Chapter 58: Heart-to-Heart Talk

Feng Qingcheng said softly, "Let's go, let's find something to eat in the canyon." The sunlight stretched their shadows as they walked deep into the canyon, where a sweet fragrance of fruit drifted on the breeze. Mingyue widened her eyes at the heavy clusters of fruit hanging in the canyon, a surprised and delighted smile blooming on her face.

There were numerous fruit trees in the canyon, laden with all sorts of fruits in red, purple, and yellow. Mingyue was greeted by an intoxicating fragrance. Tilting her head up to gaze at the mouth-watering fruits, she instantly became vibrant and lively, her eyes sparkling with brilliant brilliance.

"Wow, so many delicious things! Elder, I want that one, that one, and that one too!" The young girl tilted her head and smiled with childish innocence, her slender, delicate fingers continuously pointing at the sweet fruits hanging from the tree branches. Her ravenous appearance involuntarily brought a soft, amused smile to his lips, his eyes naturally filling with deep affection.

"Alright, I'll go pick them for you." He formed a hand seal and leaped gracefully into the air to gather the fruits she desired. His white robe fluttered in the wind, its wide sleeves billowing, and his flowing dark hair danced in the breeze. His posture was carefree and elegant, radiating an indescribable charm and grace.

"As graceful as a startled swan, as gentle as a swimming dragon," the phrase suddenly popped into Mingyue's mind. Captivated, she stared at his elegant form, completely lost in a daze as her eyes filled with countless pink stars.

"Here, catch." He glanced back with a smile, the usual cold aloofness in his slender phoenix eyes replaced by a playful warmth. It was as fresh and ardent as a sudden spring breeze overnight, dazzling like an immortal descended from the heavens.

The young girl snapped back to her senses, cheering and dancing with joy as she darted back and forth beneath the tree, holding up her skirt to catch the falling fruits. A few fruits missed her grasp and rolled into the grass by the path. Laughing, she chased after them to pick them up, her crisp, clear laughter echoing through the woods.

"Elder, I want that largest, reddest one right at the very top of the tree!" Flushed from running, the young girl's bright, expressive eyes shone brilliantly. Her smile was even more charming and dazzling than the blooming peach blossoms in the grove.

"Alright." Like a soaring dragon, he leaped upward, plucked the fruit, and spun lightly down to the ground. As he twirled, his white robe fluttered against the wind, his movements light, handsome, and as natural as flowing water, making his jade-like face appear even more peerless and magnificent.

"Elder, you are so handsome!" Mingyue held her heavily laden skirt of fruits, her eyes swirling with pink stars as she exclaimed.

"Ouch." Too busy admiring the handsome man, Mingyue forgot about the heavy fruits she was carrying. Her foot slipped, and she sprawled face-first onto the ground in an ungraceful tumble. Feng Qingcheng hurried over to find the young girl sprawled out like a frog, looking utterly comical and ridiculous with colorful fruits scattered all around her. Holding back his smile, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, fine, fine." The young girl climbed up with a flushed face of utter embarrassment, rubbing her bruised face awkwardly.

The two of them gathered the scattered fruits, washed them by the spring, and sat down in the peach grove to eat together.

"Elder, this red one is so delicious." Mingyue took a bite of a red fruit; the flavor was sweet, rich, and juicy. Quickly selecting an even larger one, she handed it to him.

"This yellow one is quite good too. Have a taste." He found the yellow ones even more delectable—crisp, a little tart, yet sweet, emitting an intoxicating fragrance. He picked a large one and handed it to her.

Between bites, Mingyue chatted away: "I remember living in a beautiful little mountain valley when I was little. There was a very tall peach tree there. Every spring, the entire tree would burst into bloom, bearing peaches so large and sweet that they weighed the branches down. Fearing I would fall, my mother wouldn't let me climb it. Once, taking advantage of her absence, I sneaked up anyway. But after eating my fill, I couldn't climb back down. Overcome with sleepiness, I dozed off right in the fork of the branches. When my mother came back and couldn't find me anywhere, she was frantic. After I woke up and called out for her, she finally climbed up to carry me down and punished me by making her copy the *Medical Classic Summary* one hundred times."

Mingyue recounted the amusing anecdotes of her childhood with boundless enthusiasm, her bright, sparkling eyes full of life. Her innocent and carefree expression drew his gaze like a magnet.

Casually, Mingyue asked, "Elder, what about you when you were little? Were there any funny stories?"

Feng Qingcheng's slender eyes grew deep and dim. After a long silence, he spoke: "When I was young, I suffered from a hidden illness. My body emitted a foul odor, and my face was hideous. I was locked in a dark room all day drinking medicine, and my mo... my mother wouldn't let me see people easily. One day, I suddenly heard that a little cousin was coming with her mother to visit my mother. I thought that finally, someone my own age would play with me, and I secretly rejoiced for a long time. Later..." A trace of pain flashed across his eyes as his voice dropped heavily, "Later, I finally met her. But she looked at me with disgust, called me a monster, and told me not to come near her. I will never forget the hatred and mockery in her eyes..."

It felt as though a sharp sword had heavily pierced her heart. Sharing in his emotional pain and distress, she quickly blurted out, "Elder, I'm so sorry... I didn't know..." She could hardly imagine how he had managed to survive those long, agonizing days in his childhood.

"I used to think everyone in this world was mercenary and cold-hearted, until one day, when I was at my lowest ebb, I met a little girl..."

His eyes suddenly lit up, brimming with heartfelt joy: "She had the sweetest smile in the world and a kind heart. She never despised my ugliness; not only did she help clean my wounds, feed me medicine, and chat with me, but she also said I was the best-looking person she had ever seen. She even told me that when she grew up, she would be my bride, and asked me to wait for her to grow up... Those days spent with her were the happiest times of my life."

Mingyue thought to herself, "Not everyone judges a person by their appearance." She was immensely glad that Feng Qingcheng had crossed paths with such a wonderful girl, so she asked, "What happened next? What became of her?"

"Later, when I returned to that place to look for her, she had moved away." The place called Hundred Flower Village, and that lively, spirited little girl, were deeply engraved in his heart.

Mingyue sighed, "Elder, such a wonderful girl—whether you find her or not, she will surely be the happiest person in this world."

Offering comfort, Mingyue said, "When I was little, everyone else had a father, but I didn't. I was often mocked by the other children for being a foundling, which made me feel extremely inferior. My mother told me that no one in this world is flawless; everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Self-confidence comes from within oneself, not from others. Only by making your inner self strong can you truly become strong. Having a father doesn't really matter; having love is what matters. And all the love I ever needed, she gave me."

Mingyue paused, a flash of extreme anguish suddenly welling up in her bright eyes: "However, the year before I came to Mount Shu, my mother... Before she left, she told me that she had found me by a river while traveling, adopted me, and raised me as her own daughter. She said she could no longer take care of me and hoped that I would always remain strong."

Burying her head in her knees, Mingyue's shoulders shook as she choked out through sobs, "My mother loved me so much. I always thought she would stay by my side forever... yet in the end, she left me behind and went ahead. After she passed away, I wanted to guard the Hundred Herbs Hall she left me, but local bullies came, leaving me no choice but to abandon it and wander all the way to Mount Shu. I have no family left, no home. The world is so vast, yet amidst this endless sea of people, I don't even know where to go."

With tear-filled eyes, Mingyue lifted her face and offered a brave smile—a resilience that made his heart ache fiercely. "But now I have a home too; the Immortal Sect of Mount Shu is my home."

He reached out, gently patted her head, and pulled her softly into his arms. Suddenly recalling something, he asked, "The Hundred Herbs Hall in Changan Town?" He remembered that she hailed from Changan Town.

Looking up at him with surprise, Mingyue asked, "How did you know? I'm from there. My mother built a medical clinic in Changan Town named Hundred Herbs Hall, and the two of us treated patients there."

An image immediately flashed through his mind: the Fire God Festival in Changan Town last year, when he had crossed paths with a young boy eating candied hawthorns. He had followed the boy from afar and watched him enter a residence where the plaque above the door bore the characters "Hundred Herbs Hall."

Probing cautiously, he asked, "Do you have any siblings?" Mingyue shook her head.

Continuing his tentative questioning, he asked, "The year you entered the Immortal Sect of Mount Shu, on the night of the Fire God Festival in Changan Town, did you go watch the fireworks display?"

Mingyue nodded and said, "How do you know about the fireworks display in Changan Town? That day, I went to watch the fireworks and even bumped into an older brother wearing a silver mask. Even though he wore a silver mask, his peerless elegance and extraordinary demeanor left a deep impression on me... Why are you acting like that?..." Mingyue suddenly noticed that Feng Qingcheng's expression was somewhat strange.

"You were that little boy who kept eating candied hawthorns and wearing a Fire God mask?" Feng Qingcheng asked in astonishment. Remembering the gluttonous, cat-like appearance of that little boy and connecting it to the peerless beauty before him, he couldn't help but laugh aloud.

He never expected that the young girl before him was actually an old acquaintance. Truly, the world is small, and people destined to meet will always cross paths again.

"You were that older brother in the silver mask?" Mingyue gasped in disbelief. "No wonder I always felt your demeanor and elegance seemed familiar! Well, this truly is... how small the world is, haha."

The two looked at each other and smiled, their eyes brimming with the joy of a reunion.

The young girl's gaze dimmed shortly after, and she murmured, "You have no idea—just that night, after we parted ways, my mother..." Her voice choked with tears, and the rims of her eyes turned red.

He pulled her closer and whispered softly, "Don't be afraid. From now on, I will take care of you. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll bite them back."

Recalling the fierce way he had bared his teeth to bite people, Mingyue burst into a watery laugh, feeling an inexplicable and profound warmth in her heart.

What she did not know was that shortly thereafter, the master of the Ximen family somehow offended a powerful force, and within a single night, dozens of family members were slaughtered, leaving the family wiped out. Even Ximen Dongsheng, who had been thriving among the outer sect branches in the southwest of Mount Shu, failed to escape his doom and died suddenly while drinking. Upon hearing the news, Uncle Wang brought Wang Xiaowu back to Changan Town and reopened the Hundred Herbs Hall. However, from then on, the Hundred Herbs Hall only sold medicinal herbs, and no physicians ever sat there to treat patients again. Later on, Uncle Wang took a wife for Xiaowu, and the two lived a peaceful and happy life.

That night, Feng Qingcheng soaked in the hot springs for hours to purge the medicinal toxins from his system, while Mingyue, after taking the healing pills given by Feng Qingcheng, slept soundly and peacefully in her bed.

After a night of recuperation, both her internal and external injuries had nearly completely healed.