Under the firelight, her eyes shimmered, staring deeply at Fang Yuan. "Chang Shan Yin, you are a hero of the great grasslands. Your reputation is well known. You are a man I can entrust my life to! Age isn't an issue at all. Back in the day, didn't Patriarch Giant Sun, in his thousandth year, marry countless young maidens every single year?"
Fang Yuan's expression darkened. "Enough, stop fooling around."
Ge Yao stomped her foot, raising her voice. "I am not fooling around! Chang Shan Yin, throughout this journey, my heart has been deeply drawn to you. Just now I realized that I have completely fallen in love with you. I am willing to devote myself, my everything, to you. Please accept me."
"Young lady, I already have a wife." Fang Yuan sighed, his expression complex.
Ge Yao immediately shook her head. "Your wife has already remarried! Even if you win her back, I wouldn't mind. I don't seek the position of the main wife. I can be your concubine. Even Patriarch Giant Sun had hundreds of thousands of consorts, but only one main wife."
But Fang Yuan's rejection was firm. "I will not marry again. My heart has grown still, like this poisonous decaying grassland. You are too young to understand this feeling. During my days in the wolf's belly, I could not move at all. I felt unimaginable pain. When my soul wandered across the vast grasslands, adrift and unsettled, my state of mind gradually sublimated. Reflecting on everything from the past, witnessing the life and death of many people—neither the suffering nor the happiness of my past life can penetrate my heart deeply anymore. I will begin a new life. I am a new Chang Shan Yin. I will not even return to the Chang Clan."
"Then come to the Ge Clan." Ge Yao's eyes lit up.
She earnestly pleaded, but Fang Yuan still refused, showing no signs of being swayed.
"Chang Shan Yin! Is your heart made of iron and stone? Are you still suspicious of me? Do I have to tear out my heart and show it to you like that stone man?" Ge Yao pleaded in a low voice, her eyes reddening, on the verge of tears.
Arooo!
At that moment, the sound of a wolf pack charging came from not far away.
A large pack of Poison-Toothed Wolves, attracted by the firelight, rapidly approached Fang Yuan and Ge Yao.
But around the campfire, Fang Yuan's own large pack of wolves also resided.
The two wolf packs soon clashed, entangling with each other in a brutal fight.
"This is a Thousand Wolf Pack!" Ge Yao's attention was drawn to it, her expression solemn.
Before, when encountering a wolf pack of this size, they would choose to retreat and escape. But now Fang Yuan smirked coldly. "No matter. Times have changed. We have our own wolf pack to aid us. Ge Yao, I'll have to trouble you to hold off the Thousand Beast Wolf King. My true essence is depleted. Once I recover it, I'll come and support you!"
The girl nodded, but didn't move immediately. Instead, she stared at Fang Yuan with burning eyes.
Fang Yuan looked at her. "Go on."
But Ge Yao pursed her lips, her gaze resolute, and still didn't move an inch.
Fang Yuan had no choice but to soften his tone and say warmly, "Fine. I'll think about it."
"But I want the answer now!" Ge Yao shot back immediately.
A sharp glint flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes. Outwardly, he let out a long sigh and proposed, "If you can kill this Thousand Beast Wolf King by yourself, then I will agree. I will marry you."
"Really?"
"Heh, the words of a Northern Plains man are as hard to take back as a gale-chased horse."
At this moment, Ge Yao's eyes shone brilliantly. "Mn, then you wait!"
Filled with fighting spirit, the girl charged into the battlefield, making straight for the Thousand Beast Wolf King.
Watching her retreating back, the smile on Fang Yuan's face quickly faded, his gaze turning utterly cold.
He hadn't expected Ge Yao to be so smitten with him, seemingly deeply in love. But love had always been unreasonable and hard to deduce with common sense. Back then, when Gu Yue Yin Huang climbed the Mountain of Success and Failure, she was pursued by a stone man.
As recorded in the Legend of Ren Zu— Ren Zu failed to rescue his eldest son, Tai Ri Yang Mang. At the very last moment of his own resurrection, when all his efforts came to naught, he was swept into the Fallen Valley by the Reverse Flow River.
His second daughter, Gu Yue Yin Huang, upon hearing this news, devised a plan to rescue her father.
However, to enter the Gate of Life and Death, one needed the help of the Courage Gu and the Faith Gu.
But these Gu were all with her father, Ren Zu.
Gu Yue Yin Huang could not enter the Gate of Life and Death, yet she wanted to save Ren Zu. Unable to think of a way, she went to consult the Thought Gu.
The Thought Gu then told her two methods.
The first method was to enter the Hollow Cave and then push open the Empty Door to directly arrive by Ren Zu's side. Then, through the Hollow Cave, escape the Gate of Life and Death. However, this method could only retrieve Ren Zu's soul, not allow him to be reborn.
The second method was to climb the peak of the Mountain of Success and Failure to find the single Success Gu. As long as she made a wish to the Success Gu, Gu Yue Yin Huang could rescue Ren Zu and successfully resurrect him.
Gu Yue Yin Huang had long known about the Hollow Cave, but couldn't find a way to enter it. Also, she wanted to truly revive her father, so she came to the Mountain of Success and Failure.
The Mountain of Success and Failure was not tall, essentially just a small hill. It was very special, formed from billions of "pebbles".
These "pebbles" were actually Failure Gu. There was also a single Success Gu located at the very peak of the Mountain of Success and Failure.
Gu Yue Yin Huang arrived at the foot of the mountain and began to climb the Mountain of Success and Failure.
The commotion of her climb awakened the Love Gu who was sleeping nearby.
The Love Gu, annoyed by having its beautiful dream disturbed, became very angry and wanted to take revenge on Gu Yue Yin Huang. It used its unique power to awaken a stone.
The stone gained life through love and turned into a Stone Man.
The Stone Man was tall and majestic, his body covered in gold, silver, copper, and iron, dazzling and splendid.
The moment the Stone Man was born, his first sight was Gu Yue Yin Huang. He found her to be a heavenly immortal and was immediately captivated by her beauty.
He followed Gu Yue Yin Huang, gazing at her graceful back, his heart filled with love.
Finally, he could no longer restrain himself. He ran in front of Gu Yue Yin Huang, blocked her path, and shouted loudly, "Beautiful maiden, your appearance is so dazzling, your figure is so elegant, your temperament is so noble. The moment I saw you, I was conquered by you. You are my love. Please, have mercy and accept my love for you!"