"I didn't say anything, let me go first."
Xiao Shan looked at her tears, unmoved. "Didn't say anything? You think I couldn't hear what you and this beast were saying? Who were you asking me to give way to? Song Beiting?"
"You... can hear?" Ling Yao was startled, her tears almost clinging to her eyelashes.
Xiao Shan's eyes deepened, and he reached out to catch them. The teardrops fell onto his rough fingers.
He brought his fingers to his mouth.
Salty, with a hint of fragrance.
It was her unique scent, the one that made him unable to resist.
Ling Yao's heart pounded, her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably. Her lips, like flower petals, parted slightly as she looked at the face that had appeared in her dreams countless times, her heart aching as if cut by a knife.
"I said it was fake, fake! I promised you I wouldn't marry anyone else, why don't you ever trust me?"
Xiao Shan's eyes turned fierce, and he gripped her waist, wanting to press this infuriating woman to the ground to vent his anger.
His grip was still strong, but this time Ling Yao seemed not to feel it. She asked blankly, "Did you say that?"
When had he said it?
Xiao Shan: "...So you didn't hear?"
"The one you saw was Yuan Bufei! Didn't you even recognize my voice?"
Ling Yao was truly dumbfounded. Was it Yuan Bufei with that woman?
She didn't know. She only saw Xiao Shan's face, her mind became chaotic, and she hadn't heard his voice at all.
Ling Yao was so stunned she couldn't speak.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Shan began to lecture. "You still don't trust me enough. And just now, what did you call me? A Ye? You're not thinking of me at all in your heart. And this wolf, a beast that has cultivated into a spirit, you still want to go into the mountains with him. And Song Beiting, you were affectionately doting on children in the garden with him, while I, the biological father, am fighting for you here, watching you with someone else..."
"Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Nonsense? Which part isn't true!"
Xiao Shan's chest heaved. Don't think he had no temper; he had grievances too, and he had to let them out!
The snow wolf lay on the ground, its ears perked up, truly wishing it could speak and say it wasn't a spirit.
But it had been startled by this man just now. He could actually hear its telepathic conversation with the goddess. Grandfather said only the Great Sun Divine Lord could hear it.
Could he be the Great Sun Divine Lord?
But why did he look like this?
Ling Yao sniffled, her eyes teary, and accused him plaintively, "So, you think I'm promiscuous, unworthy of your love, and that you didn't save me just now, wanting the snake to bite me to death?"
Xiao Shan's breath hitched. "That snake wasn't poisonous."
It was just meant to scare her.
Ling Yao stared at him blankly. "I waited for your letter in the capital but couldn't get it, so I ran to the southwest to find you. I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle the undead army of Qirong, so I called the snow wolf for help. I thought you had married someone else, and you thought Song Beiting and I were being intimate in the capital. So, neither of us trusted each other, right?"
This...
"I didn't not trust you. It was you who didn't trust me just now, that's why I spoke carelessly," Xiao Shan's voice lowered again.
Her face was injured, and tears falling would soak the wound. Xiao Shan reached out to wipe them away again.
A scratch on her beautiful face, it was heartbreaking.
"Xiao Yu, you should go first!" Ling Yao communicated mentally.
The snow wolf shook its fur, got up, and glanced at the couple who were having a spat.
It sounded like these two were about to make up. Grandfather said the goddess and the Great Sun Divine Lord often had minor squabbles but quickly reconciled.
Indeed, it was not wrong.
With a flash of white light, a few leaps, and it disappeared into the jungle.
Xiao Shan withdrew his sharp gaze and turned his head. Seeing Ling Yao had already crouched down, he followed suit and squatted.
He said softly, "Tired?"
He reached out to embrace her, but Ling Yao dodged him again.
He sighed and began to explain what had happened during this time.
"A while ago, Yuan Bufei didn't send you a letter because I was poisoned by that demoness. It was the Great Princess of Tantai who brought the antidote, saving my life. Her condition was that I had to marry her."
Ling Yao listened intently, her ears perked up. Hearing that he had indeed encountered trouble, a look of urgency appeared on her face.
"I only woke up not long ago. The marriage arrangements were handled by the military advisor according to my instructions. The Tantai tribe was unstable, and there was also the threat of Qirong, so we sought an alliance through marriage. It was just to deceive others."
"I said before that I would never marry anyone else. Do you think I, a dignified Great General, talk like a fool? They just used my name, with Yuan Bufei acting in my stead. Once the situation stabilizes, I will naturally explain things clearly. So, I haven't lost my purity, right?"
Xiao Shan tilted his head and asked. Seeing Ling Yao blinking her large, innocent eyes, moisture gathering in them, his gaze softened further, and a smile appeared.
"Do you understand? Do you have any more questions?"
"You, you were poisoned, are you completely healed now?" Ling Yao nervously touched his wrist, but she didn't know how to take his pulse. She only saw the blood seeping from the scratch on his hand.
She couldn't help but hug him, pressing her face against his chest, and sobbed.
"You're so foolish, so utterly foolish, sob sob..."
"If I wasn't foolish, would you still pay attention to me? Seeing you just now, saying I was marrying someone else, you didn't even want me anymore."
"No, no, I was just too sad. Coax me, and I'll be fine, sob sob... As long as you're okay, I won't hold anything against you, really. Compared to your life, those things are insignificant... Don't get hurt."
"Don't joke with your life. Even if you married someone else for the antidote, as long as your heart hasn't changed, I will still snatch you back."
She cried until she was breathless, and Xiao Shan's heart ached and swelled.
You little possessive thing, saying these words to coax him.
If he really married someone else, she might just throw him aside.
He wouldn't fall for that.
He would rather die cleanly, so she wouldn't have a reason to dump him.
"Your back is also injured. Let's go back and apply medicine," Ling Yao hiccuped, now showing her concern without any reservation.
There were small scratches all over his back, mixed with dirt and grit. It was impossible to tell how serious the injuries were.
"I have medicine with me!"
Xiao Shan scooped her up. She felt light, just like before, with no weight at all.
"Let's go to the river to wash up, and you can apply the medicine to me."
"I can walk myself."
Ling Yao feared pulling his wound, so she dangled her legs, wanting to get down.
Xiao Shan slapped her on the bottom.
"Behave! You woman are truly troublesome. If I hadn't followed you just now, you would have fallen into the ditch like that horse. Day after day, you're going to scare me to death!"
When did she learn to ride a horse? Who taught her?
Ling Yao stopped moving, sobbing, and rested her face against Xiao Shan's chest.
Xiao Shan carried her to the stream. When he put her down, he realized Ling Yao had already fallen asleep.
No wonder she was so obediently leaning on him!
She must be so tired to fall asleep like this. She hadn't rested at all on the journey here, had she?
It broke his heart.