Lu Qiancha looked up.
A clear, winding stream, like a silver ribbon, quietly divided the bustling Peach Blossom Forest from the open fields of mulberry and bamboo.
On one side was a sea of flowers like mist, petals falling in a flurry; on the other side, crisscrossing paths stretched across fertile, flat land, dotted with verdant mulberry groves and dense green bamboo.
“The forest ends, the water runs dry, revealing fertile plains, a thousand miles of peach groves, paths lined with mulberry and bamboo, neat houses everywhere. The Peach Blossom Records really don’t exaggerate at all.”
Lu Qiancha silently recited, the scene before her exactly matching the descriptions in the Peach Blossom Records.
In the distance, built against the mountain, was the outline of a village made from gnarled peach wood, faint but visible.
Villagers strolled leisurely through the settlement, all wearing peaceful, contented smiles; their lips curved in quiet happiness, steps unhurried—a picture of harmony and tranquility.
“We won’t be going with you.”
Li Qiang and his companion had escorted Lu Qiancha here, then respectfully bowed before turning back the way they came. Their duty seemed to end at guiding her.
Lu Qiancha nodded slightly and walked straight into the village. Here, where no one knew her, her youthful appearance naturally served as a disguise, saving her much trouble.
Her gaze swept over faces busy with work or resting, and sure enough, she spotted several faces recorded as “Missing Persons” in the files.
Just as suspicion gnawed at her and she quietly observed—
“Eh? Qianqian?!”
An incredibly familiar voice rang out from behind her, filled with utmost surprise!
The shout nearly made Lu Qiancha jump out of her skin. Why on earth would someone who knew her be here in this godforsaken place?!
She spun around sharply.
A figure blazing bright like a flame was running toward her, eyes wide with disbelief and joy.
Shangguan Yunzhu? How was she here?! Her mind went blank for a moment as the fiery figure, scented with fragrance, immediately threw her into a fierce embrace, squeezing so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Qianqian? Why did you come here on your own?”
Shangguan Yunzhu held the small body tightly, the frostiness in her face completely gone, replaced with surprise and confusion.
She glanced around instinctively. “Where’s your mother? Why didn’t she come with you?”
Lu Qiancha’s mouth twitched at the words—this girl was literally echoing her own lines!
“The Tianyuan Sect was so boring… I—I sneaked out to clear my head…”
She gave a clumsy excuse, wanting nothing more than to get through this quickly.
“Qianqian!”
Shangguan Yunzhu’s tone turned serious, rare sisterly authority appearing on her face. “You’re not allowed to run off like that anymore, understand? Your mother would be frantic if she couldn’t find you!”
Lu Qiancha half-heartedly responded, quickly cutting off the lecture by throwing back a question, “Yunzhu… sister? Why are you here?”
“You remember my name?!”
Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes lit up instantly, her voice rising in pitch, pure joy spilling over.
“I was punished to stay near the sect for three months, hunting demons… but then… cough, I accidentally got lost again,” she scratched her face a little embarrassedly. “By chance, I ended up here.”
Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but glance at Shangguan Yunzhu again. She remembered the last time, on Bei Juluzhou, Yunzhu also got lost and ran into Qingfeng, getting into trouble.
Looks like this icy beauty had a bit of a problem with directions.
“So… Sister Yunzhu, how long have you been here?”
“About… almost two months now?”
Shangguan Yunzhu recalled.
“Two months?!” Lu Qiancha was shocked. “Why haven’t you gone back?”
“Well…” Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes scanned the distant village, “every now and then, some demon beast rush out of the Peach Blossom Forest to attack the village.”
“I figured, wherever I’m clearing demons is still clearing demons, so I stayed to help guard the place.”
Her tone was frank, carrying a bit of the responsibility of protecting the weak.
“If that’s the case, why not set up some repelling formations on the forest’s edge? Such formations shouldn’t be difficult for Sister Yunzhu, right?”
After saying this, Lu Qiancha suddenly noticed Shangguan Yunzhu staring at her unblinking.
This made Lu Qiancha a little nervous. She reached up to touch her face and asked, “Is there something on my face?”
Shangguan Yunzhu shook her head, then her eyes sparkled as she looked at her and said, “Qianqian, you’re so smart! Why didn’t I think of this before?”
Clearly, it was you who’s too dull.
Lu Qiancha silently swallowed the retort that almost escaped.
Hmm, no mistake—it was still the same clear-headed, adorably silly Shangguan Yunzhu.
“Wait, Sister Yunzhu, you said there are frequent demon beast attacks here?”
Suddenly realizing a blind spot, Lu Qiancha hurriedly asked.
“Yeah, that’s right, demon beast often rush out from the Peach Forest, but they’re all weak, not really a threat.”
Shangguan Yunzhu nodded, finding nothing strange about it.
“But the guards who guided me earlier claimed this place is a peaceful ‘immortal realm,’ with absolutely no danger!”
Lu Qiancha’s pupils contracted, sharply exposing the huge contradiction.
If what Shangguan Yunzhu said was true—that this place was constantly under threat—why would people abandon everything to stay here? Endure such hidden danger?
“immortal realm? Ha?!” Shangguan Yunzhu looked confused, as if hearing nonsense. “Isn’t this just some remote, ordinary village? At most, it has pretty scenery!”
Lu Qiancha’s doubts only deepened upon hearing Yunzhu’s words.
Just as Lu Qiancha pondered silently, Shangguan Yunzhu suddenly scooped her up and laughed, “Hehe, enough talk—it’s almost dark, Qianqian, you must be hungry.”
Her smile was bright, like coaxing her own little sister. “Come on, I’ll take you to eat something delicious.”
Before Lu Qiancha could refuse, she was already cradled in Yunzhu’s arms, soft and warm, as the lively footsteps headed toward the little wooden house that belonged to her in the village.
Lu Qiancha could only roll her eyes helplessly in her arms. She had long since abstained from eating—how could she be hungry? Eating now was only to satisfy a craving.
But Lu Qiancha currently had no clue what was going on; everything seemed like a tangled web, wrapping her up tightly in this Peach Blossom Village.
In simple terms: four words—she had been set up.
With clues in chaos and trapped in the middle of it, she could only go with the flow, letting Shangguan Yunzhu carry her into the warm wooden house filled with the scent of cooking fire.
Inside the little wooden house, Lu Qiancha obediently sat on a creaking wooden chair, her short legs dangling in midair, idly swinging.
The air was thick with the rich aroma of meat broth.
“Come, try my cooking.”
Shangguan Yunzhu brought over a steaming ceramic pot, carefully scooping out a bowl of fragrant broth dotted with tender chunks of stewed meat, gently placing it on the small wooden table in front of Lu Qiancha.
The tempting aroma pierced straight through her nostrils, and Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but stick out her soft pink tongue to lick the corner of her mouth.
She reached out a paw, attempting to grab the wooden…
Plop.
The smooth wooden spoon handle predictably slipped right through the soft, warm gaps of her furry paw.
Lu Qiancha froze, silently looking down at her pair of pretty but useless paws, then reluctantly jumped down to pick it up.
Plop.
Just as she picked it up and hadn’t yet gripped it firmly, the spoon slipped again from the palm of her paw, falling back to the floor!
Hearing the noise, Shangguan Yunzhu, who was bringing the second bowl of soup, hurriedly bent down to pick up the spoon.
“Oh dear, look at my memory! I forgot you can’t use a spoon…”
She looked at Lu Qiancha’s adorable furry paws and laughed softly, quickly fetching a brand-new little wooden ladle from the cabinet. “Here, Qianqian, don’t move, let sister feed you!”
Her tone was gentle, eyes full of pure adoration as she scooped up a ladle of warm meat broth and carefully brought it to Lu Qiancha’s lips.
“Ah~ open wide.”
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