Lodging

At the end of the narrow path, wisps of cooking smoke rose faintly.

The weary figures busy in the fields began putting away their farm tools and heading home one after another.

A pair of striking brothers had arrived in Qian Family Village.

One walked ahead on foot, while the other rode a snow-white mule nearly as tall as a person.

That mule was truly beautiful. Not a single stray hair marred its body, and a costly red-gold bell hung from its neck, chiming crisply with every step.

The two of them drew the farmers' attention the moment they appeared.

The older one wore a raven-blue robe, a headscarf, and wooden clogs. Slender in build, with a Literary Heart Sigil at his waist, he was likely a young scholar traveling abroad. The younger one looked eleven or twelve. He did not resemble the older one, yet he too was a handsome youth, with red lips, white teeth, and deeply sculpted features.

Perhaps he had some foreign blood in his ancestry; his features were more pronounced than those of ordinary people. At first glance, one might have mistaken him for a dazzling young lady, only realizing he was a Young Master after hearing the youth address him.

"My humble home is simple. I hope the two Young Masters will not mind making do for one night."

The Village Chief led the two of them into a side room.

Qian Family Village was a small village with fewer than a hundred households. The Village Chief's home was the cleanest and most respectable house in the village.

When he heard that the two Young Masters wished to stay the night, he warmly invited them to stay at his home and had his wife clean out the side room.

Qi Shan took out a piece of broken silver and handed it to the Village Chief, asking them to prepare several days' worth of travel rations and boil a pot of hot water for bathing, with the remainder as thanks. Smiling, the Village Chief weighed the silver in his hand and made a quick estimate before assuring him it was no trouble. Before leaving, he even asked whether they wanted fresh grass for the mule.

At the mention of the mule, Qi Shan's expression stiffened for an instant. "No need. That mule is not a living creature. It is my younger brother's Word Spirit creation."

The Village Chief understood at once, and his expression became even more respectful.

Ding-ling, ding-ling—

The familiar chime of bells drew closer.

Qi Shan pushed open the window to air out the stale air Inside the House. Looking up, he saw Shen Tang leading the mule with one hand while holding a bundle of grass in the other, teasing it.

He could faintly hear Young Master Shen muttering to the mule.

"Motorcycle, why aren't you eating? Just take a bite. I picked this especially for you..."

Qi Shan: "..."

Whenever he thought of that mule Called What "Motorcycle," he felt as though he could not catch his breath.

No One had expected that an unfamiliar Word Spirit—"Swift as Wind, Fast as Lightning, Grand Transport Motorcycle"—would actually condense into a snow-white mule!

Young Master Shen happily climbed onto its back.

"Mister Qi, do you want to make one too?"

Qi Shan refused without hesitation.

Let alone the fact that he did not know how to use that Word Spirit; even if he could and Succeeded, the result might not be the same as Young Master Shen's.

Most importantly—

No matter how pretty the mule was, it was still only a mule. He would not ride it!

"Then do you want to ride together?" Shen Tang asked, Raising her hand before her eyes to block the glaring sun as she offered another suggestion.

Qi Shan refused again.

Even if he walked until his legs broke, he Will Not ride that foolish-looking mule.

Shen Tang shrugged and did not press him.

With a low-end sports car for transportation—the mule—her feet were finally liberated. Passing a tree of unknown species that looked remarkably like a banana tree, she bent sideways from the mule's back and reached out to snap off two leaves.

She slung one over her shoulder to shield herself from the sun.

She held the other out over Qi Shan's head.

"Mister Qi!"

With the sunlight above him blocked, Qi Shan Turned his Head at her call.

Shen Tang tossed the leaf to him.

"Catch!"

Seeing Shen Tang's stance of shielding herself from the sun as though she feared the light, he smiled helplessly.

"What hardship should a good man fear?"

"I'm not afraid. But as the old saying goes—one fair complexion conceals a hundred flaws." Shen Tang adjusted the angle of the large leaf and grinned with it resting on her shoulder. "If I get tanned, my skin tone will be uneven, and it will harm my appearance."

Qi Shan: "..."

The two of them traveled for several hours before they saw signs of habitation.

After years of drought and war, only a few households remained in Qian Family Village. There were hardly any young faces in the whole village, only elderly people and ignorant little children. With two unfamiliar faces suddenly arriving, the news flew from one end of the village to the other, and From Time to Time mischievous children could be seen peeking around the Village Chief's home.

Qi Shan had gone to Go Find the Village Chief about something. When he returned, he heard Shen Tang laughing and playing with several mischievous children.

The two sides were "at war."

One child, dressed in clothes washed so many times they had faded white, sat astride the snow-white mule. Holding a dead branch as a spear, he looked fiercely imposing, while Young Master Shen met him on foot with a stick in hand.

The Two of Them went back and forth, clashing without pause and fighting until they were "locked in an inextricable battle." The other children acted as "Soldiers," nervously "watching the battle" at the side and From Time to Time clapping and shouting, "The general is amazing!"

Qi Shan: "..."

At first, he thought Shen Tang had simply been seized by the urge to play—after all, Young Master Shen was only an eleven- or twelve-year-old youth. Even after suffering the hardships of exile, he was still mischievous and restless by nature. But after watching for a while, he discovered that the unfamiliar child was rather interesting as well.

He asked the Village Chief, "What is this child called? Which household in the village is he from?"

The Village Chief answered, "He is not a child from the village."

"Not?"

The Village Chief sighed. "I heard he is the child of a wealthy family, but he has suffered from a grave illness since childhood and lives at a nearby estate to recuperate. They say he is recovering from illness, but in truth, he has been abandoned. Naturally, the servants do not attend to him wholeheartedly. He is quite pitiful. He often sneaks out to play with the village children..."

Usually, the servants from the estate would not come to take him back until he had played wildly until dark.

Qi Shan's curiosity was piqued.

"A grave illness? What is wrong with him?"

The Village Chief glanced at the child, whose face was full of joy, then cautiously pointed at his own head. "I heard it is an illness of the mind."

Put plainly, he was a fool.

Qi Shan was slightly surprised and was about to speak when several children Erupted into loud cheers.

It turned out that the child had feinted with his spear and "tricked" Shen Tang, striking the "lord" she was protecting.

Neither off nor astray, it Hit Exactly the "lord" in the forehead.

According To the rules of the game, he had won.

Looking at the "lord who had breathed his last," Shen Tang could only spread her hands "helplessly," toss down her weapon, and "surrender."

"Ah, I lost."

The winner could claim spoils of war.

The so-called spoils were thumb-sized malt candies.

She opened the pouch at her waist and took out a handful of malt candies she had made out of boredom, giving one to each child. This was called "rewarding the three armies." The "Commander" who had rendered great merit—that child who sat steadily atop the mule and brandished his spear with considerable flair—received three all to himself.

The other children eagerly popped their malt candies into their mouths. Only that child did not. He held the candies blankly in his hands, seemingly not knowing to eat them.

That foolish, vacant look was utterly unlike the high-spirited Aura he had displayed while "fighting" atop the mule.

"Not eating?"

Shen Tang crouched down and asked the child.

The child shook his head. He looked at the malt candies in his hand hesitantly for a while, then picked one up and offered it to Shen Tang.

He gazed at her with bright, eager eyes, as though expecting something.

"You want to feed me?"

"Mhm. Eat," the child said.

Shen Tang did not mind that the child's little hands were dirty. She opened her mouth and ate the malt candy he offered, her eyes curving into a smile.

"Ah, it's so sweet. Want to try some too?"

Only then did the child lower his head, pick up another candy, and place it in his mouth.

He put the last one back into the faded pouch at his waist.

The pouch was heavy.

Taking advantage of her angle, Shen Tang vaguely saw an exquisite Tiger Head Jade Bi inside, engraved with tiny seal-script characters.

The other children went home contentedly. Only this child, whose clothes had been washed until they faded, remained behind and was led by the Village Chief to wait in the main hall.

Summer weather was exceptionally fickle. Not long after night fell, heavy rain poured down from the dark Sky Curtain.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds howled.

Shen Tang was reading by lamplight, frantically memorizing Word Spirits.

Just then, someone began pounding on the front gate.

(:з"∠) My mistake, I got stuck again.

This chapter was for the twenty-fifth.

Because it made it onto the new book splash screen, there would be two updates during the day—that was, the twenty-sixth.

Besides the regular update, there would also be an extra chapter for the cute alliance leader young lady from before.