Bai Suzhen, I really need to punish you properly.

The mountain path was rugged and uneven, and the carriage bumped along the way.

The right wheel appears to have accidentally run over a stone on the side of the road.

Caught off guard, Zhong Li stumbled forward and crashed straight into Wang Xuan's arms.

Wang Xuan reached out and caught her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist.

Zhong Li's cheeks instantly turned bright red.

A pair of small hands instinctively pressed against Wang Xuan's chest.

Their eyes met, and Wang Xuan's warm breath brushed against his face. Zhong Li lowered his head shyly.

The carriage quickly straightened out.

The two did not maintain this posture for long.

Zhong Li didn't know what to say, so he stammered, "I'm...I'm sorry."

"Why should I say sorry?"

Wang Xuan smiled gently, and with both hands he gently supported her forearms, helping her to sit up.

He really wanted to pinch Zhong Li's blushing cheeks, but their relationship hadn't reached that point yet.

We still need to maintain our style for now.

Outside the car, Old Liu asked, "Sir, are you alright?"

Wang Xuan then asked Zhong Li, "Weren't you scared?"

Zhong Li smoothed her loose hair, shook her head gently, and said in a voice barely audible, "No."

Just now, through the thin fabric of his clothes, his palm touched Wang Xuan's firm chest, and the sensation was still clearly lingering in his palm.

Recalling that scene, her ears began to burn again.

Wang Xuan shouted out of the car, "We're fine, let's keep going."

Old Liu's voice sounded slightly embarrassed: "Sir, it seems that the wheels of this car have been damaged by stones. It can still move, but it will be a bit bumpy."

Wang Xuan sighed softly and casually complained, "Lingyin Temple is very popular, but the mountain road outside the temple is completely unmanaged and full of potholes and rocks."

On the other hand, the quality of the carriage also needs to be improved.

He merely used a simple trick, casually moving a stone to appear under the wheel, and it so easily damaged the wheel.

He turned to look at the girl in front of him and suggested gently, "Sister Zhong Li, let's get off the car and walk. I'll show you the scenery here."

"Um."

Zhong Li naturally had no objections.

And she had no reason to refuse.

Wang Xuan was the first to lift the sedan curtain and step out of the carriage. Then, Zhong Li shyly took Wang Xuan's forearm and stepped down from the carriage.

Then, Wang Xuan looked at the accompanying yamen runners and instructed them, "You stay here and fix the wheels before following us."

Old Liu patted his chest and replied, "Don't worry, sir."

The two walked along the winding mountain path.

Lingyin Temple is located on a mountain road 15 miles west of Qiantang County, deep in the Wulin Mountains, so the road is almost entirely a dirt road through the mountains.

A gentle mountain breeze ruffled the hair at their temples.

Wang Xuan casually started a conversation: "You grew up in the Zhongnan Mountains, so you must be familiar with these mountain paths, right?"

Zhong Li nodded gently: "When I was little, I often went to the mountains to pick wild vegetables."

"Really? I used to go into the mountains to find wild vegetables when I was little." Wang Xuan said with a gentle gaze, full of deep meaning, "Maybe when we were young, we caught a glimpse of each other from afar in the mountains."

"Really?"

"Why not?" Wang Xuan asked with a smile, then added, "Now that you mention it, I'm actually starting to miss the taste of wild vegetables."

Zhong Li smiled and suggested, "Brother Wang Xuan, let's look for some wild vegetables in these mountains."

"Okay, let's see who finds the most. Whoever finds the most will cook."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xuan conjured two small bamboo baskets out of thin air and gave one to Zhong Li.

The two separated by a few steps and went their separate ways to look for wild vegetables by the roadside.

Wang Xuan suddenly called out, "Zhong Li, come here."

Zhong Li quickly stepped forward and asked curiously, "Brother Wang Xuan, what wild vegetables did you find?"

Wang Xuan gently shook her head, raised her hand and held out a blooming flower, its fragrance lingering faintly: "I didn't see any wild vegetables, but I saw this."

"So beautiful."

Wang Xuan handed it over: "Try plugging it in."

Zhong Li raised his hand to insert it, but he couldn't get it in place properly after several attempts.

"Let me do it." Wang Xuan stepped forward, gently twirling a flower branch between his fingertips and delicately tucking it behind her ear.

Gazing at the beautiful woman amidst the flowers, he softly recited: "Her peach-blossom cheeks and apricot-shaped face are naturally charming; she is as lovely as the flowers."

Zhong Li was immediately embarrassed and at a loss for words.

Wang Xuan smiled slightly to ease the awkwardness: "Alright, let's continue looking."

The two continued searching for wild vegetables.

Zhong Li spotted a cluster of fresh wild vegetables and hurried forward, but her plain-colored skirt got tangled in the thorns under her feet.

She bent down and pulled, but the tighter she pulled, the more her skirt split open, revealing a small section of her fair, snow-white calves.

"Ah!" Zhong Li exclaimed softly.

Hearing the sound, Wang Xuan came over, squatted down, and deftly cleared away the thorns for her, teasingly saying in a soft voice, "These thorns are quite interesting; I'm reluctant to let you go."

Zhong Li hurriedly gathered her skirt, somewhat embarrassed: "It was my carelessness."

"I think you're just too eager to cook." Wang Xuan smiled slightly. After the two of them had picked enough wild vegetables, Lao Liu and his group still hadn't caught up, so he took Zhong Li and flew home directly.

After landing, Wang Xuan smiled and smoothed her wind-blown bangs, looking into her eyes: "Did the wind mess up my hair?"

Zhong Li blushed and reached out to adjust Wang Xuan's hair.

"Sister Zhong Li, you won this time. We'll try your cooking tonight."

"Don't worry, Brother Wang Xuan."

Zhong Li's ears burned, and he hurriedly ran away with his bamboo basket.

Xiaoqing pouted slightly, watching the scene expressionlessly: "You don't want to find her brother, you want to be her brother, right?"

Wang Xuan strolled forward leisurely, changing the subject: "Why do I always see you loitering around the manor? Don't you ever cultivate? I set up such a good formation, and you don't even appreciate it."

"You didn't set this up specifically for me. Besides, you haven't cultivated at all, have you?"

"My cultivation method is special; you'll find out later," Wang Xuan said with a smile. "If you're free, why don't you come to my study and sit down for a while, reminiscing about yesterday?"

"Hmph, I won't. All you do is wrinkle my clothes."

Wang Xuan found it amusing: "At most, it just stretched out, when did it wrinkle?"

Xiaoqing gave a light hum and turned to leave with brisk steps.

Wang Xuan returned to his study.

Ao Jin is organizing books here.

"Jin'er, what are you doing here?"

"I had nothing to do, so I came here to see if there was anything I could tidy up."

Wang Xuan reached out and stroked her cheek: "So good."

Ao Jin obediently tilted her head back and gently rubbed against Wang Xuan's palm.

"By the way, Jin'er, you're a dragon girl, do you have dragon horns on your forehead?"

"Yes, my benefactor."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of translucent, lustrous dragon horns, resembling those carved from ice jade, slowly appeared on Ao Jin's temples.

Wang Xuan gently stroked the cool, smooth dragon horns with her fingertips and exclaimed sincerely, "Beautiful, I like it."

Ao Jin blushed and said in a soft voice, "If my benefactor likes it, I'll keep showing it."

"No need, you can show it to me privately."

"Yes, I'll only show it to my benefactor."