Three days passed peacefully. Every day, besides using his Power of Life to heal Jiang Yurou's body, Huo Yuhao cooked a variety of delicious meals for the mother and daughter. Jiang Nannan's smiles became more and more frequent, and she even took the initiative to pester Huo Yuhao to teach her how to cook.
The tranquility was broken by a series of urgent knocks on the door early the next morning.
Huo Yuhao's eyes sharpened, and he gestured for the mother and daughter to stay inside. He slowly walked to the courtyard gate, his hands beneath his black robe already gathering Soul Power.
Outside the door, the Xuanming Sect Master stood respectfully with Xu Sanshi. Upon seeing Huo Yuhao, the Sect Master immediately bowed and said, "My lord, I have come with my son to apologize."
Xu Sanshi bowed his head, holding a brocade box in both hands. "This contains 30,000 Gold Soul Coin and two Black Tortoise Divine Pill. Please accept this, sir."
Huo Yuhao coldly surveyed them, his powerful spiritual energy enveloping the entire area. Only after confirming there were no ambushes did he accept the brocade box.
"Remember," his voice was like the biting wind of the Far North, "If I discover any of your underhanded tactics..."
"We wouldn't dare! Absolutely not!" Cold sweat beaded on the sect leader's forehead. "We have already severely punished Chen Wen and the others, and from now on we will never do such heinous things again."
Huo Yuhao turned his gaze to Xu Sanshi. The once arrogant young man now had clear eyes, clearly showing that this incident had helped him mature a lot.
"I hope you keep your word." Huo Yuhao turned to leave, then stopped. "By the way, if anything happens to the Jiang family mother and daughter..."
"Rest assured, sir! We will send people to protect you secretly!" the sect leader quickly assured him.
After the Xuanming Sect members left, Huo Yuhao returned inside. Jiang Nannan asked nervously, "They..."
"It's alright now." Huo Yuhao smiled gently. "No one will bother you again."
Jiang Yurou bowed gratefully. "Thank you for saving my life..."
"There's no need for that." Huo Yuhao helped her up. "I was just fulfilling a promise I made to a girl."
Afterwards, Huo Yuhao handed over 30,000 Gold Soul Coin and the Black Tortoise Divine Pill to the Jiang family mother and daughter, because these Gold Soul Coin were of no use to him, but they could help them survive.
However, she still taught Jiang Nannan the principle of not flaunting wealth, and that even if she had money, she should spend it wisely, otherwise the money would be quickly spent.
The three days passed in the blink of an eye.
A fine drizzle enveloped the entire town in a misty haze. Huo Yuhao sat alone on the stone steps outside the Jiang family's courtyard, his black robe soaked through, water droplets constantly sliding down his mask. He gazed silently at the rain, as if listening to the raindrops whispering secrets.
"My benefactor, the rain is getting heavier, please come inside." Jiang Yurou, holding an oil-paper umbrella, walked to the courtyard gate with her daughter. Her complexion had improved a lot, and her face had regained a healthy rosy glow.
Jiang Nannan held another umbrella but didn't hand it over. She keenly sensed that this mysterious savior seemed to be saying goodbye in some way.
"No need." Huo Yuhao's voice came through the rain, deeper than usual. "You've fully recovered, and I've done everything I promised."
He slowly rose, water droplets falling from his black robe. As he turned, his gaze, hidden behind his mask, lingered on the mother and daughter for a moment.
Jiang Yurou hurriedly stepped forward. "Benefactor, we haven't properly repaid your kindness yet..."
"What's with all this talk of repaying favors?" Huo Yuhao chuckled and shook his head. "No need."
Jiang Nannan suddenly rushed into the rain, the water immediately soaking her blonde hair. "Are you leaving?" Her voice trembled slightly, whether from the cold or reluctance, it was hard to tell.
"Hmm," Huo Yuhao replied briefly.
"Then... will we ever see each other again?" Jiang Nannan looked up, rain and tears mingling. "Where can I find you?"
Huo Yuhao gently brushed the water droplets from her face. "Yes, you will see me soon." His tone suddenly softened. "However, this time it will be you who comes to find me."
He looked up at the gray sky and muttered, "As expected, I still hate rainy days..."
These words contained too many emotions that Jiang Nannan couldn't understand. For him, rainy days always seemed to be associated with sad memories.
"Wait!" Jiang Nannan tried to grab his sleeve, but only touched the cold rain. Huo Yuhao's figure had already blended into the rain and was gradually disappearing into the distance.
"Remember to come find me." His voice drifted on the wind and eventually faded into the sound of rain.
Jiang Nannan stood in the rain, watching the black figure grow increasingly blurry until it completely disappeared at the end of the street. The rain soaked her to the bone, but it couldn't extinguish the resolute thought in her heart:
She will find him, no matter how long it takes.
The drizzle continued to fall, Jiang Nannan stood motionless in the rain for Jiujiu. This sudden parting had planted a strange seed in her heart.
To the world, this might just be a chance act of kindness. But for Jiang Nannan, this encounter was an immense blessing from fate—not the pity of an ordinary person, but a gentle correction of her life by a deity.
" Nannan, come in quickly, don't catch a cold." Her mother's voice pulled her back to reality.
Back inside, Jiang Nannan gazed absently at the rain outside the window. She gently stroked her wrist, as if it still held his warmth, and a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips. From this day forward, her life would be completely different. She would no longer bear those heavy secrets, no longer worry about her mother's illness. All of this was because of the appearance of that mysterious man.
"Who exactly is he..." Jiang Nannan murmured to herself.
Of course, she had no idea that in the distant future, when she sat in the Shrek Academy cafeteria, savoring the grilled fish specially made by that blue-haired boy, that familiar taste would give her a jolt.
She never imagined that the gentle-looking junior student was the same person who saved her in black robes years ago.
There are no coincidences without a reason in this world. Every encounter is a cause and effect carefully woven by the river of time. Like a Möbius strip with its beginning and end connected, the beginning is the end, and the end returns to the beginning.
Huo Yuhao walked along the rain-soaked streets, feeling the fluctuations of time and space. He knew that he was completing a perfect cycle. The black-robed man who changed Jiang Nannan's fate back then was destined to be his future self. This was not the inevitability of fate, but a god's heartfelt pity for mortals.
"Time..." he sighed softly, his figure gradually becoming transparent.
The rain was still falling, but the sun was already faintly visible. Just like Jiang Nannan's life, after experiencing storms, the sun would eventually shine. And all of this began with a seemingly accidental, but in fact destined, encounter.
(As Huo Yuhao completely disappeared into the space-time rift, at another point in time, the bell of the Shrek Academy rang. Young Jiang Nannan walked past the academy carrying her textbooks, and for some reason, the sunlight today felt exceptionally warm to her...)
P. S.: I'll be updating three chapters today. This chapter is 2000 words, and the other two chapters will be posted tonight, so that's about three chapters in total...