GTB Chapter 23

Chapter 23: What Kind of Relative Should I Be?

Jiang Jiuchu paused, looking at Song Fuge sitting on the large rock. She couldn’t help but recall that dark night, that deep pit…

She suddenly had a strong urge to ask him, to ask how he had been all these years.

It seemed she had never heard Brother Fu mention his relatives, the ones who raised him.

She lifted her foot and slowly walked over, sitting down beside Song Fuge. “Brother Fu, I’m sorry.”

She didn’t know if he was doing well, but she knew that she hadn’t rescued him in time.

Upon hearing this, Song Fuge was momentarily puzzled. He didn’t understand why the little girl had suddenly changed her expression and was apologizing to him.

Jiang Jiuchu continued, “After I went back that year, I fell asleep for a whole day and night. When I woke up, when I asked my father to look for you again, you were nowhere to be found.”

“Later, my father also searched the nearby villages, but he still couldn’t find you.”

The more Jiang Jiuchu spoke, the more she blamed herself. “Brother Fu must have waited a long time in the pit! I wonder if the person who saved you treated you well?”

Song Fuge’s heart stirred. Looking at the self-reproaching girl in front of him, he suddenly understood why she remembered him so deeply. It turned out that this self-blame and worry had been hanging in her heart all along.

In fact, he hadn’t waited long that year. At dawn, people from the Shadow Gate passed by and rescued him. After learning that he was an orphan with no relatives, they took him away.

As for whether he was doing well, he secretly smiled bitterly in his heart. In the first few years after entering the Shadow Gate, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was in hell. At that time, he had completely relied on his mother’s dying words, on the only bloodline his living parents had left in this world, to survive.

His thoughts flashed in an instant. He suppressed the emotions in his eyes and said with a faint smile, “Very good, not bad. I recognized a foster father. He taught me my martial arts. However, he was old and has already passed away.”

Jiang Jiuchu was stunned when she heard this. So he had passed away. No wonder she hadn’t heard Brother Fu mention him. She gave Song Fuge a comforting smile.

“It’s okay, Brother Fu, don’t be sad. Burn some paper money for your foster father when the time comes. He will definitely live a wealthy life over there.”

The corners of Song Fuge’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself, why is this girl’s mind so peculiar? It was the first time he had heard someone comfort someone like this.

Of course, he didn’t need comfort. That foster father of his… hehe, let him be poor over there!

After comforting that side, Jiang Jiuchu continued to comfort this side, “Of course, Brother Fu, don’t feel lonely either. In the future, our Jiang family will be your relatives.”

“Brother Fu, why don’t you go to our house next time! Just treat it as your own home, don’t treat it as socializing. My family is simple, just my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. They are all very nice.”

“Okay.” Song Fuge nodded earnestly, as if he had listened, and then asked,

“But there are many kinds of relatives. Which kind of relative should I be more appropriate, or which kind of relative does Chu’er want me to be?”

“Be…” Jiang Jiuchu didn’t know how to answer for a moment. She felt that the relatives she was talking about were just getting along like relatives, meaning treating each other as relatives, not necessarily becoming relatives.

She felt that being serious about it was a bit confusing, but if she said that, would it make Brother Fu feel that she wasn’t sincere?

She thought for a moment and had no choice but to say, “Then, should I ask my father to adopt you as a godson too?”

Upon hearing this, the expression on Song Fuge’s face froze. He felt that the little girl’s serious thinking expression was a bit ominous, and sure enough.

He sighed helplessly. “No, I already have a foster father. Recognizing another foster father would be disloyal to the deceased foster father.”

After he finished speaking, his handsome face moved closer to Jiang Jiuchu, his voice low and mellow, with a unique charm that belonged to men. “Isn’t there… any other relative identities?”

In an instant, the girl’s fragrance and the man’s cool aura merged with the fragrance of peach blossoms, permeating the noses of the two, causing their hearts to beat wildly.

Jiang Jiuchu was startled by the suddenly approaching handsome face. Her constantly pounding heart made her stand up in a panic after a moment of stunned silence.

“I…” Jiang Jiuchu thought for a moment, and suddenly thought of something, exclaiming, “Oh no, I forgot I have to rush back to attend the blessing ceremony at the end of the *Shi*.” (*Shi* is an ancient Chinese time division system)

“Brother Fu, I have to go back. My maid must be looking for me everywhere.” Oh no, oh no, she really forgot. Would her mother be angry later?

“Okay, I’ll see you out of this peach blossom forest.” Song Fuge quickly stood up and asked, “You shouldn’t be rushing back today, right?”

Jiang Jiuchu lifted her foot and walked out, answering as she walked, “Yeah, my mother has to attend another blessing ceremony tomorrow morning, and we’ll go back at noon.”

“Slow down. Anyway, you’ve already missed it. It’s the same to pray tomorrow morning. It’s the sincerity that counts.”

“I’m just afraid that my mother and Lu Luo will worry.” Jiang Jiuchu walked quickly ahead, not turning her head back.

What she was thinking in her heart was, she had forgotten to such an extent, was she still sincere?

A quarter of an hour later, the two came out of the peach forest. Only then did Jiang Jiuchu look up at Song Fuge beside her. “Brother Fu, then I’ll go to the blessing platform to take a look first.”

“Okay.” Song Fuge nodded. He also had to go down the mountain. Recently, the affairs of the Hidden Trace Pavilion had been a bit busy, and he had to go back to deal with them.

He looked at the quickly running away figure, and suddenly felt that this girl must be deliberately avoiding the question, that’s why she was so eager to leave!

He smiled and turned around to head towards the road down the mountain.

On the other side, the maid Lu Luo searched the temple for a circle but couldn’t see her young lady’s figure.

In the end, she had no choice but to wait anxiously near the blessing platform until she saw that pink figure, and the expression on her face suddenly relaxed.

“Miss, where did you run off to?” This servant searched several times but couldn’t find you.

Jiang Jiuchu looked up at the blessing ceremony that was taking place in front of her and replied to Lu Luo, “I found a particularly beautiful peach forest nearby, so I went in to admire the peach blossoms for a while. I didn’t expect to forget the time.”

Lu Luo didn’t think much when she heard this. After all, her young lady had a variety of personalities. Sometimes she couldn’t sit still for a moment, but sometimes she could swing on the swing for half a day.

“Madam said that if you are late, you don’t have to participate. Just pray tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, then let’s go back to the guest room. I’m tired of wandering around too.” Jiang Jiuchu said, turning around and walking towards the backyard.

However, as she passed a corner, a white figure suddenly jumped down from a large tree beside her and landed in front of her, startling her to take two steps back.

The white-clothed man cupped his hands and smiled. “Girl, do you think praying is too boring, so you secretly ran out? I am the same. How about I take you to stroll around here?”

Jiang Jiuchu looked at the white-clothed man who suddenly appeared in front of her. An inexplicable feeling of wantonness made her frown involuntarily and walk past from the side without saying a word.

Seeing this, the white-clothed man didn’t speak again, but turned around and looked at Jiang Jiuchu’s back, the greedy color in his eyes constantly surging.

With a leap, the man jumped onto the rough tree beside him again, his gaze following the direction in which Jiang Jiuchu left, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

It seems that big brother was right. Today, this temple is indeed full ofdelicate beauty, he has been picking flowers for so many years, and has never seen such a beauty, just one glance, he can’t help but feel the restlessness in his heart and his heart is surging.