Chapter 4

Xi Yimin entered the fenced area, walked towards Leng Xueran with a smile behind his back, and said loudly, "A beautiful fairy sits inside the fence. Stepping in feels like entering a fairyland. How delightful!" Hearing such inappropriate words, Leng Xueran said angrily, "Please, Young Master Xi, have some self-respect. Don't let your elders misunderstand." The woman smiled and said, "No misunderstanding. You young people can continue chatting. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare dinner." With that, she took the vegetables she had picked and went into the kitchen with a smile. As the sun was setting, a middle-aged man carrying a load and a young girl entered the fenced area. They opened the gate and entered the fenced area. Seeing the strangers in their home, they called out loudly, "Mother of the child, we have guests. Why didn't you send someone to let me know? I could have brought some wine and meat from the market today." The woman came out of the kitchen and said with a reproachful smile, "You two young people have just arrived and are staying here. I'm afraid you won't have time to buy anything. Husband, how did the fish sell today? Are there any left?" "All sold out!" Xi Yimin interjected, "You two elders don't need to..." "We've already troubled you quite a bit with our arrival. We're grateful for the simple food and shelter, how could we possibly go to such lengths?" The middle-aged man laughed loudly, "Young master, you flatter me. Your presence here is a welcome addition to our household, haha… May I ask your esteemed surnames?" Xi Yimin, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, interjected, "My name is Xi Yimin, and this is my wife, Xue Ran. We're on our way to the capital on business and are passing through this area. We've caused you trouble." Xue Ran, standing behind him, glared at Xi Yimin but remained silent, which to outsiders seemed to be a tacit agreement. The middle-aged man chuckled, "Very well then. I'm just a simple man, so you two can simply call me Uncle Li, and call the child's mother Aunt Li. Don't address her as 'elder,' it's too formal! This is my daughter, Li Xing'er." Hearing this, Li Xing'er bowed and said, "Greetings, Brother Xi, Sister Xue Ran," before shyly entering the kitchen. Xi Yimin laughed and said, "That's great, Uncle Li. You can call the two elders Yimin Xueran as well." Uncle Li laughed and said, "Alright, Yimin, let's go into the main room first. It looks like it's time to eat."

It turns out that Uncle Li's family are fishermen in the village. Many people in the village make a living by fishing, and the big river outside the village is their source of livelihood. It takes three hours to cross the mountain to get to the market. Today, Li Xing'er went to the market with Uncle Li to sell fish. At the dinner table, Uncle Li recounted the interesting things he'd heard at the market that day: "Wife, I heard something strange at the market today while selling fish. You know Guan Haoshan, the former leader of the martial arts alliance who used to live in Fengcheng, right?" Hearing this, both Xi Yimin and Leng Xueran were startled, but Leng Xueran quickly asked, "Uncle, tell me quickly, what about Guan Haoshan?" Uncle Li looked at Leng Xueran and said, "I heard that Guan Haoshan isn't dead. He's back in Fengcheng, gathering his old followers, saying he's really going to rebel against the court this time." Xi Yimin smiled and asked, "Uncle Li, who told you this?" "I heard it from the merchants and swordsmen coming and going at the market. Although our village is remote, it's only about thirty li from Fengcheng. Any movements there will probably pass through here first." Leng Xueran thought to herself, "We can't go back to the capital now. But I don't even know what Guan Haoshan looks like yet. I must send a message to my father to have a portrait drawn." Xi Yimin sneered inwardly. "I, the real Guan Haoshan, am still sitting here. What Guan Haoshan is rebelling? What a joke."

After the meal, the old woman arranged for the two to share a room. Leng Xueran was filled with anger and helplessness, while Xi Yimin was delighted. He sat on the edge of the bed and laughed, "It's getting late, Xueran, why don't you go to bed and rest?" Leng Xueran sat at the table, sword in hand, glaring angrily at the shameless man. "I'm not sleepy?" "Since Xueran isn't sleepy, then I'll go to sleep first." With that, he unceremoniously flopped onto the bed and took up the entire bed. Leng Xueran watched coldly, then quietly left with her sword. Xi Yimin on the bed suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes filled with hatred. He thought to himself, "Leng Shouqing, back then, I, Guan Haoshan, trusted you so much, thinking you were a good official, selfless and righteous. When you took me as your adopted son, I, Guan Haoshan, thought it was a stroke of good fortune. But I never imagined that it would be you, Leng Shouqing, who would take my life. Godfather... ha... how ironic. Then don't blame me for this..."

Leng Xueran arrived at the riverbank outside the village. The moonlight was hazy. After checking that no one was around, she went to the willow tree and put down her sword…

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With a display of her light-footed skill, she plunged into the water. After washing for a moment, Leng Xue Ran attempted to rise and return to shore. Suddenly, she vaguely felt the water flowing faster below her waist than before. Before she could think further, someone acupunctured her pressure points from behind, rendering her immobile. Leng Xue Ran cried out in alarm, "Who goes there?" The person behind her remained silent, while a large hand slowly moved from her right side from behind...

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Suddenly, a mouthful of blood flowed from Leng Xue Ran's mouth. The person behind her noticed something was wrong, stopped what he was doing, turned Leng Xue Ran around, and exclaimed in panic, "Xue Ran!" This person was none other than Xi Yi Min. When Leng Xue Ran saw this person, her eyes were filled with hatred, and she finally fainted in Xi Yi Min's arms.

Deep in the mountains outside the village, Leng Xue Ran woke up at dawn to find herself wrapped naked in Xi Yi Min's clothes, held tightly in his arms. Calm as she was, she stared intently at the sleeping Xi Yi Min, her hands resting on his neck for a long time before finally lowering them. Xi Yi Min opened his eyes, looking at Leng Xue Ran, whose eyes were filled with hatred. Ignoring this, Xi Yi Min tightened his grip on her body, saying, "Xue Ran, do you hate me now? But it doesn't matter, as long as I love you." A moment later, he rose, still holding Leng Xue Ran in his arms, and carefully dressed the lifeless woman within.

"Xue Ran, didn't you say you were looking for Guan Haoshan? Let's head to Fengcheng now, shall we?" Leng Xue Ran, still silent in Xi Yimin's arms on the black horse, suddenly felt a surge of panic and cried out, "Xue Ran, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated you so lightly. But after you fainted, I only took off your wet clothes because I was afraid you'd be cold, that's why I'm holding you like this. I didn't do anything, Xue Ran." Leng Xue Ran remained silent. Xi Yimin was terrified. Suddenly, she tightly embraced the person in front of her, her right hand slipping unsuspectingly inside Leng Xue Ran's underpants. Leng Xue Ran snapped back to reality and struggled fiercely, but Xi Yimin abruptly pulled her hand away, holding the needle-stuck Leng Xue Ran, panting, "Xue Ran, Xue Ran, don't be afraid, don't be afraid..." Tears streamed down Leng Xue Ran's face as she trembled, "Please let me go, please, I want to kill you right now, but I..." "I miss my mother so much, why don't you kill me now?" Xi Yimin held the trembling Leng Xueran gently and said, "Xueran, Xueran, don't be afraid, I will protect you, I will help you find your mother, don't do anything rash, don't be silent, I'm scared, I'm scared, I didn't mean to do this, I was wrong before, this time I'm scared, scared, from now on I will listen to you in everything, don't be so silent, I'm scared, really scared, I've never been so scared..." Scared of losing you, when has Xi Yimin ever been afraid? Leng Xueran suddenly said, "I want to ride my white horse." Xi Yimin hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, we'll go to Uncle Li's house right away and get your white horse." "No! I want to go alone." "Xueran, I'll go with you." Xi Yimin pleaded, but Leng Xueran immediately objected, "I'll go alone." "Okay," Xi Yimin said helplessly. Leng Xueran used her lightness skill to leave.