Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

With a soft creak, the wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a cool breeze gently wafted in. Shen Wei and Gu Lengyue stepped out of the courtyard together, their feet sinking into the thin snow in front of the door.

The snow wasn't heavy, lacking the dramatic, swirling snowflakes of a snowstorm, but as far as the eye could see, everything was covered in a layer of pristine white snow.

After this snowfall, Shen Wei finally felt the true arrival of deep winter.

Stepping out of the courtyard, Gu Lengyue subconsciously tightened her clothes, then followed closely behind Shen Wei step by step.

Although she had lived in this small town for so long, Gu Lengyue had only gone out a handful of times, let alone gone out with Shen Wei. This was the first time the two of them had walked together on the street.

Fortunately, it had snowed yesterday, and the road was still covered with a thin layer of unmelted snow. In addition, the two of them got up very early, so there weren't many pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, there were a few vendors shoveling snow in the morning, but they were just busy with their heads down and no one paid much attention to them.

Seeing this, Gu Lengyue's somewhat anxious heart relaxed a little, and she calmly observed everything around her.

Shen Wei kept walking and soon arrived at the delivery location.

It was a quiet and secluded alley, with mottled and old walls on both sides, dim lighting, and few people passing by.

Shen Wei thought to himself, "It's just handing over a spirit sword, not some shady deal. Why choose such a dark and secluded place?"

He looked up into the depths of the alley, where a man in a black robe stood tall and straight with a taut face. He knew without a doubt that this was the man sent by the master swordsmith.

After silently cursing to himself, he turned around and glanced at Gu Lengyue behind him, then whispered an order:

"Wait for me at the alley entrance."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lengyue obediently nodded and stopped at the alley entrance, not taking another step forward.

Bored out of her mind, she coldly swept her gaze across the street not far away.

There, pedestrians hurried by, vendors along the street set up their stalls one after another, and the sounds of their hawking echoed from one place to another. In the distance, steam rose from breakfast shops, carrying the aroma of rice porridge and steamed buns that wafted through the streets and alleys.

All of this was something from another world to Gu Lengyue, but now it was magically unfolding before her eyes.

After a moment, her gaze returned to the alley and landed on Shen Wei's tall and straight back.

Unbeknownst to her, the man before her had become the only person she could rely on at that moment.

But he's definitely a very strange person...

Even stranger than myself.

She claimed that she was living to experience pain, but in recent days, she hasn't felt any of the pain she expected.

Instead, a strange feeling lingered in her heart. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but this feeling always brought her a sense of insecurity that would easily pass away.

Thinking about the man's duplicity, Gu Lengyue whispered two words:

"hypocritical."

Gu Lengyue's soft murmurs naturally couldn't reach Shen Wei's ears. He slowly walked forward and came to the man in black robes.

As someone approached, the man unconsciously placed his hand on the sword at his waist, his expression becoming even more wary.

Shen Wei stopped a short distance away and whispered the code word the two had agreed upon beforehand. Only then did the man in black robes gradually relax, and his hand on the hilt of his sword slowly moved away.

Then, the man in black robes raised his hand and touched the storage ring on his fingertip. After a flash of light, a square jade-colored box appeared in his hand.

The box is smooth and translucent, engraved with intricate cloud patterns, and shimmers with a faint luster, giving it an extremely luxurious appearance. The contents inside must be extraordinary.

Gu Lengyue saw it clearly from the alley entrance, and her heart couldn't help but clench slightly. Inside, there must be the spirit sword that could fulfill her long-cherished wish.

Shen Wei carefully accepted the money and then handed the man a check for a considerable amount of spirit stones. The man immediately put on a smile and chatted with Shen Wei for a while.

After exchanging pleasantries, the man vanished from the spot in a flash.

all the best.

Shen Wei held the jade-colored box, put it back into his storage ring, and then turned and walked towards the alley entrance.

He walked up to Gu Lengyue and gently waved his hands, which were adorned with storage rings, in front of her eyes:

"You've got what you've been longing for, let's go back."

However, Gu Lengyue was not as delighted as Shen Wei had expected; her gaze fell on a small stall.

He followed the girl's gaze and instantly understood what she was thinking.

"Want some?"

Feeling a little embarrassed that her thoughts had been guessed, Gu Lengyue nodded.

Shen Wei didn't say anything more, turned around and walked straight to the candied hawthorn stall. A moment later, he had two strings of bright red candied hawthorn in his hand.

He walked back, handed one of the strings to Gu Lengyue, and said gently, "Take it, Miss."

Gu Lengyue's hand trembled slightly as she carefully took the candied hawthorn.

She hesitated for a moment, then took a small bite. The crisp sugar coating melted on her tongue, and the rich sweetness instantly overwhelmed her taste buds. But the next second, the sourness of the hawthorn followed.

The sweet and sour flavors were not what Gu Lengyue had imagined. Her beautiful brows furrowed, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

If the aftertaste is sour, even if it's sweet at first, it's not what she wants.

Shen Wei noticed the change in Gu Lengyue's expression and asked:

"What... doesn't suit your taste, Miss?"

"Um......"

"If you don't want to eat it, just throw it away... It's your inheritance anyway."

Gu Lengyue remained silent and did not throw it away. Instead, she held the candied hawthorn and silently ate the whole skewer, bite by bite.

A bittersweet flavor mingled with a tangy taste, spreading across the tongue and reaching the heart.

Whatever you choose, it's fine.

******

After finishing their candied hawthorns, the two returned along the same route and soon found themselves back in the familiar courtyard.

As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard, I saw several children playing in the snow nearby, throwing snowballs with great enthusiasm.

When the children saw Shen Wei and Gu Lengyue approaching, their noise suddenly increased as they chattered amongst themselves. But when the two were right in front of them, they immediately fell silent.

Seeing this, Shen Wei couldn't help but ask:

"Do you have any questions?"

There were four children in total. The one in the lead was a boy with bright eyes and a bold appearance. He stood the straightest and was probably the leader of the four.

The remaining group consisted of a slightly shy boy and two adorable little girls with round faces.

Hearing Shen Wei's question, the boy in the lead hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and spoke in a clear voice, "Big brother, big sister, is this house yours?"

Although Shen Wei didn't know what they meant, he still nodded and replied:

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

The little girl standing on the far right had a bright look in her eyes and spoke in a soft voice, with a hint of envy:

"Wow, big brother, you look younger than my mom and dad, how can you afford such a big one—"

As she spoke, she opened her chubby little hands and gestured to indicate the size of the courtyard.

"A house!"

"Well......"

At this moment, the slightly shy boy on the far left suddenly spoke, his voice still somewhat childish, addressing the little girl who hadn't spoken but was clearly envious:

"Xiaoyu, don't envy them. I'll buy a courtyard like this someday, and then we can get married just like big brother and big sister, without our annoying parents bothering us!"

As soon as he said that, the other two children burst into laughter, laughing so hard they were doubled over. Only the little girl next to him blushed.

Shen Wei glanced at the girl beside him and noticed that it wasn't just the little girl called Xiaoyu whose face was flushed red.