In the end, the two of them really didn’t continue with their journey that day. Jing Yi accompanied Qiu Ling for a while, trying to make him cheer up a bit after he had caused him to remember something sad once again. Needless to say, a certain someone couldn’t help but take advantage and got himself another tight hug.

Holding his beloved close, Qiu Ling couldn’t help but sigh in contentment. Mn, even though not everything was going great, it was still very good. As for what had gone wrong before … He pursed his lips and pondered the issue.

His beloved was angry at his 'grandfather' right now but judging from his previous behavior, he might also calm down if he gave him a good reason. So maybe he should try to prepare him for a while and then later when Fu Min had gotten him the information he needed, he could reappear again, ask for forgiveness and even help him out as a way of apology. Wouldn’t that be great?

With that plan in mind, Qiu Ling was fired up to continue on their journey. Anyway, his beloved wanted to see that village again, didn’t he? They could first go there and then they could bury the hatchet in that familiar environment. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Qiu Ling was happy again when he thought of that and Jing Yi felt happy again, seeing that Qiu Ling had managed to pick himself up and wasn’t depressed anymore. Even though he couldn’t help but think that Qiu Ling was a bit simple-minded sometimes, he was also happy about it if it allowed him to get over things more easily.

With things working out so well for the two of them, they happily took a longer break this time. Qiu Ling went hunting in the evening and cooked as usual before they went to sleep. They only continued with their journey the next morning.

Even though they hadn’t talked about things in detail and Qiu Ling never brought up anything about his own life, Jing Yi felt that they had indeed gotten closer while they traveled. It made him feel that when this journey was over, he might indeed be able to say for sure whether they should get married or not.

With such good feelings, the two of them finally left the Long mountain range. Their path became smoother and only a few weeks later they reached the village where Jing Yi had grown up.

Even though more than half a decade had gone by, the village still looked the same: There was the village square made from soil that had been made hard by generations of villagers stepping on it, a dozen crooked huts with thatched roofs, and a small crowd of people lingering around and gossiping.

Jing Yi’s lips twitched when he heard them talk. Even though he couldn’t remember the rumors that had been flying around when he was just born, he had very vivid memories of the time when he evaded the girls and they subsequently fell in the mud holes.

Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but wonder what was actually up with that. It was obvious his grandfather had lied to him but how to explain those holes … Just how had that happened?

As somebody who had lived in a deity sect but seldom interacted with any of the talented disciples from the inner sect, Jing Yi’s understanding of the uses of spiritual energy was very much limited. He couldn’t even imagine that it might be possible to use it in this way. Well, even if he did, he probably wouldn’t have been able to imagine either that a reputable Daoist Master would lower themselves to the point where they would use their spiritual energy to dig holes for little girls to fall in …

Anyway, right now, the villagers were discussing very spiritedly how one of the boys had proposed to one of the girls and been thrown into the lake.

"I can’t believe Chao Fu really did that! Sure, she is a little wilder than the other girls but it couldn’t be to this degree!" The one saying this was Madam Pan. Although she had some things to say about this girl behaved, she still felt that a girl couldn’t be that vicious. The story was interesting though …

One of the other women snorted. "What are you saying, 'to this degree'? The poor boy was traumatized! He didn’t dare to leave the house for the next five days!"

Madam Pan furrowed her brows. "Isn’t it just a bit of water? How could it have been that bad?"

The woman looked around and raised her chin, making the impression that she knew all about what was happening here. "How is it just a bit of water? Haven’t you heard that that Fa Chao Fu pushed him underwater and held him there for a full five minutes? The poor boy nearly drowned!"

Qiu Ling tilted his head and looked at that woman. This annoying woman should have been the one who was disturbing him back when his beloved’s reincarnation was born, right? It seemed she was still just like that.

Jing Yi just looked on in a daze. How come things were still like this? The people looked a bit older but that was all. They hadn’t changed at all.

In fact, another thing that hadn’t changed come up immediately as well. "Lian Mei! How can you say such things? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? How would a small girl like Chao Fu be able to push the boy of the Hus’ underwater like that? That’s completely impossible!"

Lian Mei harrumphed. "How is that impossible? You can ask Mister Pi!" She motioned at a group of men that was just returning from work. "Mister Pi, Mister Pi! I heard that Fa Chao Fu pushed the son of the Hus’ underwater but Madam Pan said it’s impossible. Can’t you explain to her how she did this?"

Naturally, Mister Pi was more than happy to comply. He hurried over to explain but before he could start, he saw the two people standing a little further away and watching this scene with blank expressions.

Seeing them, he simply couldn’t help but call out. After all, a cultured man’s thirst for gaining new knowledge was naturally more important than merely adding to the knowledge already available!