But who knew that when they chased here, the white sable had disappeared.
"Where did it go? I clearly saw it run over just now."
Yue Qingxin said, looking around, but found no trace of the little sable, and could only sigh with disappointment.
"Where is this? I don't think I've ever been here before." Shen Xiaoyan looked at the surrounding scenery and was sure she hadn't been here.
"Perhaps we've reached the deep mountains. There might be dangers, so we should be careful."
As Sima Han spoke, he had already walked to Yue Qingxin's side and taken her hand.
The group walked side by side, and after not long, they heard what sounded like people talking.
They exchanged glances, and simultaneously crouched down, silencing their footsteps as they moved towards the source of the sound.
After moving a bit closer, they finally heard clearly that it was Lu Taobao and Bai Ying who were talking.
Shen Xiaoyan looked over in surprise and saw Lu Taobao and Bai Ying standing together and talking.
"The two of them..."
Yue Qingxin started to say something but quickly covered her mouth.
Actually, Shen Xiaoyan also felt that their situation was a bit awkward. They were hiding here, making it seem like they were eavesdropping. However, they were truly just passing by.
"You..."
The group waited for a long time, only hearing Lu Taobao utter a "you" and then falling silent again.
"Go home. Uncle Bai is very worried about you. Besides, why is a girl like you in these deep mountains?"
Just as Shen Xiaoyan and the others were getting impatient, Lu Taobao finally spoke again.
"My father knows my abilities, so he naturally won't worry." Bai Ying said with a light laugh.
"You... a girl, why don't you go home and stay in these deep mountains?" Lu Taobao, blocked by Bai Ying's words, said somewhat exasperatedly.
"I'm not staying here. I'm just waiting for my master. She should arrive today." Bai Ying replied with a smile, then added, "So, I'll be leaving today."
"Where to?"
As soon as Lu Taobao heard her say she was leaving, his face changed instantly.
He had originally intended to go to the place Zheng Wei mentioned where he could be saved. But as soon as he arrived, he met Bai Ying.
Seeing him, Bai Ying turned and ran, and he followed all the way until he caught up to her here.
Recalling Bai Ying's compliment about his improved physique earlier, he felt a bit embarrassed.
He wanted to ask Bai Ying why she didn't tell him about the past, but the words got stuck on his lips.
In the end, what came out was asking why Bai Ying wasn't going home.
Even many years later, when he recalled the situation then, he still wanted to slap himself.
How could he not ask? If he had asked, where would all these subsequent events have occurred?
That, of course, is a story for another time.
But for now, Bai Ying looked at Lu Taobao with a smile. Seeing that he no longer spoke, she also felt a bit of disappointment.
She also felt a bit self-deprecating. Since she had already decided to leave, why care about these things?
After a short while, a shadow fell from the sky.
That's right, it fell from the sky.
It was as if a sparrow with wings, allowing her to descend slowly.
Looking at the graceful figure, the word "immortal" surprisingly appeared in Shen Xiaoyan's mind.
After the person landed, Shen Xiaoyan looked closely and saw a woman veiled in white, with a face as beautiful as a painting.
The woman seemed to glance at Shen Xiaoyan, but when Shen Xiaoyan looked closely, she saw that the woman was only looking at Bai Ying.
"Yingying, let's go."
The woman's voice was like heavenly music, like a gentle breeze and fine rain, making people feel as if they were bathed in spring.
"Yes, Master."
Bai Ying nodded in agreement, then nodded at Lu Taobao, "Goodbye."
As soon as Bai Ying finished speaking, the woman took her hand and soared into the air again.
When their bodies were about a meter above the ground, a snow-white shadow quickly ran over, sprang up, and hugged Bai Ying's feet.
Shen Xiaoyan stared at the white shadow and realized it was the white sable they couldn't find earlier.
"It's that white sable!"
Yue Qingxin also saw the white sable and her eyes lit up again.
Unfortunately, from the looks of it, the white sable belonged to either Bai Ying or her master.
"Little sable, you're back."
Bai Ying looked at the little sable clinging to her feet, her face showing a gentle smile.
She reached out and beckoned to the white sable, which immediately scrambled up her body.
"Let's go."
The woman looked at the interaction between Bai Ying and the white sable, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.
As soon as she finished speaking, she took Bai Ying and disappeared into the sky.
"This is..."
Yue Qingxin was so astonished that she couldn't speak.
Could someone tell her if she was dreaming just now?
"Am I not awake yet?" Yue Qingxin said, even patting her own face hard.
"Xinxin, what are you doing?"
Sima Han saw Yue Qingxin's actions and immediately reached out to pull her to his side, touching her face and asking if she was hurt. He said, "If you want to see if you're dreaming, you can just hit me."
Hearing this, Shen Xiaoyan burst into laughter.
This Sima Han could actually say such cheesy words in front of them.
After Sima Han confirmed that Yue Qingxin was alright, he relaxed.
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's laughter, he only then realized what he had just said.
Just as he was about to explain, Lu Taobao had already stood before them.
"Why are you all here?"
Lu Taobao's face was expressionless, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"We came to pick wild fruits, and also to hunt, enjoy the scenery, and have a barbecue." Shen Xiaoyan quickly explained.
"Yes, yes, I can attest to that. We really weren't deliberately peeking or eavesdropping. We actually saw that little sable just now, and thought it was very cute, so we followed it to have a look..." Yue Qingxin also said with a sheepish smile.
"It's just that we didn't catch the white sable, but we saw you instead." Zheng Wei said faintly.
Lu Taobao didn't seem interested in listening to Shen Xiaoyan and the others' explanations. His question earlier seemed to be a statement rather than a question.
Because as Shen Xiaoyan and the others were speaking, he had already wandered off into his thoughts.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others waited for a long time, but he didn't reply. Seeing his absent-minded look, they knew he was definitely thinking about Bai Ying's departure.
However, on this matter, Shen Xiaoyan and the others didn't want to say anything, nor did they want to comfort him.
Everything was his own choice.
Just like just now, he clearly could have asked for clarification and persuaded Bai Ying to stay.
But he did nothing, only saying some irrelevant nonsense.
"We're going to explore the mountains. Are you coming?" Shen Xiaoyan waited a little longer, then chose to ask Lu Taobao.
The precious time shouldn't be wasted like this.
"Yes, didn't you say there was a barbecue earlier? I want to eat too." Lu Taobao finished speaking and took the lead in walking forward.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others exchanged glances. Lu Taobao's reaction was somewhat expected.
The group retraced their steps along the path they came from, and then walked a section into the mountains.
Finally, they hunted a small wild boar, as well as some pheasants and mountain rabbits.
With these wild goods, the group descended the mountain.
Although Shen Xiaoyan had originally intended to explore the mountains thoroughly, seeing Lu Taobao's dazed and dispirited appearance, they had to return earlier together.
Upon reaching the main courtyard, Shen Xiaoyan and the others handed the items to Madam Qu, asking her to find people to help carry them to the side courtyard, clean them, and prepare them for her to cook personally later.
Madam Qu and a few servants took the wild goods and retreated. Only then did Shen Xiaoyan have time to look at Lu Taobao.
She saw him sitting on a stone bench, his thoughts already lost somewhere else.