Chapter 5: The Good Day. In the morning, the village…
The next day.
In the morning, villagers began to leave one after another, some feeding the chickens, others weeding.
However, when these people passed by Aunt Liu's yard, they couldn't help but glance at the big tree at the gate.
More accurately, it was a boy in red standing under a big tree.
The boy leaned lazily against the tree trunk, arms crossed, his expression somewhat blank, as if he were lost in thought.
"Da da".
Footsteps came from inside the courtyard, and Jiang Zhihe was immediately brought back to his senses, straightening up and looking into the courtyard.
He was taken aback.
The girl wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with cherry blossom accessories on her head. The red ribbon on the accessories hung down her shoulders, standing out against her apricot-colored long hair and adding a touch of vibrancy to her look.
While her features might not be considered breathtakingly beautiful, she possessed bright eyes and white teeth. In particular, her lively almond-shaped eyes, reminiscent of a fawn in the forest, naturally drew people in.
"How is it? Isn't it beautiful?"
Wu Jiangxue walked up behind Gu Xiaozhu, and when she saw the stunned boy, her smiling tone carried a hint of teasing.
Jiang Zhihe turned his gaze away from the red amulet pendant around the girl's waist, and smiled brightly: "Beautiful, especially beautiful!"
At the same time, he thought to himself:
Fortunately, it was only a witch doctor who told her that it was an ordinary dress; otherwise, she might not have accepted it, let alone worn it!
This set of clothes was placed in his storage bag by his mother. It was a mid-grade defensive spiritual artifact that could withstand attacks from those below the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. It could also freely shrink according to the user's body shape, so it would fit anyone who wore it.
When his mother put this outfit into his storage bag, she smiled and said to him:
"If you meet a woman you like in the future, you can use this magical artifact to win her over, right?"
All he wants to say right now is:
Mother is wise!
On the other side, Gu Xiaozhu looked up upon hearing this, and the instant her eyes met Jiang Zhihe's, she saw him smile at her again.
As if struck by a sudden inspiration, Gu Xiaozhu spoke first: "Thank you."
This conveniently interrupted the compliment that the other person was about to repeat.
Jiang Zhihe raised his eyebrows slightly. Although he didn't say anything in the end, the smile on his face became more and more obvious.
The system, not to be outdone, also shouted in Gu Xiaozhu's mind:
[Host is incredibly beautiful! Host is the most beautiful!]
The sound was so loud that Gu Xiaozhu was very glad that only she could hear it.
Wu Jiangxue, standing to the side, glanced at the girl on one side and then at the boy on the other, feeling increasingly as if she were radiating light.
In the end, she chose to take a step back, then took out a recording stone and recorded Jiang Zhihe's silly appearance, and casually posted it on the Spirit Network.
She looked at the sudden surge of messages on the Spirit Network, finally nodded in satisfaction, and put away the communication jade pendant in her hand.
At this moment, Aunt Liu also came out of the house. After seeing Gu Xiaozhu's appearance, she couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Xiaozhu, you are so beautiful..."
Then he smiled with relief: "I knew it, Xiaozhu, she's just naturally beautiful."
These words made Gu Xiaozhu blush again. In the end, she just nodded and whispered, "Thank you, Aunt Liu."
At this moment, other villagers also gathered around, including Aunt Li from next door and her grandson.
Aunt Li: "Xiao Zhu, are you leaving already?"
Little Tang: "Sister, please be careful on the road!"
Grandpa Zhao: "Xiaozhu, you must take good care of yourself while you're away."
This morning, Gu Xiaozhu had already told Aunt Liu that she was going to leave with Jiang Zhihe and the others, citing medical treatment as the reason.
After all, everyone in the village knew that she was in poor health, so this reason not only did not arouse suspicion, but also made Aunt Liu very happy.
After all, she had treated Gu Xiaozhu as her own daughter over the past year. Now that Gu Xiaozhu had gained the favor of the immortal and could go with him to get treatment, it couldn't be better.
So after she learned about this, she told Aunt Li next door, who in turn told Uncle Zhao next door... The news spread like wildfire throughout the village, and soon everyone knew that Gu Xiaozhu was leaving to seek medical treatment.
She was already well-liked in the village, and now that everyone knew about this, they all came to see her off. Some villagers even gave her things, including food, clothes, and money, which made her both amused and embarrassed.
After all, I can't carry that much stuff myself.
At that moment, a hand with distinct knuckles reached out from the side, holding a very delicate-looking red jade bracelet in its hand.
She turned her head and saw the red-clad youth smiling and saying, "I specially modified the storage bracelet so that it can be opened without spiritual power."
[Host, I can help you store things too! You don't need his storage bracelet at all!]
The system suddenly spoke up at this moment. Gu Xiaozhu wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the system was acting as if it was... vying for favor.
She found the idea somewhat amusing.
He then patiently replied in his mind, "Thank you, but if I leave my things here with you, how am I supposed to explain it to other people?"
Before this, she was a mortal who had never been in contact with the world of cultivation, so how could she possibly have a spiritual artifact similar to a storage bracelet?
The system choked, then fell silent.
Seeing this, Gu Xiaozhu comforted her, "It's okay. Even without storage functions, you are irreplaceable to me."
She kept repeating this to herself as she took the storage bracelet from Jiang Zhihe and thanked him.
When Jiang Zhihe saw her accept it, his smile widened even more.
The system spoke at that moment.
[Host... Waaaaah, I'm so touched!]
Gu Xiaozhu smiled helplessly.
After the villagers saw that the girl had accepted all their things, they gradually dispersed, and Gu Xiaozhu breathed a sigh of relief.
She also discovered that the storage bracelet Jiang Zhihe had given her wasn't empty; it contained many talismans that looked very familiar. As for why they looked so familiar…
All I can say is that when she was writing this novel, she impulsively designed all the talismans in the book herself. Although it took her a lot of time, it also gave her a great sense of accomplishment.
In addition to talismans, she also designed all the formations in the book. Although her family said she was neglecting her studies, she didn't regret it. After all, only when designing these things did she feel relaxed.
In addition, the bracelet also contains some magical artifacts and essential money for traveling.
It has both mortal currency and spiritual stones from the cultivation world.
But seeing the happy smile on the boy's face, she swallowed her words of returning the money.
If you keep rejecting other people's kindness, wouldn't that be... not a good thing?
But before she could even begin to ponder this, a clear, youthful voice interrupted her thoughts:
"It's getting late, we should head out now."
Gu Xiaozhu looked up and saw Jiang Zhihe and Wu Jiangxue standing not far away, with the boy waving at her.
Seeing this, she forgot her hesitation for a moment and quickly followed, also slipping the red jade bracelet onto her wrist.
The villagers warmly escorted her to the village entrance. Standing at the entrance, Gu Xiaozhu looked at the villagers and suddenly felt a bitter feeling well up in her heart.
She was a little reluctant to part with it.
After all, she had lived here for a year, and everyone in the village had treated her very well.
She had long regarded them as family.
As if sensing her emotions, Wu Jiangxue stepped forward, patted her shoulder reassuringly, and said softly, "It's okay, you can come back after you clear the toxins from your body."
Gu Xiaozhu lowered her eyes slightly.
Is it really possible to come back?
She didn't know.
If it were only about the poison, she could indeed return quickly. But the most crucial thing is that, besides the poison, a much greater and heavier burden has fallen upon her shoulders—
Stop the apocalyptic catastrophe and save the world.
Although she knew deep down that she couldn't do it, but...
She glanced at the smiles on the villagers' faces, her hands hanging at her sides clenching slightly.
For these villagers, and also for... going home.
She had no choice but to bite the bullet and do her best to accomplish this.
"System, how long until the cataclysmic disaster occurs?" she asked in her mind.
Three years.
...Three years?
What can she accomplish in three years?
"Xiaozhu, Xiaozhu?"
Gu Xiaozhu suddenly came to her senses and looked up at the boy who had called her.
Jiang Zhihe smiled and said, "Why are you frowning all the time? Girls should smile more!"
Gu Xiaozhu: "I..."
Jiang Zhihe: "Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll be by your side."
A smile played on his lips, but his expression betrayed his seriousness.
"I will always stand by your side, support you, and help you."
"after all……"
The boy blinked and smiled broadly:
I like you~
The last syllable of the voice rose slightly, yet it contained an endless smile.
Gu Xiaozhu was slightly taken aback, and then a faint blush appeared on her face.
She quickly lowered her head and then hurried forward. Jiang Zhihe, who was behind her, quickly followed, muttering something to himself.
Wu Jiangxue landed behind the two of them.
She looked at Jiang Zhihe, who was grinning from ear to ear as if he didn't care about money, and the girl next to him whose ears were already bright red, and her lips twitched slightly.
"They really are...two-faced."
As she murmured these words, her thoughts drifted back to the previous night—
Under the cover of night, the girl in white and the boy in red stood facing each other.
Wu Jiangxue's voice was low and deep:
"Eating it can break through your cultivation level."
"...Even more so, one can ascend to heaven."
After he finished speaking, the atmosphere between the two became tense.
After a long while, she heard the young man opposite her chuckle softly:
"Fellow Daoist Wu, do you really think I'm that bad? That I only approached Xiaozhu to... eat her?"
Jiang Zhihe spread his hands with a helpless expression: "The world is truly unjust, and people's hearts have lost their traditional values..."
Wu Jiangxue's lips twitched.
After working together for the past few days, she had indeed come to realize that the person in front of her was a righteous and good cultivator. His words just now were merely a test.
What if she mistook someone for someone else?
Wu Jiangxue sighed: "Since you already knew, why did you let me examine her body?"
"This is no small matter. You trust me so much?"
Jiang Zhihe raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression innocent: "Fellow Daoist Wu, what are you saying? You are a medical cultivator! Everyone says that doctors have benevolent hearts, what is there for me to worry about?"
Wu Jiangxue looked at him and remained silent for a moment: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, we are both at the Golden Core stage."
"...Don't think I didn't notice. While I was treating Miss Gu's injuries, your hand was on the hilt of your sword the whole time."
Jiang Zhihe's expression remained unchanged: "That's perfectly normal! I was on high alert the whole time, trying to prevent any monsters or anything like that from ambushing you!"
Wu Jiangxue: "...Are you sure? In this place where the spiritual energy is so thin, even demonic beasts might not be able to hatch and survive?"
Jiang Zhihe nodded confidently.
Wu Jiangxue: "..."
Finally, she sighed deeply: "Never mind, at least you didn't mean to harm Miss Gu."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhihe's eyes widened immediately, his gaze towards Wu Jiangxue filled with accusation: "Are you questioning my sincerity?! Do I look that untrustworthy???"
Wu Jiangxue: "After all, you are from the Hehuan Sect, and even the young master of the Hehuan Sect."
Jiang Zhihe: "..."
Tsk,
The sect has ruined me!
Wu Jiangxue continued, "Then what about taking Miss Gu to the Valley of the Immortal Healers to cleanse the remaining toxins?"
“We could have simply returned to the Valley of Healers ourselves, retrieved the medicinal herbs, and then come back to remove the remaining toxins from her. Alternatively, I could have asked my junior brothers and sisters to deliver them.”
“Taking Miss Gu to the Valley of Healers will inevitably lead to encounters with other cultivators along the way, which is not safe for her and could even be quite dangerous.”
"So, if I may be so bold... this is not a wise move."
Jiang Zhihe just smiled and said, "You don't understand... I have my own plans."
There were some things she had to do.
And I...
We had no choice but to do it.
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