She said to Yuan Ni, "Let’s go and check the Hollow Oak."
"Oka—"
"No."
Before Yuan Ni could agree to Ruan Chanchan’s request, Xie Daiyu strode forward and pulled Ruan Chanchan behind him. He glared at her and said, "Enough with your adventures. We are going back, and you are going to be very happy about it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ruan Chanchan curled her lips in a dazzling smile and agreed at once. But when Xie Daiyu dragged her away, she turned to look at Yuan Ni and mouthed, "Get a hollow oak to check."
Xie Daiyu: "..."
Did she think that his senses had dulled? With her whispering so loudly, it would be a surprise that he wouldn’t be able to hear her. However, he didn’t say anything and simply pulled her away.
"I will go," said Ruan Zeqiu hurriedly. After what happened, he had a feeling that the chief might be waiting to hang him upside down. She had clearly stated that he was not allowed to take Ruan Chanchan to the small mountains, but he, for the sake of the machete, didn’t listen to anything and brought his sister to the small mountains. There was a very good chance that the woman was going to lose her temper. It was better for him to escape when he still had the chance.
"There is no need, kid," said Aunt Ye. She knew what the r was trying to do and stopped him before he could sneak out. She caught him by the back of his neck and pulled him back before saying to him, "You better not run away; if you dare to run away, then the chief will punish you even harder. These are her words, not mine," she added when Yuan Ni and Ruan Zeqiu were looking at her with a hint of anger in their eyes.
Seeing their reactions, Aunt Ye was thoroughly amused. She said to them, "If you were worried about getting punished, then you shouldn’t have gone against the commands of the chief. Now that things have gone astray like this, who else can you bla but yourself?"
Yuan Ni and Ruan Zeqiu were speechless. They never thought that the chief would actually play them like this. How dare they go against her orders now that she had sent Aunt Ye to catch them? No wonder Aunt Ye ca along with Xie Daiyu. It was because she wanted to make sure that they would not be able to run away.
"But we still need to go and bring the Hollowed Oak, right?" said Yuan Ni with a flattering smile on his lips. "I an, Chanchan did ask them to bring the hollowed oak. Are we going to ignore her request?"
"That’s right, we can always discuss the matter of punishnt later on. First, we need to fulfil Ruan Chanchan’s request. We can always be punished later on." Ruan Zeqiu tried to move Aunt Ye, but she was like an unmovable rock.
No matter how much he tried to convince Aunt Ye, the woman didn’t move.
Realising that Aunt Ye was not going to be moved, Yuan Ni and Ruan Zeqiu gave up.
"Then the hollowed oak tree?"
"I will bring it." Aunt Ye smiled at the two rs sweetly. "You two go and deal with the punishnt that is waiting for you."
Yuan Ni and Ruan Zeqiu: "..." They really cannot avoid this, can they?
**
On the other side, Ruan Chanchan and Xie Daiyu were returning to the tribe, but neither of them spoke much on their way back to the tribe.
Not because there was nothing to say. But they knew if either of them spoke, they knew that sothing might end up breaking.
The path wound through tall grass and stone; the aftermath of the battle was still heavy in the air. The sound of flowing water faded behind them, replaced by cicadas and the soft crunch of the leaves under their feet.
Xie Daiyu walked half a step behind Ruan Chanchan.
Like a devoted destined one would always walk behind his mate. Such that if a danger were to attack their mate, they would be the first one to be taken down.
Of course, Ruan Chanchan noticed. She had long noticed his little actions.
"You don’t have to act like my shadow, you know," she said to the r, without turning around.
"I know."
"Then why are you—"
"It’s my duty," he replied. "As your supposed-to-be mate, I am supposed to be following you and not the other way around."
Ruan Chanchan shook her head and smiled despite herself.
The silence started to stretch again, thicker this ti. After a short pause, Ruan Chanchan said to the r, "What if I were attacked from the front? Shouldn’t you be at least walking a bit closer to ? That way, I will be safer, don’t you think?"
Xie Daiyu pursed his lips before sighing. He increased his pace and fell a step behind her.
With the two of them walking side by side, his hand brushed against hers.
Just barely.
He stopped.
She felt it imdiately and turned to look at the r beside her. With her brows getting furrowed, she turned and looked at the r. "What—?"
Xie Daiyu reached out and caught her wrist.
Not Hard.
Not gentle.
Just ...there.
"Don’t..." he said quietly.
Her breath got hitched, and she swallowed hard. "Don’t what?"
"Stop pretending that you are fine."
Ruan Chanchan lowered her head and looked at the hand that was holding her wrist, and the path suddenly felt too small.
She looked at him then—like she really looked at him—at the tightness in his jaw, the restraint in his posture, and the way his shoulders had not relaxed since they arrived at the clearing.
"I am not pretending," she said softly.
"How can you be fine?" snapped Xie Daiyu in a low voice. "You stood between a river guardian and a python. You could have died, Ruan Chanchan!"
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