A smile curled at the corners of Wu Feng's lips, his eyes filled with boundless tenderness. He said, "You spent your whole life drifting alone and suffering in the jungle. From now on, I'll give you back the warmth of the human world."
Xiaobai stared blankly at Wu Feng, tears glimmering in his eyes. His skin, smooth as congealed fat, had flushed peach-red from the alcohol, making him look exceptionally beautiful.
That night, Flower-Fruit Mountain was unusually quiet. Even the mountain birds barely called. The bright moonlight spilled across the mountains, as though draping them in a layer of snow.
Outside Wu Feng's General Store, two large red lanterns hung outside the western side room, swaying gently in the breeze.
The next day, both Wu Feng and Xiaobai rose very late, nearly when the sun was already high overhead.
The bright sun, carrying a hint of dry heat, left people feeling languid.
After getting up, Wu Feng began washing up. Xiaobai, meanwhile, moved exceptionally quickly. He had already finished washing and was preparing breakfast in the back kitchen.
Wu Feng turned around while standing at the doorway and brushing his teeth. That was right—he was using toothpaste. In this era, ordinary people had no idea what toothpaste was. At most, they used sea salt to clean their teeth. Wu Feng, however, had gathered some herbs from the mountains and ground powder from seashells, making toothpaste himself.
Looking at Xiaobai's busy figure in the back kitchen, Wu Feng recalled the tenderness they had shared the previous night and couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
He had deliberately risen half an hour earlier than Wu Feng to prepare breakfast for him, still acting like the maid he had once been.
Wu Feng knew very well that Xiaobai was suffering from a sense