The next day, dawn had barely broken, yet Ren Shanshi still had not returned.
Yun Niang sat by the window, staring worriedly at the Martial Training Ground. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the windowsill as unease welled up within her, wave after wave.
The two half-demon girls stayed close beside her.
"Perhaps I should ask Yao'er?"
After much hesitation, Yun Niang rose and draped an outer robe over her shoulders. But as soon as she stepped out of her room, she could not help looking toward the bamboo grove beside the Martial Training Ground.
For some reason, she felt that A-Qing might have a solution.
Holding a girl in each hand, Yun Niang cautiously entered the mist-shrouded bamboo grove. Fallen leaves rustled beneath her feet, but the deeper they went, the more uneasy the two girls became.
She could also hear the squeaks of mice around her, merging into a continuous chorus.
Her vision was already blurry, so she could only feel her way slowly toward the sounds. By the time the view suddenly opened up before her, half an hour had slipped by.
The outline of the Primordial Beginning Temple appeared indistinctly in the morning light.
Many small figures seemed to be busy in the fields outside the temple.
Only when Yun Niang approached did she see that those small figures were actually mice moving about in groups. Each wore a Daoist robe and skillfully watered and weeded the medicinal fields.
She froze in shock, instinctively retreating half a step.
"Madam Yun!"
Only then did Yun Niang notice a Mouse Child approaching. Standing on its hind legs, it clasped its forepaws and bowed to her. "This Mouse Child greets Madam Yun."
"You-we know each other?" Yun Niang steadied herself, her voice trembling slightly.
"We do, we do." The Mouse Child