After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 9.2
Chen Yunzhong put on his armor and stood on the lookout tower, watching the fierce battle between the bandits and the approaching forces of Huo.
This army, like their commander Huo Pingxiao, was full of conviction. There was no need for motivation; their morale was incredibly high, carrying an intimidating aura, like fierce beasts hunting for prey.
Under the command of Huo Pingxiao, several deputy generals also had a fierce and brutal demeanor, and their combat capabilities were extremely strong.
Wolves are naturally pack animals, and when encountering such terrifying wolf generals, even the most robust and brave warriors can only bow down in defeat.
Wolves possess both explosive strength and great endurance. The cavalry from Dongwan was exhausted to death by Huo Pingxiao’s Wolf Cavalry.
Chen Yunzhong was the best friend of Huo Pingxiao before. Huo Pingxiao had outstanding talents since he was a child, like a child favored by the heavens. No matter how hard Chen Yunzhong tried, he couldn’t catch up with Huo Pingxiao’s pace.
Whether it was in literature or martial arts, Huo Pingxiao excelled in everything he did. Whatever he did, he seemed to effortlessly achieve perfection and reach the pinnacle of excellence.
Chen Yunzhong was acutely aware of the gap between himself and Huo Pingxiao and tried his best to catch up. He also had ambitions and lofty aspirations, but when he was in his teens, a tragedy struck his family. His father became a sacrifice in the power struggle in the official circles of Jiannan, losing his position and eventually succumbing to depression.
He had seen enough of the power struggles and the faces of manipulative individuals, gradually developing a great ambition for power.
However, Huo Pingxiao’s life was completely different. He came from a prestigious family, and at the age of sixteen, he passed the martial examination in Jiannan and obtained an official martial position. He never relied on his father Huo Lang’s influence, but his career soared from that point, and he became a marquis at the age of nineteen.
Chen Yunzhong’s hopes were far from reaching Huo Pingxiao’s level.
He knew that before the incident happened, Huo Pingxiao considered him his most trusted friend. After their mentors passed away, Chen Yunzhong and Huo Pingxiao would meet every year at the Main Peak of Mei Mountain in a round pavilion. They would drink together and mourn their deceased mentors.
Chen Yunzhong understood Huo Pingxiao’s character. If he had an affair with a woman, even if it was unintentional, he would still take responsibility for it.
Chen Yunzhong’s younger sister had admired Huo Pingxiao for a long time, so he put a drug in Huo Pingxiao’s drink. The drug was extremely potent. Huo Pingxiao tried to suppress its effects with his internal energy, but he was intercepted by government troops midway, sustaining an arm injury. While his combat abilities were diminished, he still managed to escape halfway up the mountain.
He underestimated the cunning of Huo Pingxiao, but he didn’t know that the man had already played him in the palm of his hand.
At this moment, some bandits came to report, saying, “Chief, the lady has been abducted.”
Chen Yunzhong’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and he also saw a strong figure riding a horse below the watchtower.
He saw the fair face of the girl, Ruan An, being held in Huo Pingxiao’s arms.
Is the so-called fiancé, Huo Pingxiao?
After this thought arose, Chen Yunzhong drew his sword suddenly, and after descending from the watchtower, he fought fiercely with Huo’s soldiers. He galloped towards the direction of Huo Pingxiao.
Both sides of the troops were still engaged in battle, and Chen Yunzhong had not reacted, but Huo Pingxiao had already arrived on horseback. A flash of cold light passed in front of him, and the man swung his sword with a loud “swish,” and the black iron blade even carried the strength to shatter the rushing wind.
“Splatter!” A splash of blood.
The faces of the bandits around were all changed, and they saw Chen Yunzhong with a pale face. In an instant, his left arm was only left with half of his arm.
Seeing the young and handsome Marquis Dingbei sitting steadily on the horse, his arrogant eyes carried a hint of disdain. The blade pointed to the blood of Chen Yunzhong under the scorching sun, revealing a cruel air.
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was cold and deep, “Chen Yunzhong, I, the Marquis of Dingbei, regarded you as a dear friend for many years, and you actually used a drug on me for your own selfishness.”
Chen Yunzhong’s lips turned pale, and his eyes stared at Ruan An with a trembling voice, saying, “You knew I liked her, so you used her as bait to lure me into a trap!”
As this statement fell, Huo Pingxiao clearly felt that the soft body in his arms gradually stiffened.
His sharp eyebrows frowned tightly, and when he waved his horsewhip vigorously and held the girl in his arms tightly, he whispered in her ear, “I will explain everything to you when it’s safe.”
Chen Yunzhong, however, regardless of his severed arm, ordered the guards to capture Ruan An.
Many things happened after that, for Ruan An, the memory was fragmented and even somewhat blurry.
She remembered Huo Pingxiao’s deputy taking over everything here, and the man rode with her into the forest, using throwing darts to kill the bandits chasing them.
Ruan An had been worried that Chen Yunzhong would set fire to the mountain and destroy the medicinal fields.
It was only when the rain began to fall lightly from the sky that she breathed a sigh of relief.
Once she and Huo Pingxiao had entered the forest, the sky had already darkened, and the thunder grew louder, and the rain grew heavier.
Huo Pingxiao found a cave, a temporary refuge for the two of them.
The cave contained straw mats left by past travelers, and even Jinwu could enter; the mountain folk often sought shelter here from the rain.
When Ruan An was rescued by Huo Pingxiao, her feet were originally in wooden clogs, but during the rush on horseback, she lost both clogs without knowing where they fell.
She had been caught in the rain earlier, and now, with her two fair feet bare, standing on the chilly mountain ground, she couldn’t help but shiver. Her black hair fell behind her, her eyes seemingly veiled in mist.
After starting a fire, Huo Pingxiao looked at Ruan An. Surprisingly, his usual piercing and dark eyes held a hint of compassion.
He spoke first, “Miss Ruan.”
Ruan An, with a forlorn expression, lowered her eyes, enduring the icy cold from the ground, and spoke softly but tinged with sarcasm, “Sir Huo is truly honorable to rescue a humble village girl like me.”
“You are my benefactor, and because you were ensnared because of me, I should be the one to save you.”
Ruan An raised her head and saw the man’s dark eyes reflecting the flickering fire. He looked at her unabashedly, his gaze still sincere.
Shivering, she mustered all her strength and asked, “You knew early on that Chen Yunzhong was interested in me, that’s why you pretended to be my husband to use me as bait and suspected his identity was Qi Yixiong, right?”
“Yes.”
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was deep and resolute.
Ruan An softly said, “Sir Huo is really good at planning.”
Huo Pingxiao removed his fierce beast helmet, silent on how to explain it to Ruan An.
He had made a deal with her earlier and couldn’t tell her about being used as bait. He had sent skilled guards from the Northern Office to protect her. He hadn’t anticipated Chen Yunzhong’s impulsive actions or that Yang Wei hadn’t kept a close watch on Ruan An, allowing her to be abducted.
Ruan An hadn’t eaten or rested properly for two days and was also feeling the effects of the cold. She didn’t possess Huo Pingxiao’s level of endurance.
Huo Pingxiao looked at her again and saw the delicate girl leaning forward, nearly fainting.
He hurried over, carefully lifted her, and gently placed her on the straw mat.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, and they would have to spend the night in the mountains.
After dozing for a while, Ruan An realized she had a high fever. When she woke up slightly, she felt as if Huo Pingxiao had removed his armor and embraced her entirely.
The man’s body was strong and robust, much warmer than hers. He was using his body to keep her warm, without making any other inappropriate moves.
Ruan An wanted to resist his care, but she couldn’t help but cherish the warmth he provided.
She had liked him for a long time, but she couldn’t allow herself to fully surrender.
If she had to say when she started liking him, it was probably during their reunion in Lingnan.
Huo Pingxiao held the girl’s delicate chin and fed her some water from a pouch.
As Ruan An regained some consciousness, she felt that even though the man might not care about her reputation, she needed to explain, “Chen Yunzhong is not a good person, but he has been extremely kind to me and would never force me…”
“Hmm,” Huo Pingxiao replied in a deep voice while reaching out to check her temperature.
The man’s palm, rough and large from martial arts practice, covered her entire face, nearly shielding her completely.
Due to the high fever, Ruan An began to speak incoherently, softly complaining, “You planned everything in advance, the medicine apprentices, you arranged it all, making it seem like I had two wishes…”
When she was clearheaded, she was afraid of him, but in her confused state, she dared to scold him. However, her voice was sweet and childlike, even in her reprimands.
Seeing that Huo Pingxiao did not respond, Ruan An, in her dazed state, gazed at him and asked, “Is it true?”
“Yes,” the man’s tone, initially lowered, gradually became warm.
Huo Pingxiao had a proud and arrogant personality and was not known for having a good temper. However, for some reason, he was always patient when he was with Ruan An.
The man could smell the faint medicinal fragrance on the girl, which had become familiar to him recently. He disliked the heavy makeup smell on noblewomen in Chang’an but did not mind the medicinal fragrance, finding it calming.
“In that case, you owe me two wishes, remember to make me an offer when I wake up,”
After saying this, Ruan An unexpectedly giggled foolishly in his arms. Her two fair and tender little feet kicked his leg haphazardly, one after another.
The strength was not heavy, but Huo Pingxiao’s breath suddenly deepened a bit, and he didn’t expect his reaction to be so significant.
His sharp brows slightly furrowed, and the hard, cold lump in his throat trembled as he was about to speak to stop Ruan An’s actions.
Suddenly, he remembered the evasive look Ruan An gave him when she woke up that day.
Huo Pingxiao raised her small face again with his palm, and asked in a deep voice, “Did something happen between us that day?”
Just then, the wind and rain that entered the cave extinguished the campfire. Ruan An had had night vision problems since she was a teenager, and it hadn’t improved despite taking countless medicines.
She couldn’t see the man’s deep, inscrutable eyes clearly, and her rationality hadn’t completely relaxed.
Huo Pingxiao was destined to marry a young lady from a prominent family, and even if he had other lovers, they could only become concubines in the courtyard.
She came from humble origins and couldn’t enter high society. Moreover, being trapped within the walls of the Marquis’s mansion was not her wish.
Before meeting Huo Pingxiao, Ruan An had also thought about what her future husband would be like. Her ideal partner would at least share her interests and have some knowledge of medicine and healing.
The two of them could make a living, travel the land, and treat unusual diseases.
Ruan An also wanted to write the comprehensive medical record she had always wanted to complete, and she had already thought of a title for it – “Jiannan Medical Record.”
Ruan An continued to evade him with her usual excuses and stammered, “What happened? I have a fiancé in Chang’an.”
When she mentioned her fiancé, a shadow of sadness flickered in Huo Pingxiao’s eyes, something he had not been aware of. He held the young lady’s head with his well-defined fingers, his voice low, “Why do I feel like your fiancé isn’t a good person?”
—”You’re already engaged, so why use the imperial exam as an excuse to leave you here in the mountains without care?”
“Chang’an is full of talents, he naturally has to focus on the imperial exam. He wants to become the Chief Magistrate who represents the people. Once he passes the exam and stabilizes his career, we will naturally choose an auspicious day for our wedding.”
As the young lady softly explained, Huo Pingxiao’s face still had a touch of coldness. He was about to get up to relight the extinguished campfire when he felt the girl in his arms suddenly wriggling a few times.
The man clenched his fingers suddenly, gripping the nape of her delicate neck. He patiently asked in a slightly hoarse voice, “Are you sleeping comfortably?”
Ruan An didn’t catch the bitterness in his words and replied truthfully, “Not very comfortable, it feels like something is pressing on my chest…”
“Pressing on your chest?”
Huo Pingxiao’s mood turned sour. With his dark eyes carrying a heavy sense of oppression, he suddenly bent down, gazing intently at the girl’s face in the night, and asked in a deep voice, “What is pressing on your chest?”
Ruan An’s consciousness gradually faded, and she replied absentmindedly, “It seems like it’s a stone…”
“Stone, huh.”
He dragged out the last syllable and reluctantly released Ruan An’s neck.
Feeling the girl’s two little feet on his lap were too cold, Huo Pingxiao lowered his hawk-like eyelashes and remained silent for a moment, but ultimately, he clasped those two fair little feet in his rough hands.
She said it was, so it was.
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Translated by: All Things Fluff