Chapter 13: Karmic Debt

  She had always been a hedonist, and even after traveling to this strange time and space, she still insisted on sitting rather than standing, and lying down rather than sitting. Although the inn had her beloved flushing toilet, the bed was a bit hard, the food was a bit monotonous, and the staff were a bit difficult to deal with. So when Gan Jing suggested inviting her and her father to stay at the Gan estate for a while, she agreed almost without thinking. In just the time it took to finish a few double-skinned milk desserts, Qi Xian had already become familiar with the owner of the shop, as if they had known each other for three hundred years. In the end, she even coaxed the owner into agreeing to teach her all his secrets for making sweet pastries. With that, Qi Xian happily followed Gan Jing out of the fruit and dessert shop.

  Like most wealthy people, the Gan's house is decorated with great care, and it can be seen that the lady of the house has a good taste, unlike those nouveau riche who would build a mansion made of gold if they could. Mr. Gan was always taciturn when he was in Heishui Village, and Qiuxi had always thought he was like a lone traveler wandering around the world, and Heishui Village was just his rest stop. Almost everyone who came to Heishui Village had their own story.

  In the darkness, the scenery of Ganfu's inner courtyard was not very clear. Earlier, when they had just arrived outside the mansion, a young servant came out to greet them and whispered: "Young master, why are you so late today!" It seemed like he was desperately trying to lower his voice for fear of waking up others in the mansion. As they walked through the middle courtyard, a faint cold hum could be heard. If it weren't for the moonlight shining on the corridor, Qī Xiè would have thought it was a ghostly spirit wandering at night. But since it was someone from the mansion, why did they react this way when they heard that the young master of the mansion had returned?

  Gan Jing, who was walking ahead, slowed down his pace and asked Qi Xi with a guilty expression: "Didn't scare you, did he? My brother is always like that." Qi Xi only then realized that Gan Jing had an older brother. To be honest, Gan Jing was also considered a peer to her, and since coming to Sha Zhou, it was no longer possible for him to be her teacher, so in her heart, she had long stopped addressing him as "teacher". Originally, she didn't plan on staying overnight, after all, her father was alone at the inn, and although Ah Guan was ordered to take care of him, he might not have done a thorough job. However, when she followed the servant to the wing room, that maid named Qing Er told her that Old Master Liu had also been arranged by the young master to stay in the mansion, it's just that it was too late now and not convenient to go visit him.

  The bed in the Gan government was indeed much softer than the one in the guest house, and there was a faint scent of incense lingering in the room. However, Qī Miàn still couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning on the bed with her eyes closed. Counting sheep had never been effective for her, as she had always had a strange habit - insomnia. The past few days were also due to this reason, and she couldn't sleep well in the guest house either. Suddenly, a faint sound of a flute came from outside, the melody was mournful and lingering. Although this was someone's home, wandering around randomly might lead to misunderstandings if caught, but the flute seemed to have a special magic power. With a creaking sound, the wooden door slightly opened, and a small figure flashed out of the door.

  Creeping in the dark at Gan's mansion at night, first because of guilt and secondly because I had just scared that Brother Gan once, my heart was always nervous. The Gan family is really big, along this corridor it seems like I've been walking for a long time. Insomnia is painful, but sneaking out at midnight seems unwise, and in fact, the more you don't want to be discovered, the more often things go against your wishes.

  "Who?"

  She heard the sound and immediately held her breath, standing still like a statue, as if she thought that as long as she didn't move or breathe, the other person wouldn't discover her. When she felt like she was about to suffocate, she suddenly realized that it was just a small servant from the Gan household, not a ghost. Holding her breath was useless. She widened her eyes but couldn't see anyone anywhere. Could it be...? Calm down, calm down, since childhood, she had never seen what that thing looked like. If it came out, it would be great, maybe she could even get a ghost pet.

  "Hey, even if you're that kind of thing, you have to be brave and come out and duel with me one on one!" Qiū Xiǎo shouted loudly, but in her heart she was trembling with fear, constantly imagining the ghost's appearance. To be honest, her sneaky appearance had already scared the person on the rooftop half to death at midnight.

  "It's you, come on up." Qi Xi was surprised to find that the voice came from above her head. She retreated a few steps and walked to the sky well before she could see clearly that it wasn't Gan Jing but someone else on the rooftop. This person must be crazy, blowing a flute on the rooftop at night without sleeping. Seeing someone beckoning him to come up, Qi Xi was very puzzled. He couldn't do lightness skill and wasn't a birdman, so how was he supposed to fly up? Gan Jing also pointed to the other end with some helplessness.

  At night, I ate too much double-skinned milk curd and suddenly found it very difficult to climb the ladder. After finally climbing up and sitting beside Gan Jing, all I heard was a long sigh, she already had the awareness of listening to stories. Suddenly, I found that even the view on the rooftop became broad, and the stars above seemed to be within reach. Ha, this guy is really good at finding places to express his emotions.

  "I heard you want to do business, if there's anything you need, just speak up. I owe Old Master Liu a debt that will be hard to repay in this lifetime." It was rare to see Gan Jing show such a gentle side, but the dirty thing on the roof didn't seem to mind staining his white shirt.

  "Did you owe Dad a lot of money? Haha, we're the big bosses now, but it's Grandpa who owes us money. We use your things and eat your food, how can we have the nerve to ask you for anything? You really know how to calculate!"

  Gan Jing let out another long sigh, and indeed there was a certain obstacle in communicating with this lass: "At the beginning of the year, I went to Xiqin on behalf of my father to do business. As soon as I left the pass, I encountered bandits. What's strange is that those bandits had no interest in the merchant group's wealth; they seemed to care more about...my life. All the guards who accompanied the merchant group were killed. I promised them that if they spared my life, I could give them a lot of money, but in the end, the response was still the same: We don't want your money either, we just take people's money to help others eliminate disasters. Perhaps thinking I was a dying man, another bandit laughed and joked with his companion: What are you afraid of, there's always an internal traitor."

  "Hmm, looking at you now, you're doing well, that means you didn't die back then. Do you know who wanted to harm you? Someone like you must be seeking revenge if they didn't die. Just like Xiaojun."

  Many times, storytelling also requires atmosphere. Unfortunately, Gan Jing suddenly felt foolish after hearing her words, wondering why he thought of sharing his heart with this girl. But he remained lost in that memory: "In this world, no one wanted me to die more than him. Unfortunately, when my father knelt before me, I couldn't take revenge for the rest of my life. Or maybe after finding out who he was, I never thought about taking revenge. Just like you said, I'm living well now, not only saving myself but also inheriting the family business. However, all this is thanks to Lao Da Liu's efforts. If he hadn't appeared at that time, perhaps there wouldn't be a Gan Jing in this world. That's why I stayed in Heishui Village for so long, just because he wanted to find a husband for you."

  Of course, Qi Xi had a number in his mind, but he didn't expect that this seemingly luxurious and majestic mansion was also surging with undercurrents. The human heart is indeed unpredictable. Thinking of Meng Kuang's crazy betrayal of Hei Shui Zhai, Qi Xi suddenly felt as if he could understand the desolation in Gan Jing's heart. It was probably because he knew that the person who wanted to put him to death was still treating him with courtesy every day, and the heart of this man beside him must be even more desolate. The atmosphere was somewhat melancholic for a moment.

  "Ah, right, who is Xiao Qiang? Why did you say I'm like him, what's so great about him?" Gan Jing was a good student, his shameless questioning broke the silence, and Qi Xi couldn't help but laugh when she heard it. She forced herself to hold back her laughter and answered seriously: "This Xiao Qiang is an invincible person who can conquer the universe, no matter what method you use to harm him, his amazing vitality will always make people admire him. No matter what kind of environment he's in, Xiao Qiang can thrive. Ah, I wish you could be like Xiao Qiang forever. As for what you said about the insect grass, I'll write it down in detail tomorrow so it's easy for you to read. Anyway, it's not something that can be explained clearly in a short while."

  Tonight's Gan Jing feels very different from the fox-like image in the daytime, he looks at the starry sky with a silly and innocent expression.