“Are you going back?”

Fudao Shanren, who hadn’t spoken much since they started climbing the slope, couldn’t help but ask when he saw Jian Chou’s face full of melancholy.

Without waiting for Jian Chou to answer, he added: “You’ve already been buried. Your villagers probably all know you’re dead. If you go back now, you’ll scare a bunch of people to death. Coming back from the dead is terrifying to mortals. Be careful, they don’t catch you and tie you to a stake to burn you!”

That wasn’t impossible.

Jian Chou looked back at Fudao Shanren: “Is Shanren afraid I’ll be burned to death?”

“Nonsense! You women just love to be overly sentimental!” Fudao Shanren snorted coldly. “This mountain man is just afraid that the merit I worked so hard to build up will disappear like that. If you get burned to death, wouldn’t I have saved you for nothing?”

“So you’re still afraid I’ll be burned to death?”

Jian Chou couldn’t help but laugh.

Fudao Shanren’s eyes widened, once again choking on his words.

“This mountain man can’t be bothered arguing with you common mortals! And you said you wouldn’t be ungrateful? Are you bullying this mountain man for only being here a few hundred years?”

“A few hundred years?” Jian Chou was astonished.

Fudao Shanren waved his hand as if shooing away mosquitoes, as if trying to drive Jian Chou away: “Adult matters – little girls shouldn’t meddle.”

The phrase “a few hundred years” was rather interesting.

Though Jian Chou was curious, she didn’t pursue the question.

Fudao Shanren was a person with a loose tongue, dirty appearance, and an indescribable lewdness about him, but oddly enough, his heart didn’t seem bad.

Jian Chou didn’t dislike him.

Setting off again, Jian Chou walked toward the road outside.

Fudao Shanren began his chattering again: “Sigh, really can’t persuade you. What good can come of going back? What if there are other people there? What if your house is gone? What if your husband is still there? Or what if you see him embracing another woman?”

“…”

Her steps suddenly stopped. Jian Chou was silent for a moment, then looked up at Fudao Shanren.

“If that’s the case, I’ll kill him.”

Kill him?

What a crisp, decisive statement!

Fudao Shanren hadn’t expected such words to come from Jian Chou’s mouth.

She was just a gentle, weak woman – how could she compare to a grown man?

But…

Why did it sound so refreshing?

At this moment, Jian Chou had already resumed walking outside.

Staring at Jian Chou’s slender back, Fudao Shanren’s eyes couldn’t help but brighten. The thought that had been flickering in his mind began to emerge again.

Fudao Shanren was someone who greatly valued fate and destiny.

Meeting Jian Chou – wasn’t this also a kind of fate?

Standing there thinking for a long time, by the time he came to his senses, Jian Chou had long disappeared.

“Where’d she go?”

He was startled, then looked around and saw that Jian Chou had somehow already run quite far.

“What are you walking so fast for? Just came back to life and you’re already bouncing around – aren’t you afraid of dying again? Infuriating this mountain man! Hey, wait for me!”

Shouting all the way, but Fudao Shanren’s steps weren’t seen to quicken. With one stride, the next moment he was directly beside Jian Chou.

“No consideration for elderly people!”

Jian Chou had already witnessed this mountain man’s abilities, but suddenly seeing him appear beside her with a single step still made her eyes widen.

Fudao Shanren proudly raised an eyebrow: “Impressed? This is called ‘Shrinking Earth to Inches’!”

Probably the name of some technique?

Was this the immortality that Xie Buchen sought?

Jian Chou suppressed her surprise, or rather amazement, and finally said: “Seems quite impressive.”

“Of course it is!” Fudao Shanren immediately perked up.

Jian Chou smiled without speaking and continued walking forward.

They could already clearly see the outline of the small village ahead.

They stood on the mountain, looking down at the valley.

The evening darkness gradually became enchanting, slowly enveloping everything.

In the small village, lights began to flicker on one by one, illuminating the windows of each household. Looking carefully, one could even see shadows passing by the windows. The wind carried faint traces of cooking smoke.

Fudao Shanren’s nose twitched as he sniffed hard: “Oh my, which family is roasting suckling pig! And wild chicken too! So fragrant, so very fragrant!”

The closer to home, the more timid one becomes.

But standing at this height, seeing the village in that instant, a certain emotion surged in Jian Chou’s chest.

The spot where she had been wounded by the sword seemed to ache again.

Jian Chou almost couldn’t wait to return and see what had become of that place.

They descended along the mountain path.

It looked close, but by the time Jian Chou reached the village entrance, night had deepened and a crescent moon hung high.

Fudao Shanren followed easily beside Jian Chou, looking around as if searching for something delicious.

Her home was at the east end of the village – she’d have to walk through almost the entire village to reach it.

Along the village roads, whether narrow or wide, villagers had piled firewood needed for cooking. In the center of the village stood a large old tree – in summer, it was at its most leafy, and looking up, one could see red silk ribbons hanging down for making wishes. The further toward the east end of the village, the fewer households there were, with only scattered lights dotting the darkness.

Jian Chou walked step by step. Though her footsteps were light, they still disturbed the dogs kept by some households.

“Woof woof…”

A dog’s bark rang out in the night.

Then came a jumble of sounds, as if someone was getting up and asking: “Who’s there?”

Jian Chou stopped and looked sideways.

With a “creak,” the wooden gate of a nearby household opened, and a round-faced farm woman poked her head out. She immediately saw Jian Chou walking on the road and was somewhat surprised: “Oh, it’s the Xie family wife! How come you’re back? Didn’t Scholar Xie take you to the city to enjoy good fortune the day before yesterday?”

To the city to enjoy good fortune?

The day before yesterday?

Jian Chou was stunned, then immediately understood.

It seemed the villagers had no idea she had died once. Xie Buchen must have told people he was taking her to the city.

With an inexplicable smile, Jian Chou kindly said to the farm woman, “Thank you for your concern, Sister Zhang. I forgot some things, so I came back to look for them.”

“I see.”

Sister Zhang didn’t suspect much. She knew this young couple was deeply in love, and their status was extraordinary – that Xie Buchen would become an official in the future.

She smiled warmly and enthusiastically: “Even after going to the city, come back to visit often. If there’s anything delicious, don’t forget about us!”

“Yes.”

Jian Chou responded, but noticed that Sister Zhang’s gaze remained entirely on her, as if she couldn’t see Fudao Shanren at all.

She found this strange.

Fudao Shanren smugly raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Sister Zhang noticed nothing unusual. In the darkness, she couldn’t see the bloodstains on Jian Chou’s clothes either, and only urged: “Go get your things quickly, then. In the middle of the night, I was wondering who it was. Remember to come back and visit often!”

“Alright.”

Jian Chou still answered this way.

Only then did Sister Zhang retreat inside and close the door.

The dog stopped barking, too, and the night fell quiet again.

Jian Chou stood for a long time before continuing forward.

Her home was just ahead – a small courtyard, completely dark without a trace of light.

Fudao Shanren tapped his bamboo stick on the ground without making any sound: “Looks like everyone thinks you’re not dead. This is your home?”

Jian Chou nodded and stopped.

Before her was a farmhouse courtyard surrounded by wooden fencing, with a door opening to the south, also made of pieced-together wood with thatch scattered on top to keep out rain.

At this moment, those two gate panels even had a small brass lock on them.

The door was locked.

Boundless memories once again swept through Jian Chou’s mind.

She walked forward, stood before the door, gently rose on her tiptoes, and reached inside the door frame.

Her fingers touched a cold object.

Jian Chou took it out and spread it in her palm – it was indeed a key.

Even though Xie Buchen had lied and left, the key was still placed where it used to be…

Jian Chou blinked, instinctively feeling a wave of desolation rise from her heart that she could barely suppress – she almost started crying.

When she saw the door was locked, she already knew Xie Buchen wasn’t there.

When she found the key, she could be certain that all those past feelings had never been false.

“In this life, I have wronged you. If there is reincarnation in the three realms and six paths, in the next life, you may freely demand my life.”

Jian Chou did want to demand his life.

Thinking this, she pressed the tears back into her eyes, used the key to unlock the door, and pushed it open.

“Creak…”

A thin, drawn-out sound.

The door opened.

The courtyard was clean and tidy, with hardly any weeds visible. Against the west wall was a bamboo fence enclosure where the original flock of large white geese had been reduced to just one, now huddled, sleeping in the corner. Facing them were three rooms with unlocked doors, just barely closed, and beside the door hinge still stood the blue oil-paper umbrella Xie Buchen had carried home that day.

Jian Chou walked in.

Fudao Shanren poked his head around, following behind her. Seeing this austere and desolate scene, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Your home is quite run-down. What’s the point of coming back? Anyway, this mountain man saved your life, hey, I say, why don’t you just formally take me as your master? This mountain man will take you to travel the world – maybe you’ll even encounter him in the Six Paths and Jiushijiu Zhou in the future? How about it? As long as you’re willing…”

His rambling words weren’t finished when Fudao Shanren’s steps stopped.

Passing by the goose pen, he immediately spotted the large white goose in the corner, fat and round, huddled there sleeping.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

What a fine goose!

Glossy feathers, plump and sturdy – if you plucked the feathers and put them in the pot, it would be exactly one pot’s worth!

Fudao Shanren couldn’t help but swallow, walked to the fence, and directly lifted his leg to climb over.

At the same time, he didn’t forget to call Jian Chou: “Hey, as long as you let this big white goose come with this mountain man, I’ll waive all the apprenticeship fees!”

Jian Chou kept walking forward to the doorway, ignoring him.

Fudao Shanren didn’t mind either. At this moment, he only had eyes for that big white goose.

He walked beside it, crouched down, and carefully reached out to stroke the goose’s head, as if petting a good child.

“Such a fat goose…”

By this time, Jian Chou had reached the house door and didn’t notice what Fudao Shanren was doing behind her.

Pushing open the door again, she was met with complete darkness.

Following her memory, she found a fire stick on the windowsill, blew on it gently, and weak firelight appeared, illuminating the familiar, simple furnishings inside.

Three stools, one square table with an unlit oil lamp on it, folded clothes, and unfinished needlework…

Jian Chou felt her feet were like lead, somewhat unable to move.

She came to the table, held the fire stick near the oil lamp to light it, then extinguished the fire stick.

A small flame rose. In the dim yellow lamplight, Jian Chou’s face had shadows that flickered uncertainly.

She sat on a stool, looking at this empty, silent room. The wall opposite was completely bare.

That sword was gone.

Jian Chou’s heart felt empty, too.

She reached out to touch the clothing on the table – each piece belonged to Xie Buchen, every garment sewn with exceptionally fine stitches. In the sewing basket, scissors leaned at an angle, usually used to cut fabric scraps.

Jian Chou reached out to take them.

However, after she gripped the scissors and moved them aside, underneath the sewing basket appeared a small rattling drum with a red cord beside it, strung with a small silver lock carved with the character “Xie.”

In that instant, Jian Chou’s hands began trembling.

The rattle drum was something she had bought from a peddler after learning she was pregnant; the silver lock was one Xie Buchen had used as a child. He said that when they had a child, they would pass this small silver lock to the child. So that day, she had found a red cord and strung it up.

Seeing all this again now…

The scissors wrapped in red cloth slipped from Jian Chou’s hands back into the sewing basket.

For a moment, she felt her heart was being torn apart.

Slowly withdrawing her hand, Jian Chou instinctively touched her flat abdomen.

She suddenly turned around, looking toward the pitch-black doorway, and called loudly: “Shanren! Shanren!”

In the courtyard, Fudao Shanren had already wrapped both arms around the big white goose’s neck.

The goose, realizing an enemy had attacked, cried out desperately while frantically flapping its fleshy wings. Immediately, goose feathers flew everywhere, and mud splattered, covering Fudao Shanren in complete dishevelment.

This stupid big white goose dared to struggle like this!

Fudao Shanren grew vicious inside, swallowing hungrily as he was about to do something improper to the goose. Suddenly hearing Jian Chou calling from inside, he was startled and immediately withdrew his hands, raising them high as he called toward the house: “I wasn’t stealing the goose!”

Jian Chou had already stood up, her steps stumbling. Behind her, the light from one oil lamp couldn’t illuminate her figure.

Fudao Shanren couldn’t see her expression either.

“Shanren, I… I was actually with child. Could you… Please check my pulse?”