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Shen Tang slammed the digging knife onto the ground. "Why would I go to Xiaocheng? To throw myself into a trap? Besides, what's so good about that lousy place?" Respect her identity as an escaped prisoner!
"Doesn't young lord Shen worry about other relatives?" Shen Tang hesitated upon hearing this. Qi Shan's words hit home. No matter what, she was now using this body. She should learn about the original owner's past to avoid being seen through by someone the original owner knew in the future, which would only cause more trouble. She didn't know if the original owner had any relatives. If they had endured the hardships of exile, she could secretly look after them a bit. If her relatives didn't survive and died, she could at least collect their bodies, saving them from being exposed in the wilderness.
Shen Tang's changing expression fell into Qi Shan's eyes. The latter's brows and eyes showed visible pleasure. He had anticipated Shen Tang's choice would align with his wishes! "I can see that young lord Shen has extraordinary potential and may achieve great things in the future. I, Qi, though untalented, am humbly called a renowned scholar. While I may not compare to those famous Confucian scholars and teachers with disciples everywhere, I am more than sufficient to teach young lord Shen the basics..."
Shen Tang had made up her mind, but didn't speak. She deliberately said, "Yuanliang, I've memorized all those scrolls." Qi Shan chuckled, raising a finger to his own head, and said confidently, "Young lord Shen, the truly valuable content is here. If one could master a Literary Heart simply by reading a few scrolls of Spirit Language, then learning by stealth would be too easy."
"Yuanliang has a point, but this Xiaocheng place..." She had gone to so much trouble to escape, and now she'd willingly trot back? If she was unlucky enough to run into the officers who escorted her in Xiaocheng, how awkward would that be? "You have to give me some guarantee."
"For example?"
Shen Tang: "For example, a Spirit Language that can change one's appearance."
Qi Shan: "..." He really didn't have anything like that. In his knowledge, such unconventional Spirit Languages didn't exist—all Spirit Languages in the world were used for power, strategy, or martial arts. Why was young lord Shen's mind so peculiar? Although he didn't have such a Spirit Language, he had other things.
"What is this?" Shen Tang caught the small bottle he threw. Opening the bottle, she squinted inside. It was a bottle full of fine black powder; she didn't know what it was for. Qi Shan revealed the answer: "Soot."
Shen Tang: "..."
"Smear some on your face, or run more, sunbathe more, sweat more. If you don't bathe or wash for seven or eight days, who would recognize you?" Shen Tang imagined not bathing for seven or eight days while sweating. She could almost smell that indescribably pungent odor. "That's your brilliant idea?"
"How is this a bad idea?" Qi Shan's smile receded by a third, devoid of emotion. "This is based on experience." Shen Tang was slightly surprised. Based on experience? But Qi Shan clearly didn't want to dwell on it. His voice rose again: "Young lord Shen actually doesn't need to worry so much. Those escorting officers are far more 'negligent' than you. If a prisoner escapes, it's unlikely they'll report it. The most probable outcome is that they'll cut off another person's ear to fill your quota. Therefore, you don't need to worry about seeing your wanted poster at the gates of Xiaocheng." Even if the officers weren't "negligent" and reported Shen Tang's escape, and an artist drew a wanted poster, so what? Given the abstract quality of the portraits drawn by those artists, unless there were very obvious facial features, even one's own mother wouldn't recognize them, let alone at city gates where people entered and exited daily. The possibility of Shen Tang's identity being exposed was too small.
This explanation put Shen Tang at ease. "Alright, I'll go." She grunted and dug a huge, deep pit. She threw all the corpses in, then filled the earth back. By the time she finished, the moon was high in the sky. Qi Shan started a bonfire, roasting the biscuits Shen Tang had conjured with her Spirit Language. She could eat them warm as soon as she sat down.
"Hot!" She misjudged the biscuit's temperature and almost burned her tongue. This kind of biscuit had little flavor. Besides the charred parts having a slight aroma, the rest was bland. The more she ate, the thirstier she became, needing a sip of water every two bites. She couldn't help but wonder why she couldn't add fillings, like preserved vegetables with meat.
For some reason, Qi Shan went to sleep unusually early tonight. He neither read nor practiced Spirit Language. Shen Tang wasn't sleepy; she sat by the bonfire, lost in thought. After some time, she heard a faint rustling of plants being stepped on—someone was cautiously approaching her, but without ill intent, so she ignored it. The person sat down not far away. By the firelight, she saw it was the Censor-in-Chief's foolish son, looking at her with purposeful curiosity, hesitant to speak, then eager again, as if wanting to confirm something.
After several attempts to speak without knowing where to start, Shen Tang grew impatient. Finally, she took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Is the Censor-in-Chief asleep?" The man was startled, seemingly surprised Shen Tang would speak to him: "Mm... Father is asleep, but he's not resting well; he has a slight fever. He suffered too many injuries on this journey, and his wounds are red. Tomorrow, I'll have to find some herbs..." As he spoke, the man's eyes reddened slightly. His father's body was much better than an ordinary person's, but his age was still a factor, unable to withstand major bumps and tortures.
Shen Tang said, "There should be a village nearby; you can get some herbs from the villagers. Speaking of which, I haven't asked your name, young lord. How should I address you?"
"My name is Tian Zhong, courtesy name Shouyi."
"Why were you looking at me like that just now, Shouyi?"
"I felt that you resemble someone I've met, almost exactly, except for your gender. And, listening to your conversation with Mr. Qi Shan today, you said you were..." Tian Zhong swallowed the words "escaped prisoner." "I then thought you had some connection with her."
Shen Tang: "..." Good things never happen, bad things always do.Did she just encounter someone who knows the original owner of this body?
Shen Tang asked, "Who is that person? Are you very familiar with her?"
Tian Zhong waved his hands repeatedly: "Not familiar, not familiar. I've only met her once. In terms of relationship, she should be considered my niece-in-law."
Shen Tang was greatly astonished: "...Niece, niece-in-law?"
"Strictly speaking, not really," he explained. "I was a classmate and a contemporary of Yun Chi's father, so we became sworn brothers. Yun Chi is considered my nephew. If the two had completed their marriage rites, she should call me 'Uncle Tian'."
"Who is Yun Chi?"
"Gong Cheng of the Gong clan, courtesy name Yun Chi."
Shen Tang: "..." Holy cow! She gasped in astonishment! This body is only eleven or twelve years old!
"Why didn't the marriage rites complete?"
"On the day of the wedding, before they could perform the three bows, officers stormed the Gong manor and arrested everyone. The entire household, including her, was thrown into prison, and within two days, they were exiled. I was also a guest at the time... it was truly a pity." He sighed after speaking. He had once busied himself with the Gong family's exile, never imagining that just a few days later, his own family would also suffer.
Shen Tang asked, "Where is Gong Cheng now?" He gave a bitter smile: "If he's lucky, probably on the road of exile. If unlucky, probably on the road to the Yellow Springs."
Shen Tang suppressed the throbbing veins and continued to probe for information: "Whose family is Gong Cheng's new wife from?"
"She is from the Shen clan, but..."
"But what?"
He said, "It's just that the Shen clan was tragically wiped out by Zheng Qiao's order within two days of the Gong clan's exile."
Shen Tang: "..." Wiped out nine generations... This meant that in this world, apart from a Gong Cheng whose fate was unknown, the original owner's current family status was—a true orphan?
Five hundred characters took an hour to write, damn it! Gong Cheng is not the male lead, not the male lead, not the male lead! Gong Cheng is six or seven years older than the female lead! He is not the male lead! A minor character, at most with some screen time. The female lead is not married either! The female lead is unmarried! And she won't marry in the future; at most, she'll take a husband! The male lead is six years younger than the female lead. Anyone mentioned in the text who is older than the female lead cannot be the male lead! The romance in this novel is almost non-existent! Everyone just look at the career path. After all, having a boss means you can have a bunch of good-looking subordinates, and the number is not limited at the same time, but love is not like that. What does this tell us? It tells us that building a career is more satisfying than getting involved with people.