Lan Yan walked up to Jun Yelan and was startled by his innocent gaze. "What's wrong?"
Jun Yelan suppressed the darkness in his eyes, put on a childlike expression, and looked aggrievedly at the road ahead.
Lan Yan looked over. Had he gotten lost? "Did you follow me out just now and then couldn't find your way back?"
It was a perfect excuse for him. Jun Yelan nodded.
Lan Yan thought she had been careless. Fortunately, she found Jun Yelan. Who knew how someone else would have treated him!
"I'll take you back."
Jun Yelan nodded again and followed Lan Yan, his eyes cold, regretting missing this opportunity. He looked at Lan Yan's back, a hint of hatred appearing in his eyes.
Lan Yan happened to turn her head, saw Jun Yelan staring at her, and smiled, "Don't be afraid, this is my territory, no one dares to hurt you." She thought Jun Yelan was scared and uneasy.
Jun Yelan was stunned, and the hint of hatred in his eyes vanished. His gaze fell on the medicine packet. Was this person injured? He couldn't help but look at Lan Yan's right arm.
There should have been his bite marks there.
Lan Yan also noticed and smiled, "This is medicine to help you recuperate. I heard from the military doctor that you have a cold constitution, which is why your hands and feet are always cold. You just need to take your medicine diligently, and you won't be so sensitive to the cold in winter."
Jun Yelan's pupils trembled slightly. Even he hadn't paid attention to these things. Why was Lan Yan like this? He didn't understand, completely unable to comprehend the person before him.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of taking medicine?" Lan Yan teased him playfully. She reached out and touched Jun Yelan's head, smiling, "Don't worry, I'll find some candied fruit for you later."
Jun Yelan stood frozen, unable to shift his gaze from the words and actions of the person in front of him. In all his years, he had never met anyone like her, nor had he ever been treated this way.
At this moment, Lan Yan was inwardly delighted. She had finally touched Jun Yelan's hair! Seeing that his hair was messy, she quickly withdrew her hand and walked alongside Jun Yelan.
"Tell me if you want to go anywhere in the future. If you want to follow me, tell me that too. I know you're scared here, but I want you to know that from the moment I brought you out, I will protect you."
She looked at Jun Yelan with a smile.
Jun Yelan's mind went blank for a moment, then he fixed his gaze on Lan Yan's eyes.
Just then, the conversation of soldiers from a nearby tent reached them.
"What do you guys think the General is keeping that monster for!"
"The General isn't married yet, maybe he's fallen for him?"
"How is that possible? What's the General's status? When we return to the imperial city, there will be noble sons from prominent families to match him. That monster is all in white, just looking at him for too long gives you nightmares."
Jun Yelan clenched his fists, and the feelings he had just had towards Lan Yan's words immediately dissipated. He looked up and saw Lan Yan walking towards the soldiers.
Lan Yan stood behind the soldiers, her eyes burning with anger.
The soldiers saw her, stopped talking, and their faces were filled with fear. "General, we didn't mean to say that."
"According to military law, each of you will receive ten strokes of the cane," Lan Yan said coldly, dismissing the soldiers. "Remember, if there's a next time, I won't be so lenient."
The soldiers didn't dare to linger and scattered like startled birds.
Lan Yan hated people who gossiped behind others' backs, and those words had been overheard by Jun Yelan. She turned around, but Jun Yelan was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Jun Yelan?"
"Oh no, those words just now, could Jun Yelan have been triggered again?" She quickly ran ahead, saw the light in her tent, ran inside, and saw Jun Yelan, letting out a sigh of relief.
Jun Yelan stood with his back to Lan Yan. Hearing the gasping sound behind him, he chuckled self-mockingly. Yes, he was a monster!
Lan Yan couldn't see Jun Yelan's expression and felt a little worried, walking towards him. She asked, "Jun Yelan, I've already punished those people. Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't manage my subordinates properly." She didn't want to hear those words herself, let alone Jun Yelan.
Her heart aching, she reached out her hand, her attention focused entirely on Jun Yelan, and accidentally tripped over a stool in front of her.
She instinctively reached out to grab the person in front of her, and her hand caught Jun Yelan's sleeve.
With a tearing sound, a piece of torn cloth was in her hand. She looked up, and Jun Yelan's arm was exposed.
The veins on Jun Yelan's hand bulged. Thinking that he was still in disguise, he suppressed the urge to throw Lan Yan away. The turmoil in his heart subsided.
"Oh my goodness!" Lan Yan reacted abruptly, embarrassedly holding the sleeve. "How about you change your clothes?" Her peripheral vision caught sight of Jun Yelan's arm, and seeing many scars on it, her pupils widened in shock.
She dropped the sleeve, grabbed Jun Yelan's arm, and said worriedly, "How did you get these?"
Jun Yelan quickly withdrew his hand, covered it with the sleeve of his other arm, and shook his head. These scars were from his childhood; it had been so long that he had almost forgotten them.
He looked up and was stunned to see Lan Yan's tear-filled eyes.
Lan Yan could tell that those scars were old. Jun Yelan must have been abused when he was confined to that room. Bearing so much, how could he not be traumatized!
To push a perfectly fine person to this state!
She couldn't help but step forward, hug Jun Yelan gently, and murmured, "Jun Yelan, no one will hurt you again. Wherever I am, you will be."
Jun Yelan's body stiffened. This was the first hug he had received in twenty years. He felt the warmth radiating from Lan Yan, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.
Then he realized this strangeness and pushed Lan Yan away.
Lan Yan was slightly stunned, then smiled again, "I was too emotional just now. Right, it's getting late. I'll go brew your medicine. You should change your clothes." She picked up the sleeve, placed it on the table, and walked out with the medicine packet.
At the doorway, she sighed deeply. Jun Yelan was too miserable. How could she complete her mission? "You stinky system, if you don't come online today, then don't bother coming online anymore."
She stormed off with the medicine packet, finding every mission so difficult.
A crackling sound echoed in her mind. The system had heard everything she had said. It decided to remain silent for now, letting its host vent her frustrations. Besides, it wasn't entirely its fault; the higher-ups were just too powerful.
Jun Yelan looked at his hands. When Lan Yan had hugged him earlier, his hands had moved, and he had felt an impulse to embrace Lan Yan. He shouldn't have had such a thought. What had Lan Yan done to him?
A hint of panic appeared on his face. In the past, he had nothing and cared about nothing. But Lan Yan's appearance was a variable, an influence on him.
"No, she's different from me. I'm just a monster, a monster!" He convinced himself, looked out at the dark tent, and made a firm decision. "I must leave."