Late at night, in the small courtyard behind the government office.
Everything around was silent, except for the sound of chirping from the big tree outside the study not far away.
Lin Ji and Zhong Xiaoyan were sitting back-to-back next to the garden. On the other side of the garden, there was a barbecue grill that had not been cleared away.
There is still a bit of cumin smell in the air.
In the afternoon, Lin Ji took Zhong Xiaoyan to get acquainted with Aling and Lianyu, and then cooked a barbecue in the small courtyard.
Simple yet lively.
After the show, Lin Ji rejected Lianyu's plan to clean up the scene. Instead, he and Zhong Xiaoyan were alone in the garden, talking about their current situation after breaking up.
"So during the time I was in seclusion, you experienced so many things and went to so many places." Zhong Xiaoyan said with a bit of regret in her tone.
As soon as she came out of seclusion, she heard about Lin Ji becoming the official of Sanpin Town.
She couldn't understand why she was left far behind by Lin Ji even though she had worked hard enough, a thousand times harder than before.
"If possible, I don't want to go through this." Lin Ji chuckled, looking at the bright moon in the sky, feeling the warmth of Zhong Xiaoyan's body coming from his back.
He felt extremely peaceful for a long time.
"At the beginning, I just wanted to have some ability to protect myself, earn some money to buy a house, marry a wife and have a baby, and live an ordinary life."
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
"No future." Zhong Xiaoyan curled her lips, "Why should the house be bigger? Is just one child enough?"
"I thought you were going to say that I was wasting my talent, or that I had no ambition or something."
"I used to think so."
"what about now?"
Zhong Xiaoyan was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed.
"What are you sighing for?"
"I don't feel anything when I'm separated from you, and I don't feel anything when I think of you occasionally when I'm in retreat."
While saying this, Zhong Xiaoyan turned sideways and looked at Lin Ji.
"Even...I rushed to Weizhou as soon as I got out of seclusion. I just heard about your recent situation. I wanted to know if your cultivation has improved greatly, and whether I have a chance to catch up with you again. .”
"Then what?" Lin Ji asked.
"It was only after I met you and took over the bunch of candied haws that you handed over that the hawthorns were not fresh enough and the sugar coating was too sweet that I suddenly realized the so-called feeling of longing."
Hearing this, Lin Ji's face moved slightly, and his heart felt a little turbulent.
"This is not something you would say, coy and girlish." Lin Ji teased, pretending to be calm.
"If you don't be more calm, your thoughts will be captured by that Miss Lu." Zhong Xiaoyan said calmly.
"Will not."
Zhong Xiaoyan pursed her lips and said nothing more.
"So what are you going to do after coming to Victoria?" Lin Ji abruptly changed the subject, "Work as an errand in the Tiantian Division? Or practice on your own. Anyway, you are by my side, and I can take care of whatever you do."
"I am also a nocturnal monk. Why do I sound like a little girl who doesn't understand anything in your mouth?" Zhong Xiaoyan was a little dissatisfied with Lin Ji's tone.
Seeing that Lin Ji remained silent, Zhong Xiaoyan was also a little confused and continued:
"I don't know. When I came out, I thought about doing chivalry and continuing my great cause of becoming famous in the world. Who would have thought about walking away for a few days, but I lost my mind."
Lin Ji smiled and said, "I still remember when we first met, you were disguised as a man."
"Don't mention it." Zhong Xiaoyan covered her face.
It was only a year before and after, but Lin Ji clearly felt that Zhong Xiaoyan's changes were earth-shaking.
After a retreat, it seems that even his personality has matured a lot.
"Anyway, think about it for yourself. My aunt hopes that you will achieve something in the future. You are the only direct descendant of the Zhong family, and the family is counting on you to become a Taoist in the future."
"Entering the Tao..."
"What, no confidence?"
"If it were before, this girl would not even take the mere entry into the Tao in her eyes."
"What about now?"
"I almost don't dare to hope." Zhong Xiaoyan lowered her head slightly, and her voice became a little dull, "Lin Ji... do you know?"
"what do you know?"
"The reason why I was able to break through to the night travel realm during this retreat is because I took shortcuts in my eagerness for quick success and almost exhausted Li Huo's bloodline. I'm afraid my cultivation will stop at day travel in the future."
Lin Ji's expression froze.
Of course he knew this, Mrs. Zhong said it herself.
But didn’t Mrs. Zhong say that Zhong Xiaoyan didn’t know about this situation?
Zhong Xiaoyan continued: "I was eager for success at the time. I realized something was wrong only after the success was achieved, but it was already too late. There was no turning back."
"Do your uncles and aunts know?"
"I don't know. I didn't tell them because I was afraid they would be disappointed." Zhong Xiaoyan shook her head slightly.
Hearing this, Lin Ji reached out and grabbed Zhong Xiaoyan's hand.
He gently rubbed her fingertips with his fingers, trying to provide some comfort.
"There will be a way."
"I hope so."
Lin Ji couldn't tell Zhong Xiaoyan about Mrs. Zhong's plan. After all, she was refining the flesh and blood of her ancestors, so it was better to keep it a secret.
Looking up at the sky, the moon was already setting, and there was a misty white light in the far distance in the east.
"It's getting dark, it's time to rest."
"You, a dignified monk who travels for a day, also feel sleepy?"
"Sleeping is a beautiful thing, and it is as important as delicious food."
Hearing this, Zhong Xiaoyan smiled.
"You still have so many lies. I'm going back to my room."
After the words fell, Zhong Xiaoyan stood up, smiled at Lin Ji, and walked into the room next to Lin Ji's wing.
Just before Zhong Xiaoyan closed the door, Lin Ji asked, "Xiaoyan, I'm afraid of the dark."
winter!
Lin Ji responded with the sound of Zhong Xiaoyan slamming the door without hesitation.
...
Two hundred miles south of Jade City.
In front of Luofengpo, Luoxia County.
Zhong Lei knocked on the door of the county government office with a grimace on his face.
"I'm here to report. I'm a demon hunter from Yucheng."
After listening to Zhong Lei's words, the yamen servant quickly got out of the way and entered the yamen facing Zhong Lei.
However, the Luoxia County Government Office was very deserted. After Zhong Lei was led to the side hall to sit down, no one came to look after him for a long time.
"Brother, why is there no one in the county government office?" Zhong Lei asked.
"The county magistrate is ill in bed, and the yamen's chief, Chen Qi, has gone into the mountains with the rest of his demon lords." The yamen officer replied, "A few days ago, there was an evil spirit in the county, and we just got some clues, so Chen Qi The boss then took people to run errands."
"Oh? Is there an evil spirit? How long have you been hunting the head?"
"One day and one night."
"If you haven't returned home all day and night, it must be because the evil spirits are difficult to deal with, and the head catcher is in trouble." Zhong Lei became interested.
"Where is Mr. Chen going?"
"It's Luofengpo outside the county, which is only more than thirty miles away."
"Okay, I'll go there right away!" Zhong Lei laughed loudly, raised his legs and walked towards the outside of the Yamen.
As a dignified monk of the Zhong family, he couldn't really start as a demon hunter.
This time, the trouble that even the arrests couldn't solve was solved. If the matter is reported back to Yucheng, my brother-in-law should take a good look at him, right?
When the time comes, let’s not say too much, a Yuxing official will always be able to get in.
