17 minutes apart

  Lu aunt indeed prepared various fillings, and Qiuqiu dragged Xiaoyi over to make mooncakes together.

  Qiu Qiu was fine, but when Lu saw the unusual appearance of Shi Er, even sitting at the table seemed out of place. Holding back a smile, she said: "The two girls should go and do their proper work, I don't need any help here."

  Qiu Qiu smiled and said: "Having many skills doesn't burden the body, learning more craftsmanship can't be a bad thing, right, Shi Er?"

  Anyway, Xia Er would never speak out at this time and ruin things for her.

  The preliminary work was all done by Aunt Lu, the pastry skin, filling and mold were all ready-made, directly wrapping the filling into a mooncake shape and pressing it, finally Aunt Lu took them to bake together.

  This task is both simple and fun, so Qiuqiu pulled Shu'er together to get started.

  Pieces of mooncake quickly took shape, neatly arranged on the chopping board. There were fish-shaped, flower-shaped, square and round ones, all of which made Xiaozhi glance over without noticing, and she reached out to wipe her face with a piece of dough.

  The boy turned his head and looked at her.

  "Oh, I just saw a little bug."

  He didn't notice that a white flour mark had been left on his face, and he continued to make a rabbit-shaped mooncake with a numb expression.

  Qiu Qiu turned her head, holding back laughter until her stomach hurt. Lu Gugu was indeed a person with experience and upbringing, not showing any unusual expressions on her face, as if she hadn't seen anything wrong at all.

  The big white rabbit and the little white rabbit led eight children there, I don't know what they were doing. Were they going to dig another hole under the willow tree? Autumn didn't even know how many holes they had dug. It's said that a clever rabbit has three burrows, but this pair of rabbit spirits might have thirty or more.

  At first, Aunt Lu didn't want to see this group of rabbits. But when she found out that Qiuqiu had taken them in as pets, her attitude improved a lot. She would often give them fresh vegetables and fruits. After getting along for a while, she discovered that Da Bai and Er Bai were very well-behaved. When they saw people, they would stand up straight and use their front paws to greet them, and they knew how to be cute and playful. Not to mention the eight little ones, who were round and fat like white cotton balls. Whenever Aunt Lu was working, they would lie down beside her feet or hands, and it was hard not to love them.

  Suddenly, Da Bai stopped moving and stood up straight, vigilantly looking towards the northeast direction.

  The child also put down the mooncake mold in his hand and slowly stood up.

  Qiu Qiu didn't notice the movement until he slowed down a step.

  In the distant sky, a white dot appeared, which was almost imperceptible if one didn't look carefully. Then the white dot drew closer and closer, like a white cloud gently falling down. The wind stirred up by its two large wings sent several white fluffy balls tumbling over.

  Dàbái èr bái shí fēn jǐn zhāng, hù zhe jǐ zhī xiǎo róng qiú wǎng hòu tuì, nà jià shì rú lín dà dí.

  Translation:

  The two whites were extremely tense, protecting a few small fluffy balls as they retreated to the back, their posture like facing a great enemy.

  The unexpected guest was recognized by Qiuqiu as Linghe, Fang Zhan's mount.

  She and the crane looked at each other with disgust, not knowing if the crane had understood her thoughts of wanting to eat roasted crane and drink crane soup. Every time they met, it would ignore her completely, very arrogant. Qiuqiu would definitely not take the initiative to use a hot face to stick to a cold butt, anyway, this guy doesn't come often, when he comes, it's just to deliver messages or things, can't stay for long, she didn't bother to argue with a flat-haired beast, otherwise, she would definitely be laughed at.

  Mrs. Lu put down her needlework and went to fetch water and fruit to entertain the messenger.

  Qiuqiu thought the crane had come because the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and it had brought gifts to celebrate. Fang Zhenren indeed cared about his daughter deeply, always thinking of her.

  She took the letter from Ling He's body, stood there and read it. Qiu Qiu, although close to her, also walked a few steps away, waiting until she had finished reading the letter before coming back.

  The child stood quietly there, with the letter tightly clenched in his hand.

  "What did Fang Zhenren say in his letter?"

  The boy and the crane stood there for a long time without speaking, unlike before when it would deliver the message, drink some water, eat some fruit, wait for the reply, and then leave. Instead, it stood under the tree slowly preening its feathers with its long beak, as if waiting for something.

  Qiu Qiu felt something was different: "What's wrong? Is anything the matter?"

  "Yes, let me go back right away."

  Qiu Qiu suddenly didn't understand.

  It's been over a year since Shi Er arrived, and the two of them have been together day and night. What's more important is that they've been cultivating together, eating and sleeping in the same place, with no distance between them. Since Autumn crossed over, she hasn't been this close to anyone, whether it was her parents or her master and sisters. In her heart, she had already considered Shi Er as the closest person to her, especially after the new year. She hadn't even thought that Shi Er wasn't from their sect, but rather just a temporary guest who came to treat his illness and would eventually leave.

  And this moment has come too quickly, too suddenly.

  "What's going on? Is it serious? You... are leaving right now?"

  The child stood there, his lips tightly pursed, without saying a word.

  Qiuqiu was reluctant to part with it.

  She knew that Jier also felt that this matter was very sudden.

  Even if she never says it, the friendship between the two is not fake. After a year of practicing together day by day, even if the two people don't have a meeting of minds, the tacit understanding and mutual understanding between them far exceeds that of others.

  The child is also reluctant to part with it.

  Moreover, the person she can't bear to part with here is herself.

  Fang Zhenren is such a steady person, if it weren't for something big happening, he definitely wouldn't have called you back like this. Qiuqiu tugged on her sleeve and said softly: "Since Fang Zhenren said it was so urgent, then don't delay any longer, or else you'll really regret it for the rest of your life."

  The landlady also heard it, this young girl is going to leave?

  "This, how can you just leave like that?" Lu's aunt was anxious and uneasy: "At least we should prepare and pack our things. Besides, Zhen Ren and Jing Xin have not returned yet, why don't we wait for them to come back and discuss it together? If help is needed, Zhen Ren will definitely not refuse."

  Auntie Lu's words were reasonable, but after all, neither Autumn nor Auntie Lu knew what was written in the letter. According to what Pick-up said, it was that as soon as they saw the letter, they would return immediately. If they delayed for a day or half a day, or even not that long, just postponed for a few hours, perhaps they would be too late.

  "Otherwise... you go back first, no matter what happens, and send a message back. The important things are all in the Qiankun bag, and there's nothing to clean up. I'll take care of the things in the house for now, and if you want to leave a message for Master, that's fine too."

  Shi Er grasped her hand and squeezed it hard: "I know. Tell Yu Xia Zhen Ren for me, after I go back, I'll let Ling He send another message over, you don't need to worry."

  It's false to say that she wasn't worried, Qiū Qiū had self-awareness, her own insignificant cultivation was really not enough to look at, otherwise she would have wanted to go back with Duèr together, and could have helped her a bit.

  The boy hugged Qiuqiu tightly and whispered in her ear: "I will definitely come back to find you."

  "Qiuqiu nodded and whispered: 'Be careful on your way.'"

  Shi'er let go of his hand, and Ling He already knew he had to get on the road, so he lowered his body to let Shi'er ride on.

  Qiuqiu couldn't bear to blink, watching the spirit crane flap its wings and take off into the sky. The child waved at her once, and then the child and the crane quickly disappeared into the distance, in an instant becoming a small white dot on the horizon that vanished from sight.

  She felt as if a big chunk had been dug out of her heart, leaving an empty and unutterable pain.

  Lu's aunt was also worried, but she plucked up her spirits to comfort her: "Don't worry too much, looking at Linghe's expression, it shouldn't be that something big has happened, and when the young lady returns, there shouldn't be any danger. If you're still not at ease, wait until Zhenren returns, and ask him to send a message to inquire about the situation."

  "Uh-huh." The logic was clear, but the discomfort in her heart was a different matter.

  There is still white flour on my hands and there are unfinished mooncakes on the table.

  Qiu Qiu suddenly lifted her head: "Oh dear, I forgot to tell Dier that there's still flour on her face."

  "... Aunt Lu felt that this guy didn't need her consolation at all and would recover quickly anyway."