A year had passed, yet the mountains and waters of Green Mound remained unchanged—lush with verdant trees and undulating peaks. But the emotions in one's heart were entirely different from when they had left.
After entering the familiar forest path, Li Fei simply jumped off her stone sword. Though her back bore a heavy bundle filled with necessities they'd acquired in Lu Gongzhen, her steps lightened as she approached home. Walking step by step along the well-trodden muddy path she had traversed countless times, she breathed in the familiar scents of the mountain forest and the wind—the home where she had lived for ten years.
"Look, I used to come to this forest often," Li Fei said excitedly, tugging at Lei Xiuyuan as she recounted childhood memories. "You can dig up a kind of wild mountain mushroom near the tree roots. Stir-fried with bamboo shoots in oil, it’s delicious."
Lei Xiuyuan glanced around. The faint traces of demon Qi he had sensed earlier had now completely vanished. This was truly a desolate wilderness—the growth of the trees and the state of the paths suggested that few, if any, ever visited Green Mound. Yet here, the wind carried an unusually clean scent, likely due to the Evil-warding Pearl on her wrist.
He turned back and suddenly saw Li Fei cradling a pile of freshly dug mushrooms. Curious, he asked, "What are you digging them for?"
Her face was alight with rare, unrestrained joy, her eyes crinkling into slits. "When we get to my place, I’ll cook them for you. You can taste my skills. But you’ll have to settle for vegetarian meals for a few days—I don’t know how to cook meat."
It seemed that returning to Green Mound had relaxed her completely, a stark contrast to her demeanor at the Academy. Lei Xiuyuan smiled and took the dirty, mud-streaked mushrooms from her arms. "If there’s anything else tasty, don’t hold back—just bring it all."
For Li Fei, this was the first time she had brought a friend to her home, and the novelty and excitement made her eager to play the perfect host. Fortunately, the mountains were abundant with wild vegetables and mushrooms, and soon she had gathered a full armful. Following the overgrown forest path, they soon entered a narrow passage between cliffs.
The towering cliffs on either side rose like clouds, their rocky faces sharp and treacherous. The narrow path was littered with bones—upon closer inspection, most were human remains, likely belonging to unfortunate mortals who had attempted to scale the perilous peaks and fallen to their deaths.
After walking for a while, Li Fei suddenly wore an expression of mingled anticipation and tension. Without a word, she ran ahead a few steps and looked up. The hemp rope she had tied to a protruding rock a year ago when she left was still there, untouched. She reached out to take it, but the bell on the rope had rusted shut, and the fibers crumbled like rotten cotton at the slightest touch.
It seemed no one had returned.
Li Fei didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or upset. After a pause, she said quietly, "See, Master and I used this rope to climb up and down."
Lei Xiuyuan tilted his head back, gazing upward. The cliffs were so perilous that without the aid of Cloud Soaring Sword Control, he couldn’t fathom how anyone could scale them by sheer human effort alone.
Noticing the poorly concealed disappointment on Li Fei’s face—likely because her master hadn’t returned—he murmured, "Weren’t you going to play host? I’m starving. What kind of host lets their guest starve to death?"
Li Fei snorted a laugh and tossed out her stone sword. "Let’s go. The rope’s too rotten to use. We’ll fly up instead."The simple forest cottage hadn't changed at all - the same fence circling the yard, three wooden houses inside, and the small plots that once grew radishes and sweet potatoes. Before Li Fei left, she had dug them all up, leaving only weeds in the fields now.
Li Fei pushed open the wooden door of her house, causing a cascade of dust to fall from the lintel. She smiled awkwardly: "Uh, it's been too long since I came back. It's filthy. You can put your things down and look around while I clean up."
Lei Xiuyuan pushed her out by pressing on her head: "I'll handle it. You go cook."
Could he really clean? Don't tell me he'd just shove dirty things under the bed like Master and call it done! Li Fei chased after him into the house and saw him take off his outer robe, roll up his sleeves, and skillfully start sweeping with a broom. Halfway through, he turned to stare at her: "If you don't start cooking soon, I'm leaving."
Li Fei hurried out to fetch water. After a year away, the water vat was filthy and the well was choked with dust and weeds. After much cleaning, she finally lit the fire, washed rice, and began cooking. The small kitchen filled with steam and the aroma of food. As the long-absent cooking smoke curled upward, she suddenly had the illusion that she'd never left Green Mound - nostalgic yet sorrowful.
Having Lei Xiuyuan here was wonderful. If she were alone now, she would surely be crying.
In the yard, freshly washed sheets and quilts were drying in the sun. Even the bedding sealed away for a year had been brought out by Lei Xiuyuan to air. Unexpectedly capable, this boy. Soon after, he came over flipping through a yellowed book, saying: "Your Master's books are quite interesting."
"What book?" Li Fei leaned in to look and saw the title "Tales of Overseas" on the cover. Surprised, she asked: "Where did you find this?"
"Found a box under his bed while cleaning and opened it." He gestured outside with his chin. Indeed, there was an opened, battered wooden box on the ground, its contents - mostly yellowed, moldy books - all laid out on rocks to dry.
"From what I saw, they're all about overseas legends," Lei Xiuyuan smiled. "Your Master was an interesting old man. Few people believe in things from beyond the seas."
Overseas? Li Fei was puzzled too. She'd never heard Master mention such things. She knew there were books in his house, mostly materials from childhood when he taught her to read. When had there been a whole box under his bed?
She picked up a random book and flipped through it. Indeed, it mostly contained unbelievable legends about overseas - like how beyond the Eastern Sea there were Overseas Foreigners, completely black-skinned and holding snakes in their hands. How strange that after all these years with Master, she was only learning of these books now. Where had he kept them? Did he take them out and put them under the bed before leaving?
"Don't overthink it if you can't figure it out." Lei Xiuyuan again pressed her head and pushed her toward the kitchen. "The rice is about to burn - I can smell it scorching."
Ah! It really was about to burn! Li Fei frantically moved the rice pot. Annoyed by Lei Xiuyuan's constant meddling, she pushed him out: "Go play by yourself outside."It had been a year since she last cooked, so her hands were a bit out of practice. Still, she managed to prepare three dishes and a soup. Li Fei carried the food to the large table in the main room, where Lei Xiuyuan was already seated, reading a book while waiting. She filled his bowl to the brim with rice and placed a generous helping of bamboo shoots and mountain mushrooms on top, grinning. "Here, dig in."
He took a bite of the bamboo shoots, his eyebrows lifting slightly, but said nothing.
This was the first time Li Fei had cooked for anyone other than her master, and she couldn’t help but feel eager. "How does it taste?"
But she didn’t expect much praise from Lei Xiuyuan. Getting a compliment from him was harder than getting one from Ri Yan.
To her surprise, he nodded, offering a faint smile, his voice gentle. "Mm, it’s good."
Delighted, she piled his bowl high with food. "Then eat more! Grow stronger!"
He picked up some water bamboo shoots and placed them in her bowl, remarking casually, "You should eat more too. You’re ridiculously short."
She scowled. "I’m still growing! I’ll get taller!"
"That doesn’t change the fact that you’re short now." Another helping of mountain mushrooms landed in her bowl.
Fine, she couldn’t compete with him. This past year, everyone had started shooting up in height. The most dramatic was Ye Ye, who had grown to Hu Jiaping’s shoulder height. Lei Xiuyuan had also grown a lot—once around the same height as Baili Gelin, he now towered over her by a head. Compared to Ye Ye and Ji Tongzhou, though, he still looked slender. At least he no longer had that delicate, almost girlish air about him.
Lei Xiuyuan did her the honor of finishing every last bite, even polishing off the soup. After the meal, they cleaned up together, then sat in the sun-drenched courtyard, leaning against a large stone as they sifted through the books in the wooden chest.
Lei Xiuyuan read for a long time. Every book in the chest was about various overseas legends—some were folk tales passed down through generations, while others were wildly exaggerated fabrications. The lands beyond the sea remained an enigma, and few believed they truly existed. Why had Li Fei’s master collected these? Was it simply out of interest?
"Li Fei, has your master ever told you anything about the lands beyond the sea?" he asked quietly. But after a moment of silence, he turned to see her already asleep against the stone.
Eat and then sleep—just like a pig.
Though it was midsummer, the mountain breeze still carried a chill. He draped his outer robe over her and returned to his book. Despite being mostly legends and fabrications, these stories were far more interesting than the dry Immortal Techniques and Mystic Arts texts in the Academy’s Book Collection Pagoda. He was engrossed.
A breeze passed, carrying with it a faint, elusive fragrance. Suddenly, Lei Xiuyuan found it impossible to focus on the book.
He glanced at Jiang Li Fei beside him. She was deep in slumber, the fine hairs on her face gilded by the sunlight, her lips still slightly puckered in that innocent way. His robe enveloped her, making her seem unusually small and fragile—a rare sight for the usually stubborn and unyielding Jiang Li Fei.
She had changed so much. If he hadn’t seen her every day, he might have thought she was a stranger. Thankfully, inside, she was still the same Jiang Li Fei.
In the quiet mountain courtyard, the rustling leaves and Li Fei’s soft breathing intertwined. Though it was a desolate place, it felt unexpectedly comforting. This was her home—where she had lived for ten years.Lei Xiuyuan stared at the orchid embroidery on her pink silk skirt. The wind fluttered the fabric gently. She was probably dreaming of eating—her lips smacked twice as she let out vague murmurs. Suddenly, she turned over, her long, thick braid tumbling down her back, glossy and dark as ink.
Amused, with a mix of curiosity and mischief, he reached out and caught the tip of her braid, winding it slowly around his fingers. The strands were soft and smooth, tingling against his palm with each subtle stroke.
It was so quiet here, so peaceful—like a dream.
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