After I Lost My Memory, I Was Coaxed into Marriage by a Yandere - Chapter 14

Just as Chi Wei stood up, preparing to go out to find some water to drink, two figures, one tall and one short, finally appeared at the entrance of the ruined temple.

With only a single glance, she sat back down.

Those two certainly knew how to keep busy. In the pitch black of night, they had somehow managed to bring back a wild chicken. From that brief look, the chicken had already been plucked clean; they must have finished preparing it by the river long ago. It was undoubtedly Xiao Tan, that gluttonous girl. The bowl of plain noodles at noon had failed to satisfy her craving for meat, so she must have pestered Xiao Yanyi into accompanying her into the mountains to catch a chicken, delaying them for so long.

These deep, ancient forests were teeming with spirits and monsters. There were always people beyond people, and demons beyond demons. With a face like Xiao Yanyi’s, would it not be dangerous if some mountain spirit or wild phantom kidnapped her to be a forced bride?

However, what did that have to do with her?

Chi Wei told herself she was simply being a busybody.

Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan used the fire started by Xin Rong’s fellow disciples to roast the wild chicken.

The group had long been exhausted and had only eaten vegetable porridge. Smelling the aroma, their porridge suddenly seemed far less appetizing.

The wild chicken was roasted to a golden brown, its skin crispy and dripping with oil. As droplets of fat hit the fire with a hiss, the flames leaped upward. Once a bit of salt was sprinkled on, the scent became even more tantalizing.

Having been blind, Chi Wei’s sense of smell was particularly keen. The aroma of the roasted chicken drifted straight into her nose. After three days of eating nothing but ten vegetable buns, a bowl of plain noodles, and the recent vegetable porridge, there was not a trace of meat in her stomach.

Perhaps because she stared at the chicken for too long, Xiao Yanyi sensed it and tilted her head slightly toward her. Seeing the movement, Chi Wei immediately turned her back, adhering to the principle of “out of sight, out of mind.”

They would enter the city tomorrow. She still had twenty taels of silver; what could she not eat then? She would not let herself be tempted by a mere roasted chicken.

Another bowl of vegetable porridge went down.

She was not full.

She had expended too much energy during the day, and two bowls of porridge did little to help. However, Xin Rong’s dozen or so fellow disciples seemed to be low on rations as well, with only enough for one bowl per person. The fact that Chi Wei received an extra bowl was only because Xin Rong had once shared a meal at her house.

Smelling the fragrance behind her again, Chi Wei could not help but swallow her saliva.

How could it smell so good? It must have been roasted by Xiao Yanyi.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her shoulder.

Chi Wei turned around to find that Xiao Yanyi had walked up behind her at some unknown moment.

“I have some things I want to say to you. Can we step outside for a moment?”

There were others in the temple, and Xiao Tan was still sitting among the Taoists, so Chi Wei was not worried that Xiao Yanyi would do anything. She also happened to have words of advice she wanted to give. She nodded and followed Xiao Yanyi out of the ruined temple.

The two walked side by side until they reached the riverbank, where Xiao Yanyi finally stopped.

Chi Wei spoke before she could. “Tomorrow, once we reach the city, we will meet Xin Rong’s master. Her master is the head of a temple. I advise you to stop following us; otherwise, if her master captures you, do not blame me.”

“Are you worried about me?” The corners of Xiao Yanyi’s mouth lifted slightly as she took a step toward Chi Wei. “Come home with me, Xiao Chi. Think about these past few months we have spent together. Have I ever hurt or harmed you?”

“I am not worried about you. I am only giving you a kind warning because you have not hurt me. If you do not listen, then forget it.” Chi Wei took two steps back, her heel catching on a protruding root. She instantly lost her balance and began to fall backward.

Fortunately, an old tree stood behind her. She stumbled back a couple of steps and her back hit the rough bark with a heavy thud, allowing her to steady herself without falling too disgracefully.

Just as she regained her footing, Xiao Yanyi closed the distance and stopped less than an arm’s length away. She said nothing but reached out the hand she had been hiding behind her back. She slowly opened her palm to reveal several large, washed green leaves. Resting upon the leaves was the very thing Chi Wei had craved all evening, the golden, fragrant roasted chicken.

“Wild chickens from the mountains are more fragrant than domestic ones. Do you want a taste?” Xiao Yanyi’s voice was soft.

Chi Wei knit her brows and sheepishly lowered the hand she had raised to protect her head. She had thought Xiao Yanyi approached to do something to her, but she had not expected the woman only wanted to share the chicken.

“It is not poisoned.” Xiao Yanyi picked up a piece, took a light bite herself, and then sat down on a large, exposed tree root.

Chi Wei’s feelings were complicated. On one hand, the woman truly seemed to have done nothing to harm her; on the other, the fact that Xiao Yanyi had hidden her identity as a demon was certainly suspicious.

Not to mention the fact that she had slaughtered an entire village.

“The first time, that is, before you lost your memory, you discovered I had a snake tail and did not speak to me for a very long time. I was terrified, so I was worried you would be the same as before.” Xiao Yanyi looked up at Chi Wei. Her voice was calm, but Chi Wei could feel the deep sorrow buried in her heart as she spoke.

Chi Wei sighed and sat on a root opposite Xiao Yanyi.

“I did not hate your snake tail. On the contrary, I thought it was quite beautiful.” She took a bite of a chicken leg from the green leaf. The meat was succulent and flavorful; finally, her craving was satisfied.

“I do not remember anything from the past. I only remember that you hid your identity from me. From the moment I discovered you were a demon, you completely lost my trust.” Chi Wei paused, meeting Xiao Yanyi’s gaze. “So, Miss Xiao, let the past stay in the past. From now on, let us go our separate ways, as if we were just two people who met by chance, alright?”

“But I do not want to be a friend who met you by chance.”

Beams of moonlight pierced through the thick canopy, falling precisely on Xiao Yanyi’s face. Upon hearing Chi Wei’s words, the light in her eyes dimmed visibly.

In the end, hearts are made of flesh.

“I am sorry, and thank you for the chicken leg. You should leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning, if not for yourself, then for your sister.” Afraid she would soften her heart if she looked any longer, Chi Wei stood up, brushed off her skirt, and walked back toward the flickering firelight of the ruined temple.

She truly could not understand what Xiao Yanyi wanted from her.

Even if a thief coveted a rich man’s wealth, they would not refuse to let go even after the rich man hid in a government office.

Thinking of this, Chi Wei could not help but glance back at Xiao Yanyi. The woman stood silently where she was, her eyes full of reluctance and obsession.

Turning back, Chi Wei touched her own face.

Could she truly have fallen for her? Or perhaps something really did happen between them in the past? Even if something had happened, it was already in the past.

As she passed the campfire, Xiao Tan had already finished half the chicken, leaving only the carcass. Her face was covered in grease as she smiled at Chi Wei.

Chi Wei wondered to herself if demons simply had larger appetites. Would five taels of silver be enough for those two to get home?

She stopped in front of Xiao Tan, her hand feeling for the coin purse in her bosom. She pulled it out halfway, then shoved it back in.

Finally, just as Xiao Yanyi was about to walk through the door, Chi Wei hardened her heart. She took five taels from the purse and stuffed the remaining fourteen taels and nine hundred and seventy copper coins into Xiao Tan’s arms before marching off to a pile of hay in the corner.

Surely that was enough? These two demons loved meat and had high expenses. She could endure eating more vegetable buns herself. Once she reached the city and found a job, she was not afraid of being unable to support herself.

Ignoring Xin Rong’s teasing smile, Chi Wei lay down on the hay and closed her eyes. Exhausted from the day, she thought she would fall asleep quickly, but she found herself suffering from insomnia, tossing and turning.

Whenever she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with Xiao Yanyi’s voice and face.

“Do you know how important a woman’s reputation is?” “If those today were not Taoists but neighbors, those rumors alone would be enough to drown me in spit.”

In the afternoon, she had learned what had happened from those gossiping Taoists. But thinking she could use the incident to drive Xiao Yanyi away, she had not clarified the situation for her.

The rustling sound of her tossing and turning in the hay finally annoyed Xin Rong enough to give her a light kick. Only then did Chi Wei settle down.

However, when she opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Yanyi sleeping only a few feet away.

Xiao Yanyi lay on her side on the hay, her arm tucked under her cheek. Her clean gauze sleeve had slipped down to her forearm, revealing a section of skin as delicate as jade.

Even while sleeping in a ruined temple, she lay as if resting on a luxurious bed. She carried an air of purity and nobility that was entirely at odds with her dilapidated surroundings, looking as though she were born to lie within the curtains of a sandalwood bed.

Looking at that silhouette, Chi Wei felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of inferiority. Perhaps even as a demon, Xiao Yanyi was of noble status? She wondered if such class distinctions existed among demons.

Looking at Xiao Tan beside her, the girl was sleeping in a complete mess, her foot nearly shoved into a Taoist’s mouth. Chi Wei thought that Xiao Tan must have been picked up from somewhere, as she was nothing like Xiao Yanyi.

She watched silently for a while. It was not until Xiao Yanyi’s eyelids fluttered as if sensing her gaze that Chi Wei immediately closed her eyes and rolled over, pretending to have shifted in her sleep.

As for how she eventually fell asleep, Chi Wei did not remember. She only recalled being startled awake by a piercing shriek.

The sound was like a wolf. The moment she opened her eyes, she instinctively looked toward Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan.

Seeing no sign of them, her heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to call out, her wrists were suddenly grabbed. The two she was looking for had somehow already moved to her side, both holding onto her wrists.

Xiao Tan watched the entrance with a tense expression, while Xiao Yanyi remained as calm as ever.

Chi Wei’s heart suddenly softened. When she spoke again, her voice was not as cold as before.

“What is happening?”

Only then did Xiao Yanyi look at her. “It is a Zhen. They are highly poisonous. Be careful.”

Just as Xiao Yanyi finished speaking, a giant eagle about half the size of a human with purple and green feathers dove into the ruined temple.

Xiao Yanyi pulled Chi Wei back. Several Taoists who were standing ready drew their swords and rushed forward.

After several rounds, the eagle Xiao Yanyi called a Zhen was finally overwhelmed and hacked to death by the swords.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Be careful, this demon is poisonous. Do not touch their feathers or blood,” Xin Rong had just finished saying when a dense, piercing bird cry suddenly erupted outside the temple!

The sound of shattering wood came from the window shutters, doors, and roof all at once!

Countless Zhen birds smashed through the doors and windows from all directions, pouring in like a tide. Just as the Taoists scrambled to form a defensive formation, a Zhen suddenly smashed the broken window beside Chi Wei. Its claws, curved like hooks, lunged straight for her throat!

Before Chi Wei could react, she was pushed forcefully aside by Xiao Yanyi. She heard the sound of fabric tearing before she was dragged under the altar by Xiao Tan.

“Wait, Xiao Yanyi is still out there!”

Chi Wei tried to rush out to pull Xiao Yanyi in, but Xiao Tan held onto her with a death grip. She had no idea a young girl could be so strong; she was like a pair of pliers, and no matter how much strength she used, she could not break free from Xiao Tan’s grasp.

“That thing is incredibly poisonous! Even a small touch means death! Leave her alone for now!”