Miss Truth
Chapter 265 - 167: Why Did You Just Arrive?

Chapter 265: Chapter 167: Why Did You Just Arrive?

The man in black waved his hand, and six or seven burly men rushed over, giving no chance to catch one’s breath.

The gleaming edge of a knife whizzed past Ran Yan’s temple, making it clear they were intent on killing her. She immediately dodged the blades and shouted, "Zhuang Yin has been poisoned by me; if you dare to kill me, you’ll just be sending him to the grave with me!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ran Yan could feel the man in black’s attack slowing down, the leader standing still on the side for a long while.

Ran Yan naturally wouldn’t just stand there waiting to be captured. She had already noticed that the gaps between the railings in the river were not small—a burly man might not fit, but she could slip through them.

Right at that moment, a piercing whistle sounded through the night sky, varying in pitch, as if it was some kind of signal.

The men in black hesitated for a moment, and Ran Yan took advantage of the opportunity, running to the edge of the stream. From afar, the water, reflecting the moonlight, had seemed shallow, but up close, she realized it was deep enough that the bottom was out of sight.

The leader of the men in black was the first to react, shouting, "Intruders in the villa! Stop dawdling, silence her!"

With those words, Ran Yan bit her lip and jumped into the water from the bank more than a zhang high.

With a splash, water sprayed up, and a blossom of blood bloomed in the river, quickly returning to calm.

"Boss?" A few men standing on the bank hesitated on whether or not to jump in after her.

The leader glanced at the increasing number of approaching torchlights and decisively said, "We don’t have time, withdraw!"

The rest, following his command, quickly scaled the wall and leaped out of the yard.

Ran Yan fell into the bone-chilling water, a piercing pain at her chest and a sweet, metallic taste of blood uncontrollably gushed out. She felt several tear-like pains on her legs, barely conscious and aware she might have been injured by the explosion.

Waves of darkness swept over her as she bobbed uncertainly in the water. Ran Yan tried to grasp the railings to steady herself, but she couldn’t muster enough strength to even resist the gentle current and was simply swept downstream.

Now, Ran Yan could only strive to stay conscious. She remembered that not far ahead there was a pond.

Ran Yan held her breath and periodically exerted herself to rise to the surface to breathe. This repeated action became almost a mechanical habit. In her daze, she thought if she were to pass out now, would someone find her corpse in the pond the next morning? If possible, it would be better to retrieve and cremate her sooner rather than later, so she wouldn’t be discovered days later as a swollen, blackened body...

And insects... she despised those the most...

Racked with pain, Ran Yan fought the dizziness overtaking her body. In the water, she had lost all sense of time; it seemed like only moments had passed, yet it could have been half a day before she felt the current around her gradually calm down.

Ran Yan choked on a mouthful of water, realizing she must have swallowed a lot. Struggling with all her might, she used one hand to paddle toward the bank. Ran Yan didn’t like boats. It wasn’t the water she was afraid of—on the contrary, she was an excellent swimmer, and swimming used to be one of her favorite activities.

It took a tremendous effort before her fingertips brushed against grass, and she quickly reached out to grab it.

The dry grass was extremely fragile and snapped at her lightest tug, but Ran Yan, undeterred and enduring her discomfort and the darkening of her vision, clenched her teeth and swam bit by bit forward until she grabbed a handful of grass that seemed sturdy enough.

Ran Yan gave a small sigh of relief but noticed the warmth draining from her body, and she couldn’t stop the dizziness. She guessed she might be losing too much blood.

The wisest course of action now would be to climb ashore and immediately stop the bleeding, but looking at the bank three feet high, it seemed desperately out of reach.

In fact, it wasn’t just Ran Yan’s perception, even a person in normal physical condition would have difficulty climbing up this steep bank without external assistance, let alone Ran Yan with only one usable hand and in a nearly delirious state.

Ran Yan tilted her head up to look at the railing above and suddenly had an idea, quickly unfastening her belt.

The thin, gauze belt wrapped around her several times, and when pulled, it stretched to a little over a meter. Tied together with her skirt, it made for about two meters in length. Ran Yan quickly fashioned a loop under her armpits, tied a porcelain bottle to one end, and then hurled it over the railing to let it fall down.

Grasping the other end, Ran Yan hoisted herself up to ensure that even if she fell unconscious again, her head wouldn’t be submerged underwater, then she tied the belt around her waist.

Having done all this, Ran Yan was completely out of strength.

All she could do was to try her best to increase her chances of survival; whether she could actually survive depended on whether Wan Lu and the others could arrive in time.

The wind cut through her wet clothes and into her skin, the pain so numbing that she could no longer withstand the assault of exhaustion and severe injury, and she fainted.

**

In the vast world of white, Ran Yan stood barefoot in the endless snowy landscape, as if she had been standing there for a year, her body rigid with cold, like a stone monument.

Ran Yan’s gaze seemed to come from the horizon, looking down at herself, yet she clearly felt the loneliness and the cold.

A tall man came up behind her and embraced her, warmth instantly enveloping her. She rubbed her feet together, trying to turn around to see him, but the man scooped her into his arms, sat down in the snow with his legs crossed, and his warm hands began to rub her feet.

In an instant, all of Ran Yan’s grievances surged up, and she chided him with a choked voice, "Why did you come so late?"

The man paused in his movements, his voice hoarse and dry, yet carried a faint smile, "Yes, I’m late. From now on, I’ll tie you to my belt and take you wherever I go."

"Why not keep me in your pocket?" Ran Yan questioned with furrowed brows.

The man laughed, "Alright, I’ll keep you in my pocket."

Ran Yan’s brows furrowed even more. She had calmed down by now, and couldn’t help but wonder why she would ask such a peculiar question. She thought to herself that she must have been lonely for too long to have such a daytime dream. Even as she thought this, she burrowed deeper into the warm embrace and murmured, "Who are you?"

The man’s movements paused again, and he laughed in his hoarse voice, "You’re still so vigilant in your dreams."

"Yes, I know I’m dreaming..." Ran Yan, leaning against his warm and robust chest, listened to the steady and strong heartbeat, muttered a few words, and fell asleep again.

This sleep was warm and sweet, and she dreamt no more.

She didn’t know how long she had slept before she woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw a handsome face like a sculpture through a blur, and she paused, immediately recalling the dream. Upon looking more closely, she recognized the man sitting at the edge of the bed was Xiao Song! The disheveled and lean figure didn’t resemble his usual neat and efficient appearance; he was nearly unrecognizable.

Xiao Song seemed to feel some movement and slowly opened his eyes. Those dark, sharp eyes naturally carried an intimidating air but softened considerably when they met Ran Yan’s gaze. His voice was husky, "Awake?"

"You..." Ran Yan wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she didn’t know how to express it and simply asked, "How did you come back?"

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)