He Sheng glanced at the woman without saying a word, rose from the bed, and left the inner room.
As usual, he prepared some food, but not a portion for her. After eating, he shouldered his hoe and left the thatched cottage for the vegetable garden.
Not long after he left, the woman emerged from the inner room.
She swept her gaze around, then fixed it on the entrance of the thatched cottage. Her brows furrowed slightly as she fell into thought.
A moment later, she set down a bag of Broken Silver and left behind a green jade pendant before leaving the thatched cottage. With several leaps, she vanished into the dense forest.
The blazing sun hung high overhead. At noon, He Sheng returned to the thatched cottage with his hoe over his shoulder.
Upon entering, he saw the Broken Silver and jade pendant on the wooden table. He merely glanced at them without picking them up, then turned and went to the kitchen to prepare food.
For the next half year, the area around the thatched cottage remained peaceful, and no one disturbed He Sheng's mortal trial.
The bag of Broken Silver and the jade pendant remained on the wooden table, untouched by He Sheng.
He maintained an ordinary state of mind, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, as though everything in the world had nothing to do with him.
One day, as night fell, he returned to the thatched cottage carrying his hoe and was about to head to the kitchen to prepare food.
Just then, a woman in a white dress entered the thatched cottage. She carried a treasured sword and wore a veiled conical hat.
She seemed especially familiar. Without any pleasantries, she stepped inside and stopped before the wooden table, staring intently at