Miss Truth
Chapter 338 - 212 Fluffy

Chapter 338: Chapter 212 Fluffy

Ran Yan understood that her current condition was not suitable for moving around, the tree hollow inside would be relatively warm; even if she had passed out due to a lack of strength, she wouldn’t freeze to death.

Ran Yan was just about to crawl in when she suddenly remembered something and abruptly stood up, "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Su Fu turned his head to look at her.

Ran Yan spoke in a somewhat urgent voice, "When I was intercepted by another group of people while being taken away from the residence earlier, Wan Lu was with me. I don’t know if she got captured by Li Ke along with me!"

When Ran Yan had come to, she was in that situation, nerves tightly wound, with no time to think of anything else. Now, relaxing slightly, she suddenly remembered that Wan Lu was not by her side.

"She’s fine," Su Fu said with certainty. Seeing Ran Yan’s still tense expression, he explained, "Before I came here, I went to the Ran residence to confirm whether you really had been taken by Li Ke and saw with my own eyes that Xiao’s guards sent her back."

Ran Yan breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him and bowed down to crawl into the tree hollow.

Outside, Su Fu used snow to camouflage, blocking up the tree hollow, and lastly brushed away any surrounding footprints. The light was very dim, and only after confirming that there were no flaws did he turn to leave.

"Be careful yourself. If something doesn’t feel right, find a way to escape. I will be fine here," Ran Yan said, and fearing that he might still be concerned, she added, "He who knows the times is a wise man; preserving one’s life is of utmost importance."

Su Fu stood on a horizontal branch not far away, gazing at the withered tree, a surge of inexplicable emotion in his eyes; only faint snow light reflected back, and the night dark, he allowed himself to indulge in his truest form.

"Okay," he responded.

After Su Fu left, the surroundings were eerily silent; perhaps the forest was too dense, and the wind had lessened after entering the woods.

Ran Yan felt there was no one around, so she let out a small breath, leaned back against the tree trunk, and took a moment to rest.

Perhaps due to overexertion or excessive blood loss, or maybe both, once she relaxed, Ran Yan’s legs went limp, trembling uncontrollably. She slid down the trunk slowly, and as there weren’t many ants or insects in winter, she didn’t have many concerns and eventually just sat down on the ground.

After resting for a while and feeling somewhat better, Ran Yan moved her hand to rub her legs, but her right fingers suddenly touched something fuzzy.

A chill ran through Ran Yan’s heart at that texture...

With her heart in her throat, she tentatively tugged gently, finding no reaction, and then firmly grasped the fuzzy thing before lifting it to her face; using the weak light, she saw a shriveled and rotting head. The dried flesh clung tightly to the skull, with most places eerily showing white bone, the hair loose and easy to fall out. From the looks of it, this person had been dead for at least half a year.

It was only a skeleton! Ran Yan sighed in relief.

Given her current situation, encountering a corpse was much preferable to encountering dangerous animals like wolves, tigers, and leopards.

Without a light source, she could only faintly discern that the skull might be female; unable to discern anything else, Ran Yan gently set the skull aside and continued to rest.

Once she had recovered somewhat, Ran Yan began to closely observe the tree hollow.

The inside of the tree was almost hollow, leading straight up to the fork. Looking up, Ran Yan could faintly see some weak light shining down from above. There was plenty of room inside, and her movements weren’t restricted.

How could someone die inside such a tree hollow? Ran Yan roughly explored the ground beneath her with her foot, finding no other body parts, which meant that there might only be a skull in this hollow.

Approximately a quarter of an hour had passed when rustling noises of snow falling from the treetop sounded, followed by the entrance being pried open.

"Miss Seventeen," Su Fu’s slightly breathless voice rang out.

Ran Yan paused for a moment, then crawled out of the tree hole and immediately sensed a strong scent of blood, "Are you hurt?"

"No," Su Fu leaned against the tree to catch his breath, "They probably won’t chase us for the time being."

If it wasn’t his own blood, then it had to be the enemy’s! With such a dense smell of blood, Ran Yan couldn’t estimate how many he’d killed, but she knew that this time, they wouldn’t be pursued by the Government.

Li Ke was the Governor of Anzhou, yet he now covertly appeared near Chang’an. If someone with ulterior motives discovered this, he, not Su Fu, would be the one in danger. Therefore, he would not only refrain from reporting them but would also conceal any traces.

Nevertheless, Ran Yan knew she had now thoroughly offended Li Ke. Sighing in her heart, she knelt to cover the tree hole with snow once again. As a woman, she couldn’t possibly carry a severed head to the Government Office to report the incident, right? That would be too shocking to the world. It was best to leave it here and go back to inform Xiao Song.

Speaking of Xiao Song, Ran Yan suddenly asked, "Is this the east side of the city?"

"Mhm," Su Fu seemed to know what she was about to ask and added, "Past this forest and about two or three miles south, there are many private gardens owned by the nobility."

These noble private gardens likely included the Cheng estate, which meant that this forest was near where they had their snowball fight that day.

"We need to leave. These people, without Li Ke’s orders and suffering many casualties, wouldn’t dare act rashly. However, I know Li Ke well; he is fierce and vengeful. He certainly won’t give up easily," said Su Fu.

Everyone has a mask, especially someone like Li Ke, who has been in a high position from birth, his every move watched by countless eyes.

The history books depict Li Ke as noble born, resolute and courageous, and respectful to the virtuous. He was not only revered by both civil and military officials but even Taizong himself saw him as "similar to himself." However, those of noble birth often cannot escape an air of arrogance and limited generosity, constantly striving to outdo others. Judging from Li Ke’s behavior, he is also very impulsive, displaying his sharpness too freely.

But Su Fu belonged to the shadows, thus able to reach the darkest or weakest parts of a person’s heart. Without hesitation, Ran Yan believed his portrayal of Li Ke and silently followed him out of the forest.

Su Fu moved swiftly, and soon they saw an expanse of open, snow-covered ground.

By that time, the city gates were already closed, and the tall surrounding walls and guards were not something the inner market walls could match. Su Fu alone might barely manage to stealthily climb over, but with an injured Ran Yan, it would be difficult not to be discovered.

"We can’t get through. Should we find a sheltered place to wait for dawn?" Ran Yan whispered to Su Fu, her back against the cold city wall.

Su Fu stared intently at Yanxing Gate and gestured for her to keep silent. Ran Yan’s nerves tensed up as she followed his gaze towards the city gate.

Standing behind Ran Yan, Su Fu gave her a complex look, a vague pain quietly spreading in his heart. He raised his hand, untied her slipping silk belt, and tied it back up for her.

"It’s poisoned." Ran Yan reminded him but didn’t stop him, for she was confident in Su Fu’s ability to handle the poison.

The cool touch of silky hair against his fingers was quite comfortable. Su Fu awkwardly tied it up for her, then let go and said, "He’s here."

With that, he vanished into the darkness like a shadow.

Ran Yan was momentarily stunned, still wondering what he meant by "He’s here" when she heard the city gate squeak open. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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