Transmigrating into the world of Jade Dynasty, I was targeted by the female lead in a reverse romanc

After walking for about half an hour, the outline of a small town appeared ahead. The town was not large, built against the mountain, and was dark with only a few scattered lights.

As you approach, you'll see a half-person-high blue stone tablet standing at the entrance of the town, with three large characters engraved on it: Xiaochi Town.

The writing was already somewhat blurred, and the stone tablet was covered with moss. The town was very quiet; at this hour, everyone was asleep.

The two entered the town. The streets were narrow, lined with low, dilapidated mud and wood houses. The road was paved with bluestone slabs, with weeds growing in the cracks.

After strolling around for a while, I noticed a late-night snack stall on the street corner that hadn't been packed up yet. It was run by an old man selling wontons, who was slowly tidying up his things by the light of an oil lamp.

Jiang Xiaochuan's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten much for dinner and had been up most of the night, so he was starving.

He walked over and took out a few copper coins: "Old man, two bowls of wontons."

The old man looked up, glanced at him and Biyao, nodded, and without asking any further questions, started the fire again to cook the wontons.

The two sat down on the small stools in front of the stall. Biyao didn't say anything, just sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the dark street corner in the distance. Jiang Xiaochuan didn't say anything either, watching the wontons bubbling in the pot and smelling the steaming aroma, he suddenly felt a little calmer.

The wontons were ready quickly, and the old man brought out two bowls. The soup was clear, with a few scallions floating on top. The wonton wrappers were thin and the fillings were generous; they looked delicious.

Jiang Xiaochuan picked up a spoon, scooped one up, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. It was hot and fresh. He squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

Biyao also picked up a spoon and ate in small bites. She ate very politely and made no noise.

After finishing the wontons, Jiang Xiaochuan felt much warmer. He paid the bill and continued strolling around the town with Biyao.

As dawn approached, the eastern sky began to lighten, and the town gradually awoke. Early risers opened their doors, and wisps of smoke rose from their chimneys.

They strolled onto a busier street with shops on both sides selling breakfast, vegetables, and groceries. The street became more crowded, filled with shouts, bargaining, and the sounds of children laughing and crying, creating a vibrant atmosphere of life.

Jiang Xiaochuan saw a vendor selling candied hawthorns ahead. A dozen or so bright red candied hawthorns were stuck on a bundle of straw, and the sugar coating glistened in the morning light.

He paused in his steps.

Biyao followed his gaze and saw the candied hawthorns. A look of understanding flashed in her eyes. She took out a gold ingot from her sleeve and handed it to Jiang Xiaochuan.

"Go buy it," she said.

Jiang Xiaochuan's eyes widened when he saw the gold ingot. He grabbed it, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be heavy, probably worth ten taels.

"You..." He looked at Biyao, his expression complicated, "You just casually pulled out a gold ingot?"

Biyao tilted her head: "Not enough?"

"It's not that it's not enough," Jiang Xiaochuan said, tucking the gold into his pocket and pulling out a few copper coins. "It's too much. A few copper coins are enough to buy a skewer of candied hawthorns. Will they be able to make change if you bring gold?"

Biyao blinked, seemingly having never considered this question. In her view, there was no difference between paying with money, gold, or silver to buy things.

Jiang Xiaochuan shook his head, took the copper coin and walked over, buying four skewers of candied hawthorn. He thought that if he met Zhou Xiaohuan, he could give her one skewer, and give one skewer to Biyao and keep the other two for himself.

He walked back and handed a string of pearls to Biyao.

Biyao took the candied hawthorn and looked at the bright red candied hawthorn in her hand. She didn't eat it immediately. She looked up at Jiang Xiaochuan with a complicated expression in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked, having already taken a bite himself. The sugar coating was crisp, and the hawthorn was sour; all mixed together, it tasted delicious.

"It's nothing." Biyao shook her head and took a bite as well. The sugar coating melted in her mouth, cloyingly sweet, but the hawthorn underneath was so sour that it made her frown. She frowned but didn't spit it out, chewing slowly.

"Is it good?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked.

Biyao thought for a moment and nodded: "Sweet."

"Is it sour?" Jiang Xiaochuan asked again.

"A little," Biyao said.

"Sour is just right," Jiang Xiaochuan laughed. "Candied hawthorns have to be both sour and sweet to taste good. If they're only sweet, they're too cloying."

Biyao didn't say anything, she just ate in small bites.

The morning light shone on her face, casting faint shadows on her eyelashes. Today, she wasn't wearing her signature light green dress; instead, she wore a moon-white gown, and her hair was simply tied up without any adornment. She looked like an ordinary, pretty girl next door, walking quietly through the morning market, eating a string of candied hawthorns.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at her profile and his heart suddenly stirred, a very slight stirring, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating a faint ripple, but the ripple quickly disappeared and the pool returned to calm.

He looked away and continued eating his candied hawthorn.

The two ate their candied hawthorns as they strolled slowly through the gradually bustling market. Neither of them spoke, but the atmosphere was not awkward. Occasionally, early-rising women carrying baskets would pass by and glance at them, their eyes filled with kind and curious looks.

Jiang Xiaochuan paused as he reached the street corner.

Not far ahead, a fortune-telling stall was set up against the wall. The stall was very simple, with a broken table and a dirty cloth banner with four crooked characters written on it: "The Immortal Points the Way".

The stall owner was an old man wearing a faded Taoist robe and sporting a goatee, who was dozing off against the wall.

Next to her sat a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with two pigtails sticking up in the air. She was holding an old book that was bigger than her face and reading it with great interest, occasionally sticking out her little tongue to lick her lips.

It was Zhou Yixian and Zhou Xiaohuan.

Jiang Xiaochuan's eyes lit up, and he strode over. Biyao paused for a moment, then followed.

When they reached the stall, Zhou Yixian was still asleep, snoring loudly. Zhou Xiaohuan looked up, saw Jiang Xiaochuan, and her eyes immediately curved into crescents.

"Brother Tanghulu!" she called out in a clear voice, her tone full of surprise.

Jiang Xiaochuan smiled, took out a string of candied hawthorns and handed them to her: "Xiaohuan, please have some."

Zhou Xiaohuan took it and thanked him sweetly, "Thank you, brother!" She took a bite and squinted her eyes happily.

The commotion woke up Zhou Yixian.

He opened his eyes groggily, saw Jiang Xiaochuan, paused for a moment, and then revealed his signature smile, which carried a hint of shrewdness.

"Oh my, young master, it's been a long time!" He stood up, bowed, and said, "You look quite well today, young master, your face is radiant, good things are sure to come! Come, come, let this old man cast a divination for you and guide you through your troubles, it only costs four taels of silver..."

Jiang Xiaochuan waved his hand, interrupting him: "Mr. Zhou, how have you been? Xiao Huan has grown taller again."

Zhou Yixian chuckled and stroked his goatee: "Thanks to you, young master, I can still make a living."

His gaze fell on Biyao behind Jiang Xiaochuan, and his eyes lit up. "This young lady is...?"

"My friend," Jiang Xiaochuan said simply, without going into further details.

He crouched down, looking at the book in Zhou Xiaohuan's hand. "Xiaohuan, what book are you reading?"

"It's still 'Tales of Gods and Demons'," Zhou Xiaohuan said in a childish voice, turning to a page and pointing it out to Jiang Xiaochuan.

"Brother, look! It says here that there's a strange beast in the southern borderlands called 'Taotie.' It looks like a sheep with a human face, eyes under its armpits, tiger teeth, and human claws. Its voice is like a baby's; it's a huge glutton!"

Jiang Xiaochuan smiled and patted her head: "Xiao Huan is really amazing, she knows so many words."

Zhou Xiaohuan proudly puffed out her small chest.

Jiang Xiaochuan straightened up, looked at Zhou Yixian, and said seriously, "Mr. Zhou, about the matter I asked you to do last time..."

Zhou Yixian immediately understood, looked around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't worry, young master, I've been keeping an eye on things. That thing in the black stone cave... came two months ago, about ten miles outside the town. It hasn't hurt anyone much, just occasionally steals some livestock from farmers, like cattle and sheep. The townspeople were terrified at first, but after seeing that no one was killed, they gradually stopped caring and just assumed it was a wild animal from the mountains."

Jiang Xiaochuan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one was hurt. He was really afraid that if he had arrived too late, the fox demon would have already killed someone, which would have been troublesome.

"Thank you, sir," he said, bowing slightly.

"You're too kind, young master," Zhou Yixian waved his hand, then glanced at Jiang Xiaochuan a few more times, hesitated, and finally asked, "Young master, did you come here for the things in that cave?"

Jiang Xiaochuan nodded: "Some old matters need to be settled."

Zhou Yixian pondered for a moment and said, "That cave is not simple. It's filled with yin energy and evil spirits. If you, young master, are going there, you'd better be careful."

"I will." Jiang Xiaochuan smiled, then took out another tael of silver and stuffed it into Zhou Yixian's hand. "Please treat the old gentleman and Xiao Huan to breakfast."

Zhou Yixian accepted the silver without hesitation, chuckling, "Then thank you very much, young master."

Jiang Xiaochuan said a few more words to Zhou Xiaohuan before turning around and leaving with Biyao.

After taking a few steps, Biyao suddenly spoke up: "Are you going to exorcise demons and monsters?"

Jiang Xiaochuan paused, then shook his head: "No."

"Then what are you going to do?" Biyao asked.

Jiang Xiaochuan was silent for a moment before whispering, "Go to 91."

Biyao was taken aback and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't explain, but just kept walking. The morning light grew brighter, shining on the bluestone road with a warm glow. The town was fully awake, bustling with noise and full of life.

He took a bite of the last candied hawthorn, and the sweet and sour taste melted in his mouth.

He suddenly thought that if life could just continue like this, it might not be so bad.

There is no conflict between good and evil, no life-or-death battles, no heavy past events and uncertainties about the future.

Just like that, in an ordinary small town, eating a skewer of candied hawthorn, strolling through the morning market, and greeting acquaintances.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

impossible.

He turned his head to look at Biyao beside him. She was still eating the candied hawthorn skewer in small bites. Her profile looked very quiet and gentle in the morning light. Noticing his gaze, she also turned her head to look at him.

Their eyes met.

Biyao's eyes were bright and clear, reflecting the morning light and her own shadow. There was still a bit of sugar residue on the corner of her mouth, making her look a little silly, and a little... cute.

Jiang Xiaochuan's stagnant heart stirred slightly once again.

He looked away and gazed ahead.