Huo Qingtong hurriedly wiped the tears from her face, wishing she could find a crack in the ground and crawl straight into it. "Why did you come back?"
"I didn't want to come back either. Miss Wang was worried about her Sister Huo, so she specifically begged me to come back and help you." Song Qingshu sighed, as though he were extremely impatient.
"Brother Song~" Wang Yuyan said with a faint pout. "You were clearly worried about Sister Huo yourself, yet you insist on blaming it on me."
Song Qingshu smiled awkwardly and held out his hand to Huo Qingtong. "Come on, I'll take you over there."
Huo Qingtong turned her head away as though she had not seen his invitation.
Song Qingshu immediately smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, Huo Du should also be here for the Zhenlong Chess Game. If you run into him alone..."
Before he could finish, Huo Qingtong grabbed his hand. Realizing the awkwardness at once, she blushed and explained, "Hmph, he only caught me off guard with a sneak attack last time. I'm not afraid of running into him again!"
"Is that so?" Song Qingshu had wanted to tease her a little, but when he saw the tear droplets still hanging from her cheeks, sparkling crystal-clear beneath the morning sun, he could not bring himself to say anything more.
With one arm around Wang Yuyan and one hand holding Huo Qingtong's, Song Qingshu moved through the mountains as though walking on level ground. Before long, they crossed a ridge and entered a valley. The valley was filled with pines, and when the mountain wind swept through them, their roar sounded like waves.
After traveling about a li through the woods, they arrived before three wooden huts. Beneath a large tree in front of them sat