Strange Tales of the Ghosts

The two of them sat under the tree quietly until nightfall. Neither of them ate, and they were starving. Suddenly, Qian Lu heard rumbling and turned to look at Xue Fu, who blushed in embarrassment.
“Are you hungry?”
“No.” The girl’s cheeks were blood red, probably because she felt embarrassed by the sound her stomach just made.
Qian Lu laughed as he was starving too. He stood up and said, “Please wait here for a moment, I’ll search for something edible and come back.”
“Sir, please no.” The girl heard his words and stood up in a hurry as if she was scared Qian Lu would leave her behind.
Qian Lu was well-educated, and he wasn’t silly either. He could see Xue Fu’s insecurity and comforted her, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind.”
“But… Will you marry me?” The girl’s eyes glittered shyly.
The girl’s words also made Qian Lu’s face burn as he remembered what he saw when he rescued her. The sight of her naked body indicated that she gave her chastity to him. If he disagreed, how would she endure this? But if he agreed, what about his dream of living in the mountains as a hermit? What was more terrifying to him was that he never thought a girl as pretty as a fairy would marry him. Although they’ve only known each other for barely a day, he thought it must be fate. They didn’t speak much, yet his feelings extended far inside him; he had to block them from his heart.
“I will.” Qian Lu nodded and walked towards the forest. He couldn’t hide his joy and turned around to urge her, “Wait for me here, don’t wander away. It’s dark, and there are beasts in the mountains.”
“Come back soon.” Xue Fu stood under the tree with his bright red wedding robe. The wind blew through her dark hair, and her gentle voice warmed his heart.
Qian Lu felt relieved and walked into the forest. It was rather dark, but luckily he checked his route in advance after deciding to run away from home. According to what he knew, there were some wild fruits on the east-west side of the forest, and he walked directly to the west. However, after he walked for a long time, the fruit tree was nowhere in sight.
“Did I remember it incorrectly?” Qian Lu couldn’t help but doubt himself as he almost reached the end.
At this moment, a wild chicken bumped into his legs and flung its wings. Qian Lu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he didn’t expect to see a suicidal chicken instead of fruits. He bent down and picked it up but found out it wasn’t an accident. The chicken didn’t bump into him suicidally, but because blood was gushing out of its throat. It was clearly bitten by some sort of beast. But no matter what, Qian Lu saw it as good luck, they didn’t need to starve now since he had found a chicken. Qian Lu didn’t rush back to Xue Fu; instead, he found a stream nearby and plucked all the features off, cleaned it thoroughly and started a fire before returning to the tree. Xue Fu sat under the tree, and before she could ask at the sight of Qian Lu’s empty hands, Qian Lu grabbed her hands, “Sir, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll know when you see it.” Qian Lu was still a young boy. His thinking was active, and wanted to give Xue Fu a surprise.
As expected, when they approached the fire and Xue Fu saw a half-cooked chicken, she was too happy to even speak, “Sir……”
“Don’t say anything, come and eat first.” Qian Lu wiped the stone next to the bonfire with his sleeves. He carried that stone from the stream and had washed it thoroughly. The blazing heat absorbed into the stone was also washed away, so he could let Xue Fu sit on it.
Xue Fu smiled at Qian Lu’s caringness. The light of the flames printed on their faces and unintentional glances made them confused as to whether their faces were burning because of the fire or not.