In the twelfth year of the Chen Kingdom's calendar, Rong Bing's mischief led to the appearance of a Hou, which had been cultivating for several years, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the capital. King Rong Li of Lingnan ascended the throne amidst the crisis and saved the people from suffering.

In September of that year, heavy rains fell, and the drought that had been hanging over the heads of the people of Chen finally came to an end.

High on the mountain, amidst overlapping clouds and mist, birds chirped softly among the layers of peaks, and mountain streams murmured. A shepherd boy rode a yellow ox and played a long flute as he slowly approached from the end of the mountain road.

Unlike the extravagant and luxurious style of royal families, the Lingnan Prince's Mansion exudes elegance and tranquility, resembling the secluded mountain of a cultivation sect.

"In the capital of Chen, there are no Taoist practitioners. But in this remote Lingnan, everyone is practicing Taoism. When a child is born, they are tested for talent as soon as the child is a month old, hoping to join a powerful sect later. Here, there are not only emperors, but also immortals."

"The atmosphere is fantastic!"

Zhang Xu picked up the conversation and sighed.

“Perhaps it’s because of our proximity to the State of Chu, where everyone cultivates immortality. The atmosphere here is naturally more intense.” Yan Chenghuan said, picking up a leaf beside him and looking at the layered mountain valleys in the distance. “I haven’t seen this scenery for many years.”

Yan Chenghuan went to the State of Chen as a hostage at the age of five and has not returned for eight years. It's remarkable that he was so young back then and still remembers the scenery here. However, they have been here for over a month, and there is no sign that Yan Chenghuan is going to leave. Wasn't he supposed to go to the State of Chu?

As if guessing what Zhang Xu was thinking, Yan Chenghuan looked at her and smiled, "What? You're so eager to come home with me?"

Zhang Xu rolled her eyes at him. Only after spending more time with him did she realize that he was a multifaceted person, sometimes gloomy, sometimes cheerful, sometimes gentle, and sometimes irritable. Now he was even joking with her.

"Didn't you say you were going to the State of Chu? I've been stuck in this mountain with you for so long, it's so boring!"

Although Yan Chenghuan was mostly trapped, his survival skills in the wild were not bad. They had been staying in the mountains for nearly a month, observing the Lingnan Prince's Mansion. Although they didn't know exactly what they were observing, Zhang Xu wouldn't go hungry or cold for the next month or so. Life in the mountains was fun for a day or two, but for dozens of days it would be torture. How could Zhang Xu, with her background in modern, prosperous life, endure the loneliness of the mountains that had lasted for decades?

“The people from Yu Qingshan have never come out of the Lingnan Prince’s Mansion. Aren’t you curious?”

"Curiosity killed the cat. I'm not curious."

Once the system announced that her storyline had fallen apart and there would be no more scripts, Zhang Xu completely let loose, not caring about what lay ahead.

"Rong Yue, you didn't leave. Aren't you curious?" Yan Chenghuan tilted his head, a gentle breeze lifting the bangs at his temples, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Don't you know that there's a different person inside this 'Xuxu' shell? Why are you asking me this kind of question?"

Yan Chenghuan stood on a branch with her arms crossed, her ponytail billowing in the wind. "I thought that you had a deep relationship with her because you risked your life to save her several times, but now it seems that's all there is to it."

"Of course, I'm a very detached person when it comes to emotions," Zhang Xu said, pursing her lips.

Yan Chenghuan smiled and looked down, then turned his gaze back to the path leading into the mountains from the Lingnan Prince's Mansion: "Someone is coming out."

Zhang Xu pushed aside the leaves obscuring her view and saw figures moving intermittently along the mountain path amidst the layers of mountains. It looked like a long procession was emerging.

Since their last parting, Yan Chenghuan had been hiding in the mountains with her, keeping watch. In the past few days, apart from the King of Lingnan taking a group of entourage to the capital, no one had been seen coming out. This was the second time in the past month that people had been seen coming out, and quite a few of them.