Geschichte über einen Ehemanndiebstahl

Kapitel 62

Zhan Yun took the small wooden box and sniffed it, his crescent-shaped eyes revealing a hint of thought: "Where is that 'sulfur fire spring' you mentioned earlier?"

Upon hearing this, for the first time, Awen did not immediately answer their questions. His lips remained tightly closed, and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes.

Just by looking at his expression, the two of them understood: the woods.

Seeing that the two were no longer pressing the issue, Awen knew they had already guessed the answer, and hurriedly tried to stop them: "You two can't go in! This, this is all my fault... Sigh! If Da Liu and the others find out, they'll definitely scold me to death! I, Doctor Xia, have already disappeared, you can't afford any more accidents!"

Duan Chen placed his hand on Awen's arm, which was tugging at his sleeve, and said in a soft voice, but with a reassuring firmness: "Even without Doctor Xia's matter, we would still have gone into that forest."

Awen was just a young man in his early twenties, and he was both anxious and scared, tears welling up in his eyes: "But, but you came here to help our Bitter Water Town. If anything happens to you, how can we, how can we live with ourselves..."

Duan Chen smiled slightly: "So we also need your help."

==============================================================================

It was mid-spring, a time when vegetation was flourishing. The woods were filled with tall trees, their branches bursting with tender green leaves, and lush grasses sprouted from the ground. However, instead of the fresh, sweet scent of spring's tender leaves and grasses, the woods were permeated with a slightly fishy, murky odor. Coupled with the somewhat gloomy sky and the towering trees blocking much of the sunlight, even at midday, the air felt dark and eerie.

According to what Da Liu and the others had said, no one had entered this forest for more than half a year. Before that, not only did outsiders frequently pass through here on the official road, but people from the town also often went in and out. The forest was not very large. On the southwest side, there was a spring. The spring water boiled year-round, so hot that it was untouchable, and it had a pungent sulfur smell. Some rocks nearby were baked reddish-brown by the spring water, hence the name "Sulfur Fire Spring".

The two men led their horses on foot. The dirt road beneath their feet was flat and wide, wide enough for two carriages to walk side by side without getting crowded; it was the same road that people had followed to the official road. They came to a fork in the road; the path to the west was narrower and more desolate, which should be the path to Sulfur Fire Spring that Da Liu and the others had pointed out earlier.

Zhan Yun held the horse's reins with one hand and tucked his folding fan into his sleeve with the other: "Those people hung the corpses outside the woods to intimidate the townspeople so they wouldn't dare to enter the woods again. I originally thought this woods must be where the Seven Life Sect members gathered, but looking at the topographical map drawn by Elder Liu today, it's clear that this place couldn't possibly accommodate so many people."

"It seems there must be some secret about this place that the Seven Life Sect doesn't want outsiders to know." Zhan Yun deduced slowly, while glancing at the beautiful woman beside him who had been silent since entering the woods: "Chen'er, have you thought of something?"

Duan Chen frowned and said softly, "I just can't figure out what that doctor surnamed Xia's purpose is."

“He knew that Awen would definitely tell us about the purse, and he also knew that we would eventually come into this forest. But in this way, it seems…” Duan Chen shook his head, somewhat puzzled.

Zhan Yun hadn't expected Duan Chen to answer her question. In the past, when asked the same question, Duan Chen would usually remain silent, her eyes lowered, and even if she thought of something, she wouldn't share it. Seeing Duan Chen look up at her, Zhan Yun quickly smiled and said gently, "Of the two groups of people who were secretly watching this morning, one only followed us for a short distance before leaving. The other two followed us all the way to the vicinity of the alley entrance. The first one seemed somewhat afraid that the other two would find out, but his skills far surpassed theirs."

Duan Chen listened attentively, thought for a moment, and then looked up at Zhan Yun: "You mean, this person is very likely on the same side as Doctor Xia; and the other two are on the same side as those people from last night." Duan Chen's eyes were questioning, but his tone was almost certain.

A hint of admiration flashed in Zhan Yun's eyes, and a faint smile remained on his lips: "The first person who appeared did not seem to have any intention of harming us. He just followed quietly, as if he wanted to find out where we were going. The latter two, on the other hand, clearly carried a murderous aura."

Duan Chen nodded slightly. When Zhan Yun first mentioned that someone was following her, she didn't sense anything. However, after the person left, a chill ran through her, and her body instinctively stiffened. It must have been when the two people appeared in the shadows later.

Seeing that she stopped speaking, Zhan Yun hesitated for a moment before asking a question he had wanted to ask for a long time: "Your lightness skill is excellent, and you are also good at using hidden weapons, but why do you have no internal energy at all?" Both of them were taught by Xiao Yiyi, and even that girl Qingzi had some internal energy. Zhan Yun remembered very clearly the scene when Qingzi picked up a knife and chased Zhou Yufei all over the courtyard in the Hangzhou government office.

Duan Chen's phoenix eyes were half-closed, his face still calm and composed, but he did not answer the question. Zhan Yun also knew that he had overstepped his bounds, and wisely remained silent. The two walked side by side in silence until a very faint green mist enveloped them.

Author's Note: There will be an update tomorrow at 9 AM.

60

Chapter Seven: Recounting the Past...

The smoke was extremely thin, and the two were deep in the woods, so they didn't notice it at first. It wasn't until they caught a faint, sweet fragrance that Zhan Yun's expression hardened, and she quickly held her breath and focused her mind. She faintly heard a familiar female voice, cheerful yet gentle, calling out repeatedly, "Yun'er, Yun'er..."

The voice suddenly grew closer, and there was a hint of teasing and coquettishness in it, as if the person was saying to someone else, "I won't call him Xingzhi. He is my Yun'er, so I will only call him Yun'er. What can you do about it?"

In the hazy light, the person seemed to draw closer, their slender figure and snow-green skirt becoming vaguely visible. In the blink of an eye, a warm hand touched Zhan Yun's face: "My Yun'er, you've grown so much..."

Zhan Yun's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He quickly closed his eyes, his mind already reciting the internal energy cultivation method he had silently chanted since childhood. The metallic taste rising in his throat gradually subsided, and in no time, the warm touch on his face faded, and the tranquility returned to his ears.

Zhan Yun slowly opened his eyes, only to see green mist surrounding him, but no one in sight. Frowning, he looked around and saw a pale blue figure standing about ten feet away, leaning against a tree, as if about to collapse at any moment.

Zhan Yun rushed over and caught him. He saw Duan Chen's eyes were slightly closed, his lips were moving, and his expression was extremely chaotic, with a hint of grief in his eyes. Tiny tears dripped down the corners of his eyes, making his pale face look pitiful. Zhan Yun knew something was wrong as soon as he saw this. He quickly helped Duan Chen onto his horse, turned the horse around, and rode towards an open area in the forest.

Reaching a slightly brighter spot, Zhan Yun reined in his horse. He immediately felt the person in his arms struggling violently. Looking down, he saw blood trickling from the corner of Duan Chen's mouth. Zhan Yun's face darkened; he knew that given the current situation, they couldn't wait to return to town. Moreover, even if they did return, the people there wouldn't be able to help. After a moment's thought, Zhan Yun dismounted, carrying the person, and walked to a nearby rock. He carefully placed the person on it, then turned back to retrieve his bundle, water bag, and other belongings from the horse.

Zhan Yun took out a small black bottle from his bundle, poured out a pill into his hand, and then half-squatted down, lifting the person's upper body into his arms, intending to put the pill into their mouth. However, the person in his arms struggled even more fiercely at this moment, muttering incoherently, sometimes calling out "Mother," sometimes saying "I will never eat sweet cake again," with large tears rolling down their cheeks and soaking their clothes.

Seeing her increasingly confused expression, and then vomiting another mouthful of blood onto her own clothes, her face turning even paler, Zhan Yun felt a pang of pain in his heart. He lowered his eyes, placed the pill between his lips, and leaned down to gently kiss her blood-stained lips, forcefully pushing the medicine in with his tongue. He then used his right hand to take the water pouch, bit open the stopper, took a mouthful of water, and fed it to her in the same way.

Then he pulled her down to sit on the rock, brushed the sweat-dampened hair from her cheek, and gently wiped her forehead and temples with his sleeve, softly calling, "Chen'er, wake up. That's not real. Chen'er, wake up..."

Amidst the chaos and noise, Duan Chen faintly heard someone calling his name in the distance. No, that wasn't his name. His real name was Xue Luo (Snowfall). "The first snow falls by the river, I only wish my distant lover would return." His mother had said that she chose this name partly because it coincided with his birth on the day of the first snowfall of the new year, and partly as a wish for his father to return soon and take them, so the three of them could live together. Whether in the Southern Frontier or the Central Plains, as long as the three of them could be together, wherever they went would be home.

But she had no home. No parents, no Jiang family, no Jiang Xueluo. Then who was she? Who was Jiang Xueluo? And who was Chen'er? Duan Chen felt the noise around her growing louder, and figures flashed before her eyes. She wanted to call out to someone, to grab onto something, but it was all in vain. Her body felt heavier and heavier, her limbs gradually becoming uncontrollable. In her dazed and confused state, only a clear voice kept calling in her ears: "Chen'er, wake up. Duan Chen, wake up."

Zhan Yun held Duan Chen in his arms, softly calling his name. Several times he noticed Duan Chen's eyelids flutter, but he remained unconscious. Zhan Yun frowned slightly, a thought flashing through his mind. His clear voice gained a firmer tone: "Duan Chen, since you say your name is Duan Chen, it means you don't want to dwell on the past. Since you've taken the name Duan Chen, then just be Duan Chen. Duan Chen, wake up!"

The person in his arms twitched their eyebrows, their eyes suddenly widened, and their hands, which had been pushing him away, suddenly grabbed Zhan Yun's arm tightly, revealing the string of beads on their left wrist. As they sat up, they spat out a mouthful of blood.

Upon seeing this, Zhan Yun's brows relaxed, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. He grabbed Duan Chen's arm and pushed him up, then began to channel his inner energy into Duan Chen's back with one palm: "Calm your mind and focus, don't think about anything else."

Duan Chen coughed up blood twice in succession. Although he had taken a pill to strengthen his body, he was still extremely weak and powerless. The two sat in silence for a long time. Duan Chen's fingers, which were resting on Zhan Yun's arm, twitched slightly, but the latter remained unmoved.

Duan Chen was getting anxious, but dared not make a move. After another short while, the person behind him gradually stopped his attack. Duan Chen caught his breath, turned around, and frowned, glaring at Zhan Yun: "Are you crazy! I said it was okay, why aren't you stopping? What do you think you are…?"

Aside from analyzing cases, Duan Chen wasn't usually a talkative person. Seeing the gentle smile on the handsome face opposite him, he couldn't bring himself to say anything reproachful. He felt flustered and confused, and his ears started to burn.

Seeing her like this, Zhan Yun's smile grew even brighter, and his crescent-shaped eyes shone with even more tenderness: "I'm fine. How are you feeling? Does your chest hurt?"

He still felt a little stuffy in his chest, but the pain had subsided. Duan Chen shook his head, took a water pouch from the rock and handed it to Zhan Yun, then took out two small medicine bottles from his own bundle and poured out two pills from each.

He handed two of the dark brown ones to Zhan Yun, gesturing for him to drink them with water. Zhan Yun obediently did so, swallowing them before asking, "What are they?"

Duan Chen's ears were still red, and this question only made him angrier. He glanced at her with his cool, phoenix-like eyes, and his words were sharp: "You ate it without knowing what it was!"

In truth, Zhan Yun knew exactly what it was. The moment the pill entered his mouth, the flavors of over ten kinds of Chinese herbs—astragalus, angelica, and codonopsis—filled his palate, all known for their ability to replenish qi, invigorate the blood, and promote circulation. Seeing that the beauty was genuinely annoyed, Zhan Yun smiled slightly and said nothing more.

Seeing his good-natured demeanor, Duan Chen felt even more guilty, knowing he had been somewhat rude, but unsure what to say. He lowered his eyes slightly, handed over one of the two emerald pills in his hand, and said softly, "Put this under your tongue later; it can ward off dozens of poisons."