She Said That Kisses and Hugs Are Needed for Redemption [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 8

“Long time no see, sister.” The girl in pink spoke first amidst the rustling autumn wind.

Fu Lancen remained vigilant, her hands hidden in her sleeves clenched into fists, her peach-pink lips pressed into a tight line. She stood in silence for a long while, not uttering a word.

As Bai Qingyuan took a few steps forward, Lu Xi subtly moved to stand in front of Fu Lancen, blocking the line of sight between the two.

“Sister.” Bai Qingyuan gave Lu Xi a strange look before tilting her head to peer at Fu Lancen, disapproval written all over her face. “Was it for this person that you ran away from your wedding?”

“Ran away?!” Fu Lancen’s eyes widened in shock, her hands gripping her sleeves tightly. Then, as if recalling something, she let out a mocking laugh. “Who told you I ran away from my wedding?”

She hadn’t expected those sanctimonious people from Qingqiu to twist the story, covering up the arranged marriage switch by accusing her of fleeing.

Did they feel even a shred of guilt when they used this excuse to explain her disappearance? Probably not. Those people had no hearts, how could they care when they could so ruthlessly betray someone they had raised for so long?

A sharp pain twisted in Fu Lancen’s chest. The color that had slowly returned to her face drained away, leaving her paler than the bleak autumn sky.

Bai Qingyuan’s gaze flickered between Fu Lancen and Lu Xi, as if trying to decipher the situation.

“Uncle and Auntie said you had someone else in your heart and refused to marry the Divine Lord Qiran, so you secretly left Qingqiu the night before the wedding.” After a moment of thought, she recounted everything she knew. “But since the alliance between Qingqiu and the Heavenly Realm was already known across the Four Seas and Eight Wastes, the elders deliberated and decided, to save face for both sides, to have my sister take your place in the marriage.”

The “Uncle and Auntie” Bai Qingyuan referred to were none other than Fu Lancen’s own parents.

After all these days, this was the first news she had heard of them and it was something she could hardly bear to accept.

Before the incident, she hadn’t seen her parents at all. When she was imprisoned in the forbidden area of the back mountain, she had initially believed that if her parents knew, they would rescue her immediately. But as time passed, her hope had faded. Even then, she had begun to suspect the truth.

Now, Bai Qingyuan’s words confirmed her long-held suspicions.

So, the arranged marriage switch, the extraction of her essence her parents had known about it all. They had been part of it.

Fu Lancen let out a bitter laugh. The warmth in her chest turned to ice, and her eyes reddened with unshed tears. “So, in their words, that’s how I left Qingqiu?”

Sensing the turmoil in the girl behind her, Lu Xi took two steps back and turned to look at the dazed young woman. Her hands, clasped behind her back, hesitated for a moment but in the end, she didn’t reach out.

Bai Qingyuan was uncertain now.

She had thought her sister Lancen had truly fled the wedding because she had a lover and refused to marry the Divine Lord Qiran.

Even if she had resented her for it, deep down, she had still wished for her sister to pursue her own happiness. So when the elders sent her to search for Fu Lancen, she had gone through the motions wandering aimlessly, indulging in food and leisure, never truly looking.

But now, having actually met Sister Cen, was it possible that she had learned something different?

Taking one look at Fu Lancen’s devastated expression, Bai Qingyuan guessed that the situation was probably not what she had known.

She tugged at the sleeve of her senior brother beside her, signaling him to first set up a barrier around them.

After isolating the surrounding noise, she slowly asked, “Sister, so you didn’t run away from the marriage because of this person? Then why did you leave Qingqiu? Do you know, what a mess it caused at home after they found out you’d fled the wedding?”

Originally, she had been fully prepared to send Sister Cen off for her wedding. But with Sister Cen’s disappearance, her uncles, aunts, and the elders were all thrown into panic, fearing that if the Heavenly Realm found out, it would create a rift with Qingqiu.

Later, when everyone was at a loss, it was her own elder sister, Bai Youran, who stepped forward and said she could temporarily replace Sister Cen in the Heavenly Realm to ensure the grand wedding proceeded smoothly.

Because of this, the marriage alliance wasn’t ruined.

After listening to Bai Qingyuan’s rambling account, Fu Lancen’s expression turned completely cold. “I have no lover, nor did I run away from the marriage.”

As for being detained and having her essence blood extracted, she didn’t reveal any of that to Bai Qingyuan.

First, such matters would be too unbelievable for a good girl like Bai Qingyuan. Even if she told her, she probably wouldn’t believe it.

Second, she was still on the run and didn’t want to drag Bai Qingyuan into this.

“Then why did you leave Qingqiu, Sister?” This was something Bai Qingyuan couldn’t figure out no matter how hard she thought.

The wind swept up withered yellow leaves, scraping them against the uneven stone path with a rustling sound. Dark clouds rolled in from the distant horizon, and a heavy rain seemed imminent under the increasingly oppressive atmosphere.

Lu Xi gazed into the distance, her eyes darkening. She abruptly grabbed the slender wrist of the girl beside her, her voice low and urgent: “Someone’s coming for us again. We need to leave now.”

She glanced at Bai Qingyuan across from them, suppressing the urge to act when she saw the girl’s bewildered expression.

Hearing Lu Xi’s words, Fu Lancen’s first reaction was also to look at Bai Qingyuan. But the next moment, she felt her little sister wouldn’t do such a thing, she wouldn’t lead others from Qingqiu to them.

Before she could even say a few words to Bai Qingyuan, Lu Xi pulled her by the wrist, and her figure vanished from the spot.

In the blink of an eye, the person who had just been speaking was gone without a trace. Bai Qingyuan stood stunned for a moment before quickly running over. She spun around twice in the same spot, catching only the faint scent that belonged to Sister Cen. Angrily, she stomped her foot. “We hadn’t even finished talking, and that person just brazenly grabbed Sister and ran off! How outrageous!”

A cold wind brushed past her ear, carrying a familiar scent to her nose. Her heart tightened, and she hurriedly waved her sleeve, dispersing the lingering traces of Fu Lancen’s presence and replacing them with her own aura.

After erasing all signs of Fu Lancen’s stay, she turned to face the approaching figures from Qingqiu.

“Elder Nian, what brings you here?” Her tone was casual, showing no hint of anything unusual.

The newcomer was Elder Nian, a highly respected figure in Qingqiu and the person currently in charge of the secret search for Fu Lancen. Bai Qingyuan carefully studied her expression, trying to discern the purpose of her visit.

“Yuanyuan, have you encountered anyone here?” Elder Nian got straight to the point without wasting words. “Have you seen your Sister Cen?”

At these words, Bai Qingyuan’s little heart pounded wildly. Hidden in her sleeve, her hand gripped her senior brother’s wrist tightly, yet her face showed no trace of nervousness. “Is Sister Cen here? I’ve been here for a few days and haven’t sensed her presence at all.”

“Elder, have you found any traces of Sister Cen?” She looked at Nian Ci with an innocent expression, seemingly full of anticipation at the prospect of learning about Sister Cen’s whereabouts.

Nian Ci’s expression was inscrutable as he gave her a deep look. Then, in a solemn tone, he turned to Long Qian standing beside Bai Qingyuan. “Have you seen any sign of Fu Lancen?”

As the words fell, Bai Qingyuan bit her lower lip, her jade-white hand clutching Long Qian tightly, as if ready to strangle him on the spot if he dared to say the wrong thing.

“Reporting to Elder Nian,” Long Qian began, his tone as cold and detached as ever. “This disciple and junior sister have been traveling here for several days and have not detected any news of Senior Sister Cen.”

Well done!

Bai Qingyuan was overjoyed inside, but her face quickly shifted to a look of deep concern. She needed to quickly send this stern Elder Nian on his way so she could investigate why her beloved Sister Cen had fled Qingqiu in such a sorry state.

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