Gu Chenzhou looked at the young girl in front of him, feeling a headache. "Wanwan, we aren't truly engaged. The news that got out is fake, a temporary measure."
He tried hard to persuade Jiang Wan.
But Jiang Wan was stubborn. "Words spoken are like water spilled. Since the whole village now knows we're engaged, it's only natural for you to give me a betrothal gift, isn't it?"
Gu Chenzhou scratched his hair. "Wanwan, stop messing around, be good and listen, okay?"
Jiang Wan shook her head. "No, if someone asks me what the betrothal gift is later, how will I answer? What if they want to see it? What will I show them? Even if you're lying, you have to go all the way with the act, right?"
Gu Chenzhou couldn't argue with her and finally scratched his head before returning to his room to look for the so-called betrothal gift.
He and his master lived a rather meager life. Apart from a few bank notes, he couldn't find anything valuable.
Just as he was considering whether to go to the county to buy something to pass as a gift, Jiang Wan suddenly spoke. "Don't you have a jade pendant on you? I think that would be perfect as a betrothal gift."
Gu Chenzhou quickly covered his chest. "This won't do."
Jiang Wan glared. "Why not!"
Gu Chenzhou said, "This is my family's ancestral jade pendant."
Jiang Wan said matter-of-factly, "Then it's even more perfect! You use your ancestral jade pendant as a betrothal gift for me, and who would doubt our relationship then?"
Gu Chenzhou still shook his head. "I'll buy you a new one. This one really won't do."
"I only want this one, nothing else! Don't worry, this jade pendant will just be kept by me, I won't secretly sell it to you."
As Jiang Wan spoke, she reached out to snatch it.
Gu Chenzhou quickly dodged. Just as he was about to bolt out the door, Yan Li suddenly appeared at the entrance. "If Wanwan wants it, just give it to her."
"Master, how can this be!"
Yan Li said, "There's nothing that can't be. Since you now have this kind of relationship, it is indeed appropriate to give Wanwan a betrothal gift. Wanwan has been greatly affected by this matter. If people find out about the betrothal gift, I'm afraid more unpleasant rumors will spread."
Gu Chenzhou was still very reluctant. "This is the only thing left from my family."
Yan Li said, "It's just changing its place of safekeeping. Such a precious item, if you wear it around your neck every day and something happens, you'll regret it too late. Let Wanwan keep it for you, and you can ask for it back later."
Jiang Wan nodded. "Exactly, don't be so stingy, I won't embezzle it."
Gu Chenzhou had no choice but to take off the jade pendant and repeatedly instructed, "Please keep it safe. This jade pendant is truly important to me."
Jiang Wan happily took the jade pendant, nodding as she examined it carefully.
The jade pendant had an excellent luster. Because Gu Chenzhou had worn it close to his body, it had absorbed a lot of energy.
After Jiang Wan absorbed the energy from it, she hung the jade pendant around her neck in front of Gu Chenzhou and tucked it inside her clothes.
"Alright, from today onwards, we are officially engaged! Brother Chenzhou, let's go practice martial arts."
Now that they had this status, no one would say anything even if they were together all the time.
Gu Chenzhou's mouth twitched. He was too lazy to explain the matter of "engagement" to her anymore and turned to get his sword.
Forget it, she would understand when she grew up. For now, he needed to quickly improve his own strength.
General Han's army was growing, and who knew when his greatest enemy would be dealt with. He had to quickly kill Zhao Jingyun before General Han to avenge his more than three hundred family members!
Jiang Wan knew his intentions, so she practiced with him every day, then took the opportunity to absorb energy and used her abilities to strengthen his body.
When they were in the mountains before, her abilities were already close to an upgrade. After this period of consolidation and strengthening, her abilities had reached a critical point and could break through at any moment.
If it weren't for the engagement matter a few days ago, her abilities would have likely broken through.
Now that the matter was resolved, Jiang Wan planned to focus all her efforts on breaking through to the next level.
Jiang Wan put all her effort into upgrading, and it went smoothly.
This time, her abilities chose to upgrade in the middle of the night.
When she sensed her body's abilities impacting that invisible barrier, she quickly got out of bed, opened her door, and whistled to summon an eagle.
A moment later, Jiang Wan arrived at the mountain they had hidden in a few days prior.
Upon reaching the mountaintop, Jiang Wan quickly found a place to sit down, guiding her abilities to strive to break through the barrier.
In just a few minutes, Jiang Wan seemed to hear a "pop" sound from her body, like a bubble bursting.
Vast amounts of energy surged through her meridians and cells.
An invisible wave of energy erupted from Jiang Wan's body, and instantly, the plants around her grew a section taller.
'So comfortable~'
'Wow, I grew taller.'
'Huh, why did I suddenly get bigger?'
Various "voices" flooded into Jiang Wan's ears from all directions.
Jiang Wan smiled and reached out to touch a small blade of grass in front of her, flicking a trace of her abilities to it.
After receiving the abilities, the small grass quickly grew to over a meter tall. 'Yay! I grew tall!'
The small grass happily shook its leaves, letting them brush against Jiang Wan's hand, conveying its affection for her.
Jiang Wan's feelings were indescribable. Indeed, after her abilities upgraded again, she could "hear" the "voices" of the plants.
This also meant she could "communicate" with them.
This time, she didn't bother testing the range of her abilities anymore; the abilities she had before upgrading were already enough for her.
Now that she had upgraded again, it was only to cure Gu Chenzhou's illness.
Since she had upgraded, she shouldn't waste any more time!
So she called the eagle and had it carry her down the mountain.
Gu Chenzhou, half-asleep, felt someone by his bed. His body reacted faster than his brain.
Before he was fully awake, his hand had already grasped the other person's neck.
Jiang Wan, furious, slapped the back of his hand.
She had rushed over to help him with his illness as soon as she upgraded, and he, without even opening his eyes, wanted to strangle her!
It was enough to make someone die of anger!
After being slapped, Gu Chenzhou immediately woke up. "Wanwan?! Why are you here at my place in the middle of the night? Go back quickly, it's not proper."
Jiang Wan snorted. "We're engaged now."
"It's fake! Even if it were real, you can't do this in the middle of the night. Come, I'll escort you back."
Gu Chenzhou got up and grabbed his clothes to put them on.
Jiang Wan, however, said, "I have something important to discuss with you, Brother Chenzhou. I think I can cure your illness."