USWHC -Chapter 370 Exchanging Fate (Part 10)

Uncle Ge immediately realized—right, the display he and Ji Yi had just put on was a bit over the top. He quickly chimed in, “Yeah, this one’s rotten too! Just an empty shell!” As he spoke, he squeezed the tree bark with his hand. Sure enough, it crumbled with a crunch, shattering into pieces, the powder scattering with the wind.

Zhu Jie couldn’t help sneezing. Seriously? It’s that brittle? If she’d known, she would’ve picked a bigger tree to carry!

In no time, Ji Yi and Uncle Ge cleared all the trees. No explanation needed—they were all hollow anyway! Watching the stacked trunks forming quite a spectacle, Zhu Jie couldn’t help sighing, “Wow, people who do farm work really are different! All of you are born with the strength to wrestle down a bull!”

Ji Yi stood there awkwardly, rubbing his hands, deliberately changing the subject. “Should we keep going?”

“Of course! Don’t keep them waiting too long!” Zhu Jie immediately grew anxious. Why was this road so hard to travel? Were ancient mountains always this barren? She couldn’t help but sigh—being undeveloped had its own kind of troubles.

But seeing how anxious she looked, Ji Yi couldn’t help asking, “Why are you in such a hurry? Even if they come again, they won’t arrive immediately, right? Even Hua Feixue returning to the capital would take at least a month.”

“If it’s an eight-hundred-li express, it wouldn’t take more than a few days,” Zhu Jie said unusually seriously.

“Using an eight-hundred-li express to send a person back to the capital? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Uncle Ge looked unconvinced.

But Zhu Jie replied with certainty, “They would. If an eight-hundred-li express can deliver a chest, why wouldn’t it be able to deliver a person?”

“Huh?” Uncle Ge was completely confused.

“The reward sent to the Ji family—didn’t it arrive very quickly? The soap had only been on sale for a few days. Then it had to reach the palace, get into the hands of those consorts—that takes time too. So why did the chest arrive so fast?” Zhu Jie analyzed seriously.

When she put it that way, it was fast! Uncle Ge immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed, “Heavens! The consorts of Liang really have a lot of free time!”

But after hearing this, Ji Yi fell silent for a long while. Using an eight-hundred-li express to capture someone—just how important must that person be? That Consort Li in the palace… what exactly was her relationship with Zhu Jie?

He didn’t ask. He only sighed softly and said, “Once we reach Qi, they won’t come after us again, right?”

“They probably won’t, right? Heh, that’d be too embarrassing,” Zhu Jie said with a smirk. Once it involved diplomacy, they couldn’t act too recklessly.

Suddenly, Zhu Jie stopped in her tracks. She hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Ji Yi and said solemnly, “Um… aren’t you curious who I really am?”

“Zhu Jie, isn’t that your name?” Ji Yi was slightly taken aback.

“It is.” Zhu Jie nodded, then quickly shook her head. “But also… not.”

Is and isn’t? What did that mean?

“Maybe I’m not the kind of person you think I am. Maybe I’ll bring you danger. Would you still be willing to go to Qi with me?” Zhu Jie asked seriously.

Ji Yi froze for a moment. He didn’t answer, but instead asked quietly, “Then if I’m not the kind of person you think I am either—if I might bring you danger—would you still be willing to stay with me?”

“You’d bring me danger?” Zhu Jie didn’t even hesitate. With great confidence, she said, “Then I’ll protect you! I’m the man here!” As she spoke, she boldly patted her chest—producing a loud thump-thump.

Ji Yi immediately laughed. “Then I can protect you too! No matter who you are, the one I know is Zhu Jie!”

His words weren’t sweet talk, but Zhu Jie couldn’t help feeling moved. The one he knew was Zhu Jie. Yes—she was Zhu Jie. As for everything else… who cared!

“Alright! Then let’s go live a new life! You weave cloth, I’ll farm the land—haha, I’ll go to Qi first and conquer the world for you!” Zhu Jie clenched her fist heroically and declared loudly, “When you arrive, you can just be a landlord!”

“Conquer the world? Be a landlord?” Uncle Ge’s eyes went wide.

Ji Yi burst out laughing. “You weave cloth and I farm? You’ve got it backwards, haven’t you? You really think you’re a man now?”

“Whatever!” Zhu Jie laughed. At that moment, her heart had already flown ahead to Qi. She wanted to start her new life as soon as possible, build their new home quickly, earn lots and lots of money—so Ji Yi could come to Qi without worries, so he could come right away…

You weave cloth, I farm the land. What a beautiful future.

Zhu Jie couldn’t help but blush.