In addition, it was the village chief's birthday, and the villagers, who greatly respected teachers and valued education, used the excuse of holding a birthday banquet for the village chief to properly thank this lady from out of town.
“Uncle, today is a big day for the village. Many children will be taking on apprentices, and everyone is quite happy. No one should mind if you eat and drink for free,” the dark-faced boy said earnestly.
"Thank you... thank you..." Xu Chen smiled awkwardly, turning his gaze to the bustling crowd.
"Da Niu, Uncle caught a snake, so it shouldn't count as eating and drinking for free."
Darkface glanced at the tiger on the ground and nodded. "Uncle, this snake...?"
"You can take it, I don't need it." Xu Chen waved his hand, glanced at the boys who were very happy to have obtained the tiger, and smiled.
Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in Xu Chen's mind, "Hello, fellow Daoist."
"Hello... Hmm?!" Xu Chen looked around but didn't find anything unusual. Was it just a hallucination caused by his head being squeezed by the spatial turbulence and not yet returning to normal?
“Look, look at the children.”
Xu Chen turned his head and saw many children respectfully kneeling before a... young girl?! Xu Chen rubbed his eyes; this world was a bit beyond his comprehension. However, what did "fellow Daoist" mean? Xu Chen suddenly keenly sensed the key point in her words: was this seemingly ordinary girl also a cultivator?
Lin Youshuang glanced at the stunned Xu Chen, covered her mouth and smiled, then regained her composure and continued to complete the various rituals and etiquette while chatting with Xu Chen.
"Fellow Daoist? You are also a cultivator?" Xu Chen asked bluntly.
"Yes, you wouldn't have guessed, would you, fellow Daoist?"
Xu Chen nodded, a hint of seriousness flashing across his face. This girl either had a superb ability to conceal her aura, or her cultivation level was exceptionally high.
After the apprenticeship ceremony, everyone relaxed, ate rice and vegetables, drank heavily, and dreamed together that their children would pass the imperial examinations and become high-ranking officials.
After a hearty meal, Xu Chen left the crowd and went alone to the outskirts of the village. He found a tree to sleep under for the night and planned to leave the next day. Unexpectedly, not long after he fell asleep, the girl he had met during the day who had been accepted as his disciple suddenly appeared beside him.
"Hello, my name is Lin Youshuang."
"Hello, my name is Xu Chen."
The two shook hands. Lin Youshuang glanced at Xu Chen curiously, then asked, "You're not from our planet, are you?" "Indeed not." Xu Chen didn't ask how she knew. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell.
"Um, young lady, how did you come up with the idea of becoming a private tutor in a mortal village?"
“I need to earn money to feed my stomach. I love good food, and I can't break that habit even during my fasting period.” Lin Youshuang smiled and continued, “And you, this village, even this planet, is very remote. What made you come here?”
Xu Chen glanced speechlessly at the girl in front of him. "I encountered a bit of an accident and ended up here."
"Fate, can you tell me about the outside world?" Lin Youshuang grew up under the protection of her grandfather and the Danhe Sect. But strangely, she did not agree with her grandfather and others' idea of living in seclusion. She longed for the outside world. After a big fight with her grandfather, she went out on her own and looked for a job.
Xu Chen nodded. It was quite a coincidence that such a beautiful young woman was keeping him company during the long night.
As the two chatted, dawn suddenly broke. For the next month, Xu Chen stayed in the village, helping the villagers with whatever he could.
One evening, Xu Chen returned to the spaceship and touched the dent in the hull; it had almost completely disappeared. He turned back to the village and told Lin Youshuang about his intention to return to the sect.
"What? You're leaving? When?"
"Tomorrow, thank you for keeping me company these past few days, Miss Lin."
When the children nearby heard Xu Chen say he was leaving, they all looked reluctant to see him go. "Uncle, are you going home?"
"Uncle, don't go! Here's a rabbit leg for you." A chubby little girl handed a rabbit leg to Xu Chen. Xu Chen patted the little girl's head and said softly, "Uncle, I have something to do at home. I'll come back to see everyone when I have time. Remember to listen to your mother at home."
"Can we not leave?" Lin Youshuang asked earnestly. This period of time was the happiest she had ever experienced in hundreds of years. This little brother had given her a lot of joy and companionship, a kind of companionship that no elder could provide.
"Miss Lin, I really should go now," Xu Chen said helplessly. If he didn't return to the sect, he would probably be confined again. Unable to bear looking at Lin Youshuang and the children's eyes, Xu Chen hurriedly turned and left.
Perhaps because of his sadness, Xu Chen walked slowly after leaving the village and arrived near the spaceship. When he got there, he found Lin Youshuang squatting next to the spaceship, slapping it with her hand. After doing her bad deed, Lin Youshuang subconsciously looked around and found the person who was smiling at her.
"A man who is hundreds of years old is still doing bad things that only children would do."
"No, I'm just enjoying the evening breeze." Lin Youshuang took a step, as if trying to teleport away.
"Hmm, let's enjoy the evening breeze and smash my ship while we're at it." Xu Chen teased her as he walked into the spaceship, only to find that the ship's hull had a large hole dented inward.
"How about that? I'm pretty good, right? I just struck you with a palm strike, and there wasn't even a sound." Lin Youshuang blinked her beautiful big eyes, as if to say to Xu Chen, "If you want to leave, I can silently smash your spaceship to pieces."
"You Shuang." Xu Chen looked at the dent in the hull and suddenly felt very happy.
"Hmm." Lin Youshuang was stunned for a moment when she heard Xu Chen call her name so affectionately for the first time.
"Thank you."
As a genius, in the more than seventy years that Xu Chen cultivated to the late Core Formation stage (having consumed spiritual blood, nearly reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and suppressing it back to the late Core Formation stage with all his might), some were jealous of him, some cared for him, some wanted him dead, and some hoped he would stay true to his original aspirations. But no one had ever expressed such fervent, yet uniquely special, emotions to him as Lin Youshuang. At this moment, she didn't want him to leave; she was the spoiled young lady of the Danhe Sect. At this moment, he was willing to accept this warm yet uniquely spoiled feeling, a traveler who had wandered here and remained because of her.
"Xu Chen, I was wrong. I shouldn't have smashed this...this ship. Please don't do this, I'm scared." Lin Youshuang, with her long legs, walked to Xu Chen's side and tugged at his arm, trying to get him to "return to normal."
"You're such a silly girl. I'm not talking to you anymore. I have to help water the village plants tomorrow. I'm going back to sleep."
Lin Youshuang watched Xu Chen's departing figure, a hint of tenderness flashing in her beautiful eyes, "You're a silly boy too."
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