Gu Chenzhou woke up to find the sun already high in the sky.
Opening his eyes, he discovered himself in a completely unfamiliar environment, his senses immediately on high alert.
He instinctively reached for his sword, only to find himself utterly devoid of strength. His limbs refused to obey him.
A shock went through him. He opened his mouth to call for his master, but after several attempts, he realized he couldn't even make a sound.
What on earth was going on?
What had happened to him?
Where was he?
He could hear another person breathing in the room, but it wasn't his master.
With great effort, Gu Chenzhou managed to turn his head. He saw a young man, drooling, slumped asleep on a table opposite the bed.
He rolled his eyes around, taking in the furnishings of the room. He preliminarily concluded that this was likely some inn.
Had his master brought him here to recuperate and hired someone to look after him?
Then where was his master?
A sudden memory of what happened before his consciousness fragmented made Gu Chenzhou anxious.
His current training excursion with his master was actually a mission where his master had found some clues and brought him along to investigate.
Everything had gone smoothly initially; they had uncovered many leads.
However, during their retreat, he had witnessed some overly disturbing scenes...
He couldn't recall what happened afterward, but he was safe now. His master must have brought him out.
But where was his master?
Gu Chenzhou was inwardly anxious. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, and this feeling of being utterly out of control was maddening.
Yuanbao, dozing at the table, suddenly jolted awake.
He turned to see the person on the bed had woken up. He leaped up in a panic, "Young Master, you're awake? Are you thirsty? I'll fetch you some water."
Yuanbao quickly grabbed the teapot and began pouring.
Gu Chenzhou's expression tightened. He felt his bladder expanding with the prolonged sound of pouring tea...
Unhelpfully, this simpleton Yuanbao didn't notice anything amiss. He only thought that Gu Chenzhou had slept for so long, his lips looked so dry they were peeling. He eagerly poured water and helped him up, intending to feed him.
Gu Chenzhou was extremely resistant. He was at his limit and wanted to speak but couldn't, which made him desperate.
Yuanbao remembered Jiang Wan's words clearly: her brother was paralyzed and mute, and had a bad temper.
So, as he brought the cup to Gu Chenzhou's lips, seeing him refuse, Yuanbao assumed he was throwing a tantrum again. He boldly pried open Gu Chenzhou's teeth with the cup and poured the water directly into his mouth.
Gu Chenzhou nearly choked to death.
People with an urgent need to relieve themselves are most afraid of sneezing or coughing, as it's easy to lose control.
Gu Chenzhou used his entire willpower to prevent himself from making a fool of himself.
His body was out of his control, and to be manipulated like this, Gu Chenzhou's face turned completely black, exuding a chilling aura.
Yuanbao, terrified, dared not act rashly. He quickly put Gu Chenzhou back on the bed, "Young Master, please don't be angry. I was just afraid you were thirsty. Are you hungry now? Shall I ask the kitchen to prepare something for you?"
Gu Chenzhou was furious. He simply closed his eyes, refusing to look at Yuanbao, and focused on holding back.
Yuanbao scratched his head, completely unable to understand his new master.
Jiang Wan slept until almost the afternoon before waking up.
She threw off the covers and stretched. She changed out of the clothes she hadn't had time to remove that morning and shook them, preparing to discard them.
A folded square object fell out.
Jiang Wan picked it up and looked. Huh, this... was Yuanbao's deed of sale!
She smacked her forehead. She knew she had forgotten something! The energy tree!
She wondered if it had woken up yet!
Jiang Wan quickly changed into another set of clothes and went out. Seeing Su Shi sitting under the corridor embroidering, she casually asked, "Sister-in-law, where are Dad and Mom?"
Su Shi replied, "They've taken your second brother to the county town. They said they were going to purchase things for the wedding."
Jiang Wan immediately said, "Then I'll go to the county town to find them."
With that, Jiang Wan hurried to the stable, led out Xiao Hong, mounted it, and rode off.
Su Shi, watching such a small person riding such a large horse, felt her heart tremble. What if she fell off?
What's more, her in-laws never stopped her, even indulging her boldness.
Su Shi obviously didn't know why her in-laws were so confident in letting their daughter-in-law ride a large horse, and Jiang Wan certainly wouldn't explain it to her.
Riding Xiao Hong at a gallop into the city, she arrived in front of the inn. As she entered, she met Yuanbao, who was carrying a basin.
"Greetings, Miss."
Jiang Wan glanced at the basin in his hand, "Where are you going?"
Yuanbao's eyes darted around, not daring to meet hers, "I didn't do anything, just went to wash some clothes."
Jiang Wan found him a bit strange. Washing clothes, why did it seem like he was doing something illicit?
"Has my brother woken up?"
Yuanbao quickly nodded, "The Young Master has woken up, but he seems to be in a bad mood."
Thinking of the look the Young Master gave him, Yuanbao shivered.
He really didn't mean to. It was his first time serving someone...
Upon hearing that Gu Chenzhou had woken up, Jiang Wan went upstairs.
She pushed open the door and saw Gu Chenzhou staring blankly at the mosquito net above the bed.
"Little brother, what's wrong?"
Gu Chenzhou ignored her, his eyeballs not even moving.
Jiang Wan had no idea what Gu Chenzhou had gone through. She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed.
"Little brother, your body isn't well right now, so just rest. Your master has entrusted you to my care. For these next few days, listen to me and wait for your master to return."
Hearing her mention Yan Li, Gu Chenzhou finally reacted.
The effects of the soft muscle powder were potent, causing extremely slow limb reactions in those poisoned. Thus, the most agile part of Gu Chenzhou's body was his eyeballs.
However, he had been lying on his back. Now, to look at Jiang Wan, he had to strain his eyeballs to the side.
Jiang Wan, who had been contemplating how to comfort him, couldn't help but burst into laughter at his comical appearance.
She swore she didn't mean to.
But Gu Chenzhou's appearance was just too funny.
Such a handsome face, contorted like that, who could hold back their laughter?
Seeing Gu Chenzhou's face darken, Jiang Wan quickly covered her mouth.
After finally suppressing her laughter, Jiang Wan said, "Your master said he has some matters to attend to, and you are injured, so it's inconvenient for him to bring you along. He told you to stay here and recover, and he'll be back in a few days."
"This is an inn, and Yuanbao is someone I specifically bought to serve you. If you need anything, just tell him..."
Jiang Wan scratched her head. It seemed he couldn't speak right now.
The moment Gu Chenzhou heard the servant's name, his face darkened further, and he turned his eyeballs to the other side.
Jiang Wan, unaware of the backstory, assumed Gu Chenzhou was throwing a tantrum, "Oh dear, don't be angry."
"If you want to speak, I can allow it, but only if you promise not to shout, so as not to expose your identity or whereabouts."
"If you're willing to cooperate, blink twice."