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Gu Jiao had heard and even witnessed the scene of him being abused by others before, and now, hearing him mention it again, she suddenly felt that the past was shocking to the eye.

What the world saw of Liu Yisheng’s misery was perhaps only the tip of the iceberg, as he had grown up amid endless bullying, with the seeds of hatred long since planted deep in his heart.

He gave a self-mocking smile and said, “You shouldn’t have helped me back then, you should have let me die of illness on the streets, and then I wouldn’t have almost brought a state to ruin.”

“The State of Zhao will not fall.” Gu Jiao said.

Liu Yisheng lifted his eyes and looked straight into Gu Jiao’s gaze. “You want to go to war with me?”

Gu Jiao did not avoid his eyes in the slightest. “Yes.”

Liu Yisheng let out a mocking laugh. “If we are destined to kill each other, then why did we ever need to know each other?”

Gu Jiao said, “Saving you was my duty, killing you is my mission.”

“You are a good physician, and also a good general.” Liu Yisheng said as he set down the tea that had already gone cold and rose slowly to his feet, “So let’s make a wager instead; if you win, I will immediately withdraw my troops and never again violate the State of Zhao, but if you lose… you will agree to one condition of mine.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Jiao said, “All right.”

Liu Yisheng frowned. “You’re not even going to ask what the condition is?”

“I won’t.” Gu Jiao said.

Liu Yisheng clenched his fingers tightly. “Young Miss Gu, do you know how sinister human hearts can be? Acting like this will make me resort to any means necessary just to win against you; you should be bargaining with me, making me understand that even if I win I won’t get what I truly want, and then perhaps I wouldn’t have such an intense desire to win or lose!”

“What are we betting on?”

What Gu Jiao gave him in reply was this calm, utterly unruffled question.

“You…” Liu Yisheng choked for a moment, then turned his face aside to steady his emotions, and when he turned back again, his expression had already settled into calm composure. “I’ve heard that you are Elder Meng’s disciple, so accompany me in a game of chess, let a single match decide the outcome, and if it ends in a draw, it will still count as your victory.”

“Alright.” Gu Jiao agreed briskly and without hesitation.

Liu Yisheng looked toward Xuanyuan Xi, who was flipping through books by the shelves, and said gently, “Jing Kong, there’s a box of chess set on the second shelf of the bookcase, could you pass it to me?”

“Oh, sure.” Xuanyuan Xi replied as he found the chess set and handed it over.

He set up the board, grabbed a handful of white pieces from the box, clenched his fist, and said to Gu Jiao, “Guess for first move.”

Gu Jiao picked up a black piece. “Odd.”

Liu Yisheng opened his palm to reveal three stones, indeed an odd number, and the one who guessed correctly took black.

Black moved first.

Gu Jiao placed her opening piece at the star point in the upper right corner.

This position did not offer sufficient control of the corners, but it allowed for outward development, suiting Gu Jiao’s decisive and aggressive temperament.

Little Ten Tuan was curled comfortably on Gu Jiao’s lap, squinting contentedly.

Gu Jiao played while idly stroking the cat, and rather than feeling like a match with life and death on the line, the atmosphere instead carried a sense of relaxed ease.

Liu Yisheng raised his hand to place a piece, his gaze sweeping briefly over Little Ten.

Little Ten felt a chill along its back and burrowed even deeper into Gu Jiao’s embrace.

……

“My Lord!”

Outside the tent, General Mo hurried over with a grave expression, glanced at the tightly closed command tent behind Jun Xiuhan, and asked in a lowered voice, “What on earth is going on here?”

“You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?” Jun Xiuhan shot back.

General Mo did not dare to pick a fight with Liu Yisheng’s trusted confidants, so he scratched his head and said helplessly, “I’m just worried about His Lordship’s safety; by the way, who are those two people anyway? I thought they looked like they were wearing armor from the State of Yan, could they be reinforcements sent by the State of Yan?”

“The matter of those two people is none of your concern, and not something you can interfere with.” Jun Xiuhan said, then added coolly, “Not even I can.”

My Lord, are you jealous?

“Ahem!” General Mo cleared his throat. “We’re just about to take down the State of Zhao, we absolutely can’t afford any mishaps at this critical moment; the State of Zhao has had strong troops and fine horses these past years, and it’s only because we caught such a perfect opportunity this time that we’re in this position, and if we miss it, attacking the State of Zhao again will be far more difficult!”

With the right timing, terrain, and manpower all aligned, Marquis Xuanping was not present at court, Tang Yueshan was holding the capital, and the Crown Prince had thoroughly undermined the Gu Family Army, and such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would not come again.

“You think His Lordship hasn’t considered everything you can think of?” Jun Xiuhan said coldly.

General Mo’s eyes lit up. “So we’re continuing the attack?”

Inside the tent, Gu Jiao placed her final piece on the board. “I lost.”

Liu Yisheng said, “Only by half a point.”

Gu Jiao said, “A loss is still a loss.”

Liu Yisheng said, “I told you, I would definitely win against you.”

In truth, the victory had been hard-won, as her skill at chess was far too refined, and he had nearly exhausted his mental strength just to defeat her by half a point.

Gu Jiao said, “A wager is a wager, so state your condition.”

Xuanyuan Xi pricked up his ears.

What condition would Liu Yisheng ask of JiaoJiao?

The way he looked at JiaoJiao was different, so would he ask her to leave that bad brother-in-law and stay with him instead, or would he ask her to stand aside and not take part in the decisive battle between the State of Wei and Zhao?

Or would he go so far as to ask JiaoJiao to send troops and help him conquer the realm?

To everyone’s surprise, Liu Yisheng merely stood up, walked over to a box, and silently took out an old guqin, placing it on the table. “Could you play one more piece for me?”

Gu Jiao looked at him oddly. “That’s your condition?”

Liu Yisheng smiled faintly. “If possible, then also accompany me for a meal, and listen to a single act of opera.”

Gu Jiao accepted the guqin.

Liu Yisheng cleared the table.

With a movement of her fingers, music like heavenly sound flowed from beneath Gu Jiao’s fingertips, like notes descending from the ninth heaven, like the murmur of a mountain stream.

She played the same piece she had once performed for his farewell, “Jinghong,” but this time, she added the latter half, “Zhaoying.”

Liu Yisheng gently lifted the long flute to his lips and began to play, just as he had done many years ago on the night when she saw him off.

Xuanyuan Xi listened, completely absorbed, and it was only after quite some time that he suddenly realized he was holding an arithmetic book with familiar handwriting in his hands, its pages covered with JiaoJiao’s annotations.

Had JiaoJiao once given Liu Yisheng books like this?

That evening, the three of them shared a meal together, and afterward went to a theater house in the city to listen to a single-act opera.

The relationship between true gentlemen was as plain as water, with no effusive words and no intimate gestures, yet it carried a quiet, unspoken understanding that seeped in gently, moistening everything without a sound.

“I should be going.” Gu Jiao said.

Liu Yisheng gazed at her deeply and said, “Take care on the road.”

With this parting, who knew whether they would ever meet again in this lifetime.

Gu Jiao nodded, reluctantly returned Little Ten, whom she had held all the way, back into Liu Yisheng’s arms, and then she and Xuanyuan Xi each mounted their horses.

Liu Yisheng suddenly called out to her, and under the night sky, his eyes shone like stars as he said, “Young Miss Gu, thank you for the books you gave me back then.”

……

Three days later, the Wei Army withdrew.

The troops stationed across eleven cities pulled out completely, leaving nothing behind.

Liu Yisheng took nothing with him from the State of Zhao, and his baggage was simple, consisting of nothing more than a change of clothes, the cat held close to his chest, and the eleven books she had once given him.

I met you at the most destitute and miserable age of my life.

And you did not step coldly over my filthy, rotting body.

Instead, you bent down with your beautiful figure and reached out to me with a clean, untainted hand.

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Description:

In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succumb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.

When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.

The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.

From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.

***

Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.

After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"

Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"

Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don't abandon me, alri—”

Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

He hasn't finished his lines yet though…

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