The two of them stayed the night in the village but got up early to grab a bundle with some of Fu Yun’s things from the hut each before sneaking out with Petal’s help. Nobody saw them and soon, they were back at the clearing, putting the bundles where they were protected from the wind and rain before sitting down to chat for a while.

These days, they thought about their own place more and more. They had already discussed how the hut should be built in general and what the layout would be. Now that they were only waiting for the wood to be prepared so they could go and get it, they thought about the details of how the inside would be.

Yue Ji had just seen the way Fu Yun had lived in the village. Seeing as the hunter had to give up so much for him, he felt that they should make it so that their hut reminded him more of home and felt like it was truly a place where he could feel that he belonged.

Fu Yun actually minded little but he also had nothing to complain about going this route. After all, Yue Ji himself had always lived out here in the forest. Adding a hut didn’t mean much to him. He actually didn’t need it to live there even though he also didn’t mind having it. Thus, what was the harm in following his own habits more?

Not to mention that this also gave them something to work with so they wouldn’t have to start from scratch. Just building the hut would be difficult enough so furnishing it fast afterward was also welcome. Also, it wasn’t like they could never change it in the future either. If they didn’t like something later, they could just come up with another idea and work on transforming what they had bit by bit.

With both of them pretty much agreeing, they didn’t need long to come to a conclusion. After that, they still had to wait. Even though Fu Yun was staying in the clearing longer now under the guise of ‘discussing matters for the upcoming wedding’, the time never felt long. In fact, even though he would be there almost from morning till nightfall, Fu Yun was always reluctant to leave.

In this way, the week until the wooden beams were ready finally ended. Fu Yun went to see Yue Ji in the morning but only greeted him with a quick kiss. “I’ll go and get the wood so we can start building the hut tomorrow.” Even though they had planned for a long time, he also knew that it would be difficult. They’d likely need weeks or even months to finish. After all, he didn’t have any experience and not much knowledge of these things either.

Yue Ji nodded but then grabbed his hand. “Since everything is organized, let me come and help. I’ll stay in the forest so you don’t have to worry.”

Fu Yun had nothing to say about that. He only ever feared that Yue Ji would be exposed and find himself in danger so as long as he kept out of sight or had a way to hide his appearance, it was alright. Having his lover accompany him was instead something he very much welcomed. The time needed to get to the other side of the forest was long, after all, and while he had also been happy to get to know Petal better when she followed him the last time, nothing could beat spending that time with Yue Ji.

Since they once again unanimously decided, they immediately left the clearing and made their way through the forest, chatting idly. In this way, the time seemed to pass much faster and soon, they could faintly see the village not far from the forest’s edge through the trees.

Fu Yun stopped in his tracks and turned to Yue Ji. “I guess it’s better if you don’t go further than this.”

Yue Ji nodded. “I’ll hide behind one of the trees and turn back if I hear somebody approach. Don’t worry about it.”

Fu Yun hummed, already feeling much less afraid than when they had gone to his own village. Anyway, it was true that Yue Ji could not be distinguished from a regular plant. At most, he’d have to worry about somebody passing by and wanting to pick a bouquet of beautiful roses for their lover. Yue Ji had assured him though that even that wouldn’t harm him. The flowers were just an extension of his spiritual energy and could be regrown as long as he spent enough time taking in more of that energy.

“I’ll be quick!” He kissed him on the cheek and then hurriedly turned around before rushing the rest of the way out of the forest and over to the woodcutter’s house. He could already see the finished beams orderly stacked up at the side but when he did, his steps finally slowed. This … might be a bit troublesome.

The two of them had planned for only a small room at first, just big enough to sleep in and cook if the weather outside was too bad. Later, they’d add a bigger room to live in while turning the small one into a separate kitchen. Because of this, he had thought they wouldn’t need much to build the original hut. Now that he saw the finished beams though, he realized that he would never be able to transport all of those at once.

He coughed awkwardly but there was nothing he could do. He went up to the house and paid the rest of the difference to the woodcutter. He had already given him half before and now, a lot of his savings had been depleted. It hurt in his heart to think about but then, he also knew he likely wouldn’t need much in the future and could still trade with the prey he hunted.

Walking outside with the old man, Fu Yun’s expression was once again embarrassed. He didn’t say anything yet though and simply started to move the first beam onto the cart under the woodcutter’s guidance.

After lifting one end, he understood even more thoroughly just how simple he had thought before. If he was lucky, he’d be able to move two or three of these back today but definitely not more. And even then, he didn’t think he’d manage to do so even remotely in the time it had taken him and Yue Ji to get here.

Thinking about it now, he could probably count himself lucky that Yue Ji had come along. This way, they could both push the cart together and it would be slightly easier. Even though Yue Ji had a willowy waist and slender limbs, he was still one additional man. His physical strength might not catch up to his own, but it was still some help.

Fu Yun sighed to himself, for once thinking that everything would be so much easier if he had fallen in love with a human instead of a spirit. Even if it was a man instead of a woman, he still felt that the other villagers would understand. Then he could tell them about everything and they might even volunteer to help out. There would be no reason to get the wood from the other side of the forest and there would also be enough people to move the beams.

Well, actually, if Yue Ji was human, there wouldn’t even be a need for all of that since they could have just moved into his hut. But he also knew that all these thoughts were idle. He couldn’t change who he had fallen in love with and he definitely wouldn’t want to change Yue Ji. Thus, he could only do his best to accommodate for all the challenges they’d face.

After putting down the third beam, he turned to the woodcutter with the same awkward expression. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to move more than these at once. Is it alright to get these home first and then come for the rest?”

The old man thoughtfully rubbed his chin and looked at the beams still left on the ground next to his house. It wasn’t like there wasn’t still space to spare in case another customer came but he had never seen this man before the other week and he didn’t like how he had haggled over the price. Now that he asked for such a thing, he naturally wouldn’t give in easily.

“Well, I can see why you would struggle but leaving all of this here, you’re also giving me trouble. Where am I putting the wood for the next person I am working for? Each day this wood is here might be a day where I earn less.”

Fu Yun lowered his head, not sure what to do. It wasn’t like he could change this but he really didn’t see what else he could do. “That …” He thought for a while, trying to come up with anything but his mind was blank. He had nobody to ask for help. Even if he dared to go back to his village to ask everyone he knew, that’d take at least a day so it didn’t help. As for the people in this village, he didn’t know any of them.

The woodcutter raised his brows. “Well? You already haggled over the price so much, really making it so that I can’t earn much. Now, you are also willing to let me lose money over this because you didn’t plan well? That’s not too kind of you!”

Fu Yun could only nod, feeling ashamed. He had indeed made trouble here because he didn’t think things through. Naturally, he could have known that this would happen if only he asked around more before coming here or just thought about it a little longer.

Just when he was still thinking about what to do, the sound of cartwheels came from the forest. Fu Yun raised his head in a panic, checking to see where exactly the sound came from. To his shock, it was the path where Yue Ji was waiting for him. Even though they had talked about what he should do if somebody passed by, his heart still beat madly.

Hopefully, Yue Ji was alright. Compared to that, what even was there to think about the current dilemma? If he made the old man lose money, he should offer up what he had left over. It might not be much but by showing some sincerity, maybe he could make him agree to it.

He turned back to the woodcutter, his hand reaching for the bag with the coin string that was tied to his belt. Before he could speak up though, the cart he had noticed before arrived next to the woodcutter’s house and a young man jumped down from the back that had been covered from view by the tarpaulin tightened above.

The woodcutter ignored Fu Yun when he saw somebody new arrive, immediately beaming. “What may I do for you?”

The young man just raised his brows and then motioned toward Fu Yun with his chin. “What kind of small cart is that? Put them on there.” He motioned to the cart behind him that was long enough to hold the beams without trouble. At the same time, another two people emerged, walking toward them as if ready to help.

Fu Yun stared at the man in a daze. He had never seen him, that much was sure. So why was this person suddenly helping him? He wanted to ask but then was also afraid of offending the person who was willing to help him out in this awkward situation. Finally, the situation seemed to be at a standstill.

The man glanced at the woodcutter who was now looking at Fu Yun with a surprised expression and then bared some teeth that very decidedly didn’t look entirely human. After that, he scoffed and brushed through his hair, exposing the form of a little fairy crouching on the lapel of his robe.

Petal almost gave a yelp, barely holding back after slapping her tiny hands over her mouth, and then hurried to rush back beneath his hair to hide. She also knew that she wasn’t supposed to show herself but she had wanted to see everything from up close!

Fu Yun still didn’t know what was really going on but seeing Petal, he knew that these people had to know Yue Ji. Most likely, they were also spirits although something told him that they definitely weren’t plant spirits.

He nodded stiffly and then turned to grab one of the beams, carrying it over to the other cart with the other two men while the first just stood aside. This time, with three people working together, it wasn’t as difficult to move the beams and they finished loading everything onto the cart in a short amount of time.

Fu Yun didn’t know what to say to the men so he simply went and bid goodbye to the woodcutter before hurriedly following the three who were already pushing the cart back toward the edge of the forest.

As soon as they were out of sight, he couldn’t help but turn his head and stare at the man next to him. He didn’t look that different from a human if he was honest. Unless he bared his teeth, it really was hard to tell that he was from some spirit tribe. Even his hair color looked normal. It was mostly black, with only a few faint strands of silvery gray in between. It simply made him look slightly older than a human man with his looks probably would have been. For a spirit though … he didn’t dare to make any assumptions.

The four of them quietly pulled the cart further down the path until the village was left far behind. At the side of the road, Yue Ji’s figure finally stepped out from behind a tree trunk, a smile on his lips. Clearly, he was the one responsible for the timely rescue in front of the woodcutter as if he had anticipated that this might happen.

Thinking of this, Fu Yun actually felt even more awkward than before.