Luo Yunzhu wrung her wrist but could not shake his grip. She gave up and bellowed, “Grab my sleeve! You are not allowed to hold my hand.” This was the first time that she’d ever held hands with a man. She felt like Zhang Tiancheng was taking great advantage of her.
Zhang Tiancheng let out a disappointed ‘oh’ but still inched closer to Luo Yunzhu. He only let go of her arm after he made sure that he had a good grip on her sleeve.
While the journey spanned a mere hundred yards, they still took a good fifteen minutes to make it. Chuling was the timidest among them. Even though they were holding hands, merely walking through the thick, opaque fog was enough to make her break into a cold sweat.
When they emerged from the fog, they were greeted by an abundance of green. Majestic trees stretched endlessly into the distance. They startled several small forest creatures, who dispersed immediately in all directions. Soon after, the birds also fled their branches.
Luo Yunzhu looked at Zhang Tiancheng with slight disdain. He clung onto her sleeve, looking like a pitiful man about to be abandoned. Luo Yunzhu rolled her eyes and said, “Aren’t you letting go? Would you still try to hold hands I chopped yours off?”
Zhang Tiancheng let go of her sleeve, embarrassed. He protested, “The fog was too thick. I could not see you guys at all, even though I knew that you were right in front of me.”
Luo Yunzhu straightened her crumpled sleeve and examined their surroundings. Lively shades of green surrounded them. It was cozy, refreshing, and comfortable. They had just entered winter, but some flowers were still blooming. It was beautiful.
Just as Si Mobai was about to lead Feng Tianlan deeper into the forest, he stopped when he heard a slight rustle behind them. He frowned.
It was Lin Suyin, leading her team out of the thick mist. Upon seeing that Feng Tianlan and the rest had not left yet, she flashed them an apologetic smile and said, “I heard that this path is the most dangerous and treacherous. We were worried that something terrible might happen to you when we saw you enter, and so we decided to tag along and look out for each other.”
Luo Yunzhu paused midway through her excessive patting down of sleeves. She raised her head and looked questioningly at Lin Suyin. Were they looking out for each other? It was more like Lin Suyin wanted the Wargod to look out for her!
“Miss Lin. Pardon me for being so frank, but the Wargod is already in love with someone else. He is taken, so no matter how much you want him, you ought to just give up now. Third-wheeling will only bring you disgrace. After all, the most important thing in love is how a couple feels about each other. It is not a matter of who was the first, or who came after.”
Lin Suyin paled quickly at Luo Yunzhu’s blunt words. She stole a quick peek at Si Mobai, only to bury her head in her chest immediately after. All she felt was humiliation. It was wrong for her to say anything right now.
Si Mobai’s gaze quickly lost temperature, dropping to absolute zero. He warned Lin Suyin icily, “I would like to avoid any misunderstandings that might arise with my consort. Therefore, I hope that this will be the last time I hear about you being in love with me, Miss. Should you keep this up, I will have no choice but to see you betrothed you to someone else.”
Lin Suyin visibly paled once Si Mobai had finished his piece. She stared at him with injured eyes. The shame and humiliation were too much for her to bear. She wished that she could bury herself in a hole.
Lin Suyin bit her lower lip and weakly retorted, “It was never my intention to create any misunderstandings between you and Miss Feng, and the thought of breaking you up has never crossed my mind.” Rumors of her liking him had first spread in South Peace City eleven years ago. She had not expected people to still remember it after all this time.
Also, the woman that the Wargod was in love with did exist. He had even proclaimed her to be his consort. Did that mean that he genuinely intended to marry her and make her his proper wife?
Si Mobai’s eyes turned even colder. Even his tone dropped a few degrees lower as he said, “Whether you did it or not is none of my business. If anyone dares slander my consort for any reason or hurt her, I’ll see to it that they suffer a fate much, much more horrible than death.”
It was a warning to Lin Suyin and anyone else who might try to harm Lan’er.
“Walk forward and leave the rest to me. I will protect you from the shadows,” Si Mobai said. As he locked eyes with Feng Tianlan, his cold voice became tinged with a flicker of warmth and gentleness. Then, he leaped off and disappeared from sight.
Lin Suyin’s heart trembled with stifled pain. How could he say such cold, cruel words to her?
At the same time, on a mountain peak some distance from the Misty Forest, a group of men faced Feng Tianlan’s direction. A man knelt on one knee and reported, “Young Master, Feng Tianlan just took the most dangerous route of all.”
