Uncle Nine, where are you running to?

The primary class is actually mainly about memorizing some basic medicinal materials, chanting soup recipe songs, and doing some medical enlightenment.

This stuff really requires self-discipline, so school ends early.

Looking at Lin Jiu who was detained at the door of Liang's house to speak, Jingzhi stood under the banyan tree beside the road, picking at the corner of his clothes with a guilty look on his face.

He was the one who gave the gift and wrote the note, so... she can't be blamed, right?

"Let's go!"

At some point, Lin Jiu had already walked over, took the schoolbag from her shoulders and put it on her back, then turned around and left, holding Jingzhi's hand.

She let him hold her hand, and her lively eyes would occasionally turn to peek at his expression.

"...Nine Brother, it's not my fault. I just opened it and took a look. I didn't eat it."

Lin Jiu paused and stretched out his hand towards her, "Where's the little jade cat? Take it out."

Jingzhi covered her collar tightly and couldn't help but take a step back, "I won't give it to you. If you give it to me, it's mine!"

Lin Jiu's sullen expression suddenly softened, "You're wearing it around your neck?"

"Of course!" She pulled out a jade cat tied with a red string from her collar. "Look, Niuniu from my class helped me braid it so it won't shift left or right. It looks good, doesn't it?"

"..."

Niu Niu?

She can get along with people of all ages.

The hand hanging by her side couldn't help but reach out to her head and smooth her hair.

"You, the teacher told me that you and Xiaoguang had a quarrel. Why didn't you want to sit at the same table with him? He even cried."

"He told tales and even caused the candied haws and the little note you bought for me to be confiscated."

When talking about that little bastard, Jingzhi put one hand on her waist and was as angry as a little teapot.

How old is she? Why is she so angry with a little kid?

"...The teacher is back. From now on, no matter if it's me, Abao, or Xiaohai, or anyone else who gives you something, you should open it after class."

Jingzhi happily took the candied haws and the small note, bit off half of it in one bite, then peeled off the other half and stuffed it into Lin Jiu's mouth.

"I'm impatient, and besides, it's you who gave it to me. I won't be able to read it after class."

"I didn't open the food that Abao sent me." She added.

Lin Jiu was speechless, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.

Inexplicably, he felt like a father.

Her personality is very diverse. She is loyal and considerate at the same time. Sometimes she is childish and can even argue with a toothless baby.

……

A candied haws was shared by two people.

Jingzhi, whose appetite was completely whetted, was brought back to the Taoist temple by Lin Jiu.

Abao, who had returned earlier, had already prepared the meal, and the four of them sat opposite each other.

Jingzhi's parents being called to the police station had already been ridiculed.

At this time, all four of them had serious expressions.

"Have you been to the suburbs to have a look?" Jingzhi asked.

Lin Jiu paused for a moment, then raised his head and said, "I've been there. Besides the batch of opium outside the city, there are several more batches hidden in different locations outside the city."

A cold light flashed in Lin Jiu's eyes. "As for them, let's take care of them first. Xiao Hai, you will be responsible for delivering meals to them these days. Also, no matter what method you use, you must pry those positions out of their mouths for me."

Xiao Hai's hand shook and the soup in the bowl almost spilled onto the ground.

"me?"

He looked hesitant. "I'm afraid if we hold it for too long, what will happen if Lord Wei's wife comes out looking for him? If the Minister finds us, we'll be in big trouble."

Jingzhi agreed, "Oh yes, and that madam, she saw me that night."

She said she had forgotten something.

That madam, I hope she is not still stuck in that shabby room.

Lin Jiu patted her hand soothingly. "After you fell asleep that night, I went back and used a spell to erase her memory. She won't remember what happened that night."

"...You are awesome!" Jingzhi's eyes lit up, and she immediately gave Lin Jiu a thumbs up.

She is sometimes a little careless, and Lin Jiu's attentiveness just makes up for her shortcoming.

Lin Jiu: "Don't be too happy yet. Xiao Hai is right. Wei Batian must be tried, but he cannot be detained for more than three days. Moreover..." He gritted his teeth for some unknown reason, "We can't kill him for the time being."

"...I know. You said it before, evildoers will be punished. Don't dirty your hands and add more karma to yourself."

Jingzhi stirred the rice, feeling a little unhappy but helpless.

Lin Jiu: "...Did I say that?"

That's the truth, but he didn't really say that, right?

Jingzhi suddenly buried her head in drinking soup and didn't dare to say another word.

Things have gone wrong, and the relationship has gone wrong.

If it wasn’t what this Lin Jiu said, then it was what the previous Lin Jiu said.

Oh my god, look at her mouth.

Lin Jiu looked at her inexplicably and drank a mouthful of soup slowly.

Lin Jiu: "...Qingqing?"

Jingzhi: "Puff - cough cough cough -"

The boss blew a mouthful of soup directly into the face of Xiao Hai opposite him.

Xiao Hai wiped his face gently with his sleeve, looking at her with a smile, and he was almost like a Buddha, just about to make a flower-picking gesture.

Little did he know that at this moment, Xiao Hai was frantically advising himself:

[For the sake of fifty taels, Xiao Hai, you need to calm down. You can't get along with anyone but money! !]

"It's okay, I'm fine. You guys continue chatting, I'm going to wash my face."

Jingzhi, flustered, stood up and said, "I, I'm going to wash my mouth."

Lin Jiu: "Sit down!"

There were two clang sounds, and the two people who had left the table sat back down silently.

Lin Jiu rolled his eyes at Xiao Hai and said, "I'm not talking about you. If you want to wash your face, go ahead and do it."

Xiaohai left, and Jingzhi showed an envious look.

Lin Jiu couldn't eat a single bite of food, so he pulled her back to her courtyard.

As the sun sets, layers of burning red clouds cover the entire sky.

The sound of the swing in the small yard squeaked.

Jingzhi kicked her feet occasionally, looking at Lin Jiu who had his back to her and raised his head to look at the sunset.

What on earth was he trying to do? He had been pulling her over for almost a quarter of an hour, and she hadn't said a word.

"Brother Ninth..."

Just after saying two words, he was interrupted by Lin Jiu, "Zhizhi, I just want to ask you a few questions."

His tone revealed an unconcealable sense of uneasiness and depression.

Jingzhi jumped up from the swing immediately.

She took a step forward and just as she was about to hold his hand that was placed at her side, he gently brushed it away.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared with the afterglow of the setting sun.

At this moment, Lin Jiu had no intention of comforting her.

He just wanted to know the answer.

He said not to think about it and not to care too much, but his sour heart told him that it was not the case.

Lin Jiu turned around, put his hands on her shoulders, and stared at her with his eyes that could see through people's hearts.

"Zhizhi, do you know another person named Lin Jiu?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

Just when I was about to answer, Tiandao, who had lost his temper, came out again to make his presence felt.

Can't say.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Lin Jiu's eyes became even more disappointed.

But soon, a hint of hope appeared in his eyes again, "Do you... love him?"

Damn it, what kind of questions are you asking?!

Even if she was lying, she couldn't answer that she didn't love him in his previous life.

Looking at her evasive and inexplicably helpless eyes, Lin Jiu's true heart instantly shattered into eight pieces.

He slowly let go of her shoulders, smiled to himself, and slowly turned his head to look at the dark sky where the moon had not yet risen. "So am I...his substitute?"

If the way of heaven were before her eyes, she would want to beat it to death.

Why does Lin Jiu have to doubt himself once in every world?

Jingzhi, the chatterbox who was forced to remain silent, felt hopeless at this moment.

Lin Jiu: Haha, she didn’t answer, it seems like it’s true.

A faint light appeared, and Lin Jiu, holding on to the last glimmer of hope in his heart, turned back and asked her:

"Zhizhi, have you ever loved me? It's me, Lin Jiu, standing here."

He shouldn't be so humble.

Jingzhi stared at him stubbornly. This question had nothing to do with her past life, so she could still answer it.

"It's not just that I've loved you before. I've always loved you. It's an ongoing process, an endless ongoing process."