Without a word, the young man bent down to examine the injury on her foot, his brows furrowing even more as he slowly channeled his spiritual energy into her ankle.

The sound of light footsteps came from outside the cave; the man in black had caught up to the cave entrance.

A-Lan tried to get up quickly, but the boy gestured for her to be quiet, pressed her down, and said with a cold look in his eyes: "Stay inside and don't come out." He then turned and left the cave.

Then came the endless sounds of fighting. As darkness fell, and only when there was no more movement outside the cave did Ah Lan tiptoe out. It was already dark when the boy sat on the stone platform outside the cave, panting heavily. His white clothes were covered in blood. He had been beaten black and blue. Seventeen or eighteen black-clad assassins lay on the ground, long since lifeless.

Ah Lan limped over and asked him if he was alright.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, nonchalantly took off his outer robe, and tossed it aside: "It's not my blood." He turned and squatted down. "It's getting late, let me carry you home!"

The boy risked his life to save her, and A-Lan was so moved that she cried. She always wanted to repay him: "My father is the River God. Tell me your name, and I will ask my father to reward you. Our Xiushui River has plenty of gold and silver treasures. If you don't like them, I can ask my father to appoint you as a minor official. If you have any other wishes, just tell me."

The boy simply shook his head: I don't want any gold or silver jewelry, nor do I want to be an official.

Alan asked curiously: What do you want?

The boy remained silent for a long time before finally uttering a single word: "You."

A-Lan was taken aback. Did he want her to repay him with her body? She quickly changed the subject with a joke: "After all, I am the daughter of the River God. How could I just marry someone of unknown origin like you? Besides, I'm going to marry into the North Sea sooner or later. If you really want to get married, there are plenty of beauties in our Xiushui River. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

The young man was slightly taken aback, and his steps faltered: You want to marry someone from Beihai?

Alan nodded: My father arranged this marriage for me a long time ago. I heard that the North Sea God is not fond of associating with people. I also don't like being disturbed by others. So it seems that I am a good match for him. It may be just right for me to marry him!

The boy suddenly fell silent. A-Lan turned her head to look at him and saw that he was furious, his face was ashen and his eyes were getting colder, so she stopped talking.

When she reached the banks of the Xiushui River, her father was already waiting for her. A group of people surrounded her, and Suxin cried and asked: "Miss, why are you bleeding so much?"

She looked down and realized that her chest was soaked with a large amount of blood, which was a shocking sight.

A-Lan was speechless. She hadn't been injured at all. Could this blood be from when she hurriedly turned around? But where was the boy?

Has he already left? With so much blood, won't he die on the way?

What an impolite guy! She didn't even know his name.

4.

She saw him again half a year later. On the day of her father's funeral, she returned from the tomb at the bottom of the river and lay on a stone platform in the courtyard of the mansion, drinking alone.

As she sipped her drink, a tear slid down her cheek. She thought, the person who loved her most in this world is gone.

As the autumn wind swept by, someone wiped away her tears. She opened her eyes and saw a young man in white sitting in front of her, raising his hand to wipe away her tears.

She forced a smile and asked him: "Why did you leave so suddenly last time? Tell me, what's your name?"

Youxiang.

She nodded: Great, Xiao Xiang, have a drink with me!

Before Youxiang could answer, she started drinking on her own. She didn't tell him that her father, who loved her most in the world, had passed away. Nor did she tell him that her mother had died young, and now that her father was gone, she was all alone and helpless.

You Xiang frowned slightly and snatched her wine glass: "You cry when you're drunk? Your drinking manners are terrible."

She suddenly felt wronged and tried to grab the wine glass, but lost her strength and snuggled into his arms. She simply wiped her tears and snot all over his white robe. He didn't get angry but laughed and let her act silly.

In her delirium, she sobbed on his shoulder: "I feel so bad, do you know that?"

He sighed helplessly, pulled her into his arms, brushed the stray hairs from her forehead, and after a long while murmured in her ear: "You're sad, how could I not know?" His voice was very soft, but full of meaning.

That day, she ordered her servants to bring several large vats of strong liquor, and she and You Xiang drank until evening. The more they drank, the more blurred their consciousness became. In the end, she only vaguely remembered raising her hand to stroke the young man's cheek: "Don't be too good to me, I'm engaged."

The young man tenderly wiped away the tears on her cheeks, a surge of heat coursing through his body. Despite his best efforts to restrain himself, his hands moved of their own accord, lifting her up in his arms, his eyes burning with desire, as he strode into the inner room.

Just as dawn was breaking, her uncle led a group of people to block her door, insisting that she was having an affair. She remained silent, completely naked, with bloodstains on the sheets, certainly not looking like she had done anything wrong. But her supposed lover had vanished without a trace.

She cursed inwardly, that brat had taken advantage of her when she wasn't looking! And then he just disappeared without a trace? But despite the truth, she still felt that Youxiang wasn't that kind of person until she found the wine jar from last night in the corner of the backyard, and realized that someone had put an aphrodisiac in the wine.

As for who drugged her, she smiled and asked, "Who brought people to her door early this morning, shouting that she had done something shameful?"

Uncle, Uncle, Father just passed away, and you can't even hold back anymore?