Zhou Family.
After Zhou Shan took the Qi Nourishing Pill, he had gone to rest.
Li Ru sat in the main hall, pouring the spirit rice that had been soaked and dried from the winnowing basket into the brewing furnace, then adding several spirit herbs.
After mixing them slightly, she poured in the fermentation starter she had prepared earlier according to a fixed ratio.
But after pouring it several times, she felt flustered and unsettled, unable to get the proportions right.
Her brows could not help but furrow.
Just then.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Who is it?" Li Ru called out, setting down the winnowing basket and rising to leave the main hall.
"Mother, it's me."
Hearing Zhou Ling's voice, Li Ru hurriedly opened the door.
When she saw Zhou Ling's travel-worn face, the heart she had kept hanging in suspense finally settled. She had originally wanted to scold him, but seeing that his face had noticeably darkened, the words caught in her throat.
"Ling'er, you went into the mountains without even telling Mother!"
Li Ru's tone held concern, reproach, and worry. Only upon seeing her child did the anxiety she had felt these past days finally ease.
She took Zhou Ling's hand painfully in hers. When she saw his torn trousers, she asked anxiously, "Ling'er, did you run into a demon beast? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. They were snagged by a branch." Knowing he could no longer hide it, Zhou Ling answered lightly.
"Ling'er!"
Yet Li Ru's expression turned rarely stern upon hearing this.
She had spent years entering the mountains herself. How could she not know the dangers within them?
"Mother, there really wasn't any danger!"
Seeing his mother's reddened eyes and hearing the choke in her voice, Zhou Ling was at a loss. He knew it had