Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

Speaking of which, he also has to thank Donghua.

If Donghua had not fallen in love with Jiang Ruan at first sight and brought her back to Heaven in order to change her fate, he would not have had the fate to accompany her to end her earthly ties, stay by her side and warm her heart bit by bit, and in the end, express his feelings to her under the pretext of protecting her from being discovered by Donghua.

Zheyan looked up at the gloomy sky.

The sky has been gloomy these days. All the immortals in the Heavenly Palace are under the low pressure of Donghua and are under the tension of the impending war with the Wing Realm.

Although Mo Yuan is the god of war, Qingcang of the Winged Clan on the opposite side has the Donghuang Bell that can devour the heaven and earth. Donghua, as the master of heaven and earth, cannot interfere. No one dares to conclude whether Haode can sit firmly on the position of Heavenly Lord.

At the critical moment of life and death, even Zheyan was always worried.

He was afraid that Mo Yuan would not survive this ordeal, and he was also worried that if Donghua discovered his feelings for Jiang Ruan, given Donghua's personality, who knew what would happen then.

Zheyan subconsciously thought of Donghua's domineering temperament, but forgot that although he himself appeared calm on the surface, he was also a god with Donghua's domineering, majestic and restrained temperament on the inside.

Noticing that Jiang Ruan had already packed her bag, Zheyan handed her the veil that she had placed on the stone.

Jiang Ruan took it and put it on her head. The falling veil covered her beautiful face.

On the way to Jian'an City, Jiang Ruan kept talking to Zheyan, who was a Jiujiu, introducing the local customs and people and appreciating the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers.

But on the way to Kunlun Mountain, Zheyan was the one who talked the most, while Jiang Ruan was the one who spoke the least.

Zheyan could see that she was deeply worried, and also noticed that she didn't even have a hairpin to hold her hair up, so he suggested, "I see the city ahead is quite large. Why don't we go to a shop and buy a hairpin while we're staying in the city?"

"Let's go to the market." Jiang Ruan said.

She didn't have much money, and although the hairpins in the shop were nice, all she wanted now was a hairpin to tie her hair up, so naturally the lower the price, the better.

Jiang Ruan and Zhe Yan walked into Si Shui City, where the city was bustling with people.

The two men first placed the horses in an inn, asked for two rooms, and then went out to the market.

It was afternoon and the weather was not so hot and humid. A beautiful woman in a blue dress, her face covered by a veil, was walking beside a handsome young man with extraordinary aura.

Passersby were involuntarily attracted and cast their eyes on the two people.

His figure naturally blocked Jiang Ruan's gaze, and Zhe Yan accompanied her to stop in front of a small stall.

There were all kinds of hairpins on the stall, all carved from wood in the shape of flowers and plants, and some with auspicious clouds. Jiang Ruan bent down and carefully selected them.

Zheyan, who was standing beside her, made hand seals in his sleeves. A simple hairpin with tail feather patterns engraved on it quietly appeared among the many hairpins without attracting anyone's attention.

Zheyan looked around and pretended to have just noticed the hairpin, then picked it up and examined it carefully.

"Look at this one." He handed the hairpin in his hand to Jiang Ruan to see.

Jiang Ruan took it and saw that although this hairpin was made of ordinary wood carving, it was very simple and elegant, especially the pattern on the hairpin that seemed to be carved with some kind of animal feathers.

Jiang Ruan asked the boss: "Boss, how much is this?"

Looking at the hairpin in Jiang Ruan's hand, the boss was stunned for a moment. How could he not remember that his hairpin carving skills were so good? And when did he carve this hairpin?

Seeing that the boss hadn't spoken, Jiang Ruan was surprised: "Boss?"

When it comes to external wealth, it’s better to take less rather than more, to avoid bad luck. The boss thought for a moment and held out his hand: “Three cents.”

Jiang Ruan paid the money and took the hairpin in his hand.

As the two were about to leave, the boss said, "You two are new to our Surabaya City, right?"

Zheyan looked over with interest: "How do you know?"

"Is it because there are no young women on the streets at this time, and we are walking on the streets, that we can see it?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Young Master, you are indeed very perceptive. Since you two bought hairpins from me, I might as well give you a heads-up. There has been a burglar in our city lately, and it's a flower thief!"

"Many young ladies in the city have suffered misfortune. If you two were married, you wouldn't have to be afraid at night. But I see this girl doesn't have her hair in a bun, so she must not be married yet. So... you should be careful."

Zhe Yan's expression remained gentle: "Thank you for letting me know."

Back at the inn, before Jiang Ruan could say anything, Zhe Yan spoke first, "Don't worry, I'm in the next room. If anything happens, I'll be here the first time."

Jiang Ruan thanked Zhe Yan: "Thank you very much."

Zhe Yan looked at her. As an immortal, he could easily see the expression on Jiang Ruan's face through the curtain. He said to Jiang Ruan half-jokingly, "If you really want to thank me, why not try my roasted rabbit?"

Seeing Jiang Ruan's surprise, he explained, "For hundreds of thousands of years, I've been the only one living in the Ten Mile Peach Forest. I rarely interact with friends, and the only family member left is a homebody who stays at home all day tutoring my apprentice, who is also my sworn brother. God knows how I've survived these hundreds of thousands of years. No one talks to me, and no one even judges my cooking skills."

The loneliness of more than 100,000 years really shocked Jiang Ruan.

Seeing that Jiang Ruan was weakening, Zheyan continued his efforts.

He looked at Jiang Ruan with a gleam in his lonely eyes. He was like a person who hadn't seen the sun for a long time and wanted to grab its rays eagerly. "Do you know how happy I was when you were injured and unconscious outside the Ten-Mile Peach Forest? Finally someone could talk to me. But I was afraid that I would scare you, so I turned into a bird to get along with you."

"But now, if even you become distant from me, then I will become a lonely person again, sitting and watching the sunrise and sunset all day long, without any joy or happiness."

Hearing him say this, and feeling the same loneliness he had experienced for hundreds of thousands of years, Jiang Ruan softened his heart. "If you don't mind me being a mortal and unable to tell the difference between a god's cooking, I'd really like to see your cooking skills."

"I'm so happy, how could I dislike it?" Zhe Yan said with a cheerful smile, "The fact that you're willing to eat it is my greatest joy."

Roast rabbit for dinner.

The ancient gods who survived from the prehistoric times are now able to make soup.

The charcoal and barbecue stove were borrowed from the inn, and the rabbits were raised by the inn's own family.

After Zheyan roasted the rabbit, he pulled off a rabbit leg and gave it to Jiang Ruan. Jiang Ruan took it, tasted it, and when Zheyan asked him about it, he kept saying it was delicious.

She thought the grilled fish he had made a few days ago was delicious, and the grilled rabbit he made now was even more delicious!

Zhe Yan also smiled, picked up the tea in front of him and clinked glasses with Jiang Ruan. "I didn't expect we'd get along so well. From now on, I'll take care of the meals on your trip to Kunlun."