Chapter 6: Who Are You?

“Whew! That should keep the bugs from biting me, right?”

A small figure emerged from a thicket of bushes in the vast primeval forest!

The woman threw a simple cloth bundle onto her back and continued towards her destination.

She had exchanged her trailing palace gown for coarse homespun clothes, the kind a maidservant would wear!

For easier movement through the woods, she had shortened her excessively long skirt to her knees, and tied up her leggings with strips of cloth.

Her wide sleeves were also tightly bound!

Her hair, tangled by branches and vines, was untied and re-braided into a thick braid, which she slung behind her.

She hadn’t realized it before, but there were so many bugs in the forest; one moment of carelessness and they’d crawl into her pants, nearly scaring her to death!

At that moment, if there had been anyone nearby, even a stranger, she might have cried and screamed.

But there was no one. It seemed that from birth, she was not worthy of having anyone.

Her nose was sore, her eyes red, but she stubbornly held back her tears!

Because she knew that crying was useless! To survive, she had to get herself out of there!

Gradually, the sun set, and the forest, shrouded in darkness, looked even more gloomy and terrifying!

A cold wind blew, rustling the leaves. After walking for most of the day, she was exhausted. She huddled at the foot of a large tree, the cloth bundle at her feet, holding a boning knife to her chest, shivering!

‘Coo… coo coo…’

‘Awooo…’

The sounds of unknown animals in the distance seemed to be getting closer…

She seemed to hear the sound of broken branches being crushed…

Wanru sniffed, huddling even tighter…

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before her eyes,

“Ah!! Who! Who! Don’t come near me!!”

Wanru closed her eyes tightly, slashing wildly with the boning knife in front of her…

Suddenly, a cold, strong hand grabbed her wrist, and the boning knife was easily dislodged~!

She was pulled up forcefully, stumbled, and fell into a large embrace…

“Who are you? How did you end up here alone?”

A cold, emotionless voice came from beside her ear. She was gently pushed, her back against the tree she had been leaning against!

Realizing that it was a person, not a beast, Wanru’s heart eased slightly~

She frantically opened her watery eyes, wiping away the tears that had welled up. When she saw the man in front of her, she gasped in fright!

The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with an ugly centipede-shaped scar running from the corner of his eye to his mouth. His cold, thin lips were tightly pursed, and his innate dangerous aura, combined with his sharp eyes and dark skin, made him look very aggressive!

She swallowed nervously and whispered, “Who are you? Are you a hunter from the mountains? I… I came into the mountains to gather… gather herbs, and I… I got lost…”

“Which village are you from? What’s your name?”

Which village? She didn’t know!!

Wanru felt that she might not live through the night!

“I… I… I’m Gong… no… I’m Ji… Ji Wanru! I… I… I forgot where I came from!!”

She had been reborn. The surname Gongsun, which felt like a mountain weighing her down, was decisively abandoned at this moment. Even if she only lived for one more day, she would be herself, the reborn Ji Wanru!

It was wrong no matter what she said, so she might as well just come clean!

“Actually, I wasn’t gathering herbs. I was kidnapped by human traffickers, and I ran away when they weren’t looking, but then I got lost…”

The woman bit her pink lips tightly, her eyes filled with tears, stubbornly staring at the man in front of her. Believe it or not, it’s up to you!

At worst, I’ll die!!

It’s just that I feel bad for Xiaodu…

What to do, every time she thought of Xiaodu, she wanted to cry…

The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his sharp gaze fixed on the small woman in front of him, as if unwilling to miss a single expression!

Appearing here in the dead of night, dressed strangely, and speaking hesitantly, she clearly had something to hide. He had suffered greatly at the hands of spies, so he was always suspicious of suspicious people who appeared around him!

Although he didn’t sense the familiar aura from this woman, he still didn’t dare to let down his guard!

“Tell me, where are you from? And where were you kidnapped from?”

The man approached her menacingly, forcing her to retreat, but behind her was the tree trunk, and she had nowhere to go!

She shook her head repeatedly, not knowing what to say…

Seeing her stubbornness, the man seemed impatient. He suddenly pinched her delicate chin with his left hand and quickly drew a dagger from his waist, stabbing towards her neck…

“No…”

The dagger passed through the woman’s neck and into the tree behind her…

The woman cried out in surprise and fear! She struggled desperately to break free from his grip!

She desperately resisted the urge to take out a magic sword from her space and fight back!

This man was not easy to deal with, and she was not sure she could injure him. If her surprise attack failed and she was caught, she might be burned to death as a witch?

At this moment, she could only look up helplessly at him…

The tears she had been holding back finally flowed from her eyes. Undoubtedly, the woman at this moment was stunningly beautiful!

But the man seemed to have no pity!

He didn’t even seem to notice her struggles. He lifted her chin! Examining her carefully, trying to find a single flaw!

Time passed second by second, the woman kept crying, but never begged for mercy!

Slowly, the harsh coldness in his black eyes gradually turned complex!

He slowly released her!

Sure enough, the man hadn’t really wanted to kill her!

She~ had gambled right!

As if all her strength had been drained, the woman leaned against the tree trunk, slowly collapsing to the ground~~

Her small face buried in her knees, she sobbed and choked!

Woo… Xiaodu, you don’t have to die completely~~

“Stop crying, let’s go down the mountain!”

The woman’s small ears twitched, and she quickly lifted her head from her knees,

“You really want to take me down the mountain?”

She had been in the woods all day, her face covered in dust, and after crying and wiping her tears, she looked like a little kitten!

The man’s usually cold eyes seemed to have a hint of a smile, but it was like a fleeting bloom, gone in an instant!

So fast, Wanru thought she had imagined it!

“Aren’t you getting up? If you don’t go, I’ll leave!”

“Oh oh! I’m getting up, I’m getting up, good sir! Don’t leave me behind!!”

The woman tried several times to stand up using the tree trunk, but failed!

She felt the man getting impatient!

Wanru suddenly raised her small face and cried, “What should I do? My legs are weak, I can’t get up~~”

The man…