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Gu Jiao went to see Chang Kun and asked him for the portrait of the first Island Lord.

Chang Kun produced an old sketch. “This was from the first time I met him. I feared I might one day forget his face, so I drew it early on.”

What Gu Jiao saw was a tall, imposing man, wearing military boots and a greatcoat, his face cold and stern.

“Godfather…”

So the man Sect Leader Rong had met was none other than her godfather. His unchanged appearance was not because he had taken some elixir of immortality, but most likely because he had crossed time again and again to come here.

Gu Jiao tightened her grip on the portrait. “Where has he gone?”

Chang Kun said sadly, “He is dead.”

Gu Jiao’s eyes trembled. “What did you say?”

Chang Kun sighed. “Every time he came here, he would plant a batch of purple herbs. But for some reason, at first those herbs would never grow. Later, when he passed away, before his last breath he told me to bury him beneath the purple herb. And would you believe it? The very next year, in the place where his bones were laid to rest, vast fields of purple herb sprang up.”

Gu Jiao stared blankly at the portrait, and suddenly tears fell from her eyes.

……

That night.

Ye Qing came to Gu Jiao’s room.

Gu Jiao was quietly seated at the window.

Ye Qing opened his mouth, hesitated, and then softly asked, “Now… how should I address you? Young Miss Gu, Little Commander, Madame Xiao, or——”

Gu Jiao said, “Any will do. About your master…”

Ye Qing walked up to her, lowered his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and pressed down the lump in his throat before speaking in his usual calm tone. “My master has gone to roam the four seas. Before leaving, he came to see me at Hidden Night Island. He entrusted something to me for you.”

Gu Jiao received the box and opened it.

Inside were the three clay figurines that had once sat beneath the peach tree, as well as the portrait of the general that had once been without a face.

Now, the face had been added by the Imperial Advisor.

It was her face from her previous life.

The Lord of the Shadows was her. She was the Lord of the Shadows.

Ye Qing turned, raising his hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes without letting it show, and said in an even voice, “My master had a story, which he told me I must pass on to you.”

Gu Jiao said, “Go on.”

Ye Qing weighed his words carefully, then spoke slowly.

“Once, there was a destitute sorcerer, who offended the young master of a powerful household and was beaten nearly to death, left to wander the streets. At death’s door, he was saved by a woman who seemed like an immortal. The woman said, ‘You look very much like someone I once knew.’”

“Because of that face, the woman healed him, took him in, poured all her knowledge into him, and even introduced him to the young master of the Xuanyuan Family.”

“He thought, that person she spoke of must have been very important to her. He even considered pretending to be that man, but in the end, he did not.”

“The greatest fortune of his life was meeting her, and his greatest regret was casting that divination.”

“From here on, the mountains are high and the roads are long. Do not search for him again.”

So, the Imperial Advisor was really not someone who had crossed over from another world. He had merely known her, the one who had.

And he was not her godfather, only a man who happened to have the same face as her godfather.

The real godfather had already been buried beneath the fields of purple herb on Hidden Night Island.

……

When Xiao Heng entered the room, Ye Qing had already left.

Gu Jiao was burning paper offerings.

Two braziers.

Xiao Heng looked at her with distress and asked gently, “One is for the first Island Lord of Hidden Night Island, and the other——”

Gu Jiao whispered, “For an old friend.”

……

Hidden Night Island was even farther than the State of Yan, and at that time of year, the journey back would mean running straight into the extreme weather of the icy plains. So Chang Kun and Chang Jing temporarily stayed at the Marquis Estate.

This suited Gu Jiao perfectly, for she also planned to make a trip to Hidden Night Island. By the time spring came, she would be ready to give birth.

When the time came, she would return together with Chang Kun and Chang Jing.

In the tenth month, Shangguan Qing returned to the State of Yan.

In the twelfth month of the same year, Grand Secretary Yuan contracted a severe chill, and his health deteriorated greatly.

Feeling his strength waning, Grand Secretary Yuan submitted his resignation to His Majesty.

His Majesty tried several times to keep him, and only by the following second month did he finally approve Grand Secretary Yuan’s departure from office, appointing Xiao Heng as the new Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Thus, the youngest Grand Secretary in the history of the six states officially took office.

And on the very first day that Xiao Heng took office as Grand Secretary, Gu Jiao went into labor.

The seat beneath a certain Grand Secretary’s bottom had not even warmed yet when, right before the eyes of the many subordinates who had come to pay their respects, he suddenly stumbled forward in a panic, his official hat askew!

The cabinet officials had never in their lives seen Lord Xiao lose his composure like this, and they all stood frozen, dumbstruck.

Xiao Heng had no mind at all for his image. Without a word, he spurred his horse straight back to the estate!

Gu Jiao was carrying twins, and her belly was larger than that of ordinary pregnant women, so her due date arrived twenty days early.

It happened while she was strolling through the garden with Princess Xinyang. Gu Jiao herself was rather calm.

Princess Xinyang, on the other hand, was anything but calm. Seeing that Gu Jiao could still walk back on her own, she nearly began doubting life itself.

Xiao Ji: Heh, when I saw you calmly walk yourself into the birthing room back then, I had the same doubts about life.

Originally, one of the babies had already settled into the pelvis, but on this very day, both children’s positions had suddenly turned abnormal!

The midwife and medical assistant were utterly shocked.

Normally, once a baby had entered the pelvis, its position would not change again.

So what on earth was happening? Could it be… that one baby had kicked the other out of place?

The midwife drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t panic, don’t panic. The positions are wrong, but we’ll just turn them back. Which one should we adjust first?”

She pressed gently on Gu Jiao’s belly. “This one, this one is closer!”

But just as she spoke and was about to act, the baby on the other side kicked at Gu Jiao’s belly, then wiggled his tiny foot right against her stomach.

The midwife was bewildered all over again. “What in the world is this now?”

The medical assistant hesitated, then said sheepishly, “Perhaps what he (or she) means is… he (or she) wants to come out first?”

By dusk, a loud, piercing cry split the silent sky. The Grand Secretary’s little daughter had been born!

A quarter of an hour later, the Grand Secretary’s little son was born as well.

Dragon and phoenix in harmony, the skies above glowed with radiant light that bathed the entire estate, and all the people of the capital witnessed this heavenly sign, whispering that it was surely an omen of great blessing.

Xiao Heng had no thought for the two little ones; his first concern was the birthing chamber.

The newborns, held in the arms of the midwife and medical assistant, seemed a little aggrieved, as though complaining that they had just come into the world, yet their father had not even held them once.

Xiao Heng went straight to the bedside.

Gu Jiao had just delivered, exhausted and weak, too drained even to speak.

In her hazy vision, she saw a tall, slender figure walking toward her out of the radiant glow.

He reached out a cool, pale, elegant hand and touched her forehead.

It was the most beautiful hand she had ever seen.

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Description:

In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succumb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.

When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.

The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.

From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.

***

Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.

After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"

Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"

Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don't abandon me, alri—”

Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

He hasn't finished his lines yet though…

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