After the carriage left the city, it headed all the way to the distant outskirts.
The bustling scenes of Prosperous Capital gradually fell behind with the sound of hooves. The further they went, the more unknown wild grasses and flowers they saw blooming by the mountain road.
Xin Yi sat in the carriage, lowering her head to fiddle with the small bell on her sachet.
She hadn’t had the heart to give Xie Shuo too much of the knockout drug, so she didn’t know if he had woken up yet. He probably had.
The Melodramatic Transmigration System sensed her low mood and comforted her. “Host, don’t be too sad. You’ve already tried your best to consider his feelings.”
Xin Yi’s red lips twitched slightly as she said faintly, “Is that so?”
It was actually a somewhat forced smile, but she truly couldn’t muster a laugh right now.
Even though she kept reminding herself that the world she was experiencing now was all fake, merely a task instance derived from the game.
But Xie Shuo was so real, and his affection and care felt so real too.
Yet she had deceived him time and again.
The accumulated guilt weighed on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
Xin Yi tried hard to resist this feeling, even trying her best not to think about Xie Shuo.
Because she had to continue experiencing such instances, and if she took each one seriously, she would always be heartbroken.
The mountain breeze blew the sedan curtain and the woman’s hairpins.
Xi Lingyi gazed at the woman’s slightly furrowed eyes and the black hair falling to her cheek as she propped her face, and that strange feeling rose in his heart again.
Even when they met at the palace banquet and he learned she was the original wife Xiao Cheng Ce had repudiated; even when he saw her held in the arms of that Miao Frontier youth, coquettishly begging him for a kiss so intimately… Xi Lingyi still couldn’t convince himself to let go of his stray thoughts.
He knew that no matter from which angle, he shouldn’t be moved by the woman before him, yet he couldn’t help being drawn to her.
His gaze followed her surreptitiously, just like that night at the lantern festival when he first saw her.
His appearance on Azure Parting Street today wasn’t a coincidence either; deep down, he had faintly hoped for a chance encounter, and unexpectedly, he really ran into her.
But she seemed in low spirits. Ever since getting into the carriage, she had been staring blankly to herself, showing no interest in chatting with him.
The carriage headed south, and the surrounding scenery grew increasingly desolate.
Xin Yi finally called out for the coachman to stop. Before tidying her skirts and getting off, she even smiled at the youth beside her. “Thank you, Lord Xi, for seeing me out of the city. Be careful on your way back.”
Xi Lingyi watched her nimbly climb down from the carriage without any reluctance, even the smile on her lips seeming perfunctory.
A sour heaviness settled in his heart, but as he surveyed the wild mountain surroundings, he couldn’t help frowning, so he followed her down from the carriage too.
“…Lord Xi?” The woman’s gaze held surprise and confusion.
“This is such a remote wilderness, too secluded. How can I leave a young lady here all alone?”
Xi Lingyi stared fixedly at her and explained, “What if you run into mountain bandits or horse thieves? Wouldn’t that be disastrous?”
Xin Yi: “…”
Her purpose was precisely to be alone in this remote wilderness.
So she could only make vague excuses to urge him to leave, lest he disrupt her plans.
Who knew the youth simply refused. He lifted his robe hem and sat on a mountain rock, as if determined to keep her company here.
Xin Yi was utterly speechless. She shouldn’t have taken his carriage.
After a stalemate, she finally snickered and asked, “Is Lord Xi too idle on his day off today, or do you treat all girls you’ve met less than twice like this?
“This is our third meeting.”
Xi Lingyi met her puzzled, furrowed brows and suppressed the bitterness in his heart. “This is the third time we’ve met. Compared to mere nodding acquaintances, we’re not strangers.”
“…”
Xin Yi was amused by his reasoning. The Tanhua Scholar was more persistent than she expected; she didn’t believe he couldn’t understand such an obvious rejection.
But before she could retort, she heard a faint rustling from the bushes.
The youth seemed to sense the sudden dangerous aura too and quickly blocked her front, shouting, “Careful!”
Xin Yi stumbled uncontrollably for two steps. As she raised her eyes, a sharp pain suddenly struck the back of her neck.
Before completely passing out, she vaguely saw a figure in smoky purple approaching her.
Immediately after, there was another heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.
The youth walked over, stomped hard on Xi Lingyi’s wrist bone, then picked up the similarly unconscious woman.
The moon passed the treetops, and the gladiolus in the courtyard bloomed perfectly.
When Xin Yi slowly woke up on the bed, she realized she seemed to have returned to the residence in Capital City.
The instant she opened her eyes and saw the room’s furnishings, she even thought she was dreaming.
But the lingering pain at the back of her neck told her it wasn’t a dream. She had indeed been caught back by Xie Shuo after escaping for just half a day.
Realizing this, Xin Yi’s heart instantly cooled by half.
When she saw Xi Lingyi, mouth stuffed with white cloth and bound and thrown on the floor, the remaining half cooled completely.
The candle flame flickered dimly, and she swallowed hard with difficulty.
Then she raised her head and met the youth’s cold, calm gaze from not far away. He seemed to have been watching her for a while.
“A Shuo…” Xin Yi’s voice was slightly hoarse.
But the other didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up a red-hot branding iron from beside him and slowly walked toward Xi Lingyi.
His gaze was on the youth, but his words were for her. “Eloping with him and smiling so happily—did you think you could completely shake me off?”
As he spoke, he smiled faintly, even carrying a hint of indulgence toward her. “You’re always so superficial; otherwise, you wouldn’t have lost your head and mated with a monster. I don’t blame you. As long as you ruin this face of his, the one you love most will be me again, right?”
Xin Yi felt chills all over.
She hurriedly scrambled off the bed, not minding nearly falling, and threw herself in front of the youth in full panic to block him. “Don’t go crazy! There’s nothing between him and me! I wanted to leave on my own; Xi Lingyi just happened to show up and kindly gave me a ride!”
“Kindly?” The youth smiled faintly.
He looked down at her and asked softly, “So abducting my fiancée who’s about to marry me was out of kindness?”
Xin Yi’s fingertips instantly turned ice-cold. She knew no matter what she said now, it was useless; she couldn’t explain to Xie Shuo.
He wouldn’t listen; he had no intention of listening.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, but he stuffed the handle of the branding iron into her palm.
The youth’s words carried double meaning. “Xin Yi, as long as you personally brand a mark on his face, I’ll believe he’s not your paramour.”
She looked up in disbelief and saw the mocking look in Xie Shuo’s eyes, as if he was certain she was a fickle woman.
Xin Yi gritted her teeth and flung the branding iron far away. It clanged heavily as it hit the ground. “It has nothing to do with him, A Shuo. This is between us two; don’t drag in an innocent person.”
She already regretted escaping, and even more regretted getting involved with Xi Lingyi before leaving.
But no matter what, she couldn’t watch him suffer undeserved calamity because of her.
Xie Shuo looked down at her, watching her plead desperately for another man, even pulling out her gold hairpin and pressing it to her own neck, threatening with her life. “Please, let him go.”
His heart suddenly ached terribly, so much that tears were about to fall.
When had it started? From that night he was blocked outside the palace walls, or had she grown tired of him even earlier?
But if she hadn’t planned to give her true heart, why provoke him in the first place? And after provoking him, why provoke others?
Right now, he hadn’t done anything yet, and she was already so nervously blocking in front of Xi Lingyi, even threatening with the hairpin at her neck to protect him… They really matched, looking just like a pair of tragic lovers.
And he was the villain tearing apart the mated pair.
In the quiet candlelight, even the youth didn’t notice tears sliding down his face.
He asked as if utterly perplexed, “Xin Yi, do you know this is the first time I’ve liked someone? I thought I’d have a home.”
Xin Yi’s heart also twinged sharply.
She bit her lip hard, not letting her tears well up, but the sour feeling couldn’t be suppressed no matter what, and she felt sad for some reason.
But she couldn’t compromise or give the youth the illusion of softening.
So she made an unmoved, cold expression, gripped the hairpin tightly in her palm, and repeated, “Let him go, A Shuo. And let me go too. I’ve never truly liked you, nor planned to be your wife.”
Even seeing Xie Shuo’s figure suddenly stiffen, she continued, “That night, I agreed because I was afraid you’d really turn me into human gu. It was all just a stopgap measure.”
Her lashes trembled lightly as she forced herself to stab at his heart. “You’re right; I lost my head to be with you, but now I regret it. Please let me go.”
She didn’t dare look up at him anymore, perhaps out of reluctance.
She could only say to herself, “You’ve fallen for a bad girl. You should learn to cut your losses in time. In the future, there will be better, more worthy women for you to love. She’ll willingly be your wife, not mind your Snake Clan identity, take you traveling mountains and rivers, experience the world’s warmth and beauty… But that person definitely won’t be me.”
A long silence surrounded them, as if even breathing had vanished.
Xin Yi silently bit the inside of her lip until she tasted a faint rusty, metallic blood flavor. She felt somewhat dazed; originally, she hadn’t wanted to be so cruel in their farewell, but in the end, it turned out like this.
Suddenly, a dagger was thrown at her feet.
The youth’s voice sounded from above her head, as if enduring and restraining something. “Only two choices: either brand Xi Lingyi’s face with the iron, or stab this dagger into my chest. As long as you choose, I’ll let him go.”
Xin Yi looked up abruptly, her reddened eyes filled with shock and anger: Xie Shuo had gone mad! Forcing her like this?
“If you don’t want to choose, I’ll choose for you.”
The youth bent down, stuffed the dagger into her slightly trembling palm, his words full of obsession. “I don’t believe you have no feelings for me at all. You’re lying to me, right? There was never any stopgap; you truly like…”
Before he finished, the woman had already stabbed the dagger into his shoulder.
Xie Shuo’s body went rigid, and it took a long while to react before he understood where that pain came from.
The woman seemed to tremble more and more, but he couldn’t help laughing out loud.
He laughed until tears streaked his face unnoticed, gripped her wrist, and pushed the dagger embedded in his shoulder another inch deeper. “Why not aim for the vitals? That way, no one could force you anymore.”
Xin Yi smelled the bloody scent in her nose and finally broke down in sobs.