chapter34

He cried for a while before finally letting go of her. He looked a bit weak but still managed to force a small smile. His red-rimmed eyes and flushed nose made him look like he had been badly bullied.

Seeing him like that, Ran felt a pang of heartache. She raised her hand and gently patted his head, like comforting an injured little dog. Her tone softened as she said, "Simeon, I really do like you, but you have to understand me too.

Don't worry, as long as you behave, I'll always love you."

"Yeah, I know... I'll be good from now on. I won't make you upset again," Simeon nodded with red eyes, as if scared she would leave him the next second. Seeing him like this, Ran sighed again in her heart.

Even though this world saw women as tools for childbirth, it had to be said that the way they taught men how to behave was very effective.

In this world, a man's purity was valued just as much as, if not more than, a woman's in ancient China. Because of that, Ran felt this world was actually quite good.

Now that everything had been cleared up, Ran looked at the time and saw it was still early.

She stood up and stretched with a smile on her face. "It's still early. I'm heading into the mountains now, I won't be back tonight. I'll return the afternoon after tomorrow."

She looked at Simeon, who was still worried. She pinched his cheek and said with a playful smile, "Alright, don't be so nervous. I've gone into those mountains so many times, it's definitely not dangerous.

You're the only one at home now, so take good care of the house."

"Okay, I got it," Simeon answered.

Even though he still felt worried inside, he had just upset Ran earlier. So even if he didn't want her to go, he didn't dare say much. He quietly helped her pack the things she needed for the trip.

"How about you go after lunch?" Simeon tried to persuade her gently.

"It's still early, there's time before lunch," Ran said when she saw his nervous face. "If you're free, you can help prepare for the banquet the day after tomorrow. Or go clean the new house, since you'll be living there too."

When Ran mentioned the new house, Simeon couldn't help but imagine their married life. The sadness disappeared from his face, and he looked at her with a shy smile. Ran took the basket from his hands, carried it on her back, and waved at him.

"I'm leaving. I'll be back the afternoon after tomorrow at the latest. Don't worry about me."

"Okay. Be careful on the road," Simeon said with concern. "If anything dangerous happens, make sure to protect yourself first."

"Mm," Ran nodded with a smile and turned around, walking away quickly.

Watching her disappear into the distance, Simeon felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. He didn't turn back until she was completely out of sight. Looking at the empty yard, images of Ran being there flashed through his mind.

But in the blink of an eye, they vanished completely.

She had walked this mountain path many times, so she moved quickly this time. Along the way, all the plants sensed the pressure from her power and carefully retracted their vines. They didn't dare block her path.

Thanks to the guidance from the plants, Ran didn't get lost.

When the sun was high in the sky, her stomach began to growl. So she found an open space and sat down to eat lunch.

The dry food Simeon had prepared for her was stored in her space. Even though it was good, Ran took out a self-heating hotpot and a bottle of milk instead.

She opened the self-heating hotpot, walked to a nearby creek to fetch some water, put the heating pack inside, and while drinking milk, she kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. Even though she had already used her plant ability to apply pressure, which would alert her through the plants if anything happened.

Ran still didn't feel at ease and remained highly alert to her surroundings. After all, in this mountain range stretching over ten miles, no one really knew what kind of wild beasts might be lurking inside.

The first time she entered the mountains, she had heard the village elders say there were many fierce animals here, not only wolf packs but also tigers and bears. Even though she was not afraid of these beasts and was confident she wouldn't get hurt, she still didn't want to encounter them because dealing with them would be a hassle.

Ran hesitated for a moment but finally decided to take out her gun now. If her bad luck really brought her face-to-face with those wild animals, she could deal with them quickly.

Fortunately, until she finished lunch, no wild animals appeared around her. Ran packed her things and continued on her way.

In her mind, she roughly estimated that it would be evening by the time she reached the valley. As she walked, Ran suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The valley was far too quiet. Even though it was already winter, the weather wasn't that cold yet.

Even if some animals were hibernating, it still shouldn't be this silent. Since stepping into this area, she hadn't even seen a single wild chicken, which was highly unusual unless there were extremely dangerous animals or hunters nearby.

With that in mind, she looked around cautiously, immediately pulled out her pistol, quickly found a place to hide behind, and stayed alert while receiving continuous updates from the plants.

"Master, there are no other two-legged creatures here."

"Yes, Master, this area belongs to a wolf pack."

"Yes, the alpha is a completely snow-white, large and fierce snow wolf. It has a big pack too."

As she listened to the constant updates from the plants, Ran's expression became more serious. Her heart tensed up as well, because facing a wolf pack would be a real challenge for her.

In her experience, single beasts were easier to deal with, but once they were in groups, even small creatures like ants could become deadly. She had once seen with her own eyes a team of more than ten people being attacked by a swarm of mutated flesh-eating ants.

They didn't even have a chance to escape, and everyone was wiped out except for one speed-type ability user. That was why she never underestimated any kind of group.

Once they were large enough, any creature would have almost no chance to survive against them, like those mutated ants, or zombie rat swarms.

"Can you see what's happening now? Is the wolf pack nearby?" Ran asked.

If the wolves weren't nearby, she planned to leave immediately and avoid provoking them, but if they had already discovered her, then she would have to deal with them. Otherwise, if they got away, they would definitely come back for revenge later.

"After all, wolves hold grudges, and being remembered by them is never a good thing."

The plants quickly sent messages, not making Ran wait long.

"The wolves are chasing a group of wild boars. They've already gone deep into the mountains and didn't come this way."

Hearing this message from the plants, Ran finally let out a breath of relief. She stepped out from behind the shelter, still alert and holding her gun, then left quickly without any hesitation.

At that moment, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and the sky was gradually darkening. It looked like a heavy snowstorm was about to arrive.

Even though this was still Suzhou City, it was nothing like the Suzhou from before the apocalypse in terms of culture or geography. So Ran couldn't predict how much snow would fall.

She had to leave the mountain valley before the heavy snow came, or else it would be hard to travel if the snow got too thick.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but speed up. Since the apocalypse, she had trained her physical strength well.

This kind of journey was no challenge for her. The snow was falling harder.

Ran took a raincoat from her space and put it on, then stuck heat pads on her body. Instantly, she felt warm and much more comfortable.

But this snowfall wasn't the heaviest one. After the most intense snow had fallen, it slowly stopped.

Even though the snow didn't last long, there was still a good amount of snow on the ground and on the trees, making the mountain path harder to walk.

Ran had already changed into her hiking boots early on, but the snow still made the path a bit tricky to walk on.

This was the first snowfall since the start of winter. From now on, it would only snow more often.

Ran thought about it and decided she would send more power to Smoliv and the old plum tree later. She wouldn't enter the mountains again in winter.

She would only go back into the mountains when spring came and the snow melted. To make it in time, Ran didn't stop moving.

When she saw the mountain valley just ahead, a bright smile appeared on her face. She couldn't help but walk faster.

"Sister, you're here!" Just as she stepped into the valley, Smoliv's cheerful voice rang in her ears.

"Yes, I came to see you!" Ran answered with a smile. She quickly walked to Smoliv's side and raised her hand to place it on Smoliv's thick trunk, sending in a thread of power.

"Ah, that feels so good!" Feeling that pure power flow through its branches, nourishing its body, Smoliv couldn't help but moan in comfort.

Ran smiled and pulled her hand back, then walked over to the old plum tree. Just as she lifted her hand to touch its rough bark, the old plum tree spoke.

"There's no need. I don't know what that thing is, but it must be precious. You should keep it for yourself."

"I have more of this. It's not that precious to me, but it's very important for you." While saying this, Ran still placed her hand on the old plum tree and sent in a thread of power.

Feeling the power enter its body, the old plum tree couldn't help but shiver in comfort. Even though it felt great, it didn't moan like Smoliv did.

Though it stayed silent, Ran could still tell how much the old plum tree enjoyed it. She noticed flower buds suddenly covering its trunk, which then bloomed all at once.

Bright red plum blossoms proudly bloomed on the branches. This beautiful scene left Ran completely amazed.