"Meow." At this moment, Ahua in Liuli's arms vaguely opened her eyes. She looked around at the scene around her with her eyes half open and asked in confusion, "Sister, where is this?"

“You’re finally awake, Ahua.” Liuli clicked her tongue and said, “I’ve flown such a long way, and you can really sleep.”

"Meow." Ahua responded lazily and asked, "Sister, where are Young Master Li and the others?"

Liuli pouted and said, "They're still in Yingyang City. They may be willing to stay cooped up, but I'm not."

As they talked, they arrived at the village. When the villagers saw the young men returning with a cartload of grain, they swarmed around them, asking all at once, "Are you really bringing back the grain?"

"Did the Northern Rong bandits really provide food?"

"How is that possible?"

"..."

After confirming that the bags on the truck were indeed grain, everyone was filled with gratitude and knelt down one after another, saying, "Thank you, young Master Shichan!"

"The young monk is truly compassionate, a reincarnation of a living Buddha!"

"Thank you, young master, for saving my life!"

"..."

Upon seeing this, Shi Chan quickly helped everyone up and said gently, "Please don't be so polite. It is the Buddha's compassion that saves suffering beings. It is my duty. I only regret that I cannot help you more. I can only ask for this cart of grain to help you in your time of need."

An elderly man who looked rather old said gratefully, "Young master, please don't say that. With this cart of grain, the villagers can get through a while. Once things settle down, the young men in the village can hunt some game and chop some firewood to exchange for some grain in the city, and they will be able to get through this lean season."

"That's good." Shi Chan felt somewhat relieved.

"It's getting late, young master, you should go and rest. I'll come and call you for dinner when the villagers have prepared it." The old man's gaze shifted to Liuli, and he asked in surprise, "And who is this young lady?"

Shi Chan glanced at Liuli with gentle eyes and replied softly, "Her name is Liuli, and she is my friend."

The old man nodded and said, "The villagers have prepared a room. Young Master and Miss Liuli, please go and rest."

“Alright.” Shi Chan shook his head and said, “But village chief, there’s no need to call me and Miss Liuli to eat. We have already abstained from grains and don’t need to eat anything anymore.”

The old man nodded and said, "Alright, Xiao Feng, you should take Master Shi Chan and Miss Liu Li to rest."

A young man called out in response and ran over, smiling, "Master Shichan, Miss Liuli, please come with me."

“Alright.” Shi Chan nodded, then turned to look at Liu Li and smiled, “Let’s go, young lady.”

Liuli smiled and nodded, "Yes."

"By the way," the old man suddenly said as Liuli and Shichan were about to leave, "I wonder if young Master Shichan and Miss Liuli need to stay separately? If so, I can prepare another room in a villager's house."

Shi Chan paused for a moment, about to reply, when Liu Li spoke up, smiling, "No need, I still want to have a good talk with the little monk."

The old man looked at Shi Chan and remained silent. He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's fine too. Anyway, there are several rooms in that courtyard. The young master and the young lady should be able to find enough room."

Shi Chan knew the old man meant well, fearing it wouldn't look good for a monk to be seen with a young woman. He also knew he should live separately from Liuli, but for some reason, he was extremely reluctant to part with her. Well, as the old man said, as long as he lived in a separate room from Liuli, it wouldn't be considered breaking his vow.

"Yes." Shi Chan nodded and said gently, "Thank you, Village Chief."

The young man led Shi Chan and Liuli deeper into the village. As they walked, the young man turned to Shi Chan and said with a smile, "Master Shi Chan, may I trouble you with something?"

Shi Chan replied gently, "Please don't be so polite, benefactor. Please speak."

The young man smiled and said, "My mother has always been a Buddhist, but she doesn't understand many of the scriptures very well. If you have the time, young master, could you explain the scriptures and Buddhist teachings to my mother?"

“Alright!” Shi Chan readily agreed. He said gently, “In a little while, I will copy all the Buddhist scriptures and leave them in the village. Also, tomorrow morning I will hold a sermon. You can tell the villagers that anyone who is interested can come and listen to my sermon.”

The young man nodded emphatically and said, "Very well, then I will thank Master Shi Chan on behalf of the villagers!"

Shi Chan shook his head and said, "You're too kind, benefactor."

The young man led Shi Chan and Liuli to a small house deep in the village, greeted them, and then left.

It was already dark by then. Shi Chan searched through the rooms in the courtyard but found no writing brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones. He then greeted Liu Li and went out to look for these items.

Liuli didn't go out with Shichan. She wandered back and forth among the houses in the courtyard, curiously looking at the furnishings inside.

The courtyard was built of adobe bricks, and its furnishings were extremely simple. There were only three rooms in total, and each room contained only a wooden bed, or perhaps a table and a few chairs. It was very simple.

So after wandering around for a while, Liuli lost interest. She moved a chair and sat down next to the well in the courtyard, waiting listlessly for Shichan to return.

After a while, Shi Chan returned carrying a roll of paper, a pen, and an inkstone.

"Little monk!" Liuli, who had been watching the ants crawling on the ground by the dim moonlight, looked up when she heard the sound, and a happy smile immediately bloomed on her face. She said with a smile, "You're back?"

Shi Chan smiled gently and said, "Haven't you rested yet, young lady?"

"I'm not sleepy." Liuli ran up to Shichan with Ahua in her arms and said with a big smile, "Little monk, you're back now, so please talk to me for a while. I haven't talked to you in so long."

Shi Chan looked troubled and said with difficulty, "I'm really sorry, young lady, but I have to copy Buddhist scriptures, so I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you company."

"Ah..." Liuli frowned, drawing out her words with displeasure, "Couldn't you have copied the Buddhist scriptures when it's light tomorrow? It's so dark now, how are you going to copy them?"

Shi Chan smiled gently and said, "This humble monk cannot stay in the village for too long. After recounting the events tomorrow, I will leave here to go to the next place where the Northern Rong army passes through. I can only transcribe Buddhist scriptures tonight."

"Oh..." Liuli pouted and thought for a while, then her eyes lit up again, and she said excitedly, "Little monk, then I'll help you copy it!"

“Alright.” Shi Chan nodded and smiled, “If you are willing to transcribe Buddhist scriptures, that would be wonderful.”

"Sister." Ahua looked up at Liuli's excited little face and said lazily, "Then I'll go to sleep first."

"Okay." Liuli nodded, put Ahua on the ground, and smiled, "Then you go to sleep first, Ahua, I'll be back in a bit."

"Meow." Ah Hua responded and ran lightly towards the houses to the north.