This was not an ordinary stench.
This foul smell carried a sour rot, with the sourness tinged by a fishy rankness.
It was a vile odor mixed from human sweat glands and the excretions of nature, the most wicked scent in the world.
The two of them instinctively held their breath, yet the sour stench seeped through every opening, burrowing into their nostrils and rushing straight to the crown of their heads.
They were nearly knocked unconscious by the fumes, only to regain brief clarity amid the tumbling collisions.
Awakening within faintness, and fainting again within wakefulness.
Only when Xue Yao’s back suddenly slammed into a dense thicket of shrubs did this tumble, filled with nothing but embarrassment and no trace of romance, finally come to a stop.
The moment they stopped, the two of them pushed each other away as if shocked by electricity, almost simultaneously flipping over and scrambling to their feet, gulping down mouthful after mouthful of fresh air.
Then they both turned around at the same time and spoke in unison:
“Why are you blocking the way?!”
“Why did you come down?!”
Xue Yao narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying obvious displeasure. “Didn’t I tell you to stay up there properly?”
Lu Dantao, though lacking justification, spoke with full confidence, lifting her chin as she retorted quickly, “You fell down, of course I had to come down and check whether you were injured. I’m not the kind of person who would just leave someone behind and ignore them!”
Xue Yao stared coldly at her meaningful expression and did not respond.
Lu Dantao refused to back down. She straightened her chest and glared right back at him.
The air suddenly fell silent, leaving only the rustling sound of wind passing through the tall grass.
Xue Yao’s expression darkened. Enduring the possibility of being choked by the heavy stench of sweat clinging to his own clothes, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
‘Forget it.’
He did not bother arguing with a fool.
The important matters came first.
He quickly moved past Lu Dantao, stepping behind her and lifting his head to look up at the steep slope.
Earlier, with only a hurried glance, he had not had the chance to see clearly whether that collapsed thatched hut was the one his father had built back then before this fool dragged him down with her.
He had to go back up and search carefully again. If any of the old subordinates had come here before, they might have left something behind.
Only…
Xue Yao gently brushed over the wound at his waist. Only now, his wound had split open again.
If it were just him alone, climbing this slope would naturally be effortless.
But if he had to bring along a burden as well…
He subconsciously turned his head to glance at Lu Dantao.
He saw her clutching her nose tightly with one hand, while the other kept fanning the air in front of her. From time to time, she dry-heaved, her face filled with disgust and discomfort.
Almost the very instant his gaze fell on her, Lu Dantao whipped her head around with a “swish,” sharply locking onto his every movement.
This bastard, that look again.
Every time he showed that look, nothing good ever followed!
Following the direction of Xue Yao’s gaze, she quickly swept a glance over the steep slope, and immediately came to a realization:
Ah… got it.
So he was preparing to abandon her.
The confusion in her eyes shifted into ridicule.
This bastard was really ruthless.
She focused her mind, as if possessed by Charlotte, her gaze sliding subtly over Xue Yao’s limbs.
She did not even need to think to know what he would do next. At most, he would just use his martial arts to leap up.
Xue Yao was likewise observing Lu Dantao in secret, taking in all her small movements.
This fool, every time she assumed this posture and showed this kind of expression, it meant she was about to cause him trouble again.
Just like at this moment, she was definitely thinking of dragging him down. Just like earlier, when he told her not to come down, she insisted on coming anyway. If he told her now, she would surely rush forward, clamoring to be taken along.
If he brought her along, there would only be more trouble.
His entire body quietly tensed, his gaze fixed tightly on Lu Dantao as she lowered her hand and slowly approached.
Taking advantage of the moment when she was pretending to probe in a casual tone, saying, “How are we going to get up there?”
Now!
“I’ll go up myself.” Xue Yao suddenly threw out the sentence without warning. The tip of his foot lightly tapped the ground as he was about to leap up—
But unexpectedly, his arm was suddenly grabbed, and a huge pulling force yanked his whole body backward!
She knew it!
Lu Dantao lunged forward, half-embracing his arm against her chest, gripping it tightly. “No!”
Xue Yao tried to move his arm, but she held on even tighter. He could not help but frown. “No?”
Lu Dantao tightened her hold on his arm. “What if you abandon me?”
A certain soft sensation came from his arm, and Xue Yao immediately gritted his teeth. “I won’t abandon you. I’m just going up to take a look. I’ll be back very soon.”
Lu Dantao shook her head, pressing her face against Xue Yao’s shoulder while enduring the sour stench. “Who knows. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve done something like this.”
The veins at Xue Yao’s temple twitched. Suppressing his anger, he explained, “There’s a thatched hut up there.”
“I saw it.”
“There might be something edible inside. I’ll go find something for you.” Xue Yao asked, “Aren’t you very hungry?”
Lu Dantao shook her head again. “I haven’t finished my wild fruits yet.”
Xue Yao: ……
He took a deep breath, as if exhausting all his patience. “I really won’t abandon you.”
Lu Dantao lifted her head and darted him a quick glance, then immediately closed her eyes again. “Oh, really?”
“I don’t believe you.” She did not move at all.
Xue Yao took another deep breath, as if making a great decision, and said in a low voice, “If I abandon you, then may my great vengeance never be fulfilled. Deal?”
Lu Dantao paused, finally lifting her head to stare at him, her gaze filled with doubt. “Really?”
“Really.” Xue Yao answered decisively.
Lu Dantao hesitated. If it were anyone else making such a vow, she would not believe a single word.
But this NPC… after these past few days, no matter how foolish she was, she could already tell that this person was nothing but a revenge machine. Hadn’t he wanted to stab her to death the very first time he saw her?
For him to use this matter to swear an oath was practically the most vicious oath possible.
Her fingers loosened slightly, as if she was about to let go.
However, just as Xue Yao was about to pull his arm free, she suddenly tightened her grip again. “Still no!”
Xue Yao felt the veins on his forehead throb wildly, his anger almost impossible to suppress. “What more do you want?”
Lu Dantao pondered for a moment. Although she had only been in this world for a few short days, after going through so much…
She had already grown up. She was no longer that simple, cute, and kind little girl!
As the saying went, one must always be on guard against others. What if Xue Yao was the type who spoke nothing but nonsense…
Back then, her parents had said the same thing. If they did not come home on time to celebrate her birthday with her, they would not be able to earn big money or something like that.
And what was the result?
They still earned plenty of money, yet she hardly saw them any more.
“You have to give me something, leave it with me as collateral. When you come back, you can redeem it.”
“What thing?”
“That.” Lu Dantao tilted her chin slightly, indicating the jade pendant hidden in his inner pocket.
“You want this jade pendant?” Xue Yao stared at her intensely. If looks could kill, Lu Dantao would have already been cut into a thousand pieces.
Did she even know what this jade pendant was?!
This was the family head’s seal that could command the Xue family army.
“I know this is very important to you. That’s exactly why it can be used as collateral. Anyway, you won’t run away, and I won’t run away either, so what are you worried about?” Lu Dantao spoke with full confidence, her words coming out astonishingly fast.
Xue Yao closed his eyes, as if restraining something with great effort.
What she said was not wrong. He was only going up to investigate and would be back immediately.
If she dared to damage it in the slightest, he would kill her!
After quite a while, he finally took out a jade pendant with a warm, lustrous sheen from where it was kept close against his body and tossed it to Lu Dantao.
“Is that enough?”
“That’s enough!”
Lu Dantao caught the jade pendant in one grab, her face lighting up with joy as she waved at Xue Yao. “Be careful, come back early.”
Xue Yao gave her a deep look and said, “If the jade pendant suffers even the slightest damage.”
He made a throat-slitting gesture. “You will be like this pendant.”
After saying that, he turned around, exerted force with his feet, stepped on the protrusions along the steep slope, and borrowed strength from the tree trunks. In just a few leaps, he disappeared above.
*
Xue Yao made a light leap and came to a stop in front of the collapsed thatched hut.
The ruins were silent, filled with an air of decay. For a moment, it overlapped with the fallen Defender Duke Residence in his memory.
He stepped forward and carefully reached out, pinching up a bit of sand from the collapsed area, rubbing it lightly between his fingertips.
The soil was dry, and the weeds had grown naturally, showing no signs of having been turned over or tidied up recently.
He stepped further inside, pushing aside the wild grass intertwined with the wooden frame. At a glance, the break in the beam was clean and neat, clearly cut by a sharp weapon.
It seemed that many years ago, this thatched hut had already been deliberately destroyed.
Which meant that the traces of the old subordinates in recent times had nothing to do with his father’s hut.
His heart sank slightly. In that case, if he continued wandering around in these mountains, it would only be a waste of time.
Xue Yao raised his head to look at the sun. The golden crow hung high in the sky. Even deep within the forest, one could still feel the scorching heat of the sunlight.
He frowned. It was already noon. He had to find that stretch of stream quickly. Otherwise, with the forest lacking water, it would lead to serious trouble.
Even if he could endure it, that delicate Lu Dantao…
At this thought, Xue Yao’s train of thought suddenly halted, and the image of Lu Dantao dry-heaving in his direction just now abruptly surfaced in his mind.
He silently clenched his fist. After quite a while, he slowly raised his hand and sniffed at his sleeve.
The moment the stench entered his nose, his expression froze.
*
Leaning against a large tree, Lu Dantao looked toward the slope above, her fingers gripping the jade pendant tightly. The pendant felt warm to the touch. Without even looking closely, one could tell it was of the finest quality.
She had noticed this item on the day she brought Xue Yao back to the apothecary. At that time, he had been unconscious, yet he still instinctively guarded the hard object at his chest.
For something to be so treasured by a man fleeing for his life and being hunted, the importance of this jade pendant was self-evident.
At the very least, it had to be on the level of a keepsake left behind by his parents.
Time quietly slipped by in the silence of waiting.
Her gaze remained fixed on the slope, her ears attentive to any movement above, while she silently counted the passing time in her heart.
It had already been quite a while.
Suddenly, a cluster of leaves high above rustled. She sprang to her feet at once, even raising her arm, ready to greet him.
But the leaves merely swayed with a rustling sound. It was only the wind passing through.
Disappointed, Lu Dantao lowered her arm. Her fingers rubbed against the jade pendant as she muttered, “Why is he taking so long? What’s so worth looking at in that broken hut anyway?”
If he ran off, how was she supposed to get out on her own?
She looked around in slight confusion. Everywhere she saw were towering ancient trees, so dense that not even air seemed to pass through, an invisible sense of oppression pressing down on her.
Her shoulders slumped. After thinking for a moment, she finally lifted her head again and fixed her gaze back on the steep slope.
No.
She could not just keep waiting foolishly like this.
She had already grown up. She could take the initiative herself.
If the mountain would not come to her, then she would go to the mountain!
She nodded to herself, silently cheering, “You can do it.” Then she imitated Xue Yao’s posture and started climbing upward.
But before she could even climb two steps, the sound of Xue Yao returning came from above.
Lu Dantao’s eyes lit up. He had not lied!
She straightened up and waved at him, quickly backing up in place to meet him. Before she could even complain about how slow he had been, she was interrupted by Xue Yao’s brief command:
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
Xue Yao glanced at her and extended his hand. “Didn’t you want to bathe?”
So sudden?
Lu Dantao froze for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, bending slightly and offering it with both hands in a respectful manner. “Yes, yes, yes. I do.”
Taking advantage of the moment Xue Yao paused, she jogged to his side and followed closely behind him.
Still, she was a little curious.
In this deep mountain forest, where exactly had Xue Yao found a place to bathe? And so suddenly too. Hadn’t they been enduring it the whole time?
Could it be that when he went up to check that broken thatched hut just now, he really did run into some nearby villagers?
She shook her head. No, that didn’t seem right.
That kind of plot would only appear in two places.
One was called Liaozhai, where the other party would be ghosts.
The other was called Detective Dee, where the other party would be some kind of secret organization.
This was not a fantasy setting, and the emperor’s surname was not Wu.[1]“Liaozhai” refers to 《聊斋志异》 (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio), a famous collection of supernatural stories involving ghosts and spirits. “Detective Dee” refers to works based … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2036224_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2036224_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
But she also did not remember seeing anything like this mentioned in the analysis posts.
Lu Dantao turned her face slightly and asked in a somewhat tactful way, “Is there a village nearby?”
A village?
Xue Yao paused in his steps, his gaze lingering on her face as he assessed her in secret. “Why would you think there’s a village?”
The fact that there was a village nearby was something he had learned from his father’s recollections. How had she guessed it?
Even if he had just mentioned bathing, that still seemed unlikely…
“You’re taking me to bathe, aren’t you? Without a village, how would we bathe?” Lu Dantao said.
Xue Yao: ……
That question had been unnecessary.
Seeing him walk ahead with an unwilling expression, Lu Dantao felt puzzled. He was just an NPC, fleeing for his life. If she had not stepped in, he would have already been lining up at the Naihe Bridge[2]“Naihe Bridge” (奈何桥) is a bridge in Chinese folklore that souls must cross in the underworld on their way to reincarnation. It is often associated with parting from one’s past life, and … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2036224_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2036224_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
What was he getting angry about all day?
She puffed up her cheeks and decided to ignore him, letting him reflect on himself properly.
Lu Dantao did not speak, and Xue Yao did not speak either.
The two of them walked one in front of the other. Before long, the view suddenly opened up, and a quietly flowing river stretched through the valley.
The river shimmered under the sunlight, its surface glinting with colors. Large rocks were piled along the banks, and clusters of reeds grew between the crevices of the stones. The scenery was quite beautiful.
But—
“We’re bathing here?” Lu Dantao asked.
Xue Yao crossed his arms and lifted his eyelids slightly. His entire expression clearly said two words: What else?
Lu Dantao tilted her head and pointed ahead. “But there’s not even the slightest place to hide.”
“Is there no other river?”
“There is.” Xue Yao nodded and replied calmly with a single word.
Lu Dantao’s eyes had just lit up when she immediately felt it was impossible.
Sure enough, she then heard Xue Yao say, “I’ll dig one for you right now.”
References[+]