The girl's cheeks were streaked with chaotic trails of tears. Her eyes were dazed and vacant as they lifted upward, taking a long while before focus returned.
The young man before her looked harmless, clean, and mild. His features were pure and gentle; when he smiled, his eyes curved slightly, carrying a faint trace of warmth.
This face was one Gu Fangchen had fashioned after his own appearance from his previous life. Since it was a disguise he intended to use long-term, naturally, he chose one he was comfortable with.
Moreover, this identity would move among the righteous sects, using such a face that radiated integrity was perfectly fitting.
But to Gu Lianqian, her first reaction was that she did not recognize this man at all. Judging by his clothes, he was neither a member of the prince's residence nor of the Sword Pavilion.
He looked more like a Daoist...
This realization made her instinctively clutch at her torn garments and shrink backward in panic.
"D-don't... come any closer!"
But she forgot that at this moment she was already in Gu Fangchen's arms; her retreat only brought her closer to him.
Gu Fangchen spread his palm, showing her the copper guiding coin that Qiu He had given him. His tone was gentle as he said,
"Do not be afraid, little princess. This humble Daoist was entrusted by the Sword Pavilion disciple Qiu He to rescue you from danger."
At the mention of that familiar name, Gu Lianqian's expression froze slightly.
As the daughter of the Sword Pavilion's leading lady, she naturally paid special attention to matters of the Pavilion.
Qiu He was a true disciple of the Sword Pavilion and a formidable cultivator; of course, she had heard his name. Her eyes fell upon the coin in Gu Fangchen's palm.
She hesitated, then lifted her trembling hand, picking up the copper coin to examine it closely.
At last she confirmed, it truly was the Sword Pavilion's secret tracking token.
In an instant, Gu Lianqian clutched the coin tightly, then suddenly buried her head in Gu Fangchen's chest, gripping his robes. Her whole body trembled, soft sobs spilling from her lips.
Before long, she had soaked his chest through.
Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow slightly, then gently wrapped an arm around the girl's slender shoulders, patting her lightly in comfort.
That one pat was enough to make Gu Lianqian cry aloud in full.
He waited as she wept, then took out a clean handkerchief, dipped it in the cold pool water, and patiently wiped her face.
"All right, all right," he soothed softly, "it's over now. The bad men have all been driven away."
Her breakdown had stripped all elegance from her tears; she was sobbing so hard she nearly produced snot bubbles.
Add to that the mud and blood covering her body, her image was utterly ruined.
She hiccupped and sniffled, realizing it herself. Then, stiffening slightly, she remembered that the person before her was a strange grown man. Yet she had allowed him to wipe her face and comfort her like a child.
If this had been before, back when she was proud and self-assured, calling herself a heroine, Gu Lianqian would have felt mortified, snatched the cloth from his hand, turned away, and snarled something like "mind your own business."
But now, recalling that she had just been lying nearly naked in the mud, and that anyone could guess what horrors had taken place, her stomach still spasmed with sharp, intermittent pain.
The thought alone made terror and shame surge through her heart like a bottomless abyss.
This man had seen her at her most broken, her most disgraced.
While she trembled in fear of what others might think, he showed not the slightest disgust, holding her, cleaning her face, comforting her.
And just like that, the position her father Gu Yuye once held in her heart, the man she admired and trusted most, was suddenly filled by this stranger.
For a girl sinking into terror and despair, what she needed most was a new pillar to cling to.
So, though her body tensed from shame and she struggled faintly, she soon went still and allowed Gu Fangchen to continue.
The cool handkerchief brushed from her face down her neck, then along her arms, his touch precise and deliberate, wiping every trace of grime from her skin.
Gu Lianqian, as a person, was far easier to understand than most.
Her pride and arrogance rested on two foundations: her cultivation and her family status. With those, she had always been fearless, innocent to the point of stupidity.
Even when her father fled with her to Qingman, she clung to the belief that he had his reasons, that he had been forced.
And today, both of those foundations had been utterly shattered.
Now was the perfect time to rebuild her dependence, on him.
To strengthen the subconscious control he was planting, Gu Fangchen needed her to open her heart completely, to break and reshape from within.
Otherwise, what could be solved with a simple spell, why bother doing this by hand?
Gu Lianqian closed her eyes, pressing her face into his chest as his low voice whispered near her ear,
"Forgive the offense, little princess. Please bear with it."
"Mm-"
Her delicate shoulder blades trembled as if fluttering wings were about to lift. Her fingers gripping his robes turned white, and her wide eyes glistened like those of a frightened fawn.
It hurt, but unlike before, the touch now carried gentleness and restraint.
She bit her lip, swallowing the pain, not daring to move even a finger, terrified he would find her disgusting.
Even Ning Caiyong would have been stunned if she saw this scene, never imagining her spoiled, willful daughter could be so meek and obedient.
Gu Fangchen cleaned her body, applied medicine, bandaged the wounds, and dressed her in a black combat outfit designed for either gender.
Only then did he take out a healing pill and offer it to her.
Gu Lianqian took it without hesitation, swallowed, and immediately winced.
So bitter!
Before, she would never have eaten such a thing, she would have demanded sweets to go with it.
But now, she said nothing and forced it down.
Gu Fangchen's gaze flickered, but his voice remained calm.
"Unfortunately, I am not skilled in formation arts. The seal on the little princess's body is beyond my ability."
Gu Lianqian shook her head, looking down shyly.
"It's all right... Are you a Daoist disciple? A student of the National Preceptor?"
Gu Fangchen nearly laughed aloud.
The original owner of this body could never have imagined that the haughty Gu Lianqian would one day speak so timidly.
He smiled faintly.
"My Daoist name is 'Not,' merely a wandering cultivator, not of noble birth as the little princess might imagine."
Her face flushed red. She hurriedly waved her hands, afraid he might think she was looking down on him.
"No! I just meant, so I'd know where to find you later!"
Stammering, she added,
"W-wandering cultivators are admirable too..."
Gu Fangchen laughed inwardly.
She used to despise unaffiliated cultivators, calling them tricksters and crooked-path scum, no different from the Demon Sect.
Outwardly, though, his smile remained gentle, magnanimous.
Then he stepped forward, crouched slightly, and said,
"Time is short. There may still be pursuers in this stone forest. The Sword Pavilion disciples are buying us time. Let's leave first, so they can safely retreat."
Gu Lianqian froze, unsure what to do.
He turned back, gesturing with his hand.
"I'll carry you."
After a moment's hesitation, she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Carrying her, Gu Fangchen leapt into the air, bursting through the cold waterfall and speeding along the predetermined route toward Ning Caiyong's convoy.
Along the way, he left subtle marks for the Sword Pavilion to find, indicating that Gu Lianqian had been rescued.
As the cold wind rushed against her face, her chaotic thoughts gradually calmed.
Biting her lip, she recalled the corpse in the cave, the purple-robed grandmaster with his forehead pierced through, and instinctively believed that man had been the one who violated her.
She couldn't resist asking, her voice low,
"You... you didn't..."
Gu Fangchen interrupted softly,
"Little princess, what is past cannot be changed. The future can still be reclaimed. Some things need not weigh on your heart. I will never speak of it."
His tone was gentle, comforting, yet her face went pale. Her eyes dimmed, and she clenched her fists tightly.
So... he truly saw everything...
His expression didn't waver as he felt her tighten her arms around him, pressing her forehead to his back.
The prouder the person, the easier it was for them to fall into deep inferiority.
From now on, this Daoist "Not" would become her final lifeline, the only one who knew her secret yet did not despise her.
But that alone... was not enough.
It had taken Gu Yuye over ten years to build that towering image in her heart. How could it be destroyed in one day?
More steps would be needed.
...
Ning Caiyong lifted the curtain of the carriage, gazing anxiously at the sinking sunset on the horizon. Her beautiful face was clouded with worry.
They were nearing Liuhua Province, and after hearing of Gu Lianqian's attack and pursuit, they had slowed their pace.
According to their original schedule, Gu Fangchen should have reached them within four days.
If delayed further, even if Gu Lianqian failed to arrive, Gu Yuye's other men would soon catch up.
Once that happened, the fact that Gu Fangchen hadn't traveled with them would be exposed, and the identity of that mysterious figure at the Qionglin Banquet, suspected of belonging to the Demon Sect, would become obvious.
Worry for her children's safety had left Ning Caiyong unable to eat or sleep these past days. Her once dignified beauty had taken on the fragile charm of a sickly woman.
Even her maid Xuexiang, usually chatty and optimistic, had fallen silent.
She didn't understand cultivation or politics, but she knew that if they were caught today, the young lord's fate would be grim.
As the sun sank fully below the horizon, several figures suddenly appeared in the distance.
Ning Caiyong's heart tightened. She whispered urgently,
"Qingjian, enter Liuhua Province first. Wait for the Sword Pavilion to meet us!"
Qingjian reacted instantly, activating an illusion array she had set earlier and steering the carriage forward.
But the approaching men were all Gu Yuye's elite, prepared for this.
One formation cultivator bit his tongue, spraying blood onto a black dagger and shouting,
"Break!"
Golden light flared across the dagger as it slashed through the air, tearing apart the illusion.
The array broke, but the cultivator's face turned deathly pale as he caught the dagger and plummeted weakly.
They had anticipated resistance from a Xiyin Attendant and a Martial Saint, and came armed with countermeasures.
Another raised a small flag into the air. It split into sixty-four, surrounding them in a shimmering array.
It was the Life-and-Death Formation. It served no purpose but one, to temporarily strengthen vitality and anchor the soul, allowing them to fight even after death.
They didn't need to do more than confirm one thing: whether Gu Fangchen was in the carriage.
One man stepped forward, holding up the Northern Garrison Prince's command token.
"We serve under the Northern Garrison Prince, here to protect the Princess Consort! Please allow us to accompany you for safety!"
The rest surged closer.
If they forced the Martial Saint to act, it would confirm that Gu Fangchen wasn't among them.
Qingjian's face hardened. She leapt into the air, her spirit leaving her body, forming a celestial goddess figure that roared with divine thunder.
The sound crashed like a storm; the pursuers screamed as blood burst from their bodies, their skin corroding in agony.
It was a pain-transference technique of the Tara Sect, few could endure it.
Yet these elite men of the Northern Garrison Prince's household were trained to withstand torture. Grimacing through the agony, they pressed on.
Qingjian's expression darkened as she fought them from above while steering the carriage below.
The leader shouted,
"Princess Consort, we only wish to confirm your and the young lord's safety! If you show him, we will withdraw!"
The carriage sped onward, but they all knew, delay meant more enemies would arrive.
Ning Caiyong's heart clenched. She bit her lip in distress.
Just then, a knock sounded outside the carriage.
Startled, she looked up, and saw an unfamiliar face. She opened her mouth to cry out, but the man raised a finger to his lips for silence, then turned slightly to reveal the tear-streaked face of a girl on his back.
"Mother!"
"Lianqian!"
...
While the others fought in chaos, Gu Fangchen had silently landed behind the convoy.
Concealing his presence, he approached Ning Caiyong's carriage, exchanged a glance with Qingjian, and handed Gu Lianqian over.
As he turned to leave, Gu Lianqian caught his sleeve, panic flashing in her eyes.
"Y-you... where are you going?"
Ning Caiyong froze. She had never seen her daughter so dependent on a man before.
Gu Fangchen smiled faintly, gently freeing her hand.
"Stay here, little princess. The Princess Consort is with you. I'm only going to the other carriage to ask the Xiyin Attendant to heal me."
Gu Lianqian watched him enter the neighboring carriage, then suddenly realized.
There were only two carriages: one belonging to her mother, the other to Gu Fangchen.
But if the Daoist "Not" had gone to seek treatment in the other carriage... then Gu Fangchen wasn't there!
Her lips pressed tight. Her gaze turned cold again.
Enduring the pain, she stood up, ignoring her mother's cry of alarm, and staggered toward the other carriage.
It was all because of Gu Fangchen that she had suffered so much,
This time, she would make him pay!
(end of chapter)