Miss Truth
Chapter 126 - 80: Meeting Under the Moon_2

Chapter 126: Chapter 80: Meeting Under the Moon_2

Jing Hui silently led Ran Yan and the others to the small courtyard that had been tidied up, stating that they could go to meet the Temple Master early the next morning.

The courtyard allocated to Ran Yan had four rooms: the main house was a wooden building with a porch, the bamboo house on one side was simply constructed, with two wing rooms and a modest kitchen. It seemed that this place was usually used to receive pilgrims.

Xing Niang and Wan Lu immediately began lighting lamps, tidying up, and spreading out beds, while Ran Yan had nothing to do and wandered around, taking in her surroundings.

Ran Yan claimed she wanted to meditate and worship Buddha, so apart from Xing Niang and Wan Lu, she only brought along a slave named Xiao Man from the group given by the Gao family, leaving all the others at the estate.

After the porters placed everything in the respective rooms, they left Yingmei Temple. The courtyard, which had just seemed crowded and noisy, suddenly became quiet and spacious.

After a quick cleanup, everyone, tired from the journey, went to sleep.

Having slept for a while in the carriage, Ran Yan lay on the bed without a hint of sleepiness. She lit some mosquito-repellent incense brought by Wan Lu, opened the window, laid down a mat, and sat cross-legged to breathe and meditate. The air in the mountains was refreshing, and the light of the moon, like water, shone upon Ran Yan, casting a faint glow. If someone saw her at that moment, they might mistake her for a Moon Palace Fairy.

After sitting for a while, Ran Yan felt a slight chill and got up intending to close the window but then smelled the fragrance of roasting meat.

Ran Yan paused, surprised. How could there be the smell of roasting meat at a nunnery?

Having only eaten some pastries for her evening meal and now finding herself a little hungry after smelling the aroma for a while, Ran Yan got up, draped on her satin dress, and followed the scent to find the person stealing a midnight snack.

The moonlight was bright, making the surrounding scenery extremely clear. Ran Yan’s courtyard was on the south side of Yingmei Temple, and further south was the forest. Standing before the woods, Ran Yan stopped to carefully observe her surroundings. In front of the forest were several vegetable gardens, and the woods behind were not ordinary wild trees but fruit trees with green fruits of various sizes, hidden by the shadows of the leaves. Ran Yan couldn’t distinguish what fruits they were, but it was surely the orchard of Yingmei Temple.

Ran Yan tightened her satin dress around her and stepped into the orchard.

The orchard was vast, much more extensive than Ran Yan expected. She walked for quite some time, the scent of meat growing stronger, but unfortunately, she couldn’t find the sneaky eater. Ran Yan thought to herself that this nun must sneak food often; otherwise, how could she hide so well?

Looking back at the path she had come from, Ran Yan felt that she shouldn’t go any further. Being in a new place and wandering too far in the middle of the night wasn’t safe.

Thinking this, Ran Yan sighed softly and turned to leave.

She had only taken a few steps when a cool breeze rose behind her and something cold and silent rested against her neck.

Startled but unable to move, Ran Yan heard an icy voice filled with a thick killing intent, "Has no one told you not to enter these woods?"

"No," Ran Yan replied calmly, suppressing the unease in her heart, "I just arrived today and followed the smell of the meat."

"Ran Shiqi," the cold voice declared his identity and retracted the sword from her neck.

Ran Yan turned and saw a man dressed in black, tall and robust, his fitted clothing revealing a perfect physique with broad shoulders and a slender waist, his pale skin glowing with a cold light under the moon. Deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge as though from the West, his brows cast shadows hiding his eyes.

The man stood silently at a distance of half a zhang, his dark hair cascading down and reflecting the pale, luminous glow on his handsome face, like a magical creature under the moonlight, breathtakingly beautiful.

"Come here," Su Fu casually stuck his sword into the ground and turned to leave.

Ran Yan hesitated for a moment, wondering if he would kill her on a whim if she went back now. Weighing her options, she chose to follow him.

Su Fu’s pace seemed leisurely, but he quickly left Ran Yan far behind with just a few steps.

After two turns in the forest, there appeared a barrier of bamboo. Following the green stone path through the bamboo for less than two zhang, the view suddenly opened up.

A bamboo courtyard with two modest houses surrounded by several low bamboo huts, with occasional "cooing" or "quacking" sounds.

Ran Yan glanced at Su Fu’s back, puzzled. How could such a cold-blooded assassin seclude himself here, raising chickens and ducks? And to hear that he was the illegitimate eldest son of the Su Family, how did he become a ruthless Assassin?

Past the bamboo, she heard the bubbling sound of water; a shallow stream in front of the yard shimmered in the moonlight. A low bamboo bridge was built over the stream.

The air was rich with the smell of meat, and in the distance, Ran Yan could see a burning fire.

She thought to herself, astonished that she was at least a hundred meters from where she had stood, and yet he had detected her presence?

"Sit," Su Fu said, settling down on a mat next to the fire pit, removed a roasted lamb leg from the fire, and his daggers, appearing out of nowhere, rapidly sliced the meat into pieces, placing them on the plate in front of him.

Suddenly stopping, he looked up at Ran Yan as if feeling she was idle. Like magic, he produced another dagger in his left hand and tossed it to Ran Yan, "Cut the other one."

Ran Yan hesitated, wondering to herself. They hardly knew each other; she had just trespassed in a forest, yet how had things progressed to this stage?

While pondering, Ran Yan followed his instructions and took the other roasted lamb leg, reached for a flat basket nearby, and skillfully butchered the leg. First, she removed the bone whole, then cut the meat into evenly thick slices along the muscle grain.

The moonlight cast a peaceful ambiance, occasional crackling from the fire, two strangers each focusing on their task of slicing lamb legs, the atmosphere filled with a peculiar air.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to come and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)