BXBX NOVEL Chapter 29: The Last Stop
“And in Teacher’s words?”
“It got to your head.”
In a small inn, Yan Xiaoxiao woke up on a bed again, but this time Gu Nan was sitting next to her instead of Mo Jiaqi.
Gu Nan held a bowl of rice congee and smiled lightly. “What’s ‘got to your head’? You won’t understand even if I explain… Do you want porridge?”
Yan Xiaoxiao blinked. “Can Teacher feed me?”
“No.”
“Oh…”
After half a day of struggling, Yan Xiaoxiao finally felt that she had recovered some strength. She was rapidly recovering from the exhaustion brought about by the close combat fighting.
The gaze that Gu Nan leveled at her carried an indescribable sort of appreciation, as if looking at a piece of beautiful jade covered in dust.
He never believed that there were any coincidences in the world. Everything had its own rules.
Yan Xiaoxiao was born a madman—a natural-born homicidal maniac and a fanatic. Even without Gu Nan’s appearance, sooner or later, she would’ve awakened that desire deep within her soul.
And she also existed independently as a side quest. It was obviously not too difficult for a top player like Gu Nan to guess the origin of her identity.
“Then, you only have one last chance.”
Yan Xiaoxiao was shocked to hear this and immediately realized, “Are we going to reach our destination?”
“En, there’s one last stop.” Gu Nan nodded lightly. He didn’t actually take Yan Xiaoxiao out for a random stroll. They were traveling all the way to the center of the Immortal Demon Continent.
Tang Xuan was there. According to their earlier agreement, after adapting to this world, Gu Nan already planned to go to the continent’s central region to assist Tang Xuan.
“Come with me.”
……
Moments later, Gu Nan walked down the street side by side with Yan Xiaoxiao, accompanied by a beautiful woman.
“So Gentleman Gu and his sister are from Jiujiang City?”
“Yeah. It’s our first time in the central region, so we still have to trouble Lady Shangguan to be our guide… Pardon us for bothering Lady Shangguan,” Gu Nan said leisurely with a small smile.
The woman addressed as “Lady Shangguan” covered her mouth and chuckled. “It’s no bother.”
Whether it was the past life or this one, Gu Nan’s appearance had always been good, and it wasn’t difficult for him to attract bees and butterflies. Yan Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, had an unnatural expression as she occasionally studied Lady Shangguan with a strange gaze.
Shangguan Xian merely thought of her as an aristocratic young lady who rarely went out, but she never would’ve imagined that when this little girl was occasionally sizing her up, her thoughts were……
‘If I want to kill her, how long will it take? How many moves will I need? How can I pull the wool over people’s eyes… Oh my, what am I thinking?!’
Yan Xiaoxiao’s brain was full of flights of fancy[1] as she followed behind the two, but their conversation constantly flowed into her ears.
“So this is the famous Red Tide Levee… This one has long heard of its fame. It truly deserves its reputation.”
“Is Gentleman also interested in the legend of the famous courtesan Qin Hongshi?”
“Of course… not.”
“Ah……”
Time passed gradually as the three strolled around. In the evening, the three of them had a few drinks in a restaurant, and Gu Nan bid farewell to Shangguan Xian.
“Lady Shangguan, thank you for your trouble today.”
“If Gentleman doesn’t disdain it, there’s no harm in calling me Xian’er……” Shangguan Xian’s face slightly flushed. Nobody knew whether it was because she drank a few glasses of wine or because of her words.
“Then… this humble one will overstep his bounds. Xian’er, be careful on the way home.” Gu Nan showed a slightly dazed expression on his face, but if one looked carefully, they would find nothing but cold detachment in the depths of his eyes.
Shangguan Xian gently nodded. “Will Gentleman leave for the central region tomorrow?”
Gu Nan paused, as if hesitating. After a while, he finally said, “We siblings… will stay for another day.”
“Ah! That’s truly great… Tomorrow Xian’er will visit the Red Lake with Gentleman again.”
“Okay……”
……
Shangguan Xian left joyfully. Gu Nan and Yan Xiaoxiao watched her leave. It wasn’t until her figure disappeared completely that Gu Nan spoke with a light smile.
“What do you think of this woman?”
“Is Teacher asking about how to kill her?”
“No, from an ordinary friend’s point of view… or from your old point of view.”
Yan Xiaoxiao hesitated a little. Although only a short ten or so days had passed, when recalling her carefree self from before, she felt as if that was a lifetime ago.
Sometimes she’d think about it—she gave up her illustrious family background, gave up her close friends, and gave up her loving mother and strict father… And instead embarked on the road of a killer without hesitation.
‘In my home right now, they would’ve already discovered that I’m missing and started to anxiously look for me, right?
‘Father, Mother……’
A pair of hands gently patted her on the shoulder, taking her back to the room. It was Gu Nan.
“Sleep well. You’ll be fine tomorrow.”
……
The next day, Shangguan Xian was indeed on time for their appointment. In the process of sightseeing, she keenly sensed the difference in Yan Xiaoxiao.
This little girl seemed to have become more cheerful… She was indeed just a little girl who was afraid of strangers. Once she got to know Shangguan Xian, she became very cute.
A small smile appeared on Shangguan Xian’s delicate face.
Ever since she recalled her past, the softness inside Yan Xiaoxiao’s heart seemed to be stirred up. She began to revert to the lively girl she had been before, while the personality that was obsessed with killing seemed to be temporarily sealed.
Once again, the three came to the Red Tide Levee, but this time it was dusk, and the Red Lake under the setting sun was particularly charming.
The golden sunlight fell on the surface of the lake, which set off the fiery red color of the lake as it rose and fell along with the tide, which was the origin of the name of “Red Tide.”
“The Red Lake is truly worthy of its name.” Gu Nan stood on the levee and sighed with emotion.
Shangguan Xian stood side by side with him, one hand unobtrusively holding his arm, as if she was also intoxicated by this amazing scenery. “Yeah……”
“Xian’er… Say, does this red tide look like something else?”
“Oh? What is it?” Shangguan Xian showed a curious expression. Along the way, she had already become accustomed to Gu Nan’s random quips.
“Blood.”
“Huh?”
A bloody flower exploded on Shangguan Xian’s back. She didn’t understand what happened at all. Only Yan Xiaoxiao’s face was full of horror—she was standing beside the two.
The shadow at Gu Nan’s feet slowly stretched forward until it was behind Shangguan Xian, gradually turning into a human figure and ruthlessly stabbing the girl’s back with a blade.
“This is……”
Yan Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but look towards Gu Nan, only to see his emotionless face. He was already wearing a dark gold earring on his right ear, and his entire person looked very eerie.
In the next moment, a monocle hung on Gu Nan’s face, and he calmly looked into the distance. “We only stayed for one more day, but a guest has already arrived……”
“Huh? What are you looking at?” Gu Nan turned to look at Yan Xiaoxiao, who seemed about to collapse.
Shortly after, he showed a faint smile. “Oh, I forgot to tell you: this is the last stop!”
Notes:[1] An unrealistic idea or fantastic notion, a pipe dream; the idiom uses flight as in “the soaring of the imagination”