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

Leng Huan was unfamiliar with funeral rites and sacrifices, so the village headman helped to oversee everything. Three days later, Granny Zhou was buried next to her husband and daughter. Looking at the brand-new tombstone, Leng Huan sniffed and then kowtowed again.

The living are travelers, the dead are those who return home.

Heaven and earth are but a fleeting inn, and we share the same sorrow for the dust of eternity.

She could only comfort herself with these few lines of poetry. She herself was just a guest in this world, a speck of dust. In the end, all people must return to the world.

I only wish that kind people like Granny Zhou will be happy, healthy, and peaceful in their next life.

Fu Xun, still feeling guilty, kowtowed along with her. After the funeral and the religious rites concluded, the two went to the cave.

As she passed the dilapidated temple, Leng Huan paused. She, who had once contemplated suicide, was still alive, but the person who had saved her was gone.

She sighed softly, and Fu Xun, seeing this, asked in confusion, "Brother Huan?"

Leng Huan shook his head silently, picked up his foot and started walking again. Hanging himself was ridiculous, and such a thing was not something to be told to outsiders.

-

Those people were trapped in the cave, their hands and feet severed, crying out to heaven and earth in vain, truly living a life worse than death.

Seeing that they had finally come again, I only wished for a quick death.

"Please, just give me a quick death..."

"We'll never dare to do it again..."

Leng Huan changed into a black outfit, her hair tied in a high ponytail, looking very neat. She squatted down, took the gleaming knife, lifted the old man's chin, and asked, "Did you tip him off first?"

Uncle Hei shuddered in fright, his pleas for death ceasing. He stammered, "Yes, sir, it was I who was greedy for money and wanted to sell information. That man was wearing a gray robe; he was a powerful immortal..."

Leng Huan already knew that the culprit was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and she wanted to remember his appearance so that she could take revenge herself in the future.

Fu Xun had already interrogated the person and knew roughly who it was. He stood next to Leng Huan and said, "I know who that person is. I will definitely avenge Granny Zhou. Believe me!" He would settle both old and new scores at once.

It was fortunate that Fu Xun acted quickly and caught these people; otherwise, they would have had to report back, and if that person knew that Fu Xun was here, he would definitely come back again.

They might all get hurt. Two Qi Refining cultivators can't beat one Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Leng Huan swiftly finished off the men and threw them into the mountains to feed the wild dogs. With a flick of her wrist, she wiped the blood off the knife, called out to Sang Biao, and went down the mountain with Fu Xun.

—

"Could that person already know we're going east?" Leng Huan slung his bundle over his shoulder and glanced back at the renovated courtyard... The doors were tightly shut, and there was no one around.

The laughter of the past has vanished in an instant.

Fu Xun, also carrying a bundle and holding Sang Biao in his arms, turned his gaze away from the courtyard and towards Leng Huan, "Yes."

"Brother Huan, how about we go to town, hire a horse-drawn carriage, head south first, then turn east?"

This way we can avoid our enemies. Leng Huan nodded, "Okay."

The two of them rode into town in a villager's oxcart as usual. Some familiar villagers asked them if they were leaving. Fu Xun's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he politely told them that he and Leng Huan planned to go to the east.

"Alas, seeking immortality is indeed desirable, but alas, we lack the innate talent for it. Those who can slay a bear are no ordinary people. Well then, congratulations on your early ascension to immortality!"

Leng Huan glanced at the villagers who were sighing, then at the calm Fu Xun, and understood. He then silently closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

Ever since Fu Xun beat up the bear, the sweet-looking young lady from the Lin family has been coming to visit him from time to time, occasionally dropping a handkerchief or throwing a flower, but unfortunately, she only sees it as flirtatious glances at Fu Xun, who is so oblivious to romance.

This villager worked for the Lin family and had a big mouth. Once he spread the word back home, it would probably reach the entire village in no time as they left Lin Family Village and headed east.

Leng Huan hoped that this smokescreen would help them avoid trouble.

—

"Shh! Wait..."

Misfortunes never come singly. Just as he arrived at the carriage shop to hire a carriage, Leng Huan unexpectedly spotted familiar pursuers—the Leng family cultivators!

Startled, she grabbed Fu Xun and hid around the corner, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Now look what's happened, my enemies have come looking for me too."

Leng Huan touched her face, which had been transformed into that of a handsome young man, wondering if she could fool him. She watched as two cultivators from the Leng family entered the restaurant, assuming they were going to rest for a while.

Fu Xun followed her gaze and indeed recognized several people dressed as disciples of the Leng family. These two people were at least Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He glanced at Leng Huan, his eyes flashing, then grabbed her hand. "Brother Huan, let's go, let's go buy horses. You can't ride, I'll teach you. We need to head south quickly. Once we get to Nanjun Immortal City, we can rent spirit horned horses that can travel a thousand miles a day, and go directly to the east."

Nanjun Immortal City was her original goal, and Leng Huan immediately nodded.

A quarter of an hour later, two young men led a tall horse past the restaurant and headed towards the south gate.

In a private room on the second floor of the restaurant facing the street, a cultivator from the Leng family seemed to spot a familiar figure. He stood up and looked out the window: "I think I see the young lady!"

"where?"

"The one leading the horse."

"No, that's the young man, and there's a boy with him too. Besides, the young lady is spoiled and pampered; she can't ride a horse at all, and she's terrified of it. It shouldn't be her!"

Half an hour later, one of the cultivators, who suspected he had seen the young lady, went to the carriage shop to inquire. When he finally confirmed that the young man was the person they were looking for, the two were dumbfounded. They blamed each other and hurriedly chased after him.

At this moment, Leng Huan was in front and Fu Xun was behind, riding together on one horse, their hooves clattering as they had already traveled sixty or seventy miles.

Fu Xun was an excellent rider, and Leng Huan had also ridden horses at the horse farm, but she wasn't as good as Fu Xun. Since the boy said he would entrust everything to her, she only said one thing: "Don't throw me off."

Fu Xun reassured him, then spurred his horse forward, galloping swiftly like a shooting star.

After a while, Leng Huan got excited and hugged Sang Biao tightly, letting out a dog bark.

She actually found it very exciting, not in an entertainment horse farm, but on a real escape route, and she had a vague feeling of her heart soaring.

Seeing that she wasn't afraid, Fu Xun felt relieved.

Rumor has it that the Holy Maiden of the Leng family dislikes riding horses. Every time she appears, the aristocratic family makes a grand spectacle of her appearance, requiring eight Qi Refining stage maids to carry her incense-scented lithe horse, with fresh flower petals clearing the way... Fu Xun looked down at Leng Huan in front of him, feeling suspicious for a moment, as if something was off.

However, this suspicion was immediately dispelled by the faint fragrance when Leng Huan's green hair brushed against his face.

Although he didn't know why Leng Huan insisted on running away from home, Fu Xun didn't want her to go back now. They had agreed to go together to learn from a master and seek immortality, so he couldn't break his promise.

—

Horse riding can be exhilarating at times, but it can also be very painful at others.

Not three days, just two days, and after a bumpy ride and experiencing the exhilaration of riding through the world, Leng Huan was completely deflated.

That night, in a small town inn, a cry of pain came from one of the upper rooms.

"Ouch! Hiss!" Leng Huan gasped, calling out to Fu Xun who was trying to slip away, "Come here! What happened to the little brother you promised? Look at how bruised my thighs are, and you're still going to stand by and do nothing?!"

Fu Xun, who was supposed to avoid looking at indecent things, was speechless.

During the day, Sang Biao suddenly needed to relieve himself and almost fell off the horse while struggling. Leng Huan fell off the horse while trying to save the dog. Although it wasn't very serious, she had abrasions and bruises on her lower back, which she couldn't reach.

She now has chafing on the inner thighs and a lower back injury, making her an injured person again!

Leng Huan sighed as he lay there, thinking how difficult it was to run away with his family.

Sang Biao squatted on the ground, looking both cowardly and obedient, with an innocent expression on his face.

Fu Xun was also helpless. Ignoring her fair skin and the beautiful curves of her waist, he quickly and steadily applied the ointment to reduce swelling and bruising to the affected area. He just held his breath the whole time.

"Hire a carriage tomorrow, otherwise, I'm afraid I'll die halfway to Nanjun, let alone reach it." Leng Huan waited for the ointment to dry and then laid down his clothes.

Fu Xun packed his bags and sat down at the table, drinking tea to calm his nerves. Upon hearing this, he replied, "Alright, when we reach the next prefecture, we can take a boat directly to Nanjun."

"Okay, do we have enough money for the trip?"

"enough."

"Ah Xun, I want to remove the Spirit-Sealing Ring." Leng Huan had thought about this for a long time, but he had never been able to find the right conditions.

Fu Xun paused for a moment: "I'll find a way when we get to Nanjun Immortal City. Generally, Golden Core cultivators in prefectural cities are all important figures, and it's difficult to get in touch with them."

Leng Huan naturally knew about this. "Understood, there's no rush."

I don't know when it started, but Leng Huan always slept on the inside of the bed, while Fu Xun slept on the outside, almost touching the edge of the bed, with the wooden sword in the middle.

Leng Huan, suffering from a back injury, had to turn to his side today, covered with the old quilt from the inn, and slept soundly with one hand behind his face.

But with her facing him like that, Fu Xun felt a little stiff. Only when she started breathing heavily in her sleep did he dare to move. He covered himself with a corner of the blanket, secretly turned his back to her, and then let out a sigh of relief.

Fu Xun only realized that Leng Huan was his ex-fiancée when he met the Leng family cultivator in Zhongnan Prefecture. He had previously treated her as a casual acquaintance of the Leng family's eldest daughter and had not yet realized that the two had this relationship.

I feel really conflicted right now. I wonder what she'll think when she finds out the truth?

—