Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Ah, it's you! It seems we are truly fated to meet," said Wu Dayong, accompanied by his servant. Upon seeing Qi Chong, he approached as if greeting an old friend, reaching out to shake his hand.
Qi Chong sidestepped, avoiding him as if he were a plague.
"Brother, I assure you I'm not a bad person. This morning was just a misunderstanding," Wu Dayong pleaded.
"Goodbye, then. We may never meet again," Qi Chong replied, attempting to leave.
Wu Dayong reached out to stop him, earnestly saying, "Brother, I truly just want to be friends. Why must you keep me at arm's length?"
Qi Chong couldn't understand why he was so persistent; the only explanation he could think of was that Wu Dayong was still hung up on Yu Chunmiao.
Thinking this way made Qi Chong angry. He grabbed Wu Dayong by the collar and warned, "If you keep bothering me, don't blame me for being rude."
The servant hurriedly stepped forward to pull Qi Chong's hand away. "How can you treat my master like this?"
The rest of his words were swallowed by a cold glare from Qi Chong that felt like an ice blade.
Wu Dayong remained unfazed and patted Qi Chong's hand. "Let's talk this out. We're in the county; fighting in public will attract the Officer."
Qi Chong considered this; if it meant protecting Yu Chunmiao, he could let his anger slide for now and released Wu Dayong.
Wu Dayong maintained his playful demeanor. "That's more like it! I only want to be friends; nothing more."
"No need for that. Farewell!" Qi Chong decisively took his wife's hand and tried to leave, but Wu Dayong blocked their path again.
Seeing Qi Chong about to lose his temper once more, Wu Dayong quickly added, "I mean no harm! I just noticed your impressive skills and wanted to recruit you for the army. With your abilities, you could excel in no time!"
"Is having skills all it takes to join the army?" Qi Chong retorted. "I’m just strong; I don’t have any special skills. If you’re capable, have the Yamen lock me up in a military camp; otherwise, I won’t join any army nonsense."
In this era, unless there was a catastrophic war that threatened the nation, conscription was not enforced. Men could pay money to avoid military service.
With peace reigning and the court happy to see everyone spending money to avoid conscription, there were no battles for soldiers to fight or opportunities for glory. Those who joined the army were typically those who could barely make ends meet at home and wanted to reduce the number of mouths to feed and taxes owed.
As such, life in the military camp often meant just passing time. This was why Wu Dayong valued Qi Chong’s talents so much when he met him; he genuinely wanted to befriend him.
However, feeling helpless, Wu Dayong realized he couldn't guarantee that following him would lead to success for Qi Chong and could only watch as they walked away. Nonetheless, his desire to befriend someone with such skills was sincere.
Yu Chunmiao looked up at Qi Chong beside her and asked, "Are you going to join the army?"
She already knew the answer but wanted to confirm it nonetheless.
Qi Chong leaned down and whispered in her ear, "What a joke! I have no intention of mixing with a bunch of men. Living with you is better than anything else."
For some reason, Yu Chunmiao couldn’t shake the feeling that Wu Dayong would try to take Qi Chong away from her. She tightened her grip around his arm and teased him with a hint of threat, "If you dare, I’ll run off to a place where you can’t find me and live with someone else."
Qi Chong knew she was joking, but it still weighed heavily on his heart.
"How about you break my leg instead? It should be pretty easy to do right now."
Yu Chunmiao burst into laughter, and the topic was dropped.
After wandering around for an entire evening, nothing on the streets inspired Yu Chunmiao. Having spent her whole life in Old Pine Village, she was unaware of what the outside world had to offer, leaving a gap in their shared memories.
This time, they didn’t stay at that expensive inn; instead, they chose a modest one that cost twenty coins for the night. There was only one room, and they had to pay extra for the lights at night. The bed creaked loudly, and they could hear the voices from the neighboring room.
Comment 0 Comment Count