So he had known all along that she only wanted to get out of town.
This man really was not simple.
She had thought she hid it well, yet he saw through her with ease. What surprised her more was that, even knowing her intention, he still let her follow him out.
Shen Yu turned and continued forward.
Aurora hurried after him. "Brother-in-law—"
"I am not your brother-in-law," he interrupted coldly. "Don't call me that."
His voice was deep, restrained, carrying a chill that brushed past the ears like winter wind. There was an undeniable masculine strength in it.
She ran up beside him, tilting her head to look at his face. "Did I really mistake you?" she said seriously. "My sister said my brother-in-law had a big beard. That's very recognizable." She paused, then grinned. "Well… maybe I did mistake you. My brother-in-law should be younger than you. Should I call you uncle then? Hmm... Nah, Brother-in-law still suits you..."
Shen Yu did not respond.
In his eyes, this little beggar was merely clever with words. A mortal with no cultivation was not worth much attention.
He lengthened his stride.
The moment his pace changed, Aurora noticed.
His feet seemed to barely touch the ground, as if he were gliding forward. Each step carried him far ahead, fast and effortless. This was nothing like ordinary walking.
Cultivation.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Brother-in-law, wait for me!" she called out, chasing after him.
She was not truly trying to cling to him anymore. She had already achieved her goal of leaving the town. Now, what she needed was medicine. The poison Sun Xiao had forced into her body was no joke.
Thinking of Sun Xiao, Aurora's gaze darkened.
That woman was ruthless.
Stealing her identity was one thing, but selling her into such a place, intending for her to suffer humiliation until death… Truly poisonous.
Yet according to Lin Xue's memories, Sun Xiao might also be from the same world as her, from the twenty-first century, and skilled in medicine. Otherwise, she could never have prepared such a perfect disguise.
The more Aurora thought about it, the more intrigued she became.
This world was starting to feel… interesting.
Ahead, Shen Yu heard the repeated "Brother-in-law" calls and felt his temple throb. He subconsciously touched his beard and sped up even more, trying to shake her off.
Two hours passed.
Finally, he stopped.
He turned back.
The thin, dirty figure was still there, no more than ten steps behind him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
How could a mortal with no cultivation follow him for this long?
Aurora ran up, bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. "Hah… I'm exhausted. Brother-in-law, why are you walking so fast?"
Shen Yu studied her carefully now.
"You shouldn't follow me anymore," he said slowly. "The place I'm going to is Fengyue Forest. It's extremely dangerous. You will only die if you go there."
Aurora straightened and smiled. "Uncle, I'm not following you."
She pointed ahead.
"I was also planning to go to Fengyue Forest. Since you're going there too, doesn't that mean we're going the same way?"
Shen Yu did not look back.
He walked with long, steady strides, as if the road beneath his feet belonged to him alone. In his mind, the little beggar behind him was nothing more than a child who had sneaked out to play, clever with words, shamelessly bold, but still ignorant of danger.
From the moment she hugged his thigh, he had known she was no simple fool. Her eyes were sharp, alert, far too lively for an ordinary street child. And yet, Fengyue forest?
That was no place for games.
If she truly followed him in and died there, it would not be his concern.
So he did not stop. He did not warn her again.
Behind him, Aurora also stopped talking.
She merely followed.
Her steps were light, almost careless, but if one looked closely, they would notice something strange. Her pace never lagged too far behind, no matter how much Shen Yu quickened his stride. It was not fast in an obvious way, yet it was steady, measured, and oddly efficient.
They walked one in front, one behind.
Neither rested.
Shen Yu did not stop because he did not need to.
Aurora did not stop because she could not afford to.
Time was running out.
The poison inside her body was quiet for now, but she knew better than to trust silence. If she did not find the medicine soon, this borrowed life would end far too quickly.
By the time dawn broke the next day, pale light spilling over the mountains, Aurora finally reached the mountain pass of Fengyue.
Shen Yu was nowhere in sight.
"Hah…"
She staggered forward and dropped onto the ground, sitting without grace, breathing hard like an exhausted ox. Sweat soaked her clothes, clinging coldly to her skin. Her legs felt heavy, numb, as if they no longer belonged to her.
"I'm… dead tired…"
Her stomach twisted painfully.
From yesterday until now, she had eaten one apple. One. It felt like a lifetime ago. Her head spun slightly, nausea creeping up her throat. At that moment, she felt that even a cold, greasy chicken leg would be a treasure from the heavens.
After resting for a while, she forced herself up.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, she lifted her head and looked at the dense and dark forest ahead.
Fengyue Forest.
A smile crept onto her lips. "Well… this place should have some fun things."
She took a sip of water and stepped inside.
The forest swallowed her quickly.
Weeds grew thick and tall, tangled together. Above her, dense branches blocked most of the sunlight, allowing only scattered rays to slant down and paint broken patches of gold on the ground. The air was damp, carrying the scent of soil and wild grass, rich and heavy with life.
Aurora snapped a branch from a tree and held it in her hand, swinging it lightly as she walked. It cleared the weeds ahead and, more importantly, warned away any snakes hiding within.
She moved slowly now, her eyes sharp and focused.
Her gaze swept the ground, the roots of trees, the shadows beneath leaves. Any herb that looked even slightly familiar caught her attention. She already understood the poison inside her body. For others, it would be a death sentence. For her, it was only a problem of ingredients.
No herbs meant no cure.
No cure meant death.
Unfortunately, this was only the outer edge of the Forest.
The herbs she found were common. Ordinary. Useful for fevers and wounds, but useless against the poison in her veins.
As for wild monsters?
Not a single rabbit. Not even a bird was seen around.
After nearly half an hour, the only living creatures she encountered were snakes. Green ones. Brown ones. Some coiled lazily on branches, others slithered away silently through the grass.
Her stomach growled again.
With a sigh, Aurora spotted a patch of three-leaf sorrel growing nearby. She plucked a handful and stuffed it into her mouth as she walked. The stems were sour, sharp enough to make her eyes narrow, but the small flowers carried a faint fragrance.
It was not filling.
But it was something.
Then, suddenly, she stopped.
Her eyes lit up.
"Hmm?"