Gu Qiancheng didn't have Zhu Pingniang's shamelessness, so she didn't follow Xu Chang'an and Yun Qian secretly.
She had a good impression of Liu Qingluo, potential rival of Yun Qian, and after pondering, she thought she simply liked pretty girls.
So she was bored and wanted to come find Liu Qingluo to play, and buy some wine on the side.
After all, she enjoyed drinking with Liu Qingluo before.
So she came to the tavern and saw Yun Qian chatting under a tree with a young girl. She was about to happily greet them when she noticed the guards Xu Chang'an had knocked out and left on the roadside, and stood outside the tavern to spy for a while.
She didn't see much and only saw Liu Qingluo being bullied, but Xu Chang'an was hiding in the corner doing nothing.
Although Xu Chang'an eventually intervened, his action was so slight it was annoying, so Gu Qiancheng decided to teach the young man a lesson, then immediately expressed dissatisfaction with Xu Chang'an.
She didn't overthink it.
...
Not satisfied?
Being told this by Gu Qiancheng, Xu Chang'an thought she was right.
He looked at Gu Qiancheng scolding with her hands on her hips, her cute demeanor. His gaze swept over the blood already staining the floor, and his eyes narrowed a bit.
He had his own set of principles for his actions.
Though he wanted to act ruthlessly like Gu Qiancheng, heedless of consequences... since he was acting for Zhu Pingniang, he must fully comply with the rules, so he couldn't behave as recklessly as Gu Qiancheng.
This little girl was quite ruthless.
Xu Chang'an thought that even if it were him instead of that pampered youth receiving Gu Qiancheng's kick, he wouldn't have fared much better.
Xu Chang'an was at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, yet he could only capture a bit of Gu Qiancheng's movement, and she disrupted his surrounding Spiritual Qi as soon as she entered, causing him to retreat several steps.
It meant this temperamental little girl in front of him... was at least above the Middle Stage of Origin Realm.
If Gu Qiancheng really wanted to fight him, she could resolve it within three moves.
He didn't have good cultivation talent or resources.
Once again feeling the disparity between people, and... Gu Qiancheng's temperament.
This was Liu Qingluo's small shop, yet she let it be stained with blood.
At this moment, Liu Qingluo slightly parted her cherry lips, evidently not comprehending what kind of scene she was witnessing.
Hmm...
Well then.
Xu Chang'an couldn't help but smile.
Logically speaking, just on personal sentiment, he appreciated Gu Qiancheng's kick, and could give her a thumbs-up.
"...?"
Gu Qiancheng blinked, looking at Xu Chang'an's smile, and was momentarily dumbfounded, a large question mark floating slowly above her head.
What's up with this guy.
Shouldn't a man be angry when scolded as a woman? Why's he still smiling.
Does he have an issue?
Could he be like Second Lady said, the type who gets happier the more you scold him?
Gu Qiancheng stared blankly at Xu Chang'an, thinking this man whom Yun Qian and Liu Qingluo both liked was clumsy and dragged on, but shouldn't be such a person.
Then Gu Qiancheng recalled what she had just said.
This man's cooking is delicious, never mind that, but why's he behaving...
Gu Qiancheng's face suddenly heated up, her ears turning crimson.
She actually said his cooking was good.
Damn, she just wanted to tease him a couple of lines, how did she blurt out her thoughts?
Feeling Xu Chang'an was laughing at her, Gu Qiancheng stomped angrily, wanting to find a hole to crawl into.
"Pa, pa..."
Xu Chang'an watched as Gu Qiancheng lightly stepped on the face of the brocaded youth twice, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
The previously cute glutton actually...
The man's state was unknown, life or death uncertain, yet Gu Qiancheng still stepped down.
First, not afraid to dirty her shoes; second...
How could someone gentle like Steward Zhu have such a descendant.
This little girl's really ruthless.
Xu Chang'an silently added Gu Qiancheng to his list of people not to provoke easily.
"...Ahem." Gu Qiancheng lifted her embroidered shoes, gently took them off the blood-smeared face, the bell at her waist tinkling twice.
The bell rang crisply, Liu Qingluo gradually recovering from shock, looking at the youth on the ground, blood flowing slowly along the cracked floorboards, involuntarily stepping back a few steps, standing behind Xu Chang'an, with a flash of fear in her eyes.
Gu Qiancheng watched Liu Qingluo standing in Xu Chang'an's shadow, paused, then quickly said: "Sister, don't be afraid, he's not dead, I controlled my strength... most of it was dissipated into the ground."
As Gu Qiancheng spoke, she looked a bit uncomfortable.
Not dead, but even if he wakes up, he'll be foolish.
She couldn't care less, since he wanted her favorite Wine Lady sister dead, Gu Qiancheng didn't crush his skull directly, already fearing to frighten Liu Qingluo.
Liu Qingluo: "..."
She was truly grateful to Gu Qiancheng.
During the conversation, Liu Qingluo's gaze fell on Xu Chang'an, old enough to be her younger brother, feeling much more at ease.
Gu Qiancheng was helping her, and Xu Chang'an was also helping her. His intervention timing and words indicated he'd been there for a while.
But compared to Gu Qiancheng's almost vent-like approach, Xu Chang'an too could easily help her resolve the problem but merely watched.
Why?
Was he watching her making a fool of herself, finding joy in her fear?
Of course not.
She had just summoned courage to reject a contract, putting in effort.
Xu Chang'an wasn't high and mighty intervening to solve problems, rather he stood from her position, preserving her effort, preserving her remaining dignity.
Liu Qingluo believed if the young man hadn't acted, Xu Chang'an would watch her resolve the trouble herself, without attracting attention until he left.
This tenderness made Liu Qingluo's heart throb.
Took a deep breath.
Liu Qingluo didn't show any abnormality.
The gentleman had a family, and kept a great distance, she knew her place.
Liu Qingluo took a deep breath, bowed earnestly to Gu Qiancheng, saying seriously: "Qingluo thanks Miss Gu."
This gratitude was genuine.
"It's just a small matter." Gu Qiancheng now looking at the chaos in the tavern, finally realized she didn't handle the matter well, and immediately said: "Sister be reassured, there won't be any trouble, I'll clean up the ground later..."
She was speaking when Gu Qiancheng suddenly froze.
She received Zhu Pingniang's somewhat annoyed transmission.
"You little brat, ruining my performance, hurry back here."