Chapter 23

Shi Changyuan did not get down. Sitting in the carriage, he held up the curtain and stared fixedly at Lin Ling, as if he wanted to etch every detail of him into his eyes without missing a single fraction.

Seeing that Shi Changyuan was not getting out, Lin Ling said nothing. He happily waved, then turned and followed the rugged little path, disappearing from Shi Changyuan's sight.

Shi Changyuan gazed at the end of that path. The hand holding the curtain fell onto the wooden rail, nearly crushing it before he managed to restrain himself from chasing after him and tying him up to bring him back.

"Huh? Another new neighbor moved in, and you've already taken human form? What kind of spirit are you?"

Lin Ling arrived in the deep old forest he had longed for, found a spot with excellent feng shui, and set down his little flowerpot. His new home was arranged.

Lin Ling had just been about to greet his neighbors when he saw a group of little spirits gather around, trying to get a look at the only spirit there who had already taken human form.

"Wow, your human form is so pretty," said a little fox. "I hope mine will be just as pretty. Then it won't be so hard to seduce scholars when I go down the mountain."

Lin Ling froze for a moment, then tried to advise him based on the storybooks he had read. "You shouldn't. It's really heartbreaking."

The story Lin Ling told immediately made the innocent little spirits cry so hard they could barely catch their breath, and they ran home to find their mothers.

Lin Ling smiled, remembering how his eyes had swollen from crying over storybooks back then, and how Shi Changyuan had gently applied eggs to them...

At that thought, Lin Ling immediately rubbed his face.

Who missed their family on the very first day after leaving home? He was going to cultivate in secret and return to amaze everyone!

Lin Ling acted as soon as he decided. He returned to his original form, climbed back into his flowerpot, and began sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Generally speaking, spirits cultivated day and night without distinction. Some even arranged to worship the moon together at night. But whenever it was time, Lin Ling naturally felt that he ought to rest.

"Little Mushroom, aren't you going to worship the moon?"

Lin Ling shook his head and politely declined. "No, I want to rest. You all go ahead."

After saying that, Lin Ling lay back down in his little flowerpot.

On the first night, Lin Ling could not fall asleep.

When the other little spirits returned from worshipping the moon, they saw Lin Ling still tossing and turning and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Little Mushroom hopped out of the flowerpot and thought for a moment. "It might be because it's my first night staying outside. I'm not used to it yet. I'll adjust after a day."

On the second night, Lin Ling really did manage to fall asleep.

But while half-asleep, he turned over and instinctively tried to burrow into the warm embrace beside him. There was no one behind him, and he fell straight out of the flowerpot.

Little Mushroom was dazed from the fall and nearly shed little pearls.

On the third night, Lin Ling stuck stiff little leaves into the soil and circled the edge of his flowerpot with them to keep himself from falling out again.

Yet once more, he could not fall asleep.

That day, he had seen many astonishing things in the wilderness: waterfalls larger than the bathing pool, stone trees soaring into the clouds, and so much more. Each time, Lin Ling had instinctively turned his head, wanting to share them with the person behind him.

Afraid he would forget, Lin Ling wrote everything down on a large leaf during the day.

The other spirits saw him carving words, but they were only amazed. They asked Lin Ling to carve their names for them and showed no intention of excluding him.

For a time, Lin Ling became the most popular person in the entire wilderness.

After thinking about it, Lin Ling carved that down too.

He covered himself with the leaf filled with writing. Once deep night fell, the words became like wildly growing longing, closing around Lin Ling from every direction until he could barely breathe.

Lin Ling touched the words on the leaf, feeling as though every symbol he had carved had become identical, turning into the three characters "Shi Changyuan."

Mushroom suddenly sat up. A thought in his mind grew clearer and deeper—

No. He had to go back.

He wanted to be with Shi Changyuan. Half a year was far too long; he could not bear it.

Before dawn, Lin Ling hurriedly packed up his flowerpot and headed down the mountain in the dark. By the time he returned to that little path and could vaguely see the village, the sky was already bright.

Lin Ling suddenly realized something very important.

There did not seem to be any carriages in the village.

If he wanted to return to Capital City from this small village, even borrowing a carriage would take three days. An ox cart would probably take a week. But if he walked back himself... Lin Ling simply did not dare imagine how long it would take!!!

Little Mushroom felt despair, but even as he despaired, he trudged onward in Shi Changyuan's direction.

"Your Majesty, this is the fourth day. A country cannot go a single day without its ruler," Shunde, who had accompanied Shi Changyuan, kept urging.

Shunde did not dare mention Young Master Lin and could only persuade him on the grounds of state affairs. As a result, Shi Changyuan had reviewed memorials in the carriage for three days. More than state affairs, what worried Shunde was that Shi Changyuan had barely touched a drop of water these past few days.

He wanted to send troops straight in, dig up this mountain inch by inch, and drag Lin Ling back.

Shi Changyuan glanced at Shunde and opened his mouth, seemingly about to say something. Then, from very far away, a familiar call seemed to drift over.

The voice was tiny and weak, as though the sharp spring wind could scatter it with a single gust.

But Shi Changyuan still heard it.

With one stride, he got out of the carriage. On the little path where Lin Ling had disappeared, the figure he had yearned for day and night appeared once again, panting as he ran straight toward him.

"Shi Changyuan!!!"

Hearing Lin Ling call him, Shi Changyuan rushed forward as well. The person he had thought of day and night crashed solidly into his arms.

"I'm back—"

Chapter 23

As Shi Changyuan looked at Lin Ling leaning against him, he felt the helplessness of recovering a lost treasure. He did not even dare touch him, afraid that it was all an illusion.