Chapter 37

He handed her a gold ring.

The gold ring looked very much like the one the female lead, Zhou Mingyue, had.

“This was left to me by my grandmother.” Seeing her freeze and not react, he stuffed the ring into her hand. His brows and eyes softened with a warm smile as he said slowly, “My grandmother doted on me the most among her grandchildren. Before she passed, she gave me this ring and told me to give it to my wife as a wedding gift when I got married.”

At the time, he had asked his grandmother what to do if his elder brothers saw it and wanted it. His grandmother said that no matter what, the ring had to stay with him—it could only belong to his wife. So, over the years, he had kept the ring hidden until today when he finally brought it out.

Lan Yun’er lowered her eyes to look at the ring in her hand.

This ring had engraved characters on it as well: Treasure Source Blessed Land.

Treasure Source Blessed Land? It really did resemble the female lead’s ring. Her ring had the engraving Blessed Land Treasure Source.

Looking at the design, this ring was almost identical to that one. Could it be a twin? But how could that be? The book clearly stated that the female lead’s ring was one of a kind, the last remaining piece of a rare artifact in the world. How could there be a twin? This ring must simply bear an uncanny resemblance to the female lead’s ring, right?

Suppressing the doubts in her heart, she asked Huo Jincheng, “Why didn’t you bring this out earlier? Why only now?”

This ring looked very valuable. If he had given it to the original host earlier, maybe she wouldn’t have quarreled with him so much.

Huo Jincheng frowned slightly and said, “That was my grandmother’s instruction. She said I had to wait until half a month after getting married to take it out—not a day earlier.”

Lan Yun’er: “…”

His grandmother actually left such instructions? Why did she feel like his grandmother might have known something?

She glanced at the ring again, feeling even more puzzled. Was there any mention in the book of the male lead having this ring? Could it be that it was mentioned, but she overlooked it?

“Sleep,” Huo Jincheng said as he lifted the blanket for her, indicating she should lie down.

She nodded, clutching the ring as she lay down and closed her eyes slightly.

Huo Jincheng turned to extinguish the oil lamp before climbing into the bed’s inner side.

He didn’t know why his wife was different from other wives. He had heard that other wives liked sleeping on the inner side of the bed, but his wife preferred the outer side. When he slept on the inner side, he often felt like he was the wife instead.

In the darkness, Lan Yun’er opened her eyes again.

She looked at the ring repeatedly before slipping it onto her finger.

As soon as the ring was slightly on her finger, it seemed almost alive—it slid itself down to the base of her finger.

Lan Yun’er was startled. Why did this ring seem… alive?

She tried to take the ring off, but, astonishingly, it seemed fused to her finger—she couldn’t remove it.

Her eyes widened slightly, a mix of surprise and fear flashing in them. Could this ring be some sort of cursed object?

She spent over half an hour in bed struggling with the ring, careful not to disturb Huo Jincheng, keeping her actions hidden under the blanket.

When she finally gave up trying to remove the ring, she decided to just wear it. After all, even if it were cursed, it couldn’t possibly kill her in one night.

Tomorrow, she thought, she would go up the mountain to ask the tree demon. That tree demon seemed to know quite a bit—it might understand what was going on.

After staring into the dark for ten more minutes, she yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

That night, Lan Yun’er had a dream.

She dreamt of herself in a lush green field under a clear blue sky, bathing in a spring rich with spiritual energy. She also dreamt of discovering many precious medicinal herbs and using them to refine numerous elixirs.

The dream was so wonderful that even when she woke up, her lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

However, after waking, Lan Yun’er discovered something strange—the ring that wouldn’t come off no matter what last night could now be removed easily in the morning.

Lan Yun’er stared at the ring in her hand. “…”

What kind of ridiculous item was this? Last night, she struggled so hard to take it off, and this morning it came off without any effort? Was it toying with her?

Could it be that she’d been using the wrong method to remove it last night?

She examined the ring for a few moments before putting it into her pocket and heading out to wash up.

Preoccupied with thoughts about the ring, Lan Yun’er quickly set out for the mountains after Huo Jincheng and the others left the house.

Although Huo Jincheng reminded her every morning not to go into the mountains, for her, the mountains were a treasure trove.

Not venturing into the treasure trove would make her uncomfortable.

It didn’t take long before she encountered the female lead, Zhou Mingyue.

Zhou Mingyue’s face was still swollen but looked slightly better than before. She was sitting under a large tree with a basket beside her, seemingly out collecting something.

Lan Yun’er glanced at her and curled her lips before walking past quickly.

However, after walking for less than two minutes, she stopped abruptly.

Turning back, she saw Zhou Mingyue following her, her face full of arrogance.

When Zhou Mingyue noticed Lan Yun’er looking at her, she also glared back, her eyes filled with disdain and hatred.

But when Lan Yun’er stopped walking, Zhou Mingyue also halted.

Lan Yun’er shot her a cold look, but without saying anything, continued on her way.

And Zhou Mingyue immediately picked up her pace to follow.

Zhou Mingyue had been waiting in the mountains since early morning.

She was specifically waiting to track Lan Yun’er. She wanted to see how Lan Yun’er collected herbs and figure out why she was so lucky.

After ten minutes of this silent stalking, Lan Yun’er finally stopped, leaned lazily against a tree, and turned to Zhou Mingyue.

“Do I have money on me? Is that why you’re following me? Come on, show me how much you’ve picked up,” she said, extending her hand as if she genuinely expected Zhou Mingyue to hand over money.

Zhou Mingyue gritted her teeth, glaring at Lan Yun’er before hissing coldly, “Who’s following you? Do you own this mountain path? Can only you walk here? You want to go up the mountain, and so do I. You take this path, and I take this path too. What, are you going to stop me?”