Moreover, whatever Gu Zhixing plans to do in the future, it’s estimated that Great Grandfather will point him in a direction to follow.
Carefully considering everything, there are indeed many matters at hand, so it’s likely that in the next few days, they won’t be able to leave Jinling City. After dinner, Gu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Wen walked out of the small courtyard of the Gu Family.
At this ti, Great Grandfather was sitting in the courtyard with his nephews and grandnephews, drinking tea and discussing future plans.
anwhile, Gu Lei went out with Ling Nan to buy so things.
It was at this mont that Gu Qiaoqiao realized that Great Grandfather had actually already bought the courtyard next door.
This place is part of a rundown neighborhood, quite far from the city center, with inconvenient transport, and other conditions are just diocre. However, the Old Patriarch likes the feng shui here and says it’s a good place, so he bought the house next door at a high price. He is now living in the neighboring courtyard.
The Gu Family’s courtyard is small, with few rooms. When the Old Patriarch and Uncle Gu ca here, there was simply nowhere for them to stay, and there aren’t any good hotels nearby, so buying the courtyard next door was the best solution.
Unexpectedly, Qin Yize grasped the key to the situation right away.
So, at night, Gu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Wen would stay in the courtyard next door.
Uncle Gu had already cleaned the rooms where they would stay. After walking around outside, Gu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Wen found that there wasn’t any good place for conversation; in the evening, everyone was in the alley. Many people lived here, with children running around, and elders fanning themselves under the shade trees. After thinking it over, they decided to talk inside.
Gu Qiaoqiao glanced at her watch; it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. She figured Qin Yize would still take so ti to co back, as the Third District is quite a distance from here, and it takes over an hour to drive.
The courtyard was well-cleaned, though not much furniture was added nor any renovations done because of the haste. Fortunately, the house was well-preserved, looking clean and tidy.
In the middle of the courtyard stands a pergola, currently overgrown with lush grape leaves, likely ready to bear fruit in the fall.
Below is a long vine chair, along with two single ones, and a square stone table in the middle, indicating this was once a ticulous household.
One wonders how much Great Grandfather spent to buy this place.
It has five rooms in total; the middle one is a hall, behind it is a large bedroom, and the remaining rooms are on the left and right sides.
This setup is sowhat similar to the siheyuan in the Imperial Capital.
The rooms don’t have any odors, and although it’s sumr, the interior doesn’t feel stuffy. Still, mosquito coils were lit, as there are many mosquitoes at this ti.
At this mont, Xiao Wen stood by the window of their shared room, looking at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky. She maintained this posture for over ten minutes.
During this period, Gu Qiaoqiao had already surveyed the house inside and out, yet Xiao Wen remained at the window. When Gu Qiaoqiao finished exploring the rooms, she saw Xiao Wen still standing there.
The room they stayed in was also clean and neat, with new beddings, indicating Uncle Gu had considered these details while making the purchase.
Gu Qiaoqiao circled the room with satisfaction.
She then sat next to Xiao Wen, looking up and jokingly said, "Sister Xiao Wen, are you planning on turning into a stone standing there..."
Surprisingly, Xiao Wen did not banter with Gu Qiaoqiao, remaining silent, a side of Xiao Wen unfamiliar to Gu Qiaoqiao.
In Gu Qiaoqiao’s impression, Xiao Wen was cheerful, lively, at tis even bold, definitely a girl who lived her life exuberantly.
It was rare to see her so calm.
Gu Qiaoqiao poured tea for both of them, placing one cup beside her, softly saying, "Sister Xiao Wen, what’s really going on?"
After a mont of silence, Xiao Wen gently started speaking, still looking at the crescent moon in the sky, not turning to Gu Qiaoqiao, murmuring, "Qiaoqiao, do you believe in fate?"
Fate?
Gu Qiaoqiao glanced at Xiao Wen, half-seriously saying, "Are you talking about destiny bringing people together from afar? Whom did you et? I can’t make any sense of it."
Xiao Wen sighed softly, starting to speak in a low voice, "You know our clan’s origin, but probably not the specifics."
Gu Qiaoqiao shook her head, "Hmm, I don’t know. You’ve never told ."
Xiao Wen turned around, sat by the table, picked up the teacup, took a light sip, then put it down, slowly saying, "In our Phoenix Clan, any pure blood will live to be a hundred and then undergo Nirvana Rebirth in their hundredth year. It’s a painful process where the whole body burns in flas for forty-nine days, and during this, many past mories beco blurry and gradually forgotten. I went through it once."
Gu Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened in surprise, scanning Xiao Wen with a scrutinizing look. To be honest, Xiao Wen was sharing about the Phoenix Clan with her for the first ti.
Gu Qiaoqiao had never asked before, knowing every family has secrets, just like she did, and she never told anyone hers.
So hearing Xiao Wen speak now was truly surprising.
She even extended her hand to gently pinch Xiao Wen’s cheek, seemingly to verify if she was real or just an illusion.
Xiao Wen helplessly brushed aside Gu Qiaoqiao’s hand and softly said, "Talking serious business here..."
Gu Qiaoqiao nodded, earnestly saying, "I know you’re telling sothing serious, but I’m just really curious. Sister Xiao Wen, keep going..."
"When I went through it, my father stayed with , so relatively speaking, my suffering was less, and I managed to pull through. At that ti, we were just fifty miles from Jinling City at Erdao Mountain."
Gu Qiaoqiao looked at Xiao Wen thoughtfully, "Sister Xiao Wen, were you and Uncle living in Jinling City then?"
Xiao Wen nodded, "Yes, my father was worried sothing might happen, so we couldn’t be too far from a hospital, and yet, we needed a place without disturbances. This place was the most suitable; deep in Erdao Mountain was a cave where we stayed."
Xiao Wen paused before continuing, "Fortunately, we made it safely through, but when I was five, an enemy ca for my dad, and he left in the cave, leading that person sowhere else.
But because he left too quickly, the cave entrance wasn’t sealed. Though my mory was a bit jumbled, I knew sothing could be wrong.
So I walked out of the cave, only to encounter a hungry wolf. At that ti, I was too weak to resist and was ready to die, but then soone appeared and saved ...
Even though he was also scared, he was very brave!"
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