It was a cloudy day, with dark clouds gathering as if it were about to rain. Liuli sat cross-legged where the Bodhi fruit had been buried, looking up at the sky. Her little face scrunched up, and she muttered to herself, "Is it going to rain? Shichan's clothes are still hanging outside... But the mayor's wife will probably bring them in... But he won't have any clean clothes to wear tomorrow..."

She muttered a few words, then looked down at the damp pit in front of her, pouting as she said, "This Bodhi tree is so hard to grow! I water it every day and give it spiritual energy, when will it finally sprout?"

After saying that, Liuli frowned and sighed unhappily, but after a while her face relaxed and a happy smile reappeared, and she even hummed a song softly.

So when Shi Chan heard her carefree singing through the two half-open doors, he paused for a moment, and the deep worry on his face suddenly dissipated.

These days he has been listening to the news brought back by the young people who have returned from outside. Even though these young people have not gone deep into the Central Plains, the news they brought back about the demonic calamity is enough to make his heart more and more worried every day.

They said that the demons, aided by the spirits of hundreds of demon gods, acted arrogantly, destroying righteous sects one after another, killing countless righteous disciples, and even causing ordinary people to suffer greatly from the demonic calamity, making their lives even more difficult than if they were born in a time of war.

Such news was mentioned every day, and even the young people who once thought that Magpie Bridge Town was remote and that the demons would not persecute people here began to worry, because traces of demons could already be found in the city closest to Magpie Bridge Town.

Shi Chan took a deep breath outside the temple, trying to relax his brow and hide any worry that might be showing on his face. He smiled as usual, pushed open the half-closed door, and went inside.

Liuli turned around when she heard the door open and exclaimed in surprise, "Shichan? Why are you here so early today?"

Shi Chan nodded with a smile, and said gently as he walked, "The wooden building is finished, so I've come back."

"Is it finished?" Liuli stood up with a smile and said, "Then I'd like to go and take a look."

Shi Chan was about to walk into the Buddha Hall to get a futon to sit with Liuli for a while when he heard this, so he stopped and said with a smile, "Okay, let's go."

Liuli straightened her clothes, picked up the futon she was sitting on and placed it in the Buddha Hall, then skipped out, took Shichan's arm, and said with a smile, "Let's go."

Shi Chan nodded with a smile, and together with Liuli, they turned and walked out of the temple.

The new wooden building wasn't far from the Holy Monk Temple. Liuli and Shichan walked along the path, chatting and laughing. Liuli looked into the distance and saw that the wooden building was built at the end of the path, nestled against the mountain. It was two stories high and the houses were neat and tidy. A small courtyard was enclosed by a wooden fence about one person high. The courtyard looked like it had just been swept and was very clean.

"What a beautiful wooden house!" Although the wooden house in front of her was no different from any other wooden house in the town, Liuli looked at it with extraordinary surprise, her crescent-shaped eyes sparkling. She turned to Shichan and smiled, "Shichan, this will be our home from now on, right?"

Shi Chan nodded and replied gently, "Yes, this will be our home from now on."

"I love it here!" Liuli let go of Shichan, ran over in a few steps, opened a small gate made of wooden fence, and ran into the courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't big. Liuli ran to the newly built stove under the eaves, pointed at it, turned to look at Shichan who was walking slowly towards her, and said with a smile, "Shichan, I've already learned to cook from the mayor's wife. When we move here, I'll cook for you!"

Before Shi Chan could answer, Liuli turned around, quickly ran to the wooden stairs, climbed the three steps, and went into the house.

He shook his head and chuckled softly, then walked over slowly.