"Don't, don't, wait! Don't cut it off..."
I quickly stopped Gu Yuan, clutching his arm tightly and refusing to let go.
Gu Yuan pursed his lips. A fleeting smirk that seemed to be gloating flashed across his face.
Alas! I was still defeated by him. At such a young age, he was already so naughty.
Just now, I suddenly realized that I shouldn't interfere with her past with Chi Yu. This red thread wasn't in my hands, so why should I make decisions for Chi Yu?
Moreover, I didn't really belong here. I would leave sooner or later.
As for what Chi Yu would do in the future, it was up to her to decide.
Gu Yuan would face an even more difficult path in the future. I might see fewer and fewer of his smiling faces, so why make him unhappy?
The only thing I could do now was to keep him smiling as long as I was still here.
"Why did you change your mind again?" he asked even though I had already told him not to cut it off.
I pouted and let out a shy snort at him.
"Humph, you know it but still ask."
Gu Yuan was always like this. He couldn't stand it when I acted cute.
At this moment, he was smiling so happily. It was the same smile I had first seen when we were watching the Kongming lanterns in the Nine Netherworld.
We held hands and walked all the way back to Changbai Mountain.
Before entering the mountain, I wisely kept a distance from Gu Yuan. After all, it wouldn't look good if someone saw us.
But Gu Yuan wouldn't have it. He held my hand tightly, our fingers intertwined, and strode towards the Hu Family's old mansion.
Meanwhile, Hu Xuanfeng, Hu Fujin and others had been waiting at the mansion's gate for a long time. When they saw us coming back, Hu Xuanfeng immediately stepped forward to greet us.
"Third Lord, I've already followed your instructions and fed the talisman paper to Qingluan. The red thread did disappear, but there are just too many gu worms. We tried to get rid of some, but it was useless."
"Don't worry. I've already found a way. Take me in and let me have a look."
Gu Yuan pulled my hand and followed Hu Xuanfeng into the mansion.
During this time, Hu Fujin's eyes would occasionally glance at our intertwined hands.
I quickly pulled Gu Yuan to a stop and withdrew my hand. "You guys go in. I'll wait outside."
Gu Yuan tilted his head. He didn't want to leave me alone outside.
"I'll stay here with her. Third Lord, you guys go in!" Hu Fujin volunteered to protect me outside.
Gu Yuan was reluctant. He looked down at me.
"You go in!"
Only after hearing my words did Gu Yuan step into the room.
Hu Xuanfeng followed closely behind and also entered the room.
Hu Fujin and I stood outside the window and looked inside. It was obvious that she really loved her daughter, but only her daughter.
Watching Gu Yuan force all the gu worms out of Hu Qingluan's body, Hu Qingluan's complexion improved a lot.
Her originally purple face finally relaxed and looked much rosier.
Hu Fujin was overjoyed. She had just said she would guard me outside, but in less than a quarter of an hour, she had forgotten all about it and rushed in.
Alas, I sighed and turned around to sit on the threshold, resting my chin on my hands.
At the same time, an old man with an otherworldly air and white hair and beard walked in through the door.
His long white eyebrows were almost as long as his beard. He had a fox-like face and narrow eyes. His white Taiji robe made him look extremely solemn.
However, the other man walking side by side with him was tall and thin, with a long face, a pair of moustaches and full apple cheeks. When he saw me, his face was full of smiles. He looked very funny, just like a comedian.
If I guessed correctly, these two should be the Third Lord Hu and the Third Lord Liu.
I quickly stood up from the threshold and bowed to the two old men.
The Third Lord Hu ignored me completely. The Third Lord Liu fanned his fan and gave me a sly smile as he passed by. He looked really funny.
I pursed my lips, almost laughing out loud.
Meanwhile, Hu Qingluan was basically out of danger.
Gu Yuan also walked out of the bedroom and came to the reception hall opposite me.
When the Third Lord Hu saw Gu Yuan, his narrow eyes suddenly lit up.
He had a beaming smile on his face and looked at Gu Yuan with doting eyes. His full apple cheeks squeezed his eyes into slits.
"So this is the Third Lord Liu. He is truly imposing and extremely handsome."
Gu Yuan was naturally cold-tempered and always disdained such flattery. But seeing the Third Lord Liu winking at him from the side.
Gu Yuan could only nod helplessly and reply, "Yes."
The Third Lord Liu stood behind the Third Lord Hu, swaying his body like a boneless man. He bowed and shook his head. His chin was almost twisted as he motioned for Gu Yuan to give him some face.
"Gu Yuan pays his respects to the Third Lord Hu and the Third Lord Liu."
The Third Lord Liu couldn't bear Gu Yuan's bow. He kept lowering his head behind, looking very apologetic.
I stood not far from the Third Lord Hu and could clearly see the expression on his face.
Don't be fooled by his act of pretending not to know. In fact, he was as clear as a mirror. This old fox was very shrewd and could tell Gu Yuan's identity at a glance.
Coupled with the actions of the Third Lord Liu behind him, he was even more certain.
But he didn't expose it. Instead, he smiled even more brightly.
"Third Lord Hu, your great-granddaughter is basically out of danger. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first."
"Gu Yuan really has great skills. I didn't expect the Liu Family to have such a capable person. You've helped the Hu Family so much. How can you leave without having a meal?"
"Xuanfeng, give the order. Today I'm going to hold a grand banquet to entertain our distinguished guests."
"Third Lord Hu, there's no need to go to so much trouble. I prefer quietness and don't like excitement, so I'd rather..."
"Hey? No, no. You're our guest. You must have a meal before you leave. Since you don't like excitement, I'll just ask a few family members to accompany you."
The Third Lord Hu's invitation was hard to decline. Gu Yuan turned his eyes to me. I shrugged. There was no reason to refuse.
"Then I'll not decline your kind invitation. The Third Lord Hu's villa is very beautiful. Can I take my friend for a stroll in the courtyard?"
"Of course, of course. Later, when the food is ready, I'll ask Xuanfeng to come and fetch you in person."
Gu Yuan nodded and led me to the back garden of the old mansion.
I didn't expect that behind this seemingly old mansion, there were so many fruit trees in the garden. It was more like an orchard than a garden.
It was around August or September in the mortal world. It was the season when the fruits were ripe.
There were big juicy peaches, green dates, Nanguo pears and so on. I was so tempted.
"Can we eat these?" Gu Yuan asked me.
"Of course. Didn't you ever eat the offerings when the people in the mortal world made them to you?" My attention was completely on the big juicy peaches. Maybe it had been too long since I last ate fresh fruits.
For the first time, I felt what it meant to be extremely eager.
"Do you want to eat?" Gu Yuan asked.
This wasn't my orchard. How could I be so embarrassed to say that I wanted to eat? It would be so shameful.
"No, I'll just take a look. Smelling the fragrance is enough."
But Gu Yuan saw through my thoughts. He reached out his hand and picked the biggest Nanguo pear and handed it to me.
"Eat it. No one will see."
I bit my lips and took the Nanguo pear shyly. I ran to the nearby stream to wash it.
I opened my mouth wide and took a bite. The pear that had just been picked was already fully ripe and very juicy.
As soon as I took a bite, a stream of juice squirted out of my mouth.
I quickly bent down to catch it so that the juice wouldn't splash on my clothes.
Then I handed the pear in my hand to Gu Yuan and said indistinctly, "Try it. It's really sweet, so sweet."
Gu Yuan looked at the pear with a big bite taken out of it by me and frowned. "I won't eat it."
I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Why? Do you think I'm dirty?"