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REPUGNANCE
Translator: Sylph
Editor: Reki
“He- hey, yo-… you, don’t come any further!” He Yan was afraid the man would come in front of her, so she stuck her head out from behind the rock and said, “I’m naked! What are you doing?”
Sure enough, the footsteps came to a standstill.
He Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Based on her previous understanding of Xiao Jue, he was an extremely fussy person. Being naked was a misdemeanor in front of him, and he wouldn’t want to dirty his eyes.
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” Xiao Jue stared at her and asked coldly.
“I’m a recruit from the guardhouse. I’m here to take a bath.” He Yan replied.
After he heard those words, Xiao Jue ‘s flashed a trace of sarcasm, which made it clear that he did not believe her. He asked, “Is this the time to take a bath?”
“There were too many people at night, so I fell asleep in my room.” He Yan looked at him, “I’m not an adult. If I had my own room to bathe in, who would want to run into the river at night to bathe? It’s too cold!”
This ‘adult’ referred to Xiao Jue himself. She hoped Xiao Jue could understand her sarcasm.
Unfortunately, Xiao Jue didn’t look ashamed of her words, just looked at her calmly.
He Yan sank herself into the river and asked, “Who are you?”
She thought, Well, let’s just pretend to be an ignorant new recruit, it will seem more convincing.
Xiao Jue didn’t answer her. Instead, he said, “If it’s too cold, then why did you join the army?”
Was that to refute what she just said? He Yan looked at her clothes behind the boulder. If Xiao Jue refused to go away, she would have to remain soaked in the water all the time. But if she stayed in the water for too long, she would inevitably arouse Xiao Jue’s suspicion about her identity.
“I came to join the army with a purpose.” He Yan said.
Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, and asked, “What purpose?”
“Of course, it’s to make contributions, get promoted, become rich, and be a young, successful person like General Feng Yun. Then go home to build a house, marry the most beautiful and virtuous young lady, have a lot of children and grandchildren, and live a prosperous life.” He Yan showed a type of look, of one that yearned for the future.
Xiao Jue’s eyes went cold, and he coldly rebuked, “Vulgar!”
He Yan was so happy in her heart that she purposely associated the name General Feng Yun together with the wishes of ordinary men under the universal sky to deliberately disgust him. Someone as proud as Xiao Jue must have felt humiliated in his heart.
“What’s wrong with that?” He Yan looked serious, “People join the army to become the happiest of men.”
As though he was unable to listen to such rambles from her, Xiao Jue glanced at her and whisked away, and looked like he didn’t want to talk to her anymore.
He Yan said behind him, “Hello, brother, do me a favor, please help me throw the clothes behind the stone.”
Naturally, Xiao Jue would not pick up clothes for her. He Yan waited until he was far away and was completely out of sight, washed herself quickly, ran to the stone, and changed her clothes.
The moon was silent, as if it hadn’t seen anything that had happened. He Yan held onto her dirty clothes and walked back, but thought about the scene where she saw Xiao Jue.
At this time of the day, Xiao Jue should not be here to do anything, so he probably just came out to walk around at random. After all, the night was so good.
Speaking of which, He Yan and Xiao Jue had not seen each other for many years. The last time she met him was at the academy. She feared that he would find out who she really was, so she bowed her head hastily, and was unable to clearly see the difference between Xiao Jue from the past and Xiao Jue from the present. It was rare to see him like this, but she felt that he was different from what she remembered.
She knew that Xiao Jue was born with unparalleled elegance and beauty, and many young girls would come forward just for one look from him. She didn’t know what he had eaten to grow up, but now it seemed that Xiao Jue’s style was much better than the past. In the past, Xiao Jue still had a bit of the youth’s unique frivolity, but now it was gone. He was like fine jade, like a sword in a sheath, with a subtle flow of brilliance.
His temperament was also much colder than before.
He Yan walked slowly.
She reminisced of the past. After a big quarrel with her family, she joined the army,  so she didn’t know what had happened in Xianchang Pavilion. At that time, Xiao Jue was the young master of the Xiao family, so everything was monotonous. After she left for the army, it took several years for her to learn about the situation of the second son of the Xiao family from the talk of the people around her.
Xiao Jue’s father, Xiao Zhong Wu, was a brave general of the Wei Dynasty. He defeated enemies, such as the Iron Plate of the Wei State, with almost no effort nor many resources. However, when he attacked the Southern Barbarians, he was ambushed by the enemy in the First Battle of Mingshui and died in the hands of the enemy leader. After General Xiao died, Xiao Jue took over the troops and continued to lead the troops to attack the southern barbarians.
He Yan was fifteen years old when she joined the army, and Xiao Jue was only one year older than her. She didn’t know what happened but only knew that Xiao Jue, a sixteen-year-old boy, took over the soldiers and horses from his father, which was certainly not a simple task. The Xiao family’s political opponents, like the royal family, would also not miss this opportunity.
If Xiao Jue was defeated, the entire Xiao family would be defeated as well, and as a family of military generals, the Xiao family would never be able to survive with just one scholar holding them up – the eldest son of Xiao.
Fortunately, thanks to his extraordinary good luck, Xiao Jue not only won but also made a grand victory. He defeated the Southern Barbarians, left them to crumble, and returned to the capital with the head of the enemy general. At this point, he established his reputation as the “Young General” and “Jade Faced Governor”.
War is the fastest way to sharpen one’s character, and all types of edges must be put away in front of life and death. Perhaps at that time, Xiao Jue still had the arrogance of a noble son in the capital, but now it could no longer be seen.
A better, more indifferent, more unfathomable, and a man more difficult with.
He Yan went to the door of the room, where everyone slept soundly. No one noticed her. She put her clothes at the foot of the bed, lay flat on her back, closed her eyes, and felt peaceful. Fortunately, Xiao Jue was not the only one who grew up over the years. She was also the same as Xiao Jue.
It wasn’t that bad.