Du Xiaolin walked briskly through the county town's harbor. Though she had yet to reach adulthood, she still drew plenty of eyes.
But as she reached the entrance to a street in town, the dockworkers and passing merchants around her gradually seemed to stop noticing her. When she looked back now, the He Household and the stall where they were eating were already quite far away.
Du Xiaolin lowered her head to look at the flower bud pinched between her fingers. After examining it closely, she brought it to her nose and sniffed.
The flower had not even opened, so there should have been no particular scent. Yet when she sniffed carefully, the Flower Bud gave off a faint, delicate fragrance.
"This is something lost by the E River Water Palace, after all. If they come looking for it and I can't hand it over, that'll be trouble."
Though she could see nothing special about the flower, it was not something she could simply sell off.
With that thought, Du Xiaolin tucked the Flower Bud into her sleeve. A faint spiritual glow appeared on her shoulders, and a Silk Sash gradually materialized around her.
Du Xiaolin caught one end of the Silk Sash and flicked it gently forward. It shot out in one direction, carrying her whole body aloft and taking her from the street into the sky.
A short while later, Du Xiaolin landed outside a courtyard. The place felt somewhat familiar, yet differed considerably from that hazy sense of familiarity.
Even so, Du Xiaolin knew this was where she had lived for many years as He Xin. With a light leap, she entered the courtyard.
Du Xiaolin's feeling was correct. Compared with the past, this little courtyard had been rebuilt and renovated, with two more rooms added, though