Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 20: “I Want A Love Gu—To Make Someone Fall For Me.”

　　Dusk settled in, and birds returned to the forest.

　　Without electricity in ancient times, people typically retired home at sundown, and nightlife was nearly nonexistent.

　　Only places like taverns and brothels still glowed with light at this hour.

　　An Jiu tiptoed down from the second floor and approached the inn's front desk. The shop assistant was dozing behind the counter, and she gently knocked on the wooden surface.

　　Startled awake, the young man quickly asked, “What can I do for you, miss?”

　　“I need to go outside the city. Please get someone to drive the carriage for me,” An Jiu said.

　　The shop assistant hesitated upon hearing that. “It’s quite late… If you leave the city now, and the gates close, you might not be able to get back in.”

　　An Jiu wanted to say, I don’t want to go either, but I have no choice.

　　But she held back, said nothing, and instead silently placed a piece of silver on the counter.

　　The shop assistant immediately beamed, swiftly slipping the silver into his sleeve, and changed his tone, “Please wait a moment, miss—I’ll get someone to fetch the horse for you right away.”

　　Soon, the carriage was ready outside the inn. The driver was a quiet, honest-looking old man called Uncle Zhang, according to the shop assistant. He was the stablehand employed by the inn to take care of the horses and seemed quite trustworthy.

　　An Jiu felt a bit more at ease and climbed into the carriage, telling Uncle Zhang, “Go out the west gate to Yizhuang.”

　　Uncle Zhang didn’t say a word or ask any questions. He simply snapped the reins and set the carriage in motion.

　　Alone in the dimly lit carriage, An Jiu sat quietly. Through the parted curtain, she could see the soft, flickering glow of candlelit lanterns hanging outside the houses lining the street. The warm yellow light looked unusually gentle, like a trickling river of stars.

　　But once they passed the city gates, that glowing river came to an abrupt end. What remained was the pitch-black stillness of night.

　　An Jiu was remarkably calm. Almost too calm.

　　Even though Pei Ji had clearly hinted she should come to Yizhuang, even though she knew she was about to do something “stupid” like seeking out a Love Gu, and even more stupidly end up getting caught by the Gu master—she wasn’t angry at all.

　　After all, didn’t she know Pei Ji by now?

　　He just wanted to reenact the hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress moment again. Because in the original book, An Jiu fell for He Ziqing after he rescued her. So Pei Ji thought doing the same would make her fall for him too?

　　On the carriage ride earlier, the moment he brought up the Love Gu, An Jiu had guessed exactly what he was planning.

　　She had once been puzzled—why didn’t Pei Ji try to avoid the original plot? But now it was clear: he was using his foreknowledge from being reborn to execute his own plans.

　　It was just like how some characters who transmigrated into books didn’t fear encountering the original plotline—in fact, what they feared more was not encountering it. Because only by following the plot could they predict the future and take control of the situation. Pei Ji was no different.

　　He already knew all of the Gu master’s methods, and perhaps even exactly where the man was hiding. Even if An Jiu were to be captured, he’d be able to find her smoothly and rescue her just in time.

　　Since he’d planned everything out so thoroughly, An Jiu naturally had to play her part in the act.

　　At their core, they were the same—Pei Ji wanted to use this damsel-in-distress moment to win her over, and she had the exact same intention in reverse.

　　So when he mentioned the Love Gu in the carriage, An Jiu had only been stunned for a moment before quickly reacting with the perfect response.

　　Perhaps it was precisely because they were so alike that she found herself admiring him.

　　In the dark, her red lips curled slightly—no one could see the smile spreading across her face at that moment.

　　Uncle Zhang was a skilled driver. Even at night, he kept the carriage moving steadily beneath the starlit sky. The journey was smooth, and they soon arrived near the Yizhuang on the city’s western outskirts.

　　An Jiu told him to stop in the middle of the road, not going all the way to the Yizhuang itself.

　　She knew that right now, there were definitely several Huashan disciples hidden nearby.

　　Pei Ji had given them the key clues and warned that the Gu master would appear tonight. Surely the Huashan sect wouldn’t be that foolish.

　　An Jiu stepped down from the carriage alone and began walking toward the Yizhuang.

　　Uncle Zhang called out from behind, “Miss, it’s not safe here. Don’t wander too far alone.”

　　An Jiu turned back and said to the old man, “You don’t have to wait for me. Take the carriage and go back. If I haven’t returned by tomorrow, then let my companions know.”

　　But she figured it likely wouldn’t drag on until morning—otherwise, how could Pei Ji put on the act of being a divine doctor in front of Lin Qingyan and the others, while also pretending to be Fei Yi and rescuing her?

　　He couldn’t exactly split himself in two.

　　Most likely, he planned to deal with the Gu master tonight and conveniently stage a rescue along the way.

　　Uncle Zhang hesitated, unwilling to leave. In his eyes, this young girl was delicate and frail-looking—leaving her alone outside the city made him uneasy.

　　An Jiu smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry, elder. I’m not an ordinary girl. You can head back now—staying here any longer might be dangerous.”

　　Hearing that, the old man understood. Pinglan City was full of martial artists—this girl was probably someone from the jianghu too.

　　The old man drove the carriage away, and An Jiu continued forward.

　　She slowly approached the outer edge of the Yizhuang. It was eerily quiet inside, not a single light in sight. The night wind rustled the nearby mountain forest, producing low, mournful wails. On the dead tree just outside the yard, a few crows perched silently on the branches, necks tucked in as they dozed.

　　An Jiu guessed the courtyard was likely filled with hidden people right now. But in order to catch their prey, they remained out of sight.

　　She didn’t alert them. After glancing around, she spotted a dense patch of underbrush across from the Yizhuang and quietly slipped into it.

　　Once the fighting broke out, she would rush into the fray, get “captured” by the Gu master, and the plan would proceed perfectly.

　　An Jiu had her plan down to the last detail.

　　What she didn’t expect, however, was that her movements—ducking into the shrubbery and crouching behind the bushes—had already been seen by a pair of eyes hidden deep in the darkness.

　　The man was none other than Wu Sheng, the Gu master behind the “living dead” incident. Each night, when he manipulated the dead, Wu Sheng would hide in this forest—close enough to the Yizhuang yet not easily discovered.

　　Tonight, as usual, he had just arrived—only to find his usual hiding place already occupied. His alertness immediately spiked. He thought someone had discovered his tracks and come searching the woods.

　　Not daring to act rashly, Wu Sheng first released a Gu insect.

　　Nighttime already made hiding easy—especially for something as tiny as a bug. The Gu insect quickly crawled toward the figure behind the shrubbery, and moments later, Wu Sheng sensed the feedback it sent back to him.

　　He was surprised.

　　The person had already fallen victim to the Gu? So quickly? Could it be… they weren’t here for him after all?

　　Meanwhile, An Jiu had been sitting quietly against the tree trunk when a sudden sharp sting pricked her lower leg, like a mosquito bite. She reached down to lightly swat at it and muttered under her breath, “How are there mosquitoes in April already…”

　　Before she could finish speaking, her whole body suddenly went limp, and her vision started to blur.

　　Her heart skipped a beat. Something was very wrong.

　　That hadn’t been a mosquito—it might’ve been a Gu insect!

　　Could she have encountered the Gu master before the Huashan Sect disciples did?!

　　God, if only she’d stayed in bed! Why was her luck always this bad?!

　　Her mind remained completely alert, but her limbs were growing weaker and heavier. Even so, her heightened senses still picked up the faint rustle of footsteps in the grass behind her.

　　Someone was approaching.

　　A dark shadow crouched down in front of her, and a hand reached out—icy cold fingers gripped her chin.

　　“Who sent you?” a hoarse voice asked in a low tone.

　　An Jiu heard her own mouth answer sluggishly, “No… no one. I came… by myself…”

　　???

　　What kind of ancient truth serum was this?! Since when did wuxia worlds get so unscientific?!

　　“What’s your name?” the person asked again.

　　“I am… An Jiu.”

　　The figure felt her pulse, his voice tinged with surprise: “Just an ordinary person? Did you come here by coincidence?”

　　“N-no… I came to att…” Just as she was about to finish her sentence, she abruptly stopped. Though the man didn’t seem to know why, a system notification suddenly echoed in An Jiu’s mind:

　　【Warning: The host must not reveal any information related to the system!】

　　The man, getting nothing more from her, changed his question: “Do you know who I am?”

　　“Yes… you are Wu Sheng…”

　　The surrounding air instantly turned cold. The fingers gripping her chin suddenly tightened, sending a sharp pain shooting through her jaw.

　　The shadowed figure’s tone dropped several degrees, icy and pressing: “How do you know me?”

　　“The Huashan Sect knows… they’re lying in wait at the Yizhuang… planning to catch you…”

　　In her mind, An Jiu looked utterly devastated.

　　She only knew Wu Sheng would come tonight, but not from this direction! The book never said where he hid—how was she supposed to know she’d run straight into him?!

　　Now the whole plan was ruined. Wu Sheng knew the Huashan Sect was setting a trap—there’s no way he’d walk right into it anymore.

　　She was doomed!

　　All she could hope for now was that big boss Pei Ji would be reliable enough to come rescue her quickly.

　　After all, it’s just a repeat of a dungeon he’s already cleared, right? Should be easier this time... right?

　　As expected, upon hearing her words, Wu Sheng let out a cold snort and spat two words in a low voice: “Huashan…”

　　Then he raised his hand and tapped her neck lightly. Darkness suddenly swept over An Jiu’s vision as she completely lost consciousness.

　　—

　　When she came to again, An Jiu found herself lying on the ground, surrounded by stone walls — a mountain cave. The sky outside the cave mouth was still dark, silhouettes of trees layered one upon another, and occasionally, a long and lonely bird call echoed through the quiet forest.

　　Where was this remote wilderness? Could Pei Ji even find her now?

　　An Jiu sat silently for a while. Her body still felt weak, but the ground was freezing after lying there so long. With great effort, she managed to push herself up and leaned against the stone wall, peering deeper into the cave.

　　Throughout the process, she noticed something odd — her sense of touch had become incredibly sensitive. For instance, when her palm pressed against the ground and hit a tiny grain of sand, it actually hurt. Normally, she wouldn’t even notice something like that.

　　When her fingertips brushed against the uneven surface of the stone wall, a faint prickle of pain followed.

　　It was as if her sensory perception had been amplified several times. In an instant, she’d become the princess in The Princess and the Pea — her skin far too delicate to bear even the slightest pressure or friction.

　　No wonder he hadn’t bothered to tie her up and had simply tossed her on the floor.

　　In this state, there was no way An Jiu could escape. A brush with a twig, a bump against a stone — things that would be nothing to others felt excruciating to her.

　　The cave wasn’t big. An Jiu was near the entrance, and deeper inside, a fire crackled. Beside it sat a man in black — the gu master, Wu Sheng.

　　Seeing her awake, he stood and walked over to her, towering above as he asked, “You’re just an ordinary person. Since you know I’m Wu Sheng, why aren’t you afraid?”

　　An Jiu tilted her head to look up at him. Wu Sheng hadn’t covered his face, and by the firelight in the cave, she got a good look at it.

　　He was a middle-aged man with a weathered and gloomy appearance, probably in his forties. His skin was a deathly pale shade from lack of sunlight, and his facial features were sharp and defined. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he must have been quite handsome in his youth — if not for the pitch-black irises of his eyes, which gave off an oppressive intensity when he looked at people.

　　An Jiu fought to suppress the tremors in her fingertips. The strange pain had receded, leaving behind a trail of faint itching, like ants gnawing at her skin.

　　She drew in a breath and said, “I heard you gu masters can create a love gu. I want one — I want to make someone fall in love with me.”

________________

Author’s Note:

Pei Pei: I want to stage a damsel-in-distress rescue.

An Jiu: Doing my best to act along with your script~~~ Wait, damn! The scene collapsed!

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