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

A young man leaves home in sorrow, like a rootless duckweed adrift.

.

Grandma Zhou's home is here, but she doesn't know where her own home is.

Thinking of the Misty Immortal Sect, this journey would involve traversing mountains and rivers, and whether she could become its disciple was still uncertain.

Feeling the slight heaviness in her lower abdomen, she felt even more irritable.

She remained stiff and motionless, and drifted off to sleep in that position. When she woke up the next day, her body was indeed sore and her lower abdomen ached even more!

It comes as soon as you say "Auntie".

Leng Huan went to the outhouse with a pale face, dead fish eyes, and full of resentment, thankfully without getting it on the bed or his clothes.

Fu Xun sensed a black vortex emerging from her head, her resentment almost tangible. He instinctively felt she was not someone to be trifled with, and silently led Sang Biao out to pull weeds.

"Brother Huan, I'm going out now." He spoke softly, as if afraid of causing trouble.

"Tch!" Leng Huan glanced at him sideways, frowned, and uttered a single word: "Go." But Fu Xun felt that what she really meant was "Get lost."

At noon, Grandma Zhou cooked a warming dish of fermented rice wine with eggs, adding red dates and goji berries, which was very fragrant and sweet.

Even Fu Xun is included, ensuring that no one is treated unfairly.

Leng Huan ate with gusto, and after finishing a bowl of hot soup, he felt warm all over.

Fu Xun looked at her thoughtfully, took a bite himself, and found it too sweet, so he pushed the bowl to Leng Huan, "Brother Huan, I don't really like sweets, you can have it."

Leng Huan asked suspiciously, "Really?"

Fu Xun nodded affirmatively, confirming that he indeed disliked such sweet and cloying things.

That evening, Grandma Zhou filled a small earthenware jar with charcoal and made a hand warmer, which she gave to Leng Huan to warm her stomach. Leng Huan then slept holding it.

"Ah Xun, you sleep inside tonight. I... I need to get up in the middle of the night, so I'll sleep outside."

"Okay." Fu Xun agreed outwardly, but inwardly he glanced at Leng Huan suspiciously a few times. Seeing that she had put on two more layers of cloth and was still holding the earthenware jar, coupled with the fermented rice and eggs from earlier that day, he finally realized what was wrong with her—

The boy blushed. Fermented rice wine with eggs could replenish qi and warm the body. This… No matter how mature and steady Ren Fuxun was, he was still an innocent boy at heart, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Only then did he realize that Leng Huan was still a girl, and the image she projected through her behavior was ultimately just an appearance.

Hearing Leng Huan's suppressed gasps of pain, Fu Xun finally couldn't help but ask, "Huan, Brother Huan, are you alright?"

Leng Huan said listlessly, "...Okay."

Fu Xun then asked knowingly, "...Are you still injured?"

Leng Huan replied dismissively, "No, actually it's just that my old leg pain is acting up again."

Fu Xun: "..."

"Then, make sure you cover yourself up tightly so you don't catch a cold." After a moment of silence, Fu Xun wrapped Leng Huan up tightly in the blanket.

Leng Huan glanced at him sideways: "Aren't you covering yourself with a blanket? Aren't you cold?"

Fu Xun: "I have a fiery temper, not a cold one."

Leng Huan was tired of saying the word "jealousy." "So what if you have a bad temper?" she said, hugging the warm earthenware pot tightly and remaining silent.

Suddenly, the boy asked again, "Brother Huan, I heard that true qi and spiritual energy can relax muscles and tendons and relieve old cold legs. Do you want me to infuse you with true qi to try and get rid of the cold?"

What? Such a good thing?

Leng Huan slightly opened his eyes: "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Of course it can ward off the cold.

Leng Huan spouted nonsense: "My old leg pain is acting up again, my whole body aches, oh, my stomach hurts even more, you try it on me?"

"..." Fu Xun pretended not to understand: "Okay."

Leng Huan opened the blanket, grabbed Fu Xun's hand and placed it on her stomach. Fu Xun paused for a moment, then obediently circulated her spiritual energy to dispel the cold.

The room was completely quiet.

Leng Huan was too lazy to speak, and Fu Xun didn't know what to say.

When Fu Xun touched her body, Leng Huan didn't have any other thoughts. Fu Xun was the kind of person who was straighter than a telephone pole, so she felt very at ease.

Fu Xun's ears, hidden in his hair, were slightly red. His expression was calm and composed as he sat properly and circulated his spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy was indeed very effective in dispelling the cold. Leng Huan felt warm all over, and the soreness in her joints seemed to have been relieved. Her stomach also felt better, and she unconsciously closed her eyes and fell asleep.

—

Leng Huan discovered a clever use for Fu Xun, which helped her get through the most difficult days of the past few days.

Time flies, and he doesn't know if he'll ever have the chance to return here after leaving. Out of nostalgia, Leng Huan likes to stroll around the estate whenever he has free time.

"Go quickly and see! I heard that Grandma Zhou's distant nephew, whom she took in, killed a bear..."

"Really? Let's go see!"

"Is this for real? We haven't seen a bear in years. If they saw one, would they kill us ordinary people?"

"Oh! Go and see for yourself..."

As he was walking back from the reed marshes, he suddenly saw a group of villagers making a racket and heading towards their homes. Leng Huan also heard them talking about bears, so he quickly followed them.

The distant nephew of Granny Zhou was talking about Fu Xun. They must have been saying that Fu Xun killed a bear.

She thought to herself that she had never heard of any large, ferocious beasts in the vicinity.

-

"Oh my god! This is terrible, it really is a bear!"

Before they even got close, they heard a gasp from the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, they found a middle-aged man standing around the huge bear carcass on the ground, looking on in astonishment.

This hadn't happened in the village for decades, and everyone was astonished. There were many onlookers, and Leng Huan finally managed to squeeze into the middle, where he saw Granny Zhou checking Fu Xun for injuries.

The old woman was extremely worried, like a mother who had finally found her child who had run away from home. Upon meeting the child, she immediately grabbed him and scolded him.

"You little rascal! How dare you be so brave? This is a bear, it can eat people! What if something happens to you?"

"So young, and you're courting death!"

This was also what Leng Huan wanted to say, but looking at that bear, its body was like a small mountain, twice the size of any black bear Leng Huan knew! It was five or six meters tall when it stood up!

It's no exaggeration to say that one bite can take the head of a person.

Even if Fu Xun is in the Qi Refining stage, it's still very dangerous!

It was fortunate that Fu Xun encountered it; an ordinary person might not even be able to escape!

Fu Xun dared not argue with Granny Zhou, and when he saw Leng Huan arrive, he immediately looked at her for help.

Leng Huan glanced at him and coughed, "Grandma Zhou, don't worry." She leaned close to the old woman's ear and whispered, "He's a cultivator; ordinary beasts are no match for him!"

Grandma Zhou looked at her, then at Fu Xun, and finally patted her chest. She waved to the villagers, "Alright, alright, everyone, go home now."

Fu Xun then shouted, "Wait, Grandma, let's divide this bear among ourselves! Everyone who sees it gets a share!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Huan looked at Fu Xun, and the two exchanged a glance. Then, looking at the surrounding villagers, Leng Huan didn't say anything more and took a step back.

The villagers were immediately overjoyed, and the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier asked loudly, "Grandma Zhou's nephew, is what you said true?"

Fu Xun cupped his hands in greeting: "Of course it's true! I only want the bear paw; you can take the rest."

—

Eventually, the village chief arrived and took the bear to donate as supplies for the village school, thus benefiting the entire village.

Fu Xun's original intention was to ensure that everyone benefited from his actions, so that after they left, everyone could take care of Granny Zhou.

This can be considered as achieving the goal.

"So, where did this bear come from?" Leng Huan still slept with the pottery jar in her arms that night, and only asked after Fu Xun lay down.

“I discovered signs of the bear earlier, and now that I’ve recovered from my injuries, I’m going to get rid of it. Firstly, this bear will only cause trouble for the village sooner or later if it’s left alive. Secondly, I can fight bears, so some people will be wary of me. Thirdly, it will benefit the villagers and be good to Granny Zhou. Even if we leave, we can still take care of her.”

Fu Xun's dark eyes, beneath his thick eyebrows, gleamed with a faint light. He lay neatly on the inside, his right hand supporting the back of his head, his left hand pressing against the wooden sword under the blanket.

Turning his head to look at Leng Huan, he continued, "This bear must have wandered over from another mountain. It's equivalent to the early stage of Qi Refining, so it shouldn't be underestimated."

Unexpectedly, he had considered so much without saying a word. Leng Huan gave him a thumbs up and smiled, "6."

Fu Xun: ?

Leng Huan asked again, "There are four bear paws, right? What are you keeping this for?"

Fu Xun hummed in agreement: "It's not of much use to us. We can take it to the city and exchange it for silver, so we can leave Granny Zhou some money for herself, how about that?"

Leng Huan readily agreed: "Let's do it this way!"

Finally, he praised him, saying, "You've thought things through very well. Good job, little brother."

Fu Xun: ...