Outside Linjiang City.
On the mountaintop ten miles away.
In Hanshan Temple.
Hanshan Temple, which had been desolate for many years, rarely had a few flickering lights.
Then,
More and more lights appeared.
Taking a closer look,
A young gentleman in green robes with graying hair was holding a lantern. A little girl was following closely behind him. They were adding oil to the oil lamps in Hanshan Temple one by one and then lighting them.
The dim yellow light of the oil lamps illuminated the path.
They walked along.
Lighting the oil lamps by the roadside as they went.
Although the light was not even one - hundredth as bright as that of a night - pearl, it gave a sense of warmth.
Feng Qiuer obediently followed behind Yan Ruyu.
Every few steps he took,
He would always turn around to look at the little girl behind him.
Watching her smiling as she caught up,
Then he would continue walking.
A few days ago,
He took little Qiuer to look for her so - called mother, but the people there said that little Qiuer's mother had left and should have gone to Linjiang.
Since it was on the way,
Yan Ruyu brought Feng Qiuer along.
Feng Qiuer stayed by his side.
Occasionally when she looked back,
Yan Ruyu always thought she looked a lot like Ning'er when she was a child.
But as soon as this thought came up, he would quickly kill it.
After all the lamps along the path in Hanshan Temple were lit,
Feng Qiuer was already a bit tired.
There were tiny beads of sweat on her face.
She gently wiped them away.
Seeing Yan Ruyu looking at her,
She gave him a sweet smile.
Although most of the time, she only received her father's coldness in return.
But little Qiuer was very sensible and never took it to heart.
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—"
Little Qiuer's stomach growled again.
She looked at Yan Ruyu embarrassedly.
Yan Ruyu said, "Tired?"
She nodded. She was not only tired but also hungry.
With a gentle wave of Yan Ruyu's hand, a pavilion appeared on the broad grassland. Inside the pavilion, there were stone tables and benches. On the stone table, there were some delicate pastries and a bunch of grapes.
Seeing this,
Feng Qiuer was extremely delighted.
She quickly ran over.
Yan Ruyu watched her back.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Since Feng Qiuer was still young, he didn't feel at ease leaving her alone in the pavilion. There were also many wild wolves in the mountains.
When little Qiuer saw Yan Ruyu coming,
She quickly put down the pastry in her hand.
She went to the side to wash her hands with well - water and then returned to the pavilion.
"Father, here, have some—"
She opened her little hand.
There were three grapes in it.
Yan Ruyu was stunned.
This scene?
"Father, I remember mother said that you like purple grapes the most."
Purple grapes?
Yan Ruyu was shocked.
This name.
His hand holding the jade flute trembled slightly.
Seeing that he didn't take the grapes,
Feng Qiuer explained again, "Father, little Qiuer knows you like to be clean. These purple grapes, little Qiuer washed them very clean. They won't make your tummy hurt. Here—"
Saying this,
She stretched out her little hand a bit further.
In a daze, Yan Ruyu slowly took the grapes.
Suddenly, he seemed to think of something.
With a wave of his hand,
A woman suddenly appeared in front of them.
A woman who looked exactly like Zhao Shuning.
But this woman didn't look like Luo Feiyan at that time.
"Is your mother like this?"
Feng Qiuer took a look.
Shook her head.
Mother was prettier than this.
Yan Ruyu had been full of expectations, but after hearing this, his eyes dimmed.
Yes.
What was he expecting?
He had searched all over the Nine - Continent Continent, the Four Seas and Eight Deserts, and the Three Realms, but there was no trace of her spiritual power.
She was gone.
Really gone.
Why was he still so reluctant to accept this fact?
"Master, I haven't seen you for so long."
The woman spoke, directly calling Yan Ruyu "Master".
Feng Qiuer was a bit startled.
"What's this?"
"Just a puppet. Don't be too surprised."
Feng Qiuer let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. She thought her father was a heartless man and that her mother had a rival in love.
However—
When her father looked at this puppet - transformed woman, his eyes always showed a hint of sadness and solemnity.
It was as if.
He seemed to have feelings for this woman, but not for the puppet - transformed woman in front of him.
"What a cute little girl."
The puppet walked towards Feng Qiuer.
She wanted to pinch Feng Qiuer's cheek, but Feng Qiuer easily dodged.
In the little girl's eyes,
There was still deep vigilance towards this woman.
"She won't hurt you."
A wooden puppet, even if it had human thoughts, wouldn't have human feelings. She wouldn't do anything to hurt little Qiuer.
Little Qiuer didn't like her father being nice to other women.
Even if this woman didn't really exist.
Even a puppet was not okay.
Mother was a very jealous person. If she saw this, she would be jealous.
Seeing her father protecting this puppet like this,
It seemed that this puppet - transformed woman should have a close relationship with her father.
Or rather.
The woman with this appearance should have some "improper" relationship with her father.
"Wow—"
Thinking of this,
Little Qiuer's smart eyes rolled. The next second, a layer of mist appeared in her autumn - water - like eyes.
"Wow—"
The next moment,
Little Qiuer burst into tears.
This cry not only stunned the puppet - transformed woman,
But also made Yan Ruyu put down his teacup. He frowned slightly and looked at little Qiuer.
For some reason,
He didn't like seeing this little girl cry.
When she cried,
He always felt as if something in his heart was being tugged at, and it hurt a bit.
Putting down the teacup,
Yan Ruyu stepped forward.
"What's wrong?"
Little Qiuer stretched out her hand.
She wanted Yan Ruyu to hug her.
Yan Ruyu sighed.
He still squatted down and picked up Feng Qiuer.
Little Qiuer laid her head on Yan Ruyu's shoulder and sobbed, "I, I don't want to see her."
"She's just a puppet. She won't do you any harm."
But Feng Qiuer shook her head.
Then she said, "I don't like her wearing the crimson dress."
Yan Ruyu frowned.
Feng Qiuer had her own selfish motives. When she was a child, the swaddling clothes for her and her brother were made of crimson dresses. The material was similar to the one this woman was wearing.
She knew that was mother's best dress. Now that she was by her father's side, she didn't want any woman around her father, even if it was just a puppet, to wear a crimson dress.
In little Qiuer's view,
Only mother could wear such a crimson dress in front of her father.
"Master, this little girl is really presumptuous."
Yan Ruyu didn't say a word.
He said to little Qiuer, "Do you miss your mother?"
Feng Qiuer nodded.
"Fine, I'll grant your wish today."
Anyway, after he found this little girl's mother, they probably wouldn't have a chance to meet again.
With a wave of Yan Ruyu's hand,
The puppet changed its appearance.
Even the clothes on her body.
They all turned into coarse cloth clothes.
This should be a bit similar to little Qiuer's mother, right?
Strangely enough,
For this little girl in front of him, Yan Ruyu couldn't detect even a bit of her spiritual power. He also didn't know what her mother really looked like.
However,
For a child, he didn't need to care too much.
Anyway, for him, they were all just passers - by.
Little Qiuer didn't know that Yan Ruyu had misinterpreted her meaning. She just thought that her little scheme had succeeded and felt very happy inside.