Seeing Li Xian sitting on the small stool with a contented look on his face, Shen Qing looked puzzled but didn't take it to heart.
Everyone has some quirks. It's quite normal.
Li Xian and Shen Qing each found a set of clothes from the box and changed into them. Li Xian also skillfully started a fire at the entrance of the cave.
The two sat around the fire, feeling warm all over. Even the gentle drizzle outside seemed full of poetry.
They sat there in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Li Xian looked at Shen Qing's small figure curled up on the small stone, with a satisfied look on his face.
Remembering what he had heard just now, Li Xian couldn't help asking, "They said you're going to marry the old lame man at the village entrance in the future. Is it true?"
Li Xian's face was tense when he said this. He had seen that old lame man at the village entrance. Not only was he lame in one leg, but he was also blind in one eye. It was said that when he was young, he went to the brothel without paying and was beaten until one of his legs was broken and one of his eyes was gouged out before being sent back.
He had earned some money when he was young and bought several wives, but he beat them all to death.
Moreover, he had yellow teeth all over his mouth and always said dirty words to the young girls of marriageable age at the village entrance. Who in the village didn't avoid him?
Just thinking that the little girl in front of him was going to be sold by her family to that old lame man, Li Xian felt heartache.
Hearing Li Xian mention this, Shen Qing's mood visibly sank.
She hugged her legs and buried the lower half of her face in her arms. Her voice was muffled, "I don't know. Mother never told me."
She didn't know what it meant to get married. She just saw that when other sisters got married, they had to live with strange men. But she didn't want to live with that old lame man, so she felt unhappy.
Moreover, the old lame man always stared at her with ill intentions. Whenever she passed by his house, he would always find an excuse to touch her. So Shen Qing didn't like that old lame man.
Li Xian sighed. He knew that Shen Qing was still young and it was useless to talk to her about these things.
Shen Qing didn't want to continue this topic either and quickly changed it, "Why were you beaten like this by my younger brother? You're clearly much taller and older than him. In fact, you could have just pushed him away."
Shen Qing was really curious. Li Xian was clearly a head taller than her when he stood up. She was about the same height as Shen Chuyun, so Li Xian must be able to beat Shen Chuyun. But why didn't he fight back?
Li Xian was silent for a while and then replied in a muffled voice, "I know... but I didn't want to fight back."
"I just wanted to see if my parents would love me more if I was bullied by the kids in the village..."
Shen Qing didn't quite understand Li Xian's actions, "I heard that your father beats you. How could he feel sorry for you just because other kids bullied you? He doesn't even love you himself."
The little girl's voice was full of innocence, and her straightforward question stabbed Li Xian's heart deeply.
"You don't have to be so blunt..."
Shen Qing patted Li Xian's shoulder like a little adult, "It's okay. Don't be sad. I'm often beaten and scolded by my parents too. You'll get used to it."
"When I grow up, I'll leave this place far away and live my own life. I have hands and feet and I'm so smart. I'm sure I'll have a bright future!"
As Shen Qing said this, she was convinced that she would be able to escape from this suffocating family. She clenched her small fists and waved them in the air twice.
Li Xian was amused by Shen Qing's appearance. His eyes curved into a smile, revealing a little tiger tooth.
Shen Qing seemed to have discovered something new and pointed at Li Xian's tiger tooth, "Brother Li Xian, you're really good-looking. You're even better-looking than the poor scholar at the village entrance. You should smile more."
Being praised, Li Xian was in a great mood. "Actually, you don't have to wait until you grow up. There'll be a chance in three months for us to escape from that family."
Shen Qing's eyes suddenly lit up. "What? What?"
Li Xian explained seriously, "The elders of the sect will come here in three months to select disciples to enter the sect. If we're lucky enough to be selected by the elders, we can leave home and go to the legendary Nine Wastelands Continent through Kunlun Mountain."
Shen Qing nodded half - understanding. She knew about the sect and the Nine Wastelands Continent.
That was where the immortals lived. Because strange demons often hurt people in various places, even in this remote small village of Xiaolin Village, there would be very beautifully dressed cultivators passing by.
Shen Qing had also seen those cultivators. They all dressed in a fairy - like manner, with high buns on their heads and all kinds of strange magic tools in their hands.
"But it must be very difficult to be selected by the elders, right? I've heard from the adults that no genius from Xiaolin Village has entered the sect for hundreds of years. It's probably difficult for us too..."
Hearing Shen Qing sounding a bit discouraged, Li Xian pinched her face and said seriously, "It's not difficult. We'll definitely be selected."
"Are you so sure?"
"I guarantee it!"
Shen Qing's smile grew wider, and hope instantly filled her eyes.
Sleepiness gradually came over her. Shen Qing fell into a deep sleep in the thick drowsiness and the longing for entering the sect.
Li Xian's amber eyes flashed. He adjusted the little girl's posture to make her sleep more comfortably.
No one in Xiaolin Village knew that in fact, his parents had come from the Nine Wastelands Continent. Li Xian knew that the condition for the elders of the sect to select disciples was to use spiritual stones to test spiritual roots.
He knew that he had a rare single spiritual root and would definitely be selected by the elders.
When Shen Qing got close to him, he had noticed that Shen Qing also had a very pure single spiritual root in her body. Although he didn't know its attribute, it was very powerful.
So that was why Li Xian had guaranteed in front of Shen Qing that the two of them would definitely be selected.
He had already made up his mind. He wanted to go to the Five - Element Dao Sect because his parents were the disciples who had escaped from the Five - Element Dao Sect.
His idea was very simple. As long as he went to the Five - Element Dao Sect, his escaped parents would never dare to disturb him.
He also wanted to take Shen Qing with him. He was really worried that such a simple and weak Shen Qing would definitely be bullied in other sects, so he must protect Shen Qing.
Even though the two of them had known each other for a short time, like Shen Qing, Li Xian also felt a familiar aura from the other. It was as if they had known each other for a long time and had experienced many things together.
"Little girl, don't worry. I'll definitely protect you well..."
Li Xian said seriously. Before long, he also fell into a deep sleep.
The two snuggled together, leaning against the mountain wall, and slept comfortably by the warm fire for a whole night.
Early the next morning, Shen Qing quickly returned home. But just as she had expected, Erhu's wife didn't care at all that Shen Qing had been out all night. She thought Shen Qing had slept in the pigsty of the second aunt next door for a night.
Since it had always been like this before, Shen Qing didn't bother to explain.
She was full of hope, looking forward to the elders of the sect coming to select her in three months so that she could stay away from Xiaolin Village and the old lame man at the village entrance.