Chapter 13

Hearing Zhao Kuo’s words, the beautiful girl tugged at his sleeve and said, “Don’t say that.”

In fact, Ying Yue doesn’t mind whether it’s an N card or not. As long as it’s a character card she draws, she will have a minimum of respect and… a little bit of novelty in her heart.

After all, they are all people who can leave their names in the history books of their own world.

——How difficult is it to leave a name in history?

“So,” the little girl said sincerely, “no matter what kind of card it is, it’s much better than mine.”

“How can this be the same? You are the lord, and there are incompetent people in this world—”

Zhao Kuo spoke too quickly, faster than he could think, then stopped when he realized what he had said. “No… I didn’t mean that—”

The young man wanted to apologize to Ying Yue for not telling her earlier, but stopped.

Before he could speak, Ying Yue interrupted him, “You don’t need to explain. I know what you mean.”

She smiled gently, her bright eyes curving as she spoke, “You’re not ordinary.”

How could someone who became a commander so quickly be ordinary?

Ying Yue’s compliment touched Zhao Kuo deeply. His feelings for her grew stronger.

She then turned and looked at the new “subordinate” she had just summoned.

He was tall and thin, wearing a long green gown. Though he looked frail, his calm, deep eyes and scholarly presence gave off an elegant vibe.

When Ying Yue looked at him, the man bowed slightly. “Jia Xu greets the lord,” he said calmly.

Since there were only two people, and Zhao Kuo had just spoken, Jia Xu knew immediately that the girl was the lord who had called him.

Ying Yue was a little surprised by the formal gesture. Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo had never been this formal before.

But after thinking about it, she realized that scribes like Jia Xu probably followed more rules.

She quickly responded with a bow, something she hadn’t done for a while, feeling a bit unfamiliar.

“My name is Ying Yue,” she introduced herself.

Jia Xu smiled and said, “Your surname is special, my lord.”

Hearing this, Ying Yue couldn’t help but wonder if Jia Xu’s former master also had the surname Ying. She asked, “Could it be that your former master had the surname Ying?”

Jia Xu was surprised by the question but replied, “No.”

“However, in the world where I was born, history books say the first king who united the world was from the Ying clan.” 

Hearing this, Zhao Kuo felt uneasy. The king who united the world was from Qin, just like Bai Qi. This had nothing to do with Zhao, and he worried Jia Xu might get angry after hearing this. But—

Jia Xu, as a scholar, always left things unsaid, never finishing his thoughts.

After saying this, Jia Xu changed the topic, introducing himself with words meant to show humility, though they sounded odd. “I’m just an ordinary scholar with no special talent. Even if I want to serve you, I’m afraid I can’t help much.”

He lowered his eyes, speaking as if he had been mistreated and now hoped to be employed. “Though I may not be outstanding, if you need me for anything, I will try.”

Unlike Jia Xu, who lowered his gaze, Ying Yue looked up at him. His talk about his “disadvantages” gave her an odd feeling, though she couldn’t explain why.

It felt like… Jia Xu shouldn’t be treated this way…

But she didn’t have time to think about it because—

After Jia Xu finished speaking, Zhao Kuo suddenly walked over, saying, “What a coincidence!”

He placed his arm around Jia Xu’s shoulder, like a brother, and said, “I have a difficult, but important task for you!”

Jia Xu thought he would be abandoned after saying this.

But even though he was confused, Jia Xu asked what the task was.

In the room, gold and silver treasures were everywhere, and a table in the corner seemed to be sorting them out.

After Jia Xu asked, Zhao Kuo started explaining the task loudly until he finally stopped.

Then Ying Yue pointed to the treasures around her and the table with a half-blank booklet on it.

With a serious tone, but an expectant look, she asked, “Can you help me sort these things out?”

Since Jia Xu wanted to be employed, he couldn’t refuse. He said, “It is natural to work for the lord.”

Jia Xu walked over to the long table and picked up a half-used book. After reading what Ying Yue had written on the cover, he sat down and began writing calmly.

Ying Yue and Zhao Kuo, the two who had been focused on their wealth, watched in surprise.

Jia Xu, the center of attention, had created a persona of being useless and eager, but in his mind, he only thought one thing: luckily, the system would automatically translate texts from different worlds.

If it didn’t, he’d have to learn the new world’s characters just to make an account book.

_

Although Jia Xu said he had average skills, he worked faster than Ying Yue and Zhao Kuo when it came to keeping records.

He kept writing, and the two were amazed by his speed.

However, Zhao Kuo soon left, thinking about the horses at the mountain stronghold. He wanted to find a suitable war horse. He told Ying Yue he’d be back soon, and they could continue their patrol of the stronghold, which they had postponed because it was late yesterday.

Ying Yue nodded and settled in a corner, not wanting to disturb Jia Xu. She called on the system to summon her card book.

Her vision wasn’t as sharp as Zhao Kuo’s, and when the card flashed on the screen earlier, she had only caught glimpses of the symbols “文” and “N” on Jia Xu’s card.

Curious, she decided to check the card book now.

She opened it and found Jia Xu’s card on the right side of Zhao Kuo’s.

The black word in the upper left was “Wen,” different from the ones on Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo’s cards. The “N” in the upper right was the same.

Below Jia Xu’s name was a smaller phrase, “Zi Wen He” ^[1]means “Mr. Wen He,” Jia Xu’s courtesy name.. The photo on the card showed him in a blue gown, but it was too blurry to make out his face.

The description below the photo was more casual, almost like the system had a grudge against him. It read: “An ordinary N card. This subordinate has a bad temper and is hard to get along with. Conclusion: No hope, just send him into exile.”

Ying Yue stared at the description and said, “Huh?” Jia Xu, still writing, glanced up and noticed the card book in her hands. He asked, “My lord, are you looking at my card?”

A bit embarrassed, Ying Yue nodded. “I didn’t see the cards clearly earlier.”

“Can I see it?” Jia Xu asked.

“Hmm?” Ying Yue was confused at first, then handed him the card. “Okay.”

She asked, “You… don’t know what your cards look like?”

Jia Xu nodded. “Without the lord’s permission, we don’t know our own cards.”

“What about others’ cards?” she asked.

“My lord, do you mean General Zhao?” Jia Xu replied. “As far as I know, we can see others’ cards with the lord’s permission when the cards are drawn.”

“I see…”

Jia Xu was about to take the card, but just as his hand reached it, Ying Yue quickly pulled her hand back.

She smiled nervously. “Wen He… can I call you by your name?”

He nodded, and she handed him the card slowly. She then said, “It’s not that I don’t want to show it to you, but…” She realized the card’s introduction seemed harsh and wondered if it might upset him.

Jia Xu smiled. “I can more or less predict how my card will be described. Don’t worry about me.”

Ying Yue hesitated but then carefully handed the card to him. He took a quick glance at the description, then returned it to her.

She was surprised by how quickly he handed it back. She glanced at him nervously, worried that he might be upset, but his expression was as calm as ever. Trying to comfort him, she said, “Fame fades with time, and the past is forgotten.” ^[2]phrase used to describe how time erases glory.

Seeing that the little girl’s reaction was even stronger than his own, Jia Xu couldn’t help but feel mischievous and deliberately teased her – after all, he wasn’t a good person.

So Ying Yue only heard his faint voice, “After all, the system still likes talented people. People like me are naturally not welcome.”

“But, but…” The girl, who had just met Jia Xu and didn’t know him well, couldn’t think of how to praise him and was a little stuck. Then, suddenly, an idea came to her mind, and she blurted out what her little sister used to say to comfort someone like her, “–You are pretty!”

Jia Xu: “…”

Although, little girl, I still feel a bit pressured when you say I’m pretty with such a face.