After I Lost My Memory, I Was Coaxed into Marriage by a Yandere - Chapter 17

Chi Wei rode the green donkey from dawn until high noon. When she set out, the sky was a vast expanse of clear blue, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered. By the time she reached the foot of Yanxia Pass, ink-like clouds had blotted out the sun, and a torrential downpour began to fall.

Anxiety gnawed at her as she repeatedly slapped the donkey’s rump, urging it to move faster.

However, the animal had walked all morning under a scorching sun. Now that it had reached the lush greenery at the base of the mountain, it simply lowered its head to graze, refusing to budge an inch no matter how much she prodded.

Travelers moved constantly beneath Yanxia Pass, but though Chi Wei searched for a long time, she saw no sign of Daoist Xin Rong and her party.

She hurried to a roadside tea stall to ask for information. The stall owner mentioned that a group of people looking like Taoists had indeed passed by on horseback not long ago, heading into the mountains. When Chi Wei asked about the whereabouts of Xiao Yanyi and Xiao Tan, the man was initially blank. It was only when she described “a woman in white leading a small child in apricot-yellow, both of striking appearance,” that he nodded in realization and pointed toward the peaks.

“They went into the mountains as well. That place is thick with miasma and poisonous creatures; I have no idea what they intend to do in there.”

Before he could even finish, Chi Wei dropped the reins, turned, and sprinted into the misty rain of Purple Bamboo Mountain.

Purple Bamboo Mountain lived up to its name, covered from peak to valley in lush, emerald-purple bamboo.

Shortly after Chi Wei entered the mountains, a group of dozens of Taoists in formal robes gathered in a hidden ravine.

Daoist Qing Jue stood in the center, clutching a talisman with her eyes closed in deep concentration. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open as she chanted an obscure, difficult incantation. With a flick of her hand, the talisman ignited and transformed into a firebird that soared into the sky.

The firebird circled in mid-air before splitting into four, each flying toward a cardinal direction until they vanished.

The Taoists all looked delighted, but Xin Rong’s brow was furrowed in thought. “If this continues, will not every living creature on Purple Bamboo Mountain suffer for it?”

A fair-faced young Taoist beside her, Yang Mengtang, could not help but add, “Not at all! It simply means every demon will have no choice but death.” She glanced toward Daoist Qing Jue and, seeing that no other sisters were paying attention, whispered, “Senior Sister Xin, it is better not to say things that should not be said.”

Xin Rong startled, then finally nodded. “I understand.”

Less than fifteen minutes after the firebird took flight, a world-shaking tiger roar erupted from the forest. Immediately following, the birds that had been sheltering from the rain took flight in a massive, dark cloud, fleeing toward the edges of the mountain.

On a peak of Purple Bamboo Mountain, Xiao Yanyi withdrew her gaze from the fleeing birds and looked down at the snowy, fluffy white ball in her arms.

“This Daoist Qing Jue truly uses the Divine Lotus Talisman. How cruel her heart is.”

The fox in her arms looked up and nuzzled her cheek. “Just to find one evil demon, she would force every innocent, meditating spirit to lose their sanity and become violent. Not only does it harm their cultivation, but if mountain hunters or herb gatherers encounter them, how could they survive? I only hope this rain drives everyone out of the mountains who needs to leave.”

“I know what you want to say. Let us go break her array first,” Xiao Yanyi said, lightly patting the fox’s head.

“But why did you suddenly decide to let Chi Wei go?”

“Do not ask questions that do not concern you.”

The previous night, Xiao Yanyi had not used the cold water Chi Wei prepared for her. Instead, she had stood by the window in the night breeze to keep herself sober. She realized that as long as she was not by Chi Wei’s side, she would not be so heavily affected by desire. Thus, she had decided to return for Chi Wei only after she had calmed herself.

She had no idea that Chi Wei, worried for her safety, had already chased her into the heart of Purple Bamboo Mountain.

Chi Wei had not been in the mountains long when she heard the tiger’s roar, followed by the frantic flight of birds and the stampede of beasts fleeing toward the foothills.

At first, it was only small animals like rabbits and squirrels, but as she went deeper, the creatures she encountered grew larger.

When Chi Wei saw a black bear over six feet tall charging in her direction, her hair stood on end. Terrified, she turned and bolted.

The dead leaves and branches on the forest floor had been turned into a slick, muddy mess by the rain. Panic-stricken, Chi Wei stumbled through the muck, sliding to the ground several times only to scramble back up and keep running for her life.

The black bear behind her seemed to have gone mad, pursuing her relentlessly. The beast was massive and sturdy, its claws sharp and powerful, and its running speed was not a bit slower than hers.

Had it not been for Chi Wei’s quick reflexes, darting into thickets of purple bamboo that acted as a barrier, she likely would have died in the bear’s jaws long ago.

Even so, her physical strength was failing. Her lungs felt like a furnace, burning with every breath. Her legs grew heavier until each step felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. After her final fall, Chi Wei no longer had the strength to get up.

She lay face down in the mud, half her body soaked through. The sound of the bear’s paws splashing in the muck drew closer, each step treading upon her frayed nerves.

Just as Chi Wei felt her life would end today, a familiar voice called out from not far ahead.

“Why are you here?”

Xiao Yanyi, whom she had spent the entire day searching for, was standing just a few paces away. A small white fox sat on her shoulder, tilting its head and watching with dark, beady eyes.

Xiao Yanyi cast a casual glance toward the black bear.

The giant bear let out a low whimper in its throat, swerved around the two of them, and bolted into the deep forest behind her without looking back.

Gasping for air, Chi Wei could not speak for a moment. She managed to prop herself up and stagger a few steps toward Xiao Yanyi. Reaching her, her strength finally gave out. Her legs softened, and she sank directly to her knees.

“Ha, ha.”

She panted heavily, squeezing out words between gasps. “I, I wanted to tell you, do not come to Yanxia Pass. Those Taoists are here to catch a murderous snake demon.”

She reached up to haphazardly wipe the mud from her face and looked up at Xiao Yanyi.

“That, that murderous snake demon, it, it is not you, right?”

“Of course not!”

Xiao Yanyi was about to lean down to help her, but upon hearing the word “not,” Chi Wei’s shoulders suddenly slumped. She looked as though her bones had been removed, and she fell forward limply.

Fearing she would fall back into the mud, Xiao Yanyi stepped forward half a pace and caught her.

Chi Wei’s forehead rested gently against her waist, her body trembling with relief. “As long as it is not you, as long as it is not you.”

Xiao Yanyi sighed. With a flick of her sleeve, she used a spell to sweep away the filth and mud from Chi Wei’s body. One hand settled gently on the back of Chi Wei’s head, stroking her messy hair slowly, once after another.

After a long while, Chi Wei’s breathing finally steadied. She stood up using Xiao Yanyi’s legs for support and found a rock to sit on.

Seeing her clothes, which had been an unrecognizable mess of mud, become as clean as if they had been washed with a single wave of Xiao Yanyi’s hand, Chi Wei felt even more as though she and Xiao Yanyi belonged to different worlds.

“I am sorry. I should not have said those things earlier that led the Taoists to misunderstand. I only felt that you were always following me and wanted to drive you away.”

Now, seeing Xiao Yanyi wash away filth with a wave of her hand, kill a sea monster half the size of a ship with a flick of her finger, and turn away a charging black bear with a single look, Chi Wei realized how foolish she had been.

Comparing her own wretched state to the other woman’s elegant posture, Chi Wei felt that Xiao Yanyi truly had nothing to gain from her. Even if she had some scheme, there would be no need to yield to her and follow her at every turn; simply knocking her out and carrying her off would be much more efficient.

Hearing this, the corners of Xiao Yanyi’s mouth tilted upward, revealing a very faint smile. She walked slowly to Chi Wei’s side and gently swatted the rump of the little fox that was nuzzling Chi Wei’s leg, shooing it away.

“How did you suddenly come to your senses?”

Chi Wei’s hands rested on her knees, her fingers twisting unconsciously as she said in a low voice, “Your magic is powerful and you are beautiful. I truly cannot think of what you could want by following me. At first, I thought you wanted to suck out my essence, but then I thought, you could do that to anyone.”

She looked up at Xiao Yanyi, her voice dropping even lower. “Plus, after last night, I cannot imagine you having bad intentions toward me, otherwise why would you choose me to help you?” By the end, she buried her burning face in her palms and lowered her head deeply.

After the incident with her own careless words, she had seen that Xiao Yanyi took her reputation very seriously. How could such a person choose just anyone to help her find relief? Because of this, Chi Wei could not help but wonder: were she and Xiao Yanyi truly a couple in the past?

“You are not entirely stupid, though I do indeed have designs on you.”

Chi Wei spread her fingers, revealing her puzzled eyes through the gaps.

Xiao Yanyi gently took Chi Wei’s hand and placed it on her own leg. Watching Chi Wei turn red from her fingertips to her neck, she leaned down close to her ear, her voice sultry. “I am after you, of course.”

As those words were spoken, Chi Wei’s mind went blank. She felt as though she were being cooked alive. Her heart pounded relentlessly, beating even faster and harder than it had during her escape from the bear, making her feel suffocated.

She froze there, momentarily forgetting to push the other woman away.

But then, she felt Xiao Yanyi’s palm cup the back of her neck, applying a slight pressure to pull her closer.

Warm lips pressed gently against the skin of her neck.

Chi Wei’s breath hitched, and she did not dare move. The sensation was a tingling itch that reached her very bones, yet it carried a strange, trembling comfort. She involuntarily gripped Xiao Yanyi’s sleeve, and the pores of her body seemed to open as she sank into a peculiar dizziness.

Just as she was about to let out a moan she could not suppress, a sudden sharp pain erupted at her neck.

It was the sensation of teeth piercing her skin, followed by a gentle, steady suction. Pain and itchiness intertwined, mixing with a trembling pleasure she had never experienced in her life, sweeping through her body like a tide.

In her daze, she felt once again like prey under Xiao Yanyi’s mouth, held fast by those sharp fangs, unable to break free. She could only grip the other woman’s sleeve tighter, fearing that once she had tasted her fill, she truly would consume her entirely.

The suffocating dizziness grew more intense.

Before fainting once again, a thought flashed through Chi Wei’s mind: could it be that Xiao Yanyi followed her so relentlessly simply because she liked biting her neck?