Chapter 9 - By Your Side

East Side Road, West Side Road, South Side Road.

A shop in five miles, a shop in seven miles, a shop in ten miles.

Take a step, look forward to a step, be lazy for a step.

All of a sudden, the sky is dusk, the sun is dusk, and the clouds are also dusk. The setting sun is all over the ground, and the smoke is coming back when I look back.

There are countless mountains, countless waters, and countless emotions.

...

Not only did Luo Xuan have to endure the physical discomfort, he also had no choice but to listen to Liu Li's questions and ignore everything she was asking him. After realizing that she was not going to get an answer, Liu Li could only wear that odd string to her ears (earphones?), humming strange songs along the way. Luo Xuan felt as if his mind was filled with glue.

Most of the poison had been forced out, but there were still some residues in his body. If he takes the medicine every day to suppress it and does not use his internal strength, he should be able to persist for nearly a month, but he will still relapse at least once every two days. The frequency of the poison’s effect will become smaller and smaller. Luo Xuan slowly spread out his internal strength only to conduct the air within his body back and forth. His body felt both hot and cold at the same time. What a strong poison, and in this poison, there is such strong hatred.

Luo Xuan thought of Ban Ruohua. Maybe she is all right now, but she must hate him a lot. His heart was aching slightly. Flashing in his mind was the proud and stubborn look of her pouting when they first met.

For many miles the carriage traveled in the suburbs. The sky gradually darkened. Luo Xuan opened the curtain and looked outside. There was a gust of strong wind and the mountains were already at a distance with the night seemingly boundless before them. Liu Li seemed to be a little frightened. She stuck herself to him with her eyes closed. He wondered if she was asleep.

Luo Xuan called out to Fu Shun and asked him to find a place to settle down. He suggested that they ought to rest for the night and then rush tomorrow morning. Fu Shun chuckled and said, "Oh, it doesn't matter if you want to continue being on the road. This horse and I have walked this way countless times. We can see it even with our eyes closed. The sooner we leave Hangzhou, the safer."

Luo Xuan replied indifferently, "It doesn't matter, if they are truly coming after us, they will find us sooner or later. You have all worked hard today, so let's find a shelter nearby and stop for the night."

The carriage stopped in a clearing in a small forest. Liu Li got out of the carriage excitedly, but it was pitch black everywhere, triggering a sense of fear in her heart. She thought of how she fell into this place all alone, and there was such a big unknown world in front of her. Her future was uncertain, and so her heart was suddenly full of loneliness and loss.

She sat down weakly on the grass with her hands supporting her from the back. She looked up at the vast sky. There were so many stars during ancient times, it spread everywhere across the sky. In addition, because the surroundings were too dark, the stars were also very bright. The scenery was so rare and so beautiful. Unfortunately, there was no moon. She wondered if the ancient moon was larger and rounder than the modern one.

Fu Shun quickly ignited a bonfire in the open space. Liu Li watched as Luo Xuan stood on the cliff in his white robes. She wondered what he was looking at. He stood alone, with his hair flowing and his clothes fluttering. He seemed to be deep in thought, as if an immortal had fallen into the world. He looked so beautiful and illusory under the background of the sky and stars that Liu Li couldn't help but fall into an admiring daze.

She hugged her arms tightly and felt a hint of coolness in her heart. She suddenly felt that he was so far away. Did she travel through time and come here just to find such an illusory and distant dream? She suddenly became a little scared, afraid that she could not hold the dream but would instead lose herself. She was afraid that she would lose her heart in such a strange dimension and would never find it again.

She approached the fire and tried to reach her body forward, seeking more warmth. She pinched her chubby little face, twisted her nose and stretched out her hand to form a fist to cheer herself up, "Fighting!"

Since I’m already here, I ought to make my peace. There’s nothing else I can do, she comforted herself. All the beautiful and kind heroines who have traveled through time are happy in the end and they will always find the love they want. Hehe.

"Big Brother Fu, I'm hungry, do we have anything to eat?"

Fu Shun smiled, walked over and gave her a big steamed bun. Liu Li ate a few bites happily. The sweetness was not bad. She took another and poked it through a skewer in an attempt to roast it. She did so while singing that Wangzi's baked buns are here...

Once it was baked, she hurriedly ran to take it to Luo Xuan. She wanted to get on his good side. It was very windy on the cliff. Liu Li was dancing excitedly with her long sleeves and her one hand holding the skewed baked bun. She felt like she was about to fly. It’s so fun. Fortunately, the clothes Lan Shu prepared for her were not very heavy and the size was also appropriate. Of course, I am a little chubby so it seems a little tight on me, but this is the best way to show my figure, haha. The silver-white inner robe was covered with a light and silky green long skirt. I see, so the clothes of those in the ancient times look like this. Haha, it looks better than it is on TV.

“Xuan gege, eat up!”

Luo Xuan frowned. “What is this?”

Liu Li smiled and waved the dark thing on the branch. "It’s a bun I baked for you!"

Luo Xuan turned and left. "Thank you, but I'm not hungry."

Liu Li ran to the fire and squatted down. "You seem to have eaten nothing but piles of weird medicines all day today! Eat some!"

Luo Xuan raised his hand to take the white steamed bun from Fu Shun's hand without even looking up. "Fine."

Liu Li threw an angry glare at Fu Shun and moved closer to Luo Xuan. She sat there watching as Luo Xuan ate steamed buns without ever averting her eyes. Look at the way he raises and bows his head, wow, so handsome. Her heart was beating fast.

Luo Xuan was not used to someone staring at him without saying a word, so he turned to face her. "Miss, where are you from?"

Liu Li pouted helplessly. "Don't call me Miss, call me Liu Li, Xuan gege, hehehehe." It left Luo Xuan with goosebumps.

"It’s very dangerous for you to come out on your own and follow me through this journey. Aren’t you worried about your family members? You should go home!"

Liu Li smiled bitterly and looked at the sky. "Home? I want to go back too, but I don't know what I should do once I get back. Just like the little stars in the sky, there are so many, so many... be it one more or one lesser, for those on Earth, there is no difference, right?"

Luo Xuan suddenly became a little uncomfortable when he heard her words which were full of melancholy. This strange girl can easily put herself in such a dangerous situation without any worries, will she also have troubles?

"All right, it's getting late. Go sleep in the carriage. There is a quilt in it. Fu Shun and I will be on the watch. You have gone through a lot today. Rest early."

"What? No way!" Liu Li looked at her hand. She suddenly realized that she did not wear a watch, so she took out her Mickey Mouse keychain which had a watch in the front and a photo at the back. She looked at the time. It's only 9 o'clock. Do people in ancient times go to bed so early? How boring. I can’t imagine how they survived without electricity. No lights, no TV, no refrigerator, no air conditioner, no internet, how am I to live? I never thought about how I would live without the internet. God, if I stay here all the time, what about my QQ? She was suddenly full of thoughts and began to worry. She was worried about the little wild cat that she would feed every day, worried that her good friend would complain that she ran away from home and would not take her with her, worried that no one would water the pot of mimosa on her window sill… However, she was not worried at all about how her parents would be too sad because of her disappearance.

"I'm not sleepy yet. I don't want to sleep." As soon as she said that, she yawned.

Fu Shun laughed when he saw this. "Miss Liuli, go to bed. Tomorrow we’ll be on the road for the whole day, but we can find an inn to rest in and eat well once we arrive in the town at night."

"Okay..." Liu Li raised the skirt, stood up and walked a few steps. Then, she turned around and tilted her head, seemingly in thought. "Xuan gege."

“Hm?”

“When I get up tomorrow morning, will I find that you are gone?”

“What?”

"Will you not want to take me on the road because you are afraid that I will be in danger, and then run away with Big Brother Fu?"

“...Why do you say so?”

"Because they always act like this on TV..."

Luo Xuan smiled helplessly. "No, don't overthink it and go to bed... Liu Li..."

Liu Li giggled and jumped up excitedly. The sound of him saying my name is so pleasant to the ears.

"Okay. Good night Xuan gege and Big Brother Fu!" She took the initiative to climb into the carriage. Actually, she wanted to accompany Xuan gege outside, but she was afraid that little bugs would bite her at night. She has been afraid of bugs ever since she was a child. As for snakes and mice, she was not afraid of them.

Luo Xuan raised his head and observed the stars in the sky. While he made his calculations, he found that his calamity star was moving, but for some reason a small star that suddenly flickered completely pushed him away from his orbit. He couldn’t help but sigh. Is this all God's will?