.
Bai Ruxue ran out of the courtyard.
Xiao Qing chased after her, but her sister's cultivation was simply too high. Her figure soon disappeared from sight.
As Bai Ruxue walked through Shiqiao Village, she looked at everything around her. The more she looked, the more familiar it all felt.
Before she knew it, Bai Ruxue had arrived at the courtyard of Shiqiao Village's late Village Chief.
She pushed open the wicker gate and stepped inside. When she ran her hand along the windowsill, she found a thick layer of dust.
After leaving the courtyard, Bai Ruxue continued to wander aimlessly.
After who knew how long, Bai Ruxue came to a grave.
"Wang Can, county clerk of Qingshan County and Village Chief of Shiqiao Village."
"Tomb of Wang Can."
"Chen Hong, wife of Wang Can."
"Tomb of Chen Hong."
Looking at those familiar names, Bai Ruxue's head began to ache faintly again, and a trace of sorrow stirred in her heart.
She knew them.
But.
She had forgotten them.
She had even forgotten a name that was incredibly, incredibly important.
A name more important than her own life.
Turning around, Bai Ruxue continued on.
The setting sun melted into gold as it sank toward the western mountains, dyeing the horizon a gentle orange-red and deep purple.
The evening haze spread quietly like a thin veil. The enormous setting sun stretched the woman's shadow long across the ground, like an ink-black river silently flowing over the still grass and cold tombstones.
Before the tombstone lay several fresh wildflowers the woman had just picked.
Bai Ruxue climbed the mountain, choosing a small path that felt familiar to her.
Halfway up the mountain, Bai Ruxue stopped.
A stone appeared in her sight.
It was nothing more than an ordinary stone, yet the longer