Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

What can I say?

The little deer racked her brains, going through all the conversation techniques she'd heard from the old hedgehog, but couldn't come up with anything suitable. The old hedgehog's techniques were all for dealing with mountain monsters.

Phrases like "The weather is so nice today," "The mushrooms you picked are so big," and "Your nest is so sturdy"—are these really appropriate for city dwellers?

The car fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Ling'er was tired and leaning back in her seat, panting. She stared at the car roof, muttering, "There's still so much I haven't said." Master Tianbao focused on driving, a smile never fading from his lips. Wei Yiran continued to gaze out the window.

The little deer suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

She scratched her head, her ears twitched, and her gaze swept around the car before finally settling on Xiao Ling'er.

"Um..." she began, her voice a little softer than before, "Little Ling'er."

"Hmm?" Xiao Ling'er turned her head.

The little deer opened its mouth, wanting to say something to break the silence, but when the words reached its lips, it didn't know what to say.

Just then, Xiao Ling'er suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Wei Yiran.

"By the way, Sister Wei," she said, "where are Uncle Zhou and the others? I haven't seen them."

Wei Yiran paused slightly, turned her gaze from the window to Xiao Ling'er.

The faint mist that had been hanging over those long, curved eyes dissipated slightly, revealing a gentle smile.

"Uncle Zhou and the others," her voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze across a lake, "they left first."

"You left already?" Xiaoling blinked. "Where did you go?"

Wei Yiran smiled slightly: "They went to Yunyin Mountain."

Xiao Ling'er paused for a moment, then exclaimed "Ah!" as if suddenly realizing something: "I know! They went to decorate the Wei family's small house first, right?"

Wei Yiran nodded, her smile deepening slightly: "Yes. Uncle Zhou said that since we're going to stay in Yunyin Mountain, we need a place to stay. The Wei family has a house in Tianjing, and we need one at the foot of Yunyin Mountain as well. He'll take some people there first to check out the place and get things ready, so we can move in as soon as we arrive."

Little Ling'er nodded repeatedly, her face showing an "I see" expression. But as she nodded, she suddenly remembered something, tilted her head, and asked, "But Sister Wei, how could Uncle Zhou and the others let you go with us alone?"

Wei Yiran paused for a moment, then smiled.

That smile was different from the polite smiles from before; it carried a hint of helplessness.

"Uncle Zhou said," her voice was soft and gentle, as if repeating someone else's words, "that with all of you immortals here, I'm safer than I am in Tianjing City. What could he possibly worry about?"

Xiao Ling blinked, thought about it, and felt that what he said seemed to make a lot of sense.

"That's true." She nodded earnestly. "With Junior Uncle around, no one would dare bully you!"

Wei Yiran smiled but didn't say anything.

Her gaze shifted from Xiao Ling'er's face to the scenery outside the car window. Fields, mountains, and villages flashed by, like a long scroll that could never be finished.

But out of the corner of her eye, her gaze involuntarily drifted to the side.

The deer was staring at her.

Those eyes were large and bright, with slightly upturned corners. Although their eyelashes weren't as long as hers, they were still thick and bushy, like two small brushes. At that moment, those two small brushes were staring directly at her, unblinking, as if trying to see right through her.

Wei Yiran withdrew her gaze and continued looking out the window.

The little deer was stunned for a moment, then realized she had been caught red-handed, and her face turned bright red.

The blush spread from her cheeks all the way to her ears, even tinging the tips of her fluffy deer ears with a faint pink hue. She hurriedly looked away, pretending to look at the scenery outside the window, but she couldn't see anything at all.

Xiao Ling'er was completely unaware of the subtle tension between the two. In her eyes, her second and third uncles talked much more when they were together than she and her brother did.

So Xiaoling'er kept rambling on, "Sister Wei, don't worry, Yunyin Mountain is great! When we get there, I'll take you hiking, mushroom picking, and to the Immortal Cuisine Restaurant for delicious food! There's also an internet cafe; even if you probably don't play those games, you can watch Junior Uncle and the others play!"

The car traveled for another half hour on the bumpy dirt road before finally stopping in front of the rolling mountains.

Master Tianbao pushed open the car door, jumped out, took a few steps forward, squinted at the lush green forest in front of him, then looked back at the three metal boxes behind him and shook his head.

"That's the end," he called out. "There's no road ahead."

Everyone got off the bus one after another.

The little deer was the last to jump down, and almost twisted her ankle when she landed, but Xiao Ling'er caught her. Once she was steady, she looked up at the familiar mountain silhouette in the distance, and her fluffy deer ears immediately stood up straight.

"That's it!" she shouted excitedly, pointing ahead and turning back to the crowd. "Just over that mountain and across the river, that's where I live!"

Feng Lie looked in the direction she pointed and saw layers upon layers of mountains stretching endlessly. The nearest mountain, though not very high, was lush and full of trees, and there was no road in sight at all.

"How...how do I get there?" He scratched his head.

"Let's walk up," the little deer said matter-of-factly, tilting her head to look at him. "You guys don't even know how to climb a mountain, do you?"

Feng Lie opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

Feng Changyuan burst out laughing.

Chen Anran walked to the front of the group, his gaze sweeping across the forest before finally settling on the deer.

"Lead the way."

The little deer nodded, then turned and ran into the mountains. She ran very fast, as if the wind was blowing beneath her feet; the rugged mountain paths and dense thorns seemed to disappear before her. After running a few steps, she turned back and waved to the crowd.

"This way! Follow me!"

The others followed.

Feng Lie climbed the slope, panting, his foot occasionally tripping over tree roots, muttering to himself, "What kind of road is this... Little Deer, slow down..."

The little deer turned around, looked at his disheveled appearance, and laughed so hard she almost fell over: "How come you immortals can't even climb mountains as well as I can?"

"I'm not an immortal!" Feng Lie gasped for breath. "I'm just a Qi Refining stage cultivator... Ouch—"

He tripped over a vine again, but luckily Feng Changyuan caught him just in time.

Feng Changyuan wasn't in much better shape; sweat was already beading on his forehead, but at least he was a bit better than Feng Lie and could still keep his balance. He looked up at the hopping figure in front of him, then looked behind him.

Chen Anran walked slowly but steadily, traversing the rugged mountain paths as if they were flat ground. Lu Kong followed beside him, his usual smile still on his face, his steps as light as if he were walking on clouds. Huiming, holding his prayer beads, walked with firm, steady steps.