Chapter 232 - 232 232 Does It Hurt

Words : 1417 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Does It Hurt? Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Does It Hurt? Zhan Lan and Mu Yan arrived at the foot of Black Wind Mountain together. “You didn’t ask your men to follow?” Zhan Lan curiously looked around; on the river surface that was over a dozen zhang wide, the center had already frozen over, but the edges had not. Mu Yan took out a fishing rod and bait, saying, “They’re at a distance, afraid they might disturb us...” He just wanted to be alone with Zhan Lan; those Hidden Guards lurking around always made him uncomfortable. Seating herself by the lakeside, Zhan Lan commented, “Fishing in the dead of winter, you’re certainly in good spirits.” Mu Yan curved his lips into a smile and draped his cloak over her, “How about a competition? Let’s see who catches a fish first. If you lose, you have to kiss me.” “Casanova.” Zhan Lan rolled her eyes at him, as Mu Yan’s contained laughter was followed by him casting the fishing line. After setting her own rod, Zhan Lan stared intently at the surface of the water. A quarter hour passed, and three fish were already swimming in Mu Yan’s basket, while Zhan Lan had caught none. Tiptoeing behind Mu Yan, Zhan Lan stealthily swapped their baskets and placed them back into the water. Glancing sideways at her, Mu Yan smirked and said, “If you lose, you kiss me. If I lose, I kiss you. You seem so eager for my kiss, each fish stands for one kiss.” Zhan Lan covered her ears, “I’m not listening, once I catch a fish, let’s have grilled fish!” Mu Yan, watching her cover her ears with glee, thought this was how a girl should be. However, his smile instantly froze on his face because a black bear had silently approached behind Zhan Lan. “Be careful!” With a leap, Mu Yan pushed Zhan Lan aside. Off balance, Zhan Lan slipped into the water. While grappling with the bear, Mu Yan sustained a scratch on his neck. He then delivered a forceful kick to the bear’s face, causing it to collapse to the ground, struggling to rise again with the intention of retaliating against Mu Yan. Then, Zhan Lan witnessed an even more terrifying scene: several black bears charged aggressively towards Mu Yan. If they faced off against the bears, neither of them would come out ahead. Without much thought, Zhan Lan pulled Mu Yan into the water as the bears on the bank roared at the ice. In the icy river, Zhan Lan holding Mu Yan’s hand, struggled to swim, finally reaching the opposite bank. The hungry bears on the other side continued to swipe their claws and roar at them. After dragging Mu Yan ashore, Zhan Lan saw his face deathly pale and began pressing down on his chest to expel the water. “You can’t swim!” Zhan Lan, seeing Mu Yan still unconscious, pressed hard against his chest. Mu Yan’s body was ice-cold, offering no response. “Forget it, in any case, we...” Zhan Lan placed her hand on Mu Yan’s cheek, leaned down, and pressed her lips to his, breathing air into him. A moment later, Mu Yan’s chest heaved with a breath, and he opened his eyes to see Zhan Lan giving him mouth-to-mouth. Embarrassed, Zhan Lan looked at him, partially in relief, saying, “You’re so skilled in martial arts, yet you can’t swim!” Sitting up, Mu Yan looked at her, “I’m afraid of water.” Zhan Lan’s lips twitched as she thought to herself: Then why did you bring me fishing? “Adding to the last time you fell into the water, this makes twice you’ve saved me,” said Mu Yan as he helped Zhan Lan up. Zhan Lan felt his hands were icy, and his body was soaked through. She looked around hastily, then her eyes lit up upon spotting a place. “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere.” Mu Yan let her grasp his wrist, and soon they reached Zhan Lan’s former secret hideout. Mu Yan’s complexion was extremely poor as he looked towards the steamy hot spring, “How did you know there was a hot spring here?” Zhan Lan couldn’t possibly tell him that in her last life, she used to bathe here, so she calmly lied: “I saw the steam rising from afar.” Mu Yan took off his soaked shoes and sat in the water, while Zhan Lan entered the cave and started a bonfire. She squatted beside Mu Yan and asked, “Does it feel much more comfortable now?” Mu Yan’s complexion gradually returned to normal, and casually pulled her into the hot spring pool, tenderly saying, “Be careful of catching cold.” Zhan Lan only felt cold once she sat in the warm water. She shrugged her shoulders and submerged herself in the water. After a while, she asked, “Mu Yan, why are you afraid of water?” Mu Yan gave a bitter smile, “When I was a child, I was thrown into a river and nearly died. Since then, I’ve been afraid of water.” Zhan Lan looked at the smile on his face, amazed that he could speak so lightly of such a life-threatening matter. “Then why did you bring me to the riverside today?” Zhan Lan sighed. Mu Yan tidied her messy hair for her, “Isn’t it because you were there?” “Mu Yan, be serious for a moment. What if I couldn’t have saved you...” Zhan Lan looked at him reproachfully. Mu Yan’s smile was radiant, “Luckily, I won the bet.” Zhan Lan’s gaze drifted as she suddenly remembered an incident from her past life. That year, she got engaged to Si Jun, and she drank too much at the engagement banquet due to the noble ladies’ persuasion, becoming unsteady on her feet. She ended up dragging Mu Yan, who was sitting by the river, into the water with her. Both of them fell into the water together while Si Jun anxiously instructed the Hidden Guard to rescue them from the riverbank. Later, Zhan Lan learned that Si Jun could swim; he simply didn’t want to get into the cold river water of late autumn. Looking back now, it was a miracle that Mu Yan, who couldn’t swim, had saved her, who also couldn’t swim at the time! Fortunately, after falling into the water, Mu Yan, with the advantage of his height, managed to drag her to shore; she had swallowed a lot of river water then. At the time, Mu Yan pressed on her body so that she could breathe fresh air. When she woke up, she saw Mu Yan looking at her coldly, angrily whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Have you lost your mind, did your future husband rescue you? Idiot...” Zhan Lan was scolded harshly by Mu Yan and she cried in grievance all night long. The next day, she asked her Master to teach her how to swim, simply because she didn’t want to be looked down upon by Mu Yan. Who would have thought that the swimming skills she learned in her last life would be used entirely to save Mu Yan in this one? Zhan Lan felt a pang of sorrow in her heart; even then, Mu Yan had reminded her that Si Jun was using her. But at the time, she was blinded by Si Jun’s sweet words and grand promises, utterly unable to take in those words. In her last life, she thought that Mu Yan was always targeting her, and every encounter ended unpleasantly. Now she realized those were all his well-intentioned warnings, but in her past life, she had indeed been foolish enough to turn a deaf ear. As Zhan Lan thought of this, her throat tightened, and Mu Yan looked at her, his heart aching as he asked, “What’s wrong? I can go learn to swim...” Zhan Lan turned to look at the bear scratch wound on his neck and softened her voice, “Does it hurt?” Mu Yan grabbed her hand that reached out and pulled her closer, saying, “A little.” “All the medicine I brought is soaked, after we go back...” Mu Yan interrupted her, pulling her into his embrace, resting his chin in the crook of her shoulder, and spoke softly, “It doesn’t hurt like this.”

Chapter 232 - 232 232 Does It Hurt

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