Chapter 29: Tired
PLin Anning did not like the way everyone was staring at her.
Even since Han Luo had pulled her out of that cursed dungeon and led her through the Gu residence halls, eyes had followed her from every direction. Some of the maids standing by the corridor openly stared at the swollen side of her face and the dried blood staining the collar of her dress, while others leaned closer to whisper amongst themselves.
"She deserved it."
"I heard she talked back to the young miss."
"No wonder she was thrown into the water dungeon."
And the others simply stared at her with pity, the one that annoyed her the most. Anning frowned, lowering her head slightly as they walked.
She wasn’t dead yet. So, why were they looking at her like that? Sure she went through a lot of shit in some black hole, but she was still standing.
Well, barely.
Her fingers dug painfully into her palm as she glanced toward Han Luo. The scar faced man walked beside her silently, his expression remained unchanged. It was almost as if he wasn’t hearing a single thing that was being said.
Anning stared at him for a few seconds. Then, those seconds turned to minutes. When Han Luo suddenly got tired of her staring, he suddenly turned his head and met her eyes head on.
"What is it?" He asked softly.
Anning hesitated for a moment, before quietly saying, "They’re talking a lot."
Han Luo looked ahead again and Anning thought he was literally going to ignore her. But after a few seconds, he gave her a small nod.
That’s it? No comforting words, or even a hug?
Just one flimsy nod. Oddly enough, that one tiny movement made something inside her chest relax. Anning bit on her lower lip.
This was absolutely weird. Why did she suddenly feel better?
Had she truly reached a point where one nod from this man with a scar could comfort her?
How pathetic.
They took a turn into another corner before finally arriving in front of Lanzhin’s quarters. Han Luo stepped forward and knocked once on the door.
"Come in." A voice said from inside the room.
The wooden door was pushed open by Han Luo, making Lanzhin look up from where she sat, folding clothes. The moment her eyes landed on Anning, her brows instantly drew together.
"What happened to you?" She asked, standing up from where she sat.
Anning looked confused as she pointed to herself. "What happened to me?"
Lanzhin slapped a hand over her forehead, already regretting why she asked that question. She instantly raised one hand and ordered, "Take a seat."
"..."
Anning, who was planning to tell her tales of sorry, just pressed her mouth closed. Then she walked over to the small wooden stool and took a seat.
Lanzhin walked over soon after, crouching in front of her before pulling a small tray closer. On the tray sat, a few clothes, herbs and a small bottle of clear liquid.
The moment she uncorked the small bottle, Anning immediately frowned. That smell...she could recognize it anywhere.
Absolutely not. Nope. There was no way she was letting them put that nonsense on her skin.
"Lanzhin?" Anning called out softly, the head maid didn’t respond.
"Lanzhin!"
Still no response.
"Head maid—"
She didn’t get to finish her words as a cloth was suddenly pressed to her neck.
"Ahhhh" Anning screamed, nearly jumping off her chair. Her eyes were slightly widened and tears could be seen already forming in them. "You can’t just do that to a person!"
It felt as though someone had poured fire directly onto her wound, but the culprit didn’t even look sorry.
"It’s just alcohol, you’re overreacting." Lanzhin said with a roll of her eyes.
"You people still use alcohol to treat open wounds, really?" Anning said, her voice trembling slightly.
Lanzhin looked at her like she had said something strange, but replied anyway, "Yes."
Anning merely stared at her, not knowing what to say. By the look of thing’s, this place truly wanted her dead.
After cleaning the cut on her neck, applying crushed herbs and wrapping it gently. Lanzhin disappeared behind a small screen and then returned with clean clothes. Anning reached out and took them from her.
The material this time felt softer than the one she had on. It was a pale jade green ruqun with short sleeves and a grey colored inner robe. The skirt was long and straight, with delicate flower patterns embroidered along the edges with silver thread.
It definitely wasn’t that flashy, but it definitely was very pretty. Anning blinked and then asked with a bit of uncertainty, "Is this for me?"
Lanzhin merely looked at her and said stiffly, "Put it on."
Ah... Nevermind. For a second there she had almost gotten emotional.
"Since you’re heading out with the young miss today, do you best to remain quiet." Lanzhin suddenly said, arms crossed against her chest.
Anning raised her head and blurted without restraint, "Excuse me?"
"The punishment you received in this house is considered light." Lanzhin’s voice remained firm. "Outside these premises, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person could cost you your life."
Anning bit on her lower lip. They called what they did to her light?
Light?! How exactly was that punishment light?
She definitely wanted to complain. Wanted to say she had done absolutely nothing wrong.
In fact, from the very beginning it felt like Wanqing had simply been looking for reasons to punish her.
But remembering how that sword had sliced painfully into her skin, she swallowed everything back down.
"I understand."
Lanzhin looked a bit surprised, but she just gave Anning a small nod.
After a brief pause, Anning suddenly asked, "So...am I to head to the boathouse now?"
Lanzhin thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. She pointed toward the small wooden bowl sitting quietly in the corner of the room and said, "Just wipe down the important parts."
The moment she finished speaking, Anning was still staring at her in confusion. "What does that mean?"
Lanzhin adjusted the sleeves of her robe before replying in the same professional tone of hers. "Slaves do not particularly need to take baths."
For a moment, Anning simply sat there and kept staring.
Even as Lanzhin headed to the door, her eyes kept following her as if she had somehow misheard what was just said. Unfortunately for her, Lanzhin was definitely serious. The woman slid the door open and calmly stepped outside without sparring her another glance.
The room suddenly turned quiet. Anning slowly turned her head to the small bowl in the corner of the room. Then, back to the now closed door.
Then toward the bowl again.
"Excuse me?" She muttered under her breath.
Slaves do not need baths? What sort of ridiculous nonsense was that?
Anning frowned deeply but still ended up pushing herself off the stool. Fine. Whatever.
At this point, surviving in this strange world was difficult enough. If they wanted her to wipe herself down with a damp cloth like some abandoned street cat, then so be it.
She walked over to the bowl, dipped the white cloth into the warm water before slowly wiping her skin. As she cleaned herself, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Where exactly was Wanqing going that she had to take her along?
Leaving the Gu residence was definitely exciting for her. This place felt less like a home and more like a beautiful prison filled with unreasonable people and animals. But as she remembered Wanqing’s earlier expression, Anning couldn’t help but narrow her eyes slightly.
What if that woman planned on selling her?
Or worse...
What if she planned on killing her somewhere outside, probably to avoid being questioned?
That thought made Anning freeze for a few seconds. Then she let out a small scoff.
No.
If Wanqing was taking her somewhere suspicious, then she would run. And if running failed...then she’d simply die again and pray heaven finally stopped treating her life like it was some twisted game.
After reaching that conclusion, Anning felt slightly better.
After she finished cleaning herself, Anning changed into the clothes Lanzhin had given her. Then she wiped down her now whitish hair as best as she could, before twisting it into a messy bun and secured it in place. When her eyes dropped to the pair of woven sandals beneath her feet, her lips twitched slightly.
So, ancient people actually walked around in these things?
She shook her head and just as she adjusted the final fold of her skirt, the wooden door suddenly slipped open.
Han Luo stepped into the room.
Anning raised her head at the sound and nearly laughed because for a moment, the scar-faced man actually froze when he saw her.
His eyes landed on her and paused before he quickly looked away.
"The young miss sent for us." He said.
Anning narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, something felt off.
Han Luo cleared his throat, his gaze fixed on the shelf right behind Anning. It was as though he refused to look directly at her.
"We need to leave." He said firmly this time.
Now Anning was even more suspicious, why the hell was he acting strange?
Still, she was far too exhausted to think about it. Her entire body ached, the side of her face might not be swollen but it still hurts. She glanced at her dress one last time before following Han Luo outside.
The walk through the Gu residence remained unusually quiet. After all, Han luo wasn’t someone who spoke much and Anning was too exhausted to force conversation. They walked from corridor to corridor before finally stepping outside.
The moment they did, Han Luo suddenly stopped and this made Anning frown.
Before she could even ask what was wrong, he wrapped his hand firmly around her wrist and pulled her forward.
"Walk." He said coldly.
Anning blinked in surprise as she stumbled after him. A crowd had gathered outside the Gu residence and the closer they moved, the more uneasy she felt.
Too many people stood around them. From maids, to guards and even the outdoor workers.
Some whispered quietly amongst themselves while others stared ahead with pale expressions. The usual gossip and snide remarks were nowhere to be seen and only a strange tension hung in the air.
When Han Luo finally pulled her to the center of the crowd, her steps stopped abruptly. Her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her.
Gu Wanqing stood a few feet away from them. At first glance she looked the same, but after staring a little longer, Anning noticed something different.
Her black silky hair had become slightly disheveled and a thin streak of blood ran across her pale cheek.
But what truly made Anning’s heart skip a beat was her expression. Those dark obsidian eyes looked frighteningly cold.
Almost bloodthirsty.
A chill ran down Anning’s spine as she followed Wanqing’s gaze, staring down.
Then, she saw it. No... It wasn’t even an ’It’ but a her.
A girl was kneeling on the ground right before Wanqing and sticking out of her chest was a....
Sword?!
