The mountain path gradually became steeper, and the vegetation sparser, but the road was actually much easier to walk on than before.
Gao Yong finally found the time to whisper to Chuntao from behind, "Um... why does he call the princess of the heir apparent the chief?"
"You don't know this," Chuntao replied with a beaming smile, lowering her voice. "Back then, it was all because of our young lady that the general and his wife raided the bandit strongholds in Dayi Mountain!"
She jerked her chin in the direction of the Black Wind Stronghold behind them. "The Black Wind Stronghold was just unlucky. They raided a merchant caravan when they went down the mountain. By some ill - fated coincidence, it was the Liu family's caravan, and they even kidnapped our young lady and wanted her to be the chief's wife!"
"With our young lady's fiery temper, could she bear it? So on a pitch - black and windy night, our young lady single - handedly overpowered the entire stronghold and became the chief herself!"
Gao Yong gasped in amazement. "Is she really that brave?"
Chuntao proudly lifted her chin. "Of course! In our general's words, she's a heroic woman who outshines men..."
"It's 'a heroic woman not yielding to men'," Gao Yong corrected. After a moment of thought, he frowned in confusion. "But from my observation, the young lady doesn't seem to know any martial arts. How did she...?"
Chuntao glared at him. "Our young lady is smart! She used her wits. Isn't that okay?!"
"General, don't listen to her nonsense," Li Wanming, who was walking in front, said with a soft laugh. "Even if I had three heads, I couldn't have overpowered a bandit stronghold by myself. This story is a long one..."
Before she could finish, a shrill scream suddenly came from ahead, followed by Wanmo's angry roar. "I've already warned you not to mess with the things in the mountains! You just had to be suicidal!"
On the mountain path ahead, He Muhao was holding one of his fingers, his eyes reddening with grievance. "I just thought the flowers over there were so pretty. I wanted to pick one for you..."
"Do I need flowers?" Wanmo laughed out of anger. "I've grown up in these mountains. What kind of flowers haven't I seen? Do I need you to pick one for me?!"
Li Wanming looked up and saw that the mountain cherry vines were climbing on the trees by the roadside. Clusters of blood - red petals looked like tiny dragon claws, really cute.
He Muhao held his finger and said pitifully, "But I've never seen them before. When I saw how pretty they were, I just wanted to pick one for you. But you don't even appreciate it. Look, I got pricked by a thorn. It hurts so much..."
Li Wanming curiously leaned over to take a look. After a long while, she saw a tiny wound on his index finger, as thin as a hair and as small as a pinprick. It hadn't even broken the skin.
"Get out of the way!" Wanmo slapped his hand away. "A good dog doesn't block the way! If you can't take it, go back to your cozy home as soon as possible!"
With that, she strode up the mountain, her straw sandals kicking up flying gravel. "I've already told you that the roads on this mountain are not easy to walk on. It's not suitable for a pampered young master like you, but you just wouldn't listen!"
"Who says it's not suitable? It's perfectly suitable!" He Muhao lifted the corner of his robe and chased after her, not even bothering to straighten his askew hair bun. "My lady, slow down. I can't keep up..."
The repeated use of "I" in that coquettish tone gave Li Wanming goosebumps all over.
She really couldn't understand. It had only been a few months since they last met. How had this young master of the Xingyuan Earl's family changed so much?
— He was now so soft - spoken and obedient, just like a delicate young girl!
During a break in the middle of the journey, she whispered to Wanmo, "What's wrong with him?"
"Don't even mention it!" Wanmo's eyebrows knitted into a knot. "As soon as I arrived in Dingzhou, he chased after me and said he wanted to roam the world with me and be a pair of fugitive lovers... I really wanted to slap him in the face at that time!"
"After that, he followed me wherever I went. He was like a piece of dog - skin plaster that just wouldn't come off. I tried to shake him off several times, but I couldn't! I don't know what method he used, but he managed to follow me all the way from Dingzhou to here!"
Suddenly, she changed the subject and asked, "How long did it take you to get to the Black Wind Stronghold?"
"Ah? Less than a day..." Li Wanming replied blankly.
"It took me three days to get here with this burden!" Wanmo slapped her thigh and pointed at He Muhao, scolding, "Every day, it's either his feet hurt or his hands hurt. He's either tired or sleepy. He even disliked the vegetable pancakes in the mountains and said he wanted to roast wild rabbits. Then he chased the rabbits and fell into a ditch..."
She constantly stroked her chest to prevent herself from fainting out of anger.
Li Wanming followed her gaze and saw that He Muhao's trouser legs and the hem of his robe were all covered in mud, a messy combination of black and yellow.
However, although he looked a bit disheveled, he was still in good spirits. At this moment, he was huddling by the fire that Gao Yong had just lit, carefully roasting a vegetable pancake.
"My lady..."
After a while, He Muhao came over, holding the freshly roasted pancake like a treasure. "Eat this. I just roasted it. Don't always eat cold food. It's bad for your stomach..."
He grinned mischievously, completely forgetting that he had been scolded by Wanmo just now for "getting injured" while picking flowers.
"I won't eat it!" Wanmo angrily pushed his hand away and took a big bite of the cold pancake in her hand. "I just like eating cold food!"
He Muhao awkwardly lowered his hand, and a puppy - like look of grievance appeared on his face again. "I made this especially..."
Li Wanming couldn't stand it anymore!
She snatched the pancake from He Muhao's hand and grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging him to one side.
"Mr. He, I really admire your courage in chasing your wife from afar and your deep affection for my second elder sister... But! We also need to be targeted and address the root cause, right?"
"My second elder sister has been hot - tempered since she was a child. She likes wielding swords and clubs and most admires those chivalrous heroes who act on their impulses. But if you act like a delicate young girl every day, how can you win her heart?"
"You feed meat to a tiger and grass to a rabbit! In this kind of thing, you need to cater to her preferences! Otherwise, even if you serve her three meals a day and wait on her hand and foot, it won't help!"
"You mean..." He Muhao's eyes flashed. "I need to be more manly?"
"Yes!" Li Wanming felt relieved and patted his shoulder. "Show your manliness! Make yourself seem stronger and more powerful than my second elder sister, and only then can you make her change her mind."
He Muhao thought for a moment and made up his mind. "You're right. If I want to subdue a tigress, I have to be like Wu Song! The gentle and considerate way of a scholar and a beauty doesn't suit her!"
"Um," Li Wanming was a bit stunned. "I don't think I said that..."
But He Muhao was already completely immersed in his thoughts. He made a fist in the air, and two flames suddenly ignited in his eyes. "Yes! I can't just take care of her and be considerate to her. I also have to protect her! Conquer her! Show my heroic spirit!"
"Um..."
Li Wanming wanted to say something else, but finally just shook her head and walked away. "Forget it. You figure it out yourself!"
— Anyway, as long as she didn't have to hear that coquettish "I~~" in the future, anything would be fine.
She took a bite of the pancake, and the golden - brown crust crackled between her teeth.
You have to admit that He Muhao had a real talent for roasting pancakes. The vegetable pancake was golden - brown and crispy. One bite and it crumbled, fragrant!