Chapter 324: 324. Impossible to Like

Translator: 549690339

Before the sky had brightened, Su Liang got up and fetched water for a simple wash. Following her old habit, she circled the small courtyard ten times, then fashioned a crude wooden sword in the blink of an eye with a kitchen knife, and practiced the new swordsmanship she learned last night in the open space of the courtyard.

Qiao Cong’s judgment was very precise. The Luoying Swordsmanship was not suitable for martial artists like Su Liang who had started late, and it would be difficult to make further progress. The new swordsmanship he taught her felt smooth and natural just starting out. Once Su Liang became proficient, it flowed smoothly. The sword techniques were more intricate than the Luoying Sword, relying on skill to achieve victory. This was precisely what Su Liang was best at.

She practiced the swordsmanship five times and completed all her daily training routines just as the first rays of the sun illuminated the tranquil and serene bamboo forest.

Su Liang picked some tender wild vegetable shoots from the edge of the bamboo forest and combined them with the lean meat Qiao Cong brought back yesterday to make a pot of fresh meat and wild vegetable dumplings.

The aroma filled the entire courtyard only when Qiao Cong appeared in the distance. Su Liang didn’t know if he had gotten up and gone elsewhere or had been in his room all the time, so she didn’t bother asking.

“Who did you learn this from?” Qiao Cong asked.

Stirring the small dumplings floating in the pot, Su Liang chuckled, “Are you asking about my cooking skills, Master? I knew some to begin with. After the accident at home, I went back to my hometown in Bei’an County, but I ended up among a group of treacherous relatives who treated me like a slave, making me cook and do laundry for them. That’s when I honed my skills.” “You? Enslaved?” Qiao Cong’s tone was clearly incredulous.

But Su Liang wasn’t deliberately lying. Since she couldn’t talk about the transmigration, what she said about the Original Master was true. “I’ve died once, and after coming back to life, I met the best friend of this life who taught me martial arts and gave me a chance at a new life. Being strong gives you confidence. ”

Qiao Cong didn’t question her anymore. He was a top martial artist and had noticed last night that Su Liang’s martial arts skills were picked up later in life. She was not yet seventeen this year, and her current strength was proof of her talent, insight, resilience, and effort.

“Master, bring a bowl,” Su Liang called out naturally to Qiao Cong.

Qiao Cong washed his hands by the well and brought over two bowls. He held the bowl while Su Liang scooped dumplings into it.

“It’s a pity that we don’t have any vinegar here, otherwise the taste would be even better,” Su Liang said. “When will you go shopping again, Master? Please buy some necessary seasonings.”

Qiao Cong didn’t agree or refuse and just sat down to eat the steaming hot dumplings in his bowl.

Su Liang scooped out half a bowl for herself, sat across from Qiao Cong, stirred the dumplings to let the heat disperse a little, and didn’t eat in a hurry.

“Master, when will Nangong Qian arrive? Will Situ Jing come too?”

Qiao Cong didn’t answer, and Su Liang didn’t ask further. She saw the reasonable side of this old man but also experienced being choked by his gold wire and having Gu Ling taken away. That incident was unreasonable and very vicious.

Therefore, Su Liang was outwardly relaxed but carefully probing Qiao Cong’s character and trying to get close to him.

Even the decision to venture out of the bamboo forest yesterday and dig a bamboo shoot along the way was a precaution in case she ran into Qiao Cong and needed an excuse to explain herself.

After breakfast, Su Liang took the vegetable seeds Qiao Cong had bought yesterday and went to the backyard to plant them.

Not seeing any other tools, she took an axe and loosened the soil.

After a while, Qiao Cong appeared, holding a hoe from an unknown source, and silently tilled the land.

Su Liang guessed it was left over from when the bamboo was dug up and the land was reclaimed for building houses.

Tilling the soil, digging holes, sowing seeds, covering the soil, and watering.

While working, Su Liang told Qiao Cong what they needed to buy next time they went shopping. Not just food ingredients, but also stationery, tools for making medicine, and ideally some books she hadn’t read before to pass the time.

Qiao Cong remained silent.

Su Liang knew that he must have heard her. His silence most likely meant agreement. Although they had only truly met yesterday, Su Liang had already gleaned some experience on how to get along with him.

After planting the vegetables, Su Liang washed the clothes she had removed by the well, and when she looked up again, Qiao Cong was gone.

After washing the clothes and hanging them on a bamboo pole in the courtyard, Su Liang picked up a basket, brought her axe, and entered the bamboo forest again.

This time, they didn’t go far, so there was no need to leave marks; instead, they picked some wild vegetables and returned. Since they had already confirmed yesterday that they were far away from the mainland on an island and she was “voluntarily” captured, escaping wasn’t wise. They would wait for Nangong Qian to arrive and see how things unfolded.

At noon, Qiao Cong was nowhere to be found, so Su Liang made some vegetable egg pancakes for lunch by herself.

In the afternoon, with nothing else to do, she went to the nearby bamboo forest to select and cut down some sturdy bamboos, intending to make some exercise aids.

However, once she started, Su Liang realized it wasn’t as easy as it seemed and missed Gu Ling even more. When the two of them were together, Gu Ling was the one skilled in such craftwork and handled these tasks, while Su Liang only provided ideas.

At the halfway point, having no suitable rope and accidentally hurting her hand in the process, Su Liang decided to give up temporarily.

It wasn’t until evening that Qiao Cong appeared, carrying a large bamboo basket and a bamboo basket. He placed the items on the table in the courtyard and then went back to his room.

Su Liang looked through the things Qiao Cong brought back. Aside from foodstuffs, tea, and meat, there were also many spices in the bamboo basket. In the other basket, there were decent writing supplies, a small hoe for digging medicinal herbs, various tools for making medicine, and five books with somewhat yellowing pages, showing they were of some age. Su Liang picked up one and was surprised to find that it was an ancient medical book, not something easily purchasable.

Flipping through the book, Su Liang walked to Qiao Cong’s door, “Master, where did you buy this medical book?”

There was no response from inside the room.

Did he perhaps steal it from some famous doctor’s house…? Su Liang thought to herself.

“Thank you, Master.” Su Liang spoke with a smile, “What would you like for dinner?”

This time, there was a reply from the room, one word, “Meat.”

As dusk fell, the enticing aroma of meat filled the courtyard. Qiao Cong finally emerged from his room, wearing a new set of clothes.

Looking at the bamboo Su Liang had chopped, Qiao Cong asked what she intended to do with it.

“To make a rack,” Su Liang described the equipment for doing pull-ups. Qiao Cong squinted his eyes, “Who taught you?”

“Oh, there was a wooden rack in my home in Su Village that I got accustomed to using. No one taught me.” Su Liang smiled.

Qiao Cong glanced at the pile of bamboo again and eyed Su Liangs bandaged hand, without further questioning.

With the availability of spices, tonight’s dinner was quite lavish. Sweet and sour ribs, tea-flavored chicken, minced meat and vegetable soup, and even the main dish was a fresh meat thousand-layer pancake, fully satisfying Qiao Cong’s craving for meat.

Qiao Cong tasted the tea-flavored chicken, “Tea leaves?”

Su Liang nodded, “Yes. Master, you may know that I am now the head of the Ning Family, the largest tea merchant in Qian Country. Nothing is more abundant than tea leaves. Previously, I even made tea -flavored chicken with tribute-quality Dahongpao, which tasted even better.”

When Qiao Cong put down his chopsticks, the plate was empty, and the soup was finished. He looked at Su Liang, “You are trying hard to please me, but I won’t let you leave.”

As Su Liang cleaned the dishes, she nodded without a change in her expression, “I know. Of course, there is some element of pleasing, but not entirely. After all, I have to eat too. Things like boiling a whole chicken, as Master originally intended yesterday, I might not be able to eat. Besides,

Master taught me swordsmanship, so I’m definitely not at a loss.”

But what she was actually thinking was that since the old man didn’t like talking and took the initiative to mention “not letting her leave,” it precisely indicated that he had considered letting her leave.

Only when Qiao Cong willingly let Su Liang go would it truly be safe.

The clothes Su Liang had washed during the day were already dry, so she took them back to her room. She didn’t go so far as to offer to wash Qiao Cong’s dirty clothes. In the past, due to their division of labor, she never washed Gu Ling’s clothes; instead, Gu Ling helped her wash her clothes.

At night, Su Liang practiced her swordsmanship under the moonlight again. Then, holding the bamboo shoots, she took a walk around the bamboo grove before returning to her room to read the medical book with a lamp.

Feeling sleepy, Su Liang chatted with her bamboo shoot friend before going to bed, “Little God, the Great God said that he would destroy Yin Country earlier. He should not be looking for me now, but heading to Yin Country instead, right? Perhaps he chose Yin Country because it was close to Jiaye City, where we were at that time?”

This was what happened the day Su Liang got caught. However, due to the incidents that followed, the two didn’t have a chance to talk. Now, she was just guessing what Gu Ling would do after she left.

Gu Ling might be looking for her everywhere, but Su Liang felt the possibility was not very high. It wasn’t as if she was suddenly caught; it was Gu Ling who took her to the boat by the river. If they couldn’t resolve the real conflict, there would be no point for her to go back now since her decision to be captured would be completely meaningless

Su Liang patted the bamboo shoot, “You age so fast, you are thinner than yesterday. ”

Of course, the bamboo shoot wouldn’t answer Su Liang, but she heard someone talking.

“Dad, is she behaving?”

Nangong Lin! Su Liang’s eyes grew cold, as she sat up from the bed. It seemed that Nangong Qian had arrived.

Without hearing Qiao Cong’s response to the previous question, the door in the next room opened, and someone went in. Judging by the footsteps, there were three people. Qiao Cong, Nangong Lin, Nangong Qian… No, Su Liang felt that Nangong Qian was being carried or held by someone, and the third set of footsteps was very light, perhaps a maid.

After a while, the footsteps came to Su Liang’s door.

“Xiaoliang, it’s master.” Nangong Lin was knocking on the door.

Su Liang wanted to vomit when she heard his voice and what he said. This man was truly a rare pervert she had encountered since traveling through time. What master? Her current master was Qiao Cong.

“You go.” Qiao Cong’s voice came.

“Dad, I want to see Su Liang, and I have something to ask her.” Nangong Lin said.

Qiao Cong didn’t speak again, and Nangong Lin continued knocking on the door, suggesting that if Su Liang didn’t come out, he would go in.

Su Liang got up from the bed, picked up the bamboo shoot, and walked over.

She opened the door, and faced Nangong Lin’s face, which once seemed not too bad looking. Now it only made her sick. Su Liang wished that the bamboo shoot in her hand would turn into a cactus, and she would definitely throw it at him.

“This is…” Nangong Lin looked at Su Liang with a smile, and soon noticed her bamboo shoot.

Su Liang did it on purpose, holding some bizarre thing, which was very helpful in acting and dealing with this pervert.

“My friend.” Su Liang’s expression was cold.

Nangong Lin chuckled, “Xiaoliang, I know you are not happy with your current situation, and don’t want to be apart from Ling’er. But we were forced by you too, we had no choice. If you guys didn’t meddle in these things, it would have been better.”

“It would be better if you died as soon as you were born,” Su Liang said coldly.

Nangong Lin’s face darkened under the moonlight, “I don’t mind your disrespect, but I know you’re smart, and I’d like to remind you not to bully

Qian’er, it wouldn’t do you any good.”

Su Liang patted the bamboo shoot in her hand, “Little God, go to sleep. Don’t listen to these bullshit non-human words, or I’m afraid you’ll get so angry that you’ll bloom. But blooming is also nice, as I’ve never seen a bamboo shoot bloom before.”

Nangong Lin snorted coldly, “Su Liang, don’t pretend to be stupid!”

Su Liang looked innocent, “Oh, so you can think I’m stupid, but I can’t pretend to be? Then why don’t you speak human language first? Oh, sorry, I forgot, you’re not a person.”

“You!” Nangong Lin was finally enraged, “Are you choosing to drink the penalty instead of the toast?”

Su Liang was very calm, “Getting angry already? I risked being punished by the emperor to save your daughter, and in return, you sent someone to kidnap my husband. And now you have the nerve to call yourself my master? What kind of master are you? A zombie or a corpse? You’re allowed to disgust me, but I can’t say a word? You can be shameless, but expect me to be nice to you? Just kill me or don’t let me see you again, otherwise, I’ll curse you every time I see you until

I can turn you into a corpse!”

Nangong Lin narrowed his eyes, and reached out to grab Su Liang’s neck.

Su Liang didn’t move, and just before Nangong Lin’s hand could touch her, it was blocked by Qiao Cong.

“Dad, why won’t you let me discipline her? With such an attitude, how can she treat Qian’er well?” Nangong Lin frowned.

Qiao Cong shook off his hand and said coldly, “Go.”

Nangong Lin looked at Su Liang coldly, “Take good care of Qianqian. If anything goes wrong with her, you won’t be let off easily!”

Su Liang chuckled, “Be careful not to get struck by lightning.”

Nangong Lin flung his sleeve and went into the next room, leaving shortly after.

Su Liang stood under the eaves holding the bamboo shoot, and after Nangong Lin left the courtyard, a shadow emerged from the bamboo forest and disappeared with him. She suspected it was Situ Jing.

However, Situ Jing claimed to like her but didn’t even show his face, indicating that he had made a more advantageous choice for himself.

Qiao Cong squinted at Su Liang, who looked back at him openly. In fact, the words she used just now to scold Nangong Lin were also meant for Qiao Cong to hear. She wanted to know the reaction of the old man and determine his relationship with Nangong Lin. After all, they were only master and disciple, and not biological father and son. If Qiao Cong didn’t unconditionally trust and protect Nangong Lin, things would be much easier to handle.

As a result, Su Liang saw that their relationship wasn’t that good. She guessed

that Qiao Cong had initially captured Gu Ling for Nangong Qian’s sake and was deceived by Nangong Lin, who claimed they were already engaged…

At this thought, Su Liang said to Qiao Cong, “Master, I want to clarify something. My husband has never been engaged to Nangong Qian. He didn’t lose his mother at birth, and he heard his mother-in-law mention many things about his aunt, so it’s impossible for him to have a secret engagement with her that he didn’t know about, but Nangong Lin knew about.” Qiao Cong frowned at the news, “It’s just one person’s word.”

“Nangong Lin’s words are also one person’s word.” Su Liang said.

Qiao Cong turned and left.

Su Liang glanced at the neighboring room with the light on and went in with the bamboo shoot.

There was a maid named Qiuyue, whom she had met in the branch courtyard of Hefeng City. Another one called Chun Hua didn’t come with them.

Seeing Su Liang, Qiuyue immediately became wary, “Miss Su, my young lady has gone to sleep.”

“Oh, then I’ll see her tomorrow.” Su Liang immediately left with the bamboo shoot.

Qiuyue looked inexplicable, she went over and lifted the bed curtain, revealing Nangong Qian with wide-open eyes and a worse complexion than the last time Su Liang saw her.

“She was… scolding my father just now, wasn’t she?” Nangong Qian asked weakly.

Qiuyue’s eyes flickered, neither confirming nor denying.

“Vile woman… vile woman…” Nangong Qian gritted her teeth, “My grandfather loves me the most. I must find a way to make her die…”

Just then, Su Liang, still standing outside the door, heard Nangong Qian’s words and calmly returned to her room.

“Little God, even though Nangong Qian is Qiao Cong’s most cherished granddaughter, if she insists on causing trouble, I’ll have to fulfill her wish and let Qiao Cong see her true face. So what if I scolded her father? I want to kill her father too.” Su Liang communicated with the bamboo shoot through her thoughts, afraid of being overheard. She wasn’t afraid of Nangong Qian’s actions and even hoped she would act more, as without action, there won’t be death…

On the other side, Nangong Lin and Situ Jing went to the sea, boarded the ship they’d arrived on, and left overnight.

Situ Jing stood silently at the bow of the ship, looking at the dark sea. He had shaved off his beard, revealing his original young face that had delicate features. Simply looking at his eyebrows and eyes wouldn’t make anyone think of Situ Han, but when looking at his whole face, they shared a striking resemblance.

Nangong Lin suddenly spoke, “Jingjing, I’m a little worried that your grandfather will be charmed by that girl Su Liang. She’s an expert at manipulating people’s hearts.”

Situ Jing seemed not to have heard, just looking ahead.

Nangong Lin looked back at the island that had become a shadow in the distance, murmuring, “But with Qianqian there, your grandfather couldn’t possibly like Su Liang..”