Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

To make things easier, Lin Zhiyao changed into her faded blue cloth dress, leaving behind the fine clothes and jewelry Shen Jin had given her in the palace, and took nothing with her.

Before dawn, when the maids had come to serve her, she quietly pushed open the palace door.

The fog was thick outside. The mornings at Cangwu Mountain are always shrouded in mist, and cranes circled in the fog, emitting clear and melodious calls.

Lin Zhiyao walked out along the path she remembered from her journey.

She remembered that when Shen Jin brought her there that day, they flew on a sword and arrived in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

But she can't fly; she can only walk on two legs.

The mountain path was rugged, and the stone steps were covered with moss, making them slippery. Lin Zhiyao held onto the tree trunk beside her and walked down step by step.

Perhaps because those who come here are all cultivators, no paths have been built, and the surrounding area is almost entirely a primeval forest.

After walking for about half an hour, Lin Zhiyao looked back and saw that the main peak of Cangwu Mountain was already faintly visible in the clouds and mist.

Further on, the road narrowed, the stone steps turned into a dirt road, and the dirt road turned into a forest path, surrounded by a bamboo forest.

Lin Zhiyao felt increasingly uneasy as she walked.

The trees grew denser, their branches intertwining to block out the sun, dimming the light and causing a fog to rise.

Lin Zhiyao felt panicked. She stopped, turned around, and tried to go back the way she came, but when she looked back, the path she had come from was also swallowed up by the fog.

Lin Zhiyao felt a chill in her heart.

It's over.

She got lost.

Lin Zhiyao slowly slid down a tree, curled up her knees, and buried her face in her arms.

Tears silently slid down her cheeks, dripping onto her blue cloth dress and leaving a small, dark stain.

Lin Zhiyao bit her lip, not crying out loud, but her shoulders trembled with sobs. She curled up beside the tree roots, like a kitten abandoned in the rainy night.

What should I do?

She was so reckless today.

*

The distant Shen family.

While Shen Jin was giving perfunctory answers to the clan elders who were questioning him about his love tribulation, he was actually thinking about Lin Zhiyao inside the hall.

His fox-like eyes darkened slightly, and he grew increasingly impatient with these old fogies in front of him, his mind filled with nothing but the desire to return to Cangwu Mountain as soon as possible.

I wonder if the kitten behaved well while it was alone in the palace?

Suddenly, a surge of spiritual energy emanated from the water mirror in his sleeve.

The kitten ran away.

Shen Jin's eyes darkened slightly. He ignored the nagging elders and left them with the message that he knew what was going on. He then took out the water mirror and set off for Cangwu Mountain.

The image shows Lin Zhiyao trapped in the thick fog.

He has set up a maze within Mount Cangwu. Unless one has a spiritual guide provided by him, even a powerful being would find it difficult to escape.

Not to mention Lin Zhiyao, a mere mortal.

Shen Jin watched her stumble along the way, becoming more and more like a kitten that couldn't find its way home—reckless and fragile.

All around was an endless forest mist.

Lin Zhiyao, on the other hand, could never escape his grasp, like a flower falling from his palm.

But, just the fact that Yao Yao actually wanted to escape.

They need to be punished properly.

Only then can the kitten learn its lesson.

*

Cangwu Mountain.

Among the bamboo groves.

Lin Zhiyao remained seated there, unaware of how much time had passed.

The fog didn't dissipate; instead, it grew thicker and thicker.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; there wasn't even a bird's call, only the rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves.

She grew colder, hungrier, and more frightened.

"younger sister......"

Lin Zhiyao murmured, helpless and frightened, "Zhiwan..."

What she feared most was what would happen to her sister if she died here.

Just then.

Lin Zhiyao felt the temperature around her suddenly drop.

She suddenly looked up.

In the thick fog, a white figure was walking towards her.

Dressed in white, with black hair, he exuded a cold and aloof aura.

His face was as cold as a thousand-year-old iceberg. His boots made a soft sound as they stepped on the fallen leaves, one step at a time, neither hurried nor slow.

The person drew closer, their features becoming clearer and clearer.

His skin was pale and cold, his jawline sharp and angular, and his eyes were slightly upturned like a fox's.

It was Shen Jin.

Lin Zhiyao froze.

Shen Jin stood three steps away, looking down at her. His robes were covered in morning dew, and a few bamboo leaves were on his shoulders. It looked as if he had just rushed back from outside and hadn't even had time to change his clothes.

There was neither anger nor surprise in those fox-like eyes.

There was only a deep, somber light, as if it had known all along that she would be here.

Lin Zhiyao's mind went completely blank.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her throat felt like it was being choked, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Shen Jin walked up to her, his white clothes spotless, not even a speck of mud on the soles of his shoes, a stark contrast to her disheveled state.

He didn't say anything, but simply reached out and pinched Lin Zhiyao's chin, forcing her to raise her head.

The force wasn't great, but Lin Zhiyao couldn't move.

His fingers were cold, as cold as ice.

Lin Zhiyao shivered from the cold.

"Why did you run away?" Shen Jin asked.

The sound was not loud, even calm, but something was surging beneath that calm.

He mustn't know that I want to escape.

Lin Zhiyao took a deep breath, looked up at Shen Jin, and tried to force a calm expression in her almond-shaped eyes.

"I didn't intend to run away."

Lin Zhiyao tried her best to make her voice sound as calm as possible, "Your Highness, you've misunderstood. I just... just wanted to go down the mountain to take a look."

Shen Jin did not let go, his thumb slowly caressing along her jawline, then gradually sliding down to her soft lips.

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, as if he were scrutinizing every word she said to determine whether it was true or false.

"Just going down the mountain to take a look?"

He repeated it, his voice very soft, with a slight upward inflection at the end, a half-smile on his lips.

Lin Zhiyao nodded, her eyelashes trembling, but she still forced herself not to look away.

"Yes, I want to go and see my neighbors."

Lin Zhiyao bit her lip, her voice soft and earnest, "My sister and I grew up in the village, and our neighbors helped us a lot. I... I want to go back and see them, bring them some things, and let them know we're safe."

Shen Jin didn't speak, he just looked at her.

Lin Zhiyao felt uneasy under his gaze, but she dared not look away, afraid that she would reveal her weakness if she did.

"I just wanted to take a look."

Lin Zhiyao continued, her voice tinged with grievance, "I didn't expect to get lost after walking for a while, and I just can't find my way out."

"Yeah?"

Just two words.

It was bland and uninteresting, and you couldn't hear any emotion in it.

Lin Zhiyao didn't dare to speak, she just nodded.

Shen Jin looked at her for a while, then suddenly looked away and turned around.

"Let's go."

Lin Zhiyao was stunned. "Where...where are you going?"

"Aren't you going back to the village?" Shen Jin asked without turning his head, his voice coming from the mist, "I'll take you back."

Lin Zhiyao didn't expect Shen Jin to actually take her back.

To her surprise, he would personally take her back.

He flew on his sword, soaring through the sky.

The wind whistled in her ears, and the sea of ​​clouds surged beneath her feet. Lin Zhiyao was held tightly in Shen Jin's arms, her chin resting on his shoulder, watching Cangwu Mountain grow smaller and smaller behind her, finally becoming a white dot and disappearing into the mist.

Lin Zhiyao couldn't quite describe her feelings.

There was anticipation, nervousness, and a hint of unease.

Shen Jin agreed too readily.

But she didn't have time to think about it, because the scenery beneath her feet had changed.

No longer are there seas of clouds and fairy mountains, but rather continuous mountain ranges, winding rivers, and neatly arranged farmlands.

Getting closer and closer.

Lin Zhiyao's heart raced, and she couldn't help but lean forward, wanting to see more clearly.

Shen Jin tightened his grip on her waist. "Don't move."

Lin Zhiyao obediently shrank back.

The sword light touched the ground.

Shen Jin walked on the muddy dirt road, his robes spotless, standing out starkly against the desolate and dilapidated surroundings.

Lin Zhiyao got out of his arms and stepped onto the familiar ground, but she didn't feel the sense of security she had expected.

Instead, a sense of unease arose from nowhere.

Soon, this anxiety was confirmed.

Lin Zhiyao raised her head and looked ahead.

Then, he froze.

There was no familiar smoke rising from chimneys, no crowing of roosters or barking of dogs, and no sounds of children playing.

All that remains are the withered old locust tree at the village entrance and the collapsed houses.

And then there were the wild grasses that sprouted from the cracks in the walls, growing taller than a person, and swallowing up the entire village.

The nightmare turned out to be a reality.