chapter 19

Perhaps because of the snow flurries earlier, Gu Nan’s small courtyard made her shiver slightly in the cold night .

Tightly hugging her clothes, Gu Nan sat underneath the courtyard’s old tree .

The thin snow on the ground had not fully disappeared . The snow remained in small blotches on the ground .

The darkness always fell sooner in winter . Although it’s not that late, the sky was already completely dark .

The half-moon hung overhead in the sky, illuminating the land with its subtle light .

She still held her sword in her hand, looking at the sky with a blank look .

Her mind was adrift and didn’t notice that Xiao Lu walked out from the house and came behind here .

“Miss . ” A voice shouted out again . Looking back, Gu Nan saw Xiao Lu standing behind her, placing a cloak upon her shoulders . “It’s night already, and it’s easy to catch a cold . ”

“It’s fine . ” Gu Nan smiled and shrugged her shoulders . “Being such a rough person, my body is naturally quite tough as well . ”

“Miss shouldn’t talk nonsense . Miss isn’t a rough person . ” Xiao Lu grinned as she sorted out the cloak’s creases .

Xiao Lu took the opportunity to whisper over Gu Nan’s shoulder . “Mr . Wang Jian came to chat with the lord . I heard them mention you, miss . ”

“Hm? Wang Jian, that guy . If he’s here, he probably won’t be saying many good things . ” Gu Nan waved her hand in dismissal .

“Then, miss, I’ll be off . ” Xiao Lu peeked at Gu Nan’s expression and could see that she had something on her mind .

After a slight bow, Xiao Lu prepared to leave .

Gu Nan, however, thought of a question and asked, “Xiao Lu, where are you from?”

Xiao Lu was caught unprepared and took a moment to respond . “Miss, I am from Anyi . ”

“Anyi…” Gu Nan nodded, somewhat remembering Bai Qi say that it wasn’t too far away from Xianyang .

“So why have you come to Xianyang?”

Xiao Lu’s voice turned a bit down, as she said, “When I was young, my family was poor and couldn’t afford more children . So, I was taken out and sold to be a servant . ”

Gu Nan felt like she brought something up that shouldn’t be asked . Who would be like to live a life akin to a slave?

“Sorry . ”

“Nothing . ” Xiao Lu smiled a bit . Compared to other places, Bai Manor is already quite good .

Xiao Lu is roughly a few years older than Gu Nan, although she doesn’t particularly look like it . [TL: ~18-20]

“But for miss to have been orphaned at such a young age, it’s truly sad how the world is . A good girl like miss should’ve been born in a nice wealthy family . ”

“Oh, that’s not a big deal . ” Gu Nan shook her head . Only she knew the discrepancy of how much she really suffered and how much people thought she suffered . She wasn’t that pitiful when she met Bai Qi .

“You know, I’m quite the boorish person . Skipping a couple meals and walking a few roads, what does that count as?”

Xiao Lu shook her head in disagreement . “Miss, you’re still going with that nonsense . You’re so handsome, and you’re a girl too . How does that count as boorish?”

“Hey, what I said was true . ” Gu Nan rolled her eyes .

“Miss Gu . ” A voice called out from outside the courtyard walls . A few moments later, a spirited young man walked over, carrying two earthen jars in his hands .

“Mr . Wang Jian . ” Xiao Lu quickly bowed in greeting . Wang Jian was an official and furthermore a guest so she can’t be rude .

“Miss Lu doesn’t need to be so polite . ” Wang Jian smiled and nodded .

“Hey, what stuff did you bring along with you?” Gu Nan asked nonchalantly . She was, for the most part, wholly uninterested in mingling with him .

Although Wang Jian has a series of embarrassing first encounters with her, she did see him as a forthright man and one that treated others based on ability rather than titles . But even still, he was one of those military guys and getting too close wasn’t good .

“Miss, I’ll go first . ” Xiao Lu saw that Wang Jian had come to discuss and understood to leave

“Yeah, yeah . Go or else he’ll secretly stare at you in a daze . ”

Gu Nan eyed the departing Xiao Lu before turning to face the courtyard’s new guest .

“Why have you come to visit?” While asking, her eyes drifted to the two jugs of wine in his hands .

“Care for a drink?”

Gu Nan loves alcohol . Wang Jian found that out because he saw her outside the manor, secretly drinking in one of the restaurants .

Since then, they could practically be considered drinking buddies

But after thinking about it, if Wang Jian walked in, wine in hand, her master probably wouldn’t let him in . Ghost Valley wouldn’t bat an eye but neither would he encourage it . If she could drink unimpeded, she wouldn’t have to resort to sneaking out .

In Bai Qi’s words, it is drinking that leads to poor thinking .

Wang Jian smiled . “Don’t worry about it . The reason I came is to have a drink with you . I already talked with Lord Wu’an about it . ”

What! Seriously? It’s like I wanted to take a nap and someone gives me a pillow .

“Clank . ”

Wang Jian plopped down next to Gu Nan . He didn’t care about getting his robes a bit dirty . He placed the two giant jars down with a light thud .

He pushed one of the jars in front of Gu Nan .

“As I said, any matters will be handled by me . ”

“Hoh? Haha, enough stalling, get the drinks out, quickly . ” Her eagerness was plastered across her face .

Wang Jian looked at her expectant look and chuckled . Opening the seal to one of the jars, he poured it out into two cups .

The clear wine swayed in her bronze cup . It emitted a sweet and fragrant scent that permeated the chilly night .

After enjoying the soothing smell, she quickly gulped it down .

The wine went down her throat like an ingested flame . A mild burning sensation tingled through her, all the way to her stomach .

The chill she felt on her body was quickly dispelled .

“Ahhh~”

Sighing comfortably, Gu Nan leaned back against that tree trunk .

She shook the now-empty cup and frowned .

“Not strong enough . ”

Wang Jian was expecting for this alcoholic to say something like that . “This is still not enough? This is already the strongest wine in all of Xianyang . I had to pay a high price for these two jars . Miss, I’m afraid that no wine will be enough to for you . ”

As Gu Nan leaned forward in complaint, her long hair shifted across her face .

Her sword leaned against her resting arm . Her cyan robes were somewhat relaxed, and her cup dangled from her outstretched hand . She gave off the aura of an ancient warrior relaxing to good wine and music .

Gu Nan scoffed lightly . “Ha, if I have the chance . I’ll make some myself! And then, I’ll have you taste what true drink is . ”

The winemaking process during the Warring States period is still very rudimentary . The strongest alcohol isn’t much stronger than modern beer .

“Then good, I must thank Miss Gu for accompanying me . ” Wang Jian smiled and drank the rest of his cup . His face began to turn a slight red . Obviously, to him, this alcohol was already quite strong .

“Nothing to be concerned about . ” Gu Nan grabbed the jar and refilled her cup . “You came today to simply drink?”

Wang Jian paused at Gu Nan’s question . With a moment of silence, he let out a sigh .

With a induced leisure, he said, “I heard that you’re going to Changping?”

“Yes . ”

“The path is dangerous . This wine, I’ll gift it to you for your journey . ” Wang Jian raised his cup and smiled .

Gu Nan rolled her eyes . Parting gift? More like a gift before my funeral .

Nevertheless, she also raised her cup and clinked their cups in a toast .

‘Lively drinking from the cups, time passing by without notice . By then, the wine has passed . ’

Gu Nan took another sip but an inexplicable smile formed .

She turned to Wang Jian .

“I haven’t even competed in a drinking contest yet . ”

Wang Jian muttered back, “What… good is there… to compete with you?”

He was in a state of near incomprehensibility, staring lazily at the fallen leaves on the ground .

Turning the leaf over and over .

Gu Nan smiled at his drunk actions and turned back to her wine .

But Wang Jian’s voice said out loud something again .

In his drunk voice, he muttered, “Us, our kind of people . We were… born to fight . …But only to die on the battlefield . ”

The two didn’t continue .

Gu Nan raised her cup towards the moon, squinting at the soft light .

She gazed as the bronze wine cup reflected the cold moonlight .

“Fine wine in a jade moonlight cup;Urge to drink but the pipa player orders us onwards . If we are drunk, crouching on the battlefield, do not laugh;Since old times, how many men return from war?”

[TL: Wang Han (Tang Dynasty) “A Song of Liangzhou”]

“Miss Gu, good poetry . ” Wang Jian was still quite drunk but raise his hand . “Finish this wine!”

“Haha, alright . ”