After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Evening approached, the sky growing increasingly gloomy.

In the stuffy, damp air, the rich cold plum fragrance intertwined with the crisp snow cedar scent, colliding to create an intoxicating heat.

“This is bad. It might rain soon. I need to find a suitable shelter quickly.”

Shen Han bent slightly, lifting the unconscious woman onto her back, then stooped to pick up the fallen backpack, running towards the nearest mountain face.

Even while carrying a person, the uneven primordial forest terrain posed no obstacle to her.

The robust physique unique to top-tier alphas allowed Shen Han to traverse the wild, dense forest as if it were flat ground.

Of course, she wasn’t completely unaffected.

For instance, right now, she felt that her heartbeat and blood flow were somewhat abnormal.

The cold plum fragrance wafting continuously from behind her invaded like a ‘toxic mist’.

It made her heartbeat irregular and her blood boil.

At first, Shen Han thought it was some kind of magnetic field in this world affecting her as a dimensional traveler.

With more adaptation, this condition should improve.

But as time passed, the strange feeling not only didn’t subside, it intensified.

Even through two layers of clothing, Shen Han could clearly feel the softness of the cold beauty’s delicate body behind her.

The woman’s chin lightly rested on her shoulder blade, and her breath gently exhaled onto her neck.

For a moment, Shen Han felt she wasn’t carrying a stranger on a journey.

It was more like an addict carrying a poppy.

She wanted to devour the other person!

Realizing she had such thoughts, Shen Han nearly cried.

Though she was undoubtedly a lesbian, she was definitely not a lecherous pervert!

What was going on now?

Could it be that during the dimensional crossing, she was forcibly bound to some strange system?

Carrying deep self-reflection and self-doubt.

Shen Han finally found a barren cave just before the night rain fell.

The cave wasn’t large, but it was more than enough to shelter two people from wind and rain.

Carefully laying the woman on her back down on the ground, Shen Han didn’t even pause to catch her breath before quickly leaving the cave.

When she returned, she brought a pile of folded dry branches and two mountain chickens with their feathers and innards removed.

While slaughtering the chickens by the stream, Shen Han scooped up water to calm herself down.

She felt she had probably reconciled with this world’s magnetic field.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the cave, that restless and burning sensation instantly returned.

Shen Han lost even the mood to cook the roast chicken.

After starting the fire, she directly moved to the cold beauty’s side.

In the dim firelight, the woman lying on her side on the ground was not sleeping peacefully.

Her body was curled up, her scattered black hair covering half her face.

This made her lightly pursed red lips and tightly knitted brows particularly eye-catching.

Like two signal towers in the pitch-black night sky, they had a unique beauty.

As if possessed, Shen Han reached out to gently brush aside the stray hairs on the cold beauty’s cheek, tucking them behind her ear.

Her long fingers grazed the woman’s fair skin, causing a slight tingling sensation.

An invisible electric current passed through Shen Han’s fingertips, conducting to Gu Junwan’s sensitive and delicate earlobe, bringing her a hint of clarity from her daze.

Her beautiful eyes slowly opened, the golden pupils reflecting a strange face leaning close.

The owner of that face looked about seventeen, with fair skin, a high nose bridge, and a pair of clear black and white eyes that gave an impression of harmlessness.

Only those long eyebrows sweeping up to her temples seemed to harbor some dangerous arrogance, adding a touch of heroic spirit to the girl’s overall gentle and delicate features.

The scent of snow cedar permeated the entire cave, imprisoning Gu Junwan’s body and thoughts, leaving her nowhere to escape.

Seeing the cold beauty wake up, Shen Han quickly withdrew her hand.

In an instant, her gentle face took on a serious expression.

She said, “Do you know how dangerous your earlier behavior was?”

Gu Junwan propped herself up to sit straight, distancing herself slightly from the alpha before her.

She thought to herself: You’re the most dangerous one.

“Who are you?”

Gu Junwan was very clear about her current situation. Unable to escape or resist, she could only try to stall with the other party as much as possible.

If the other party was truly a ‘ghost’, they wouldn’t be able to hide it from her for long.

The cold beauty’s voice matched her overall demeanor, melodious and pleasant, like a gentle stream.

Just a bit cold, like a stream flowing from an icy spring.

However, being able to start a conversation was generally a good thing.

Thinking this, Shen Han’s face once again displayed a friendly smile: “My name is Shen Han. I really am lost in this forest. You’re the first person I’ve seen since regaining consciousness.”

“If I had any way to get out of here, I wouldn’t have chased after you. I can see you’re not in good condition. You should go to a hospital as soon as possible.”

These words, while not the whole truth, were entirely truthful.

She had also planted the small hook of ‘hospital’, hoping that if the other party followed up on her words, she could deduce the general technological level of this world from the level of medical care.

But how could Gu Junwan be someone who would easily hand over the initiative in conversation?

“My surname is Gu, I’m from the Free Federation.”

“You say you’re lost in this border forest, so which checkpoint did you leave your jurisdiction from?”

Gu Junwan’s tone wasn’t high, and her pronunciation was the kind that was very pleasant to the ear, clear and standard.

Shen Han understood every word, but was still somewhat bewildered.

‘Free Federation? Border? Checkpoint jurisdiction?’

Seeing the other party not speaking, Gu Junwan also fell silent.

In her slightly lowered eyes, there was a hint of confusion imperceptible to others.

She could see that the other party wasn’t pretending to be confused.

When she was speaking, although the other party’s face remained calm, the bewilderment and surprise in her eyes couldn’t be faked.

And this reaction was beyond Gu Junwan’s expectation.

She felt as if the other party was listening to some incomprehensible text.

If the girl called Shen Han was truly a ‘ghost’, she shouldn’t have reacted this way.

Shen Han shook her head imperceptibly.

She still wanted to know more information about this strange world.

After thinking for a moment, she took out a small surgical knife from her pocket.

With the blade pointing towards herself, she handed the cleaned handle end to Gu Junwan.

“Here, this is yours. I hope it can give you some sense of security.”

“I know you don’t trust me, and I didn’t bring an ID card, driver’s license, diploma, or property deed to prove my identity. Let’s just try to accommodate each other for now, and once we’re out of this forest, we can go our separate ways, okay?”

Hearing the girl’s earnest explanation, it would be impossible for Gu Junwan to say she wasn’t moved at all.

‘But why did she mention things like driver’s license, diploma, and property deed?’

‘What a strange person.’

Shen Han observed her reactions and saw that the other party maintained a constant expression. She pieced together a few more small pieces of the puzzle about this world’s cognition.

She deduced that the civilization pattern of this world should be similar to the one she had left behind.

And those differences could only be learned and supplemented once she left this place and reached a city.

Seeing that Gu Junwan hadn’t taken the surgical knife, she simply placed it gently in front of her.

Then she stood up and spoke in a relaxed tone: “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as we’ve reached an agreement. You rest a bit more, I’ll go prepare dinner.”

The girl left very decisively, like a gust of fresh air.

Taking away the pressure while also taking away the addictive, dependable scent of snow cedar.

Gu Junwan withdrew her gaze from the girl’s retreating figure and reached out her slender hand to pick up the small surgical knife placed on the ground.

The lingering warmth on the knife handle, mixed with the crisp scent of pine, soothed her palm, involuntarily arousing a hint of attachment in her heart.

This was an extremely dangerous signal!

Gu Junwan quickly put away the surgical knife, her fingertips brushing the back of her neck, confirming that the suppressant patch was still intact, only then did she breathe a small sigh of relief.

Regardless, the fact that she had been unconscious for over two hours was indisputable.

The other party hadn’t done anything to her and had even returned the surgical knife. These actions were indeed worthy of trust.

However, Gu Junwan wouldn’t lower her guard because of this.

The biggest stumble she had taken in her eighteen years of life came at the hands of the person she trusted most.

Night fell, dyeing the entire dense forest a thick ink color.

Only a small cave deep in the forest seemed to emit the only light in this world.

Shen Han finished preparing dinner, moved the wooden skewer with the roast chicken to the side, and turned her head to call towards the other end of the cave: “Miss Gu, chicken’s ready!”

Gu Junwan hadn’t told her full name earlier, so Shen Han cleverly improvised.

After all, the other party looked like a student, so this form of address wasn’t inappropriate.

After her words fell, Miss Gu didn’t respond.

Shen Han looked closely and found that the other party was lying prone next to a protruding rock, as if asleep.

She stepped over to crouch by the protruding rock, hesitantly speaking: “Miss Gu, aren’t you hungry? If you want to sleep, eat first and then sleep.”

There was no response, only a faint, heart-penetrating cold plum fragrance floating in the air.

Shen Han frowned, tentatively placing her palm on the other’s cheek, feeling a burning heat.

“A fever?”

Murmuring, she quickly extended her arm, intending to lay the person flat first.

At this moment, Shen Han’s eyes flashed. She noticed a small round patch on the back of Gu Junwan’s neck.

Most of the patch’s surface had been soaked through, revealing beneath it a small and strange ‘wound’.

Shen Han didn’t know what came over her, but the moment she saw that small wound, the feeling of her heart pounding and blood boiling from earlier in the evening surged through her entire body again.

Her canine teeth emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the elegant, subtle fragrance of cold plum exploded on her tongue.

She brushed aside Gu Junwan’s scattered black hair, a strong and primal desire urging her to slowly approach the other’s nape, exploring towards that strange ‘wound’.