Cui Xiaoxin was quiet by nature, calm and composed.
Yet Song Tao's such candid declaration—that he had come to pursue Cui Xiaoxin—still made the young girl's cheeks flush with embarrassment and her heart grow restless.
Cui Xiaoxin lowered her eyes to her slender toes and asked, "Why are you pursuing me, Third Brother?"
"What? All the young talents in Tiandu can pursue Xiao Xin, but I can't?" Song Tao arched his brows slightly, a teasing smile on his face.
"Third Brother, please don't tease me." Cui Xiaoxin spoke softly. "You know I'm not good at joking."
Song Tao knew that Cui Xiaoxin was gentle on the outside but strong-willed within. If he said too much, he would only anger her, so he smiled and said, "All right, all right. No more jokes. Last night, while drinking with them, I heard Cui Hao say that Xiao Xin was going to the Thousand Buddha Temple today to pray for her family. As it happens, Grandfather's health hasn't been good lately, so I thought I'd go with Xiao Xin to the Thousand Buddha Temple and pray for his safety. The journey is long, but with someone for company and someone to talk about poetry and romance with along the way, it surely won't be boring."
Song Tao was a member of the Tiandu Song Family, and his grandfather was none other than Song Gudú, whom the people of Xifeng called the "Eye of the Starry Sky."
Song Gudú, who had already entered the Starry Sky Realm, had long since passed the age of one hundred. Yet in recent years, his health had grown increasingly frail, as if the oil in his lamp were nearly spent and his vital essence had withered away.
Song Gudú was the pillar of the Song Family and the