Chapter 15

Just as they were about to reach the small mountain village outside the forest, it suddenly started to rain. Forced to take shelter under a tree, Leng Xue Ran laughed, "The sky is so blue, I can hardly see anything." Seeing the woman beside him teasing him about his earlier words, Xi Yi Min wasn't annoyed. He smiled at her and said, "Xue Ran, my heart is still sunny. With Xue Ran by my side, every day is sunny." Ignoring her words, he turned to her and said, "Xi Yi Min, I have my own business to attend to in Fengcheng. Let's part ways." She replied seriously, "I also have important business to attend to in Fengcheng, so we're going the same way, no need to part ways." Reluctantly, even though it was spring rain, they couldn't travel any further. Hiding under this tree, Leng Xue Ran asked softly, "Xue Ran, why are you hiding from me? If you have no feelings for me, why are you afraid to be with me? Since you have me in your heart, why hide from me? There is a path for you to walk, as long as you are willing to walk it. Don't cut off our path, okay?" Looking at the woman who asked her so gently, Leng Xue Ran was somewhat moved. She herself couldn't say for sure whether she had feelings for this person, so how could she admit that she did? Besides, what she was thinking about now was how to find her mother. She didn't want to deal with those personal feelings. Seeing that the rain wouldn't stop anytime soon, Xi Yimin looked down at the woman on his right, feeling infinite pity and a myriad of emotions. 'Was I too hasty?' He felt as if they had known each other for millennia, but in reality, they had only known each other for a few months. Before that, they only knew each other's names. But her mother might be the culprit who caused the destruction of the Guan family. How could he break this situation of love and hate? When did I, Xi Yimin, begin to have those thoughts? When did I find myself in this dilemma, unable to make a decision? It all started in my heart. "Never mind," I thought, deciding to stop thinking about it. Xi Yimin smiled and said, "Xue Ran, I'll go find some dry wood. Shall we make a wooden couch next to this tree? Standing is tiring." Seeing the woman's silence, Xi Yimin understood that this meant she had agreed. He turned and walked into the deep forest...

An hour had passed, and it was almost noon, but Xi Yimin still hadn't returned. The rain continued unabated. Although the ground under the tree wasn't wet, the path outside was very slippery. With this spring rain falling, people were afraid of getting sick if they got soaked. Feeling worried, I looked around, but he still hadn't returned. I decided to head into the forest to look for him. Just as I stepped out of the tree, I heard someone call from behind, "Xue Ran, where are you going? Are you looking for me?" Seeing the person return, I finally felt relieved. Looking closer, I saw that his clothes were half-wet, his hair was dripping wet, and he was carrying... A pheasant, dragging a pile of dry firewood and several long, straight tree trunks behind it, looked at her with a smile. Her heart stirred slightly, her lips moved, but she didn't express her concern. Seeing her hesitant expression, how could Xi Yimin not know what she was thinking? She put down what she was carrying and walked to Leng Xue Ran's side. "Xue Ran, are you worried about me? Don't worry, my martial arts are so powerful, how could I get hurt?" Leng Xue Ran replied, "Let's start a fire, shall we?" "Okay!" How could Xi Yimin not understand such a subtle expression? After starting a fire, she took off her wet outer garment, used it to dry her wet hair, and hung it by the fire to dry. "Xue Ran, I'll get the pheasant ready and bring it over." Leng Xue Ran didn't answer, but walked to her side, reached out and grabbed the hem of her garment. Sure enough, the garment was a little damp. "Take this off too!"

"Ah? Xue Ran, if you take off this, you'll only be wearing your undergarments."

"It's better than wearing wet clothes, I'll give you my coat."

"No, what if Xue Ran catches a cold? I'm fine, it'll be no problem." With that, Xi Yimin's eyes darted around, and he grinned mischievously, "I'm afraid Xue Ran's clothes won't fit me, they're a bit too small... If I wear them, wouldn't we be comrades-in-arms? Haha!"

"You don't know what's good for you, I'm not going to bother with you!" Seeing that Leng Xueran was relieved, Xi Yimin smiled and took the pheasant to a place a little further away to process it. Bloody things are easy to attract ferocious beasts, so he had to go a little further away for the safety of the woman behind him.

Xi Yimin returned with the prepared pheasant, along with some fruit he had picked from somewhere. He first roasted the pheasant by the fire, then handed the fruit, wrapped in leaves, to Leng Xueran. "Xueran, I saw some wild fruit over there. It tasted quite sweet, so I picked it all. Try some." Leng Xueran took the fruit, saw that it had been washed clean, glanced at Xi Yimin, and then ate one. "It really is sweet. You really know how to find them. Why didn't I see any wild fruit along the way?" Xi Yimin smiled and said, "Xueran, you don't know, but I walked this mountain path alone before and stayed in the mountains for several days. I still have some memory of what it's like here. So, I looked around for wild fruit based on my memory, and sure enough, I found it."

Why did you stay for a few more days?

"Xue Ran, are you concerned about my past?" He smiled at the woman before him, but the woman only turned her head away. He smiled at her, then turned and set up a wooden couch, finishing in less than fifteen minutes. "Xue Ran, come and sit down. You must be tired from standing for so long." He walked to the woman's side, taking her soft hand. The woman tried to pull away, but couldn't. Reluctantly, she let him lead her to the couch. Once seated, the man shamelessly refused to let go, coldly saying, "Aren't you going to let go?" Xi Yimin smiled, "I never want to let go in this lifetime." Hearing this, her heart trembled slightly, and she was stunned. "Xi Yimin, don't try to coax me with sweet words. I'm afraid I'll really be deceived!" Hearing this, Xi Yimin... Yi Min looked earnestly at the woman before him. "When have I ever lied to Xue Ran? It's just that Xue Ran doesn't believe me. Apart from Xue Ran, when have I ever cared for anyone else? When have I ever tossed and turned so much, worrying about anyone else? In Yi Min's heart, Xue Ran is the first person, and she will be the last." Leng Xue Ran turned her head to look at the forest ahead and whispered, "I want to believe every word you say, yet I dare not believe it. You are a woman, and so am I. We shouldn't have disregarded worldly customs and ethics, and done that wrong thing." Xi Yi Min said urgently, "What is wrong? All emotions in this world shouldn't be bound like this. If we really have to distinguish right from wrong, then it is the world's fault. They have wrongly put on the shackles and crowned it with those fictitious ethics and morals. It is all the world's fault."

"But we are all human beings, how can we escape these shackles?"

"Xue Ran, we can ignore it."

“How can we ignore it? My mother won’t agree, my father won’t agree, my sister won’t agree, and if the world knew you were a woman, none of them would agree…” Xi Yimin held the woman’s hand tightly and said softly, “Xue Ran, listen to me, let’s not worry about those things for now. The roast chicken is ready, let’s eat first, okay?” Xi Yimin got up, took the roast chicken, and tore off a leg for Leng Xue Ran. The woman glanced at the chicken leg and said, “I can’t finish it.”

"It's alright, eat first, and give me what you can't finish!"

"Why should I give it to you? I can just throw it away if I can't finish it."

"No, I worked so hard to catch it, how can I waste it?" Ignoring the man, Leng Xue Ran took a bite of the chicken leg. It smelled delicious, and a smile appeared on her lips.

“Xue Ran, if this rain continues, I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue our journey today.” The woman thought for a moment, “Then let’s not continue, we’ll wait for the rain to stop.” Hearing the woman’s reply, Xi Yimin was overjoyed. “Then I’ll go pick some more fruit tonight and tomorrow morning, okay?” Looking at the woman who was only wearing a thin shirt, Leng Xue Ran said softly, “Aren’t there still some chicken and fruit left? We’ll have chicken tonight, and the fruit will be enough for breakfast.” Hearing this, Xi Yimin’s smile deepened. “Alright, then let me tell Xue Ran about the culture and customs of Fengcheng, okay?” Leng Xue Ran did not answer, which was tacit consent. Xi Yimin got up and went to the fire, took out his clothes to dry, put them on, and sat down next to the woman. "Fengcheng is the richest town on the frontier, with countless merchants and chivalrous figures. The most famous is the former leader of the martial arts alliance..." At this point, Xi Yimin smiled and looked at Leng Xueran, who was listening attentively, and asked, "Xueran, do you know who he is?" Leng Xueran's lips curled up slightly, and she said disdainfully, "Isn't he just a petty thief who forced his way into my room?" Xi Yimin laughed and said, "That's right, he is the great chivalrous hero, Guan Haoshan, which is me." Hearing this, Leng Xueran glanced at the person next to her, "Truly hopeless, he can't help but boast about everything."

"That's the truth. I've never boasted. Besides, Guan Haoshan is very popular in Fengcheng. But back then, I wore a mask, so the people of Fengcheng didn't recognize my true face. Otherwise, how many girls in Fengcheng would have fallen in love with me? I'd be ashamed to death!"

"I think Miss Xi didn't die of shame, she died of her own thick skin."

"Haha, Xue Ran has a unique charm when she teases people." Seeing that the woman didn't respond, she continued, "Back then, I did a lot for Fengcheng, and it's no wonder I was loved by the people. Later, when the border war broke out, the people of Fengcheng were afraid they would suffer the pain of being displaced and separated from their families. So I gathered martial arts heroes to resist the foreign enemies. Then, I met your father..." She paused for a moment and then said, "Xue Ran, do you know what I thought when your father brought people to Fengcheng to kill me?" The woman didn't answer, but just looked up at her quietly. Xi Yimin smiled bitterly and said, "But your father, my so-called adoptive father, really did come in to kill me. I always thought that my adoptive father..." "I know you wouldn't believe that fabricated charge, but what I'm seeing now forces me to confront reality. Your father really wanted to kill me. Back then, I still had wounds from the battlefield; I was no match for so many people. Except for a few survivors, everyone else in the Guan family died, and the mansion was burned down. Tell me, how could I not hate him!" Leng Xue Ran looked at the person with bloodshot eyes and said softly, "So, you approached me for revenge, right?" There was no answer, only silence. Leng Xue Ran desperately wanted her to say yes, so she could stop being troubled by this unconventional love, but deep down she also hoped she wouldn't, that she truly loved her as deeply as she had said before.