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Chapter 102: Jiaying
🕑 Added 2024-12-20 14:15:06 +0000 UTCJiaying, who had just been defrosted but had not yet woken up, was brought to an lavish European-style bedroom.
Two German girls, temporarily hired by Josh from the nearby Swan Lake, were assigned to look after her.
This room was one of 14 that had been completed at the time.
Although Neuschwanstein Castle was never fully completed, the 14 completed rooms were maintained over the years. They could be made habitable with a little tidying up.
Previously, these rooms had been preserved as historical monuments due to the castle's special significance. Since the official fall of the Bavarian Kingdom in 1918, no one had lived in them.
The German personnel, Hydra operatives and now the soldiers of Company E (TL/N: Nickname of East Company), who successively occupied the castle, only cleared out a few furnished rooms on the ground floor in order to use them as dormitories under the orders of their respective commanders.
As for King Ludwig II's royal chamber, it had been completely sealed off after the king's death and remained untouched.
Now that Josh had come into possession of the castle, he had no such reservations. He planned to use the Royal Chamber as the future bedroom for himself and Margaret—after all, Ludwig II had died miles away, at Lake Starnberg outside Munich, so there was no need for superstition.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Jiaying suddenly woke up in shock.
The gruesome memories of being used as a test subject in the Hydra research facility and seeing her fellow villagers turned to ash by the obelisk had become her nightmares.
Thus, after being defrosted, the nightmares came frequently.
When she awoke, she had no time to recall the terrifying dreams before realizing something was wrong.
This time, she wasn't in the cold, dark cell surrounded by menacing white lab coats and uniformed soldiers. Instead, she found herself on a soft bed in a lavish room.
At that time, Jiaying was not the learned, experienced leader of the Inhumans she would become decades later. She was just a country girl from 1940s Xianghu, China, illiterate and unfamiliar with such luxury.
She clutched the blanket and froze, completely at a loss.
While she was in this daze, the bedroom door opened and a girl dressed in traditional German maid's clothing walked in.
"You're finally awake! That's wonderful!" the girl exclaimed, her voice filled with joy upon seeing Jiaying conscious.
However, Jiaying just stared at her blankly—because the maid was speaking German. Jiaying, who couldn't even read Chinese, certainly couldn't understand a word of it.
The maid quickly realized the communication barrier and rushed out to find Josh.
At this point, Josh was the only one in the entire castle who could speak Mandarin.
Knowing this, Josh had instructed the maids to notify him as soon as Jiaying woke up.
As she watched the maid run off, Jiaying guessed that she was probably going to fetch someone. Her gaze flickered to the open bedroom door, a hint of longing in her eyes, but it quickly faded.
As a girl from the countryside, unfamiliar with the world and recently subjected to long imprisonment and abuse, Jiaying lacked the courage to escape.
When Josh arrived, Jiaying was still sitting on the bed, clutching the blanket and staring dazedly at the open door.
When she saw Josh, she instinctively pulled the blanket tighter and shrank back toward the headboard in fear.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. You're safe now," Josh said as he sat in a chair on the other side of the room, not approaching the frightened girl.
Hearing his words, a faint glimmer of hope appeared in Jiaying's frightened eyes.
Josh spoke fluently, standard Mandarin—Mandarin had been established as the official language after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, so it wasn't unusual for him to use it.
This was the first time Jiaying had met a foreigner who spoke Chinese!
"You speak Chinese?" Jiaying asked, her Mandarin heavily accented with her Xiangnan dialect.
Fortunately, the Xiangnan dialect was relatively understandable. If it had been Min Nan or Hakka, Josh, a Zhejiang native in his previous life, might have had trouble.
"Obviously. I'm Josh Kahn; you can just call me Josh," he said with a smile. "The war is over, and those who captured you are all dead. You're safe now."
"Is that true? Those who captured me are really dead?" Jiaying asked, her voice trembling with emotion. "Did you save me?"
"Yes, I saved you. And yes, they're all dead, killed by my men," Josh confirmed with a nod.
"Waaaah..." Although she couldn't verify the truth of his words, they did bring relief to Jiaying, and she began to cry uncontrollably.
"Master, the food is ready!" The maid Josh had instructed earlier cautiously poked her head through the door.
"Bring her in," Josh said, then approached the bed and gently patted Jiaying's trembling shoulder. "All right, stop crying. You just woke up and you're very weak. Eat something first."
His words did little to calm her; this woman desperately needed to vent her emotions.
However, as the maid placed a small bedside table filled with food in front of Jiaying, her sobbing began to subside, distracted by the aroma of the food.
The meal was not particularly lavish: a bowl of soft oatmeal with an egg, a few slices of bread, and ham.
But to Jiaying, it was a feast—the likes of which she had rarely, if ever, experienced.
Still, she hesitated, nervous about eating despite her hunger.
"Go ahead and eat. It's prepared for you, and there's more if you need it," Josh encouraged.
Only then did Jiaying begin to eat quickly, finishing everything on the table and even licking the bowl clean.
"If you're still hungry, I can have them prepare more," Josh said, amused by her expression.
"Really?" she asked carefully, clearly still hungry.
"Prepare more food—add beef, lamb and chicken," Josh instructed the maid.
Normally, someone who had just defrosted would need to eat moderately, but as an awakened Inhuman, Jiaying needed to replenish her energy.
"Thank you!" Jiaying finally expressed her gratitude after the maid left, her voice filled with sincerity.
"No need to thank me. It's nothing. But while the food is being prepared, let's discuss your situation," Josh said.
"My situation? I don't understand," Jiaying replied, confused.
"It's quite simple. Do you have any family left or anywhere else to go?" Josh asked deliberately.
The question hit a nerve.
Family? Home?
There was none.
Her entire village had been taken, burned to the ground and reduced to ashes by that monstrous obelisk.
She was completely alone, without direction or purpose.
Finally, she shook her head in confusion, indicating that she had nowhere to go.
This was exactly the answer Josh wanted.
"Since you have no money, no family, and nowhere to go, why not stay with me?" he said with a wolfish grin. "I have the means to support you."
"Thank you, Master Josh, for taking me in!" Jiaying said gratefully, surprised but relieved by his offer.
Josh was pleased with her quick submission. Winning over this woman had been much easier than he had expected.
Such was the naivety of someone like Jiaying—a naive girl from an oppressive life, easily swayed.
This arrangement suited Josh perfectly. No need for force; Jiaying would follow him willingly. Blood samples or anything else would be his.
As for the Inhumans losing their rightful leader or the possible non-existence of Quake... Josh shrugged inwardly. It wasn't his problem.
