Because Xiao Ran was called away by Senior Hu Bugui, only Xia Xiao and A Zhu followed Li Lunming to the Nine-story Senran Tower this time. Although Xiao Ran was a little unhappy, she just agreed and didn't throw a tantrum. She felt that Senior Hu Bugui was creating opportunities for Xia Xiao and A Zhu, but this was indeed convenient.

After returning to the dormitory and packing up their things, Xia Xiao and Azhu waited for their senior. When they arrived, they left the town together, walked across the meadow, and left from the square at the foot of the mountain. With great anticipation in their hearts, they arrived at the small mountain village beside the nameless mountain stream a quarter of an hour later.

This place is too remote. Even though the Great Xia Dynasty has set up many military camps in the west, they did not find a small mountain village with several families living in it. This place is difficult for cavalry and soldiers to enter, and is regarded as a natural obstacle by military strategists. It is only considered in the blocking plan, and no further consideration is given.

After crossing the bridge, we have entered the village, but Li Lunming stopped in front of it and said:

"Go ahead, stay for one night, and we'll leave tomorrow."

Before knowing the situation, Li Lunming didn't know why he came now instead of going to the Nine-story Senran Tower to solve the problem, so that he could have more time. But on the way, Xia Xiao said that she should have come back a long time ago to make up for Ah Zhu. As for her own affairs, there was no need to be so anxious. Although Huodou was not in good condition, he was just in a bad mood and had no pain. Ah Zhu also said that he just wanted to see his grandma and didn't need to stay for a long time. If he stayed for a long time and then left, his grandma would be even more uncomfortable.

The two children who were about to turn seventeen stood together, and their combined age was only half of his own, but in Li Lunming's eyes, they were already mature and no longer childish. Xia Xiao and Ah Zhu, with their backpacks on their backs, even looked like they had been wandering for a long time, as if they had been in this world for many years and didn't know what tomorrow would bring.

It was normal for Xia Xiao to have such a temperament, after all, he had a tragic fate, but the moment of desolation that Ah Zhu showed made Li Lunming feel as if he had seen countless reincarnations in the world. Li Lunming was surprised for a moment, but then he laughed at himself, thinking that the eternity he thought of might just be a small action of Ah Zhu.

Li Lunming did feel wrong. Ah Zhu just hadn't been back for a long time, so he shrugged excitedly and his eyes were wet. But more than sixteen years in the vast wilderness was just the shortest journey in Ah Zhu's life. She didn't belong here. She had experienced much more than Xia Xiao, and even more than anyone else in the wilderness. But who she was, she herself didn't know, and she was too lazy to recall. Now she returned to the small mountain village and was just her grandmother's good granddaughter.

After crossing the bridge, the first courtyard in the village is my home, but this home is much better looking than when Ah Zhu left. Although the earthen tile house is still behind the spacious courtyard, it is so low that people have to lie on the ground to enter, but the earthen wall has no cracks and the tiles are neatly laid, no longer missing a few pieces or broken tiles like before.

The new tiles add color to the earthen house, and the new doors and windows give it a new look. The Xia family never cut corners. Next to a wooden door, there are dried corn and red peppers hanging, and two bundles of garlic have been plucked, probably to be used for cooking at noon. Under the eaves not far away, an old woman is lying on a finely crafted wooden chair, basking in the sun.

The old woman closed her eyes, not frowning, nor raising her eyebrows in joy, but just basking in the sun calmly. This is how she should spend the afternoon to be comfortable. At her age, she has become indifferent to many things. She can live without cigarettes and alcohol every day, and without meat for three meals. As long as she is alive, she will be fine after seeing Ah Zhu become a practitioner. Even thin porridge and pickles will be tasty.

"Grandma, I'm back!"

A cheerful voice with a faint cry suddenly broke into the old woman's ears, but she did not open her eyes, just thinking that she was hallucinating again. Since Ah Zhu left, she has heard such voices many times. At first, she was ecstatic, but now she is unmoved. However, when her wrinkled old hand was grabbed by a smooth little hand, she suddenly climbed up and saw Ah Zhu's long chestnut hair and fair little face.

Surprise, confusion, uneasiness, many emotions rushed into the old woman's mind, but her first reaction was to hold Ah Zhu's hand and ask her:

"Why are you back?"

Did Ah Zhu encounter bad luck? Was he unable to practice? Or did he get into trouble outside? The old woman was ready to face everything in an instant. As long as she returned to this small mountain village, no matter which god it was, even if she died, Ah Zhu would not be in trouble. But when she glanced at Xia Xiao behind Ah Zhu, she quickly bent her old legs and was about to kneel down.

"useless."

Xia Xiao stretched out his hand, and Azhu had already supported the grandmother, but the latter held Azhu, her words full of gratitude.

"My lord, you can come back with me, which means you have not caused any trouble. Why don't you thank me? My lord, you are going to take me to the imperial capital, but I am short-sighted and only want to return to my roots. I rejected your kindness. I hope you will not be offended. Thank you for giving me a sturdy house."

"Grandma, you don't have to call me adult, his name is Xia Xiao!"

Ah Zhu was naturally unhappy to see her most respected and beloved grandmother grovelling like this, but the latter said angrily:

"Azhu, please don't be rude! You were able to get out of the mountains thanks to the great mercy of this master. I have also been taken care of by the master, and my family has been well fed and well-fed. Why are you not being polite?"

Ah Zhu couldn't persuade his grandmother, and he didn't want to fight with her anymore, lest she get hurt, so he glared at Xia Xiao, thinking that he had gotten a bargain, and then he knelt on the ground obediently as his grandmother asked. Ah Zhu was fine with kneeling, but Xia Xiao felt bad for making an old lady kneel, so he quickly helped her up and said:

"You're welcome, grandma. Actually, Ah Zhu and I are students of the same class. We have the same status. There is no distinction between the masters and the servants."

Although grandma is old, she is not confused, she asked Xia Xiao.

"My Lord is a cultivator, is Ah Zhu also a cultivator?"

"Yes, grandma, so you don't have to do this~"

Azhu helped her up, and when grandma sat on the wooden chair, Azhu squatted at her feet so that she could look at him, acting as obediently as a little puppy who knew nothing.

"Grandma, I am also a practitioner now, you see!"

Ah Zhu spread out his hands, and the energy of heaven and earth floated, gathering into a small ball. Grandma opened her eyes, exclaimed in surprise, and stared at it for a long time. Although grandma couldn't understand it, there was an extremely mysterious aura in it, as if it was not in the same world as her. She was close, but couldn't understand it. This feeling made grandma believe that Ah Zhu had become a practitioner. She was stunned for a moment, then hugged Ah Zhu and cried with joy.

Grandma didn't expect her child to become a legendary practitioner so quickly. She immediately felt that she had done the right thing. She wanted to know about Ah Zhu's life in the past year, hoping that it was not as bad as she imagined. But the first thing she asked was about Ah Zhu's current state.

"Sir, where does Ah Zhu's current strength rank among the 369?"

"There are nine levels in total. I am fifth and Ah Zhu is third."

Grandma smiled, but she was ecstatic in her heart. She stroked Ah Zhu's head with her palm, making him feel at ease. Time is the most unforgiving, as long as grandma is healthy, she is satisfied.

"Thank you for your care, otherwise my Ah Zhu would not have achieved this. Are you hungry? I will cook for you and Ah Zhu."

Xia Xiao hesitated for a moment, thought for a while, and said:

"Grandma, no noodles this time."

Grandma laughed out loud, feeling a little embarrassed, but she understood what Xia Xiao meant. This young man looked about the same age as Ah Zhu, but he was actually much smarter than Ah Zhu. She felt that the young man was not a bad person more than a year ago, and she was not wrong, as she could see from his innocent eyes and Ah Zhu's reaction. But she also saw something, that is, the way this girl looked at him, there was some special feelings of a young girl.

"Sir, please rest in this room first. I will make you some tea."

Grandma was too polite, Xia Xiao was embarrassed and had to do as she said. Grandma pushed open a side door, and Ah Zhu found that the old earthen house had been cleaned up to make a new room. Although it was not spacious, it had all the bedding, so it could be spread out. Ah Zhu went to see the big bed of grandma and himself, and found that the quilts on them were all new, so he was relieved.

"Sir, you drink your tea. Ah Zhu and I will take care of the kitchen matters."

Grandma walked out the door and pulled Ah Zhu over, then walked into the kitchen and asked:

"Where is the girl with you, sir?"

"Dead."

Grandma frowned, but then relaxed her brows and asked Ah Zhu while busying herself with the work in her hands.

"Does she have a sweetheart?"

Ah Zhu felt that Shangshan didn't count, so she shook her head. Xia Xiao had rejected her, saying that he and Shangshan were bound by the Wilderness Mark, but now the Day Mark has been broken, and Shangshan left Xia Xiao and chose to wander in the wilderness, and no one knew where he went.

"Then you must seize the opportunity."

"Grandma, what are you talking about? We are just friends."

"Although I'm old, I'm not confused. How can there be pure friendship between men and women? Those who can get together and walk side by side must have good feelings for each other. We are friends now, but it's just because we don't have enough good feelings and the timing is not right. When the opportunity is enough, things will happen naturally, and there is no way to escape. You are a girl, you don't have to take the initiative, but you can't be stupid. You can't control too much if you are not a partner now, and even if you are in the future, you can't control too much. Smart women can't be too strict with their husbands. On the contrary, they should support them, otherwise they will be abandoned like me."

Grandma spoke earnestly, but Ah Zhu lowered her head, ashamed of the word "husband". She couldn't help but look forward to it, always thinking that the future would be very beautiful, but she didn't know whether it would come true, but she hoped it would come true, and she longed for it to come true!

"Grandma, tell me about the past year!"

After grandma finished her story, Ah Zhu realized how good Xia Xiao was. So when she talked about her past year, she always mentioned Xia Xiao, which made her like him again, and reached another level that only grandma and she could compare to, and the rest of the people were compared to him.

In order to leave space for grandma and Ah Zhu, Xia Xiao sat on the roof to bask in the sun. The sun gradually went down and turned into a fiery cloud. Under the warm candlelight, the tables and chairs were very new, and there was a sumptuous dinner on them. The dishes were delicious and fragrant. Farmhouse dishes always had a particularly fresh taste and fragrance. A meal of cabbage vermicelli and chicken stewed with radish was no longer like the bowl of egg noodles that day. Xia Xiao had to insist on finishing it.