Chapter 82

As for Xu Zhu, who in the original story stumbled upon the key move by chance and only broke the deadlock after receiving Duan Yanqing's telepathic guidance, with me watching from the sidelines, I won't give him that opportunity.

"Luck plus cheating—is that how the protagonist gets away with being so unreasonable?"

Upon learning how Xu Zhu solved the chess puzzle, all the women were left speechless.

"Quite a few familiar faces have shown up. Most surprisingly, Rong'er is actually here! Right beside Huang Yaoshi and Feng Heng!"

"That appearance, that aura—I recognized her at a single glance!"

"I just wonder why I didn't see her yesterday... Ah, she must have been playing around and running everywhere, making me worry for nothing."

At the foot of the Drumming Mountain, an inn.

"That ungrateful fellow, how did I go play? You're just good at wrongfully accusing people," Huang Rong muttered in dissatisfaction.

Yet without exchanging a single word, the other party had recognized her among a hundred people at a glance; Huang Rong was quite pleased.

"Too many things today, no time to go up and chat with Rong'er. What a pity."

"But it doesn't matter. Huang Yaoshi promised to teach me the 'Snap Finger Divine Art' and will stay at the foot of the mountain for two days. I'll go find her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Huang Rong propped her chin with her small, pale hand, pondering which outfit to wear tomorrow.

"Not far from Huang Yaoshi's family, there is also a trio of three: two men and one woman."

"The men are Chu Chu Liuxiang and Hu Hu Tiehua; they look little different from their screen images, so recognizing them isn't hard. As for that woman, we can't rely on recognizing her face."

"However, her identity isn't hard to guess."

"Her beauty is no less than Zhu Abi's or Zhu Abi's; she wears a green robe, carries a pair of short swords, and is so familiar with Chu Chu Liuxiang and Hu Hu Tiehua... With these features combined, there is only Gao Yanan."

"Is it my turn?"

Gao Yanan grew nervous, wanting to know what fate and ending awaited her in the story.

Would she have the same troubles as she does now?

Thinking of this, Gao Yanan subconsciously glanced at Hu Hu Tiehua.

Hu Hu Tiehua, who was burying his head in his meal, suddenly felt a chill down his back; a bone-chilling coldness shot straight from his tailbone to his Chongdingliang Sect, as if a great calamity was about to arrive.

He hurriedly raised his head, his sharp gaze sweeping around.

"What's wrong?" Chu Chu Liuxiang asked, looking over in confusion.

Hu Hu Tiehua searched for a long while but found no suspicious target; he could only swallow the rice ball in his mouth, looked distressed, and said, "I don't know; I just have a strange sense of ill omen."

A sense of ill omen?

Upon hearing this, Chu Chu Liuxiang fell into thought, then casually glanced at Gao Yanan beside him, raising an eyebrow.

He scratched the bridge of his nose with his finger and began acting as a "transparent person."

"Gao Yanan is a disciple of the Huashan Sect, trained by Master Ku Mei, famous throughout the Jianghu for her 'Clear Wind Thirteen Moves' Sword Technique, earning her the elegant title of 'Clear Wind Female Swordswoman'."

"She is valiant and heroic, calm and composed, persistent and strong, Values Emotion and Righteousness; on her person, one seems unable to find any flaw."

"However, she is ultimately not a perfect person."

"When things reach an extreme, they reverse; sometimes, strengths can turn into weaknesses."

"Gao Yanan has two weaknesses that cannot be ignored."

090 Jin Jin Lingzhi: "I'm being someone's mistress?"

"Gao Yanan's first weakness is that she is stubborn to the point of being single-minded."

"And her single-mindedness stems from her persistence."

"To what degree does she persist? Almost comparable to Murong Fu, who disregarded everything to restore his kingdom."

"Only their goals differ: Murong Fu is persistent about his career, while Gao Yanan is persistent about love."

"In 'The Legend of Chu Chu Liuxiang', Gao Yanan liked Hu Hu Tiehua. Once, when Hu Hu Tiehua was drunk, he promised Gao Yanan he would marry her; Gao Yanan was very happy."

"However, after sobering up, Hu Hu Tiehua went back on his word."

"Facing Gao Yanan's threat to kill herself, Hu Hu Tiehua even jumped into the lake and fled overnight."

"And afterwards, this bizarre pair, one hiding and one searching, did so for a full eight years!"

"I'm just puzzled; do you really have to go that far?"

"The other person is already avoiding you; their attitude is already very clear. You insist on pestering them like this, determined to hang yourself on a single tree?"

"Eight years; how many eight years can a life have?"

"Why persist like this, tormenting both yourself and the other person?"

"Devoted love? Loyal love? I think it looks more like one-sided affection and self-deception."

"In the end, besides moving only yourself, can it possibly win the other person's true heart?"

At the dining table, Gao Yanan remained silent, yet her mood was far from calm.

Eight years; she actually chased a man for eight years with no result!

Just as the diary said, how many eight years can a life have?

Yet she spent such a most precious period of her life on a man who never agreed to accept her.

Most despicable of all, this dog man had already promised to marry her, yet later reneged, and even jumped into the lake and fled overnight!

Am I that repulsive?

Thinking of this, Gao Yanan felt both aggrieved and furious; her slender hand unconsciously grasped the sword hilt...

"There's killing intent!"

Hu Hu Tiehua jolted; that feeling of impending disaster returned!

Sensing something in his heart, he turned his head to look at Gao Yanan.

Seeing the young woman's gloomy expression, Hu Hu Tiehua's scalp went numb; without swallowing the food in his mouth, he turned and ran directly.

Crack—

The next moment, the chair he was sitting on was shredded to pieces by sword light.

Hu Tiehua ran even faster.

Gao Yanan, however, did not give chase. She stood in place and watched for a while, then turned and went downstairs.

Only Chu Liuxiang was left standing there, utterly bewildered: "This rain is coming down a bit hard — wonder when it'll clear up."

But this was someone else's private matter, and Gao Yanan seemed to be in a fit of anger, so he couldn't very well pry further.

【I really can't understand Gao Yanan's view of love — it feels like she's loving too humbly】

【Of course, it's also possible she's perfectly happy with it herself; hard to say】

【But right up to the story's ending, Hu Tiehua never accepted Gao Yanan】

【All that persistence, in the end, still amounted to nothing — yet why must one debase oneself like this?】

"Nothing in the end?"

Gao Yanan tightened her grip on the short sword, pressed her lips together, and finally made a decision.

【Here one has to talk about Hu Tiehua】

【Hu Tiehua is the type with a "pet-the-fur-the-right-way-or-he-kicks-backward" donkey personality — his thoughts are wildly unpredictable, impossible to pin down, completely unlike an ordinary person】

【In matters of love, it shows as: the harder to get, the more he wants; once it's in hand, he doesn't want it anymore】

【Gao Yanan is just one typical example】

【While he was dodging Gao Yanan, he once hid himself away in a little tavern for a full three years】

【The reason he stayed so long wasn't that the tavern's food and drink were any good, but because he'd taken a fancy to the proprietress】

【That proprietress was dark-skinned, thin, and small — couldn't be further from pretty — yet Hu Tiehua spent three whole years grinding away at her place!】

【No other reason than this: unlike the usual chivalrous maidens of the jianghu, she didn't treat him with any special regard, but always kept a cold, curt manner toward him】

【The more he couldn't have her, the more his heart itched; so he locked horns with himself, determined to conquer her no matter what】

【In the end, seeing Chu Liuxiang show up at the Zhaoshang Sect and Hu Tiehua about to follow him away, the proprietress — fearing they'd never meet again — couldn't hold it in any longer and took the initiative to reveal her feelings; but Hu Tiehua got scared and ran off on the spot】

【Have to say, this guy is really a bit of a jerk!】

Seeing this, all the women were utterly speechless.

There was actually such a weirdo in this world!

This isn't just "a bit of a jerk" — he's a jerk down to the bone!

And he shows no respect for women at all.

What does he take women and feelings for? A challenge game to prove his own charm?

Once he's cleared the level, he just pats his butt and walks away, completely uncaring how deep a wound his behavior leaves behind in others.

For a moment, all the women felt a thick disgust toward Hu Tiehua.

【The third example is Jin Lingzhi】