Chapter 18: Gu Changxiao
Grandpa Ling gave her a look, and Jinsui instantly understood that Grandpa didn’t want her to reveal any past connection with this person.
When passing through the checkpoint, I heard the common folk discussing whether this person was a notorious bandit or a wicked villain. In any case, it was best not to get involved with him.
Unexpectedly, that person was quite perceptive. His sharp phoenix eyes, like a deep pool, swept over the expressions of Jinsui and Grandpa Ling, and he guessed:
“You’ve seen me before?”
His voice was mellow and gentle, like the timbre of a cello. Jinsui couldn’t help but think of his voice when he smiled; it must have been elegant and noble.
In her past life, she studied voice acting and was deeply infatuated with the voices of certain male voice actors. This person’s voice was actually more captivating than any male voice actor she had ever heard.
Seeing Jinsui remain silent for a long time, he slightly raised his eyes to look at her and let out a soft “Hm?”
Jinsui reacted extremely quickly and said, “No, I haven’t. I just thought you were handsome and couldn’t help but look a couple more times.”
Grandpa Ling quickly stepped forward and said, “I am the old Taoist Ji Xu. These two are my grandchildren, Ji Sui and Ji An. May I ask for the young master’s name?”
“Are you also captured by the bandits? Our grandfather and grandchildren are too. Do you know how these bandits will deal with us?”
Jinsui found it amusing that Jin An was silently memorizing their new names beside her.
Grandma’s surname was Ji, and Grandpa used a pseudonym for his debut performance, which was also the surname Ji, showing his deep affection.
After a moment of silence, the man said, “Gu Changxiao. Greetings, Taoist priest.”
“These bandits are capturing people to mine. They won’t kill us randomly until the mining is finished.”
Jinsui instinctively felt that this Gu Changxiao was also a pseudonym he had come up with on the spot. Of course, she wouldn’t point it out; a fake name for a fake name, it was fair.
But she was puzzled: “Since they won’t kill people randomly, how did you get these injuries, Young Master?”
Gu Changxiao did not hide it and said, “Those who try to escape are whipped one hundred times after being recaptured.”
Jin An was shocked: “One hundred whips! Isn’t that beating someone to death?”
Grandpa Ling quickly asked Jinsui, “Do we still have any wound medicine? Give some to Young Master Gu.”
The grandfather and granddaughter had a telepathic connection. Jinsui understood that Grandpa wanted to inquire about escape experiences from Gu Changxiao.
After all, failure is the mother of success. By learning from someone who failed, our own success rate would be much higher.
Jinsui quickly took out the wound medicine she had retrieved from her space. She intended to step forward to help Gu Changxiao apply it, but he refused.
After taking the wound medicine, he sniffed it and asked without changing his expression:
“What kind of medicine is this? Where did you get it from?”
Jinsui blurted out, “A physician in town prescribed it. Are you afraid it’s poisoned, Young Master?”
She saw Gu Changxiao cover his shoulder, his expression grave, but he said nothing more.
He slowly applied the medicine to himself, the yellow powder falling onto the torn flesh.
Even the three of us watching felt the pain, yet this person remained expressionless, only slightly pursing his lips.
He was truly a man of deep thoughts, as if wearing a thick mask, making it impossible for anyone to glimpse his true intentions.
After applying the medicine, he stood up and bowed to Grandpa Ling: “Thank you, Taoist priest, for your help.”
Grandpa Ling quickly helped him sit down and, like an elder, began to ask where he was from and why he was captured by the bandits.
Jinsui pretended to continue inspecting the woodshed, but she was actually eavesdropping. In the end, she realized the old fox couldn’t outsmart the young fox; this Mr. Gu was quite skilled in the art of meaningless conversation.
He answered Grandpa Ling’s questions appropriately, but no useful information was obtained.
Suddenly, a meat aroma wafted from outside the door, so strong it made one’s mouth water.
Then the door was pushed open, and a bandit, gnawing on a piece of meat with greasy hands and mouth, pointed at Grandpa Ling and said:
“Hey, you Taoist, come with me.”
Jinsui was greatly alarmed: “Where are you taking my grandfather? My grandfather has difficulty walking. Take me with you!”
The man didn’t get angry. He raised the meat in his hand and said:
“I didn’t expect you three, old and young, to be able to hunt a wolf!”
“Given this wolf meat, you, help your grandfather come along.”
He was referring to Jin An. Jinsui was both angry and aggrieved. The remaining wolf meat was preserved by her with refined salt, which was why it tasted so good.
She hadn’t finished it on the way, and now it was benefiting these bandits.
Fortunately, she had put most of it in her space. Otherwise, seeing the wolf meat fed to vicious dogs would have infuriated her.
Grandpa Ling, fearing that angering the bandits would lead to Jinsui being whipped, quickly instructed her:
“It seems they won’t kill us. You wait here patiently. Grandpa will go and see what show they are putting on.”
Unexpectedly, just as Grandpa Ling and the other two left, and Jinsui was about to try and get some information from this Mr. Gu, another bandit entered.
He pointed at Gu Changxiao and said, “Since you can stand, go to work!”
Jinsui quickly acted like a good child, staying still by the wall.
Unfortunately, it was no use. The bandit pointed at Jinsui again and said:
“The old and the young can’t do heavy labor. Don’t be lazy, go down to the mine for me.”
When he escorted Jinsui and Gu Changxiao to the mine, the miner looked at Jinsui and asked:
“Why aren’t you wearing shackles? This kid doesn’t look honest at all.”
Jinsui glanced at Gu Changxiao’s ankle, where the skin and flesh were worn away, revealing bone.
She quickly said with a fawning smile, “I’m very honest, Sir. I’ll do whatever you ask. My grandfather and younger brother are still in your hands, I promise I won’t run away.”
Unexpectedly, her attempt to appease them backfired. The miner sneered:
“I knew he was a slippery one! These newly captured fat sheep, who dares to talk to us? They don’t even dare to look at us.”
“Look at him, glancing around, with a silly grin, looking like a sly character. Quickly, lock him up!”
Jinsui was speechless. Just as she was about to argue further, she heard the dark-skinned bandit who had escorted them say:
“There are no more shackles. This will do…”
He stepped forward, opened Gu Changxiao’s shackle, and then locked one onto Jinsui’s foot. The shackle was very long, so there was no worry about it affecting their work.
However, Jinsui was despairing. How could she escape now?
She said urgently, “Sir, please unlock it quickly. We can’t work if we’re locked up!”
The miner whipped his whip: “Dare to make a fuss again and I’ll beat you to death! Get in there and work.”
Thus, Jinsui and Gu Changxiao became like grasshoppers on the same rope, no, prisoners on the same chain.
The mine was not in a cave but was open-air. The two of them, along with a group of expressionless commoners, mined stones and transported them to the valley.
Because they were chained together, the miners didn’t let them move stones, only dig them and load them onto carts.
This work was truly exhausting!
Because they dared not provide iron mining shovels, the tools were made of wood or bamboo, both difficult to use and cumbersome.
After only half an hour of work, Jinsui’s hands were covered in blood blisters, and she was so tired her face was pale and she was sweating profusely.
The dust from the stone mine billowed, and the dust in her breath made her lungs burn.
She felt dizzy and lightheaded when she looked down, but if she slowed down even a little, the supervisor’s whip would lash her back.
Just as she finished loading another cart and stood up, her vision went black, and she fell onto a pile of stones. However, her body was caught by a long arm, preventing her from falling.
The person who supported her was Gu Changxiao. He frowned, his face filled with confusion:
“You look about fifteen or sixteen, why are you so weak?”
Jinsui, afraid he would discover she was a girl, quickly said:
“My grandfather, younger brother, and I got lost in the mountains and haven’t eaten properly for days. I’m starving.”
Gu Changxiao fell silent upon hearing this. After a long while, he said:
“They serve food at night. Just bear with it. Don’t dig so hard; just pretend to work, and I’ll load the carts.”
Jinsui smiled gratefully: “Thank you, you’re a really good person.”
Gu Changxiao’s expression became dejected upon hearing this, and he gave a self-mocking laugh: “A good person, hehe.”
