Seeing Ning Jinyu blushing and unable to squeeze out a word, Granny Song propped herself up on the edge of the bed. “Never mind. Girl, what’s your name?”
“My name is Ning Jinyu.”
“Since you’re with our Qingyan, and he gave up his cultivation for you, then you two should get married soon.”
“…Ah? Actually, I…”
Dong dong dong! Crash! The already rickety wooden door was kicked open, followed by a woman’s furious shout.
“Song Qingyan! Are you back?! When your mother was sick, it was my family who paid for it!”
Song Qingyan lifted his gaze, looking at the newcomer with some confusion.
Honghua stood with her hands on her hips, scanning the room. Spotting the beautiful woman the little beggars had mentioned, she walked over. In the candlelight, the beauty’s eyes were clear as she looked at her, hugging a rabbit with a pitiful and touching expression, her face still flushed with circles of red.
“…”
She swallowed hard and looked at Granny Song. “Granny, after Song Qingyan went to the Sword Sect, I was the one who took care of you when you were sick. You promised that you’d have him marry me when he returned.”
Ning Jinyu glanced at Song Qingyan. His expression was indifferent; he showed no reaction, whether to Granny Song telling them to get married or to this girl saying he should marry her.
Granny Song sighed. “Honghua, my girl, Qingyan is a child I found. The marriage agreement back then was just a verbal promise, and he didn’t know about it while he was at the Sword Sect. He has a wife now, which I only just found out myself. Our family will definitely gather the silver to pay you back.”
“…” The so-called wife of the Song family, Ning Jinyu, rubbed her nose and sighed softly at the glare Honghua was shooting her.
Song Qingyan was so good to her. This girl was so aggressive; she was clearly not a good match for him.
Ning Jinyu stood up and stuffed her remaining travel money into Honghua’s hand, saying softly, “I’m not sure if this is enough silver. On behalf of my husband, I apologize to you, miss. My mother-in-law didn’t inform Qingyan before. Qingyan and I are in love, and we’ve already…”
As she spoke, she shyly lowered her head, her face turning red.
Song Qingyan was somewhat taken aback. He watched her bashful appearance, then saw Granny Song’s gratified smile, and remained rather silent.
So be it.
This… Honghua weighed the silver in her hand. It was more than double what she had spent before.
She took out the amount she had originally spent and returned the rest.
“I’m not an unreasonable person. Since you’re already married, then let’s just forget it. I won’t take advantage of you.”
She looked at the young woman’s delicate and pretty face and tightened her hand. That was true; Song Qingyan was so handsome, he deserved a beautiful wife.
Ning Jinyu hadn’t expected this woman, who seemed so fierce, to be so easy to talk to. She gave her a sincere smile.
“Thank you, you’re a very kind person.”
Honghua blushed and ran out.
Song Qingyan brewed medicine for Granny Song, while Ning Jinyu helped make dinner at the stove. Their family was poor, and the wild vegetables were freshly dug from the mountains.
The problem was their living quarters.
Song Qingyan gave the bed to her and took a knife, saying he was going to chop firewood.
It was strange, though. Didn’t he know how to build a wooden house? Unable to sleep, Ning Jinyu decided to leave the room to the rabbit and went out with Song Qingyan up the mountain.
“Qingyan, how did you get into the Sword Sect?”
Song Qingyan carried a basket on his back, his posture ramrod straight, his black hair tied up tightly.
“I don’t remember. I only know she said she was my mother and then sent me to the Sword Sect.”
“…Then aren’t you curious? Granny said you’re not her biological son.”
Song Qingyan shook his head, skillfully chopping wood.
In the latter half of the night, Ning Jinyu was overcome with sleepiness and went back to the simple earthen house to sleep. When she opened her eyes again, a small wooden house had already been built next to the earthen one.
Such incredible efficiency.
A farming household had plenty of tools, so there were materials to build a wooden house.
Song Qingyan was now leaning against the outside of the wooden house, sitting and watching the heavy morning fog on the mountain, not seeming to mind the biting cold at all. Speaking of which, it was as if he wasn’t afraid of the cold.
Filled with curiosity, Ning Jinyu slipped into Granny Song’s room. The old woman was already awake, sewing clothes with a needle and thread.
“Granny, I have many questions. Can you tell me?”
Granny Song had always been cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Unable to drive Song Qingyan away, she changed her previous sternness and smiled. “You want to know about Qingyan’s past, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“When I found Qingyan, he was about twelve or thirteen, passed out on that mountain. I brought him home. The child was dazed and didn’t know anything, so I told him I was his mother and gave him a name.
Later, I wanted to send him to the village school, but I found that the other children often bullied him, insulting and cursing him. He acted as if he didn’t know how to be angry and wouldn’t fight back. He didn’t understand anything, not even how to tattle.
At his age, he was like a young child. He stayed here for two years and became less and less talkative. So I made the decision to send him to the Sword Sect to learn some skills to protect himself. The Sword Sect’s disciple recruitment ceremony had already passed. I knelt for three days and three nights before they were willing to accept Qingyan as a disciple of the Sword Sect.”
“…” How tragic, too tragic to bear.
Ning Jinyu couldn’t help but sigh in her heart: Parents unknown, bullied as a child, possessing martial skills—in a novel, isn’t this the perfect setup for a male lead?
“Granny Song, thanks to you, Qingyan did very well in the Sword Sect. He read books, made friends, learned to cultivate on his own, and even learned how to build wooden houses. Let me help you outside to take a look. He’s repaired all the broken parts of the house and even built a new one.”
“Hahaha, good, good, good.”
Ning Jinyu helped Granny Song walk outside. The fog had already dissipated. Song Qingyan was leaning against a wooden post by the cabin entrance, dozing off.
The little white rabbit had slipped out at some point and was hopping around the overgrown yard.
“Qingyan, come here. This old woman doesn’t have many years left. Jin Yu doesn’t mind your poverty and is following you, but you can’t stay here. Go find your birth parents, or pursue your studies. In short, you can’t waste your time here.”
Granny Song placed Ning Jinyu’s hand in Song Qingyan’s, patting them as she instructed, “She is a good wife. Treat her well.”
Song Qingyan unconsciously caressed the soft, jade-like hand in his and gave a soft “mm.”
Ning Jinyu’s heart pounded with anxiety. “But…”
Granny Song cut her off sternly. “Both of you, leave. I’m not really sick, it’s just an old person’s cough. I have vegetables planted on the mountain. I’ve always lived alone, I can still manage. If you don’t leave, I won’t live anymore.”
“…” This felt like encountering some major NPC.
But Ning Jinyu didn’t want to leave. She just wanted to live an ordinary life. Who said a farmer’s life was bad? Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, this farmer’s life was great. But looking at Granny Song’s determined gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Ning Jinyu decided to leave the rabbit and the rest of her travel money for Granny Song.
Penniless, she followed Song Qingyan and left Qingzhi County.
On the road, trekking over mountains, Ning Jinyu looked at the ever-composed Song Qingyan and asked, “Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“Before going to the Sword Sect, I always stayed in Qingzhi County.”
“…” So that was a no.
This wasn’t the modern era; there was no technology. Finding his birth parents was surely impossible.
As for pursuing studies, she did think of a place: the Joyful Union Sect.
They accepted disciples at any time, all year round, specializing in recruiting good-looking ones, and they provided food and lodging.
“Song Qingyan, why don’t we go to the Joyful Union Sect?”
“Okay.”
Perhaps it was fate. She still ended up going to the Joyful Union Sect, just as she had been dramatically kicked out of the Sword Sect. This time, she would cultivate properly and not run into any demonic beasts or fall into the hands of a demonic dragon again.