Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 799 Fate
Xie Yuyan lifted her skirt and climbed the steps. The butterfly landed in front of her, but as she approached, it immediately fluttered away. The little fox in her arms seemed annoyed that the butterfly was playing tricks on its master. It leaped out of Xie Yuyan's arms and volunteered to fight for its master. Unfortunately, it missed its target. The butterfly even flew around once and landed on the fox's nose.

Both the human and the cat were now filled with a competitive spirit, determined to get entangled with the butterfly to the very end.

They ran on like this until Xie Yuyan came to her senses and looked around, only to find that she had lost all sense of where she was.

She had clearly been walking up the steps, but when she turned around, there were no steps left behind her. She was surrounded by trees, and in the distance, towering mountains rose up.

A gust of wind blew by, and Xie Yuyan shivered.

It wasn't even noon yet, but it felt like it was about to get dark.

Xie Yuyan then became anxious, bent down, picked up Ali, and followed the way they came back.

She walked for a long time, but for some reason, the scenery in front of her did not change at all, and she could not see any family members coming to look for her.

She began calling out the names of the servants and stewards.

The sound echoed through the mountains, but received no response.

Xie Yuyan recalled accompanying her grandmother to the temple to offer incense yesterday, where she overheard villagers at the foot of the mountain saying that there were mandrills there that ate people, and that they could sometimes transform into human form, using sweet words to deceive people and then lead them to their caves...

As she was pondering this, Ahri, who was in her arms, stepped on her arm and stood up.

Xie Yuyan was startled and followed Ah Li's gaze forward. A rustling sound came from the depths of Konoha, and a shadow gradually emerged. It was a young man.

She should have been overjoyed to have finally met someone, but then she remembered the rumors about mandrills and couldn't tell whether the person in front of her was him or it.

……

"Are you lost too?"

"This forest is strange; no matter which way we go, we can't get out."

"Did you come here alone? Is no one from your family with you?"

Perhaps because she was young, he asked her questions patiently.

Xie Yuyan carefully examined the young man's features and suddenly felt that he looked somewhat familiar. Of course, this was not from her childhood memories, and she couldn't quite put her finger on where it came from.

Xie Yuyan shook her head and then nodded: "My family was with me, but they got lost for a while. But they'll be back soon."

If this young man harbors ill intentions, he will not dare to act rashly upon hearing that she has relatives.

The young man nodded and said, "Then I'll wait with you for a while. If your family comes looking for me, I'll go down the mountain with you."

The two of them each found a rock and sat down.

She appeared to be acting without thinking, but in reality, she was secretly watching him.

She increasingly felt that he wasn't even human.

How could anyone be born so beautiful? It's like they stepped out of a painting.

She was young, but she knew a lot. If she disobeyed and angered her grandmother, the steward who served her would tell her some frightening rumors.

She was often so frightened that she would bury herself under the covers and not be able to sleep all night, but this also made her braver.

According to those rumors, if you want to escape from ghosts and monsters, you must not be fooled by them, and you must even fool them in return.

Her mind raced, and she began to tentatively talk to him: "Why is there no one else with you?"

The young man said, "I also got separated from my family."

It's exactly the same as what she said; perhaps she learned it from her, so it's not to be trusted.

"Fortunately, I still have Li Nu." Xie Yuyan said, reaching out to touch Li Nu's back, and Li Nu affectionately rubbed against Xie Yuyan's arm.

Do you like cats?

He nodded in response to her question.

Xie Yuyan continued, "My cat is named Hanying, which is taken from a poem by Wenzheng Gong."

"Last night, the heavens suddenly returned to normal, and a thick canopy of shade spread out, carrying the chill of autumn."

If he were truly a scholar, he would certainly be well-versed in these matters.

He was taken aback.

She knew in her heart that if they didn't even know this poem, it must be fake.

But after a long while, he tentatively asked, "Are you talking about Councilor Fan?"

She nodded earnestly, and he frowned slightly, as if he had something to say, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

The sky grew darker.

He suggested that we follow the path she had taken.

She continued to probe, mentioning the scenery she had seen in the area, as well as poems left by some famous scholars and officials. He knew some of them, while he looked puzzled about others, pressing her for details about the officials she mentioned.

When asked how she knew so much, she would frankly say, "It's all from what my teacher taught me. He said that few educated people are ignorant of these things."

He then asked, "Would your family allow you to learn these things?"

She nodded: "My elders at home treat me like a precious jewel, letting me study with my brothers. If you help me find my way home, my family will definitely thank you properly."

They hid behind a tree at night, and she took out some dried meat for him to eat.

He was very grateful.

Actually, that dried meat was Ahri's food.

She couldn't refuse; she was afraid it would become hungry and eat people.

When they found water, she let him drink first, afraid he (or it) might have poisoned it. He probably had very few brothers and sisters, and a hint of joy shone in his eyes.

She still couldn't easily believe it.

These past few days, it wouldn't be wrong to say they've relied on each other, except... she's secretly on guard, always holding a sharp stone in her hand, ready to strike him (or it) if he (or it) dares to reveal his true form.

You need to be careful.

When he went to scout ahead, she would always show a worried and reluctant expression.

He seemed to have no doubts at all, and instead reassured her that if he didn't return in half an hour, she should continue walking forward.

One looked back repeatedly, while the other saw them off with tears in her eyes.

One looked worried, the other was full of doubt.

He always returned as promised, and she would wait for him in the same spot. What he didn't know was that she would take the opportunity to escape, but because she couldn't find her way home, she had no choice but to return to the same place.

When he tried to persuade her to walk with him through the misty forest, she stopped, revealing her blood-stained shoes: "I can't walk anymore. If you make it out, bring someone back to me."

"I've been right here, waiting for you."

She spoke with absolute certainty and her face was full of trust, which finally earned her his promise: "As long as I can get out, I will definitely come to rescue you."

She and he made a promise by holding hands.

It became their secret.

As soon as his figure disappeared into the woods, she took off running in different directions. She thought that this time, like before, she would return empty-handed. However, she did not expect that there would suddenly be a step under her feet. She lost her footing and fell down. Yu Chen in her arms was also thrown aside by the force of the fall.

When she woke up again, she had already been found by the Xie family and taken back to the manor. When her family asked her where she had been, she had forgotten everything that happened in the mountains and the young man.

Her jade dust was also unable to return with her.

Later, she heard the servants on the estate gossiping that the mountain demon might have eaten Yu Chen, which was why they released her.

She couldn't remember what happened in the mountains, but she kept dreaming about it. She dreamed that the young man wasn't a mountain demon, that he really brought people to the mountains to find her, and that he refused to leave, eventually being forcibly taken away by his family.

After a while, she would dream again, dreaming that he was carrying her Ahri back to the forest, and that he looked very dejected and pitiful.

He was the first person she had completely deceived. She felt guilty and would call out to him in her dreams, telling him to stop looking for her and leave quickly, but he just couldn't see her.

After that, she dreamed of him several more times. Without exception, she would forget him completely after waking up, and she would also fall ill.

The doctor said she had liver deficiency and was attacked by evil, and her essence and qi were not nourished, so her soul was not at peace and she had developed a soul separation disease.

Rumors circulated throughout the manor that her soul had been imprisoned on the hill behind the estate.

If she could remember her dreams, she would know that after taking the doctor's medicine, she seemed to be getting better, but every few months she would still dream of that mountain, and she would meet that young man in the mountain. However, unlike before, he could see her, and she could see him.

Although the dream was brief, they would only meet from afar and exchange a fleeting glance.

She watched him grow up, and he watched her grow into her teens.

All of this came to an abrupt end one day.

She went to Wang Huai's house and met Wang Yan, the prime minister of Daliang.

It was that colorful butterfly that led her to him. The butterfly landed on his clothes for a long time before flying away.

From that moment on, it was as if a door had been closed.

She would never again dream of that mountain forest from which she could never leave, nor would she ever see her growing young lover again.

As time flows on, only the aging prime minister and she, who has forgotten everything, remain.

after that……

His conscious restraint and concealment ultimately earned her a lifetime of fearlessness and freedom.

(End of this chapter)