Together under the moon

With the old village chief and his party back, life, once calm and untroubled, grew busy...

Ye Fan's family was packing too: hunting tools, animal hides, all kinds of dried meat, and an assortment of household implements.

In the courtyard, Father Ye was making moving crates out of wooden boards. They were simple: a few boards formed a rectangular box, held together with rivets and lined with a layer of animal hide, and that was it! These were for valuables; everything else could be loaded onto the carts however they pleased!

Ye Fan looked at the jumble of objects and even secretly considered putting them into his Inner World, but he couldn't reveal those things yet. Ye Fan wanted to keep them hidden a while longer. After all, the villagers and his parents would still find them hard to accept!

Time flew by as the villagers busied themselves packing, and before they knew it, afternoon had arrived. After eating, Ye Fan saw that his family had just about finished and only had to wait until tomorrow to load the carts and set off. Father Ye and Mother Ye sat on stone stools in the courtyard, weaving ropes they would need for loading the carts tomorrow. After all, the journey was long, and it was best to secure everything well.

With nothing to do, Ye Fan decided to take a stroll. He could stop by Xiao Ke'er's house and see whether they had finished packing. After all, her family ran a medicine shop and had more things than most households. Packing it all was no small task!

After telling his parents, Ye Fan left for Xiao Ke'er's house!

At the Xiao family's medicine shop, stacks upon stacks of boxes stood outside the door, piled higher than a person. They were all medicinal ingredients, and before he even drew close, waves of herbal fragrance greeted him!

Inside the shop, Xiao Feng had his backside in the air as he used a wooden stick to count and inspect the medicinal insects. "Twenty-five ground beetles, thirteen stiff silkworms, six earthworms, nine-fragrance insects..."

Xiao Ke'er was sitting on a cabinet to one side, holding a box and carefully wiping it clean.

"Ke'er, has Brother Feng still not finished packing?"

"Oh, Brother Fan!" Xiao Ke'er set the box aside and rose to greet him! Her eyes curved like crescent moons, her beauty refined and beyond the ordinary. Her skin was delicate, her peach-colored cheeks bore a smile, and her breath was as fragrant as a secluded orchid. She was indescribably gentle.

"Brother Fan, have you finished packing at home?" Xiao Ke'er tilted her head and asked softly!

Seeing Xiao Ke'er's charming manner, and the dust still on her face from cleaning the wooden boxes, Ye Fan couldn't help gently brushing it from her cheek and giving her dainty nose a tender stroke.

A rosy blush instantly spread across Xiao Ke'er's cheeks. Has this big pig's trotter finally woken up?

Xiao Feng, standing nearby, saw nothing amiss! "Kid, finished packing at home? Come lend me a hand. I've been counting these bugs all morning, and I still haven't gotten a proper count. How come the more I count them, the more there are?"

Now that Ye Fan had come to his senses, his ears were bright red too! He didn't dare look at Xiao Ke'er. Hearing Xiao Feng's question, he hurriedly answered and went over to bend down beside him and count.

But Ye Fan's head was in no better shape than Xiao Feng's at the moment! He counted several times, and each time came up with a different number!

"Two idiots~"

Xiao Ke'er rubbed her temples, then walked lightly over to the medicine box, crouched down and began counting carefully!

"Ke'er, uh, Brother Feng, how come I haven't seen Uncle Xiao?"

"Father's digging up herbs in the backyard!" Xiao Ke'er answered, but her cheeks were red and she didn't turn around!

"Oh..."

"Kid, why do I get the feeling you're acting silly today?"

"Hm? Am I... I guess it's because we're about to leave the mountains, and I can't quite bear to go..." Ye Fan stammered!

"And you call Brother Fan silly? You've spent all morning counting these few medicinal ingredients, and you still haven't finished! There's no one sillier than you in the whole village~" Hearing her big brother mock Brother Fan, Xiao Ke'er wouldn't stand for it.

"Me, silly? I'm the miracle doctor our whole village recognizes!" Xiao Feng wasn't about to go easy on his sister. Hearing her actually take Ye Fan's side against him, he shot right back.

"Wasn't that just a blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse? You only got lucky!"

"Father went to Granny Liu's house early this morning, and after he came back, he even discussed a prescription for treating her with me! That proves Father still acknowledges me."

"But Father didn't say anything in the end. He just kept muttering, 'Strange, strange...'"

"Anyway, I'm the one who cured Granny Liu. The whole village knows it."

"Yes, yes, Brother Feng, you're our village's miracle doctor. Everyone knows it!" Ye Fan didn't want to keep going around in circles on the subject, so he cut in!

"See... heh heh." Xiao Feng raised his shameless old face and spoke without a trace of embarrassment.

"Hmph~" Xiao Ke'er didn't argue any further. She really couldn't be bothered with her big brother!

"Oh, Xiao Fan is here." Just as the two were arguing with each other in a huff, Xiao Changlin came in from the backyard with several herbs in his hand.

"Hello, Uncle Xiao. My father asked me to come see if you needed any help here." On seeing Xiao Changlin, Ye Fan hurriedly turned and greeted him!

"There are a lot of odds and ends in the medicine shop, so packing will take a while yet. But now that Xiao Fan's here, it should go a little faster." Xiao Changlin was very pleased with the boy Ye Fan, who was filial...

Hearing her father say that, Xiao Ke'er was very happy! Sure enough, two dimples immediately appeared in her puffed-up cheeks.

The four didn't talk for long; after all, there was too much to pack.

Xiao Ke'er went back to wiping the wooden boxes, though her eyes kept straying toward Ye Fan. Xiao Feng wrapped the medicinal insects Xiao Ke'er had counted in gauze and tied them securely with rope! Ye Fan helped Xiao Changlin wash the freshly picked herbs, cleaning them over and over until not a speck of dust or a drop of water remained, or they would quickly rot.

The group worked away in full swing, and time quietly slipped by! During that time, Father Ye also came to the medicine shop to see whether they needed help. Seeing that they were nearly finished, he didn't stay long and went to see whether the other villagers needed a hand~

The sun slowly sank, red clouds filled the sky, and flocks of birds chased one another through the endless mountains, chirping and twittering. All was peaceful and warm.

Ye Fan didn't go home for dinner; Xiao Changlin asked him to stay! Xiao Ke'er was still the one cooking, and today's meal was a little more plentiful than usual. After all, they were leaving the village tomorrow, and some foods couldn't be eaten on the road.

Xiao Changlin sat in the seat of honor, with Ye Fan to his left and Xiao Feng to his right. Xiao Ke'er busied herself serving porridge to the people closest to her, a happy smile constantly lighting up her face.

After serving them porridge, Xiao Ke'er naturally sat down beside Ye Fan. She saw nothing unusual about it, and neither Ye Fan nor Xiao Feng felt anything was amiss. Xiao Changlin, however, gave Ye Fan and Ke'er a meaningful look, though he said nothing.

"Everything's ready. Let's eat!" Xiao Changlin was the first to pick up his chopsticks!

The meal was a relaxed one, and Xiao Feng felt quite at ease too. Perhaps because this was their last meal in the mountains, Xiao Changlin wasn't so particular about rules either.

Stars dotted the deep blue sky, the bright moon hung high, and a gentle breeze blew. It was indescribably pleasant and romantic.

When they had finished eating, Xiao Ke'er rose to clear the bowls and chopsticks, and Ye Fan hurried to his feet to help! Xiao Changlin and Xiao Feng went to carry the boxes outside the medicine shop indoors. Although no one in Hundred Stars Village worried about thieves, and there wasn't really anything valuable in them, leaving them scattered outside the door wasn't very sightly.

Before long, the table was finally cleared.

"Brother Fan, did you get enough to eat?"

"Mm. Ke'er, your cooking is almost as good as my mother's. I ate my fill..."

The two inexperienced young people didn't know what to say now! Little deer bounded about in their hearts, their cheeks flushed crimson, and they felt ill at ease.

A long while passed. Xiao Changlin and Xiao Feng had carried everything into the house, but the two of them were still silent.

"It's getting late. I should go home. I'll come back first thing tomorrow morning."

"Brother Fan, I'll walk you home~"

With that, the two went out together. Xiao Changlin, who was moving things, watched their retreating figures!

"A grown daughter can't be kept at home after all!"

Their homes weren't very far apart, and some households in the village still had their lights on as they packed! So Xiao Changlin wasn't worried.

The two walked slowly along, the lights behind them flickering and their shadows stretching and shrinking! From a neighboring home came the creaking of wooden boxes being pressed together; they had only just begun packing.

The two didn't go straight home. Instead, they found a stone stool and sat down, looking up at the distant night sky.

The bright moon, the stars, the flickering lights behind them, and the two of them at a loss!

"The mountains are so beautiful tonight."

"Mm..." Ye Fan grinned foolishly.

A breeze rustled through the treetops! A strand of Xiao Ke'er's lovely hair swayed in the wind. Her bright eyes were luminous and pure.

The two quietly gazed at the mountains under the moonlight, saying nothing more!

After a long while...

Xiao Ke'er coughed softly!

The mountains were a little chilly at night!

"It's getting a little cold. Ke'er, I'll walk you home!"

"But I came out to walk you home..."

The two stood up, and their eyes met!

One was a handsome young man, the other a girl next door as gentle as water. Clouds veiled the bright moon in bashfulness, and points of starlight blinked...

Neither knew who moved toward whom, but the two drew closer and closer! At last, Xiao Ke'er nestled into Ye Fan's embrace, and Ye Fan gently spread his arms around the lovely girl in his embrace...

The breeze no longer disturbed them; now there was only the sound of their heartbeats~