Run away from home

Her luck lasted until she was sixteen and then disappeared. She was still so unlucky. Fortunately, Chi Xun was by her side to protect her and keep her safe.

The twenty-first year of Yan'an in Xijiang, at the hour of Hai.

This is the 32nd time Yuanli has run away from home. It is really troublesome not being able to use divine power.

The Miao village in Jiwang Valley was brightly lit, with torches arranged in rows and wandering through the mountains, echoing the villagers' shouts one after another. As time passed, the torches became brighter and brighter, and the speed of wandering gradually increased.

The waterfall on the top of the mountain is like cloth or silk. It is surging and the water flows down from the top of the waterfall directly to the bottom of the cliff. The splashing water and the mist spray on Yuanli's clothes behind the waterfall.

Misty water vapor condensed on her eyelashes, and through the waterfall curtain, she could vaguely hear the urgent call from outside.

The Miao village has a unique defense, and she has Chi Xun, that dog-skin plaster, following behind her. If she makes any move to leave the valley, her father will send someone to take her back.

Therefore, she had to hide for three days before she could leave the valley. She could only hide in the cave behind the Youlian Waterfall.

The candle wool she brought was slightly dampened by the water mist, and it was difficult to light most of it. Yuanli had no choice but to find a secluded place and curl up against the wall.

Yuanli sprinkled a circle of insect repellent powder on the sides of her body and was taking a nap against the wall with her eyes closed to save the candle. The footsteps were getting closer and closer to her ears. In the quiet cave where only the sound of dripping water could be heard, the footsteps were infinitely amplified.

She stood up slowly and cautiously, holding the red-tailed Gu powder tightly in her hand. The light gradually approached, and a tall figure was elongated by the candlelight. Yuanli concentrated her mind and wanted to take down the opponent in one fell swoop.

The red tail is refined from the red scorpion unique to Jinshabi. It is extremely poisonous in itself, and the tail is twice as poisonous. The internal organs and blood are even more poisonous. If it is contaminated, the whole body will fester and pus will flow, and the stench will spread for ten miles. No medicine can cure it.

The red-tailed Gu powder is made by grinding the whole body of the last surviving red scorpion in a fight between hundreds of red scorpions into powder. If the skin of the living person comes into contact with the corpse fluid in the slightest, the whole body will fester and die suddenly, not to mention the difficulty of grinding it into powder.

When the corner of the visitor's dress was revealed, Yuanli was about to release the red tail, but the dim candlelight disappeared in an instant.

The person who came reacted faster than her and immediately restrained her hands, holding her tightly in his arms, completely ignoring Yuanli's struggle.

As she struggled, the scent of graphite sandalwood filled her nostrils. Yuanli relaxed her guard, a faint smile playing on the corner of her mouth as she jokingly said, "Want to capture me and ask my father for a reward? Let's work together and split the reward fifty-fifty."

"Young Master is getting even more ruthless. Don't spread this Red Tail Gu carelessly. If I die, who will clean up the mess and take the blame for you, huh?"

Yuanli stopped talking, her smile froze, and she said seriously, "Chi Xun, I must leave this time."

The voice resonated in the empty cave. He released the hand that was restraining her, handed her the bundle and said, "I forgot to bring the Gu Mother."

He relit the lantern, and the dark cave was illuminated again, several times brighter than the faint light emitted by her small candle.

Based on the weight of the cloth bag in her hand and the sound made by the silver boxes in the bag colliding with each other, Yuanli was sure that the Gu mother this time should be real.

"Are you willing to let me go?"

"I don't want to, so..."

Chi Xun kept her in suspense as he leaned closer to her. Yuanli was a little surprised by the sudden intimacy. She leaned against the wall and leaned back with the rhythm of his approach until her center of gravity became unstable and she had to support the ground behind her with her left hand.

"So...I'm going with you."

Under the dim candlelight, Chi Xun's eyes were bright and moving in the dark night, and seemed to have a more handsomeness that was not usually noticed.

She felt a little uncomfortable. Although Chi Xun was a follower, he always kept a proper distance from her and had never been so close to her before.

Yuanli suddenly realized that there seemed something familiar between his eyebrows and eyes, like an old friend. She stared at Chi Xun's face, her eyes carefully scanning every inch of his skin. She thought of all the acquaintances, but none of them came to her mind.

"Ari?"

Chi Xun shrank back and kept a little distance. Yuanli shook her head at him to show that it was okay. She had never rejected him because Chi Xun had been like this since he was a child. He would never leave her side even if she was beaten or scolded.

In the cold and damp cave behind the waterfall, the two took turns leaning against the wall to close their eyes and take a nap. Their clothes were already soaked by the waterfall's vapor, and it was winter. At this moment, Yuanli felt cold and leaned against the wall silently.

When she was dozing off, two warm hands touched her arms. Chi Xun shook her awake and said, "You are good at resisting. If you catch a cold, you won't be able to get out of Jiwang Valley, let alone the waterfall."

When I woke up, the coldness invaded my brain, which seemed even colder than when I was awake. The mist from the waterfall was accompanied by the cold wind blowing from the cave, and goose bumps unconsciously climbed up the back of my neck.

Chi Xun took off his coat and handed it to her, then turned his back and said, "I'll go out and get some firewood to dry your clothes. Your coat is wet, so change into mine."

Yuanli felt dizzy and pulled Chi Xun's clothes with great effort, saying, "The firewood pile in the cave will be discovered."

"Your body is important. If you are discovered, I will find another way to get you out of Jiwang Valley."

After saying that, Chi Xun squatted down helplessly, pried open her fingers that were tightly holding his clothes, took the clothes from her arms, wrapped her up and straightened her body.

Leaving the lantern behind, Chi Xun picked up the candle she brought and lit it, then walked along the wall in the pitch-black cave with the help of the dim candlelight.

Only after the faint candlelight in his hand completely dissipated did Yuanli feel at ease to take off her soaked outer shirt. Her inner clothes were dry, but slightly damp. She could use them to warm them up after he found some firewood.

Chi Xun was considered the tallest man in the village. Even though he looked rather thin the other day, when she put on this coat, it was much larger than she had imagined. She had to wrap it tightly and hold it up to avoid stepping on it.

She did not lean against the wall again, but tried to stay awake and sit up straight. The warmth from Chi Xun's coat dispelled the chill, and she felt much more comfortable.

Yuanli sat alone in the cave for a long time, until the flickering candlelight in the lantern gradually weakened. Chi Xun had not returned yet. Fearing that he was in danger, Yuanli wanted to go out of the cave to look for him.

Wrapped in his outer robe and holding the bamboo handle of the lantern tightly, Yuanli searched for the cave entrance with the help of the candlelight. The cliffs in the mountains were sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, with protruding and rugged rocks. If he was not careful, he would bump into the rocks.

Water drops from the mountain stream pattered onto the ground, an undercurrent surged, and the cool mountain water dripped onto Yuanli's head, passing through her hair and sending a chill through her heart. Yuanli wrapped her clothes tightly and carefully protected the lantern to prevent the mountain water from extinguishing it.

Because of her petite body, she was much more familiar with the route than Chi Xun, so she could move freely in this dark cave. When the night wind blew in the distance, Yuanli knew that she was near the cave entrance.

Outside the cave, wolves howled at inopportune times, which was the signal for the wolves to hunt.

Not good, Chi Xun.

Yuanli's heart skipped a beat and she was in a panic. At this moment, she didn't care whether the lantern-shaped clothes would get wet, and ran quickly towards the light at the cave entrance.

The candlelight flickered and the light was dim. Yuanli's body was constantly hurt by the protruding rocks. She did not stop for a moment until she was out of the cave.

"It's snowing again. Qingnv has been taking good care of me lately."

A strong wind blew snow past, the lanterns went out, a small wisp of white smoke rose, leaving only the clear moonlight for illumination. There were no footprints in front of the cave entrance, only a hairband hanging between the dead branches of a bush two people tall, fluttering in the wind.

The iris embroidered on the end of the headband came into view, and wolves howled in the distance. Yuanli held the headband tightly in her hand and walked towards the direction of the dead branch where the headband was tied.

The cave hidden within Youlian Waterfall was unknown to anyone except her. No one dared to enter the two-person-high shrubs on the mountainside, and even if they did, they would quickly get lost. Year-round, the dead branches were covered in small thorns and contained many unknown poisonous substances.

A few villagers also came to the bushes to catch poisonous insects and make poisons, but they were only limited to the periphery. Even Yuanli had to concentrate and walk around for a while before she could get out of the forest.

The moment he stepped out of the bushes, the footprints on the ground that were not covered by snow were so messy and dazzling that he couldn't tell which ones were Chi Xun's.

In the distance, a pack of wolves were running in the same direction. Yuanli took a shortcut and ran up the mountain. The wolves scattered and approached a towering tree. On the tree was the disheveled Chi Xun, and next to the tree were piled bundles of firewood he had found.

In this cold, icy winter, with trees breaking and branches falling, animals were scarce and the wolves had long been hungry. At this moment, Chi Xun in the tree was like a pig during the Spring Festival, being watched closely by the hungry wolves.

There were too many wolves, and she couldn't save Chi Xun alone. She had to hold the necklace tightly around her neck and call A Cha's name softly, but no one answered after she called three times.

When she was anxious, a large soup spoon was stretched out beside her. Yuanli turned her head along the spoon and saw Mengpo Axiang standing beside her, looking at Chi Xun on the tree.

"A Xiang? Why is it you?"

"Are you disappointed because of me? I'm delivering soup. I rushed here as soon as I got the letter. Look, I didn't even have time to throw away my beloved soup spoon." After saying that, Meng Po pretended to be sad and handed her the soup spoon.

Seeing the wolf pack growing larger and larger, Yuanli quickly grabbed Ah Xiang's sleeve and said, "No, Ah Xiang, you misunderstood. I'll explain it to you later. Please help me save the mortal in the tree."

"Is he important? He won't die if he stays a little longer. The important thing is for us to catch up on the past." Ah Xiang patted the back of her hand and said soothingly, "The King of Hell was tied up in government affairs and couldn't come, so he sent me to help. I'm relieved to see that you're safe and sound."

"Important, extremely important."

"Your husband?"

Just as she was about to refuse to explain, seeing Ah Xiang's teasing, Yuanli suppressed her anxiety, a look of hurt on her face, and nodded and cried, "Axun is my future husband whom I value very much. If he were to be devoured by a wolf today... I... please, Ah Xiang, help me."

"Axun? Your future husband's name sounds like our Lord Pluto. Well, I won't tease you anymore. I'm going to save A Li's future husband right now."

After saying that, Ah Xiang gathered the power of Yin Cha and transformed into a chivalrous woman in the martial arts world. Holding a long-handled soup spoon in her hand, she ran towards the wolf pack at an unusual speed. The wind under her feet raised the snowflakes on the ground.

She held a wooden spoon and hit the wolf's head. Her agile body quickly moved among the wolves and hit the wolf with one blow. The hungry wolf fell to the ground and fainted.

She is Meng Po, and she cannot kill at will and disrupt the order of the underworld. However, it is okay for her to faint temporarily.