The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 16

Under the moonlight, the courtyard with its small house exuded an indescribable sense of tranquility and beauty.

The teahouse owner said he had two rooms, though they were really two bedrooms with a main hall. It was small but clean.

“Your place is pretty good, boss, very clean!” Jiang Yilan started looking around as soon as she entered. “It doesn’t look like a place without a woman’s touch at all!”

“You’re too kind, miss!” The owner was a little embarrassed by the praise. “One of these bedrooms has been empty for a long time and might be a bit damp. You two…”

“No worries!” Jiang Yilan waved her hand grandly. “When you’re out and about in the jianghu, sleeping under the open sky is a common thing. This is a palace compared to that!”

“You’re a jianghu person? No wonder you’re so forthright!” The owner said, his smile suddenly freezing as he looked at the sitting Widow Zhou. “Is this lady also…?”

“I’m just an ordinary woman,” Widow Zhou said with a bitter smile. “My husband died young, my parents are gone, and I have no children.”

“So you’re also alone?” The owner’s eyes filled with sympathy, then a glimmer of light.

“Yes,” Widow Zhou nodded. “I’m a widow.”

“Then you…” The owner suddenly hesitated.

“Alright, you two can talk later,” Jiang Yilan interrupted them. “Boss, do you have anything to eat? I’m starving!”

“Yes, yes!” The owner hurried off to prepare food and brought it out. “It’s just simple fare. Please make do with it.”

“How can we complain about free food?” Jiang Yilan took two sweet potatoes, handed one to Yuan Ruo, and said, “Husband, please enjoy!”

Yuan Ruo took the sweet potato and raised an eyebrow. “You call me ‘husband’ quite smoothly.”

“Of course!” Jiang Yilan smiled. “You are my husband, after all!”

“Heh.” Yuan Ruo chuckled softly and didn’t say anything more. After the two of them finished their sweet potatoes, they saw Widow Zhou was still eating slowly. Yuan Ruo then said, “We’re going out for a walk. Take your time.”

Without waiting for them to reply, Yuan Ruo pulled Jiang Yilan out the door.

“Hey, what’s the rush? It’s not even dark yet!” Jiang Yilan protested while wiping her mouth.

“I think that boss is a gentleman. If we wait until it’s dark, they won’t have a chance,” Yuan Ruo said, looking back at the house. “Let’s give them some space.”

“That’s true!” Jiang Yilan said, still wiping her mouth.

“Here,” Yuan Ruo pointed to the corner of Jiang Yilan’s mouth. “You managed to get sweet potato all over your face.”

Jiang Yilan followed Yuan Ruo’s guidance to wipe off the last bit of sweet potato, then chuckled mischievously, “It was delicious!”

Yuan Ruo asked, “You’re from the Jiang family. How can you be so unrefined?”

“What about being from the Jiang family?” Jiang Yilan shrugged. “I’ve been out and about since I was 12, so I’m used to it.”

“Twelve?” Yuan Ruo turned his head to look at Jiang Yilan. “Why did you leave so young?”

“I used to have three older brothers,” Jiang Yilan’s smile vanished as she spoke of her family. “You could call them stupid or foolish, or anything you like, but they had huge ambitions. I couldn’t stand it, so I left.”

“Used to?” Yuan Ruo caught the key word. “They’re no longer here?”

“Yes. Two of them got themselves killed,” Jiang Yilan didn’t seem particularly sad about her brothers’ deaths, just very helpless. “It was only during the Jiang family’s great crisis that I summoned a hundred beasts to save us, which is how I was given the position of family head by the elders.”

Yuan Ruo nodded. “And then they regretted it.”

“That’s right, they regretted it,” Jiang Yilan touched her face. “You could say your brother’s death, even if not directly caused by the Jiang family, was partly their fault.”

“No rush. We’ll settle the score slowly,” Yuan Ruo sat down on the ground and patted the spot next to him. “Come sit. If you’re worried about getting dirty, sit on my robe.”

“I’m not afraid of anything!” Jiang Yilan sat on the ground without a care, then teased, “What? Are you really treating me like your wife now?”

“Didn’t you call me ‘husband’?” Yuan Ruo smiled. “Doesn’t that make you my wife?”

“Eww…” Jiang Yilan grimaced. “Aren’t you afraid the grandmaster will blame you for the sins of your words?”

“The grandmaster won’t blame me,” Yuan Ruo said. “Cultivators of the Jade Radiance Palace aren’t bound by small matters. We cultivate our hearts, not rigid rules.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Yilan looked back at the house. “I wonder how they’re doing…”

“Let’s go check!” Yuan Ruo eagerly took over the conversation.

Jiang Yilan blinked. “I remember you used to be quite serious.”

“You must have misunderstood me,” Yuan Ruo said, getting up and heading straight for the house. He found the best spot to eavesdrop and even left a little space for Jiang Yilan.

“Are they…?”

“Shhh…”

Yuan Ruo put a finger to his lips and listened carefully to the house. It turned out the child had woken up again, and the boss and Widow Zhou were comforting the baby together. Their gentle voices were full of tenderness, like a loving couple.

“That boss is actually a pretty decent guy,” Jiang Yilan said, nodding, after listening for a while and confirming there was nothing new to hear. She then pulled Yuan Ruo away. When they were far away, Jiang Yilan spoke up.

But Yuan Ruo remained silent, completely ignoring Jiang Yilan’s words.

“What are you looking at?” Jiang Yilan asked.

Yuan Ruo pointed ahead. “This well. Something’s not right.”

Jiang Yilan looked in the direction of Yuan Ruo’s finger, seeing a perfectly ordinary well. “What’s wrong with it? I can’t see anything.”

Yuan Ruo knew Jiang Yilan didn’t understand daoist techniques, so there was no point in explaining. He instead formed a hand seal and gently touched the well’s wall. A moment later, a huge toad jumped out.

“That’s a huge toad!” Jiang Yilan’s eyes widened. It was half as tall as a person.

“It’s a toad demon!” Yuan Ruo’s longsword was already unsheathed.

“Croak, croak!” The toad lay on the ground, croaking repeatedly, its bulging appearance showing its annoyance at being disturbed.

“That thing is so ugly!” Jiang Yilan hid behind Yuan Ruo. “It’s disgusting!”

“Then you should get back!” Yuan Ruo said, and thrust his sword forward.

The toad didn’t sit idly by; it spat toxic venom and lunged at Yuan Ruo. But Yuan Ruo’s movements were agile and quick. In a few moments, he had pierced its head with his sword, killing it.

“Ew…”

“Get back!” Jiang Yilan was still expressing her disgust when Yuan Ruo suddenly lunged at her, pulling her far away. The next moment, the toad exploded, its remaining venom splattering everywhere.

“That thing exploded?” Jiang Yilan gasped. She tried to stand up but found herself in Yuan Ruo’s arms. As she looked up, she met his eyes.

“What was that noise?” The boss came out after hearing the commotion, his voice startling the two of them and causing them to quickly separate.

“Nothing… nothing!” Jiang Yilan’s eyes darted away as she spoke. She felt an inexplicable sense of guilt even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Then what was that sound…?”

“Don’t move!” Yuan Ruo stopped the boss from moving around. “Don’t let any of this venom touch you.”

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