Gu Yuan was truly perceptive. He always managed to hit the nail on the head.
"I meant that we're going to stay here for at least a month, so of course we need to prepare more things, right?"
Gu Yuan looked skeptical. I quickly added, "Are you so reluctant to be with me? If so, I'll leave right now."
Saying that, I pretended to be angry and turned to leave. But he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his embrace. My back was pressed tightly against his chest. I could clearly feel his rapid heartbeat and his nervous breathing, the kind of nervousness that showed he didn't want me to leave for a single moment.
"Don't go. Never leave. Let's stay here for the rest of our lives."
These words were more touching than a hundred sweet nothings. I was almost moved to tears. For this one sentence alone, I was determined to help him find the snake scale. After all, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I didn't ask for much.
"Okay, I promise. Let's be a couple for a lifetime, shall we?" I tightly held his big hands that were wrapped around my waist and pressed my face against his.
"Yeah. We've promised a lifetime. No one can go back on it."
Seeing that he no longer suspected me, I heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he couldn't see my current expression. Otherwise, with his shrewdness, I wouldn't be able to cover up my lie.
The words the dragon scale had said still echoed in my ears. If the dragon scale could figure it out, how could Gu Yuan, with his intelligence, not guess?
I didn't believe that he was unaware that the Heavenly Emperor would soon come after him.
The reason he was so reluctant to part with Chi Yu should be that he was deeply in love with her and wanted to spend more time with her before the Heavenly Emperor made his move.
With such deep affection, why did Chi Yu end up dying at Gu Yuan's hands in the end? I couldn't understand. How could such a loving couple end up turning against each other and fighting to the death?
Was the promise of being a couple for a lifetime really just a vain hope?
"Alright, it's getting late. Tomorrow we'll go to the market and see what else we need."
Gu Yuan nodded, turned around, and sat down beside the wooden couch. He took out paper and a pen from his sleeve and placed them on the couch.
I moved a small wooden stool and sat down beside him. I picked up the paper and pen and discussed with him the things we needed to buy tomorrow. As we chatted and laughed, the moon had already risen high in the sky.
As I was writing, I lay down beside the wooden couch and fell into a light sleep.
In a daze, I felt Gu Yuan gently stroking my cheek. The feeling was so reassuring and warm. I contentedly hugged his arm and fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up the next day, I had already been carried onto the couch by Gu Yuan. He hadn't slept on that rough rope that night either. Instead, he was lying beside me, our fingers tightly intertwined. He was still sleeping soundly.
Even when I woke up, he didn't stir. I gently tried to pull my hand away and get up.
"Don't go." Gu Yuan tightened his grip on my hand. Right now, he didn't want to be away from Chi Yu for a single moment.
I didn't know why, but I felt both happy and sad. I was happy that they could finally live a peaceful life away from the world's strife. But I was sad that Gu Yuan hadn't mentioned Lan Lan for a long time. Had he really forgotten about the girl he had been longing for for so long in just half a month?
I lovingly looked at the young Gu Yuan in front of me and helplessly shook my head. "Alas... men."
My words seemed to wake Gu Yuan up. He turned his head slightly and softly asked, "Why did you get up so early?"
"With a handsome guy sleeping beside me, how could I possibly sleep?"
"You're so glib." Gu Yuan sat up and straightened his clothes.
I got up and giggled. "Hehe... I'll go make breakfast."
After breakfast, I took Gu Yuan down the mountain. We walked hand in hand, one after the other, until we reached the market at the foot of the mountain.
I had been to this market with Gu Yuan before, so I was quite familiar with it. I led him around and bought a lot of food, daily necessities, and clothes.
Although Gu Yuan was now a down-and-out prince, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Any small item on him could be exchanged for a lot of things.
I walked around with him like a nouveau riche in the city.
Until I saw a person in plain white clothes and a silver robe not far away. For some reason, I had a bad feeling.
Although this person's attire seemed ordinary, the aura of immortality on him was undeniable. This person must be from the Immortal Realm.
The person seemed to sense that I had noticed him. To avoid arousing my suspicion, he quickly turned his head and looked at the stall opposite, not daring to look in our direction.
Taking advantage of his inattention, I grabbed Gu Yuan's hand and walked into the crowd.
"Let's go..."
Gu Yuan didn't say a word. He just let me pull him through the crowd. It wasn't until I was sure that the person wasn't following us that I stopped and gasped for breath.
"I was so scared. We almost got caught."
But Gu Yuan didn't seem to care at all. He gently asked, "Have we bought everything we need?"
He looked as if he hadn't noticed the danger at all. He wasn't at all surprised by my actions just now.
"Someone was following us just now. Didn't you see?" I asked anxiously.
"You forgot. I'm blind. How could I see?" Gu Yuan replied with a smile on his face, looking very relaxed.
How could I forget about that?
"But now that I've told you, aren't you surprised? I suspect it's your father, the Heavenly Emperor, who sent someone to monitor you."
Gu Yuan was being overly calm. I was almost dying of anxiety, but he seemed like nothing had happened. It was really like the emperor was unconcerned while the eunuch was in a hurry.
"It doesn't matter. Let him see whatever he wants."
His calmness made me feel a little heartache.
"Do you think they think you're looking for the snake..." Before I could finish my sentence, Gu Yuan took out a peach from his sleeve and stuffed it into my mouth.
"Mmm... What are you doing..." I took out the peach and asked angrily.
"Never mention those two words again. Remember? There's never been such a thing in the Three Realms." Gu Yuan's expression was very serious, and his voice was cold.
I held the peach in my mouth and nodded at him innocently, answering indistinctly, "I remember."
"Let's go home."
As Gu Yuan spoke, he put his arm around my waist. With a wave of his arm, we were already back home.
I didn't expect Gu Yuan's body to recover faster than the dragon scale had expected. Xi Nv said that Chi Yu could find the snake scale, but how could I make Chi Yu appear now?
Just thinking about it made me scratch my head.
"Don't think too much. We're home." Seeing me in a daze, Gu Yuan pulled my hand and walked into the cave.
Back in the cave, I sorted out all the things we had bought. After spreading out the bedding, I just lay down on it and didn't want to get up.
It had been a long time since I had slept on bedding. The warm feeling was really comfortable.
Gu Yuan was sorting out something there. I wasn't really sleepy, but for some reason, it was like someone had hypnotized me. My eyelids were so heavy that I wanted to cheer up and continue tidying up, but I just couldn't open my eyes. Watching Gu Yuan's busy figure gradually become blurred, I fell asleep again in a daze.