"Hey, if my grandfather said any nonsense to you last night, don't take it to heart."
With practiced ease, Nalan Yanran took a faintly gleaming healing pill from the little cloth pouch at her waist and swallowed it. Then she took out a small box of medicinal powder, gently opened the lid, dipped her slender fingers into it, and very carefully applied some to the skin around her eye, which had become bruised and swollen again.
Xiao Qian rolled his neck, producing crisp cracks that sounded especially clear in the quiet surroundings.
He occasionally glanced sideways at Nalan Yanran. He wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but her face seemed to be healing faster than before.
After she applied the powder, it was as though some mysterious force were slowly repairing the injury around her bruised eye. The swelling subsided and the skin recovered at a visible pace.
"Don't worry. I have absolutely no interest in marrying you or anything like that."
By then, the two had reached the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain.
Green trees cast deep shade, and their leaves rustled in the passing breeze.
Nalan Yanran abruptly stopped, shifting the gravel beneath her feet.
A huge vein of anger bulged on her forehead. She clenched both fists, her fair fingers paling slightly from the force, and shouted, "You bastard! Say that again!"
"Huh? What's this?"
As though completely oblivious to her fury, Xiao Qian curiously examined the stone stele before him.
The stele was tall and ancient, its somewhat darkened surface seeming to have weathered countless years.
"You!"
Nalan Yanran drew a deep breath, the slight rise and fall of her chest betraying her agitation.
She had already developed a little immunity to this fellow's venomous tongue.
Nalan Yanran stepped forward, trying to calm herself, though