For an instant, descriptions like “Autumn mountains and spring trees [1],” “bright like the moon [2],” and “n.o.ble temperament [3]” brushed through Gu Zuo's mind. To add to that, the other person was equally delighted to sign the contract. His impressions of this guy had really shot up. Nowadays, it was easy to make concessions for beautiful people. Even more, he wanted to please him… If at first his guilt to Gongyi Tianheng was seven, then it had soared directly to a ten. He felt that his recent actions were rather reprehensible.
But when this Prince Charming opened his mouth and asked: “So how do we complete this deal?” Gu Zuo was struck dumb.
He'd exhausted all of his courage to execute this plan to capture his patron, and yet, when he finally confronted him, Gu Zuo realized that for the deal's specific content — he completely forgot to think of any!
With a slight smile, this beautiful person sat across from him and politely stated: “Tonight, Gu…”
Gu Zuo promptly said: “You can call me Ah Zuo [4], Xiao Gu, or Xiao Zuo. No worries.”
In a relationship, everyone had to draw closer to properly work together!
Naturally, the handsome Tianheng nodded, stood up, and said: “Ah Zuo, allow me to arrange a room for you. I'm afraid that you may be quite tired. As for these matters, rest for now, and we can properly discuss them tomorrow at our leisure.”
Gu Zuo was moved. Of course, he quickly agreed and, with an open and naive mind, he followed him to his room.
The ready-made guest room was spotless and was even comparable to the bedroom of the Qi Family's head. For a long time, his heart was weary; finally he could let his guard down. Once he got to bed, he fell asleep.
As expected, after Gu Zuo entered his room, he didn't perceive that behind the beautiful, considerate Tianheng, a black garbed man appeared.
And this man held Tianheng in the highest esteem and his respect was unparalleled.
Observing Gu Zuo's departure, the solemn faced man kneeled: “Young master.”
Gongyi Tianheng: “Stand.”
He obediently stood: “This subordinate doesn't understand why the young master is taking care of this kid. What is the point of stringing him along?”
Gongyi Tianheng's lip curled a little, but this smile was without warmth: “I ordered an investigation into this matter. The results?”
The man said: “Already compiled. Young master, have a look.”
Saying this, he opened a slip of paper and presented it to his master.
Tianheng took it and while he read it, he walked to the other side of the estate — his study.
The other man closely followed behind.
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Gongyi Tianheng sat on a soft couch and, without urgency or delay, opened the dossier: “So, this Gu Zuo's original name was Qi Tianyou. He's…adopted from the Qi Family in Yunyang City? Also, he ought to have been a handicap?”
The man respectfully said: “Yes, young master.”
Tianheng's tone was indifferent: “If he truly was Qi Tianyou, the boy's differences are too great.”
The man's eyebrows furrowed: “This subordinate is also puzzled [5].”
Tianheng seemed to deeply ponder: “After being struck down and having a sudden change in temperament, it'd make sense.”
Indeed. In fact, when Gu Zuo came to snoop around the estate on the first day, he was already discovered by Gongyi Tianheng's guards. However, under Tianheng's orders, the guards never took the initiative to capture him. When they first reported that incident, he also ordered them to monitor Gu Zuo.
Consequently, all of Gu Zuo's antics over the past few days had been observed by Gongyi Tianheng.
Gu Zuo was too young to properly regard this world's martial artists. He could escape from the Qi Family only because they didn't have enough concrete information and he didn't have any ability to defend himself. In short, they underestimated him. Could Gongyi Tianheng reside in such an isolated estate unguarded? Where could Gu Zuo have found such an opportunity to enter?
He couldn't find a way to get in. At night, people suddenly attacked the estate and pulled away all the guards. He spent several days searching for dog holes around the perimeter wall and failed to find any, except for a single hole that night. After breaching the courtyard, because the guards didn't want to disturb Gongyi Tianheng's evening, there was no one anywhere near the inner courtyard. Without any guards, that paved the way for Gu Zuo's approach… The inexplicable pile of opportunities and errors was not a coincidence at all.
Simply put, although Gu Zuo had experience dealing with cruel people and developed a certain amount of vigilance, even with his efforts to create a fool-proof plan he still wasn't a deeply shrewd person. If it weren't for Gongyi Tianheng wanting to see Gu Zuo, the guards wouldn't have given him the chance. He couldn't rely on his own strength to “threaten” Tianheng.
After reading the dossier, Gongyi Tianheng gave it back to the man: “Dispose of it.”
The man took it and his palm erupted with a red color. The paper instantly caught fire and was consumed in a flash, leaving no ash or smoke.
His eyebrows still wrinkled: “Young master, since he was ruined, why should we leave him be?”
Gongyi Tianheng grinned slightly. He stretched out his hands in front of him and slowly moved his fingers in several bizarre motions. They seemed rather eccentric, but among the movements was a peculiar rhythm.
If Gu Zuo was there, he'd certainly discover that these were the three hand arts he'd been practicing for the past couple of days. Even though Tianheng's motions weren't smooth, there wasn't a single mistake.
After doing a few moves, Tianheng stopped: “These hand arts are strange, but quite brilliant. They ought to belong to a special cultivation method that requires considerable talent. Although I can imitate them, it is only just imitation; furthermore, without his body, it's exceedingly crude.”
The man saw this and was awed: “Young master, that you could understand these hand arts to this degree after one time is already very difficult!”
Tianheng raised an eyebrow, and noncommittally said: “Based on this, we can plainly conclude that Gu Zuo should have come across some kind of fortuitous meeting between the Qi Family dropping him and me choosing to be his patron. But the time period is too short, he shouldn't have accomplished this much…”
He recalled the kid's face when he got embarra.s.sed and lightly smiled: “He's still not certain about how to treat my illness.”
The man suddenly remembered something, his expression changed: “Young master, was that contract harmful at all?”
Gongyi Tianheng said: “Probably not. After the contract was sealed, in my heart I sensed that I wouldn't be able to harm him at all.”
Tianheng saw that the other man still didn't approve. The man groaned: “If he has any tricks up his sleeve, do I have permission to destroy him with my own two hands?”
Every contract required formidable willpower. What kind of dreadful contract could be created from an ordinary person with not a drop of martial strength in his body? What's more, he made no preparations to eliminate that Gu Zuo, and his temperament could be seen through at a glance.
He was naturally timid, but sometimes this little guy was very stubborn and could be clever in a pinch. But his intelligence was not enough to be a threat. Most importantly, he had never taken a life [6]; at least right now, he didn't have the courage to take a life.
The man's expression smoothed and grimly muttered: “My life is the young master's to command!”
Tianheng continued, unimpeded: “As for whether he can cure me… Since he dared to come here and tell me this, naturally he has some confidence. And right now, who could say that he won't be able to succeed?”
The man was about to retort, but hesitated: “For young master, the Clan heads and the other Clan members have tried everything to find a cure.”
Tianheng sighed: “Yes, from Cangyun country to even the neighboring countries, each and every talented pharmacist, they've invited them all.”
But, to no avail.
No matter who came, they all failed.
The man was silent.
Gongyi Tianheng smiled: “So, maybe this Gu Zuo is my last chance.”
His gaze fell on the man, “I'll ask that you leave him be. I am, as you know, a gambler.”
The man saw a thin thread of madness flash through Gongyi Tianheng's eyes. He lowered his head and didn't dare look upon them again.
Yes, all members of the Celestial Dragon Guard knew that the young master was a gambler.
From the beginning, when he conducted business, the young master would bet and always come out on top. And so, he raised those enterprises to their current state; even while battling his illness, the young master would still bet everything. Even though he was already —
Gongyi Tianheng was already used to his subordinate's reverence.
He closed his eyes, and his voice carried bemus.e.m.e.nt: “Moreover, even if I bet this once and lose, I have such a curious little thing accompanying me to death's door. It's very exciting… Isn't it?”
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After sleeping soundly for the night, Gu Zuo woke up, stretched his body, and felt that his mind was crystal clear.
Indeed, it had been a long time since his sleep was peaceful…
Then he remembered, he already secured his patron.
He was in such a good mood because he had a good night's sleep.
He found that he over-thought things yesterday. For the contract and everything else, he didn't have to worry about it at all! Presently, Gongyi Tianheng couldn't harm him. So long as he could supply him with a sufficient amount of medicinal ingredients, then the other things could be left to the smart people to handle.
For Gu Zuo, besides refining medicine, were there any other important things he had to deal with?
Currently the only thing he needed to do was find his patron and reveal the existence of his system. For some matters, he could ask the smart people to help him figure out.
Gu Zuo didn't laze around; after he got up, he prepared to go wash up.
Once he opened the door, he immediately discovered a neat row of people stationed outside.
He blanked for a bit before he realized that there was a group of ten year old girls [7], each one carrying a tray in their hands. Behind the maids were two strong men carrying a bathtub.
Then Gu Zuo felt a little embarra.s.sed.
That's right, he went directly to sleep yesterday and his body was still dirty. It would be very rude to see his patron as he was now.
The servants of his patron's estate…were considerably attentive.
After the bathtub was settled and the water was warm, Gu Zuo had the people place the trays in the room and drove everyone out — he wasn't accustomed to being waited upon.
Not long after, he immediately took a bath. He came out naked as the day he was born, and took the soft clothes, shaking them open to take a look. They fit his body well. After that, he changed his clothes with satisfaction, quickly cleaned up, and left the room.
“Pardon me, I want to meet young master Gongyi…”
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[1] 濯濯如三月柳, a phrase from the novel <花月痕>> by Wei Xiuren.
[2] 皎皎如月, from the poem <短歌行>> by Cao Cao.
[3] 光风霁月, light breeze and clear moon, an idiom for a n.o.ble or benevolent character. I'm not sure where the entire phrase comes from though.
[4] 啊 - A or Ah, a kinship term used to promote familiarity.
[5] 百思不得其解 - Bai si bu de qi jie, to think about something for a long time, but still not understand.
[6] 沾血 - Zhan xue, from what I understand, it would be “stained by blood,” or taking a life.
[7] 黄毛丫头 - Huang mao ya tou, silly little girls, though 丫头 can mean servant girl.
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T/N: Alert, alert! The golden thigh has a black belly, ah!
Do you think I should keep the name of Tianheng's private guards as the Celestial Dragon Guard, the Tianlong Guard, or some other variation?
Also, I translated the author's explanation for this story's complete ranking system for martial artists and pharmacists. You can find my translation on the .
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