Luzhou-Mond

Kapitel 79

Uncle Wang agreed and took his son out the door. Aunt Wang tidied the house, while the young lady of the Wang family sat to the side, playing with the baby. Yin Yan pulled me aside and asked, "Huai'en, we still have a long way to go. What do you need to do?"

I smiled mysteriously: "Didn't you complain that we were walking too slowly? Maybe we can speed things up today."

The village wasn't big; within the time it takes to eat a meal, Uncle Wang and his son returned one after the other and took me to see the dogs. Money makes things easier, so I picked out twenty of the stronger dogs and led them back to the Wang family's house. The dogs barked incessantly along the way, creating quite a scene. When Yin Yan first saw so many dogs, her face turned pale.

The villagers are all self-reliant and know a little bit of everything. I drew a picture of a sled and asked Uncle Wang and the others to help make it. Soon, two simple sleds were finished. When Yin Yan saw the sleds, she seemed to understand something and looked at me with bright eyes. I smiled triumphantly and prepared to harness the dogs to the sleds, but the dogs weren't as obedient as those on TV. After a lot of frantic work, I finally managed to harness them to the sleds, but I couldn't get them to move in one direction together, dragging the sleds around in circles on the ground.

Looking at this chaotic scene, my enthusiasm quickly cooled, and I was speechless, wondering what was going on.

Yin Yan pursed her lips, shook her head, and went to fetch the horse.

After thanking me and leaving a few pieces of silver, Yin Yan led her horse out of the Wang family's gate. I wasn't willing to waste my morning's effort, so I dragged the pack of dogs, which I called a "rabble," out with me. On the way, Yin Yan leisurely led the two horses, while I and those twenty unruly dogs frequently engaged in a tug-of-war, attracting onlookers. I was so embarrassed I just wanted to cover my head, but I never considered abandoning them. They wouldn't let me have it easy, and I wouldn't let them get away with it either—not even a chance to be stewed in the pot!

"Huai'en, when are you going to stop this nonsense!" Yin Yan stopped in her tracks, looking both impatient and amused.

I persisted, saying, "Once we subdue them, we'll be much faster."

Silver Swallow scoffed, "By the time we subdue them, I'll probably already be back at the manor!"

"Give me one more day. If it's still not working by tomorrow, I'll kill them all, stew them into soup, and pickle them into jerky to nourish us," I said confidently, though I had no idea what to expect. I just didn't want to give up such an excellent means of transportation in the snow.

The dogs started arguing with me again, protesting and refusing to move forward. Luckily, they were domesticated dogs and not aggressive, otherwise, if they had ganged up on me, I would have been in serious trouble. I squatted down, holding my head in my hands, feeling a terrible headache.

"Young lady, this won't work." A gentle male voice sounded above my head. I looked up in surprise and saw a young man in a blue robe. He was dressed in thin clothes, but he didn't seem to feel cold. He looked at me with a smile. His handsome face seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen it before.

But he called me "girl"! I looked down at my outfit, which was clearly a flawless men's suit. Even Aunt Wang praised me for being handsome.

“Young lady, the sleds are pulled by specially trained snow dogs from the North. Even with training, it would be difficult for ordinary dogs to pull the sleds properly. You shouldn’t waste your energy.” The man in blue looked at my sled again. “Your sled looks rather strange too.”

I looked at the man with a gentle smile but such a blunt way of speaking with a mix of frustration and resentment. He pretended not to see me and continued, "The roads here are uneven. Even the best snowmobiles and snow dogs can't travel like they do on the snowfield."

Unable to bear it any longer, I finally shouted, "Enough! I'm going to kill them all!" Silver Swallow laughed heartily beside me.

Angrily, I untied the ropes from the dogs' necks, and they immediately scattered. I kicked the sled to the side of the road, then grabbed a horse, hopped on, and spurred it on. I thought bitterly, "Even if the dogs aren't up to par, why compare my sled to that? When I was a kid, my dad made me sleds like this when I skied in the snow. Don't compare it to that damn snowmobile!"

Yin Yan mounted her horse and slowly followed, her clear laughter ringing out behind her. I angrily wanted to cover my ears, but a flash of green appeared before my eyes. It was the man who blocked my way, smiling and saying, "Miss, do you really not remember me?"

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 63

Chapter word count: 3524 Update time: 09-08-16 12:33

I glared at him, but he said, "You're my savior, young lady."

Saving someone? In all my life, I think I've only saved someone once... I looked at the man in blue more closely. He looked somewhat like the last one, but not quite. That one was weak and scholarly, like a young scholar. This one... his features were basically the same, but his temperament was completely different. He was more like Lin Zhao, like a free-spirited and unrestrained young swordsman.

"Are you the person from Qingxin Temple?" I asked hesitantly.

The man in blue clasped his hands and smiled, "Miss, you seem to remember now. My name is Gan Lin, and I was saved by you at Qingxin Temple."

I shook my head and said, "They're very different. Are you sure you're him?"

Gan Lin pursed her lips helplessly, her eyes silently questioning me: Is the difference really that big?

Yin Yan, growing impatient, urged, "Stop babbling and hurry up. We've already wasted most of today's time."

I politely clasped my hands in greeting to Gan Lin and said, "I must continue on my way, farewell, until we meet again." With that, Yin Yan and I continued our journey on horseback. There were quite a few people traveling this stretch of road, and the snow had been compacted a bit. Compared to the previous few days, Yin Yan and I were traveling relatively quickly. We arrived in town at nightfall and finally found an inn to stay in.

Staying in a guesthouse was cozy, but I was still an outsider and didn't want to bother them with many things. It was different at the inn; money could solve everything. The first thing we did upon entering was order hot water, intending to take a nice soak first, and everything else would have to wait. However, the hot bath made me sleepy, and since I hadn't slept much the night before, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to get out of the hot water and roll into bed before falling asleep.

I slept soundly through the night and woke up refreshed at daybreak. I stretched my legs, bent my back, did some exercises, and practiced my punches and kicks. My stomach started growling with hunger, and I realized I hadn't eaten dinner before going to bed. When I got back to my room, Yinyan was still fast asleep, so I didn't disturb her. I went downstairs and ordered breakfast. Just as I sat down at the table, a figure in green sat down opposite me.

I pointed at him in surprise: "You, what are you doing here?"

"You saved me, so I'll follow you from now on. I said I'd repay you." Gan Lin said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but it just sounded so awkward to me.

I nudged him and said, "Hey, sir, I'm doing this for free, so you don't need to repay me." Please, don't try to offer yourself in return; I can't accept that.

Gan Lin chuckled and said, "You don't want me to repay your kindness, that's you. I want to repay your kindness myself, that's me."

What kind of person insists on repaying others? Unless they have ulterior motives.

So I turned cold and said, "Brother Gan, my saving you was purely accidental. Don't try to repay my kindness with enmity. You won't get anything out of me."

Gan Lin looked at me with a pained expression: "Girl, is that how you see me? How could I, Gan Lin, the renowned number one swordsman in the martial world, do such a thing?"

The number one swordsman in the martial world? Turns out he's a respectable swordsman. But looking at him, he doesn't seem like the number one swordsman at all. I didn't see his sword, and he wasn't dressed in white like Ximen Chuixue, seemingly ready to take flight. In my mind, all swordsmen should be modeled after Ximen Chuixue.

I glanced at him disdainfully and said dismissively, "Are you the number one swordsman? Where's your sword?"

Gan Lin looked at him like he didn't know anything about swordsmanship: "A true swordsman doesn't hold the sword in his hand, but in his heart." That sounds so familiar. Was it Jin Yong or Gu Long? It's been so long, I can't remember. But it must be a pretty classic line.

Sigh, I've gone off on a tangent with him. What does it matter to me whether he's a true swordsman or not? What I want to talk to him about is repaying a debt of gratitude. I forcefully steered the conversation back on track: "Young Master Gan, please tell me your reasons for insisting on repaying my kindness."

Gan Lin didn't answer me directly: "Why are you so afraid of me coming to repay your kindness, young lady?"

I sighed and said, "As the saying goes, one should always be wary of others. Young Master Gan's eagerness to repay a debt of gratitude is certainly something to be wary of."

Gan Lin shook his head: "If I told you that I am traveling alone without any companions and just wanted to travel with you and help you with any troubles along the way, would you believe me?"

"How do you know where I'm going? That I'll definitely be going the same way as you?" Nobody would believe him.

Breakfast was served just in time. Gan Lin took a steamed bun without ceremony, took a big bite, and said, "I am a wanderer with no one to rely on. I often go wherever I want. Although I don't know where you want to go, it doesn't matter where you go."

I watched Gan Lin quietly. I didn't believe his words, but the faint melancholy in his expression was genuine. After thinking for a while, I thought, what does it matter whether what he said is true or false? Let him follow if he wants. If he really has some ulterior motive, even if I don't let him follow openly, he'll still follow me secretly. Didn't he follow me here yesterday? I'd better just let him follow openly.

After taking a sip of hot porridge, I emphasized to Gan Lin, "We can travel together, but we don't expect you to repay our kindness. We are just fellow travelers."