"Thank heavens I ran fast, or my life would be over!"
In the dense mountain forest, on a quiet little path, a young man of about eighteen was supporting himself against a tree, panting heavily while muttering to himself.
The young man was named Li Yi, hailing from a small village in this primal forest.
This primary forest is remote and located in the westernmost part of China, a desolate place rarely visited by humans, spanning dozens of miles filled with contiguous mountains and lush trees.
"Darn it, how come someone named Ruhua, which sounds so beautiful, is so ugly? And what's worse, she is my betrothed? If I were to marry her and bring her home, how am I supposed to live? Won't I be laughed to death by Da Niu and Er Hu?"
Li Yi pulled out a photograph of his fiancée from his clothes. Immediately, an image of a tall, hefty woman with a full-bearded face appeared before his eyes. The woman was unappealingly picking her nose.
"Eugh…"
Seeing this photo, Li Yi almost threw up his last night's dinner. Damn, is this my bride-to-be? Even the village idiot is prettier than her.
He must run from this marriage, if he doesn't, he is less than a man!
With one swoop, he tossed the photo away, looked around, and began to ponder how he could escape this endless mountain range.
"It's been eighteen years, finally, I can go out and explore. Uncle Tie Zhu, who has ventured out before, told me that the outside world is fascinating, with plenty of beautiful women. I will definitely find a pretty fiancée and bring her back, making Da Niu and Er hu green with envy."
Li Yi murmured softly, his eyes sparkled when he mentioned beautiful women, his face brimming with eagerly anticipation.
"I'll bring back a beautiful wife to the village to show the old man. Humph, how dare he force me to marry such an ugly woman, doesn't he consider himself my own grandfather?!"
Li Yi was filled with complaints. His grandfather was a peculiar man. When he was a child, he wasn't allowed to venture beyond the mountains, insisting the outside world was dangerous. But wasn't Uncle Tie Zhu and Uncle Ku Gen, who ventured out annually, just fine?
After he grew up, he was forced to marry a woman he had never met, claiming it was a pact made eighteen years ago and had to be honored.
"You could say that if the girl was a beauty, and since there was a marriage contract involved, I should just marry her, it wouldn't be a loss.
But damn it, this woman was too ugly. She was even burlier than a man, had a face full of a beard, and she even picked her nose?
"Marry her? I'd rather die!"
This was a solemn promise in Li Yi's heart. Of course, he still had a wonderful life ahead, to be honest, he was still a virgin, so he didn't want to die and he chose to elope.
"Humph, damnable old man, I couldn't care less about your bullshit agreement, you can have this ugly woman!" Li Yi grumbled as he walked, full of resentment.
Since childhood, he had never seen his parents. He was raised by his grandfather, lacking both the love of a father and a mother. The old man treated him not as a real grandson.
From the age of three, he was forced to practice martial arts, study medicine, and eat all sorts of disgusting herbs, life was unbearable. He was not even allowed to go out, sneaking out to attend a fair was his only chance, and if he got caught, he would be beaten.
When he was young, he planned to run away from home multiple times but always got caught by the old man, followed by a round of spanking. A truly miserable childhood.
Today, after finally getting the chance to receive some important guests, with the old man busy at home, he managed to escape.
"I'd rather be a ghost than cater to your guests, Old man, I'm escaping far byond, want me to marry an ugly girl, I curse you without anyone to care for you in old age!"
Li Yi, with a foxtail grass in his mouth, kept cursing.
"Sister, what now? Hello, can anyone help us out here, our cart has fallen into a pit."
As Li Yi kept walking and grumbling at the old man, suddenly a woman's urgent shout was heard in his ears. The voice was distant and not clear.
If it weren't for Li Yi possessing a mysterious power that heightened his physique far beyond ordinary people, including his hearing, he wouldn't have heard it.
"Yuxuan, don't worry, I'll call the male party and ask them to pick us up." Beside her, Long Yuhan consoled her sister while taking out her phone.
"What?! What did you say?!" As soon as the call got through, Long Yuhan, who was always very calm, screamed in disbelief, startling her little sister sitting next to her.
Long Yuxuan hurriedly grabbed her sister's clothes, got scared, and said in a trembling voice, "Sister Yuhan, what's wrong?"
Long Yuhan hung up the phone and spoke with a strange expression: "Yuxuan, we just got a message from the groom's side. The guy has run away. We don't have to go to that small village now."
"Yay! That's great!" The moment she heard these words, Long Yuxuan’s beautiful face lit up with a blooming smile and she jumped up in excitement, cheering loudly.
"Haha, finally, I don't have to marry a stranger. Humph! Grandfather is too old-school. In this era, who still arranges betrothed marriages? He kept mentioning a promise from eighteen years ago. It's like he is pushing his own granddaughter into the fire!"
Thinking about the entire journey, Long Yuxuan felt a surge of anger.
On her eighteenth birthday, instead of the family and friends celebrating with a birthday party, her grandfather suddenly announced that it was time to fulfill a promise.
It turned out that there was an arranged marriage from eighteen years ago. Although her parents looked uncomfortable, they consented.
Only then did Long Yuxuan find out that she had an arranged husband. She cried, made a fuss about it, and even tried to hang herself – all to protest.
However, the grandfather seemed to have made up his mind, saying that this marriage must be completed, otherwise the Long family…
He did not finish his sentence, but from her parents' faces, Long Yuxuan could tell that the situation was serious. Her parents who initially seemed hesitant immediately agreed to support the marriage.
In order to protest, Long Yuxuan chose to flee. But before she could get out, she was caught.
In the end, she was escorted by her elder sister, Long Yuhan, to the groom's village. They insisted on holding the wedding ceremony there.
Moreover, the grandfather ordered not to bring any bodyguards. Only the direct relatives of the Dragon family could go to the small village. So, on their way, the two sisters drove the car and kept asking around for directions to the small village according to the given map.
Thinking about it, who exactly is Long Yuxuan?
She is the second daughter of the Dragon family, one of the four wealthiest families in Chongqing City, with hundreds of billions of family assets. Not to mention, she's also considered one of the three most beautiful girls at her school, and her academic performance is top-notch.
How can such a prodigious girl be doomed to marry a man living in a remote mountain village whom she has not even met yet? A man whose looks and personality are a complete mystery to her?
What a fate!
To this effect, Long Yuxuan has shed ample tears in front of her grandparents and parents, to no avail.
This arranged marriage must be fulfilled, even if it means she must die in that small village!
That's her grandfather's final word!
After driving for two days, the closer Long Yuxuan was to the village, the more despair she felt, feeling that her life was ruined. However, she was suddenly taken aback by the wonderful news that came to her.
"Haha, I'm going back to treat my entire class to a grand feast for three days, I'm going to invite my besties to travel around the world."
Long Yuxuan was overjoyed, this was the best news she has received since her birth, "My groom-to-be has run away!"
"Why did he run away? My sister is so pretty, and our family is so wealthy." Long Yuhan was full of doubts, murmuring to herself.
However, deep down, she was happy for her sister. If not for their parents and grandfather's insistence, she did not want her sister to marry into such a remote place, especially when they have not even met the man. He could be good or bad, handsome or not.
"Hehe, I'm the smart one here."
Long Yuxuan chuckled to herself. Of course, she knew why the groom-to-be ran away - it was her little secret, and no man would be willing to marry a woman like her.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
At this point, Li Yi, a stick of cogon grass dangling from his mouth, shouted from a not too distant hillock.
