Tu Ju gradually lost track of time. She didn't know how long she had been climbing. Dragon Peak was very high, and she had already seen it when she came up. Even Lulunaka's carriage had taken some time to reach the peak at an unimaginable speed.
This place was very high. There was a saying in the Middle Ages that all the mountains looked small. But at this Dragon Peak, compared to looking at the mountains, there were more clouds and snow. Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether it was clouds or snow, or both.
Tu Ju didn't think she could reach the bottom of such a place by climbing, but if she landed in the middle of Dragon Peak, she was still confident.
But now, she couldn't feel that she was moving down. The biting cold wind and bone-piercing snow on the cliff didn't weaken. She had already become numb to it from habit.
She didn't think she was someone without a sense of time. Ever since she was young, she had always been a good student who worked and rested on time, a good child. She could grasp the time to do everything perfectly, whether it was studying or training … or even slaying demons and devils, she tried her best not to drag things out and to deal with them at the best time.
There were hundreds of ghosts running amok on the island, and the commoners had it harder than stray dogs. A slight delay could cost dozens of lives. Tu Ju couldn't do what the nobles of the capital did. In the words of the scholars of the Central Plains, it was … there were frozen bones on the road.
Now that she thought about it, she clearly didn't offend anyone, but that was probably why she didn't fit in.
She was aloof but not antisocial, and had talent that drew envy and jealousy … no matter how she looked at it, she didn't look like someone who could survive in the capital.
Now that she thought about it, it was probably because of this that she had followed the expatriate team to the Central Plains as a foreign guest.
Rather than being expatriated, it was more like being ostracized.
And then, in the Central Plains, she didn't seem to be doing very well.
The prosperity of the island was built on the flesh and blood of the commoners, and the bones of the dead on the road that no one cared about were unsightly to Tu Ju. But in the Central Plains … although it wasn't that ugly, the old and weak who were about to starve to death, orphans and widows, didn't seem to be a rare sight.
And no one really cared.
It seemed that no matter where she went, the world was like this.
Then, Bunny Chrysanthemum, who had arrived in this new environment, left the group once again.
In the Central Plains, there were famous scholars who lived in seclusion as a trend. They said that this was to raise their hopes and wait for a wise ruler to come and find them … Rabbit Chrysanthemum didn't have such a worldly plan to live in seclusion. She just wanted to get away from those annoying things.
Just like that, Bunju, who was very popular when she first arrived, gradually became an outsider because of her habit of treating people and things. No one would look down on this strange woman from the island country at the end of the sunrise, but she was really difficult to get along with.
Tu Ju did not think of herself as an unapproachable woman, but it was indeed difficult for her to sincerely receive those … idlers.
If she wanted to chase these people away, she couldn't use the gentle attitude of a normal woman to deal with them, nor could she be too violent. Both extremes had a negative impact on Tu Ju's life. Thus, Tu Ju thought of a very suitable method to make people stay away …
"Let me ask you a question," Lulunaka, who had been silent for a while, suddenly asked.
She was different from Tu Ju, who was climbing. Her body was light, and she kept jumping up and down the cliff. It wasn't as difficult as Tu Ju at all.
"In the place where you were born, or in the Central Plains, has anyone ever told you that it's not a good thing for a woman to read too much?"
Tu Ju was stunned for a moment. Her climbing stopped, and then she continued climbing down. This was because Lulunaka didn't intend to stop and wait for her answer. She continued jumping down.
She didn't expect Lulunaka to ask such a question. For a moment, she didn't know how to answer. After thinking for a while, she replied, "In the Central Plains, I've never met such a rude person. In my hometown … it's a little arrogant. There are probably many people who are jealous of me."
"If you were a man, they would say that you live in seclusion and are antisocial by nature. But you're a very good-looking woman, a beautiful girl."
Lulunaka smiled. "If they use this to insult you, it won't be very convincing. But will people who say that you read too much be very direct?"
Tu Ju nodded.
She didn't come from a prominent family. Her family was just a mix of scholars and warriors. To put it bluntly, they worked for the nobles in the capital. It wasn't strange for some boorish and arrogant people to call them servants.
Her life was good. Her father and brothers had official positions, and her mother was a female official … but that was it.
Until Tu Ju, who was an exception, appeared. Her family's life seemed to be better.
No matter what the rumors were, Tu Ju was someone who could slay demons. She could stand firm in the capital, a place where demons ran wild. She also had some ties with the Yin Yang Hut. Although her teacher didn't have a particularly good reputation, and he was no longer in the capital … or rather, he wasn't even alive.
Tu Ju didn't have the bad habit of disrespecting her teacher. It was just that this teacher didn't teach her anything other than taking her in. He didn't teach her as much as the Yin Yang Hut she came from.
As she thought about these things, Tu Ju realized that there were probably more people who were jealous of her than she imagined.
She came from an ordinary background. In the capital, where bloodlines were the most important, she was probably the biggest exception.
However, it wasn't that she didn't want to learn some things. Just by reading, she felt that she had gained something in her heart. She originally thought that this was an easy and ordinary thing, but after coming into contact with more people, she realized that there weren't many people who read the books to their hearts and seriously thought about whether there were demons, saints, peddlers, or rich and powerful people hidden in the books.
When she realized this, the disconnect between Tu Ju and the people around her became even more obvious. Needless to say, her interpersonal relationships became more subtle.
This might be the reason why people secretly said that women weren't good at reading … Tu Ju thought.
If I read like her, it doesn't seem like a good thing.
"Look at your expression. Back in your hometown, someone secretly scolded you for reading too much."
A malicious smile appeared on Lurunaka's face. "Maybe even those who are well-read have written poems to mock you?"
"That's true," said Tu Ju.
Tu Ju wasn't telling the complete truth. There were indeed people who didn't like her and wrote poems to mock her. However, there were also many who wrote poems to woo her … No matter what kind of weirdo they were, as long as Tu Ju didn't change her appearance, she would probably be able to attract them. They didn't care about her evaluation.
But this also proved one thing. These people only cared about Tu Ju's appearance. They didn't care about anything else.
In a sense, this type of people made Tu Ju even more annoyed.
Those who couldn't tolerate her wouldn't jump around in front of her. Those wastrels were here to distract her.
"Do you have a nickname in the capital?" asked Lulunaka.
Tu Ju hesitated for a moment, but still said it. Lulunaka laughed.