Chapter 50

After breakfast, Lan Yun’er excused herself by saying she needed to go up the mountain to search for a special herb for Huo Junli. She eagerly set off towards the mountain, anxious to ask the tree demon what was happening to her. Zhong Cuitao had originally wanted to accompany her, but when she went inside to grab a sickle, Lan Yun’er quickly sneaked out. By the time Zhong Cuitao came back outside with the tool, Lan Yun’er had already left. Huo Jinchen had also planned to accompany Lan Yun’er, but he had important matters to attend to in town, so he gave up on the idea.

Lan Yun’er arrived at the heart of the forest and stood in front of the tree demon’s thick trunk. “Hey, look at me. Do I look sick?” she asked, circling around the tree demon. She suspected that she might have contracted some strange illness, one she couldn’t detect herself, and thought the tree demon might be able to figure it out.

The tree demon watched her for a while and then spoke after a moment of thought. “You’re not sick. Your body is very healthy.”

“Healthy?” Lan Yun’er furrowed her brows, looking at the tree demon with suspicion. “Are you sure I’m not sick? Since last night, I’ve felt something’s wrong. I was extremely hot and sweating while I was sleeping, and now, whenever I face my husband, I feel weird. I used to think he was handsome, but now I feel flustered and excited whenever I see his handsome face. Sometimes, I even want to bite him.”

The tree demon thought for a while, then spoke more seriously. “I think you’ve been affected by a spell called ‘Fate’s Bond.'”

“Fate’s Bond?” Lan Yun’er frowned, confused. “What’s that?”

The tree demon explained, “It’s a powerful spell. After this spell affects a couple, the man becomes infatuated with the woman, unable to resist her beauty, wanting to do improper things with her. The woman, too, feels an overwhelming attraction to the man and wants to do something with him as well. In fact, the woman’s reaction is stronger than the men, and she will want to do something more.”

Lan Yun’er’s mouth twitched. She glanced at the tree demon suspiciously. “You’re not making this up, are you? How could such a bizarre spell exist in this world? This sounds like a drug, isn’t this just to harm people?”

The tree demon sighed. “I wish I were making it up, but it’s true. From what you’ve described, it’s very likely that you’ve been affected by Fate’s Bond.”

Lan Yun’er frowned and was still skeptical. “That’s nonsense! I don’t believe such a ridiculous and harmful spell exists!”

The tree demon looked at her sympathetically. “After being affected by Fate’s Bond, a symbol will appear on your heart, a glowing dot. You can check yourself; I believe there should be one on your heart.”

Lan Yun’er frowned and immediately sat down, using her magic to check her body. After about ten minutes, she broke out in a light sweat and cursed angrily, “Damn it, who is the bastard who did this? They really placed a symbol on me!”

The tree demon looked at her with more sympathy. “The Fate’s Bond is not easy to break, or perhaps I should say it’s impossible to break. However, the good thing is, you and your husband were both affected. If it had been with someone else, things would have been worse.”

Lan Yun’er was speechless. So, Huo Jinchen was also affected by this spell? Could he be the one behind it? But Huo Jinchen didn’t seem like someone who would do something so underhanded.

The tree demon continued, “Once you’re affected by Fate’s Bond, your destinies will be tightly bound together. If you leave him, you will die. If he leaves you, he will also die. Your lives are now inseparable.”

Lan Yun’er felt a surge of anger, almost wanting to spit blood.

She gritted her teeth and muttered angrily, “Who came up with this damned spell? This is so harmful!” She had originally thought that if one day she couldn’t stand her husband anymore or didn’t want to stay with the Huo family, she could just leave. But now, how could she leave?

The tree demon tried to comfort her, “I think you haven’t been affected for long. You could try to break the spell. Maybe you’ll be lucky and manage to undo it.”

Lan Yun’er quickly asked, “How do I break it?”

The tree demon replied, “I’ll tell you the steps. You follow them and try.”

Lan Yun’er nodded and focused her attention on the tree demon. She was willing to do anything to break this annoying Fate’s Bond.

Lan Yun’er spent the next several hours trying to break the spell. But instead of undoing it, she only made the glowing dot on her heart cling more strongly.

The tree demon sighed, “It seems the person who placed the spell on you prepared a backup plan, making it even harder to break. The more you try to undo it, the stronger the connection becomes between you and your husband. Your fates are now even more tightly bound together. I suggest you stop trying. You won’t be able to break it.”

Lan Yun’er was beyond frustrated. She wanted to cry.

Furious, she slammed her fist on the ground, grumbling, “Does this mean I have to stay with Huo Jinchen for the rest of my life? I can’t ever leave him?”

The tree demon looked at her and said, “He’s your husband. Isn’t it normal to spend your life with him? Why are you thinking of leaving him?”

Lan Yun’er retorted, “What if I don’t like him one day? What if I want a new husband?”

The tree demon was speechless. It seemed she was not just a victim, but someone with fickle feelings.

After staying in the mountains for a while longer, Lan Yun’er finally made her way back down. Before she left, the tree demon reminded her that once the Fate’s Bond was fully planted in her body, her reaction to Huo Jinchen would lessen, but she would never be able to leave him. Their fates would be intertwined forever.

Lan Yun’er was feeling incredibly depressed as she made her way back home along a small path. However, as she walked, a child around eleven or twelve years old ran up to her. It was a boy from the Li family, living at the village’s edge. Li’s family occasionally had interactions with the Huo family, though rarely.

Lan Yun’er raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s the matter? Are you looking for me?”

The boy pulled something from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is from Huo Jinchen. He said he prepared a gift for you and wants you to meet him at the cottage at the village’s edge.”

The boy handed her a red string bracelet.

Lan Yun’er had seen a similar red string bracelet on Huo Jinchen’s hand the night before. But she didn’t believe this one came from him.

She took the bracelet and patted the boy’s head. “Thanks. I’ll go see him now.”

The boy nodded and ran off. “Hurry up! Huo Jinchen said he’s waiting for you and doesn’t want to wait too long.”

Lan Yun’er smiled but couldn’t hide the cold smirk that appeared on her face. Someone had finally made a move.

But the methods were becoming increasingly childish. Was it because of so many failed attempts that their intelligence had dropped?

She glanced at the red string bracelet in her hand, stuffed it into her pocket, and continued walking forward.

Huo Jinchen had just returned from town and was preparing to visit Wolf Tooth Mountain. When he arrived home, he noticed his wife wasn’t around, and figured she was still up the mountain. He was about to leave when Li Goudan, the grandson of the Li family, ran up to him.

Li Goudan looked at Huo Jinchen and said, “Huo Si Shu, something happened. I saw Lan Yun’er go into the cottage at the village’s edge. After she entered, a man followed her.”

Although Li Goudan was young, he was skilled at lying and did so with a naive expression, making it hard to tell he was lying.

Huo Jinchen’s face darkened immediately upon hearing this. He looked at Li Goudan and asked in a deep voice, “Are you sure you saw this clearly?”

Li Goudan nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I wanted to pull her back, but the man looked really scary, so I didn’t dare to. But I know what she did was wrong, so I ran here to find you.”

At that moment, Yao Guizhi and Zhong Cuitao were in the yard. Zhong Cuitao frowned and said to Li Goudan, “You must be seeing things. It wasn’t Yun’er. Stop spreading lies about her!”

Li Goudan shook his head. “I saw it clearly. You don’t believe me? Go see for yourselves. They’re still in the cottage now.”

Yao Guizhi’s face turned dark as she stood up from the bench and walked toward the gate. “Li Goudan, if we find out you’re lying, we’ll deal with you.”

Li Goudan rubbed his head and said, “I’m not lying.”

Huo Jinchen turned to Yao Guizhi and said, “Mom, you don’t need to go. I’ll go and check. But I believe Yun’er would never betray me.”