Volume 1: Gathering Winds of Splendor Chapter 18: White Clouds and Gray Dogs

  "Dongling." He carefully savored the two words, quickly searching through his memories for any known country, but after a moment, he regretfully discovered that it was an unknown nation.

  "Are you Dongling people?" An Xin's clear and calm eyes met Ye Xiao's peach blossom eyes, which contained a hint of probing, and she couldn't help but pause for a moment, thinking to herself that beauty was a curse.

  "In the lower capital city, my ancestors were merchants who made a fortune. Relying on the reputation of our predecessors, we traveled to various places doing business, and our family was quite wealthy." The Night Hawk's lips curled up with a hint of a smile as he teased, "Miss, do you want to know more? I'll tell you everything without reservation."

  "What's with all the nonsense, are you just spouting a lot of hot air?" An Xin scolded, then continued to ask, "Do you know if there are any officials or wealthy families with the surname 'An' in Dongling?"

  Mother's words and deeds are not those of an ordinary village woman, every frown and smile has the demeanor and etiquette of a noble lady, absolutely a woman from a wealthy family, possibly even a government official's family.

  "Yes, the surname Ling An is not common, and the most famous one is General An Liancheng." Night Shadow didn't mind An Xin's mocking tone and readily gave her the information she wanted.

  Her calm gaze met the night owl's expression, which was sincere and unreserved. She was taken aback, not wanting to ask too many questions. The bloody storms of her past life had already left her physically and mentally exhausted. If possible, she would be content to spend the rest of her life in this small mountain village with her mother, living a peaceful life until old age. A flash of lightning-like brightness streaked across her mind, and An Xin suddenly felt her mood clear up, her desire to continue investigating frozen and shattered.

  Isn't the life pattern now what she wished for in her past life? What else is there to worry about? Here, with its green hills and clear waters, the people are simple and honest. Born here, grow old here, die and be buried here, living a peaceful life is all she has ever hoped for. As for external circumstances, even if she understood them, what could she do? Since she decided to go with the flow, she shouldn't want to know about those unimportant people and things. She shook her head in silence, laughing at herself for being so nitpicky.

  "Alright, here are two pills for you. Take them and hurry back to wherever you came from. I'm going home." An Xin felt a sense of clarity wash over her, as if the clouds had parted to reveal a bright blue sky. She felt refreshed and revitalized. From her pocket, she pulled out two more pills that looked exactly like the ones before, handed them to Ye Xiao, stood up, brushed off the dust from her pants, and left without looking back.

  The night owl's gaze sank heavily as he stared at the two pills in his hand, and after a moment, he cast his eyes on the receding figure of An Xin, a flash of something crossing his pupils, a smile with a deeper meaning spreading from the corner of his mouth.

  There will be days when we meet again in the future.

  She returned home with ease and comfort, the encounter with the night owl was just a fragment of her memory, or it would be a fragment that she deliberately forgot.

  "Life is like a movie, some irrelevant plots are destined to be cut off by the director." She murmured to herself as she lay comfortably on a recliner in the courtyard, this recliner was made under her personal supervision by Li, the village carpenter, its structure different from those of ancient times.

  "Comfortable, is this reclining chair comfortable?" Liu Xuan walked by and caught a glimpse of An Xin lying comfortably on the chair with a pleased expression. The recliner could also rock back and forth, which he found quite intriguing.

  "It's very comfortable, don't believe me? Just take a look." As she said that, An Xin closed her eyes contentedly and swayed gently back and forth, her small face filled with satisfaction.

  "I was saying, can you...". Liu Xuan's request had not yet been finished when An Xin interrupted him, "I sprained my foot a few days ago and can only sit in this recliner to sunbathe, I shouldn't move around easily. By the way, what were you just saying?" Want to try out my recliner? Not even the door, there isn't even a window.

  "No, nothing. Since that's the case, you should take good care of your injury, I'll leave first." Liu Xuan glanced at An Xin's feet, which were swinging back and forth in a carefree manner, but didn't seem to be injured at all. However, the deep impression left by the last time he had offended her and been retaliated against made him not dare to disobey her intentions, so he quickly found an excuse to bid farewell.

  With a relieved and pleased wave of his hand, he bid farewell to Liu Xuan who was fleeing in disarray.

  "You're always so troublesome, letting others try out the recliner and then not even giving it back to them." An Suxin, who had long been aware of the commotion in the courtyard, walked up to An Xin with a helpless expression on her face and poked her forehead with her long fingers.

  "He's so sturdy, what if he really breaks it for me? Uncle Li said he won't make another one for me again, I have to take good care of it." Feeling at ease, the warmth of the sun on his skin was soothing, and he let out a comfortable sigh, saying seriously.

  "How dare you say that, didn't give Li Ge a single copper coin, and used a completely useless design drawing to cheat him into doing several days of unpaid labor for you." An Su Su saw her closing her eyes in enjoyment, mischievously pinched her little nose, and scolded.

  "Mother, it's not my fault that he is stupid. I gave him the blueprint and he still can't make it, you can't blame me." An Xin didn't dare to let go of her mother's hand, she quickly opened her small mouth, panting slightly as she explained.

  Every calm and collected girl, no matter if it's an ice blade or any other everyday object, as long as she drew it herself, there must be a hidden catch that only she can assemble to truly complete it. Even if someone else gets the blueprint, they'll find it hard to replicate it by simply following the pattern.

  "Although I don't know what evil you've done, it's definitely related to you and can't be escaped." An SuSu saw An Xin's small face slightly red, and slowly said while releasing the pinched nose.

  "Mother, you really do understand me." An Xin raised her hand to gently rub the bridge of her nose, looking a bit embarrassed, and then explained with a flattering tone, "An Xin's products are one-of-a-kind, no duplicates or branches."

  "It's more fun to enjoy things together than alone, sharing is a virtue, and by the way, you taught me that." An Su's eyebrows slightly raised, her soft and beautiful face radiating youthful energy like an 18-year-old girl, her gentle voice was melodious when she spoke with a hint of reproach.

  "Mom, you're so beautiful." An Xin stared at her mother in a daze, unable to look away.

  "Stop being clever and cheeky, you little monkey. You're always using this trick to get on my good side." An Su Su had obviously heard it many times before and had developed a certain level of immunity. She lightly patted her head, pretending to be angry.

  "Heh heh, my daughter's words are truer than pearls." An Xin smiled awkwardly, then proudly said, "Without a mother as beautiful as me, how could I have given birth to a daughter as lovely as her?"

  "Don't be shy." An Su-su glared at her and turned around to walk into the house.

  Carefree every day, wandering around with ease, occasionally playing some harmless pranks. She also went to the hot springs, and the night owl had long since disappeared without a trace.

  The eastward flowing water, the falling leaves, the fleeting time slowly slips away from between fingers, a white horse passes through a gap, in the blink of an eye, four years have passed.

  Digression

  Get started with the main storyline right away, everyone! Please tap and collect.