Chapter 8 Chapter 8 I was so close that I could smell her breath.
Gu Zhi put away his sword, threw the glass bead back into his palm, and opened his eyes.
Dingxin Waterfall is extremely fierce and rapid. If you sit under the waterfall, not only will you be unable to lift your neck straight, but if you are not careful, you will be washed away and rolled into the small rock pool.
The small rock pool is so deep that you can't see the bottom. Looking down, it is dark blue even in the daytime. It is said that a dragon once survived a catastrophe and turned into a dragon here.
Even Gu Zhi, who had been in meditation under the waterfall for twelve hours, felt a little exhausted.
He struggled to stand up, stepped on the waves to the shore, and with ripples on the water with every step, he walked up to Ge Duan who was waiting by the waterfall and bowed.
Ge Duan was a person close to his uncle Huide. This time, because he broke the precepts and was punished, his uncle sent him to watch over him and make sure he served the full punishment time.
"Trouble you, uncle."
Ge Duan: "I hope the Young Master will remember today's admonition. Revealing your whereabouts and being hunted is one; causing innocent people to be poisoned is two; bringing people up the mountain is three. The mountain's prohibitions must not be broken. I hope the Young Master will remember this."
"Gu knows."
Ge Duan nodded and left, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the bushes.
In the dead of night, shadows of trees loomed in the forest. When the wind blew, the layers of shadows rustled. However, in the dark night, one could only hear the sound and could not see the shapes. Occasionally, when one saw them under the moonlight, one could only see some hideous tangled roots.
Countless people have died in the mountains, and there is no forest that is not haunted.
Usually, if he finished his evening training late, there would always be people waiting for him on the shore, offering him water, helping him put on his clothes, and wiping his hair. As soon as he got ashore, he would be surrounded by people.
However, once punished, these people disappeared without a trace.
He looked at the moonlight and sneered silently.
The headmaster was in seclusion for most of the year, and his uncle was the one who actually called the shots. As the headmaster's son, he couldn't get past his uncle, just like an arm couldn't twist a thigh.
The uncle-master meant to punish him, so it was understandable that the others avoided him.
He shook his head, gathered his hair together, twisted it, and poured a large stream of water onto the ground.
Turned around and was about to leave.
But suddenly, under the moon, the shadows of the trees parted, and a boat appeared in the gurgling stream.
A narrow flower boat, a lotus lantern in the middle. The person on the boat is tall and slender, with uncombed hair, like satin, hanging loosely from the right side of her neck.
A gown of cicada-like gauze was draped loosely over her shoulders, and it lingered at the end of the boat, leaving a long, misty tail. Fallen petals swirled, landing in the stream, creating a series of fine circles.
The light of the water and the lights flickered and trembled, reflected on her crystal-like face, like Chang'e floating on the moon.
The light in Gu Zhi's eyes flickered unexpectedly.
In the bright lights and falling flowers, she raised her eyes. Everything was still for a moment. She smiled, "Sir."
A startling bird cry was heard in the distance.
She smiled gently: "Sir, what are you standing there for?"
Gu Zhi was speechless for a moment: "Miss Chu...it's so late——"
The words got stuck in her throat. The boat docked. Nan Qiongshuang gathered her clothes, picked up the lantern, and stepped onto the bow of the boat.
The stream covered the boat with a dense layer of fallen petals. As she approached, Gu Zhi could only smell a faint fragrance, rich and charming.
He didn't know whether it was fear or nervousness, but he actually took half a step back.
Suddenly, the bow of the boat hit the shore lightly.
Nan Qiong Shuang, who was standing on one foot on the edge of the boat, was knocked so hard that she let out a cry and fell forward.
Gu Zhi quickly reached out and supported him.
When she looked up again, she was almost in Gu Zhi's arms.
The lantern in her hand was as bright as a full moon. She lowered her eyelashes and slowly raised her head.
Gu Zhi only saw her white and shiny earlobes, her long hair, and her rouge-colored cheeks.
She was clearly not wearing any makeup.
For a moment he had the urge to stroke her cheek with his index finger.
He was startled.
In a daze, she blinked again, and her long eyelashes, each of which was clearly visible, fluttered as she breathed.
——I was so close that I could smell her breath.
It's the scent of flowers.
There was a thunderclap in his heart, and he let go of his hand as if he had been electrocuted, put his sleeves together and took a half step back.
I could hardly look at her.
She seemed oblivious to the fact that she had caused such a rage. She raised her head with an innocent and frank manner and said in a gentle voice, "Thank you, sir."
Gu Zhi tilted his head, his voice unusually cold, "I told you not to wander around, it's dangerous up there, so why did you go out alone?"
Nan Qiongshuang turned around and fished out a snow-white coat from the boat. Gu Zhi was about to take a look at her while she wasn't looking at him when he suddenly saw her turning around, holding the coat.
She draped it neatly over his shoulders.
The dry cloth covered his wet body. He had just realized that he was soaking wet after getting out of the water, and it was cold in the middle of the night, so he had been shivering for a long time.
When no one is caring about me, I don’t feel cold.
He lowered his eyes and watched her stand on tiptoe to put his coat on him, and then began to button the small buttons on the collar.
The pair of white hands moved flexibly under his chin. He wanted to hide, but he saw her eyes illuminated by the light under her long eyelashes, and her lips were slightly raised, as if she was in a good mood, a smile.
He didn't hide, but stood there as if possessed by some mysterious force.
Until her knuckles actually grazed his chin.
He felt uncomfortable all over as if he had been burned. He took a half step back and buttoned his clothes skillfully. He coughed lightly and asked, "What are you doing out so late, girl? Are you injured?"
"Luckily, I didn't run into any danger." She smiled gently. "But I heard that you were being punished until late at night, and I was worried that you might have made a mistake. I was worried and couldn't sleep, so I just came to see you."
As he spoke, he took his wet long hair out of his coat and draped it behind his back.
"I'm worried and can't sleep."
He practiced for too long today and even felt a little dizzy.
"...I'm sorry to have made you worry." The voice was low.
Nan Qiong Shuang: "Don't talk about this." She took his sleeve and pulled him into the boat. "It's too late. Let's go back."
At night, the Tianshan Mountains are almost pitch dark except for a lotus lantern.
Nan Qiong Shuang sat down, and Gu Zhi originally wanted to sit opposite her, but when he looked directly into her smiling eyes, he suddenly stood up and picked up the boat pole.
"Girl, the mountains are dangerous. You don't have to take the risk next time."
Nan Qiong Shuang didn't answer, so Gu Zhi looked at her and saw that she was supporting her cheeks with her hands, looking quite well-behaved.
"Sir, are you being punished for me?"
She is gentle in appearance, but has a playful tone.
Afraid that she would feel guilty if he answered, Gu Zhi remained silent.
"Since you took the risk to save me, it is only natural for me to take the risk for you."
Gu Zhi put the rod into the water, the water reflected on his face, and said, "Miss, don't worry. Since you are implicated by me, it is my responsibility."
She changed the subject: "That day, the young master wanted to break his vow and take me up the mountain. I thought that since we were saving someone, the sect wouldn't investigate further, so I followed him up the mountain. I didn't expect that the young master would take the blame for everything."
The more he spoke, the softer his voice became. "If Senior Sister hadn't told me, Young Master wouldn't have let me know at all."
Gu Zhi was silent for a long time.
She continued, "I thought the Tianshan Sect was a well-respected and righteous sect, and that they wouldn't go into detail about the rules of the sect in order to save people. I never thought they would take it seriously..."
"The mountain rules are strict. My uncle must have his reasons for punishing me."
"But, you have your reasons for breaking the rules."
He stopped talking again and just rowed the boat.
The sound of water is gurgling.
Nan Qiong Shuang carefully observed his expression and chose her words carefully, "Sir, you just can't let me take advantage of the poison."
After a long time, he sighed and looked up at the moon.
She knew that this touched his heart.
Although he accepted the punishment for doing good deeds and saving people, he couldn't help feeling unfair.
It's just that due to his status, he cannot express this injustice.
He would not think it was wrong, even if he respectfully admitted his mistake.
"It's not my fault, sir." She said softly, observing his expression and carefully distinguishing, "If anyone is truly at fault in this matter, it's me who knew I should have hidden that day but didn't, or Shan Gui."
This time, he was silent longer.
The lights reflected on the water, and the ripples reflected in his eyes. His long eyelashes drooped, and he was quiet, like a Buddha statue with flowers fallen on his shoulders.
After a while, he said, "Not a girl."
Two answers, only deny one.
Nan Qiong Shuang understood, smiled, and after a long moment, added another sentence.
"You knew the price of saving me, but you were willing to accept the punishment because of the scale in your heart. Young Master, you truly have character."
Suddenly, a drop of stream water splashed on his face, cool and refreshing.
"When I was at home, I only listened to my parents. When my parents were still alive, I followed their wishes and became a boat girl."
"After meeting you today, I finally realized... if it's for the sake of your inner self, it's actually okay to disobey rules, prohibitions, or anything else."
"Everything, just want to have no regrets and a clear conscience."
Gu Zhi just listened silently without saying a word.
Finally, she said tactfully, "I appreciate your sincere actions."
"No need." After a long moment, his expression slowly softened like spring water, and he said in a deep voice, "I should thank you, young lady."
Hearing this, Nan Qiong Shuang smiled.
The time is right.
"Young Master, yesterday..." His expression suddenly changed, his body softened, and he leaned back, almost falling off the boat.
His eyes were closed in unbearable pain.
When Gu Zhi saw her, he immediately dropped his long pole and leaned over to help her, "Girl, girl!"
She leaned on the boat, rubbing her temples painfully with her index finger, mumbling, "I'm fine, sir, don't worry..."
Gu Zhi hurriedly embraced her: "But the poison has taken effect? Have you taken the medicine today?"
"Today," she forced a forced smile, as if afraid he'd worry, "I didn't drink. I drank two in a row yesterday, and I wanted to empty my lungs today."
"You drank two doses yesterday?!" Gu Zhi was shocked. "How can you take medicine like this? Taking medicine is not a joke. You really don't take care of your body."
He seemed to be angry that she didn't care about him.
Nan Qiong Shuang pretended to be strong and said, "No, I already cherish her very much."
Gu Zhi's tone was unusually cold. "You went out late at night, knowing that this mountain is full of traps, yet you still came to find me alone. I asked someone to carefully instruct you on the use of the medicine, but you didn't take it properly. Gu has never seen you take care of yourself."
Nan Qiong Shuang smiled in her heart. Most of her former assignment targets loved her appearance and tears, but no one cared about her as much as he did.
It turns out that this person would get anxious when he saw that she didn't care about him.
Her heart moved, and suddenly she found this moment of emotion very funny.
I just thought to myself, I can handle this place in the future.
"Fine." Finally, he seemed unwilling to be so tough with her and sighed, "Miss, you can stay at my place tonight. From now on, I will personally supervise your medication."
The boat docked, and the shore was brightly lit. It was Gu Zhi's Muxueyuan.
Gu Zhi ignored the servants' surprised expressions when they saw Nan Qiong Shuang and said briefly, "Go pack Miss Chu's luggage and move here."
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