By the time the group arrived at the village, the sun had completely set, leaving only a few orange rays on the horizon.

The farmer, carrying a hoe, urged his cattle and sheep back down the hill. Upon seeing these unfamiliar faces, he picked up his hoe with some wariness.

"Uncle, hello. We are wandering cultivators on our way to the south. It's late and we haven't found a place to stay. Could we come into the village and ask for lodging?"

The old man, whose face was covered in wrinkles, carefully examined the three people. Seeing that they were indeed dressed in the robes of wandering cultivators and looked quite young—two women and one man—the old man's suspicions lessened somewhat.

"Since you are an immortal, please come with me if you don't mind! My children are away from home, and I happen to have an extra room."

"Then I'll have to bother you!" Yan Chenghuan bowed, looking like a very endearing young man, and the old man's wariness quickly dissipated.

"I don't know whose disciples these immortals are. My children are also clamoring to cultivate immortality, but I'm just an old man who doesn't know anything about it."

"We are all independent cultivators and have not yet formally joined a sect."

"Oh, a rogue cultivator!" The old man didn't say anything more, but led a few people into the village.

As night fell, many children ran around the village. Calls to children to come home for dinner rang out, while lonely houses kept their gates closed, remaining silent. Everything seemed peaceful and serene.

A child was running forward humming a nursery rhyme when he accidentally bumped into an old man's arms. The old man lovingly helped the child up, saying, "Little Tiger, slow down."

"The moon is clear, the stars are bright, children return home late to the mountains and forests, to the mountains and forests, to the river..."

The nursery rhyme in Xiaohu's mouth stopped abruptly. The child who had bumped into Uncle Ran looked up at the old man, squeezed out of his arms, and backed away apologizing, "Uncle Ran, I'm sorry! Uncle Ran, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright, you can go now!"

Upon hearing this, Little Tiger ran off like the wind. The nursery rhyme he was humming was abruptly cut short in the wind.

Zhang Xu watched as Xiao Hu's figure disappeared through a closed fence gate before turning back and continuing to walk forward with Old Man Ran.

Old Man Ran's house was at the very edge of the village. As soon as he got home, he put down his hoe and shouted inside, "Old woman, we have a guest!"

The person who opened the door was an elderly woman with all white hair. When she saw the group, her smile was so kind that every wrinkle on her face revealed her kindness.

"Excuse me!" The group of people were handsome and polite. Granny Ran smiled even more gently: "It's alright. I didn't know we had guests coming. We didn't prepare any food. I'll go cook a few more dishes."

Old Man Ran invited the group to sit down before going to the kitchen to help.

Zhang Xu carefully examined the simple farmhouse. Simple farm tools hung on the mud-brick walls. Inside, there was a simple table, and a cotton and linen curtain blocked the view from the inner room.

Zhang Xu sighed and sat down on the bench. Yan Chenghuan thoughtfully wiped the bench and poured water for Rong Yue. Zhang Xu pursed her lips and continued to focus on the furnishings in the room.

"There's not much food, so we'll have to ask the guests to bear with us," said Aunt Ran, carrying out a large bowl of steamed buns.

Uncle Ran also brought out several plates of vegetarian dishes.

The group had traveled all day and were exhausted and hungry, but they didn't care about that. After arriving in Wanxie, they joined the two elderly people for a meal. Outside, the night was deep, but inside, the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

As the stars in the sky became more numerous, a few suppressed sobs echoed through the thick darkness outside.

Seeing that the people in front of them were getting sleepy, the elderly couple prepared water for washing their feet and made up beds for them to rest. When they heard the even breathing coming from inside the room, the two elderly people exchanged a glance and showed a seemingly relaxed expression.

The two elderly people tiptoed out, but when they reached the village entrance, they suddenly became incredibly fast.