After breakfast, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan cleaned the bowls, chopsticks, and food boxes and put them back where they belonged. They tidied the cottage they had stayed in, then closed the door and quietly left, leading Little Gray. Hu Xiaotian still had some questions he wanted to ask Master Yuanmu in person, but since the master did not wish to see him, he could hardly insist. The more a recluse transcended the mundane world, the stranger his temperament tended to be. Some things were better left unforced.
Spirit Sound Temple had been a turning point in their journey. Compared with the dismal clouds hanging over them when they arrived, they left with sunshine in their hearts and joy on their faces. Although Huo Shengnan was now the one riding and Hu Xiaotian the one walking, both felt as though they had found life at the end of a hopeless road and been reborn. Hu Xiaotian was buoyant with the joy of regaining his freedom, while this experience had swept the gloom from Huo Shengnan's heart. Being framed, leaving her homeland-she cast it all behind her. How much worse could things get? Who could say her life would not become even more wonderful after leaving Great Yong? With a character like Hu Xiaotian beside her, every day seemed different from the days she had known before.
After leaving Gray Bear Valley, they headed toward Shaoyuan. Since Huo Shengnan's Human-Skin Mask had been destroyed and Hu Xiaotian had no spare, she had no choice but to dress as a man. They were still within Great Yong's borders, after all, and wanted notices for Huo Shengnan were everywhere. Neither dared draw too much attention. They abandoned their original plan to rest and recuperate in Shaoyuan, skirted the town, and continued east toward