Blink.
Two years later.
Yuanbao is sixteen years old.
On that day, Xiao Xuan sent someone to pick him up and take him back.
The group stood on the hilltop, reluctantly bidding farewell to Yuanbao.
Yi Cheng and his friends also prepared several burlap sacks containing various medicinal herbs, roasted chicken with grapes, roasted rabbit, and some bottles and jars of "candy"...
"Yuanbao, take these tender vegetables with you for the journey, don't go hungry."
"Mmm, Yuanbao, I also packed you a whole sack of grapes. They're big and sweet, and they'll be delicious."
"Squeak, I also packed a bag of carrots for you, but the carrots are too big; one bag is only big enough for one carrot."
Yi Cheng blinked her little eyes.
The chubby boy stared with wide eyes.
The black rabbit scratched its ears.
Da Mei also sent many things, all of which were her paintings, recording the process of Yuanbao growing from a plump little boy into a strong and robust big boy.
Yuanbao loved these paintings very much and treasured them like precious gems.
"Don't worry, little junior sister, I won't go hungry."
"Thank you also to Aunt Mei, Aunt Xiao Pang, and Uncle Black Rabbit for the gifts."
"Don't worry, I'll come back to visit you often."
"Grandmaster, Martial Uncle Changsheng, Junior Martial Aunt, Aunt Damei, Aunt Xiaopang, Uncle Black Rabbit, Uncle Dabao, and Sister Yunyan, Yuanbao is leaving. Take care."
Yuanbao, carrying several burlap sacks, waved goodbye to everyone with reluctance.
Then we boarded a ferry and slowly sailed into the clouds.
"Yuanbao, you need to eat your fill!"
Yi Cheng stood on tiptoe and shouted from the top of the mountain.
"I will, little aunt."
Yuanbao responded from the bow of the boat.
Then Little Fatty and Black Rabbit called out a few times, saying things like, "Eat more food. If you run out of food, come back and we'll give you some. Remember to bring us more good food next time you come back..."
Yuanbao was very patient, standing at the bow of the ship responding to each question, and even deliberately made the spaceship fly slowly, moving like a snail over the mountain.
They tried to move it for half an hour but still couldn't get it out of the hilltop area.
In the end, Qin Shou waved his hand, sending a wisp of breeze away, and the spaceship departed.
"Sigh, Yuanbao's gone."
Yi Cheng craned her neck to look, and only when the shadow was out of sight did she plop down on the ground, dejected and sighing.
Yi Cheng's heart is pure. She has been playing with Yuan Bao since he was a child. Yuan Bao is very well-behaved and obedient. He always supports her. But now he suddenly says that he is leaving without any prior notice. Yi Cheng is a little reluctant to part with him, just like she is always reluctant to part with her senior sister.
But Master said that everyone has their own things to do, and we should respect their decisions. Forcing them to stay is not for their own good. This applies to Senior Sister and Yuanbao as well.
But in Yi Cheng's worldview, wouldn't it be better to stay on the mountain and have food to eat every day?
My master sometimes even plays games with me.
But little Yi Cheng could never understand that in addition to having their own ambitions, people also have social responsibilities and family life to bear.
"Master, why is Yuanbao growing so fast?"
Yi Cheng tilted her little head up to look at Qin Shou, a hint of sadness in her small eyes.
Look, those two sparse little eyebrows are almost twisted into a rope.
"Master, you said if Yuanbao grows slower, can we leave later?"
"Sigh, it's all the goose's fault; they usually feed him too much meat."
Yi Cheng felt a little guilty.
Qin Shou patted her head and chuckled, "Yuanbao is just going home to see his parents. It's not like he's never coming back."
"And when he comes back next time, he'll definitely bring you lots of delicious food."
"Master, when will Yuanbao be back?"
"Don't worry, it'll be quick."
Yes, time flies by on the mountain; it passed quickly as Yi Cheng played around.
"All right. "
Yi Cheng raised her little head, then held hands with Xiao Pang and Hei Tu and went down the mountain.
"Yicheng, where are you going?"
Qin Shou asked from behind.
"Master, Goose, Little Fatty, and Black Rabbit, go catch some dinner."
Yi Cheng turned around and said, "We need to catch more geese today to fill the void of sorrow. Master, you should eat more too, right?"
"Heh."
Qin Shou chuckled and nodded, saying, "Alright, then catch more. Your master needs to fill his sorrows too."
"Mmm, let's go!"
Yi Cheng raised Little Fatty and Black Rabbit's hands and called out.
However, his voice today was not as energetic, loud, and powerful as it used to be.
Watching Yi Cheng and the others leave, Qin Shou turned back to Chang Sheng and said:
"Disciple, have you had any questions about your cultivation lately? Would you like your master to answer them for you?"
"No, Master."
Changsheng shook his head decisively, while confidently stating, "Master, I feel full of energy; I'm not far from the Foundation Establishment Realm."
"You said the same thing twenty years ago."
Qin Shou rolled his eyes at him.
"Hehe, this time I feel it's real, there's no mistake."
Changsheng gave an awkward laugh.
He waved his hand and said:
"Master, I'm going back to cultivate."
Then, we walked towards the back of the mountain.
Luo Yunyan went to practice her swordsmanship on the cliff again.
Da Mei set up her small drawing board and sat on the hilltop, painting the scene of Yuan Bao's departure: a spaceship crossed the sea of clouds and flew away, Yuan Bao stood at the bow of the ship and waved goodbye reluctantly, and below the sea of clouds, there was a hilltop with many people waving goodbye.
As dawn breaks, clouds and mist rise, reflecting the brilliant bloom of peach blossoms covering the mountains, exhaling the breath of spring.
After Yuanbao left.
Peaceful times returned to the mountain.
Every morning, Yi Cheng and her friends would go on patrols of the mountain, return for lunch, and then lie under the eaves to bask in the sun. In the afternoon, they would play games and sometimes go to play with the many little brothers down the mountain. Occasionally, they would ask Qin Shou for a script so they could rehearse a large-scale situational drama in the Grand Canyon, bringing together the Thirteen Demons and many other monsters she had subdued down the mountain to rehearse together.
When the sunset is magnificent, we would bring out a long bench, and several little heads would sit neatly on it to watch the sunset together.
It took at least half an hour to see.
Sometimes Qin Shou was curious about how this little guy could be so patient watching the sunset.
Yi Cheng said that her senior sister likes to watch the sunset, and she wants to watch all the sunsets for her and tell her about them when her senior sister comes back.
And so, life on the mountain continued peacefully and serenely, joyfully and...happily.
...
In the blink of an eye, March has passed once again.
"The first day Yuanbao left..."
"The day after Yuanbao left..."
"It's been three days since Yuanbao left..."
On this sunny day, after finishing their meal, Yi Cheng and the others sat in the courtyard, each holding a flower petal, counting how many days Yuanbao had been gone.
After Yuanbao left, this became one of their essential after-dinner activities.
They were all wondering how long it would take for Yuanbao to return.
Little Fatty has been guessing for three days and has already lost.
Black Rabbit guessed for ten days and still lost.
As for Yi Cheng, she guessed for many, many days.
Little Fatty and Black Rabbit asked her how many days it was, and Yi Cheng said she didn't know. She could only count a limited number of days, and the time she guessed exceeded the number she could count.
Little Fatty and Black Rabbit asked her why she had to guess so far ahead.
Yi Cheng said that Si Wu had also been gone for a long time before returning, and her senior sister had been gone even longer, so she guessed that the timeline was too far ahead.
"snort. "
Little Fatty and Black Rabbit didn't buy it, thinking that Yi Cheng was just being unreasonable.
"All right. "
I spent a year guessing the last orange.
Because she knew there were twelve months in a year and thirty days in a month, but she couldn't calculate how many days were in a year.
The Qin beast said, "There are 365 days in a year."
Yi Cheng then shouted, "Then I'll guess 365 days!"
Yi Cheng had just finished speaking.
Qin Shou then received a letter.
He unfolded the letter in his hand. The letter was about Yuanbao's coming-of-age ceremony and invited Qin Shou to attend and, incidentally, to crown Yuanbao.
The coming-of-age ceremony at sixteen is a very important ritual, signifying a boy's transition from childhood to adulthood.
During the coming-of-age ceremony, a man receives blessings from his parents and elders in the clan, and is also given a courtesy name by the eldest member of the family.
Xiao Xuan's clan was wiped out. After all the calculations, Qin Shou was the closest and oldest among them, and should be the one with the highest seniority.
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