“Moyin?” Cen Ji trembled, opened his long arms, and pulled Ban Lan into his embrace.
Ban Lan felt a strong force pull her onto her shoulders, then everything went black, and her mouth and nose slammed hard against Cen Ji's chest. Instantly, her nose felt like it was filled with vinegar, sour and unbearable, causing Ban Lan to sneeze incessantly, her eyes glistening with tears.
After Cen Ji hugged Ban Lan, he actually rested his head on Ban Lan's shoulder and fell fast asleep.
Ban Lan squeezed in a hand, slowly rubbing her nose, then forcefully pushed Cen Ji away, stood up, and coldly looked at the still unconscious Cen Ji.
Cen Ji was dressed in black, seemingly blending into the night, leaving only his sharply defined face, which remained serene even when he was sleeping.
Ban Lan remained silent for a moment, then raised her leg and kicked Cen Ji hard.
After a muffled thud, Cen Ji rolled down the lakeside slope and landed in the water after a few tumbles.
Cen Ji suddenly came to his senses and stood in the water looking at Ban Lan, who was pouting.
Ban Lan tilted her head, stepped onto Cen Ji's wine jar, and asked, "Still dizzy, Cen Qi?"
two,
As dawn broke, two figures, one in black and one in red, galloped out of the city on horseback, heading towards Baiqi Mountain.
Cen Ji kept a straight face and tightly pursed lips, urging his horse on from time to time. Ban Lan, with deep dark circles under her eyes, followed behind on horseback.
The two seemed like complete strangers, or perhaps they were sulking with each other.
The atmosphere remained awkward when a small white dog with two black spots on its waist and head suddenly darted out from the roadside and quickly crossed the path. Startled, Cen Ji yanked on the reins, causing the horse to leap up and nearly throw him off.
The puppy didn't stop for a second, and in the blink of an eye it disappeared into the woods by the roadside.
"Wow, a little puppy!" Ban Lan's eyes lit up.
Cen Ji ignored her, tightened his legs, and spurred his horse forward again.
Ban Lan quickly followed.
After a long while, Cen Ji suddenly slowed down and asked, "What's a puppy?"
Ban Lan said, "It's that little stray dog."
Cen Ji then asked, "Then why is it called a 'little puppy'?"
Ban Lan said, "It has fist-sized black dots on its waist and head. Doesn't it look like a cow?"
Cen Ji choked, but couldn't say anything.
Ban Lan replied, "You're the kind of person who likes to nitpick about everything."
He remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "Did you want to ask me something last night?"
Ban Lan asked, "You remember?"
Cen Ji asked, "Why don't you remember?"
Ban Lan said, "Remember to explain that you were conscious at the time."
Cen Ji's mount slowed down a bit, and he said, "All I remember is you constantly asking me questions."
Ban Lan asked, "Are all the secret guards of Kongshan Ridge as tight-lipped as you?"
Cen Ji shook his head: "I don't know. We don't know each other."
Ban Lan was very surprised: "Huh—?"
Cen Ji continued, "The ten secret guards of Kongshan Ridge do not know each other. Apart from me, only Master Kongshan knows whether the remaining nine secret guards are male or female, old or young."
“You,” Cen Ji paused, then said, “wanted to ask me about Kongshan Ridge last night?”
Ban Lan denied it: "No."
Cen Ji asked, "What is that?"
Ban Lan asked, "About you... and your senior sister."
Cen Ji was taken aback and said, "You poured so much wine into me just to ask this?"
Ban Lan pursed her lips and said, "Forget it, I don't want to know anymore. Your childhood memories don't belong to me."
Cen Ji chuckled: "Then why did you go to all that trouble to get information out of me?"
Ban Lan said with dissatisfaction, "Who told you to drag me out of the Shengge Pavilion?"
Cen Ji smiled faintly and said, "There's no such thing as childhood sweethearts. She's the master, and I'm the servant. I've only seen her a handful of times, let alone spoken to her."
That's for sure; my senior sister spends most of her time with me in Fish Eye Valley. Ban Lan lowered her head and chuckled to herself.
Seeing that Cen Ji remained silent, Ban Lan asked, "Is that all?"
Cen Ji nodded: "That's all."
Ban Lan suddenly raised her voice: "Why did you grit your teeth and refuse to speak last night?"
Cen Ji said, "What if it had been an enemy beside me last night instead of you?"
Ban Lan was stunned.
She suddenly realized that he was like someone from another world. Another world she had never experienced before.
His joys and sorrows were all restrained and hidden, making him cautious and even more reserved and composed when drunk, barely uttering a word. Just like his feelings for Wen Moyin, he would only choose to reveal them when they could no longer be suppressed.
Ban Lan sighed and said, "Cen Qi, you are a person with a rich inner world, but unfortunately you regard this richness as a luxury."
He froze for a moment, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
For some reason, Ban Lan began to feel sorry for Cen Ji's expression as he tried so hard to hide his true feelings.
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw Cen Ji's expression change, and then he whispered to her, "Dismount!"
Su Qiao (Revised)
Before Ban Lan could react, Cen Ji had already flipped over and leaped up, pulling her off the horse.
Ban Lan was pulled towards the ground. Before she even hit the ground, she heard the wind rushing past her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw countless white-feathered arrows whizzing past, creating a rustling sound.
A cold sweat broke out on Ban Lan's back. This was the first time in eighteen years that he had been ambushed, and he panicked, looking towards Cen Ji.
"Get to the side of the horse!" After saying that, Cen Ji's feet had barely touched the ground when he leaped into the air, lying flat on the side of the horse and hooking his legs around its back.
Ban Lan hid to the side of the horse in the same way, but she found it very difficult to hide. She hooked her legs tightly for a while and then felt the strain.
Both horses were hit by several long arrows and galloped wildly, jolting so hard that both men clenched their teeth, clung desperately to the horses' necks with their hands, and gripped the saddles tightly with their feet.
Ban Lan persevered for a while, but then her hands and legs ached terribly. Coupled with her unhealed shoulder injury and the horse's frantic charge, she finally lost her grip and fell off the horse with a thud.
Upon seeing this, Cen Ji quickly jumped off his horse and rushed to Ban Lan's side, bending down to check if she was injured.
Ban Lan pushed Cen Ji's hand away and said through gritted teeth, "You should leave quickly. I think those arrows were all aimed at you. They won't do anything to me."
Cen Ji ignored her, picked her up horizontally, and used his lightness skill to run forward.
Ban Lan was extremely anxious and said, "Hey, didn't you hear me?"
Cen Ji, with an expression that said "I didn't hear you," continued running wildly with Ban Lan.
Seeing this, Ban Lan had no choice but to invoke Wen Moyin's name, saying, "Senior Sister is still waiting for you to save her! What will happen to her if you die?"
Upon hearing this, Cen Ji finally spoke, saying, "I can't abandon you."
Ban Lan suddenly felt a lump in her throat, her eyes stinging as if sand had entered them, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"The ten days I spent with you have shed more tears than I have in the past ten years." Ban Lan closed her eyes, and drops of clear tears outlined two bright lines of emotion on her cheeks.
"Put me down, I can walk by myself," Ban Lan pleaded.
“Your lightness skill is too poor.” Cen Ji refused without any politeness.
Ban Lan rolled her eyes, forcing back all her tears. "Bullshit!"