Ning Xiu keenly sensed that the atmosphere was wrong. He obediently tugged at his sleeves to cover his little belly, looked at his father who was scowling, then turned to look at his mother who had a cold expression. The entire little child fell into confusion and said in his baby voice, “Ah Song~ said, no, quarreling~ allowed~”

Ning Buwei took a deep breath, glanced at Ning Xiu, and stared at Chu Jun, saying, “Am I the one quarreling with him? Why don’t you ask him about eating vinegar from thousands of miles away! Ridiculous!”

Chu Jun said coldly, “I’m just discussing the matter objectively.”

“Then what do you mean by letting Ning Xiu come in?” Ning Buwei said coldly, “His soul has only been stable for a few days, and you let his living soul come in. If there’s any mishap—”

“Wah!” Ning Xiu pouted and finally burst into loud tears.

Ning Buwei immediately stopped talking, and Chu Jun also softened his expression, looking down at him.

Ning Xiu clutched Chu Jun’s sleeve and cried breathlessly, “No… no quarreling!”

The little one always cried with all his might when he started, and stubbornly refused to catch his breath. After crying for just a few sounds, his face was already faintly turning purple. Ning Buwei hurriedly patted his back, “Alright, alright, we’re not quarreling. I wasn’t quarreling with your mother, I was just reasoning with him.”

After saying this, he irritably stepped on Chu Jun’s foot.

Chu Jun looked at him expressionlessly, then reached out to wipe Ning Xiu’s tears, saying gently, “We’re not quarreling. I’m listening to your father reason with me.”

“Hic~” Ning Xiu hiccupped from crying, with teardrops still hanging on his eyelashes, and sobbed, “Quarreling~ is naughty!”

When father and mother quarrel, it’s naughty! Ah Song will spank their hands!

“Mm mm mm, yes yes yes.” Ning Buwei accepted his son’s criticism without much humility.

“No quarreling.” Chu Jun took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, “I’ll carve you a little rabbit.”

Ning Xiu sniffled and said unclearly, “Little rabbit~ ji?”

Ning Buwei pulled out a piece of jade from his sleeve and handed it to Chu Jun, then held Ning Xiu to comfort him, “Your mother is very capable. The flying boat and maple leaf from before were all made by him—”

Ning Buwei suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

Ning Xiu happily took out his little maple leaf and pointed to the small bell on his hand, “Da~”

The bell was also made by mother!

The swaying little silver lock was carved with intricate and exquisite patterns, and even the red wooden bead had something carved on it. Ning Buwei wasn’t particularly interested in these things and had only glanced at them before, thinking they were quite delicate. But now, looking more carefully, he could see some significance.

The patterns carved on the silver lock and bead looked like some kind of runes, but were very irregular.

Ning Xiu seriously watched Chu Jun carve the little white rabbit for him, not forgetting to make requests, “Mother~ rabbit~ eyes need! Red ones~”

“Alright.” Chu Jun held a fine carving knife in his hand, methodically turning his wrist, even carving out the texture of fur on the little rabbit.

Chu Jun’s movements overlapped with a certain movement in his memory.

‘Ning Xingyuan, can you carve a red-crowned crane on this paperweight for me? The kind where you can see the feather texture.’

‘How about I just buy you a real one instead.’

‘No, you do it quickly. I plan to take this paperweight back to Wanxuan Academy, hurry up.’

‘Alright, alright, don’t rush.’

He had lain on the table staring at his precious paperweight. The person in his memory sat behind the low table, holding a fine carving knife in his hand, slowly turning his wrist. With a gentle hook, the texture of fur appeared on the surface.

Ning Buwei suddenly grabbed Chu Jun’s hand.

Chu Jun let him hold it and looked up at him, “Mm?”

Ning Buwei stared at him with deep eyes, then after a long while released his grip and lowered his eyes, saying, “…Nothing.”

Chu Jun continued carving the little rabbit for Ning Xiu while saying, “Big Yellow was originally a strange beast suppressed at the passage between the mortal realm and the Seventeen States, capable of connecting two places separated by thousands of miles. Wang Bin appeared near Wanxuan Academy, so it’s not safe for Ning Xiu to continue staying in the Seventeen States.”

Ning Buwei lifted his eyelids to glance at him, “You should have told me in advance…”

Halfway through, he remembered that the time flow here was different from outside. He had rushed in regardless to save Fang Wanchen, so Chu Jun had no opportunity to discuss with him beforehand.

Chu Jun found two red beans from his pouch to make eyes for the little rabbit, stuck them on, and handed it to Ning Xiu, “I’ll discuss with you in advance next time.”

Ning Buwei touched his nose sheepishly, “Oh.”

Ning Xiu happily held the little rabbit and curiously touched the tail that looked fluffy but was actually cold, “Mother~ cold~”

Chu Jun reached out to warm it for him for a while, then put his little hand on it.

Ning Xiu’s eyes lit up, and he wanted Ning Buwei to touch it too, “Father~ warm~ touch touch~”

Ning Buwei had no choice but to poke the rabbit’s tail and cleared his throat, “The jade pendant that Fang Wanchen is wearing is Ning Xingyuan’s personal belonging.”

Chu Jun’s gaze paused slightly, “The jade pendant that forcibly pulled us into the Mass Resentment Illusion Realm?”

“Mm, it wasn’t exactly… forcible. I tampered with the jade pendant a bit. Fang Wanchen originally didn’t need to come in, but I made him get pulled in too.” Ning Buwei’s eyes darkened slightly, “I don’t believe there are such coincidences in this world.”

So he simply pulled Fang Wanchen in as well.

“You suspect Fang Wanchen is Ning Xingyuan’s reincarnation?” Chu Jun frowned slightly.

Ning Buwei remained silent without answering.

Ning Xiu held the little rabbit and tried to bite it, but nearly hurt his teeth. His little face wrinkled into a bun shape. Ning Buwei absentmindedly pinched his face and was pushed away by an indignant Ning Xiu. “Da!”

“I don’t know.” Ning Buwei’s voice was heavy.

But if he could encounter Jiang Yizheng, why couldn’t he encounter Ning Xingyuan’s reincarnation?

Ning Xiu fussed about wanting Chu Jun to hold him. Chu Jun had no choice but to reach out and take him, but before Chu Jun could speak, he demanded that Ning Buwei hold him instead.

Ning Buwei clicked his tongue, “Ning Xiao Shan, what exactly do you want to do?”

Ning Xiu pouted and nestled in his arms, saying in his baby voice, “Father~ scared scared~”

Ning Buwei raised an eyebrow, “We’re both here, what are you afraid of?”

Ning Xiu looked down at their feet, “Down~”

“Down what?” Ning Buwei and Chu Jun looked down in unison, but saw nothing.

Ning Xiu frowned his little brows and thought for a while, then gestured to them, “White white ones~ crying crying~”

He unhappily covered his ears, “Noisy~”

“The vengeful spirits from Yuquan Village?” Ning Buwei drew a talisman in the air and threw a jade spirit pill into it. After subtle spiritual power fluctuations, everything returned to complete silence.

“How is it?” Chu Jun asked.

Ning Buwei shook his head, “Can’t sense anything.”

Seeing this, Chu Jun had no choice but to use talisman paper to cover Ning Xiu’s ears.

Ning Buwei asked Ning Xiu, “Those white things, are there many?”

Ning Xiu looked at him blankly, “Da?”

His son had limited comprehension ability, so Ning Buwei had to change his question, “White white ones, underneath, where are they all?”

Upon hearing this, Ning Xiu’s gaze swept from beneath their feet all the way to the distant mountains of Yuquan Village, then buried his little head in his neck, “Father afraid~”

“Father isn’t afraid.” Ning Buwei patted his little bottom. Seeing that he was truly scared, he thought for a moment and painstakingly stuffed him into his front garment, casually handing him the little rabbit, “Still afraid?”

Ning Xiu held the rabbit and shrank his little head into his front garment to cover his eyes, leaving only a small hair whorl visible. His muffled voice came from inside the clothes, “Da~”

As soon as he finished speaking, a clear flute sound suddenly came from distant Yuquan Village.

“What sound is that?”

“Fang Wanchen is watching Pei Si. Ning Xingyuan is about to leave Yuquan.”

By the time they reached the village, it was already fully bright.

Fang Wanchen crouched on that locust tree looking exhausted. When he saw them, his eyes immediately lit up, “You finally came!”

“But how did you all change back to adults?” Fang Wanchen asked while trying to jump down from the locust tree, but just as he stood up, he got hit in the head by a branch. He touched his hand in a daze, “I changed back too?”

Ning Buwei glanced at Chu Jun and said, “Because the power of the Mass Resentment Illusion Realm is weakening.”

“Oh right, that Ning Xingyuan is leaving.” Fang Wanchen said, “He’s already at the village entrance.”

Ning Buwei asked, “What about Pei Si?”

“He’s hiding in their family’s woodshed. He even had a fight before leaving.” Fang Wanchen said.

“How did they fight?”

Fang Wanchen shook his head, “I didn’t dare get too close. Pei Si said he absolutely wouldn’t leave this place, and if the other wanted to leave, he should go quickly. Pei Si even threw a jade pendant, and the other one looked quite sad.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the tightly closed courtyard gate was suddenly opened from inside.

Pei Si clutched a jade pendant missing a corner in his hand and, as if he hadn’t seen them, began running frantically.

Ning Buwei and Chu Jun exchanged glances, “Let’s follow and see.”

“I’ll come too!” Fang Wanchen also followed behind them.

Pei Si ran very hard, choosing rugged and remote paths all the way. The chase was quite difficult, and he was tripped by rubble or branches several times, scraping his elbows and chin.

The last time he rolled straight down a slope.

“Ah!” Seeing this, Fang Wanchen wanted to help him up, but was stopped by Ning Buwei.

“Don’t interfere with things in the illusion realm. Have you forgotten about Elder Pei?” Ning Buwei said.

Fang Wanchen shook his head and could only watch Pei Si struggle to get up from the ground with worry, limping as he continued forward.

“These two brothers are really stubborn.” Fang Wanchen sighed, “Just now his brother waited at the village entrance for most of the day while he stubbornly refused to come out, and now that the person has left, he’s chasing after him.”

Soon it became completely dark. Pei Si walked forward with unsteady steps, the blood from his palms seeping into the jade pendant, which flashed and pointed him in the right direction.

He was clearly having trouble breathing, but he had no intention of stopping at all, stubbornly walking forward until dawn broke.

In Ning Buwei and Chu Jun’s view, this distance wasn’t really that far. Even without using spiritual power, it wouldn’t take them half a day to walk. But Pei Si had struggled through it for a day and night.

He leaned against a tree, disheveled and breathing heavily, when laughter and playful sounds suddenly came from the distance.

Pei Si’s eyes immediately lit up, “Ning Xingyuan!”

He dragged his sprained foot and ran forward with all his might, but after seeing the people in the distance clearly, he hesitated and stopped.

Those were several young men and women about the same age as him and Ning Xingyuan. They were dressed in bright, beautiful clothes, standing together and laughing and playing without any restraint.

“Ning Xingyuan, you’re impressive! You’ve made great progress in three months!” A well-dressed young master intimately put his arm around Ning Xingyuan’s shoulder.

Ning Xingyuan raised his arm and nudged his shoulder, “You flatter me.”

“Oh, Young Master Xingyuan is being modest now!” The other person kept his arm around his neck, “I didn’t use my full strength last night. Let’s have a proper sparring match today.”

“Alright, we really need to go back now, or Dean Hao will definitely be angry.” A very prettily dressed young girl tugged at their ears, “Chu Linyuan, stop fooling around. You can’t beat him anyway.”

The young master called Chu Linyuan protested loudly in disagreement.

A heroic-looking young girl nearby crossed her arms and sneered, “What progress has he made? Who knows where he went to have fun? Now he can’t even take one of my sword strikes.”

“Benefactor Yan, please don’t speak carelessly.” A handsome young monk spoke up nearby.

“Little monk, whose side are you really on?” The girl surnamed Yan very familiarly put her arm around Ning Xingyuan’s neck, “If you call me Benfactor Yan again, I won’t want you anymore!”

Ning Xingyuan was swayed left and right by the two of them and laughed helplessly, “Alright, stop fooling around. The entrance is about to appear.”

Chu Linyuan rubbed his hands together eagerly, “I can’t wait to fly in the sky. I’m suffocating!”

Sang Yun took Yan Jinzhou’s arm, “Jinzhou, you must come find me when Wanxuan Academy has vacation. I’ve ordered many jewelry and clothes at Brocade Clothes Pavilion. Come help me choose.”

Yan Jinzhou nodded seriously but mischievously hooked away Ming Sang’s storage pouch nearby.

“Yan Jinzhou, you’re bullying Ming Sang again!” Chu Linyuan cursed and wanted to fight her.

Ning Xingyuan casually drew his sword and easily separated them, “We should go.”

Pei Si, who was hiding far away in the woods, watched Ning Xingyuan mingling with them. The step he was about to take stopped again as he gripped the jade pendant in his hand tightly.

“Why isn’t he going?” Fang Wanchen watched Pei Si standing motionless and could only worry anxiously, “He chased Ning Xingyuan for a day and night, and isn’t the person right there in front of him?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Si seemed to finally gather his courage and took a step forward, “Ning—”

Roar!

The strange beast’s deafening roar resounded through the sky, and the ground began to shake violently. Pei Si looked at the enormous strange beast and was so frightened that he sat down hard on the ground.

Fang Wanchen wasn’t much better off than him, staring at the monster in front of him in shock, his face pale as he staggered backward several steps and nearly fell, only to be caught by Ning Buwei.

Ning Xiu, who had been quiet, popped his head out from Ning Buwei’s front garment and happily pointed for Ning Buwei and Chu Jun to see, “Yellow yellow~ mouth mouth mud~ pretty uncle~ flowers flowers!”

A pretty uncle in Yellow Yellow’s mouth gave me a little flower! So pretty!

However, Ning Buwei and Chu Jun’s attention was all on Pei Si and Ning Xingyuan, and they didn’t notice what the little child was saying.

After Ning Xingyuan and his group, with the help of the red-clothed “immortal,” finally managed to subdue that strange beast in a dazzling display, the ground finally returned to complete calm.

The strange beast, now transformed into a black little dog, barked angrily at Ning Xingyuan in indignation.

The young man laughed and patted its head, “The Ning residence happens to need a gatekeeper. You’re it.”

The strange beast angrily bit his hand.

The group of young people erupted into chaos again, playfully fighting as they entered the entrance back to the Seventeen States.

Pei Si, who had been completely stunned, finally came to his senses. He scrambled up from the ground in a panic and limped toward the “heavenly ladder” that was about to disappear.

“Ning Xingyuan!” He shouted loudly at that familiar figure.

Unfortunately, the entrance had already closed by more than half. Ning Xingyuan was surrounded by others in the middle and didn’t hear him at all. Only the girl with a ponytail at the back seemed to hear his voice and turned around in confusion.

The entrance slowly disappeared from view.

The wind stirred up dust and fallen leaves all over the ground, leaving only Pei Si alone, disheveled, wretched, and lonely, standing in place.