The place where Yan Xing was exiled was Fugong County, located in the northwest of Yunnan Prefecture. It would take another two days on horseback to reach it.

After resting a day at the escort agency’s Yunnan branch, Yan Sanhe prepared to go to Fugong County alone.

Han Xu had rarely come to the Yunnan branch and certainly had many matters to attend to. She’d already delayed him for quite a few days and couldn’t keep delaying him.

Hearing this, Han Xu directly responded with a stern face—what, I can’t see Buddha all the way to the west?

Han Xu’s emotions were always steady and balanced. He rarely showed such tartness.

Fine, Yan Sanhe compromised.

The two rested a day at the branch, washing up and eating, preparing two days’ worth of provisions before heading straight for their destination.

Yan Xing’s old homestead was right by the Nu River in Fugong County, between two great mountains, a small village.

The Nu River rushed and wound for thousands of miles. The great mountains wore a layer of snow year-round, looking exactly like the legendary paradise beyond the mortal world.

“So beautiful!”

Han Xu sighed. “Words can’t even describe it.”

Yan Sanhe didn’t respond.

She had another layer of feeling: Separated from the capital by thousands of miles, who could imagine that the granddaughter of the Zheng family who should have died was actually hidden here? How safe indeed!

“What’s that mountain ahead called?” Han Xu asked.

Yan Sanhe answered, “Biluo Snow Mountain.”

“And the one behind?”

“Gaoligong Mountain.”

“Have you climbed them all?”

“He took me climbing every day. At his most ruthless, he made me climb twice in one day.”

“No wonder your movements are so agile.”

“Forced out of me.”

Yan Sanhe led her horse. “Come, let’s go to my home.”

The village wasn’t large. Houses scattered through a stretch of valley. Right at noon, smoke rose from every household’s chimney.

“Look, Sanhe has returned!”

Someone shouted loudly. The echo rang through the valley, warming Yan Sanhe’s heart.

Yes.

Grandfather, I’ve returned.

…

Yan Xing’s residence wasn’t as Yan Sanhe had described—just three crude rooms.

This was a small compound, two sections deep with a courtyard, all constructed primarily of wood with various patterns carved into the wood.

“A wealthy household!” Han Xu deliberately exclaimed.

“Grandfather said when he was demoted here, he still had a few taels of silver in his pocket.”

Yan Sanhe looked here and touched there, her eyes full of memories.

“He taught the children to read without charging a single tael. The villagers went to the mountain to harvest wood—the mountain has plenty of this kind of wood. Everyone worked together and built this residence.”

Yan Sanhe pointed at the carvings. “He carved all these himself.”

Han Xu touched them. “Such skillful hands.”

“I can do it too.”

Yan Sanhe smiled softly. “I just don’t have the strength in my hands, so my carvings aren’t as good as his.”

Han Xu: “Learned from Yan Xing?”

“Mm.”

Yan Sanhe continued, “My grandfather could also check pulses—self-taught. Simple illnesses and pains, he could treat somewhat.”

Han Xu: “Seems he was a clever man.”

“So clever—there was nothing he couldn’t do.”

Yan Sanhe stopped before a large water vat in the courtyard. “This vat used to raise fish. The day Grandfather left, all the fish died. They had spiritual awareness.”

Han Xu followed over. “Placing a water vat in the courtyard is a custom from Anhui Prefecture.”

“Right, he was from Peach Blossom Pool in Anhui Prefecture.”

“Been there—another paradise beyond the world.”

Yan Sanhe looked at Han Xu with some surprise. Han Xu smiled faintly. “Over the years escorting cargo, I’ve been to many places. That location left a deep impression.”

“Escorting must be hard work?”

“Also interesting.”

Han Xu paused. “You resolve attachments and dispel demons, encountering all kinds of people. I escort and guard cargo, seeing different mountains and waters. You don’t find it bitter, I don’t find it tiring.”

Yan Sanhe looked at him. After a long moment, she said, “Han Xu, if you were truly a man, I would like you.”

Han Xu laughed softly. “Following along this trip was the right choice. Visibly, my position in your heart is catching up to Li Buyan.”

Just as the words fell, voices came from outside the gate.

“Sanhe, look what Auntie Tian made for you! Cured meat!”

“What’s good about cured meat? Sanhe always loved the pancakes from our house.”

“And my family’s tofu.”

“She could eat a whole big bowl of rice with my stir-fried rice noodles.”

As they spoke, a crowd of men and women entered—all dressed simply, their faces reddened by the sun.

Yan Sanhe, fumigated by the food aromas, couldn’t help sneezing. She called to the middle-aged woman in front:

“Auntie Tian, you’ve called everyone—let’s eat together. I have something to say anyway.”

…

Yan Sanhe was Fugong County’s spirit medium.

The spirit medium’s words always carried weight.

In no time at all, the courtyard filled with people.

Several tables pushed together formed one long table with dishes from each household placed on it.

Everyone didn’t sit but walked around eating while holding their bowls.

“This is called eating hundred-family rice.”

Yan Sanhe said quietly to Han Xu, “When I was small, I ate this kind of rice almost every day. It’s our local custom.”

“Grandma, I want to eat this kind of rice every day too.”

A small child with sharp ears, dragging two streams of snot, tugged at the old woman’s sleeve. The old woman poked him with a finger.

“Dream on—Old Master Yan is gone.”

Yan Sanhe’s hand holding chopsticks paused suddenly, then asked, “Grandma Xiao, could this hundred-family rice have something to do with my grandfather?”

Old Lady Xiao stuck her finger in her mouth, picking out a piece of leek stuck in her teeth, and flicked it to the ground.

“Wasn’t it all for you? You were weak as a child. When you first came here, your little face was so pale.”

Auntie Tian continued, “Eating hundred-family rice means borrowing hundred-family blessings. Didn’t your body get better later?”

Yan Sanhe asked casually, “Auntie Tian, what was I like when I first arrived?”

“What else could you be like? Wooden and dazed, like a little fool.”

Thinking of Yan Sanhe’s childhood, Auntie Tian wanted to laugh. “You grabbed onto Old Master Yan’s sleeve all day long. Wherever he went, you followed—wouldn’t leave his side for even one step.”

Yan Sanhe: “Auntie Tian, you’re lying. How could I be foolish?”

“You’d had your soul frightened away halfway here to Fugong County.”

Uncle Lao Wu drank some wine and smacked his lips. “It was me who called your soul back.”

Yan Sanhe: “Uncle Lao Wu, after you called it, I had my soul?”

“Didn’t you get your soul back?”

Uncle Lao Wu sighed. “You also remembered your surname was Yan, knew how old you were, where you came from.”

Yan Sanhe: “Where did I come from?”

“Hey, you child.”

Uncle Lao Wu laughed in exasperation. “You told me yourself—from Peach Blossom Pool. You even said in March and April there, peach blossoms are everywhere. So young, yet your memory isn’t as good as mine.”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

“Sanhe!”

Grandma Xiao’s eyes somehow reddened. “You came back so suddenly this time—are you planning to move Old Master Yan’s grave back to Peach Blossom Pool?”

Grandma Xiao was an old widow. Her husband died when she was twenty-two. She never remarried after that, putting all her energy into raising her son.

Then Yan Xing arrived.

Everything about Yan Xing was different from others. In Grandma Xiao’s words, even his shit smelled fragrant.

She’d coveted him for many years.

Yan Sanhe put down her bowl and chopsticks. “Not going anywhere—he’ll be buried right here.”

“Then why did you come back this time…”

Grandma Xiao pointed at Han Xu. “Did you bring him back to have him meet Old Master Yan?”