Helping Guan Yinping up on the horse behind him, Zhu Ran smiled at Yue Tong as he stood there. Patting the horse he smiled at him. "We really appreciate this. It will get us back to Shu much faster. Should only take us a few days to a week with a horse."

Reaching out and patting the young horse, Yue Tong laughed. "Don't worry about it. Getting to meet someone who is family after living so long alone, it was nice to get to know you some. And I was glad that I could tell you some about your grandparents as well my boy. He is a good horse and young too. Loves to run. I would say that once you reach the flats he would run for the biggest part of the day."

"That just means that we get home sooner." Smiling sweetly as she wrapped her arms around Zhu Ran, Guan Yinping giggled. "Again thank you so much. You don't know how much it meant to us."

"It will be fine. But now you better get going. Cao Cao's men are going to be back out looking." Turning his faded eyes back to Zhu Ran, Yue Tong nodded. "You have the map I gave you?"

Patting his chest, Zhu Ran smiled with a nod. "I do." Holding his hand down for him he gave him a firm handshake. "As we push north, and drive Cao Cao to the breaking point. We will come and look you up when we reach this point."

"I look forward to that." Yue Tong then sighed as he watched him turn and run the horse straight down the path he pointed out to him. "Though I doubt that I will ever see you again. I will at least get to tell your parents and grandparents what a fine man you have become. And I have a feeling that you and that little lady are going to end up together sooner than you think."

X

As the horse slowed when they reached a rougher patch in the trail, Guan Yinping sighed as she smiled. "I am glad that we got to meet him. You never knew your family was from Wei though did you?"

Guiding the horse through a rough patch on the trail, Zhu Ran laughed as he shook his head side to side. "I did not know that at all. It's interesting, but I am glad that things worked out the way that they did." Not telling her everything, but wanting to tell her some, he laughed as he looked over his shoulder at her. "So here is something that Yue Tong told me last night after you fell asleep. My grandmother, when she was little. Was promised to Cao Cao's father in marriage."

Flinching as she jerked wide eyes up to him, Guan Yinping blinked as she looked at him like he had ten heads. "Wait really? But clearly you are not related to Cao Cao so how did she get out of it?"

Stopping the horse and helping her down so they could rest him and stretch their own legs for a moment, Zhu Ran laughed. "Well she may have been promised to him, but she grew up with my grandfather, and the two fell in love over time as they grew up together. They snuck off when she was sixteen and married each other. As soon as they slept together, Cao Cao's father declared her unfit to be his wife because she was not pure. A year later, my mother was born, and soon as she healed from that, they left Wei for Wu."

"I see." Dropping her head as she sat down on a rock as he tied the horse, Guan Yinping took a deep breath. "At least someone got out of it."

Going to her, Zhu Ran reached down and pulled her eyes up to meet his as he bent down in her face with a warm smile. "I told you that story for hope you know. When you get home, sit your father down and have a talk with him. Tell him how you feel like you did me the other night. It could change what happens for you."

Her face flushed red, Guan Yinping couldn't help but smile with his face so close to hers. Even if it did help, that would just mean that she would never get married. She knew now that she could never love someone as much, or in the same way that she did Zhu Ran. "I can try that."

"Perfect. And I will help you with that one. I will talk to him as well, and maybe even see if Zhang Bao would be willing to let it go too." Winking down at her and laughing at how her blush deepened, Zhu Ran laughed. "One way or another, I will do my best to get you out of it alright?" When she only nodded and dropped her head he sighed as he reached down and grabbed her hand. "Come on, water and some food."

"Food? Something more than berries right?" Her red face gone as she covered her stomach. It actually felt so good to have food in her stomach from Yue Tong that she didn't really want to go another few days to a week without good food again and try to live on berries.

"Food food." Laughing as he went to the horse, he pulled out a bow and pointed at the quiver of arrows. "I can make my own and reuse the heads of the arrows as many times as I need too. Which means, nothing big like a deer or a pig, but some smaller animals are all game."

"Perfect." But then she gasped and dropped her head as she let out a sad sigh. Feeling his eyes on her, Guan Yinping didn't even look up. "Just tell me you know how to cook what you kill? I can do most anything, but whenever I would travel it would always be with my family and either my mother would cook while I trained with my father. Or the lower level soldiers would do it. I have no clue how to cook."

Laughing as he patted her head earning him a glare. "Don't worry I got that part too. And you get to learn how to do it." When her eyes opened in shock Zhu Ran nodded as he winked at her. "Exactly. Right now, stick close to the horse and if anything happens, take him and run, I will be fine. Alright?"

"Right." Looking over at the berry bushes not far from the horse Guan Yinping smiled. "While you go hunt, I will get some berries for us."

"Sounds good." Zhu Ran watched as she turned and went right for the bush using her shirt to gather them. Letting out a small sigh he turned to go and see what he could find to hunt to give them something more than just berries for the next week. Though he did wish he was taking her home to ask her father for her hand in marriage. 'But will always be a dream I guess.'

X

A couple of hours later, Zhu Ran and Guan Yinping sat before a fire as they ate. A couple of squirrels wasn't what you would call a feast by any means, but it was meat. And when you couple that with a few of the wild veggies that she found and the fruit, Guan Yinping found that she was pleasantly full.

Leaning over on Zhu Ran's shoulder, Guan Yinping sighed as she looked up at him. "So, we ran the horse a while today. How long do you think we shaved off today?"

Scooting down so that she could fully lay her head on his shoulder, Zhu Ran yawned as he sighed. "A couple of days at least. For the most part the trail was flat this morning so we ran for a few hours. Then walked him until we stopped to eat. We keep this pace up, it should only be about three, four days tops when you are back in Chungdu."

"I see." Dropping her eyes she took a deep breath as she let out a sad sigh. Once she was home, she was probably going to be forced to marry Zhang Bao, and she knew that likely hood of ever seeing Zhu Ran was going to be zero. He would go back to Wu, and then she would never see him again. And right now, that was what bothered her the most.

"Come on Yinping. What has you sounding so sad tonight?" Looking down at her, Zhu Ran blinked as he reached over and patted her knee a couple of times. "I would have thought that you would be elated to know how close you were to getting home to see your family?"

"I am. It is just that…." Taking a deep breath herself, Guan Yinping kept her eyes down. "Well I was just wondering if we are ever going to get to see each other again after this? I know you said that you are going to talk to my father about what is going on for me and I appreciate that. Even if he agrees to let me out of it. Once you go back to Wu I may never see you again will I?"

"Never say never Guan Yinping. I learned that through this. Before I met you, I would have never thought that I could get close to anyone in Shu. But you proved me wrong." Reaching out and making her look up at him, Zhu Ran smiled at her as he winked at her making her blush. "One thing you can always rely on though. If you ever need me, just let me know somehow. Nothing will keep me away. Well maybe your dad might delay me, but other than that."

Laughing as she sighed, Guan Yinping hugged his arm as she yawned and then let her eyes drift close. "That's good. I was worried that I would never get to see you again. That would make me sad."

Closing his eyes as he took a deep breath, Zhu Ran then looked down at her as her grip on his arm started to loosen and then fall off. She was already asleep. 'Girl you don't know what you do to me when you say things like that. But that can't happen.' He then moved her so that her head was in his lap as he looked down at her and let his eyes half close. 'But that is a promise I can and will keep to you Yinping. No matter what, or who, if you need me I will always be right there for you.'