Chapter 14

After walking for nearly half an hour, there was still no sign of people, and the white mist showed no sign of thinning. The further she went, the more strange and dangerous things appeared.

Although it wasn’t difficult to clear them away, Shen Yao Xing was getting annoyed. Dealing with them endlessly still took some effort, especially since she was also trying to find someone.

Seeing another wild boar charging recklessly towards her, Shen Yao Xing clicked her tongue impatiently and swung her dagger, killing it with one strike.

How had she not known before that there were so many animals in the nearby mountains? And these animals seemed to have coordinated, all charging at her. The rustling sounds in her ears started again, and Shen Yao Xing skillfully swung her dagger to cut through the vines attacking from her side.

She sighed and leaned against a nearby tree trunk, but instead of the rough texture unique to trees, what she felt was a slimy sensation like a fish’s body.

“Ugh,” Shen Yao Xing shook her hand in disgust and frowned as she examined the large tree in front of her. Unlike other trees that were white or brown, this one was covered in a layer of something like moss, with green slime constantly dripping down.

Shen Yao Xing quickly stepped back two paces. She hadn’t noticed in the thick fog earlier, but now that she could see clearly, it was so ugly it was almost nauseating, and the trunk kept oozing green slime.

How disgusting!

Shen Yao Xing kept backing away, bumping into the tree trunk behind her. Her body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head. Sure enough, that green unknown liquid had stuck to her clothes. She hurriedly moved away and took out a handkerchief, frantically wiping the unknown substance from her shoulders and back.

At this moment, the fog thinned at a visible speed. Looking around, she found herself surrounded by trees oozing green slime.

Shen Yao Xing frowned slightly, picked up a wooden stick and poked at the dripping slime. She hesitated for a moment, then carefully placed the slime-covered stick under her nose. Although it looked disgusting, there was no pungent smell. Instead, there was a faint fragrance.

She sniffed it repeatedly, unable to identify the scent. After removing the stick, her head felt dizzy for a moment. Shen Yao Xing raised her hand to press the corners of her eyes, which made her feel a bit better.

Now was not the time to be dealing with this.

Shen Yao Xing threw away the stick in her hand and continued walking forward. Strangely, the entire forest seemed to have quieted down, and no more odd creatures jumped out.

After walking leisurely for a while, Shen Yao Xing suddenly felt something was wrong. She felt the ground beneath her feet becoming increasingly soft, as if she were stepping on quicksand. Before she could react, her feet had already sunk in.

Damn! She had stepped into a swamp!

Shen Yao Xing reflexively struggled, trying to pull her feet out, but the more she struggled, the faster she sank. She froze her body, and by now her knees had already sunk in.

The speed of sinking slowed down. Shen Yao Xing swallowed hard, frantically thinking of ways to save herself. She tried to bend down and grab some weeds nearby, but before she could use them to pull herself out, the fragile weeds had already broken in half.

She could clearly feel the devouring force on her feet. She held her body still, a drop of cold sweat sliding down her forehead.

Talk about having the worst luck! Shen Yao Xing wanted to let out a long howl to the sky.

Returning to the capital was like Tang Sanzang’s journey to the West, having to go through eighty-one ordeals!

“What is Miss Shen doing?”

A slightly cold voice came from above. Shen Yao Xing looked up joyfully to see the man still in his snow-white clothes, holding a long sword in his right hand, standing high on a tree branch. The blood jade at his waist was particularly eye-catching.

Shen Yao Xing had never found this person so pleasing to the eye before. She immediately forgot about their past grievances and shamelessly reached out to him: “Big brother, big boss, beautiful sister, quick! Pull me up quickly!”

Shen Yao Xing spouted a string of flattering titles, but the person in the tree remained unmoved.

Jiang Ming Yue looked lightly at that hand, with fingers pink and delicate, just like those of pampered young masters. A faint hint of mockery curled at the corner of his lips: “Miss Shen’s skills are so impressive, how could she need Ming Yue’s assistance?”

By the time he finished his leisurely sigh, her legs were almost completely sunk. If he didn’t want to help, he should just say so directly, instead of putting on this act!

Ultimately, relying on oneself is better than relying on others. Shen Yao Xing gave up on seeking help and gritted her teeth as she slowly crawled forward. Her mind vaguely recalled those self-rescue methods. Not caring about dirtying her clothes and face, she slowly pulled out one of her feet. Overjoyed, she used the same method to rescue her other foot.

Throughout this, Jiang Ming Yue stood on the tree, neither offering help nor turning to leave. His cold gaze was like watching an ant struggling in the mud, without a hint of warmth in his eyes.

Shen Yao Xing, who had finally crawled out of the swamp, stood up unsteadily, almost unable to resist giving the middle finger to the person in the tree. However, what concerned her more now was the dirt all over her body, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Shen Yao Xing wanted to raise her sleeve to wipe her face, but remembering that her sleeves were also very dirty, she had to give up.

The man in the tree lightly jumped down, standing five steps away from her, and said softly, “Wasn’t Miss Shen already ahead? How did you end up here?”

Huh, none of your business.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t want to pay any attention to him at all, but considering that she was now lost as well, and this person might be able to lead her out, she reluctantly adjusted her attitude. She forced a smile: “Um… are you also lost in here?”

If he said yes, she would turn and leave immediately.

The man smiled faintly: “Of course not.”

“That’s great, let’s get out of here quickly!”

Jiang Ming Yue remained silent, his eyes slightly turning to scan the mud on her lower body: “So Miss Shen actually got lost here?”

“……” Why did it feel so annoying when he said it? Shen Yao Xing forced a dry smile, and under the man’s gaze, she could only nod stiffly.

The corner of Jiang Ming Yue’s lips curved up slightly, and he said no more, turning to walk slowly in one direction.

Shen Yao Xing changed her expression the moment the man turned around, her mouth turning down, her face full of displeasure. She looked down and shook her sleeve in disgust, flinging off a large lump of mud. Seeing that the man’s figure was about to disappear into the mist, she hurriedly followed.

The two didn’t speak to each other along the way, until the man’s figure stopped. Shen Yao Xing hesitated for a moment, then dawdled behind him and said, “Um… didn’t you say we could get out?”

***

She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!” (Female-dominant)

Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.

After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.

She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.

But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…

Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!

――

This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!

The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.

That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”

Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”

The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”

That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”

Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”

The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.

Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.

“She was originally a ‘she’!”

At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.

The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”