Chapter 20: Holding Hands

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

As soon as Su Jinyue’s hand touched Zhan Yihan’s, she felt an electric current pass through her fingertips. It was soft and numbing, striking her heart directly. She quickly retracted her hand in a panic. In her previous life, she and Mo Feiheng had held hands many times, but she had never felt this electrifying feeling before.

Zhan Yihan was shocked, and looked down at Su Jinyue’s hand. Although it was only a moment, he had clearly felt that soft, numbing and satiny feeling. It made him have a strong urge to hold her hand and revel in that feeling.

Noticing that Zhan Yihan’s gaze landed on her hand, Su Jinyue’s heart pounded uncontrollably. Why is he looking at my hand? Is he angry because I touched his hand? But he doesn’t seem that petty.

Looking at Su Jinyue’s slender and fair hands that were as delicate as a beautiful jade, Zhan Yihan’s Adam’s apple bobbed a little, and he reached out to hold Su Jinyue’s hand.

“The mountain road below is a bit steep. It’ll be safer for me to hold your hand.” He turned his head to look ahead, his ears secretly turning red. He knew that his reason was far-fetched, but the feeling of holding her hand was really nice, making him reluctant to let it go. Her hand was so small and soft, and it was very comfortable to hold.

Su Jinyue was stunned for a moment, before a slight smile crept across her face. He’s holding my hand. Does this mean that he also likes me?

Seeing that Su Jinyue did not retract her hand, Zhan Yihan’s lips turned up slightly. This was the first time he was holding a girl’s hand in his life. It was inevitable for him to feel a little nervous, but more than that, he was delighted.

“Big Brother Yihan, are you this nice to every girl?” Su Jinyue could not help but ask. Yihan is so outstanding, there should be many girls around him. As she thought about this, a sense of jealousy rose in her heart.

“Nope.” Zhan Yihan shook his head. He did not like being too close to girls, let alone having physical contact with them. However, Su Jinyue was different. In his heart, she was just like a younger sister to him.

A bright smile danced on her lips and she asked, “Then, am I special to you?”

Zhan Yihan smiled and nodded. “You and Yiping are both my younger sisters. Of course you’re special.”

Instantly, Su Jinyue’s smile froze on her face. To hell with being a younger sister. I don’t want to be his younger sister.

“What’s wrong?” Zhan Yihan looked at Su Jinyue in slight shock.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” Su Jinyue withdrew her hand from his and briskly walked ahead. Although he had already told her last night that he regarded her as his younger sister, she still could not help feeling disappointed.

Looking at his empty hand, Zhan Yihan’s brows furrowed and he ran to chase after Su Jinyue. Why did she get angry all of a sudden? I don’t think I said anything wrong.

Zhan Yihan went up to her, grabbed her hand and asked, “Jinyue, are you angry with me?”

“No.” Su Jinyue wanted to pull her hand away, but she did not succeed even after trying a few times, so she had no choice but to let Zhan Yihan grab it.

“Then why are you walking so quickly?” Zhan Yihan asked. He had no experience in coaxing girls, so he did not know what to do.

“I want to find the herb quickly. I promised Teacher to go back earlier.” Su Jinyue sighed resignedly in her heart. Forget it. Since I’ve already decided on him, I can only rely on my own efforts to make him fall in love with me. At least he hasn’t fallen for someone else yet, so I still have a chance.

“It’s dangerous here, I’ll go first.” Holding Su Jinyue’s hand, Zhan Yihan walked in front of her and continued ahead. This mountain was not like South Mountain, where people often went. Instead, it was truly a deserted mountain.

When he was young, he had heard from the old folks in the village that a long time ago, there were audacious villagers who had visited this mountain. However, after they went here, they never returned.

Yesterday, when Jinyue said that she would come to this mountain to gather herbs, he had vehemently opposed her. Afterwards, he still could not get her to change her mind, so he decided to accompany her here today. At the same time, he also wanted to see how dangerous this mountain was.

The mountain roads were steep and winding. The towering old trees, that reached to the skies, were verdant and lush, and the mountain flowers under the trees were brightly coloured. A mountain breeze blew through the trees with wisps of refreshing fragrance, intoxicating the people who smelled it.

“This place is not as dangerous as I imagined,” Su Jinyue said as she surveyed the surroundings. Although she did not obtain anything in the morning, she still felt that it was a worthwhile trip to see the beautiful scenery here.

“Don’t let your guard down.” Zhan Yihan scanned the surroundings with sharp eagle eyes. He kept getting the feeling that this place was not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface.

“Master! Little Elf detected a hint of spiritual energy.” Little Elf’s excited voice rang out in Su Jinyue’s mind.

“Where is it?” Su Jinyue asked in surprise. If there is spiritual energy, it means that there are herbs containing spiritual energy around. Looks like this trip really hasn’t been made in vain.

“In front, on your right,” Little Elf said.

“Big Brother Yihan, let’s go over there.” Su Jinyue pointed to the front right and said. She could head back sooner once she found the herbs that contained spiritual energy.

Zhan Yihan looked towards the direction Su Jinyue pointed at and said, “Follow behind me.” He kept getting the feeling that something was staring at them.

“Okay!” Su Jinyue nodded and her expression turned serious.

After both of them walked for more than half an hour, they saw a small lake not far in front of them. Compared to before, they had encountered many dangers along the way. Especially poisonous snakes, they had pretty much come across one with every few steps they took.

Although Su Jinyue carried snake repellant with her, it was not useful against all snakes. Most of the poisonous snakes, which wanted to attack them, were taken care of with Zhan Yihan’s dagger.

When she walked to the small lake, Su Jinyue looked around. “Little Elf, are you sure that this is the place?” There were indeed some herbs by the lake, but they were all common herbs that could also be found on the mountain, where she often went to gather herbs.

“Although the spiritual energy is very faint, Little Elf is certain that it’s here,” Little Elf said affirmatively.

Su Jinyue walked forward, but still did not find anything. However, she believed that Little Elf would not lie to her.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at the lake in front of her with furrowed brows. A thought suddenly flashed across Su Jinyue’s mind. Could the thing that contains spiritual energy be in the lake? Little Elf said that it’s not only herbs that contain spiritual energy, but there are also other things as well.

“Jinyue, look over there. Are those medicinal herbs?” Zhan Yihan asked as he pointed to a few ridged, green, enlarged and purple herbs by the lake.

Su Jinyue looked in the direction of Zhan Yihan’s fingers, and nodded. “That’s a creeping foxglove plant. It has the effect of dissipating blood stasis, reducing swelling, setting bones and staunching bleeding.” She had already noticed it just now, and she realised that the herbs growing by this lake were growing especially well. Perhaps it was because they were being fertilized with spiritual energy.