webnovelvip Chapter 4 Xiao Zhao
Chapter 4 Xiao Zhao
Cuiwei Mountain, sunny slope.
"This view is really nice."
Gu Qianbei took a deep breath and felt refreshed.
"If someone drew a smiley face on a sunflower and took it home, wouldn't Old Bai be terrified?"
Gu Qianbei had this wicked thought pop into her mind, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
But the important matter at hand was more pressing, so he immediately began picking sunflowers, processing the parts he needed, and putting them into the basket on his back.
An hour later, his basket was full of sunflower carcasses.
"Done."
Gu Qianbei took out his wine gourd, took a sip, and while cooling off and quenching his thirst, he also regained some strength.
After finishing these tasks, Gu Qianbei planned to descend the mountain.
Suddenly, he heard a scream from not far away.
"oops!"
Gu Qianbei was startled and looked up to see a girl carrying a medicine basket squatting on the ground. She seemed to have sprained her right ankle and was painfully rubbing it.
To Gu Qianbei's surprise, the girl's eyes had a slight blue tint in the sunlight, her nose was high and straight, and her skin was unusually white, giving her a somewhat alien appearance.
Unfortunately, a large birthmark on her face dimmed her beauty, making her look somewhat ferocious and terrifying.
"This look... could it be her?"
Out of curiosity, Gu Qianbei quickly walked to the girl's side.
The girl who was massaging her feet seemed to sense something, and when she looked up and saw Gu Qianbei, she showed a hint of surprise.
There are such handsome men on this mountain?
Are you alright?
Gu Qianbei asked curiously, his gaze falling on the girl's face.
The girl quickly lowered her head, trying to hide the ugly birthmark on her face.
"No...it's nothing. I just twisted my ankle."
Gu Qianbei smiled, squatted down, and positioned himself at eye level with the girl.
"Why are you gathering herbs on this mountain all by yourself? A group of bandits has been coming here recently. Aren't you afraid?"
Looking into Gu Qianbei's gentle, smiling eyes, the girl seemed to lessen her tension and defensiveness, but she still kept her head down.
"My father was seriously injured by the male and female duo yesterday. I thought I would come up the mountain to collect some herbs to treat his injuries so that he could recover faster."
I don't care about bandits anymore.
Gu Qianbei raised an eyebrow, his mind racing.
A male and female duo?
I have indeed heard related news recently; quite a few victims have been beaten by them.
The person they misunderstood and hurt yesterday was Uncle Ge, a fisherman who was mistaken for a river pirate for offering free ferry service on the Xiliang River.
Guo Furong and Xiaoqing, this pair of vicious villains, are truly wicked beyond measure.
"Is your father Uncle Ge, the ferryman on the Xiliang River?"
"Yes, you know my father? You're also from Qixia Town?"
The girl asked curiously.
"I've heard of you. But I only arrived in Qixia Town a month ago. I didn't know that Uncle Ge had a daughter like you."
What's your name?
"My name is Xiao Zhao, as in 'to announce' or 'to proclaim'."
Gu Qianbei thought to himself, "Just as I expected."
He was right; the strangely dressed girl was Xiao Zhao.
The birthmark on her face is a disguise; she is actually a stunning beauty.
However, the disguise was really good; even at such a close distance, I didn't notice anything wrong.
He vaguely remembered that, for Xiao Zhao's safety, the Purple-Robed Dragon King had entrusted Xiao Zhao to an ordinary family, while he traveled the world with only Yin Li, whom he had picked up.
Unexpectedly, in this world of martial arts, the people who adopted Xiao Zhao were Uncle Ge's family.
It's amazing.
"Young master, is there something wrong with my name?"
Seemingly noticing the surprise in Gu Qianbei's eyes, Xiao Zhao asked in confusion.
"Zhao means bright sunshine, it's a good name. My name is Gu Qianbei. It's the 'Qianbei' in 'a thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend.'"
A tavern recently opened opposite the Tongfu Inn on Dengshi Street.
Xiao Zhao suddenly realized.
Suddenly, Gu Qianbei turned around, moved the basket in front of him, and turned his back to Xiao Zhao, making Xiao Zhao even more puzzled.
"Young master, what's wrong?"
"You've sprained your ankle, you probably can't walk. Let me carry you home."
Xiao Zhao immediately panicked and said, "No need, young master, it's just a small injury, I can handle it."
As she spoke, Xiao Zhao quickly stood up, but the sharp pain in her right foot made her stagger and almost fall.
Fortunately, Gu Qianbei reacted quickly and caught him.
"Now is not the time to be reckless. You want to bring the herbs home as soon as possible to treat Uncle Ge's injuries, right?"
Xiao Zhao blushed slightly, then seemed to have made up her mind.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, young master."
"It's nothing. But for the sake of your reputation, you should wear this white cloth to cover your face."
As Gu Qianbei spoke, he took out a piece of white cloth from his bosom and handed it to Xiao Zhao.
Xiao Zhao felt a warmth in her heart; she hadn't expected this handsome young man to be so thoughtful.
"Thank you, young master."
Xiao Zhao put on a white cloth to cover the ugly birthmark, making her bright blue eyes even more captivating.
With Xiao Zhao on his back, Gu Qianbei felt as if the girl on his back had no weight at all.
"I never imagined that ten years of Golden Light Mantra internal energy would improve my physical fitness to this extent. It's truly amazing."
Gu Qianbei thought to himself, then led Xiao Zhao down the mountain.
This was the first time Xiao Zhao had been carried on the back of a young man. The man's presence so close to her made her feel flustered and her face flushed slightly.
"This young master Gu is not only handsome, but also very kind-hearted. He doesn't mind my ugly appearance at all, and treats me so warmly."
Xiao Zhao felt secretly grateful.
"Young master, did you come up the mountain to pick sunflowers?"
Xiao Zhao looked at the sunflower carcasses in Gu Qianbei's basket and asked a question out of curiosity.
"Yes. I plan to brew a new kind of wine, and sunflower is an essential ingredient."
Gu Qianbei didn't try to hide anything and directly stated her purpose.
"Sunflower wine? That's quite rare."
Xiao Zhao asked in surprise.
Although she grew up in Uncle Ge's house and could only see her mother Dai Qisi once a year, Dai Qisi did not neglect her education and left her with many books.
Therefore, her knowledge and experience are not bad, and are even better than most of her peers.
"This is my own unique brewing recipe; no one else has ever heard of it. If you're interested, I'll give you a pot once it's brewed."
Xiao Zhao felt a warmth in her heart once again.
From childhood to adulthood, apart from her adoptive parents and biological mother, everyone else avoided her because of her disguised ugly appearance. They would never treat her gently or give her anything.
She had only just met this young man, yet he was willing to share his new wine with her. This kindness warmed her heart.
"Young master, don't you think I'm ugly? Yet you're still willing to give me wine?"
Xiao Zhao asked timidly, afraid of receiving a hurtful answer.
Gu Qianbei showed no sign of surprise, and simply smiled and said, "No, I think your eyes are very beautiful. They are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen."
Eye?
Xiao Zhao was taken aback.
From childhood to adulthood, many people have said that her eyes are like a monster's, an eerie blue.
She cried many times because of this.
I even hated myself for having such eyes.
She never imagined that one day someone would praise her eyes.
Xiao Zhao touched her eyes, a ripple of emotion stirring within her, along with a sense of relief.
"Thank you, Mr. Gu."