Help, I’m Being Forced to Marry a Frail and Sickly Immortal Doctor! 35

Chapter 35: Short Are These Bitter Days

“No… wait, why?!”

After laughing, Ning Ruoque could clearly feel that her state of mind had broadened quite a bit.

She hadn’t even realized it herself. After her rebirth, she had always been a bit reserved, especially when facing old acquaintances from the past.

It was one thing not to dare to ask about Chu Xuan and Si Mingyue’s recent situation, but she was even afraid to contact her own master.

On the contrary, in front of strangers, she could be more at ease.

As for the reason—

Perhaps it was a sense of guilt.

Before she went to kill the Demon God, she hadn’t said goodbye to her friends. Si Mingyue had successively divined two great misfortunes but still couldn’t stop her.

She had gone without any hesitation, never thinking that there would be a day when she would meet her old friends again.

But seeing that Chu Xuan was not saddened by this, she felt much more at ease.

The moment she was relieved, Ning Ruoque found that her cultivation had actually risen a little.

It was as if a blocked spring had suddenly been cleared, washing away all distracting thoughts, an indescribable feeling of relief and satisfaction.

Ning Ruoque guessed that the reason her cultivation had gone wrong before was because of her state of mind.

Now that the problem was solved, she believed that she could also face Yin Buran with a more composed attitude.

After a while of laughing and fooling around, it was getting late.

Chu Xuan closed her eyes and said she wanted to take a nap for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Yin Buran certainly wouldn’t want to move. The two juniors had had a tense and exciting day and were also meditating and regulating their breathing.

Ning Ruoque took the initiative to clean up the mess, putting out the charcoal fire, putting away the tea set, and most importantly, taking away all the leftover food.

Chu Xuan would forget things when she was playing.

A few strings of steamed buns were left on the fire and forgotten. Now the outside was already roasted hard, looking like black stones from a distance.

Ning Ruoque didn’t want to waste food. She felt that this thing could still be eaten after breaking it apart, so she casually put it in her storage bag.

As for the rest of the messy things, she planned to find a place to bury them without leaving a trace.

“Ning Ruoque,” Yin Buran said out of the blue.

Ning Ruoque turned around and saw Yin Buran staring at her intently. She called out again, “Come here.”

She could only temporarily put down her things, walk over in a few steps, and ask half-kneeling, “What’s wrong?”

Yin Buran raised her hand to set up a soundproof barrier. Ning Ruoque guessed that she probably wanted to whisper to her.

She calmly met Yin Buran’s eyes, her heart calm.

This time, no matter what Yin Buran said, she would choose to follow her own heart.

Yin Buran put her hands in her thick cloak and held them. For a rare moment, she half-closed her eyes, not looking at Ning Ruoque.

She said slowly, “In the past, when you traveled around to kill demons, you would send me a letter every time you went to a place.”

“You said that the ice fields north of Shuozhou were a thousand miles of ice, with snow-covered trees and jade-like branches. There was a kind of snow rabbit that was completely white, with only its tail being gray. The meat was plump and best roasted.”

Ning Ruoque did not have this memory.

She frowned slightly, feeling that these things did sound like something she would write. But even to Chu Xuan, she would not share things so casually and daily.

But her state of mind had changed, and she could now ask Yin Buran very calmly, “And then?”

Yin Buran looked up, her pair of glassy pupils covered with a layer of gray, misty.

She said softly, “Later, I went to that ice field and indeed found a white-haired, gray-tailed rabbit.”

Ning Ruoque suddenly felt her throat go a little dry. Her originally regularly beating heart once again became inexplicable, and her emotions also seemed to have a mind of their own.

She averted her gaze from Yin Buran in a fluster and asked hastily, “Was it delicious?”

“Not delicious.”

Yin Buran’s expression was blank. “Very bitter.”

Most of that memory was already blurry. Only the word “bitter” was engraved in her heart, really difficult to erase.

Ning Ruoque opened her mouth.

In an instant, as if a sharp needle had been driven into the depths of her sea of consciousness, the stabbing pain from her spiritual soul made it difficult for her to utter a word.

But she did not show it and just took it as being caused by the damage to her spiritual soul.

She took a deep breath without a sound.

In the past, Ning Ruoque would definitely have told Yin Buran, “It might be bitter because you burned it.”

This sentence turned around in her throat, but in the end, she asked, “Then was today’s rabbit delicious?”

Yin Buran’s expression softened a little. “Mm.”

It seemed that she was quite satisfied with her skills.

Before Ning Ruoque could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Yin Buran continue, “Today you asked me, what if these memories are really just a dream of mine?”

“I thought about it carefully.”

Ning Ruoque did not move, listening to her seriously.

That voice was like a stream in winter, clear and cool, slowly and firmly saying:

“If that’s the case, I still want to marry you.”

“…”

Ning Ruoque took another deep breath, telling herself to face Yin Buran calmly and to find her own heart in the chaos.

Ten seconds later, Ning Ruoque stroked the hilt of her sword, suppressing the urge to fly away on her sword.

What broad-mindedness, what mental preparation! It was all for nothing in front of Yin Buran!

She squatted down and broke down, wronged, “No… wait, why?”

There are so many sword cultivators in the world. Why does Yin Buran have to have her?

Yin Buran was unmoved and even happily curled up the corners of her mouth. “Don’t forget, you still owe me one million high-grade spirit stones.”

Those unbearable memories came back again. Ning Ruoque thought of her huge debt, and her back hunched a little.

She tried to resist. “You also promised me that you wouldn’t force it before this matter is investigated.”

“Yes, but didn’t we already come to a conclusion then?” A hint of a smile appeared in Yin Buran’s eyes.

“If I really have hysteria, you will marry me because you owe me a large sum of spirit stones.”

“If it’s you who have forgotten, you will marry me because you will let me do as I please.”

Ning Ruoque’s eyes widened. “You—”

Before she could finish, Yin Buran lowered her head and chuckled softly. Her expression was as gentle as a spring breeze, but she uttered incomparably cold words.

“If I really can’t produce any evidence… then it proves that I do have hysteria, and we can choose an auspicious day earlier.”

Ning Ruoque was as dazed as a wooden chicken, so shocked by Yin Buran’s logic that she couldn’t be more so.

Doesn’t that mean that no matter what, she has to marry Yin Buran?!

Seeing the sword cultivator frozen all over, Yin Buran felt no psychological burden at all.

If there was anyone to blame, it was that Ning Ruoque was too special to her, like a warm stove in the cold winter months. How could a person who was afraid of the cold bear to leave?

Yin Buran had a taste of it and greedily wanted more.

Whether she had memories or not, she wanted to be with Ning Ruoque.

Besides, she found that this sword cultivator was really dull.

She was completely following her words and didn’t even think of jumping out and rejecting this unreasonable bet.

Yin Buran couldn’t hold back and patted Ning Ruoque’s head. “Alright, I’ve said what I wanted to say. You can go and do your work now.”

The latter seemed to have cleared her mind, stood up obediently, and then silently tidied up the things to be thrown away, walking away in a daze.

She looked quite pitiful.

Only after that desolate back disappeared into the forest did Yin Buran cover her mouth with her sleeve, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

*

Far from their temporary camp, Ning Ruoque found a ready-made pit and buried the things.

It was also a long-standing habit of hers to try to erase any traces of her stay.

But after burying them, she didn’t leave in a hurry. Instead, she was in a daze for a while, her mind full of Yin Buran’s words.

In front of Yin Buran, she became a sensitive plant.

Normally, she looked fine, but as soon as Yin Buran touched her, she would immediately wrinkle and curl up, not daring to attack or respond.

Marriage was impossible.

Even if she went to fight the Demon God, eat poisonous mushrooms and green vegetables, and attend the Immortal Alliance’s three-day and three-night annual banquet, she could not marry Yin Buran.

Ning Ruoque’s thoughts continued to wander. She thought that she hadn’t even found her life-bound sword yet. What could she use to protect Yin Buran?

While she was racking her brains on how to quickly earn a million, she unconsciously took out the burnt steamed bun and squatted by the pit, gnawing on it.

After breaking off the black crust of the steamed bun, the inside was still very hard, a bit hard on the teeth.

Her eyes were vacant, and her mouth crunched, as if she were chewing on stones.

Halfway through the steamed bun, the grass and trees swayed slightly.

Ning Ruoque looked up abruptly, her Sudden Rain sword half-drawn, but then she stopped.

In the dark forest not far away stood a timid little child.

Her face was clean, and her eyes were as dark and moist as a deer’s.

She looked to be only seven or eight years old. Her hair was tied into two buns with a red string, and she was wearing a patched coarse blue jacket and small leather boots.

Ning Ruoque still remained on guard.

This is a desolate place. Where did this family come from? Besides, she was standing so close, and she hadn’t heard any movement. She really didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

The child pressed her lips together and boldly walked to a place three steps away from Ning Ruoque.

She took out half a large golden pancake from her bosom and actually showed a look of sympathy and pity. “You shouldn’t eat this kind of thing anymore.”

Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment, realizing that the thing she was talking about was her stone steamed bun.

Not only that, the child broke off a piece of the pancake and handed it over, coaxing her as if she were a puppy.

“I’ll treat you to a pancake. Will you come back with me?”

Ning Ruoque: “…”

Ning Ruoque did not take the pancake and was still squatting. She lowered her voice and softened it. “Where are we going back to?”

The child knitted her brows and said with a serious and earnest expression, “To my house, of course. It gets very dangerous here at night. You’ll be eaten by monsters.”

She trotted over, tugged on Ning Ruoque’s sleeve, and urged, “Hurry up, or it will be too late.”

The sky was covered with layers of clouds, and the forest in the distance was deep and quiet, with flickering shadows, not very clear.

A flying bird was startled by some movement and flapped its wings, flying far away.

Ning Ruoque put her hands behind her back and left a mark on the ground with her spiritual energy.

She nodded, a harmless smile on her lips. “Alright.”

The child then smiled back at her, her eyes curving like a doll in a New Year’s painting. Then she walked in front to lead the way with a generous air.

Ning Ruoque looked back behind her, then followed as if nothing had happened.