CH 31.1

Yan Mu didn’t know how she escaped.

She stumbled through the woods and over the stream.

A pair of eyes was imprinted in her mind.

It was a pair of crimson eyes. Those eyes were bloodshot, fierce, and ruthless, like a wild wolf in the unmarked burial-mounds1.

It was as if she saw the wild beast’s tensed body, baring its terrifying white teeth, waiting to strike. 

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But she wasn’t afraid at all. Because that wild beast had been protecting her from beginning to end, and had taken advantage of the confusion to send her out.

She was well protected and practically unharmed.

“Yu Yuan, Yu Yuan……” The girl was running with all her might. There was a faint taste of blood in her throat, and her lungs were burning and aching as if they were being pulled apart.

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“Pye! Zw Zwyd yde Hbydt Qsweyd yal qktbvkdt!” Zyd Yw rwpble srld vbl nswavuyae essa, tayccle Wyvbla Zyd, obs bye fwpv alvwadle qasx osaj, yde ayd swvpkel.

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Tla zltp olal vbascckdt okvb rykd yp olzz.

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Zhang Goudan had fallen to the ground with his back facing Yan Mu. Yu Yuan was holding Zhang Goudan’s firewood knife, his body covered with blood, as if he was an evil ghost that had come out from hell. His hair was soaked with blood, sticking to his forehead, and even his eyelashes were covered with tiny beads of blood.

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Seeing Yan Mu’s arrival, his expression stagnated. Then, he silently threw away the firewood knife in his hand. 

Father Yan was checking Zhang Goudan’s injury. Seeing Yan Mu come over, he hurriedly said, “Zhang Goudan has fainted. Both of them are fine, it’s just that Zhang Goudan is bleeding a little too much, so it looks a bit worse.”

Yan Mu sighed in relief.

Father Yan then said, “Dad will send Zhang Goudan to the village doctor first. Later, you bring Yu Yuan to the village doctor for a checkup as well.” 

After saying that, he carried Zhang Goudan on his back and left.

After a moment, only Yan Mu and Yu Yuan were left.

There was a big pool of blood on the ground, looking extremely scary.

Yan Mu dragged her legs and avoided the pool of blood. Her legs were sore, and one leg seemed to be cramping, so it was painful to walk.

Yan Mu gritted her teeth and took a few steps. Previously, she hadn’t felt much pain and discomfort. But now that her mental stress had eased, the pain completely took over her brain.

Yan Mu couldn’t bear the pain and her body went limp and fell to the ground. The teenager, who had been standing still, seemed to have had his start button pressed as he somewhat sluggishly helped her up. 

“Are you alright?” Yu Yuan’s face was completely red, looking strange and enchanting in contrast to his pale skin.

Yan Mu shook her head. She leaned forward, took out her handkerchief, and carefully wiped the dirt off the teenager’s face.

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The teenager’s body trembled and he hurriedly grabbed Yan Mu’s wrist.

“Don’t, I’m dirty.” Yu Yuan stared directly at Yan Mu and shook his head at her.

Yan Mu gently pried open the teenager’s hand, copying what Yu Yuan had done last time to clasp fingers with him.

“You’re not dirty. Yu Yuan is perfectly clean.” The girl revealed a dazzling smile.

The breeze blew the leaves, and the westward setting sun tinted everything red. Only the girl’s smile was as bright and gentle as the moonlight.

Memories of the past flooded back3, in a trance, Yu Yuan seemed to see the girl who was carrying a lantern, asking him if he wanted to come stay at her house for a night again.

On the night that he was abandoned by the whole world, it was Yan Mu who took him in.

In an instant, his frozen and stiff heart turned into a soft mess4. He lowered his eyes to hide the raging emotions in his eyes.

The girl moved forward and carefully wiped his face. Yu Yuan could see Yan Mu’s long eyelashes and her small nose.

There was some sweat on her nose caused by how intensely she had just been running. He lowered his head to find the cleanest part of his sleeve and silently wiped the sweat off from the tip of her nose.

“It’s done.” Yan Mu gently wiped the dirt off Yu Yuan’s face and was about to put the handkerchief away, but he took it.

“It’s too dirty, I’ll wash it.” Without waiting for her to refuse, he had already tucked the handkerchief away.

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Yan Mu didn’t refuse and said, “Let’s go to the village doctor and check if your wounds are okay.”

Yu Yuan wanted to evade, but he couldn’t resist Yan Mu’s insistence, so he had to go along with her.

The girl stood up and was about to withdraw her hand that was intertwined with his, but Yu Yuan subconsciously held it.

“Yu Yuan?” The girl’s face was somewhat puzzled.

“……It’s nothing.” Yu Yuan was a little upset by his subconscious reaction. He felt that his behaviour was a little too frivolous, and he was even more afraid that Yan Mu would hate him. 

Yu Yuan pursed his lips, and he had just loosened his fingers when Yan Mu suddenly held his hand.

“It’s okay, just hold it if you want to.” Yan Mu thought for a while and said, “It’s all over, I’m here with you, don’t be afraid.”

The sunset warmly shone on her face, making her appear even gentler.

……Silly girl. Does she think that I’m afraid?

The corner of Yu Yuan’s mouth twitched, but his mood inexplicably got better. Five fingers slowly folded as he enveloped the girl’s soft hands in his palm. 

Yan Mu tried to walk a few steps, but her legs were still badly hurting. Initially, she thought it was a cramp, but the after-effect of a cramp wouldn’t be this serious, so it might actually be muscle strain.

She didn’t want to trouble Yu Yuan and planned to grit her teeth and bear with the pain. However, his sense of observation was too keen, and Yan Mu’s acting skills couldn’t deceive him at all. 

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The teenager was silent for a moment before he suddenly released her hand and crouched down with his back facing Yan Mu.

“Yu Yuan?” Yan Mu still didn’t react.

“Come up, I’ll carry you,” Yu Yuan indifferently said.

He sounded very calm, but in reality, his heart was beating like a drum, and even both his hands were slightly trembling.

“No need, I can walk by myself.” Yan Mu felt extremely flattered5.

As soon as she said this, she noticed that the aura around the teenager suddenly became depressed. 

The teenager pursed his lips, and acting oblivious to Yan Mu’s rejection he stubbornly maintained his current posture. It was as if he would keep squatting if she didn’t agree.

Yan Mu couldn’t change his mind, so she finally climbed up on the teenager’s back. Under the setting sun, two shadows overlapped like deers in the forest nestled against each other.

In the beginning, Yan Mu was still in high spirits, but things were really too tiring just now, so after a while, she couldn’t endure anymore.

“Why don’t you sleep for a while?” The teenager’s voice rang out from the front. When he was talking, his chest slightly vibrated. “I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

“……I’m very heavy, will you be okay?” Yan Mu vaguely asked with her eyes closed.

“How are you heavy?” She seemed to hear the teenager chuckle. 

In her trance, she seemed to feel him stop and weigh her.

Is Yu Yuan weighing a pig?

Yan Mu closed her eyes and softly said, “Don’t mess around.”

The teenager’s unsubstantial back had an unexpected sense of security. She unconsciously rubbed against it and buried her head in the nape of his neck. Sleepiness took over her little by little and Yan Mu’s breathing became long and steady.

“Just sleep,” the teenager slowed down and softly said. 

The girl’s breathing scattered along the nape of his neck, creating a numbing itch. It was as if there were ten thousand ants crawling on the teenager’s heart, bringing a numbing feeling from deep inside the depths of his soul.

Yu Yuan slightly turned his head and looked at Yan Mu’s brows that were still furrowed even in her sleep.

He pursed his lips, and as if to Yan Mu, or to himself, he said, “It’s all over.”