Chapter 348: Why Do You Look So Familiar (Part 1)
An abandoned official road overgrown with weeds.
"I have a little motorcycle, but I never ride it..."
Perhaps due to puberty, his voice wasn't as clear and pure as before, but this didn't stop the boy from conveying his good mood through singing. The only thing that remained unchanged was his restlessness; whenever he encountered a tree branch stretching out from the roadside, he would always reach out and pluck a handful of leaves. His off-key tunes were accompanied by the "ding-a-ling" of bells, and when he forgot the lyrics, he would improvise, entertaining himself.
"One day, on a whim, I rode my bicycle to the market..."
"hey-hey!"
"I was really proud of myself, holding the little leather whip in my hand."
"Hmph hmph hmph... glug glug hehe rest!"
After the song ended, they continued singing.
"The late Eastern Han Dynasty was divided into the Three Kingdoms..."
"The next words... seem to be something like 'war raging across the land'..." the boy muttered to himself.
"Why has the young master stopped singing?" The voice came from the carriage, which was riding a tall, beautiful, snow-white mule.
"Does Wangchao think I sing well?"
This young man is Shen Tang, who lets loose when she's on a business trip—who knows how happy she is right now? Thinking back to the past few months, dealing with endless official business every day, her buttocks and mats were inseparable, it was a nightmare!
Working overtime every day is terrifying!
Gu Chi casually tossed the question back at him.
"What does the Lord think?"
Listening to the lord sing is tantamount to slow self-harm.
Qi Yuanliang wasn't lying to him.
Overflowing with confidence, Shen Tang gave a thumbs-up and boasted, "Of course it's top-notch! Even Gong Xi Chou said it's heavenly!"
Otherwise, how could the two have become close friends?
It's naturally a strong resonance in terms of music!
Gu Chi: "..."
"Let's find a place to rest first."
As summer approached and the weather grew hotter day by day, Shen Tang's throat became dry and parched from singing. Her exhilarating joy at regaining her freedom gradually subsided under the relentless heat.
I raised my hand to touch the top of my head, and my palm touched something burning hot.
"My scalp is so hot it could be used as sizzling tofu..."
With no village or shop in sight, the only option was to find a shady spot by the roadside to hide in.
She tossed two candies to the motorcycle.
The latter tilted its head back, opened its mouth, and swallowed it precisely.
It obediently walked to the side to rest, holding the reins in its mouth.
Yu Zi took clean water pouches and dry rations from the carriage and distributed them to everyone. Shen Tang said, "Don't bother, you've just recovered, sit down and rest. Ah, this sun is really scorching, if it weren't for the protection of your literary energy, you would have gotten several shades darker..."
After the last epidemic ended, Yu Zi took more than half a month to fully recover. Lin Feng fed her every few days, and her thin body gradually grew back to its former plumpness. Her gaunt and sunken cheeks became fleshy, and she even grew a little taller.
Yu Zi said crisply, "Thank you, Master."
Despite saying that, she still finished distributing the water and food before sitting down to rest, and took out a book of Jian Shu to study diligently in silence—in fact, Shen Tang had not originally planned to take Yu Zi with her on this business trip.
They're not very old, so there's no point in bringing them along.
But Gu Chi disagreed.
The reason is simple and straightforward.
Although Shen Tang always dressed as a man, she was, after all, a girl, and now she was thirteen years old. There were always inconveniences when she was out and about, and it was impossible for her to do everything by herself. It was more convenient for her to have a "maid" by her side to take care of her than for him, a grown man.
[But it doesn't necessarily have to be Yu Zi.]
Yu Zi has a poor foundation and is at the age where she needs to work hard. It would be a waste of time for me to come out and take care of her daily life.
Gu Chi: [I don't trust finding someone new.]
Shen Tang's gender needs to be kept secret for a while longer.
Choosing an unreliable one might lead to bad things.
Furthermore, Yu Zi hasn't even entered the realm of cultivation yet. No matter how hard she studies, it can't compare to the benefits of staying by Shen Tang's side. It's not too late for her to go into seclusion and make a final push once her internal energy is sufficient to expand her dantian and condense her literary heart. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood.
After Gu Chi said this, Shen Tang no longer insisted.
Apart from Gu Chi and Yu Zi, the rest were all guards.
None of the others came.
Besides Fugu, there are other places in Heyin that haven't been reorganized yet, so Qishan, Chuyao, and Kangshi can't leave—if any of them left, wouldn't the rest of them be exhausted? Gongshuwu and Commandant Yang have to help train the troops, Zhao Feng hasn't had a single day off since arriving in Fugu, wandering around the fields, Bai Su is engrossed in cultivation, and even the younger ones like Tu Rong have heavy tasks...
As for why it was Gu Chi?
This fellow's way of being a scholar is too convenient.
With him around, Zhang He couldn't pull any tricks, and if anything went wrong, everyone could evacuate Yiru in time.
"Hopefully this trip will be fruitful..." After drinking water to soothe her dry, parched throat, Shen Tang fanned herself with her sleeve. "Having more allies is much better than having more enemies..."
Like Gu Ren and Wu Xian, Shen Tang also suspected that Zhang He was the culprit behind the epidemic, but her information channels were more special than theirs, and she vaguely knew some secrets.
emmm...
It was supposed to be a secret, but it was actually something Gu Chi overheard while on a business trip, chatting among passing merchants. One of the merchants' sisters had married into Yiru and sent him a letter that subtly warned him to be careful when buying goods in Yiru, as Yiru wasn't a peaceful place.
What's wrong with things?
It seems that the common people in the area have fallen ill with a strange disease again.
However, the local authorities blocked the news. The local people were fanatically worshipping Zhang He and were extremely wary of outsiders. They thought everyone was there to harm Zhang He, so they rarely revealed anything. In addition, the scale of the operation was small, so few people knew about it.
Shen Tang decided to find an excuse to test the waters.
If Zhang He really has a problem...
This also allows for early preparation.
To avoid being caught off guard.
Gu Chi: "You only know if someone is a human or a ghost when you see them in person."
The town of Ru and the river lord are not too far apart.
The round trip only takes four or five days.
Tea shops along the official road on the border of Yi and Ru.
Before going on their business trips, everyone asked Qi Shan to help them put on a disguise.
Gu Chi disguised himself as the accountant, Yu Zi as a maid, the other soldiers became guards, and Shen Tang fabricated the identity of a "trusted subordinate of the Prefect of He Yin." As the Prefect of He Yin, entering someone else's territory without permission could easily cause misunderstandings.
"It's so lively..."
The small teahouse was packed, with 70% of the customers being merchants doing business, and the remaining 30% being commoners who had brought their families to seek refuge in Yiru. Shen Tang and his companions could only make do with a makeshift tea table set up outside the teahouse, watching people come and go in the small pavilion.
Shen Tang looked on with increasing envy and said, "If you want to get rich, build roads first. Tsk, Wang Chao, we should also repair the official roads within our territory and build a hundred or two hundred of them in one go!"
Gu Chi raised an eyebrow: "One hundred and eighty? Master, where are they?"
Shen Tang: "Isn't there Zhao Dayi? With this weather, there's not much work to do in the fields. We should find him something to do again. Building bridges and roads is for the benefit of the people, so he'll be willing."
A single burst of martial energy can create a ditch several dozen feet deep, making it a veritable walking excavator—it couldn't be more convenient for clearing a path!
Make the best use of resources and ensure everyone fulfills their responsibilities!
Gu Chi's lips twitched.
For a moment, I didn't know how to sympathize with Zhao Feng.
Shen Tang held the ceramic bowl and took a sip of tea.
"...Speaking of which, isn't our development too unbalanced? We only have half a step forward in martial arts, which is enough to make us look good. Shao Xuan and Shou Sheng are still developing, Tu Rong is too young, and Zhao Feng is someone else's borrowed talent who could leave at any time..."
"so?"
Gu Chi automatically ignored the words he didn't understand.
"Recruit a few more brave warriors. I don't dare to hope for someone of Zhao Dayi's level, but I can think of someone of the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth level, right?" Shen Tang was already imagining a group of brave warriors working hard, shirtless, repairing the road.
Gu Chi: "..."
Any martial artist with any courage, knowing their lord's thoughts, would want to stick to the wall as much as possible...
Don't even think about getting one.
"While it's still early, my lord, you may consider it."
"Um?"
Gu Chi said, "One should start daydreaming early."
Shen Tang: "..."
Gu Wangchao has changed!
He wasn't like this before!
Gu Chi pretended that he hadn't heard anything.
"Hmph! Daydreaming? Who wouldn't dare to dream about it?"
Shen Tang slammed down her teacup with a bang, pointed to the sky, and said defiantly, "Not only will we do it, we'll do it now! We'll do it as beautifully as possible! Believe it or not, some brave martial artists will come knocking on our door right now!"
Gu Chi couldn't help but chuckle.
He found that after following this lord, he smiled more and more, and even the noisy thoughts around him did not affect his good mood at all...
"What you're saying, Master..."
Gu Chi was about to say something sarcastic.
I caught a glimpse of something and almost choked on my water.
"What's wrong? Did you see someone you know?" Shen Tang noticed his unusual behavior and turned to look at him.
°Benefit°
Damn it, I'm stuck, I'm stuck to death.
There will be an autumn harvest storyline a few chapters after Yi Ru.
Then it was a year later _(:з)∠)_
I'm having trouble figuring out how to handle the storyline for Yi Ru's side, it's giving me a headache... and I even lost my perfect attendance bonus...
Let me first sort out the plot.
(End of this chapter)
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