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墨書 Inktalez
Thus, he tossed and turned for most of the night.
When he returned home, he took a short nap. As the old saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns for those in love.
Ling Yuxuan had barely laid down when the face of Beloved Child floated into his mind. He didn't realize that he had overslept after falling asleep—disappointing her.
So, Ling Yuxuan decided to take a shower, change his clothes, and quietly went down the mountain alone to Riverbank, leaving his master Qin Ming standing under the eaves, shaking his head.
However, soon Qin Ming also found himself wide awake, straightening his back as he gazed down at the dark Mountain Valley across from him, which was in the direction of Ziyan's home.
At this moment, Qin Ming seemed to be transported back many years ago, to that summer when he was fifteen. He had always been proud and fearless, and for the sake of a treasure from two hundred years ago, he had dared to venture alone into the vast Ancient Forest in search of it.
As a result, he lost his footing and fell off a cliff, sustaining serious injuries. He thought he might die there.
But when he woke up from his coma, he found that he had been rescued by a girl of similar age.
This girl had placed him in a dry cave not far from the cliff and took care of him for over half a month, bringing him water and food every day until he was mostly recovered.
During that time, their youthful hearts quickly developed feelings for each other.
Thus, Qin Ming boldly confessed his feelings, and later they met several times at their old meeting place.
With great aspirations, Qin Ming made a promise with the girl to wait for three years; once three years passed, he would come to propose.
Afterward, he joined the army and faced life-and-death situations on the battlefield multiple times.
In his last encounter, he was saved by Ling Yuxuan's father, Ling Jian. To repay this kindness, he stayed close to Ling Shizi—Ling Jian—serving him diligently. However, due to various circumstances and delays, ten years passed before he returned to the girl's village only to find that Zhou Girl had long since married into a family with the surname Zi through her parents' arrangement and had given birth to two daughters.
Who was the girl back then?
By this point in the story, everyone should understand that the girl was none other than Ziyan's mother, Zhou.
Recalling that gentle, virtuous, innocent, and beautiful girl, Qin Ming couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart.
Later, disappointed, Qin Ming returned to Ling Jian's side and accepted Ling Yuxuan as his disciple. He stayed there until the Ling Family encountered trouble and Ling Jian and his wife met with disaster. He then took the not-yet-eight-year-old Gu Yuxuan and they ran into the forest behind Zijia Village.
It was halfway up the mountain opposite Ziyan's home, where they lived incognito.
Why he chose to stay so close to Zhou, Qin Ming himself couldn't figure it out over the years. Perhaps it was a deep-rooted trust in Zhou that he had in his bones.
All these years, Zhou knew that Qin Ming might have an extraordinary past but never mentioned it to anyone.
Not even to Zi Lao Er. Even when they happened to meet in Mountain Valley, they pretended not to know each other, keeping all the beautiful memories of the past buried deep within their hearts.
However, Qin Ming never dreamed that one day he would be able to enter the Zi Family openly and even share a meal at the same table with Zhou.
This was naturally attributed to Ling Yuxuan and Ziyan. Qin Ming thought about how he had not been able to grow old with Zhou. Since his disciple had fallen in love with Zhou's little girl, for some reason, after learning the truth, he was quite willing to accept it.
...
On the riverbank in Mountain Valley, two young lovers were sitting on a pile of pebbles, leaning against each other while facing the gently flowing stream.
"Are we really going back to Hot Spring Valley tonight?" Ziyan quietly asked as she curled up in Ling Yuxuan's arms.
"Yes, that's right. Time is tight now. If you want to achieve exceptional martial arts in the future, you can't afford to waste another moment."
Ling Yuxuan answered Ziyan's doubts with certainty.
Hearing Ling Yuxuan's confident response, Ziyan also understood that she was now 15 years old and needed to work hard to endure these three to five years. Only then could she leave this great mountain and go to distant places, like the capital or other bustling cities, to make her way.
As a young woman in ancient times, if she did not possess sufficient Martial Arts skills to venture out, she would inevitably suffer humiliation and might even be secretly plotted against to the point of no return.
In the martial world, danger lurked everywhere, so Ziyan, you must seize the time to strengthen your training.
Yes! Just like that, Ziyan kept encouraging herself in her heart.
Ling Yuxuan looked down at Ziyan's rapidly changing and rich expressions, affectionately reaching out to gently scratch her delicate little nose and then her fair, creamy little face.
"My dear, sometimes I often think how nice it would be if you didn't know me. Perhaps your life would be much more peaceful without the fear of encountering any dangers."
"Forget it. If I hadn't met you, I might have long become a wandering soul underground or been saved by someone else. But then I would have had to encounter that scoundrel Zhi Shunli. Rather than that, I'd rather be dead."
"Fool, you mustn't keep bringing up death. As long as I'm here, even if I die, I won't let you die. I want you to live well and one day give birth to a whole bunch of children for the Ling Family, living happily until old age."
"Hmph, just because you tell me not to mention death doesn't mean you can die! What if I encounter bad people after you're gone?"
Ziyan thought for a moment and then angrily lamented, "If you die, I will never live alone!"
At the same time, the two looked at each other in silence. After a long while, Ling Yuxuan gently pressed Ziyan's face against her own.
Then she suddenly chuckled softly: "Fool, I won't die. For you, I will definitely take good care of myself. In the future, we will have a whole bunch of children and raise them to adulthood. We will also get to see our lively and adorable grandchildren. Trust me."
"Uh?—You’re killing me! Having a whole bunch of children? Do you think I'm a sow? That would be terrible! Giving birth is very exhausting and painful for women; it's not easy at all!"
Hearing Ziyan's sentiments, Ling Yuxuan gently kissed her forehead and affectionately said, "Then let it be as you wish, my future wife. If you want to have more children, then have more; if you don't want to, I will respect your wishes." Ziyan rolled her eyes at Ling Yuxuan and then burst into laughter.
After laughing enough and feeling tired, she playfully said, "Silly, let's just go with the flow."
"Yes, going with the flow is wise, future wife," Ling Yuxuan replied, pursing his sexy lips and wearing a charming smile.
Time passed slowly as the two lovers continued to cuddle with each other.
After a while, the lightening sky began to brighten, and the fiery sun gradually emerged from the eastern horizon. It was already June, and the morning temperature was slowly rising.
Ziyan struggled to stand up from Ling Yuxuan's embrace and took his hand, saying, "Let's go; help me out."
"Okay," he replied gently.
Ling Yuxuan obediently followed his beloved child as they walked towards the Zi Family.
Soon, as they approached the yard hand in hand, someone opened the courtyard door from inside. They looked closely and realized it was Zhou.
Ziyan sweetly called out, "Mother, you're up too."
Zhou was surprised to see her youngest daughter awake so early and returning from outside.
She paused for a moment and asked, "Where have you two been this early?"
"Oh, we just sat outside for a little while. Brother Yuxuan came by earlier, and I didn't want to disturb you all, so we just took a walk by the river," Ziyan explained.
Ziyan explained with a flushed face and promptly let go of Ling Yuxuan's small hand.
Zhou understood the little couple well, so he simply responded with a soft "mm" and did not press them further. He stepped aside and turned to head into the kitchen to busy himself.
As he walked into the courtyard, he heard a creak, and Ziying, with disheveled hair and yawning, came out of the house.
Seeing Ziyan and Ling Yuxuan, she greeted them, "Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Sister!"
Ziyan responded with a sweet smile, and soon after, Zi Lao Er also came out of the house and greeted Ling Yuxuan as well. They exchanged a few pleasantries.
Zi Lao Er and Ziying began to wash up and tidy their clothes and hair. In ancient times, the longest time spent in the morning was on grooming their long hair, regardless of age or gender.
Ziyan called on Ling Yuxuan to help her grind Star Anise, Sichuan Pepper, Cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, Fennel, and other simple spices she had proportioned.
They ground the spices over and over until they were finely powdered.
Ziyan placed them back in the kitchen to wait for her mother to finish making breakfast. Once done, she added the spice powder into an Iron Wok and stir-fried it until a rich aroma wafted out. She then set the wok aside to cool naturally.
During this time, the whole family quickly gathered around the Stone Table to have breakfast because after eating, they needed to divide tasks to prepare for the midday banquet.
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