Chapter 14: First Meeting with Luo Jin'an

The villagers all fell silent unconsciously when they saw the young man standing there, simply because the boy looked too good.

The young man was about fifteen years old, with his hair tied up in a bun with a wooden hairpin. His skin was as white and smooth as porcelain, with thick eyebrows and big eyes under his high forehead. He had a tall and slender figure, and even though he was wearing a green cloth, he could not hide his noble air.

Only the slightly pale lips and the cloak on the boy revealed that the owner of this body was not so healthy.

Looking at the boy's eyes, Xu Nian couldn't help but think of Germany's King Lake, which was always so peaceful and clear.

Luo Jinan remained calm while being stared at by everyone, until he felt an unusually fiery gaze falling on him, and then he moved his eyebrows.

Following his line of sight, he saw a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old. Her features were dirty and could not be clearly seen. When she saw him looking at her, she frowned and nodded.

Luo Jinan found it interesting that the girl was so calm and composed, not showing any embarrassment of being caught.

After hearing Xu Yaozu's story about buying grain, the villagers realized that it was Master Mu's guards who saved Xu Yaozu and preserved the grain, and they became unusually enthusiastic toward the young man.

Especially Wang, if she wasn't afraid of dirtying the boy's clothes with her hands, she would have wanted to pull the boy aside and thank him properly.

Xu Nian couldn't help but sigh as he looked at Wang who was surrounding Master Mu and asking about his well-being. He was afraid that her grandmother had already forgotten about her son.

Although the boy was quite good-looking, Xu Nian looked away after a few glances. She did not forget that her father still had injuries on his body.

She pulled Xu Yaozu and Tian into the cave, took out iodine from her clothes and handed it to Tian.

"Mom, please check my dad's wound. This is the medicine to apply on the wound."

Tian looked at the potion in her hand and asked curiously, "Nian'er, where did you get the potion?"

Without waiting for Xu Nian to answer, Xu Yaozu gently tugged at Tian's sleeve and said, "Qiao Niang, there are too many people here who are gossipy."

Tian then realized where else could Nian'er have gotten it from? It must have been given by the Mountain Goddess. Thinking of this, she quickly clasped her hands together and bowed.

At this time, the villagers accompanied Master Mu into the cave. Tian was afraid that the villagers would ask about the origin of the potion, so she hurriedly stuffed it into her sleeve. Unexpectedly, in the rush, the potion bottle flew out and happened to land at the feet of the young man.

Luo Jin'an's eyes flashed as he looked at the medicine bottle at his feet. The light coming in from the hole just happened to shine on the medicine bottle, allowing him to confirm that it was a black glass bottle.

Luo Jinan picked up the bottle, rubbed it twice in his palm, and then handed it to the girl standing in front of him.

Xu Nian took the medicine bottle and felt the boy's fingers were unusually cold. He looked up at him in surprise. Is this the temperature a living person should have?

Luo Jinan withdrew his hands and clasped them into his wide sleeves, then raised the corners of his mouth in response to the girl's surprised gaze.

"It's just a cold I brought from my mother's womb. It's okay."

Xu Nian nodded embarrassedly. Actually, she didn't really want to know, but she still felt a little sorry in her heart. After all, this Mr. Mu was too much like the image of a young general in movies and TV shows, but it was a pity that his health was not good.

However, the slight regret in Xu Nian's heart disappeared completely by the evening.

"Changsheng, I'm so sorry for what you have done to me today. Please drink more porridge."

"Come on, Changsheng, drink some fish soup. Even though it doesn't taste very good, it can help you replenish your body."

"Brother Changsheng, I'll give you some dates. These are what Xiaoliu hid secretly."

“…”

Xu Nian turned around and drank the pitiful watery porridge in his bowl, not wanting to look at the young man who was being treated like a star by the Xu family.

Although she was grateful to him for saving her father, she felt that this weak boy was definitely not a good person.

Although he was smiling politely, his eyes were calm and expressionless. He was not as humble as he appeared.

He introduced himself as the son of a wealthy businessman named Mu Changsheng. Xu Nian sneered in her heart and did not believe a word he said.

The small-leaf rosewood hairpin on his head was not something a merchant's son could wear, not to mention that he was able to lead Xu Yaozu out of the city smoothly without anyone daring to stop him, which showed that he was not an ordinary person.

However, she did not expose him. No matter what his purpose was, as long as he behaved himself, she would just treat him as the son of a merchant.

Luo Jinan drank the porridge in the bowl slowly, looking at the girl with her back to him, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He found it more and more interesting. From the black colored glass to the green dates that brought life to his body, he intuitively felt that everything was related to that girl.

Xu Nian, who was secretly complaining in his heart, didn't know that he was being targeted.

On the second day, everyone prepared water and continued to set off. It was already September, but it didn't feel cool at all.

Xu Nian looked at the young man strolling leisurely in front of her and felt extremely envious, because she was already sweating profusely, but that person didn't sweat at all.

However, the envied people were indirectly talking about Xu Nian.

"Why are you called Xiao Liuzi?"

Xu Cai looked at his older brother holding his back and thought he was really stupid.

"Of course it's because I'm the sixth child in our family. This is the name my eldest sister gave me."

"Do you like your elder sister very much?"

"Of course, my eldest sister is amazing. She can catch rabbits and fish. The dates that Brother Changsheng ate yesterday were also picked by my eldest sister."

Luo Jinan curled the corners of his mouth, it was exactly as he thought.

"Well, the dates are pretty good. Didn't you go with them to pick them?"

Little Xu Cai didn't understand what Luo Jinan meant and thought that his elder brother was picking on him.

The little guy was confused for a while, but then he remembered what grandma said, that the older brother saved his uncle and was the benefactor of their family.

Then he took out two dates from his lapel and stuffed them into Luo Jinan's hand.

"Brother Changsheng, please eat sparingly. If you finish me, I will be left with nothing."

Luo Jinan's heart softened as he rubbed the warm Qingzao in his hands. The child was indeed innocent.

Luo Jin'an put the dates back into Xu Cai's collar, touched his head, and asked with a smile:

"Can Xiao Liuzi read?"

"I know a few of them. My uncle taught us. Brother Xu Ji learned the fastest and best..."

During the rest of the journey, Luo Jinan chatted with Xiao Liuzi in a casual manner, but did not deliberately try to find out anything.

During the break, Xiao Liuzi came over happily to bring water to Xu Nian, and his little mouth kept chattering, all he talked about was his brother Changsheng.

Xu Nian rolled his eyes and couldn't help muttering, "From now on, don't call me Xiao Liuzi anymore, just call me Lao Liu."

I don't know what kind of magic that person has poured into everyone, but everyone is surrounding him.

"Are you tired of living forever? Have some water. This is boiled water, very clean."

"Yes, sit down and take a rest. It's so hot that it's unbearable without rain or wind."

"Changsheng, don't take Xiao Liuzi with you on the way back. He's very noisy."

Xu Nian would never admit that she was jealous of that person because he took away the family love she had just experienced a few days ago.