Most residents in the southern part of the city were common folk, and dawn seemed to arrive earlier here than in other parts of the city.
At the entrance of the alley stood a steamed bun shop, where milky-white steam rose like billowing clouds, carrying the fragrant aroma of meat.
The first wave of customers passed by at around the same time, stopping at the bun shop. Without needing to say much, the shopkeeper recognized these regulars and greeted them with a smile, "The same as yesterday?"
The regular customer smiled back, "Yes, the same."
The shopkeeper took a blue-white porcelain bowl and deftly grabbed three plump buns, then poured a bowl of tofu pudding. Placing it on the simple table with perfect balance, not a drop of the tofu pudding spilled. "I heard the dock recently received quite a shipment!"
The regular customer replied, "Indeed! So much! We've been moving cargo from dawn till dusk and still can't finish. My back aches every day, and I can barely sleep at night!"
"Get some medicine, Old Zhou has a family secret recipe..."
Three people happened to turn the corner past the bun shop.
Jian Huan unconsciously paused, her footsteps slowing.
Shen Jizhi and Baili Dao, walking ahead, stopped and looked back when they noticed she hadn't kept up.
Shen Jizhi glanced at Baili Dao beside him.
Strangely, though nothing was said, Baili Dao felt the master was signaling him to speak up.
The master had very expressive eyes.
"Miss Jian?"
Jian Huan snapped back to reality and hurried to catch up.
Baili Dao asked, "What's wrong?"
Jian Huan smiled and shook her head, "Nothing." She paused, her expression nostalgic, "There used to be a bun shop next to my home too."
Baili Dao nodded, "Is Miss Jian hungry?" He looked at the bun shop and seriously suggested, "Though we should avoid ordinary food, if Miss Jian really wants to eat, we can buy spirit buns in the north of the city later."
"..." Jian Huan sighed, "No need, the important matters come first."
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi lowered his eyes, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Jian Huan caught sight of it from the corner of her eye and asked, "What are you smiling about?"
Shen Jizhi's smile faded, "Nothing."
Jian Huan frowned, looking at him suspiciously.
She felt his smile was mocking, though she had no proof.
The three continued walking deeper into the alley.
Though Jian Huan had been chatting happily with Baili Dao just moments ago, she fell silent now, her whole being seemed distant and distracted.
Shen Jizhi glanced at her, then looked away, speaking softly, "You're homesick?"
Lost in thoughts of another time and space, Jian Huan suddenly came back to herself, her usually bright eyes hiding barely noticeable melancholy.
She paused, then smiled again, drawing out her words, "Yes..."
The bun shop at her home's alley entrance had really good food; she and her brother both loved ordering xiaolongbao and soy milk there.
Her brother preferred salty soy milk while she liked it sweet, and they would always argue about which version was more popular, making their parents laugh at their squabbles.
That was her daily life before she turned fourteen. Later, as she and her brother grew older and busier with studies, they no longer debated such unsolvable questions over breakfast.
When she crossed over, her parents were healthy, her brother's career was taking off with great opportunities, and her sister-in-law had finally secured a government position. Even without her, they would live well.
Shen Jizhi remained quiet for a moment, lowered his eyes in thought, then slowly comforted her: "You're a grown woman now."
Jian Huan: "...?"
She turned her head to look at his profile bathed in the morning light...
She said earnestly, "Listen, thank you."
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi nodded slightly, not at all modest: "You're welcome."
Jian Huan: "..."
Baili Dao, who had been following closely behind them, frowned deeply.
You're homesick?
You're a grown woman now??
Thank you???
He understood each word individually, but together they made no sense to him.
Was there any connection? How did they jump from homesickness to being a grown woman? And why was Miss Jian thanking Brother Shen?
Wasn't it obvious that Miss Jian was a grown woman? What else could she be??
In stark contrast to the lively neighborhood atmosphere, the Wang household was deathly quiet.
Common families believed in having many children for prosperity, with most households having several kids, but the Wang couple, though in their thirties, had only one child.
They had always struggled to conceive.
The Female Owner, wearing a headscarf and brown cloth clothing, brought her son's personal belongings and handed them to Jian Huan. Her eyes were vacant as she spoke, "The day I gave birth to Niu Niu, the clouds were golden. My mother-in-law said it was a good omen, that Niu Niu would have a great future..."
The Male Owner sat silently on a low stool, smoking a rolled cigarette.
The smoke from the poor-quality tobacco was grayish-black, making the man's face appear even more somber, like crops silently growing in the fields.
Jian Huan accepted the clothes.
Any words would seem hollow at this moment, so she didn't say much. She borrowed a room from the couple, gave some brief instructions, and went in with Shen Jizhi and Baili Dao.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Female Owner had fed the chickens and ducks in the courtyard, and the Male Owner had fed the pigs in the back. When they returned, they saw a blinding flash of light from the bedroom.
The couple exchanged glances, and the Female Owner quickly went to knock on the door: "Miss?"
There was no response from inside.
She carefully pushed open the door to find the room empty.
The courtyard returned to silence, and the Male Owner spoke hoarsely, "They're gone?"
Female Owner: "Yes."
On any other day, this scene would have shocked them both.
But after losing their child, it seemed that even if the sky fell, they wouldn't show much emotional response.
The Female Owner lowered her head, still holding the broken bowl with grain, muttering, "Do you think they can find Niu Niu?"
The Male Owner looked up at the sky and silently shook his head.
He didn't know either.
The chickens and ducks in the courtyard fought over the grain, flapping their wings, pecking at each other's wings and bottoms to protect their food.
Usually, the Female Owner wouldn't give them so much grain, but after some thought, she poured out the remaining grain for them.
She took the empty bowl inside: "Let's eat, then I'll go look around the streets again, see if anyone has seen Niu Niu."
The man put down the empty bucket used for pig feed: "Mm, then I'll search outside the city."
Jian Huan's teleportation array could only cover ten kilometers at a time, so the three of them stopped and rested repeatedly, from dawn to dusk. After eleven teleportations, they landed in a dense forest.
The forest was disturbed by the three uninvited guests, rustling loudly, swaying dramatically in the night, looking like rolling black waves from afar.
A cart driver traveling late on the nearby official road felt a chill, not daring to look closer. He cracked his whip, and his horse neighed and quickened its pace.
The clip-clop of hooves gradually faded away.
The three lay quietly on the leaf-covered ground.
Shen Jizhi was the first to get up.
His face was pale, his fair and delicate features looking like fragile fine jade under the silvery moonlight.
He looked around and walked toward Jian Huan.
Jian Huan lay among the bushes, staring at the starry sky, motionless, her small face deathly pale.
Shen Jizhi bent down, frowning: "Are you alright?"
The starry sky was mostly hidden by the towering tree canopy, and Shen Jizhi's face blocked most of what remained.
Jian Huan felt completely weak, even her hair seemed to lack energy. Her eyes were vacant as she felt her empty dantian, numbly saying, "Not really. I'm out of fuel, completely out of fuel, can't power up anymore."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
Shen Jizhi took out a bottle of Fasting Pills and tossed it to Jian Huan.
Jian Huan glanced at it, then turned her head back, only opening her mouth: "Ah."
Shen Jizhi: "...Can't you take it yourself?"
Jian Huan: "I'm tired."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
What could Shen Jizhi do? Jian Huan had been the one exerting herself all day.
He glanced at Baili Dao, who was half-dead from teleportation sickness, then resigned himself with a slight sigh. The Fasting Pill from the ground returned to his hand.
He took out one pill and precisely tossed it into Jian Huan's mouth.
After eating it, Jian Huan said, "I want another."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
He had no choice but to toss another one.
Jian Huan smacked her lips and finally said, "Your Fasting Pills are tasteless. I prefer grape flavor."
Shen Jizhi sneered, "You're complaining when you have food to eat."
Jian Huan reasoned, "One should have standards when it comes to food. Grape-flavored ones only cost five spirit stones more per bottle."
Shen Jizhi took back the Fasting Pill and said, "I prefer things without flavor."
Jian Huan, who was already eating grapes, replied, "You're just saying that because you can't have any - sour grapes!"
Shen Jizhi: "..."
After swallowing two Fasting Pills, his strength recovered slightly, but he had been drained too much today and his body still felt weak and powerless.
Jian Huan didn't want to get up. She said, "Let's rest here for the night."
After staying up all night yesterday and working all day today, she was truly exhausted.
Shen Jizhi was actually feeling a bit dizzy too, so he agreed without objection: "Alright."
Jian Huan contentedly closed her eyes, folded her hands over her stomach, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Although she had blankets and quilts in her Mustard Seed Pouch, it didn't matter - she could just lie down and sleep on the ground.
Shen Jizhi walked around in a circle, found a tree that looked good, cleared out a space, took out a meditation cushion from his Mustard Seed Pouch and placed it down. He sat on it to meditate while keeping watch through the night.
After quite a while, the neglected Baili Dao struggled to sit up from the ground.
He looked at the sleeping Jian Huan, then at Shen Jizhi who was meditating with closed eyes, and took out a Spirit Recovery Pill from his Mustard Seed Pouch to consume.
After taking it, he recovered most of his strength.
He held the bottle of Spirit Recovery Pills, wanting to ask if Shen Jizhi and Jian Huan needed any.
But Jian Huan was already asleep, and as for Shen Jizhi...
Under the moonlight, he sat there, seeming completely out of place, emanating an aloofness that kept others thousands of miles away.
Never mind, he didn't dare.
Baili Dao silently put the Spirit Recovery Pills back.
