Chapter 20: Return to Her Mother’s Home (Part 2)

“Why are you going back?” The one asking was Qingfeng. Recalling that Wen Lan had previously mentioned wanting to leave, he grew wary. “You’re not trying to use this as an excuse to run away, are you?”

After all, it was a whole gold ingot that had been used as the betrothal gift. Lin Furong could sneak back home, take that gold, and vanish.

Wouldn’t he end up as the fool?

Seeing that Qingfeng misunderstood her, Wen Lan quickly explained, “I just want to go get some vegetables. It’s not easy to make a trip to the marketplace, and since Hunter Brother doesn’t have a vegetable patch, I can’t be cooking plain white rice for him every day.”

She was telling the truth. In the countryside, every household had its own vegetable garden, and they usually just ate whatever was available.

Of course, her trip back to Yushou Village wasn’t just about getting vegetables—but that wasn’t something she could tell the hunter outright.

“Go tomorrow instead. It’s getting late, and the mountain roads aren’t safe for a girl like you to walk at night,” said Xuan Yue.

“It’s fine. I’ll take Iron General with me,” Wen Lan insisted.

The reason she was so determined to go at night was because returning to the village in the daytime would attract all those gossiping women in Yushou Village. Who knows what mocking words they’d fling at her?

She wasn’t Lin Furong anymore—if those busybodies tried to mess with her, she’d definitely give them a piece of her mind.

“How about I go with her?” Qingfeng suggested tentatively to Xuan Yue.

“You go with her?” Xuan Yue raised his voice and turned to look at Qingfeng. It was obvious from his tone that he thought Qingfeng must be joking.

Qingfeng was visibly shaken by that look. Nervously, he asked, “Is… is that not okay?”

What a dumb question.

Wen Lan immediately understood Xuan Yue’s meaning. She turned to Qingfeng and said, “Little brother, there’s really no need for you to come with me. I’m truly just going to fetch some vegetables. Besides, I’m an unmarried girl—if I went back to my parents’ house with a man, what would people say? I’m engaged now, you know.”

She hoped Qingfeng would get the hint.

But apparently either his brain wasn’t working or he was just dense, because after she said that, he replied, “So what you’re really saying is—you want our lord to go back with you instead?”

What the hell?!

“No, no, not at all!” Wen Lan frantically waved her hands. The hunter had already shown her mercy by agreeing to a fake marriage—asking him to go back to Yushou Village with her? She wouldn’t dare even if she had ten lives.

“You totally meant it,” Qingfeng pointed at her with his chopsticks and said to Xuan Yue, “Master, look at this village girl—she’s quite clever. She even knows how to divert attention. You should properly train her. She might become a reliable aide.”

Xuan Yue smirked, then glanced sideways at Qingfeng and said, “I’ve trained you for years and you’ve never become a reliable aide. And now you expect me to count on her?”

Ouch. That slap didn’t even need hands.

Wen Lan silently shook her head. This hunter—aside from being cold-faced—was also ruthless with his insults.

Clearly, this guy must’ve come to the mountains to live as a recluse because he was so abrasive he couldn’t make friends elsewhere. Probably ended up a lonely bachelor as a result.

Actually, Wen Lan even thought back to something Qingfeng had mentioned earlier—that this “lord” had someone he liked. And now he was hiding out in the deep mountains? Most likely, he’d been dumped.

No way someone with that sharp tongue hadn’t been dumped.

Just as Wen Lan was getting lost in her thoughts, Xuan Yue spoke again.

“Take Iron General and go. But make it quick.”

“Thank you, big brother!” Wen Lan promptly bowed.

“And one more thing,” Xuan Yue stopped her just as she was about to leave, “Tell your parents that the marriage ends here. Don’t bring up things like bridal sedan chairs or the three-day homecoming visit.”

“Got it.” Wen Lan curled her lips.

If he didn’t want that stuff—well, neither did she!