I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 238 - 168: I Won’t Lose

The heavy snow finally stopped, and as dusk fell, the weary Dingyuan Army soldiers, tired from their journey back to the capital, began to pack up their belongings and supplies and enter the camp. The air in the camp was filled with a sense of iron-blooded resolve yet carried a lazy undertone.

This place felt different to Gu Lan than Prince Rui’s camp. The Dingyuan Army was obviously more relaxed and also more fatigued.

Gu Lan didn’t disturb anyone. She and Rong Heng sat quietly on a stone outside the camp, watching the Dingyuan Army soldiers coming and going as they cleared the snow and moved supplies.

Every Dingyuan Army soldier who passed by Gu Lan would respectfully call her the Princely Heir.

They might not yet understand Gu Lan or might not truly believe in her, but that did not hinder their respect and obedience towards her.

Gu Lan half-closed her eyes. This feeling of being enveloped in trust was something she’d never experienced before. In the organization, she had always been a lone wolf, coming and going alone without a single friend.

Su Zixiao and Xie Yun sat on the other side. At first, Su Zixiao’s eyes were filled with curiosity. The soldiers who marched and fought in wars were entirely different from the imperial guards who, although well-trained, had never seen blood.

Soon, Su Zixiao grew impatient. The Marquis had told him to wait in the camp, but hadn’t said when he would come.

He waited and waited until the Fire Head Army had already started cooking, and even delivered dinner to Young Master Gu, yet there was still no sign of Marquis Gu coming to the camp to address his questions.

Xie Yun, however, showed no sign of impatience. He continued to watch the soldiers in the camp wordlessly, and even a bowl of rice or a bundle of firewood did not escape his notice.

Xie Yun was known for his literary talents and profound knowledge, but as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, few knew that his real strength lay not in reading and poetry, but in managing state affairs and mundane tasks.

Even at this moment, Xie Yun was pondering in his mind that if one day a war broke out between the Yan and Wei Countries, how much food and supplies would be needed on the front line...

"Why hasn’t the Marquis arrived yet? Could he have forgotten about me?" Su Zixiao mumbled to himself involuntarily.

Xie Yun curled his lips and said, "Do you remember what Marquis Gu said before he left?"

Su Zixiao was slightly taken aback and then recalled it.

—"This Marquis actually wants to know too, is my Lan merely all show and no substance, or is the Prime Minister Su’s legitimate grandson just for show?"

"The Marquis wants to use Young Master Gu to test me!? It’s my fault for looking down on Gu Lan," Su Zixiao suddenly realized that to meet the Dingyuan Marquis, he had to get past Young Master Gu first.

Xie Yun thought to himself, it’s not about testing you with Gu Lan, but testing Gu Lan with you, though the implication is the same.

Su Zixiao, as if having an epiphany, approached Gu Lan, cupped his hands and said:

"I heard that Young Master Gu previously fought off dozens of assassins without a scratch, truly a young hero. I am deeply impressed."

"Capital Commandant Su, you’re too kind." Gu Lan was pondering how to introduce Su Zixiao and Rong Heng to each other.

In the original book, Su Zixiao and Rong Heng had no relation at this point, but since they were destined to become brothers sooner or later, wouldn’t it deepen their bond to know each other earlier?

Moreover, since Rong Baoyi’s storyline had changed earlier, what if, because of her own interference, Su Zixiao and Rong Heng never cross paths, wouldn’t Rong Heng lose out?

At the same time, Young Master Gu felt a bit sour inside.

She had to put in a lot of effort to swear brotherhood with Rong Heng, only managing to get him to consider her a brother with great difficulty, yet the man in front of her, in the original book, casually called him ’big brother’ a few times, and Rong Heng, Tang Zhan, and he immediately formed a sworn bond in the Southern Border.

Is it because she’s a throwaway character that her attempts to rise up have to be artificially made more difficult?

As she was troubled by these thoughts, surprisingly, Su Zixiao’s next words were:

"That’s why today I wish to learn something from you."

Gu Lan clenched her fist, almost blurting out her agreement to spar with Su Zixiao.

Then she remembered Qin Zhenghu.

Gu Lan suddenly calmed down, took a deep breath, and thought to herself that she couldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Last time, she saved Qin Zhenghu, earning his gratitude as he saw her as a benefactor, yet it left him indifferent to his supposed allegiance to Rong Heng.

This time, Marquis Gu proactively created an opportunity for her, and if she agreed to a contest with Su Zixiao, regardless of winning or losing, it could strengthen their bond.

However... why is it every time she has to follow the male lead’s script? She’s not deliberately trying to vie for people against Rong Heng.

How could she get Rong Heng and Su Zixiao acquainted?

Gu Lan stood up from the stone, turned to Rong Heng, and said, "He’s so arrogant, Brother Hang, how about you take him on?"

Rong Heng: "?"

Gu Lan thought, there’s nothing to hide here and so explained:

"As the saying goes, ’no discord, no concord.’ Look at this Su Zixiao, doesn’t he seem like a candidate for your big brother? He’s the legitimate grandson of Prime Minister Su and now a Capital Commandant of the imperial guard, definitely worth getting to know. If you beat him now, you might find him useful in the future."

Rong Heng frowned, "I don’t want to fight."

Gu Lan: We agreed to focus on our careers, didn’t we? Why is it that as the male lead, Rong Heng and her own bookish good brother, there’s no spark at all?

Su Zixiao, seeing that Gu Lan was taking a long time to respond, let a bright smile appear on his young, handsome face:

"Could it be that Young Master Gu is afraid? How about this, I’m a few years older than you, I’ll let you have three moves. I will only defend, not attack, within those three moves, how does that sound?"

Young Master Gu rolled his eyes. Seeing that Rong Heng indeed had no intention of fighting, he thought about the inconvenience of Rong Heng’s masked identity and reluctantly said:

"Then I’ll go up. Later, when I beat Su Zixiao half to death, you can save him so that he’ll surely both admire me and be grateful to you."

Rong Heng’s eyes narrowed as he countered, "Why should I save him?"

Gu Lan said, "Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. Brother Hang, didn’t you say a doctor has a parent’s heart? Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on him and won’t take up too much of your medical supplies."

"Easy?" Rong Heng’s eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

When has Gu Lan ever been easy on anyone she fought? The last time she was supposedly ’easy,’ she knocked Consort Qian unconscious.

Now, she’s willing to go easy?

Rong Heng lifted his head, looking at Su Zixiao’s handsome and sharp features. The five words Gu Lan had just said, "No fight, no acquaintance," echoed in his mind.

The last person who had ’no fight, no acquaintance’ with Young Master Gu was Wei Chengyuan, and now that guy still hangs around Gu Lan.

Heh, who would want her to have ’no fight, no acquaintance’ with Su Zixiao.

Rong Heng’s eyes turned cold as he suddenly spoke out loud, "Why should the Young Master take action? Let me do it instead!"

The cool, clear voice made the surroundings fall silent. All eyes turned to the mysterious guard wearing a mask.

As the Princely Heir, it was nothing unusual for Gu Lan to have a skilled martial guard by her side. As for the mask, it was purely personal preference.

Gu Lan widened her eyes in surprise and quickly reacted.

Though she didn’t understand why, Rong Heng had agreed and had even volunteered!

Could it be that he didn’t want to save someone?

After thinking it over, Gu Lan felt this was probably the reason. After all, it’s much more satisfying to fight than to save.

She composed herself and looked at Su Zixiao, her eyes flamboyant as she spoke, "Putting me aside, I wonder if Capital Commandant Su dares to spar a bit with my guard?"

Su Zixiao frowned, just about to refuse when Rong Heng calmly said:

"My martial arts skills were all taught by my Young Master, but they’re still less than half of hers. If you want to fight her, you’ll have to beat me first."

Upon hearing him say, "My martial arts skills were all taught by my Young Master," Gu Lan instinctively touched her nose.

Sometimes, Brother Hang was indeed better at acting than she was. His self-proclaimed subordinate posture really amused her.

As a martial artist, Su Zixiao had his instincts. He could sense that this masked guard was indeed extraordinary. Since he declared in front of everyone that his martial arts were taught by Young Master Gu, if Su couldn’t even defeat this guard, how could he have the right to challenge Gu Lan?

After all, he was the one who provoked first. For Young Master Gu to use a guard to humiliate him was only fair.

Su Zixiao nodded, "Alright!"

The night grew darker, the flames of the bonfires already lit in the camp, surrounded by torches for lighting. The on-duty Dingyuan Army gathered around, their eyes full of curiosity.

Gu Lan thought for a moment and took the Longquan Treasure Sword from her waist, "Take it and use it, Brother Hang."

Since they couldn’t have a horseback battle at night, they could only have a foot battle. Seeing that Su Zixiao was wearing a long saber, Brother Hang couldn’t go without backup.

Rong Heng looked at her beautiful, watery eyes, his heart trembled, and casually took the weapon. He twirled it lightly, the movement graceful and fluid.

Under the silver mask, his expansive and proud dark eyes looked at Su Zixiao fleetingly, then shifted away, as if everything was beneath his notice.

"Lanlan, you want me to win against him, right?"

Rong Heng couldn’t help but lean a little closer, his gentle and calm voice ringing in Gu Lan’s ear, tickling slightly.

Gu Lan shrank her neck a bit, thinking she just wanted them to have ’no fight, no acquaintance.’

However, winning was certainly the goal.

But why was Rong Heng calling her Lanlan? It was kind of mushy. Even her own brother, Gu Changting, didn’t call her that.

His voice was clear and melodious, like flawless white snow slowly melting and falling in the mountain stream. The words "Lanlan" were uttered tenderly and softly.

Gu Lan composed her mind, reminding herself that this was her Brother Hang, not Nian Xia’s chested figure she mustn’t think inappropriate thoughts of.

She seriously said, "I hate losing."

Rong Heng chuckled softly, his eyes bending into a gentle curve. Then he raised his sword and turned to face Su Zixiao.

Those gentle eyes instantly turned into ice shards filled with killing intent, as he said calmly:

"I won’t lose."