Chapter 282
Their embrace came to an end when Su Chan's stomach let out a long growl of protest . And Su Chan would have a few choice words for that accursed organ of hers if it hadn't just caused Yundong to laugh .
God . She missed Yundong's laugh .
She missed Yundong . Period .
Yundong pressed their foreheads together . "Looks like my princess cheap monk is hungry . "
Su Chan blushed . "A- A little?" Lies . She was famished .
Yundong smirked . "I bet your stomach disagrees . "
Out of fear that her cheeks would suddenly burst into flames, Su Chan buried her face into the warmth of Yundong's chest . "I… I ran out of money . "
Yundong kept stroking her hair without saying anything .
Su Chan suddenly pulled away and raised three fingers . "But I was thrifty!"
Yundong just looked back at her with amusement . And the words just kept pouring out of Su Chan's lips . "I knew I didn't have Hello Keedee with me, so I spent my pocket money carefully . I- I- I even…" Su Chan lowered her hand and let her voice dropped into a mumble . "I even divvied up the coins…"
She did more than that though . Drinking water to stave off her hunger . Making sure that she wouldn't pass by any Mac Doo Nurls shops in all her routes . She even considered catching fish in the river, for Heavens' sake . She wondered how long it would take before she finally gave in and let that annoying stalker buy her a meal .
Yundong cupped her cheeks with both hands . "Don't worry, okay? I'm here now . " Yundong smiled . "I'll make sure you never starve again . "
Su Chan gripped the hands on her cheeks and held on tight . He was here . Yundong was here . She couldn't believe that he was really here .
"Yundong…"
"Yes?"
"Have you… um…?" Su Chan pointed at the sky .
Yundong smiled . "Yes . "
Relief coursed through Su Chan, and she threw her arms around his neck . "You did it, Yundong… You really did it . " She hugged him tighter and felt the firm pressure of Yundong's hands on her waist . "I'm so glad…"
"I had help . "
The word "help" set off a dozen of alarm bells in Su Chan . She ended their embrace and met Yundong's confused eyes . She had to tell him about Master .
"Yundong… I… Master… She—"
Yundong suddenly pressed a finger to her lips . His eyes looked dead serious .
"Not here," he said in a low voice .
Yundong removed his finger after Su Chan nodded .
"Where have you been staying?" he asked .
"Master has a corn-door house in this area," Su Chan answered, trying everything to tamp down her anxiety .
Yundong's eyes just now . It was like he knew something . Had he heard about what happened to Master already?
Yundong glanced around a few times .
"Yundong?"
Yundong flashed her a smile . "Let's go," he said, moving forward to take her hand .
"Oh . " Su Chan blinked a few times . "Where to?"
Yundong looked at her strangely . "To your Master's place . " He smiled again . "So that I can feed that noisy stomach of yours . "
Su Chan blushed . She thought he was taking them back to Tiannan City . They could fly back pretty quickly if they wanted to .
Su Chan squeaked when her feet suddenly left the ground . They were levitating . Her gaze snapped towards Yundong, who was grinning back at her . She shouldn't even be surprised, really . If he managed to survive the Heavenly Thunder, then he would've reached, at the very least, the advance stages of the Shentong phase by now .
Yundong flew them upwards until they both landed on the granite bridge .
Su Chan stole a glance at Yundong . He was still glancing around as though he was looking for something in their surroundings .
Something about him felt different .
Appearance-wise he was still the same, of course: handsome; fit; a bright and sunny expression .
It was the way he carried himself that felt different . He seemed much calmer and less volatile than she remembered . He also seemed more serious and less playful . Before Master separated them temporarily, Yundong was the very definition of a chaotic power source, like a tempest, or a typhoon . But now, he was like the ocean—calm, yet still possessing the same capacity for power .
Was this the result of his survival of the Heavenly Thunder?
Yundong suddenly closed his eyes . There was a focused look on his face, like he was listening hard for something .
Su Chan waited for him to open his eyes before she did something she hadn't done for a long, long time: tug his sleeve .
Yundong's smiling eyes slid to her face, and for a moment, Su Chan actually forgot what she wanted to say .
"U- Um… Eryue?"
Yundong sighed, then nodded . "Just wanted to make sure that we aren't being followed . "
Calm . Careful . Controlled .
This was the new Yundong .
To be honest, she kind of liked this version of him . Though she kind of missed his playful side too .
"Shall we go?" Yundong asked .
Su Chan beamed . "Mm!"
They stared at each other for a moment . Yundong didn't move, and neither did she .
Of course, her traitorous stomach had to interrupt their little moment by growling so loudly that she was pretty sure the whole Dongwu City could hear it .
Yundong burst into laughter . And Su Chan found herself openly staring at him, captivated by the fact that he was here, alive and well .
Yundong stopped laughing and cleared his throat . "You're gonna have to lead the way, you know?"
Su Chan blinked away the remnants of her daze . "Hmm?"
Yundong caressed the side of her cheek . "I don't know the way to your master's place . "
"O- Okay…"
"Alright . " Yundong's smile broadened . "Let's go . "
"P- Piggy, piggy," Su Chan blurted out .
Yundong stopped mid-stride and turned his head around to look at her . He looked far too amused for Su Chan's ability to suppress her blush .
"You want me to give you a piggyback ride?"
Su Chan peeked up at him from under her lashes . Was that okay? Was that too presumptuous?
She nodded meekly, then turned away to hide her blush .
There was shuffling of feet .
"Hop on, milady . "
Su Chan glanced down and saw Yundong kneeling in front of her with his back facing her .
When Su Chan didn't move right away, Yundong looked over his shoulder and grinned . "Well? What are you waiting for?" He nudged her calf with his hand . "Hop on . "
She did, by throwing her entire weight onto his back .
Yundong yelped . "Hey, hey, hey… Easy, princess . Easy…"
Su Chan giggled . She knew he was just joking; there was no way her measly weight could hurt his Jindan-enhanced body . Plus, she had probably lost a decent amount of weight due to the frugal lifestyle that she had recently adopted .
"Ready to go?" Yundong asked .
Instead of answering, Su Chan kicked her foot on Yundong's butt the same way she would when riding a horse .
Yundong chuckled and started walking .
Su Chan pointed with her finger to indicate the right direction to Master's corn-door, then lay her cheek against Yundong's shoulders . She was so tired, and Yundong's body felt so warm .
"Chan'er…"
"Mm?"
"Let's not part with each other again, okay?"
A tear slid down Su Chan's cheek . She bit her lip to stifle a sob, then quickly turned away to prevent her tear from wetting Yundong's neck .
"Mm . " Su Chan nodded even though she knew that Yundong couldn't see her . "I won't let you go . I won't . "