Chapter Thirty-Four: The Gift

  Liu followed the cloud and said half a sentence before falling silent again.

  Looking at the mountain goddess in a cassock skirt, Gu Yinghua always felt that there was some mysterious door inside the Temple of the Heavenly Maiden, otherwise how could she have waves of coolness on her body? Even the entire Temple of the Heavenly Maiden gave Gu Yinghua an extremely mysterious feeling. Since Gu Yinghua entered this temple, she always felt that something was not quite right, as if something had happened to her.

  She felt she should get to the bottom of things: "What exactly happened, and who built this Temple of the Heavenly Maiden in the first place?"

  Liu followed the cloud and lowered her head, taking out the remaining dry food and pastries from a small package on her body: "Take a good rest, the water outside is sweet, this one is also sweet!"

  "Hmm!" Gu Yinghua swallowed a piece of sweet and slightly greasy rock sugar, sitting with Liu Suoyun in front of the incense table at the Tian Nu Temple. She was still chewing on her snack while curiously looking at the goddess in the temple: "Is she your mother?"

  Although such a beauty is only made of clay, it can still reveal the owner's original charm. At least this goddess should be extremely gentle to Liu Su Yun, and she is a truly good mother.

  "I don't have parents!" Liu Suizhen still didn't want to say much: "I've been living with my mother since I was a child!"

  "Is that your stepmother?"

  Liu Suiyun didn't say a word and fell silent again. It wasn't until then that Gu Yinghua realized the amount of sweet osmanthus sugar was too little, and she had already eaten it all in just three to five mouthfuls. She took another look at Liu Suiyun's only remaining package.

  Although Liu Suizhuan had gone to great lengths to bring this backpack to the Temple of the Heavenly Maiden, the dry rations and snacks inside were now woefully insufficient.

  Gu Yinghua thought her appetite was great, she could finish all the food in the bag by herself, she was really starving, how many years had it been since she'd felt this way?

  However, she didn't dare to eat more. Liu Suoyun ate even less than herself. From the Tiger-killing Ridge to Yuanzhou, there was still nearly half of the journey left. Along this road, apart from some wild fruits and game meat, they probably relied on the food in the saddle bag to get by.

  At the thought of this, she couldn't help but miss Huo Qianshu, thinking of his tall figure and those skilled hands. No matter what ingredients fell into his hands, they could all be turned into truly delicious dishes.

  But she and Liu Suiyun were both children who grew up in excessive care, even if they could cook some simple ingredients, their craftsmanship was also pitiful.

  "If Fire Uncle were here, it would be great!" Gu Yinghua said somewhat despondently: "We wouldn't have to starve our bellies."

  Liu followed the cloud, slowly chewing his food, and thought of Huo Qianshu's last moment in life, which was also very sad: "Yes, on the road ahead, we have to be prepared for hunger. I really didn't expect that Uncle Huo liked...".

  Liu Suiyun's words stirred up Gu Yinghua's worries, she lowered her head and looked at the bluestone pavement, trying to see some way out: "Yes, I will pass on this longing to my brother, I don't know what he'll think when he finds out... You men are all like that, you like to hide your worries in your heart, rather than say them out loud."

  Liu Suiyun didn't respond, but Gu Yinghua went on to say: "We've been together for so long, at least tell me about your mother?"

  "Thank you!" Liu Suoyun gently pressed her index finger to her lips, making a gesture of refusal: "My big sister, you have to allow me to have my own private space, right?"

  Gu Yinghua looked at the sunset outside the Temple of Heaven with a somewhat melancholic expression: "Speak up, I'm very curious. Perhaps we won't see tomorrow's sunrise."

  She became more curious, and Liu Suizhen was even less willing to say: "Miss Gu, I've said it before, I don't owe a single penny of debt. Even if I die, I have to send you to Yuanzhou. Why can't the lower class people have their own little space?"

  "Because this young lady is most concerned about others!" Gu Yinghua said with a straight face: "Those trivial matters, I wouldn't bother to ask about."

  She added, "I've heard that women don't allow men to have their own secrets, just like they're not allowed to have private money. And those men always want to keep their secrets, just like my sister's husband..."

  Just as she said that, Gu Yinghua suddenly fell silent. She was quiet for a while, and her whole person became absent-minded, her eyes staring blankly, her pretty face bewildered, startling Liu Suoyun greatly. After a long time, she continued to say: "I just thought of saying something, but I forgot... Anyway, you just honestly tell me about your mother's affairs, and what happened at the Gu's house, and your past."

  She concluded with an air of dominance: "I don't want you to end up like Huo Shu, leaving endless regrets in life."

  Liu Suiyun struggled weakly: "I'm just a servant you hired, Miss Gu. One thousand coins a day doesn't include digging out all my secrets."

  "No! You owe me an explanation now. Tell me everything about yourself. I know you have many secrets, spit them out!"

  What Gu Yinghua said was right, Liu Suizhen indeed had many unknown pasts, but these pasts were even deliberately forgotten by Liu Suizhen himself, so he made his last resistance: "Big sister, I don't want to say it, let's talk about it when we get to Yuanzhou..."

  "Go on! I'll keep your secret."

  He wasn't ready to share these concerns with a woman, especially one as close to him as his own daughter: "My dear Xiaojie, can you please respect my private space a bit?"

  But in Gu Yinghua's smile, there seemed to be a hint of a sly fox who had stolen a small chicken. A woman's curiosity was boundless and would never allow a man to have his own secrets: "No way, the sooner you confess clearly, the more favors I will grant you..."

  Liu Suiyun was already being tightly pursued by Gu Yinghua, and had retreated from the incense table all the way to under the statue of the heavenly maiden, but even the heavenly maiden couldn't protect Liu Suiyun.

  Although he hasn't said anything so far, he felt that all the secrets in his life had been dug out by Gu Yinghua's majestic appearance. He could only lower his head and look at Gu Yinghua's plump waist, hesitating for a moment, seeing himself being forced into a corner by Gu Yinghua, finally deciding to launch a desperate counterattack to preserve the last dignity of a man: "Miss Gu, everyone has their own secrets, okay? I have mine, you have yours... For example, I'd like to know who the father of the child in your belly is..."

  Liu Su Yun's words were not yet finished, when Gu Ying Hua once again lost her train of thought. Liu Su Yun couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, only to discover that his collar had already been grasped by Gu Ying Hua. Gu Ying Hua tightly held onto Liu Su Yun's collar, and with tears in her eyes, she shouted at him: "Let me tell you, this young lady is still a virgin, this young lady is still an untouched flower! Apart from you, this lowly servant, no other man has ever touched even a single hair on this young lady's head!"

  Did I make a mistake? Liu Suizhen was stunned, he thought he had done the stupidest thing in his life, and actually accused a young woman of being pregnant. He really is stupid, Liu Suizhen couldn't help but be stunned, but then again, he didn't think he made a mistake, did he?

  Gu Yinghua didn't have time to care about Liu Suoyun's hesitation. For the first time, Liu Suoyun found that this Miss Gu was also beautiful when she got angry. Although her anger carried a few strands of murderous aura, it also had a sharp and revealing beauty. After much difficulty, Gu Yinghua finally let go of Liu Suoyun's collar. Liu Suoyun immediately lowered his head to apologize: "Sorry, sorry...Miss Gu, Miss Gu..."

  Gu Yinghua's eyes still held crystal clear tears, but her gaze was icy and sharp as a sword. She accepted Liu Suoyun's apology, but couldn't control her anger: "Why do you all think I'm pregnant? Do you think I'm that kind of woman who doesn't know how to love herself?"

  "I'm sorry!" Liu Suoyun didn't know how to apologize: "I'm really sorry!"

  "No need to apologize!" Gu Yinghua deftly rolled up her sleeves: "I'll prove it to you, this is the guardian sand that keeps me chaste... Why don't any of you believe me? Why don't you believe me?"

  Liu followed Yun's guidance and looked over, only to see Gu Yinghua's slender hand, as white as snow, extremely clean, between a section of smooth and warm jade, a red plum stood proudly among them, which was Gu Yinghua's symbol of chastity, the guardian of the palace. Her face was flushed, her ears were slightly red: "If you don't believe me, I think..."

  She was too ashamed to speak, Liu Su Yun knew that Gu Ying Hua wanted to say something, he felt a deep sense of guilt in his heart: "Sorry, it's my fault, I'm wrong! I believe you, it's my fault."

  Gu Yinghua wiped away the tears on her face with her jade hand, but there were still faint tear marks on her face. She forced a smile and said: "It's not your fault, many people have misunderstood Miss Ben, even including the people closest to Miss Ben! You know you're wrong, that represents one thing, that is, Miss Ben is always right!"

  Liu followed the cloud and slightly relaxed his heart, he secretly took another look at that little red plum in the snow: "Right, the young lady is always right, a servant shouldn't talk back to you."

  "Knowing the mistake and correcting it is a good thing!" Gu Yinghua sat down again, but her tears were welling up in her eyes. She asked softly: "Nanny, you once said that everyone has their own secrets. So I'll ask you, are you willing to share with me the most bizarre and changing secret of my life? If not, it's okay."

  "That's a reward from the young mistress!" Liu Su Yun continued in response to Gu Ying Hua's tone: "Thank you, young mistress, for your kindness!"

  Gu Yinghua let out a soft sigh, these secrets she had never told anyone before, and no one would have believed this strange and fantastical experience, but now she was willing to share it with Liu Suizhen. She spoke softly: "I suppose you can see that Miss and I are the same, we both have a predestined connection with immortals. Let me tell you, I, Gu Yinghua, am a disciple of Wu Gao Shenni from Ling Jing Shan, originally a foundation-building cultivator..."