The carriage slowly approached the Chang'an city gate. He Xiuyuan had already alighted from the carriage and looked around to see an endless stream of pedestrians and vendors.
Speaking of prosperity, even before entering Chang'an, one could already feel its bustling extent.
After the group entered Chang'an, they arrived in front of Vermilion Bird Street.
At this point, He Xiuyuan and Zhong Xiuyun had to part ways.
The Zhong family and the Song Residence were not in the same ward; the entire Chang'an had one hundred and eight wards, divided left and right with Vermilion Bird Street as the center.
Zhong Xiuyun looked at the familiar Vermilion Bird Street before her, a hint of melancholy in her heart, knowing it was time to part with He Xiuyuan.
Thinking of this, she took an item from her waist and presented it to He Xiuyuan.
“Thank you, Mr. He, for your care along the way. As a parting gift, please accept this small token of my appreciation.”
If it hadn't been for He Xiuyuan, she would likely have been fed to Lord Jiang in the river back at Zhuangyuan Ferry.
And this item was something Zhong Xiuyun had carefully selected in Lin'an Prefecture.
He Xiuyuan was startled by her words and instinctively took the gift Zhong Xiuyun handed him.
At this moment, Zhong Xiuyun extended her tender, fair hand, blinking her beautiful eyes as she looked at He Xiuyuan and said, “Mr. He, after knowing each other, surely you haven’t prepared a gift for me?”
He Xiuyuan felt a sudden awkwardness at her words.
His mind was entirely devoted to cultivating the Dao; how could he have prepared any gifts?
However, having accepted her item now without anything to give in return, it indeed felt somewhat improper.
Zhong Xiuyun looked at He Xiuyuan’s expression and immediately knew that He Xiuyuan had indeed not prepared anything for her.
However, Zhong Xiuyun had only been joking and hadn't truly expected He Xiuyuan to prepare anything for her.
Thinking of this, she waved her hand, “I was just joking with Mr. He. Asking for a gift after receiving one would be out of line.”
With that, Zhong Xiuyun slightly lifted her skirt and prepared to turn and leave.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan thought for a moment and then called out to her.
“Wait a moment.”
“Hmm?”
Zhong Xiuyun paused slightly at his words, turning her head with some confusion to look at He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan looked at the wooden box in his hand. Based on the name on it, it should contain a writing brush.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan directly opened the wooden box in his hand and indeed saw a writing brush lying inside.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan picked up the writing brush from the box, thinking of the decree he had learned these past few days.
After pouring all the Spiritual Qi in his body into the writing brush, He Xiuyuan swiftly wrote ‘Pi’ (Bì - ward off) in the Void Realm.
If there were any Yin gods or specters present at this moment, they would surely see a dazzling golden character ‘Pi’ in front of He Xiuyuan, appearing particularly soul-stirring.
“decree!”
He Xiuyuan murmured a word, then lightly tapped with the writing brush, lifting the character ‘Pi’ onto the tip of the brush.
And as He Xiuyuan let out a shout, the character ‘Pi’ immediately burst into brilliant light, as if an invisible wave of wind swept forth, making people’s sleeves flap loudly.
At this moment, a dark cloud quietly gathered in the sky.
As the dark cloud condensed, the face of an aged Daoist priest subtly emerged on it.
However, when the old Daoist priest's face looked down, his gaze falling upon He Xiuyuan, his usually rigid expression seemed to show a momentary surprise.
Afterward, the dark cloud quickly dispersed, coming and going without a trace, completely unnoticed by anyone.
If He Xiuyuan had looked up at this moment, he would surely have noticed that the old Daoist priest's face seemed much more solid than when he first saw it.
However, at this moment, He Xiuyuan's gaze was fixed on the tip of the brush before him.
The character ‘Pi’ on the brush tip had already been lifted. Then, He Xiuyuan quickly raised the brush and pointed it towards Zhong Xiuyun’s brow.
The next moment, the golden character ‘Pi’, invisible to outsiders, swiftly merged into Zhong Xiuyun’s glabella.
“It’s done!”
This was He Xiuyuan’s first time casting this Spell, and seeing it succeed on the first try, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
With this character ‘Pi’ present, if she encountered any ghostly beings in the future, they would be unable to approach her.
Zhong Xiuyun was somewhat dazed at this moment. In her eyes, He Xiuyuan had suddenly taken out a writing brush and seemed to be writing something just now.
Then, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept through, almost making it impossible for people to stand steady.
Afterward, He Xiuyuan held the writing brush and touched her glabella.
As for whether she felt anything, Zhong Xiuyun didn’t feel anything at all.
But she knew that He Xiuyuan had definitely done something just now.
However, He Xiuyuan didn't give her a chance to ask questions; he simply waved at her with a beaming smile, then turned and left, looking incredibly carefree.
Lin Bo was somewhat dazed at this moment, his gaze uncertain as he looked towards Steward Song.
That look clearly expressed doubt and also questioned Steward Song about what was happening.
Just now, that strong gust of wind clearly emanated from He Xiuyuan, even making their clothes flap loudly.
The incident at Zhuangyuan Ferry earlier could be called a coincidence, but how could this current event be explained?
Could such coincidental things happen twice in a row?
Lin Bo was clearly having an existential crisis at this moment, even feeling that he might have been tricked by Steward Song.
Had the other party deliberately said those things to him earlier?
Meanwhile, Steward Song was also stunned and at a loss.
He didn't understand where that sudden strong gust of wind had come from.
Seeing the other party looking at him in the same way, Steward Song paused, then immediately turned and chased after He Xiuyuan.
Things that couldn't be explained simply wouldn't be explained. It was better to catch up with He Xiuyuan as soon as possible; he still needed to take He Xiuyuan back to the Song Residence.
Zhong Xiuyun watched He Xiuyuan's carefree departing figure, her eyes somewhat dim. From now on, they truly belonged to two different worlds...
......
Steward Song was now following He Xiuyuan, watching him walk along the street, curiously looking left and right at the bustling Chang'an. For the first time, Steward Song questioned his previous judgment.
Could it be that the people in Peach Blossom Town hadn't lied to him?
He had the urge to ask He Xiuyuan a thing or two, but the words were stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out.
And at this moment, seeing that the Song Residence ahead was almost within reach, Steward Song grew even more anxious.
Darn it, if only he had known, he shouldn't have written that letter earlier!
Now, Lord and Madam must have already read that letter. He didn't know if they would try to intimidate He Xiuyuan later or not.
He had truly done something foolish.
Steward Song was filled with regret at this moment, feeling that he could no longer understand He Xiuyuan at all.
He wanted to ask He Xiuyuan something, but he didn't know where to begin.
And as he was caught in this internal struggle, the two of them had already arrived in front of the Song Residence.