The shrill howl of Xiaoyuer came.
Then there was a soft whistling sound of the wind.
Yi Zhici slowly opened her eyes and found that she was no longer in the place where she was just now. Xiaoyuer was nowhere to be seen, nor was the phoenix or the monster.
She even began to doubt if what had just happened was just a dream.
Just as she was doubting, Lin Yuan strode towards her and without saying a word, hugged her tightly in his arms.
Yi Zhici was stunned.
Lin Yuan's hug held her so tightly that it seemed as if he had used all his strength, almost making it hard for her to breathe.
But she felt a faint sense of contentment, contentment for her own secret longings.
However... Lin Yuan's action didn't seem like something he would do to an ordinary friend. If it were Wei Xing staying here with Lin Yuan instead, Lin Yuan would never hug Wei Xing like this, would he?
She imagined such a scene and found it rather creepy.
Although in Guyue, the concept of gender segregation was not very strict and people were open - minded about feelings, according to the customs of Guyue, hugging between a man and a woman who were not a couple was beyond the acceptable limit.
Yi Zhici was a bit confused. Did Lin Yuan really have a sweetheart? Would a man with a sweetheart be so careless about gender boundaries?
Thinking carefully, Lin Yuan's abnormal behaviors seemed to have shown signs a long time ago. He caught her when she was about to fall at the chrysanthemum - viewing banquet, agreed to compete with Li Ye, asked Qin Lichi to plead for her, came to rescue her when there were assassins, and even asked her to promise to take good care of herself.
Catching her could be attributed to his good upbringing since childhood; competing with Li Ye could be an unintentional act; asking Qin Lichi to plead for her could be for the sake of Guyue's reputation; coming to rescue her when there were assassins could also barely be explained as for the sake of Guyue.
But what about asking her to promise to take good care of herself? There seemed to be no motive at all. At least... at least Yi Zhici couldn't find one for now.
Even now, Lin Yuan's hug of her had clearly exceeded the boundaries of a friend or a subject.
After a long while, Lin Yuan finally let go of Yi Zhici. He looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, Princess. I... I just thought of an old acquaintance."
Yi Zhici's heart sank. This old acquaintance... should be his sweetheart, right? Asking her to protect herself might be because his old acquaintance had once been in danger and he hadn't been able to save her in time.
"It's okay," Yi Zhici forced a smile. "Let's go find Sister Yan and the others."
Lin Yuan called out to Yi Zhici. There was a complex look in his eyes. "Princess, do you still remember what you promised me?"
Yi Zhici was taken aback. "Ah?"
"Protect yourself first, no matter when."
Yi Zhici quickly nodded. "Remember, remember."
"Not only remember, but also do it."
Yi Zhici recalled that just now she had planned to sacrifice her innocence to save Lin Yuan. Could it be that the person in the illusion was really Lin Yuan?
Then had Lin Yuan heard all her conversation with Xiaoyuer? She had just implicitly admitted to being in love with Lin Yuan as Xiaoyuer had said!
She thought for a while and decided not to sit back and wait for trouble. She took the initiative to ask, "By the way, what did you see in the illusion just now? Was there a beautiful young woman in white?"
Hearing Yi Zhici's words, Lin Yuan seemed to recall what had just happened. His expression became obviously solemn, but he still mustered a smile. "There was no beautiful young woman, but there was a beautiful princess."
Yi Zhici's ears turned red again.
But he didn't say which princess it was. Maybe he was referring to a princess from the era in the illusion instead of herself. She couldn't just go and ask him directly, which would make her seem too eager to prove that she was good - looking...
But since Lin Yuan said so, it meant they were in different illusions. It was good that he hadn't heard her conversation with Xiaoyuer. She could still hide her feelings.
Lin Yuan said, "Princess, hold onto the corner of my clothes later. It's too dangerous here."
Yi Zhici obediently grabbed the corner of his clothes. "What was that phoenix just now? That phoenix shouldn't be Xiaoyuer's mount or something, or it wouldn't have saved me. Did you see that phoenix just now?"
"If I said I didn't know what that phoenix was, would the princess believe me?"
"Sure I do."
Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
Yi Zhici counter - questioned, "Why not?"
Lin Yuan was silent for a moment. "Thank you for the princess's trust. But I really don't know what that phoenix was. Maybe it was the guardian spirit of this mountain just now."
When they reached the entrance of the village they had been in just now, there were still sparks flickering in the burned - out areas, sending out intermittent flames.
Suddenly, a picture unfurled before their eyes.