MLiS – Chapter 12.3

I Suppose, I Am Truly in Love With You

Qian Xu gently rubbed Luo Lan’s hair with his chin, “Luo Xun. What do you even like about Qian Xu? He’s just an insignificant little man. He has no power, no money, and not even good health.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that!”

“There are obviously many excellent men around you. Even if you don’t like Duke Chen Sha, there are still Duke Chu Mo who is gentle and considerate, Duke Zi Yan who is well-informed and interesting, and Duke Zuo Qiubai who is knowledgeable. Compared to them, I am just a speck of dust. How could you like me instead of them? Perhaps, it’s just because you lost your memory. You suddenly were sent to an unfamiliar place and in that unfamiliar place, there was someone that treated you well, because of it, you treated that person as the one that you love deeply.”

Luo Lan didn’t instantly deny Qian Xu’s analysis. She thought over it carefully before answering him. She was serious about her feelings. She wanted to convey it properly.

“If I am not a fake princess, I may not cherish your kindness; If you are not an orphan, you may not understand my loneliness and helplessness; If I am not all alone in this world, I may not want to be close to you; If you are not ill, you may be the busy soldier and not have time to accompany me; If I have not lost my memory, I may not fully trust you; If you are not an ordinary person, you may not treat me equally and gently. Without these ifs, maybe we won’t meet at all, or even if we meet, maybe we will pass by each other, just like a stranger. However, there is no if, only result. No matter how ordinary Qian Xu is, he is the warmest light in Luo Xun’s life; No matter how troublesome Luo Xun is, she is someone that Qian Xu can never give up.”

Luo Lan’s voice was getting sweeter for each word she spoke. Listening to her sweet voice,  it was like being dunked in honey. Qian Xu bowed his head and kissed her hair lovingly.

Luo Lan smiled, “I think love is like the birth of life, an inevitability intertwined by countless happenstances, a destiny bestowed by fate. Once it happens, there is no if, only result.”

As if his heart eased, Qian Xu sighed, “No one can predict when it will happen. No one can predict for what reason it will happen. Just because it can happen, it will happen. There is no if, only result”

Luo Lan pleaded softly, “Qian Xu, leave Alikarta with me, okay?”

“Not afraid of my illness?”

“Not afraid!”

Qian Xu was silent for a moment. “Okay!”

Luo Lan’s excitement went through the roof. She faced Qian Xu in an instant. 

Qian Xu stretched out his index finger. He put it gently on her lips, “Promise me one thing.”

Luo Lan nodded like a chicken.

“I love you! Love you more than anything. Love you more than you can ever feel. Otherwise, I won’t be here. That’s why, you must promise me this. No matter what happens in the future, you must take good care of yourself. If, one day, I mutated and can no longer regain my sanity, you absolutely must not let that beast hurt you, the person that I love the most!”

Luo Lan pursed her lips.

“Promise me!” Qian Xu was earnestly solemn, clearly stating this was a serious matter and he wouldn’t make any compromise about it.

Luo Lan closed her eyes and eventually nodded. There was a hint of tears in her eyes.

Only after that did Qian Xu withdraw his hand.

Luo Lan buried her face on his chest. She solemnly swore to him, “I’ll cure you, I definitely will!”

The two of them were so close to each other. Hands intertwined. Listening quietly to each other’s breathing, to each other’s heartbeat, to the sound of the wind blowing outside the tomb-like crypt.

————·————·————

They got out of the crypt when the storm ended.

Luo Lan jumped out and stretched herself.

From a high place, Qian Xu surveyed the distance. He was bathed in the moonlight. “Further forward is the main area of the rock forest. There, we will find the Yanfeng beast.”

“I understand, I’ll be careful.”

“Then, it’s all up to you.”

Luo Lan’s eyes gleamed, her focus was on Qian Xu, loaded with expectation.

Two days ago, in order to make her relax, he enticed her using a beauty trap. This time, she was not distracted, he also rested well. See if he has any tricks under his sleeve!

Qian Xu noticed, of course. With affectionate eyes and a bright smile, he said, “For you… isn’t it enough just to use a beauty trap?”

Luo Lan’s heart was drumming. Qian Xu’s eyebrows were like a thousand mountains and his eyes were like the rising sun. She could feel her face warming just from looking at him. Ai! Qian Xu was right. It’s really enough to use a beauty trap to deal with her!

She knew that he couldn’t let her be dependent on him. She calmed herself. With determination, she cheered up. She would rely on herself and do her best!

“Ready to go?” Qian Xu asked with a smile.

Luo Lan was done calming herself. She adjusted her breath and threw out all distracting thoughts. “Let’s go!”

————·————·————

Along the way, Luo Lan was highly focused and on high alert, but apart from gerbils and snakes, she didn’t encounter any other beasts.

Five hours later, Qian Xu called out to her, “Xiao Xun.”

Luo Lan’s steps halted immediately. “Should we find a shelter to rest?”

“Mn. What do you think about that cave?”

Luo Lan followed the direction of Qian Xu’s finger. Among the rocks lined up, there was a decent cave on a boulder as high as a hill.

“Let’s take a look.”

They climbed over and scanned the cave. The cave was very deep, narrow on the outside and wide on the inside, which was very suitable for avoiding storms.

“Compared with the shelter from two days ago, this place is like a luxury hotel, but…” Luo Lan raised an energy-saving lamp. It glowed on the claw marks on the rock wall. “This should be a cave of a Yanfeng beast.”

Qian Xu studied the cave in all directions, “It’s very clean, definitely not an abandoned cave. The owner of the cave should be back before the storm.”

Luo Lan checked the time and proposed, “Let’s seize this cave before the Yanfeng beast comes back!”

“Mn, let’s.”

————·————·————

Despite the fact that the Yanfeng beast lived in a world full of sand and rocks, it didn’t like to have sand and rocks in its cave. After each storm, it would clean the sand and rocks in its cave.

If they wanted to seal the entrance, they would require enough rocks. Fortunately, the entrance was not huge in size.

In addition, this place was a rock forest. If they searched outside, there wouldn’t be a lack of rocks.

Qian Xu found three large rocks, large enough to seal the entrance. He transferred them to the entrance of the cave.

Luo Lan emptied her adventurer backpack. She then used it to transport small rocks to the cave to fill in the little gaps.

She had transferred those small rocks 6 times back and forth from the cave. There was still some time left before the storm started and she intended to search for small rocks once again. Qian Xu pulled her hand before she could go, “Don’t. The Yanfeng beast may come back at any time, let’s seal the entrance instead.”

Just like before, he was the one in charge of piling the rocks, Luo Lan was the one in charge of spraying the multifunctional biomaterial.

Halfway through, Qian Xu hummed, “Seems like the owner is back.”

He said that, but his actions were still relaxed and unhurried.

Her panicked heart calmed down when looking at his calmness. 

Not long after, an earthy brown, bird-like beast with fleshy wings folded landed outside the cave. Its hind legs were strong and powerful, which could support its body upright; Its front claws were sharp and dexterous, which could pierce rocks.

It discovered that its cave was occupied by another. It roared angrily at them. When it roared, she could saw its teeth. The pointed teeth were like sharp swords.

It poked its head to squeeze in through the gap. It stretched out its front claws to grasp the rocks they had piled, trying to destroy the obstacles that prevented it from returning to its cave.

Luo Lan has seen a Yanfeng beast from a video before, but this was her first time seeing a real Yanfeng beast. Facing it so close, it produced a very different impression from only watching the beast from a video.

She was petrified and didn’t know what to do.

Qian Xu lifted his hand and shot several bullets at the Yanfeng beast’s head. It wasn’t hurt by the bullet, but it was forced to step back.

Qian Xu tossed the gun to Luo Lan’s hand with accuracy without looking back, still concentrating on filling the gaps, “I’ll leave it to you.”

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Footnotes

No footnotes!

Amoeba’s Corner

This time it’s a lamp, not a lights. Not a typo. Probably lantern-like lamp.

This chapter in a nutshell is Qian Xu planting death flag for himself.

What do you even like about Qian Xu?

Do notice Qian Xu call himself using 3rd person and not in 1st person. What do you even like about Qian Xu, Luo Lan?

Duke Zi Yan who is well-informed and interesting

What a polite way to say a ‘little shit’. Jk, Ily, Zi Yan.

Qian Xu himself didn’t acknowledge Bai Licang and Zong Li as good candidates for Luo Lan 👌

They despise human so much, after all.

Tbh, from the 6 Dukes, except for Chen Sha and Zi Yan, there is no one else suitable for Luo Lan. Even Chu Mo and Zuo Qiubai.

Another mention of 千山旭日. Thousand mountains and rising sun. Qian Shan Xu Ri.

This chapter contained lots of hints. LOTS. 

Speaking about this chapter, 

“Love is like the birth of life, an inevitability intertwined by countless happenstances, a destiny bestowed by fate. Once it happens, there is no if, only result.”

“No one can predict when it will happen. No one can predict for what reason it will happen. Just because it can happen, it will happen. There is no if, only result”

I particularly like these sentences. Such is love. It happens only because it can happen. Countless happenstances lead it to bloom. None could predict when it will happen, why it will happen, nor how it will end. 

In the end, there is no if, only result. Once it happens, you can’t go back. Moving forward is the only option.

“No matter how ordinary Qian Xu is, he is the warmest light in Luo Xun’s life; No matter how troublesome Luo Xun is, she is someone that Qian Xu can never give up.”

————·————·————

Sneak-a-Peek

If she ever got caught, even if she didn’t die, it certainly wouldn’t be better than death.

Obligatory Closing
If you like what I do, please consider checking my ko-fi! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
No advanced chapters yet because I am rushing Volume 1 lol

This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1510