Wen Ran could not stand the way he was pretending to be innocent, and she glared at him without an ounce of compassion. "I dare you to tell me I'm wrong!"
"I wouldn't dare." As he spoke, he raised his hand suddenly and poked her puffed-up cheeks.
Wen Ran was so stunned by his action that she forgot what she wanted to say.
Before she could even react, she felt him poke her other cheek.
"What are you doing?" Wen Ran slapped his hand away and immediately retreated three steps, for she recalled the moment he used the saber to slice the snake demon into eight pieces. In her anger, she had acted rashly and completely forgot that he was a dangerous person.
Shen Wu could not describe the kind of softness he felt when he poked her cheek, but safe to say it was much smoother and tender than the fruits he was still holding in his other hand.
He did not pull out his saber after she smacked his hand away but had an aggrieved look instead. "Everyone knows that my feelings for you run deep, but you're the only one who doesn't appreciate it. I feel really hurt by that."
Wen Ran had never met someone like him who could lie without batting an eye. She was not one to be swayed so easily, and she merely said with a smile, "I'd be a fool to believe you."
"Luckily for you, I'm a carefree person. I'm not going to anything stupid even if you doesn't believe in the truth of my feelings." He was carefree indeed, for he was already smiling despite the acerbic remark she made earlier. He took out something and said, "this is for you."
In his hand was a small black cloth bag, the contents of which remained unknown.
Wen Ran looked at it suspiciously for some time and did not reach out to take it.
"Don't worry, the contents won't bite you. "
Wen Ran looked at him again. After some more hesitation, she reached out to take the small bag and opened it to see a white bird's egg inside. She looked up at him curiously. "You went searching for the bird's nest?"
His eyes curved into little arcs as he smiled. "The others knew that I entered the forbidden area to catch a devil pet for you, so it didn't seem right if I had nothing for you."
As it turned out, his visit that day was not because he was worried that she would miss him—it was to give her the bird egg.
It was amazing to think that he paid so much attention to the details in his attempt to maintain the impression that he loved his fiancée deeply.
Wen Ran returned it to him. "I don't want it."
However, Shen Wu had already distanced himself from her in the blink of an eye. He leapt up and stood on that tree again. "I've already given it to you, so it's up to you whether you want it or not. You can choose to throw it away or cook it. Do what you will with it."
"Shen Wu!"
He flashed an extremely childish smile at her and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Wen Ran looked at the little bird's egg in her hand and felt conflicted as to how to deal with it. She sat back down on the stone bench and wondered whether she should do as he said, that is, throw it away or cook it.
Just as she was figuring out what to do, a bright red color attracted her attention. It was the small red fruit that Shen Wu left on the table.
She had seen such wild fruits during her childhood when she went to the mountains to play. However,she did not know that they were actually edible because she had never tasted them. She remembered seeing Shen Wu eating it with great relish, so she began to wonder whether it tasted delicious.
Wen Ran was inexplicably curious. She picked up the small red fruit from the table and sniffed it. There was no smell, so she decided to take a small bite. Her entire face then scrunched up.
It was ridiculously sour!
She wondered how he was able to eat it with a straight face!
Since Shen Wu and Wen Ran's swords were broken, Wen Xun—who had finally stopped foaming at the mouth—handed a letter to Shen Wu and Wen Ran. The two of them were instructed to bring their respective broken swords to the Hidden Abyss Valley.
When she received the news, Wen Ran's entire body was averse to the idea. "I'm not going."
Wen Xun felt a headache coming on. "Sunset is your sword, isn't it? Don't you want your sword to be mended? If you do, you need to go!"
Wen Ran tried compromising. "Then I'll go by myself. I'm not going with him."
"Ranran, your eldest senior brother suffered such a heavy injury in order to protect you. He might be nearly recovered now, but it's still better to have someone going with him to take care of him. You shouldn't be ungrateful. Think about how your senior brother has treated you, he—"
"He's fine. He doesn't need me to take care of him. "
Wen Xun could indulge his daughter in anything she wanted, but he put his foot down when it came to choosing his future son-in-law. He therefore put on a straight face and said, "I've given all the expenses for this trip to your eldest senior brother for safekeeping. If you don't want to go with your eldest senior brother, then you can eat and sleep out in the wilderness."
She was speechless.
For the past 17 years, Wen Ran had been eating the best food and using the best items. She had always been raised to the point where she could not bear any hardship. Letting her eat and sleep in the wilderness was equivalent to taking half of her life away!
At the mountain gate of the Immortal Ascension Mansion, a group of disciples came to send Shen Wu off. Shen Wu's temperament was indifferent and polite, and he seemed particularly eye-catching among the many young and handsome gents. Shen Wu would respond to every single remark that his junior brothers made, but he never took his eyes on Wen Ran when he saw her walking out angrily.
The bystanders felt that his actions were pretty typical. After all, he was infatuated with his junior sister, and it was only during his junior sister's presence that his coldness and indifference would melt.
"Ranran." Shen Wu gently called out.
Wen Ran glanced at him unceremoniously after hearing his voice and immediately turned his head away, refusing to look at him.
Since she had to go down the mountain, there was a lot of foul air in the mortal world that would dirty her clothes easily. Therefore, she wore not the white clothes stipulated by the Immortal Ascension Mansion, but a green dress that she donned very rarely.
The top of her dress was thin and apricot-colored, exposing her fair shoulders and arms vaguely. White-and-green lace was wrapped around her chest, pairing wonderfully with the light-colored cloud pattern embroidery on the green dress. When she stood there, it was as if she was bringing forth a burst of spring.
Many of the young disciples' eyes lit up when they saw Wen Ran in that dress, and they finally understood why their eldest senior brother was so infatuated with her.
On the other hand, Shen Wu's expression remained unchanging as usual, which befitted his usual nature of restraint. Gazing intently at a girl like Wen Ran was probably the most indulgent thing he had ever done, and he would never allow himself to reveal any more imprudence.
Eldest Senior Brother was truly a gentleman!
"It's getting late," Shen Wu said. "Let's head down the mountain, Ranran."
Wen Ran said not a word and just walked past Shen Wu. She took the lead and left the mountain gate. As soon as she brushed past Shen Wu, the golden wings of her butterfly-shaped pearl hairpin that was embedded with green gems seemed to move along with her movements, as if it was about to flap its wings and fly up at any time.
Shen Wu retracted his gaze and stepped out of the mountain gate, much to the reluctance of his junior brothers.