At dawn, the sky whitened like a fish's belly, as though someone had splashed it with a thin layer of frost.
The rising sun climbed slowly, its rosy radiance like ten thousand golden arrows piercing the mist and scattering specks of light across the little courtyard.
Su Fan sat before the rustic dining table, the rice porridge in his porcelain bowl still sending up wisps of steam.
Across from him, Li Chongxiu lowered her head and ate quietly, while Sister Zhen was like a restless ghost, drifting back and forth around the courtyard.
Her white skirt fluttered lightly with her movements, occasionally brushing across the flowers and plants in the courtyard and startling a few strands of morning dew into the air.
"Clang..."
Su Fan abruptly slammed his porridge bowl onto the table, making the rice porridge inside wobble.
"Can you stop drifting around everywhere? I can't even eat in peace..." His brows knitted tightly, and his voice was full of irritation.
After being scolded by her master, Sister Zhen hurried over and clung ingratiatingly to Su Fan's arm, her voice coy yet carrying a hint of fawning.
"Master, just let Xiu'er and me go into the city for a while..."
As she spoke, she kept shaking Su Fan's arm, the faint fragrance in her hair lingering at the tip of his nose.
Su Fan glared fiercely at her, his tone still icy. "No. We'll talk about it after this period has passed..."
He knew their thoughts as clearly as if they were written on his palm. The two girls had just made a killing in the "Archaic Secret Realm," and after sorting through their spoils, they were eager to go into the city and exchange those treasures for Spirit Jade.
Sister Zhen and Li Chongxiu came from humble backgrounds