Chapter 856 Clever Brother Qing (First Update)
"The real Ghost King..." Gu Jiao looked at Shangguan Qing with a puzzled expression, neither surprised nor astonished.
She suspected that this ghost king was fake, but she never imagined that there was actually a real one in Ghost Mountain.
Wait a minute, this is his definition of the true Ghost King, but that may not be the objective fact.
Everything remains to be verified.
Gu Jiao asked, "Who is the real Ghost King?"
Shangguan Qing raised his chin and said, "I don't know. A gentleman's friendship is as light as water. I'm not one to pry into my friends' privacy!"
You can't even go a minute without pretending, right?
If the Ghost King is really your friend, why didn't he come out to help just now?
I bet you a pack of spicy strips, the Ghost King won't give you a second thought.
Gu Jiao crossed her arms and looked at him with a serious expression.
Shangguan Qing and Gu Jiao made eye contact, and Shangguan Qing felt a sudden jolt, as if the size of his underwear had been seen through.
He shuddered, coughed lightly, and said seriously, "Alright, alright, I don't befriend just anyone. That old guy isn't qualified to be my friend!"
Gu Jiao took a deep breath. Xiao Heng's own brother—she couldn't hit him, she couldn't hit him…
Stripping away the embellishments in Shangguan Qing's words, the underlying message is: "I've only met him once or twice. I'm not sophisticated enough; he won't be friends with me!"
"Tell me what kind of person he is." Gu Jiao suddenly became interested in this Ghost King.
"A person?" Shangguan Qing scoffed, found a rock by the stream, sat down, and plucked a handful of foxtail grass.
The laughter and noise behind me brought a brief moment of peace and tranquility amidst the chaos of the world.
Gu Jiao had been at the border for many days and had not felt this way for a long time.
She sat down next to him.
The two were neither too close nor too far apart, maintaining a distance that was neither too intrusive nor too distant.
Shangguan Qing pouted, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just snorted.
“Go on,” Gu Jiao said.
“Well…” Shangguan Qing frowned, as if choosing his words carefully, “I don’t think he’s human. He’s dead, at least that’s the feeling he gives me. He’s surrounded by an aura of death, and his eyes don’t look like those of a living person.”
Gu Jiao asked, "Can it move? Can it talk? Does it have a heartbeat and breathe?"
"Yes, there is," Shangguan Qing replied succinctly.
That's not a dead person, it's a perfectly healthy person.
Gu Jiao said, "He sounds like a very strange guy."
Shangguan Qing played with a foxtail grass and said, "It is a bit strange, but he doesn't kill unarmed people. Some villagers once wandered into the back mountain by mistake, and he didn't hurt them. On the contrary, when that group of bandits ran into his territory, they almost all died at his hands. It's all thanks to me who stepped in!"
Okay, now you're calling yourself "Young Master" again. You really have a lot of self-references.
Gu Jiao then asked, "Is that why you subdued those bandits and turned them into ghost soldiers?"
Shangguan Qing straightened his back: "I guess so. I saved them from that person, and they were grateful to me for saving their lives—"
Gu Jiao glanced at him: "There's also intimidation and coercion, right? For example, saying that the Ghost King is your backer, and if they dare to disobey, you'll have the Ghost King kill them?"
Shangguan Qing looked at Gu Jiao with disbelief, as if she were a monster: "No way, how do you know everything?"
Because I'm an ordinary but brilliant detective!
Gu Jiao said, "So there's a Great Ghost King in the back mountain, and you're the Little Ghost King. You appointed yourself to that position, didn't you?"
Shangguan Qing did not deny it, but simply lay down on the long stone, put one arm behind his head, and looked at the starry sky with a blade of grass in his mouth.
"It's the old Ghost King; he's quite old."
He said.
"Old Ghost King." Gu Jiao stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Hey." Shangguan Qing poked Gu Jiao with his slender, jade-like fingers. "I finally remember what's strange about you."
"What?" Gu Jiao turned her head to look at the guy lying on the rock. He was still wearing a mask that covered most of his face, not revealing his true appearance, but his eyes were beautiful, just like Princess Xinyang's almond eyes.
His lips were inherited from Marquis Xuanping, and they were slightly upturned even when he wasn't smiling.
Shangguan Qing said, "I've felt something was off about you all the way here, but it only just dawned on me. Since you recognized me as the eldest grandson of the emperor, why did you dare to call me by my name? Are all the Black Wind Riders this arrogant these days?"
Gu Jiao said, "This isn't called being arrogant."
I'll beat you up before you yell.
Gu Jiao grabbed his wrist.
Shangguan Qing frowned subconsciously: "What? Although you are a man, this prince is not interested in male homosexuality."
He doesn't like being touched by others, nor is he used to getting too close to people; in this respect, both brothers are very much like Xinyang.
After Gu Jiao finished taking his pulse, she put his hand back down.
Shangguan Qing looked at her strangely: "You also know medicine?"
"I know a little," Gu Jiao said, "but it's a pity I can't cure the poison in your body."
Upon hearing this answer, Shangguan Qing showed no sign of disappointment. After all, he had been afflicted with an incurable poison, which even the Imperial Advisor could not cure. Miracles were no longer possible for him.
He had only three months left to live.
It may be shorter.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Gu Jiao asked him.
Shangguan Qing paused slightly, seemingly considering many possible reactions Gu Jiao might make, such as sympathizing with him, comforting him, or making empty promises.
But he never expected it to be a simple "Are you feeling unwell?"
It's like a kind of care from family.
Shangguan Qing's nose suddenly felt a little sore. He didn't want Gu Jiao to see it, so he turned his back and hid his slightly red eyes in the night: "It's not too uncomfortable. The medicine given by the Imperial Preceptor can suppress the poison. It only flares up for three to five days a month. Once I get through it, it will be the same as now."
"Shangguan Qing," Gu Jiao called him softly.
"What now?" He subtly wiped his reddened eyes, his voice sounding completely calm.
Gu Jiao pretended not to notice his strangeness and said seriously, "The Nan Shi Niang I know is a master of poison in the Tang Clan. She was originally going back to Zhao Kingdom, but she happened to stay in Shengdu because of some personal matters. After the war, I will take you to see her. Maybe she can cure the poison in your body."
"oh."
He had long since given up hope, but he was too lazy to repeat his refusal over and over again, otherwise he would be persuaded by others not to refuse.
He agreed, since he might not even live to see the day he returned to Shengdu.
Gu Jiao asked him, "Are you coming back to Quyang with me tomorrow?"
Shangguan Qing said calmly, "You go back first."
Gu Jiao looked back at the only pristine place in Pucheng that had not been ravaged by war. She watched the children running around laughing and playing, the villagers working and chatting, and the ghost soldiers wrestling and practicing martial arts in the open space in front of their houses.
You can't leave here.
Shangguan Qing had composed himself, and the strange look in his eyes had faded.
He turned over and lay flat again, chewing on a blade of grass, and said nonchalantly, "Don't tell my mother... I'll go see her about what happened at Ghost Mountain in a few days."
"Okay," Gu Jiao readily agreed.
I won't tell your mother, I'll only tell your father.
(End of this chapter)
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