The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 40

Jia Yuan escaped, and the sky had already grown dark. Jiang Yilan wanted to drink some water. Yuan Ruo couldn’t leave her alone, so he simply picked her up and carried her to find water.

They finally found a water source. Yuan Ruo set Jiang Yilan down and found a large leaf to scoop water. “Here, be careful not to spill it!”

Jiang Yilan drank the water from Yuan Ruo’s hand. Looking up, she saw the young girl standing not far away. “Why is she still following us?”

“Huh?” Yuan Ruo was slow to react. He turned and realized what Jiang Yilan meant. “She is quite persistent!”

Jiang Yilan said, “She does look a bit pitiful!”

“You pity her!” Yuan Ruo looked seriously at Jiang Yilan. “Have you forgotten that she ambushed you?”

“I haven’t forgotten!” Jiang Yilan said, “But you also said she didn’t do it of her own will!”

Yuan Ruo turned to look at the girl. Remembering her plight, he really couldn’t bring himself to hate her. “So, you mean we should help her?”

Jiang Yilan shook her head. “In my current state, who can I help?”

“You know you’re not well now!” Yuan Ruo glared at Jiang Yilan. “It’s getting dark soon. There’s no food in this wilderness. We should leave and see if we can find a family to stay with for the night!”

“Okay!” Jiang Yilan nodded. When she saw Yuan Ruo reach out to carry her again, she paused for a moment but didn’t refuse.

Yuan Ruo carried Jiang Yilan and walked about three li before finally coming across a household. By this time, the sky was completely dark.

Money makes the world go round. Yuan Ruo handed a piece of silver to the homeowner, so it wasn’t difficult to get a place to stay, or even a simple meal. However, while they were eating, they heard a commotion outside the door. “Where did this wild girl come from? Go away, go away!”

Yuan Ruo and Jiang Yilan exchanged a look, each understanding the situation.

Jiang Yilan said, “She actually followed us here!”

“Sigh!” Yuan Ruo resignedly got up and went outside. He stopped the man who was chasing the girl away. “This girl is with us, but she walks a bit slower. Brother, please let her in!”

“She’s with you?” The man was suspicious and didn’t let her in immediately.

Yuan Ruo handed him another piece of silver. “Please prepare some more food and drinks for her!”

For the sake of the money, the man agreed. “Alright, you take her inside to wait. I’ll go get it!”

After the man left, Yuan Ruo went to the girl, looked at her for a moment, and said, “Come in!”

“Sister!” The girl wanted to cry but didn’t dare, holding back her tears as she followed Yuan Ruo inside. Just then, the extra food arrived. Yuan Ruo took it and placed it in front of her.

“Eat!”

The girl was truly hungry. After a brief hesitation, she began to devour the food.

“Are you full?” When the girl’s bowl was empty, Jiang Yilan asked her, “You’ve been following us, what exactly do you want to do?”

“I…” The girl lowered her head and bit her lip, falling silent.

“Don’t be afraid!” Jiang Yilan said, “Let’s put aside the matter of you harming me. I just want to know, by following us, what do you want us to help you with?”

The girl timidly raised her tearful eyes. “I… I know you are all very powerful people. Can you… help me and save my parents and brother?”

“What exactly happened to your parents and brother?” Jiang Yilan asked, “What happened to your family? Can you tell us in detail?”

“My family was… originally very good!” The girl held back her tears and carefully explained her family’s misfortune. “But about a month ago, my brother went to a poetry gathering. He was there for three days, and when he came back, he started acting strangely!”

Yuan Ruo asked, “What do you mean by ‘strangely’?”

“He was always mumbling to himself!” The girl said, “He kept talking about how humans and demons can’t be together, and that someone shouldn’t come looking for him. He also refused to leave the house.”

“Humans and demons can’t be together?” Yuan Ruo’s eyes twitched slightly. “Did your brother encounter a demon?”

“I don’t know!” The girl continued, “Then one day, a very beautiful… a beautiful woman came to our door, insisting on seeing my brother. He wouldn’t see her, so she forced her way into our house…”

Yuan Ruo finished her sentence. “And she took your brother and parents away?”

“Yes!” The girl nodded.

Jiang Yilan asked, “How did you manage to escape?”

“I was outside at the time, on my way home. My parents told me to run fast…” At this point, the girl couldn’t hold back her tears. “I was so scared. I don’t know how I ran away, I just kept running for my life!”

“Sigh, she really is pitiful!” After hearing this, Jiang Yilan’s resentment toward the girl was completely replaced by sympathy. She turned to Yuan Ruo. “What do you think?”

Yuan Ruo said, “If there’s an evil presence at work, we naturally can’t stand by and do nothing!”

“We should definitely get involved!” Jiang Yilan nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“We’ll wait until you’re better,” Yuan Ruo said. “We can’t just help others without taking care of you first!”

“I’m fine!”

“Listen to me!”

The two stood in a deadlock until Jiang Yilan gave in. “I’m just afraid that if we go too late, they’ll be dead!”

“It’s been so many days. If they were going to die, they would have already,” Yuan Ruo said. “Besides, that demon doesn’t seem like she came to harm anyone. She seems to be looking for a loved one!”

“Huh?” Jiang Yilan frowned. “Why do demons love to find mortals?”

“Who knows!” Yuan Ruo’s gaze fell on Jiang Yilan, and his words had a double meaning. “When it comes to matters of the heart, whether you’re human or a demon, it’s a difficult thing to control.”

Jiang Yilan was stunned. She looked back at Yuan Ruo for a moment, didn’t reply, but gave a meaningful smile.

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