He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

Upon hearing her question, Fu Xun paused, his lips pursed to conceal his smile, and his clear, magnetic voice said, "I'll be sixteen next spring."

Not even sixteen years old?

Leng Huan is seventeen years old now, and will turn eighteen at the end of this winter.

But looking at him, I thought he was seventeen or eighteen years old.

"Oh, so you really are a pig feeder, aren't you?" Leng Huan stopped looking at him and simply sat on a rock to watch the approaching sunset.

"..." Fu Xun roughly knew she was unhappy, but he didn't know why. He'd never been in a relationship with pig feed before!

He found a rock to sit on, "Leng Huan, your injuries are also..."

Before he could finish speaking, Fu Xun stopped abruptly, receiving a furious glare from Leng Huan: ?

“I’m two years older than you, please call me brother, little brother!” Leng Huan was petty and very unwilling to admit that he was a little jealous of this kid.

Fu Xun readily agreed: "Okay, Brother Huan!" Although he didn't know what he had done to upset her, it was just a form of address, and Fu Xun didn't mind. He was indeed two years younger than her.

"My injury is almost completely healed. I'm a little worried about leaving if we're going to leave." Leng Huan casually picked a handful of foxtail grass and started weaving small animals.

Seeing her skillful operation, Fu pondered for a moment: "I can leave some money and ask Steward Wang to take care of it."

Manager Wang's wife and Granny Zhou's family are relatives, and she usually receives more care from him. Leng Huan didn't say anything; if there was really no other way, this was the only option.

Actually, she wanted to take Grandma Zhou with her, but the journey was long and there were too many uncertainties. She was afraid of something going wrong, and besides, the old lady was too old to travel.

After quickly weaving a little rabbit, Leng Huan looked at Fu Xun, who was covered in the sunset glow. The young man was quiet and handsome, with one half of his face in the glow of the sunset and the other half in the shadows. For a moment, the contrast between light and shadow was striking, and his facial features were as three-dimensional as a sculpture. He was extremely handsome!

Leng Huan was envious again. Tall, long legs, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and exceptionally handsome. She wanted to look like him too!

Pshaw! What's so great about being handsome? It can't put food on the table.

I felt like I'd eaten a whole basket of lemons!

-

The sun set quickly, and the autumn wind swept past them and the patch of foxtail grass in front of them, blowing through the mountains and forests towards the distant dark green peaks, disturbing the swirling evening mist.

The girl suddenly stood up, angrily tossing the straw rabbit she was holding to the boy beside her, "Here you go! I'm going back..."

Caught off guard, the boy hurriedly and clumsily caught the grass rabbit.

—

Unlike Leng Huan, who was filled with envy, Fu Xun felt that the sunset was infinitely beautiful. Although the twilight had ended, his life had just begun.

Watching Leng Huan descend the mountain without looking back, bathed in the sunset, he resembled a little red fox with its fur standing on end.

He couldn't help but chuckle as he followed behind her, thinking to himself that young women's minds were indeed hard to fathom.

The sunset glow on the horizon was so low it seemed almost tangible, a puppy wagged its tail and followed the girl, while the boy, lagging behind, held straw rabbit ears that fluttered in the wind.

—

Leng Huan hadn't decided how to arrange things for Grandma Zhou, but another problem arose that evening.

She had lived in the same room with Fu Xun without any worries because she treated him like a little kid, but now that he was almost an adult, she was a little worried that he might discover her identity.

When Granny Zhou saw the enlarged Fu Xun, she was naturally surprised. She then pulled Leng Huan aside and whispered to her for a while, telling her to be careful and not to live in the same room with him.

"Xiao Huan, I didn't know before, but now we can't continue living together. I'll clean up the next room so you can live alone."

Next door was a storage room with a shower, which was difficult to clean. Leng Huan shook her head: "Grandma Zhou, don't worry. He doesn't know my identity. Besides, it would be more suspicious if I suddenly moved out from him. Don't worry, I will protect myself and won't suffer any losses."

The old man hesitated.

Leng Huan pulled her back, helped her sit on the kang bed, and put his arm around her thin shoulders: "Grandma, there's something I want to tell you first—actually, I wasn't being chased. I came from Beijun City, and I'm going to the immortal sect in the east to learn from a master and seek immortality."

Upon hearing this, Granny Zhou suddenly laughed. She reached out her withered hand, smoothed the girl's hair, and tucked the stray strands behind her ear. "You, I already guessed you weren't an ordinary person! With your noble appearance, you must come from a wealthy family with immortals. If you want to leave, then leave..."

Leng Huan was taken aback; Granny Zhou seemed to understand everything.

Looking at the old woman's frail figure, aged face, and deep wrinkles—all marks of time—she suddenly felt a lump in her throat. "But...but what will you do alone if I leave? How about I take you with me?"

Grandma Zhou shook her head, her eyes, though cloudy, were moist as she looked at the girl. She said, "Silly girl! This old woman has lived in this place all her life. This is my root. All my relatives are here, and I will stay here to protect them."

Leng Huan remained silent.

Indeed, everyone has their own thoughts and their own homeland.

Just like Leng Huan, who never forgot his past and where he came from, and longed to go back.

"Silly child, you are still young and have a bright future ahead of you. Our meeting was just a chance encounter, and it is a blessing from heaven that we met. Don't be sad. If you come back one day, I will be here waiting for you, and the peach tree you planted before will also be waiting for you."

Leng Huan's eyes started to sting.

Grandma Zhou had lived alone for half her life. She was clear-headed and discerning. She treated this lonely, wandering girl as her own niece. She didn't want anything in return. If she had to say, she just wanted some family warmth in her lonely old age.

Wiping the girl's slightly misty eyes, the old man patted her hand. "Good girl, that young man Xun is a good person. But don't trust him too much. He's capable. If you want to go out, you can go with him. Just remember, you shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but you can't be without the heart to guard against others."

Leng Huan nodded woodenly.

These were the old man's earnest words of advice to her, and she didn't know what to say.

Although life in Linjiazhuang was poor, it was peaceful. This was a rare period of tranquility for Leng Huan after his panicked escape.

This old man was a rare source of kindness and warmth for her when she first arrived, all alone and without any relatives or friends. But she was about to leave. It was inevitable that she felt a little sad and reluctant to part, but she had to leave; she couldn't stay in Linjiazhuang forever. She had her own aspirations.

This world was so unfamiliar; everything was unfamiliar, including herself.

"Grandma, I understand. Thank you for your guidance, you're so kind!"

The sky and clouds are colorless, only the bright moon shines with its pure light.

Fu Xun leaned against the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. The night breeze blew, and fragrant petals fell all over him. Listening to the soft whispers inside the house, he raised his calm eyebrows and looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

"Squeak—" The door opened.

Fu Xun immediately stood up straight and looked at Leng Huan who had come out.

She nodded: "It's getting late, go back and rest."

Fu Xun followed her.

The two walked one after the other. Leng Huan was in low spirits, and Fu Xun remained silent.

Upon reaching the humble dwelling, Leng Huan suddenly spoke up: "Yin Xun, let's set off in ten days."

Take advantage of this time to prepare more supplies for Grandma Zhou.

Fu Xun: "Okay, Huan-ge."

Leng Huan pushed open the door and entered. "Grandma Zhou's home is here. I'll leave alone."

"Ah."

It's said to be ten days, but besides feeling reluctant to part, the most important thing is that Leng Huan is about to experience her period on the second day.

The timing isn't very precise, but she felt a bit unwell today, so I'm guessing it might be her period coming soon.

Grandma Zhou carefully prepared everything for her, a young lady's things. Just in case, Leng Huan prepared everything in advance and even put an extra layer of cloth on the kang bed.

This left Fu Xun completely baffled.

"What are you looking at? I'm just cold. The conditions are so basic. This kang bed doesn't even have a mattress. It's so hard that my back aches from sleeping on it..." Leng Huan said through gritted teeth, then shook out the quilt, lay down, and closed his eyes.

He didn't say anything, but Fu Xun, who was being scolded, was speechless.

Before Fu Xun fully recovered, the bed was a bit cramped. Now that he's like this, the bed seems even narrower. Leng Huan is pressed tightly against the inside, sleeping properly without moving. Fu Xun still has the wooden sword in the middle.

He didn't fight for the blanket, but slept fully clothed, barely covering one corner of the blanket with his own, while Leng Huan covered the rest.

Having completed the foundation rebuilding today, he was on edge and exhausted. He lay down properly in his spot and quickly fell asleep.

Leng Huan, however, had his eyes closed and couldn't fall asleep.

-