Chapter 137: Did You Really Do It for Me?

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“It’s nice, isn’t it? If you hadn’t asked me, I would never have been able to bring myself to remember any of this.”

“Where is your sister? We can bring her here.”

If Si Xueyi was willing to stay, nothing could have been better.

Si Nongsang shook her head.

“That’s impossible. Don’t joke with me.”

Her smile suddenly vanished. She shook her head again. If bringing Si Xueyi here had been possible, she would have been able to return home long ago. Now, she no longer even had the hope of going back. She could not afford to dream of it anymore.

But she truly loved Si Xueyi.

The thought made her heart ache.

There was nothing she could do. Her sister was probably frantically searching for her even now. No matter how clever Si Xueyi was, she would never imagine that Si Nongsang had crossed through time and space.

Yet Si Nongsang had underestimated her. At that very moment, Si Xueyi had already entered her world—and would bring her back.

Xuanyuan Juesi, meanwhile, was the one who had been stopping them all along.

If Si Nongsang ever learned the truth, she would never forgive him.

Xuanyuan Juesi knew that perfectly well himself.

“Why? Why do you say it’s a joke? She’s still alive, isn’t she?”

Xuanyuan Juesi was utterly serious. He stared directly into Si Nongsang’s eyes, allowing her no chance to evade him.

“Impossible means impossible. There are things I could tell you that you would never believe, but when it comes to this, there is simply no possibility for us.”

Si Nongsang shook her head. How could it be possible?

Both of them clung firmly to their own convictions, each utterly certain. It was impossible to say that Si Nongsang was wrong. Yet in this matter, Si Xueyi’s appearance truly had been an accident.

Xuanyuan Juesi asked no further questions. From what she had said, he already understood what had happened.

Si Xueyi and Xiu Yan had remained there because Yuan Qianlu had not left. He seemed to have sensed that they were somewhere nearby.

That was precisely what Si Xueyi thought, and Xiu Yan had reached the same conclusion.

“What should we do now?”

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Xiu Yan looked at Si Xueyi. It would have been easy for him to leave alone, but escaping together would be extraordinarily difficult—almost impossible.

To capture her, Yuan Qianlu had mobilized hundreds of men and established countless checkpoints along the roads. She was trapped on every side.

Si Xueyi did not know what to do either. She shook her head. Faced with such an arrangement, what use was intelligence? Every possible route had been sealed.

There was nothing left to consider. The two of them had remained at the inn for seven days.

Xiu Yan himself did not mind staying there, but watching Si Xueyi grow more anxious with each passing day left him far from at ease.

She had completely affected his mood. Si Xueyi spent nearly all her time sitting there in thought. She could neither get out nor bring herself to speak. Her entire body had grown noticeably thinner.

Xiu Yan had even gone out to buy her some clothes. Apparently, she had very few garments with her.

He had chosen them with great care. Si Xueyi was genuinely grateful.

“Thank you so much.”

She accepted the clothes he had bought. They suited the tastes of this era and looked quite good. At least they were not some garish combination of red and green. Their colors were fresh, understated, and elegant.

Although they were not in keeping with Si Xueyi’s usual style, she did not dislike them. On the contrary, she was deeply touched by Xiu Yan’s thoughtfulness.

“It was nothing.”

Xiu Yan shook his head.

“You’re very considerate.”

Si Xueyi set the clothes aside and invited him to sit down. She opened the window as well, taking the opportunity to see whether anything was happening outside.

“But consideration alone won’t get us to the capital. Yuan Qianlu has transferred a great many men here. Guards are stationed all along the road to the capital, and notices have been sent to the local governments everywhere. The authorities are cooperating with him.”

If one thought about it, they truly were trapped with no way to escape.

“But we can’t stay here forever. They won’t stay here forever, either.”

“That’s true. But for now, they are here, and we can’t get out.”

“Can’t get out? Hmph.”

Si Xueyi gave a cold laugh. She had to leave.

“I think I’ll have to disguise myself a little. At the very least, I have to try.”

She refused to remain there any longer.

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“I understand what you mean. But perhaps getting past one checkpoint would be easy. There are still so many more ahead. It will be extremely difficult.”

“We’ll take the minor paths—the smallest trails. We’ll cross the mountains and the forests.”

Si Xueyi already seemed to have thought everything through. Yuan Qianlu could not possibly send large numbers of men into the mountains. The terrain there was complicated, which would make it somewhat easier to avoid pursuit.

“I understand your plan, but it will be extremely difficult. The time we need may increase tenfold, or even more.”

They would have to travel on foot, climbing over mountains and crossing ridges. The journey would be terribly slow, and they would have to take several long detours.

“We have no other choice. I won’t let Yuan Qianlu—or that Xuanyuan Juesi—win this fight. I, Si Xueyi, will make them pay.”

At that moment, Si Xueyi seemed like a stranger to Xiu Yan.

She appeared to notice the expression on his face.

“I know you may not understand someone like me. You can choose to leave if you want. I can go to the capital alone. But please draw me a map. That is my only request.”

With a map, she could make her way to the capital slowly. Dragging Xiu Yan into this would be unfair to him. They were merely friends who had met by chance.

Although Xiu Yan had told her that he liked her, that he had fallen in love with her at first sight, Si Xueyi was not a fool.

Those words had been meant for someone else. She understood that perfectly.

“What are you talking about? Do you really think I could let you go alone? Besides, I have plenty of time. I’ll accompany you. And I know martial arts, which is important. If we encounter Yuan Qianlu’s men on the road, I can protect you. If you run into them alone, you might not even be able to protect yourself.”

Everything Xiu Yan said was true. If Si Xueyi traveled alone, she might be captured and dragged back before she had gone very far.

But what right did she have to ask him to make such a great sacrifice for her?

“Thank you. But you and I are only strangers who happened to meet. You’ve already done more than enough.”

“I like you.”

“No, you don’t. You only like the shadow of someone else that you see in me! I don’t know who you’ve mistaken me for, but I want to make one thing clear: I am not that person you see in your eyes.”

Si Xueyi laid everything bare. She did not want Xiu Yan to do all this for her merely because she resembled someone else. If something happened later, she would carry the guilt for the rest of her life.

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand you at all. I haven’t mistaken you for anyone. You’re Si Xueyi, aren’t you?”

Xiu Yan looked at her. She was truly clever.

But he could not admit the truth. The moment he did, he would have to leave. So he continued to maintain the lie.

“Yes, of course I’m Si Xueyi. There’s no doubt about that. But for you to claim that you’re really doing all this for me—that’s simply self-deception.”