A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

Wenxin walked to the inn's stables, where their horses and carriages were parked, and several guards were already packing their belongings, ready to depart at any time.

He glanced at the carriage and chose to ride alone, just like before.

The horse was tall and strong. After eating its fill of hay, it blinked its big, bright eyes and idly swished its tail.

Wenxin touched it, feeling its vigorous and vibrant life force, grabbed the reins, leaped up, and mounted the horse.

A short while later, Wutong, Li Deming, and the others arrived.

Li Deming and his guards mounted their horses. Wutong didn't even glance at Wenxin before getting into the carriage with a blank expression. The guards had already moved Duan Fufeng into the carriage and stuffed the partition back in exactly as it was.

Wenxin took the riding whip, wrapped it around his wrist, and prepared to urge the horse on.

Unexpectedly, the guard driving the carriage suddenly jumped off the carriage and ran over to him, saying, "Lord Wenxin, the King says that you should go and drive the carriage."

"Let me?" Wen Xin was slightly taken aback. "Why?"

The guard was completely bewildered: "I don't know, but this is His Majesty's order, you'd better go quickly."

Wenxin had no choice but to hand the whip to him, jump off the horse, and walk to the carriage.

The curtain was lifted, and Wutong leaned against the inside of the door, saying calmly, "Drive carefully."

So that's how it is... She was afraid her beloved would be hurt by the turbulence.

Wenxin has only known his master and senior brother since childhood. He has no friends after leaving the mountain. Moreover, he has always been calm and has never harbored any resentment towards anyone.

But now, for some reason, as soon as he heard Wutong's words, he reflexively muttered something to himself and glanced into the carriage, hoping that Duan Fufeng would fall flat on his face later.

Seeing his strange expression, Wutong asked, "Don't you want to drive? Then let's switch back."

"No need," Wenxin replied without hesitation, "I'm willing."

"...That's good, let's go."

When Wutong faced him, she was almost overwhelmed by embarrassment. After speaking, she immediately lowered the curtain to block his view.

Wenxin was initially in a very bad mood, feeling like a complete failure. Then he suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one feeling bad; Wutong wasn't doing much better.

What does this mean?

Does this mean that even though Wutong doesn't love him, he still holds a very important place in her heart?

His mood instantly improved, and Wenxin easily leaped onto the carriage, patted the sturdy horse's rump, and cracked the whip for the first time.

They traveled all night under the bright light of the full moon, stopped in the morning to rest and eat some dry rations in the woods, and then continued on their way.

They walked for three days without seeing any villages in the surrounding area; all they saw were dense forests and high mountains.

Li Deming was extremely anxious, wishing he could grow wings and fly to Immovable Peak with Duan Fufeng immediately.

But human strength is limited, and the horses were tired, so he had to tell everyone to find a flat place to stop and rest, get a good night's sleep, and then continue on their way.

With no one around, they weren't worried about robbers, but rather about ferocious wild beasts like jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.

Therefore, while the two guards began to cook, the other guards patrolled the surrounding area and maintained strict security.

Wutong sat in the carriage and touched Duan Fufeng's face. His skin was smooth and delicate, without a single flaw, as if it were made of jade. However, his body temperature was very low. If it weren't for his heart still beating, she would have thought that she should prepare a coffin for him in advance.

The aroma of rice gradually spread and wafted into the carriage. Wutong sniffed, wanting to tell Wenxin to go eat first.

Pulling back the curtain, the carriage shaft was empty; Wenxin was no longer there.

Where did he go?

Wutong jumped off the carriage, told Li Deming that she was going to find him.

Li Deming pointed and said, "I think I saw him go that way earlier. If you're going to look for him, why don't you bring dinner with you?"

Before Wutong could refuse, he ordered the guards to prepare two bowls of rice and two plates of vegetables and hand them to her on a tray.

Wutong had no choice but to agree and walked toward the hillside he pointed out.

This hillside is flatter than the surrounding area, and there aren't as many shrubs; only a crooked, welcoming pine tree grows there.

Wutong walked for a long time but couldn't find Wenxin. He thought Li Deming must have seen wrong. It wasn't until he went around behind the tree that he saw Wenxin sitting on the grass, leaning against the tree trunk, gazing at the intense sunset clouds in the distance.

His eyes and cheeks were tinged red by the sunset glow, as if he were shrouded in a halo, sacred and dazzling.

Wutong said softly, "Dinner's ready."

Wenxin glanced at her sideways, her expression blank, and went to take the tray.

Wutong dodged his outstretched hand and said, "Let's eat together."

She looked around and found a relatively flat large rock, so she placed the tray on the rock and waved to him: "Come here."

In the distance were towering mountains, and not far below, Li Deming and his guards were eating, while their horses grazed.

The scene was so harmonious and peaceful that Wenxin felt as if he had returned to the time before he confessed his feelings to her... If only things could stay like that forever, he would rather Wutong never know that he loved her than have her deliberately run away because of his love.

He turned away and went to eat, seemingly calm and composed, but in reality, he was cautious with every step, afraid that Wutong would run away again.

The two squatted beside the rock, enjoying a meal while taking in the beautiful scenery that they would rarely see in their entire lives in the city.

They were eating separately in silence. Suddenly, Wutong picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it in his bowl, saying, "Eat more, you've lost weight."

Wenxin's body stiffened, and she almost dropped her chopsticks.

Wutong lowered her eyes: "I believe what you say."

"Huh?" He stared blankly, mouth agape.

Wutong said, "You said you touched him only because... I believe that's true. You're not the kind of person who kills innocent people indiscriminately."

Wenxin gripped her chopsticks tightly, unsure whether to be happy or sad.

Wutong believed him, which was a good thing. But after Wutong left that day, he almost lost control and killed Duan Fufeng.

A moment's hesitation... Luckily, he didn't do it.

Holding the chopsticks in his hand, Wenxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Actually... I didn't do well either, I should have told you sooner."

Upon hearing this, Wutong laughed and said, "Then let's let bygones be bygones and pretend nothing happened, how about that?"

Wenxin raised her eyes and saw her smiling brightly, then gave a serious "hmm".

The two continued eating, chatting as they ate, seemingly returning to the way things were before.

However, finding topics to talk about wasn't easy. Wutong hadn't done anything besides taking care of Duan Fufeng these past few days, and there wasn't much to discuss besides mountains and rivers. Finally, Wenxin remembered the strange temple she'd seen a few days ago and asked Wutong, "Do you know the Qiongnu Temple?"

"Qiong Nu Temple? That sounds familiar..."

Wutong racked her brains trying to recall where she had heard the name before, then suddenly slapped her forehead and said, "I remember now! It was when Duan and I... uh, when we went to Pingzhou together, I heard someone mention it on the road. This temple is very efficacious, isn't it?"

1 = Lao Qu said