Bringing Pu Zhi a Meal

By the glittering riverbank, a five- or six-year-old boy hobbled along with a fish in one hand, following behind a twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy who held several fish in both hands. Bright smiles covered their faces as they made their way back toward the village.

"We're here. This is the place." Two or three minutes later, Ye Yun brought Lin Jingyu back to the cave. To his surprise, the cave had already been covered with straw, and Zhang Xiaofan lay on it, staring blankly into space, lost in thought.

"Xiaofan." Seeing Zhang Xiaofan spacing out, Lin Jingyu called to him.

Hearing Lin Jingyu's voice, Zhang Xiaofan sprang to his feet. He proudly pointed behind him and shouted, "Jingyu, Little Yun'er, you're back? What do you think of my setup?"

Lin Jingyu stood at the entrance and looked over the cave. He nodded. "Not bad. Little Yun'er told me about this. From now on, this will be our secret base. But the sun is about to set, so we should hurry back. If we get home too late, we'll get scolded."

Zhang Xiaofan walked to the cave entrance and looked west through a gap in the trees. Surprised, he said, "It's already this late? It didn't feel like much time had passed. But we really should head back. Little Yun'er, don't go back to your little hut yet. Come eat at my house before you go. I've already told my parents."

This was exactly what Ye Yun had been waiting for, so how could he refuse? Once they returned to the village, he hung the two fish strung together with grass rope onto Lin Jingyu's hand, then skipped away behind Zhang Xiaofan. Lin Jingyu smiled and turned to leave as well. What he did not know was that tonight would likely be the last time in his life he ate with his parents. Unfortunately, Ye Yun, the only one who knew, could barely protect himself at the moment, so he naturally could not help them.

Zhang Xiaofan's parents were a pair of simple, ordinary farmers. Their skin had been tanned dark by years of labor, their hands were exceedingly rough, and their clothes were woven from coarse hemp. Though they smiled at Ye Yun, they were not particularly warm toward him—neither cold nor welcoming. But they treated Zhang Xiaofan differently. Not only did they speak to him gently, they constantly praised him for being smart and capable.

The farmers' meal was simple: fish soup, a steamed fish, a plate of stewed chicken, and a plate of greens that Ye Yun had specifically asked for earlier. Aside from the greens, which were not part of Ye Yun and the others' catch today, everything else had been brought back by Zhang Xiaofan. What left Ye Yun speechless was that as soon as the dishes reached the table, Zhang Xiaofan's father put one chicken drumstick into Zhang Xiaofan's bowl, while his mother placed the other into her husband's bowl. Still, Ye Yun did not care. Chicken drumsticks were nothing rare to him.

The meal was somewhat oppressive, and Ye Yun, worried about Pu Zhi, had no appetite. After hurriedly eating his bowl of rice with two pieces of rather bland chicken, he set down his chopsticks, picked up the bowl of rice beside him that contained only some greens, and headed outside.

"Hey, Little Yun'er, where are you going?" Seeing Ye Yun carry a bowl of food outside, Zhang Xiaofan's mother hurriedly stopped him.

Hearing Zhang Xiaofan's mother, Ye Yun halted and turned around. Tilting his head, he looked at her adorably and said in a childish voice, "It'll be dark soon. I'm taking this bowl of food to Old Grandpa at Grass Temple. He lives alone in that broken temple, and he's so pitiful. He definitely hasn't eaten yet. Little Yun'er knows how awful it feels to be hungry. Little Yun'er doesn't want Old Grandpa to go hungry."

"This..." Zhang Xiaofan's mother froze at his words. Zhang Xiaofan and his father, who had been continuously shoveling food into their mouths, also stopped. They set down their bowls and chopsticks, shame flickering in their eyes.

Zhang Xiaofan's father glanced at his wife and said loudly, "I never expected you to be so kind-hearted, Little Yun'er. Go early and come back early. You don't need to bring the bowl and chopsticks back tonight. We'll deal with them after daybreak tomorrow."

Ye Yun nodded and said with a smile, "All right, I understand, Uncle Zhang." With that, he walked out without looking back. Watching this scene, Zhang Xiaofan quietly pondered something.

Grass Temple, where Pu Zhi was staying, was some distance from the village, though not far—only about a hundred meters away. Ye Yun soon arrived before the temple.

Looking at the crude little Grass Temple, Ye Yun's heart was full of unease. That damned system had brought him here without giving him any advantage to rely on. That alone would have been bad enough, but the worst part was that it had turned him into a child, making it impossible for him even to run away. Still, since he was already here, fear was useless. With unease in his heart, Ye Yun walked into Grass Temple and called sweetly, "Old Grandpa, are you there? I brought you something to eat."

As soon as Ye Yun finished speaking, an elderly man with kind features, dressed in a tattered kasaya, emerged. His eyes were full of astonishment as he looked at Ye Yun, then they turned infinitely gentle. Pu Zhi had never expected that after enduring repeated pursuits and assassinations, when he was already exhausted in body and spirit, he would once again receive such warm care in this little place. He did not know how many years it had been since someone had sweetly called out to him and brought him a meal. A hundred years? Two hundred years? The grandson who had once brought him meals like this had likely grown old long ago!

"Come in." After speaking, Pu Zhi looked at Li Yun with great affection and turned to walk inside. Though Ye Yun found it strange that Pu Zhi was so easy to speak with, it was a good thing, and much of the unease in his heart faded. Perhaps influenced by the calm, peaceful aura Pu Zhi gave off, his anxious heart gradually settled. By the time he followed Pu Zhi into Grass Temple, he had completely calmed down.

Seeing Pu Zhi stop, Ye Yun raised the food in his hands and said sweetly, "Old Grandpa, you must be hungry, right? The food is still hot. Hurry and eat it while it's warm. It won't taste good once it gets cold."

Pu Zhi nodded, affectionately rubbed Ye Yun's head, and took the bowl and chopsticks from him. Smiling, he said, "Little one, that was thoughtful of you. Whose child are you? Did the adults in your family ask you to bring this food?"

At that, Ye Yun slowly lowered his head, his face dark with sadness. "Old Grandpa, the village elder told Little Yun'er that Little Yun'er's family went somewhere very, very far away. Little Yun'er doesn't know why they didn't want Little Yun'er anymore, but Little Yun'er really misses them. I miss them so, so much!"

By the end, Ye Yun's voice had taken on a hint of sobbing. He was not pretending. He truly missed them terribly. He truly hoped that everything before him was only a dream, that when he woke up, he would hear his mother's nagging, full of disappointment that he had failed to live up to her expectations. Unfortunately, all of it was real. He did not know whether he would ever hear his parents' nagging again in this lifetime. He did not dare imagine whether they would go gray overnight upon hearing that their son had disappeared.