Qu Surou looked down and saw a refined-looking man holding a large white cat in his arms. "I am from this mountain."
She swooped down from the branch, her blue dress billowing in the air in a graceful arc. "What do you want?"
Jing Yi was taken aback, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to her, saying, "I've come to find someone."
Just as Lu Pianpian finished making a pair of earrings and took out the drawing, thinking about carving some beautiful patterns on the earrings, the window in front of her was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Qu Surou was cracking sunflower seeds in her hand, and she couldn't help but tease, "Oh, still fiddling with your love token?"
Lu Pianpian's mind went blank at the words "token of love". He lost his grip on the small carving knife and the pattern changed slightly. He pursed his lips and looked at Qu Surou, "Senior sister, don't talk nonsense. It will ruin Junior Sister Changming's reputation."
"Yes, yes, your junior sister's lover has already come knocking on your door. If you give her this token of love, it might really cause him to misunderstand and ruin her reputation..."
Lu Pianpian was stunned for a moment, then gripped the earring in her hand tightly and asked, "Senior sister, what do you mean?"
Qu Surou finished eating the last sunflower seed and wiped her hands on Lu Pianpian's clothes. "It means that your junior sister's lover has come to see her, and your junior sister is going to go home with her lover."
Chapter 13
Qu Fuyi and Huan Juntian stood in front of the sect's gate to see Huan Changming off.
Qu Fuyi said to Huan Changming, "Although we don't have much time left, we still have a master-disciple relationship. Now that you are leaving, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for us to meet again. I wish you a safe journey and all the best."
Huan Changming covered his face and wiped away his tears, "Thank you, Master."
Huan Juntian was a man of few words, and he only instructed Huan Changming, "Have a safe journey."
"Thank you, Third Senior Brother."
Jingyi stepped forward and bowed to Qu Fuyi, saying, "Immortal, you saved Changming from dire straits. I will remember this great kindness and repay it in the future."
"You flatter me." Qu Fuyi helped Jingyi up, glancing at the carriage heading up the mountain in the distance. "Now that the carriage has arrived, I won't keep you any longer. If we leave early, we can get down the mountain before dark."
Huan Changming nodded in agreement, and the two brothers, Sheng Guan and Fa Cai, immediately approached, "Fairy Changming, are we really not going to see you again?"
"Yes, what if we miss you..."
The rustic villager's unrefined manner of speaking displeased Jingyi.
Huan Changming smiled gently at them and said, "No, I will definitely come back to visit you all again."
He was so handsome and spoke so gently, a stark contrast to Qu Surou's fiery nature. The thought of getting promoted and becoming wealthy, and then never seeing such a gentle beauty again, filled him with even more reluctance.
"Then you absolutely must come and see us!"
"Okay, I'll definitely come."
Qu Fuyi pulled Sheng Guan Fa Cai (a person's name) behind her and said, "Don't embarrass yourself. Let Chang Ming leave in peace."
The carriage stopped on a flat stone platform. Jing Yi helped Huan Changming into the carriage. When he lifted the curtain, Huan Changming glanced back and Qu Fuyi smiled and waved to him, "Go on."
Jingyi followed his gaze and looked into the sect, asking, "Changming, are you waiting for someone?"
Huan Changming lowered the carriage curtain and entered the carriage. Others might not understand, but Jingyi did.
Changming was telling him that he wasn't waiting for anyone.
"drive!"
With a flick of the whip, the coachman slowly drove the carriage down the mountain.
The white cat, cleaned thoroughly, lay on the soft cushions inside the car. Upon seeing Huan Changming, it spontaneously jumped onto his lap.
Jing Yi sat opposite Huan Changming and pointed at the cat. "If it weren't for it, I definitely wouldn't have been able to find you so easily this time."
As he spoke, he looked Huan Changming up and down, feeling a pang of pity. “You’ve lost a lot of weight… You must have suffered a lot while spending time with those country folk.”
He was the only son of the Prime Minister of Li Kingdom, and grew up in a wealthy and privileged family. After seeing the austere environment of the mountain gate and the rude and vulgar gatekeepers, he concluded that the mountain gate was a vulgar and crude place. If it weren't for bringing Changming back, he probably would never have set foot in such a desolate place in his life.
"When I return to Li Kingdom, I will send some gold and silver jewelry to them as a way of repaying their kindness to you."
Upon hearing this, Huan Changming's gaze shifted from the white cat to Jing Yi's face. "You really think they're just country bumpkins?"
"Could it be not?"
Huan Changming stroked the soft fur on the cat's back. "If you put it that way... wouldn't His Highness the Eldest Prince of Li Kingdom also become a rustic country bumpkin?"
Jing Yi was taken aback. "Huan Juntian? Isn't he already dead?"
Huan Juntian, the eldest son of the Li Kingdom's emperor, was taken in by a wandering immortal when he was young to learn immortal arts, and has not returned to the Li Kingdom for ten years.
As time went on, rumors spread throughout the country that the eldest prince had already died.
The claim that he was taken in as a disciple by an immortal to learn immortal techniques was merely a fabricated story. King Li only had this one son, and if he died, the royal family would be without an heir. To appease the people both inside and outside the court, this was the fabricated story.
"Not only did he not die, but just like the rumors said, he also became a disciple of a celestial master and learned a set of celestial techniques."
Huan is the royal surname of the Li Kingdom. With the same name and surname, coupled with those rumors, Huan Changming suspected Huan Juntian's identity from the very beginning.
When Lu Pianpian gave him the luminous pearl engraved with the unique golden seal of the Li Kingdom royal family that day, he became even more certain of Huan Juntian's identity.
Jing Yi hurriedly asked, "Did Huan Juntian see through your identity?"
Huan Changming shook his head.
Huan Juntian was the eldest son of the emperor. He was showered with love and affection from a young age and grew up receiving all kinds of honors.
He was nothing more than a criminal son eking out a living in a desolate and cold palace. Not to mention recognizing his identity, the noble eldest prince probably didn't even know that Huan Changming existed.
Jing Yi breathed a sigh of relief. "If that's the case, it seems I was narrow-minded."
He was of humble nature and realized that his earlier words about a rustic villager were short-sighted. He quickly repented and said, "Sending gold and silver treasures would be an insult to this immortal sect. Changming, do you have any brilliant ideas?"
Huan Changming lifted the curtain of the car window and looked into the distance. The stone steps of the sect seemed to grow farther and farther away. "They don't need anything."
A sudden gust of wind blew in, knocking the carriage curtain from Huan Changming's hand. The horse neighed sharply, and the carriage came to a screeching halt. Jingyi immediately helped Huan Changming up, asking, "Changming, are you alright?"
"fine."
Immediately afterwards, the coachman's curses came from outside, "Are you blind? In such a hurry to be reincarnated by the King of Hell?"
Jingyi lifted the carriage curtain. "What happened?"
The coachman pointed at the person who had suddenly landed in front of the carriage and said, "This madman who came from who-knows-where blocked our way and we almost crashed into him!"
Jing Yi looked up in the direction he was pointing and saw a handsome young man standing there. Although he was good-looking, his face was pale, his hair was messy, and his clothes were disheveled. His sleeves were rolled up to his arms and tied to his shoulders with a rope. The fabric was also wrinkled, making him look like a craftsman. He looked very down and out.
Out of courtesy, Jingyi still asked, "May I ask what brings you here to stop my carriage?"
Lu Pianpian recalled what her senior sister had said to her before she left the sect. Her gaze fell on Jing Yi, who was dressed in brocade robes. His hair was tied up with a jade crown and was neatly tied. His shoes were embroidered with gold thread and were spotless. His appearance and demeanor were both outstanding.
Looking at himself now, upon hearing the news that his junior sister was leaving, he even forgot about flying on his sword and ran all the way down the mountain, his shoes covered in mud.
Lu Pianpian unconsciously hid her feet behind her back. "Changming...Junior Sister, are you in the carriage?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar, beautiful face appeared behind Jing Yi. "Senior Brother Pianpian?"
Hearing her junior sister's voice, Lu Pianpian's anxious mind calmed down a little. "It's me, junior sister."
Huan Changming alighted from the carriage, which was some distance off the ground. Because the mountain road was slippery from the rain the previous night, Lu Pianpian was afraid her junior sister would fall, so she quickly stepped forward to help her. However, the man in brocade robes beside her was faster, helping her down first. "Changming, be careful."
Huan Changming smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you."
Lu Pianpian's outstretched hand seemed particularly abrupt, so he withdrew it and put it behind his back.
Huan Changming walked up to him, looked him in the eye, and said, "Senior Brother Pianpian, I thought you weren't coming."
Lu Pianpian said, "I just found out that you are leaving."
"I left in a hurry and didn't have time to say goodbye, please don't blame me, Senior Brother Pianpian."
On her way here, Lu Pianpian had many questions to ask her junior sister: why did she suddenly have to leave?
Since you were leaving, why didn't you tell him?
Why did he have to hear from his senior sister that she was leaving?
If he can't come, is she really going to leave without saying goodbye?
Lu Pianpian had many questions to ask his junior sister, but after actually meeting her and seeing that she had someone who cared about her, he suddenly felt that all his questions had become irrelevant.
He took an object out of his pocket, held it in his palm, and handed it to Huan Changming. "Your body is weak. Even if you don't pursue the path of immortality in the future, wearing something made of Mo Shuang jade will help."
Huan Changming looked down into his palm and saw that it was a pair of earrings, shaped like water droplets. Although they were small and exquisite, the craftsmanship on the edges was a bit rough.
Lu Pianpian involuntarily pulled her fingers back from holding the earring. "This is my first time making one, and it's not very good. If you don't want to accept it, you don't have to force me."
Huan Changming's eyes flickered slightly. Before Lu Pianpian could withdraw her hand, she took the pair of earrings from his palm. "Senior brother, you've gone to so much trouble for me."
Lu Pianpian's tense heart finally relaxed a little. "This is something I promised to do for you, and I can't go back on my word."
Huan Changming could see the dark circles under Lu Pianpian's eyes, and the earring in his palm was still warm.
"Junior sister, and your illness... I haven't even had time to find a cure yet. From now on..."
“Senior brother, I appreciate your kindness.” Huan Changming’s smile faded. “But everyone has their own destiny. Senior brother has already saved my life, which is a great favor to me. If senior brother still has to worry about my illness, I’m afraid I can’t repay you even if I give my life.”
He sounded like he was praising Lu Pianpian's kindness to him in an overwhelming way, but Lu Pianpian wasn't stupid; she understood his underlying meaning.
He was drawing a line between himself and Lu Pianpian.
Lu Pianpian looked at her junior sister in silence for a moment before speaking again: "I would have saved anyone else in the river cave that day, so you don't need to worry about it."
Huan Changming looked back at him and smiled lightly, "I know that you are kind and benevolent, and that you have the world in your heart."
At this point, the two seemed to have nothing more to say, but Lu Pianpian suddenly asked, "If you go back with him, will you be better off than before?"
Huan Changming's smile faltered, and Lu Pianpian pressed him for an answer, "Really?"
Lu Pianpian desperately wanted a clear answer from him.
Huan Changming suddenly stepped forward and embraced the other person. Feeling the stiffness in his arms, he gently patted the other person's back, pressed his lips to the other person's ear, and said softly, "Immortal Lord, there is too much wind and snow in this mortal world. Don't let it soil your shoes."
The junior sister awkwardly recalled their first meeting, calling him by his title and speaking in a language that Lu Pianpian couldn't understand.
While he was still in a daze, his junior sister had already let go of him, smiled at him with a bright smile, and said, "I will be a thousand times better off than before."
Lu Pianpian pinched her palm and replied, "That's good then."
Jingyi helped Huan Changming back into the carriage and bowed to Lu Pianpian, saying, "Thank you for taking care of Changming, Immortal Lord. We will meet again someday, and I will repay this kindness."
Lu Pianpian shook her head and said nothing.
"Let's go." The junior sister's voice came from inside the carriage.