When a "Sea King" is Bound to a System [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 14

In the middle of the night, Jiang Yan was awakened by a painful sensation.

Considering that there was someone next to her, she could only bite down on the blanket, enduring the painful cracking of her bones.

Although she had been prepared, this was too painful!

A quarter of an hour later, the pain slowly receded. Jiang Yan slowly stretched out her hand from under the blanket and looked at it in the faint moonlight. There was no change.

She then felt her forehead. The fever was gone, and her hand was sticky and covered in sweat.

In order not to disturb Jiang Zhen, Jiang Yan moved to the side. Before she could let out a sigh of relief, a hand was placed on her waist.

“Sleep tight. Don’t move around.”

Jiang Yan looked over. Jiang Zhen’s eyes were still closed. The sentence sounded more like sleep talk.

She remained still, afraid of any physical contact with Jiang Zhen, who might smell her sweat.

She barely slept the rest of the night, staying awake until dawn. When she got up the next day, she was met with a minute of staring from Jiang Zhen.

‘Do I have two very exaggerated dark circles under my eyes?’

Jiang Yan touched her eyes, just about to explain, when she heard Jiang Zhen say:

“It seems that egg wasn’t for nothing last night.”

After saying that, she was the first to leave, leaving Jiang Yan with a blank expression.

Filled with confusion, Jiang Yan put on her shoes and went to the main room.

Li Erping also looked surprised when he saw her. He took a long time to say, “Miss Jiang, are you… all better?”

Jiang Yan nodded: “Yes, I’m all better. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Li.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Li Erping pointed to the bowls on the table and said, “I just made them. They’re still hot. Jin’er said you have a long journey, so you should eat something to stay warm.”

Jiang Yan walked over. As she passed by Jiang Zhen, she suddenly realized that Jiang Zhen seemed to be a little shorter.

Usually, her shoulders were a whole section lower than Jiang Zhen’s, but today the gap had narrowed.

Thinking of something, Jiang Yan turned to Li Erping and said, “Uncle Li, do you have a mirror?”

Li Erping quickly replied, “Yes, yes, I do. But it’s been a long time since I used it, so I don’t know where it is. Miss Jiang, you eat first. I’ll go look for it.”

Jiang Yan nodded and sat down calmly.

In reality, she was almost certain that her soul had completely merged with her body. But she didn’t know what changes had happened to her appearance that caused everyone to be so surprised.

Halfway through her meal, Li Erping came in with a bronze mirror. It had a thick layer of dust on it and looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time.

Li Erping wiped it clean with a rag and handed it to Jiang Yan.

“This is the only mirror. Miss Jiang, please make do with it.”

Jiang Yan took it with a smile, and when she saw the face in the mirror, she was slightly taken aback.

The change wasn’t huge. It was just that her facial features seemed to have been magnified proportionally, and her face was more defined.

No wonder Jiang Zhen had stared at her for a full minute.

Jiang Yan returned the mirror to Li Erping, calmly sat down, and continued to eat.

Jiang Zhen said nothing from beginning to end. After she was done eating, she went to bid farewell to Auntie Li.

Auntie Li held her hand and cried, stuffing the only few eggs in their house into her hand.

“Jin’er, I don’t know when you’ll be back after you leave. You must take good care of yourself. If you are ever wronged, just come back. Your uncle and I may not be rich, but we will never let you go hungry.”

Jiang Zhen accepted the eggs, her eyes misty.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I will come to see you often.”

Li Erping put a very old money bag into Jiang Zhen’s luggage, and limped out to the courtyard to harness the horse and bring it to the door.

Jiang Yan watched everything, saying nothing.

She wiped her hand across the table and walked out with Jiang Zhen.

This time, Jiang Zhen did not carry her into the carriage but let her climb in by herself.

After she was settled, she cracked the whip on the horse’s backside. The horse started running, and the fine snow on the ground scattered as they gradually moved away from the Li family’s small house.

Jiang Yan lifted the curtain and glanced at Jiang Zhen. Her face had returned to its usual coldness, as if the gentleness of yesterday was just a dream.

Li Erping stood at the door for a long time. Only after the heavy snow had once again covered the tracks left by the carriage wheels did he turn and walk back into the house.

On the table, there were two stacks of banknotes, one on the left and one on the right, both with the exact same amount.

He sat at the table, not saying a word for a long time.

Jiang Yan was someone who believed in repaying a small kindness with a great one. The Li family had not only given them two meals but had also raised Jiang Zhen for a year. This kindness was worth much more than five hundred taels of silver.

As for Jiang Zhen leaving half of her savings, the reason was simple: she wanted to allow Uncle and Auntie Li to live out their old age in peace.

The carriage sped along, and Jiang Yan was tossed back and forth. Her bones felt like they were about to fall apart.

The wind and snow grew stronger, and the cold wind howled. Traveling at this time was truly not a wise choice.

Jiang Yan got out of the carriage and said to Jiang Zhen, “Elder Sister, I’ll take over. You go in and rest for a while.”

“Stay in the carriage obediently. Don’t cause trouble.”

Jiang Zhen’s voice came with the wind and snow, giving her an unreal feeling.

Jiang Yan sullenly shut her mouth.

She wasn’t trying to cause trouble, but she really didn’t know how to drive a carriage.

“Can’t you make the snow stop?” she complained to Oscar, pulling him out.

Oscar was shocked. The hosts these days were getting harder and harder to serve. She dared to make such a request!

[Do you think I’m a fairy? The snow can stop just like that.]

“You’re a useless system! What good are you!”

Oscar went into a Buddha-like state. He didn’t argue with her and simply blocked her messages.

Jiang Yan cursed for a couple of sentences. Before she could even get to the third sentence, the carriage suddenly came to a screeching halt. She slammed into the crossbar, almost breaking her nose.

She clutched her nose, her eyes filled with tears. Just as she was about to lift the curtain to look outside, a hand forcibly pushed her back inside.

“Don’t make a sound, and don’t show your head!”

Before Jiang Zhen’s words had even finished, a sinister and lewd laugh rang out.

“Little beauty, where are you rushing off to in this snowy weather?”

“I have business in Jingcheng. I’m just passing through your esteemed territory. Please be so kind as to let us pass, brave heroes.”

Jiang Zhen’s face was calm, but she was secretly gripping the short sword she had tucked behind her waist.

The five men were clearly bandits from a nearby mountain. The weather was cold, and they were out of food, so they came down to rob travelers.

If she were alone, these few people would not be a threat. But there was a little thing in the carriage who didn’t know martial arts. If one of them were to get to Jiang Yan while she wasn’t paying attention, that little thing would be a fat piece of meat for the tiger’s mouth.

The four men looked at each other, their eyes lecherous.

They had been on the mountain for a long time without any meat. Now that they had encountered a beautiful young lady, there was no way they would let her go.

“Little sister, Jingcheng is in a state of chaos. What is there to go there for? Why don’t you come back with us and live a peaceful life? We big brothers will treat you well.”

Jiang Zhen’s eyes grew cold, colder than the wind and snow.

She pulled out the dagger from her waist, pushed off the horse’s back, and flew in front of the bandits. She attacked quickly and fiercely.

When the bandits saw something was wrong, they all retreated. The four men formed a circle, trapping Jiang Zhen inside. Another man, holding a large saber, stood in front of her. He wiped the blood from his face and said viciously, “You dirty wench! You’re refusing a toast to drink a forfeit!”