal by different paths.
Since it wouldn't interfere with the plot, he decided not to stop it.
Bu Qingjue's thoughts returned to tonight. Seeing that Yan Shiqun was about to get angry, even though he was the first to enter the pavilion, he clearly didn't like the pavilion master very much, so he quickly smiled and smoothed things over.
Bu Qingjue: "Alright, alright, since it's a mission, there's nothing we can do. Let's respect the rules of the game and go."
Wen Tianyu was sitting alone in the hall, drinking tea. You could see him as soon as you walked in.
Bu Qingjue glanced at Yan Shiqun beside him; Yan Shiqun clearly had no intention of speaking first.
Bu Qingjue took the initiative to extend the invitation without hesitation.
"No," Wen Tianyu said calmly, already aware of the situation outside. "I will not step out of Jingge."
As expected, I received the answer.
During this period, he really didn't step out of Jingge even once.
“You can sit inside and participate,” Bu Qingjue blinked. “It’s right by the door, you just don’t have to come out.”
Wen Tianyu said, "I don't understand the meaning of this."
“There are many meaningless things in life. Although we are just temporary partners, we can give each other some fun in our spare time,” Bu Qingjue said. “Lord Pavilion Master, I sincerely invite you to appreciate the most beautiful music, the most peaceful flames, the most swift swordsmanship, and the most tranquil atmosphere under the starry sky.”
Yan Shiqun paused for a moment, then silently uttered, "Glib talker."
Bu Qingjue raised an eyebrow.
Clearly, his smooth talk was quite effective.
Wen Tianyu stood at the door, some distance away from them, but he wasn't alone inside watching.
Jie handed him a cup of osmanthus wine during the day, a reward for helping the villagers who had died that day.
Jie said during the day, "This wine is my favorite. I heard that he fled from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. He also mentioned the osmanthus cake, a specialty of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. If I could go back one day, I would really like to try it."
Ruan Linglai said, "I've tried it, it's really delicious. Quanzhou and Zhangzhou have a traditional craft of eating flowers. My brother can also make some. When I was a child, I was sick and didn't like to drink bitter medicine, so he would coax me to drink it with these."
Ruan Linglai's tone gradually became somber: "My brother is so good..."
Bu Qingjue: "...Osmanthus cake, we also have this kind of cake in my hometown, but I've never really tasted the authentic one. Let's go and try it together sometime."
"……Um!"
With a willow twig dangling from his mouth, Aju looked up and pondered, saying, "It's great. I never had the chance to eat these things when I was a child. Just surviving was a struggle."
Jie Zhoujian: "Me too, but I saw it through a crack in the wall. A family of three children were holding red candied hawthorns."
Aju: "Oh, I know! It's just coated with a layer of syrup, right? I just don't know what it tastes like."
Oh my god...
Bu Qingjue was speechless for a moment.
Recounting such a tragic experience in such a calm tone makes it all the more...
“None of you have tried it? What about Young Master Yan?” Ruan Linglai asked. “Young Master Yan seems to have also fled here. Where did he grow up in his youth?”
Yan Shiqun said, "I've never tried any of those things you're talking about, and I don't like sweets, they're a bit too sweet."
Bu Qingjue noticed that Yan Shiqun would deliberately emphasize the word "I" when he spoke, as if it was unconscious, like a verbal tic he couldn't break and was trying his best to correct.
Indeed, someone of such high status probably can't do whatever he wants.
That one night alone, their nightly get-togethers became a tradition.
No matter what they did during the day, they would always get some food and have a few drinks at the door when they got back.
Before they knew it, they had spent an entire winter.
Bu Qingjue stood by the window, watching the snow slowly melt.
During this time, without the system's voice or external disturbances, he seemed to have forgotten his purpose as a transmigrator.
But he did not forget.
Yun Yuelin's tragedy is already connected to him, and he is ready to go all the way into darkness at any time.
As long as he can make it to the end and successfully return, as long as he can be reunited with his teachers and live a happy life, he will surely be able to forget the tragedy of the Yun family.
Then he will remember the time he spent in Jingge.
He will remember that he was the weakest of the six ministers of Jingge, he will remember the lively conversations around the campfire every night, and he will remember how they gradually opened their hearts to each other and became friends.
Last night, Aju, who never drinks, drank all the wine in the wine pot in one go for the first time ever.
Ah Ju, slightly drunk, said, "That's just fate playing tricks on us."
What did he mean by that?
"Young Master Bu."
Upon hearing this, Bu Qingjue turned around and saw Ruan Linglai carrying the zither on her back.
"Many months ago, I thanked you for your help, young master. Now that Linglai has mastered swordsmanship and can protect herself, I have something I would like to ask for your and the Pavilion Master's permission for... I don't know how to bring it up with the Pavilion Master, so I came to find you first."
"Please feel free to speak."
“I want to go home… I want to go home and at least find my mother’s belongings,” Ruan Linglai said firmly, looking up. “I know the journey may be full of hardships, but I want to try. I can’t let them die there without knowing why, with no one to take care of their funeral arrangements… This zither was brought to me by you, young master, so I’ll entrust it to you for safekeeping. I’ll play it for you when I come back, okay?”
"..."
[Host initiates storyline: Help Ruan Linglai return home]
He was surprised to hear the system's voice again after several months.
He admitted that he had hesitated just now, after all, it was too dangerous.
Ruan Linglai was the first person he met with Xie Zhoujian, and he had long regarded her as family.
However, since the system has said so, there must be an important plot point to trigger when she goes back.
He rescued Ruan Linglai as part of his mission, and now he's helping her return as part of his mission, so there's no problem with that.
“Okay,” Bu Qingjue agreed, “I’ll go with you to talk to the Pavilion Master and ask him if he can give you a few magical artifacts for self-defense.”
"Thank you, young master!"
Three days later, Ruan Linglai bid them farewell, promising to bring back the lost items as soon as they were found. Before leaving, she also took some talismans and protective magic items with her.
Seeing her from behind, Bu Qingjue felt a sense of relief.
When I first met her, she was a fallen noblewoman, too weak to lift a finger.
Now he can wield a sword quite well.
If she could start from elementary school, she would definitely make a name for herself and perhaps even realize her childhood dream of becoming a female knight-errant.
However, the system did not indicate that the task was completed after Ruan Linglai left. In other words, simply abandoning the task would not be considered a completion.
He clearly wanted to ensure that Ruan Linglai could return to the Ruan family.
Bu Qingjue nodded, then turned to Xie Zhoujian and said, "We've already spoken to Wen Tianyu and followed her."
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