CH 44

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Yan Mu hurriedly apologized.

In the sunlight, the teenager’s pale complexion was almost transparent. His eyes were like obsidian, shining with a glint of light. 

Yu Yuan’s good looks caused a great visual impact on Yan Mu, who immediately felt guilty.

The teenager’s skin was very fair, while the summer sun was scorching, so after just a short while, his neck, cheeks, and tip of his nose were already red from being sunburned.

Yan Mu tenderly took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat and worriedly asked, “Does it hurt, will your skin peel from sunburn later?”

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Remembering something he’d seen in the past, Yu Yuan’s heart slightly moved and he said like a spoiled child, “It’ll be fine if Ah Mu blows on it.”

He had long wanted his wounds to be blown on.

When other people’s children knocked or bumped against something, their mothers would always blow on their wounds with a look of pain.

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It just so happened that she had serious matters to attend to as well.

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The teenager held her hand and walked alongside her on the country lane.

The villagers were still terrified by what had happened the day before, so the normally lively path had not a soul in sight. 

It was as if there were only the two of them in the world.

Both Yan Mu and Yu Yuan didn’t like the villagers, so, without being watched by curious eyes, they felt peaceful and comfortable instead.

Especially Yu Yuan, he was squinting his eyes, lazy and content like a cat.

“Yu Yuan, we’ll be leaving in a few days, is there anywhere in the village that you want to visit?” Yan Mu asked.

“……I want to go visit Teacher,” Yu Yuan said, after a moment’s pause.

“Yeah, Teacher has taken great care of us, we should go visit him,” Yan Mu said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything decent to give, and it’s not good to go empty-handed.”

After saying that, she saw wildflowers on the roadside that were blooming beautifully and stopped to pick some.

Purple Chinese bellflowers3, small white daisies, light pink wild lilies4, fragrant wild gardenias5, and some small flowers that couldn’t be named.

Yan Mu was picking flowers from the flowering shrubs while Yu Yuan watched from behind.

Time seemed to have stopped on this particularly beautiful moment.

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Yu Yuan knew that there weren’t many quiet times like these, so he especially cherished it.

The young girl suddenly turned back, and her bright smile was even more dazzling than the sun.

“Yu Yuan, what kind of flowers do you like? I’ll make a bouquet exclusively for you,” Yan Mu said with a grin.

Because she didn’t like interacting with the villagers, she rarely went out, and didn’t even notice how brilliantly the summer flowers had bloomed. 

“……Chinese bellflower, ”  Yu Yuan casually said.

He didn’t care much for flowers. Life had weighed down on him so heavily that he was almost breathless, and didn’t have time to pay attention to such things.

He looked at Yan Mu in a trance, and only came back to his senses when the person opposite him came near, holding a small bouquet of flowers.

“This is yours,” Yan Mu smiled and said.

There were tiny beads of sweat on her forehead. Yu Yuan took the flowers and silently wiped her sweat away.

Purple bellflowers were dotted with white daisies, along with some unknown kind of silvery-white leaves.

It was the first time Yu Yuan had received flowers in his sixteen years.

“It’s beautiful,” he said hoarsely.

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He thought for a moment, then added, “I’ll preserve them well.”

Yan Mu couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “What are you preserving them for? Just throw them away when they wilt.”

“I won’t throw them away,” Yu Yuan held the bouquet like it was his treasure. He looked at Yan Mu and seriously said, “This is the first bouquet I’ve ever received, I must keep it well.” 

Yan Mu was struck speechless. She seemed to understand why Yu Yuan treasured these flowers so much.

She felt the urge to say something to Yu Yuan, but her throat seemed to be blocked, and she was momentarily speechless.

Yan Mu silently pulled his hand and softly said, “Come, let’s go and visit Teacher.”

**********

Teacher was washing clothes in his courtyard with his back facing the two. Unlike the other villagers whose courtyard doors were closed, his door was wide open.

“Teacher,” Yan Mu spoke first.

Her eyes darted nervously, afraid that Teacher would dislike her because of what had happened that morning.

Teacher was startled and quickly turned around.

Seeing that it was them, Teacher sighed in relief and said, “Ah, it’s you guys.”

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“Since Teacher is also afraid, why don’t you lock the door?” Yu Yuan asked.

“I didn’t do anything to weigh on my conscience, why should I lock the door?” Teacher smiled and said, “Even though those people handled matters in a quite extreme way, the villagers came looking for trouble first, so it wasn’t unreasonable to kill them.”

Everyone in the village knew that Old Yan’s family had two fertile fields, and Father Yan only had a sickly daughter, so he didn’t even have anyone to help him in a fight.

Thus, many people in the village had bad intentions towards the Yan family.

Teacher understood it very clearly.

He was a man of integrity, and abhorred those kinds of people.

Seeing that there was no disgust in Teacher’s words, Yan Mu was slightly relieved.

She took out the bouquet of flowers from behind her and handed it to him.

“It’s not an expensive gift, just a bouquet of wildflowers from the mountains, I hope Teacher doesn’t mind,” Yan Mu said.

Teacher was stunned, as if he was overwhelmed to have received such favour6. But when he came back to his senses, he immediately joyfully took the bouquet.

He quickly stomped into his house and found a large, fat-bodied clay vase.

Teacher carefully put the wildflowers in it and smiled as he asked the two whether the flowers matched the vase. 

Wildflowers with clay vases created a simple and rustic natural beauty.

The two nodded.

Once Yan Mu saw that Teacher was done having fun, she told him about their plan to leave the village.

“What are your plans for the future?” Teacher asked seriously.

“I’m going to open a bookstore, and Yu Yuan has also found a job,” Yan Mu said.

Teacher nodded, then asked with concern, “What about your properties in the village?”

“That’s what I came here for too,” Yan Mu said seriously, “Yesterday, I discussed it with my dad and we’re prepared to entrust the fields and properties to you to manage.”

Those fertile fields were bought by Yan Mu’s mother with her dowry, Father Yan treasured them so much that he refused to sell them for cash.

They didn’t know how long they’d be gone for, so instead of leaving the lands uncultivated, or risk them being taken over by those awful greedy people, it was better to leave them in Teacher’s care.

Teacher knew what Yan Mu had in mind, as he didn’t decline, and magnanimously accepted.

“I’m actually benefiting for free,” he sighed.

After finishing her business, Yan Mu made an excuse to wait outside the courtyard, leaving space for Yu Yuan and Teacher.

In any case, they were still teacher and disciple, so it was best to clarify matters before leaving so that they wouldn’t have any regrets.

Yan Mu waited outside the courtyard for a long time before Yu Yuan slowly walked out.

He had his head down, so Yan Mu couldn’t see his expression.

After a long time, the teenager said in a low voice, “Let’s go, I have no more regrets.”

Apart from Yan Mu, Teacher was the only person that he would miss in the village.

He’d clearly settled a matter that had been weighing on his mind, but he didn’t feel relieved at all.

Thinking of the hardships ahead, he only felt his heart grow heavier instead.

So, he looked at Yan Mu and said with a hopeful look, “I don’t feel so good, Ah Mu, hug me.”

Yan Mu sighed, she walked to the back of an old willow tree and opened her arms towards Yu Yuan.

Like a young swallow returning to its nest, Yu Yuan ran into Yan Mu’s arms.

Yan Mu leaned against the old willow tree and gently stroked the teenager’s shaking back. 

Sunlight passed through the leaves, printing colorful patterns on the two of them.

Yu Yuan nuzzled Yan Mu’s neck. After inhaling her familiar scent, he let out a long sigh, as if a weight had been taken off his mind.

Fortunately, I still have Ah Mu.

***********

Because Father Yan had finished packing in advance, the date of departure moved a day ahead of schedule.

There were no horse carriages in the remote mountains, so things could only be transported by hand.

With that in mind, Yan Mu and Father Yan took only some valuables.

The group walked quickly, but when they were about to leave the village, they saw a person blocking the middle of the road.

Qi Er assumed that it was someone fearlessly getting in the way again, so he immediately fiercely unsheathed the broadsword7 on his waist.

“I-I’m here to deliver something to Yan Mu and Yu Yuan,” the person stammered loudly.

His voice sounded familiar. Yan Mu and Yu Yuan looked at each other, then walked through the crowd together.

Sure enough, it was Zhou Er Pang.

“Yan Mu! Yu Yuan!” Seeing the two of them, Zhou Er Pang’s eyes lit up.

He had been worried about their safety, but now that he saw them safe and sound, his mind was set at ease.

“This is for you,” he pulled out a large packet of dried fish and handed it to Yan Mu.

“This is……” Yan Mu was hesitant to take it.

She was worried that Zhou Er Pang had sneaked out to deliver something again.

As if seeing through Yan Mu’s concerns, Zhou Er Pang bitterly laughed, “My mother knows, she acquiesced.”

Only then did Yan Mu take it.

She had mixed feelings, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Er Pang then looked towards Yu Yuan. He scratched his head and said, somewhat embarrassed, “I’ve carefully thought about what you said to me before.”

“I think, Yu Yuan, you probably don’t hate me, right?” Zhou Er Pang asked. “Yu Yuan, are we friends?”

Yu Yuan didn’t speak.

Just when Zhou Er Pang had decided to drop the question, he nodded very lightly.

“Then, I’m relieved,” Zhou Er Pang smiled and said. “I heard you guys are going to the capital?”

“Mmm,” This time, Yu Yuan answered more quickly.

“I’ll go to the capital in the future too,” Zhou Er Pang said with a straight face. “After all, I’m going to be the Number One Scholar in the palace examination8.”

At his words, Yan Mu thought back to what she’d written, and she remembered that the column for the Number One Scholar was blank.

In other words, if Zhou Er Pang worked hard, he might actually become the top scorer. 

So, Yan Mu smiled at him and said, “Yes, you can do it.”

Zhou Er Pang scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Everyone else laughed at him when they knew he wanted to be the Number One Scholar, only Yan Mu encouraged him after hearing his words.

He seemed to know why Yu Yuan liked her so much.

Zhou Er Pang softly sighed, then watched the group leave.

After bidding farewell to Zhou Er Pang, the group left Qingshui Village.

After walking through the winding mountain roads, the group sat down in the shade under the trees while Qi Er went and got an ox cart.

Staying true to his agreement with Yan Mu, Chu Cong got on the ox cart and ordered the coachmen to head towards the small town.

As Yu Yuan watched them go off course, he couldn’t help but frown.

Suddenly remembering the scene he’d secretly seen back then, he finally reacted.

“What did you say to Chu Cong that day?” the teenager asked with a trembling voice.

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The author has something to say:

Actually, Yuanyuan is very easy to coax. Yan Mu can give him anything, or say a few soft words, and he’ll be happy ORZ (PS: the flower language of Chinese bellflower is eternal love)