The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 1431

Chapter 1431: 698 Recognition (First Update) Chapter 1431: 698 Recognition (First Update) This was a face Gu Jiao would recognize even if it turned to ashes.

A contour that could not be altered by youth, old age, health, or disease.

The phrase “the odd changes, the even remains the same” that Gu Jiao was about to blurt out instantly got stuck in her throat.

She stared at him blankly before finally calling out tentatively, “Godfather?”

The National Master lifted a pair of eyes full of divine luminescence from the shadows, looking at Gu Jiao with a faint confusion.

Gu Jiao’s stiff shoulders slightly drooped, her gaze different.

But really… it was too similar.

If one day the godfather became old, he should look like this.

The National Master asked with composure, “Young Master, what is your honorable surname, and what do you seek?”

The godfather would not call him Young Master, nor would he speak with such a calm tone.

So it really was just a person who looked exactly the same.

Gu Jiao’s gaze fell on the National Master’s teacup. His teacup was placed on his left side, and so were his ink slab and pen holder.

He was left-handed.

What a coincidence, so was the godfather.

She was brought back to the Organization by the godfather when she was eight, and all her skills were taught to her by him.

Though the godfather was very strict and seemed unaffectionate, if it weren’t for him, she would have killed herself the first time she lost complete control at age eight.

Gu Jiao gathered her thoughts and looked at the elder in front of her, not in a hurry to speak, but instead asked with her eyes if she could borrow his paper and pen.

The National Master gestured with his hand, inviting Gu Jiao to help herself.

Gu Jiao picked up the paper and pen from the table, wrote down a calculus problem from her previous life, and turned the paper around to push it in front of the National Master.

This National Master had created the six books of Yan Country, one of which was in the hands of Xiao Hen, and it recorded the mathematical knowledge of the previous world, translated into the native script of Yan Country.

The evidence alone was not enough; Gu Jiao wanted to personally confirm the simplified characters she wrote.

If the National Master was truly a transmigration senior, he would not fail to recognize them.

There was a noticeable change in the National Master’s expression when he saw the problem.

Gu Jiao felt his body seemed to shake slightly, her eyes lit up, “Did you notice something?”

The National Master sighed and spoke the truth, “It’s been years since I’ve seen such ugly brush writing. It truly offended my eyes for a moment.”

Gu Jiao: “…”

Because the writing was so ugly, the National Master had a hard time recognizing that it was a problem.

He stared at the problem, picked up the pen, and wrote down the complete problem-solving process and the answer.

And he used the same simplified characters as Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao took it back to look and pouted, “Yours isn’t any prettier, and yet you criticize mine!”

“I haven’t written it for decades.”

“So you really are–”
“You–”
“I am, too!”

Clever people don’t need to beat around the bush or tiptoe around the truth.

Gu Jiao was well aware of why she was here; her transmigrator identity was bound to be exposed sooner or later, unless the National Master was not from her time.

But if he wasn’t, then he couldn’t possibly create the Operating Room needed by Gu Yan.

So Gu Jiao preferred that he was, and preferred to expose herself.

The National Master looked at Gu Jiao in shock, a glimmer flickering in his pupils, “I really didn’t expect… after so many years… so many years…”

Gu Jiao understood the National Master’s feelings. From what she knew, the National Master came to Yan Country thirty years ago, a lone figure drifting in a Different World for thirty years, finally encountering someone from the same time as himself, he must be excited.

Gu Jiao didn’t seem as excited because she didn’t possess the intense emotions and feelings of a normal person.

But if she had to describe her feelings, then she was… a bit happy.

She didn’t need her own kind, so strictly speaking, this happiness was mostly because of the hope of treating Gu Yan.

At the National Master’s age, after experiencing many ups and downs and understanding life and death, he quickly accepted the reality before him.

He asked, “Can you tell me about your situation?”

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and succinctly said, “I’m from the 22nd century, now a citizen of Zhan Country.”

The National Master mused, “One century later than me, how did you get here?”

Gu Jiao measured her words, “Plane crash, what about you, National Master?”

With a hint of nostalgia, the National Master said, “I was looking for someone, and while searching, I ended up here.”

The statement sounded quite specific but was somewhat vague. It still didn’t clarify how he left his time, but it didn’t matter. After all, Gu Jiao wasn’t there to delve into the National Master’s privacy or past.

“How did you discover my identity?” the National Master asked.

Gu Jiao couldn’t exactly say that the stolen books of Yan Country were in the hands of our group; that sounded a bit provocative. Even though they were from the same hometown, she couldn’t be too revealing.

Gu Jiao said, “I heard about some of your deeds and felt you might be like me, but I wasn’t certain, so I tested you just now.”

The National Master nodded, “I see.”

The water on the stove had boiled.

A disciple walked over from the backyard, kneeled down, brewed tea for Gu Jiao, and then quietly withdrew.

“So, you’ve come to find me today…” the National Master looked towards Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao said, “I must be honest, I have a friend who is suffering from a serious heart disease and needs immediate surgery. I would like to borrow the operating room in the National Master Hall.”

“Was it you who came to the National Master Hall last time, asking about the operating room? The one brought over by Elder Meng?”

Ye Qing, the chief disciple of the National Master Hall, had received Gu Jiao during her first visit when the National Master was absent.

Gu Jiao nodded, “It was me.”

The National Master looked at Gu Jiao with a meaningful expression, “Elder Meng said he encountered a little girl with impressive chess skills in Zhan Country.”

Gu Jiao: “…”

So, she was discovered after all?

The National Master laughed indulgently, “It doesn’t matter whether you are a lad or a lass, I won’t tell anyone.”

After saying so, he stood up, gave Gu Jiao a look, and said, “Next time, apply your false Adam’s apple more carefully; it’s crooked.”

Gu Jiao touched her false Adam’s apple, “Oh.”

The National Master spoke, “Follow me.”

Gu Jiao followed the National Master out of the bamboo house.

Ya He had already left, leaving only the disciple who had served tea to Gu Jiao to follow silently.

The National Master looked back at the disciple and then at the basket on Gu Jiao’s back, asking, “Is the basket heavy?”

Gu Jiao shook her head, “It’s not heavy, I can carry it myself.”

The National Master did not insist.

The two walked out of the bamboo grove, heading towards the Book Pavilion of the National Master Hall.

“Did you study medicine before?” the National Master asked.

“Sort of,” said Gu Jiao, “a surgeon, and I’ve also learned a bit of traditional medicine. What about you, National Master? Did you study medicine too?”

The National Master shook his head, “I did not.”

Gu Jiao was astonished, “Then the operating room…”

The National Master pointed ahead, “You’ll understand once you’re there.”

A strange feeling bubbled up in Gu Jiao’s heart as though there might be a twist.

They passed by the Book Pavilion and arrived at an imposing side hall, with white marble floor tiles and golden nanmu beams, intricately carved eaves and luxurious decorations; a world away from the modest bamboo house.

It was hard to believe that the National Master, who owned such a lavish place, would still choose to stay in such a humble abode.

The busy disciples inside the hall bowed to the National Master as they saw him.

The National Master led Gu Jiao down the right corridor, turning into it until they reached the end, where a room locked with an iron door was guarded by two lifeguards.

Gu Jiao could sense that the abilities of these two lifeguards were not inferior to that of Sky Wolf.

Sky Wolf was the first true master Gu Jiao met in this different world, inadvertently becoming her benchmark for assessing lifeguards.

“Open it,” the National Master commanded.

One of the lifeguards pulled out a key and unlocked the bronze lock on the iron door.

The other lifeguard pushed open the heavy iron door.

The dull sound made it no difficult feat to sense the weight of the iron door.

The National Master entered the room, then turned to Gu Jiao, “Come in.”

Gu Jiao stepped over the threshold.

What came into view was an extraordinarily ordinary room, empty and void of anything.

Gu Jiao opened her mouth, “This is…”

The National Master signaled the lifeguard outside to close the iron door, and as the door shut, the room instantly darkened.

He said to Gu Jiao, “The operating room.”

Gu Jiao widened her eyes, “But there isn’t even a stool here.”

The National Master walked to the wall opposite the iron door, gently tapped it, and looking over Gu Jiao’s shoulder, said, “Take out the things in your basket and put them in here.”

Gu Jiao instinctively reached for the small basket on her back.

The National Master spoke airily, “Don’t worry, I won’t take your things, and even if I did, they’d be of no use to me, would they?”

Gu Jiao was even more astounded; this man seemed to see through everything, even knowing that only she could open her first aid kit.

The National Master looked at Gu Jiao and didn’t force her, merely asking with a light smile, “Are you really not going to bring it here? The operating room is in another dimensional space; without that item, none of us can enter.”

The first aid kit was a product of an advanced civilization, indeed capable of tearing through spacetime, and it was also connected to a research institute in her previous life, continuously supplying her with the necessary medicines.

But all these were her secrets; how did he know?

As if sensing the doubts in Gu Jiao’s heart, the National Master patiently waited for her to make her own decision, without any intention of explaining to her.

Indeed, everyone has their secrets, and his ability to discern them was his skill, his decision not to explain was his freedom.

Gu Jiao walked over, set her basket down, took out the small first aid kit covered with a cotton cloth, and placed it in the wall.

Gu Jiao only felt a flash of white light before her eyes, and the next second, an operating room appeared in front of her.