The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

Hearing Wang Zhenhuan's slightly anxious tone, Lin Qingyan felt a little puzzled. While quickly packing her things, she asked, "Brother, that golden man doesn't seem to have any martial arts skills."

"I'm not worried about her. That golden girl is clearly a noblewoman from the Golden Kingdom. Look at her, she doesn't even have a bag with her luggage. She must have run away secretly."

"What do you think would happen if her family found out she had disappeared, given her noble status?" Wang Zhenhuan packed up the remaining dry rations, slung his bundle over his shoulder, and asked Lin Qingyan in return.

"Oh dear, does that mean we have to send someone to look for her?" Lin Qingyan suddenly realized. She put the tinderbox into her bosom and hurriedly followed Wang Zhenhuan out.

"That's right, that's why I told you to pack your things quickly. Although that girl doesn't discriminate against Han people, the servants and guards who come looking for her might not."

Wang Zhenhuan, holding Lin Qingyan's hand, led her to the path in front of the dilapidated temple and looked around. He frowned when he saw the broken bushes by the roadside. The route the girl had taken was surprisingly the same as theirs.

What would a Jurchen noblewoman like her be doing heading south? Wang Huanzhen frowned and pondered for a moment, then pulled Lin Qingyan along and walked towards the direction where the bush had broken.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take other routes, but this was the only path in this desolate wilderness, barely passable. And if he wanted to go south, this was the only direction. To the east was the sea, and to the west he would encounter the Jurchens.

Left with no other choice, he could only follow behind the golden-haired girl. Now he could only pray that the servants who came looking for her wouldn't arrive so soon. The two walked south along the path until evening, finally returning to the main road.

As the sun set and night fell, the two, unable to find a suitable place to stay, had no choice but to continue their journey through the night. Although they had been walking constantly, Lin Qingyan was physically weak.

They had to stop and rest every few miles, so Wang Zhenhuan estimated that they hadn't actually gone very far. Lin Qingyan spoke noticeably less along the way; the long walk had left her drenched in sweat.

When you're far from home and traveling far from your family, nothing is ever smooth sailing. The two walked until late into the night without finding a suitable place to stay. Lin Qingyan was already on Wang Huanzhen's back.

Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining. At the foot of the mountain beside the official road, the two found an abandoned, roofless thatched hut. It looked like it used to be the residence of the mountain keeper.

The two men huddled together in the dilapidated hut, lit a fire, and endured the night. For the next three days, they saw no sign of human habitation except for the corpses lying by the roadside.

The two of them were almost out of dry rations. Wang Huanzhen finally understood why the blue-robed Taoist priest had no food left. He probably hadn't expected it either.

In Zizhou, so close to Tokyo, there wasn't a single person for miles around. On the fourth day, the two of them only had half a pancake left, which Wang Zhenhuan gave to Lin Qingyan.

Alone, he entered the mountains with a dagger. Although there were plenty of rabbits and pheasants in the mountains, he didn't know how to hunt, and with only a dagger on him, he lingered until dark without catching anything of any decent prey.

His hunger was secondary; the thought of Lin Qingyan's expectant eyes filled him with guilt. However, he couldn't bear to leave Lin Qingyan there alone.

So he drank his fill of icy mountain spring water, filled his water bag, and then returned down the mountain in the dark. Lin Qingyan sat in front of the fire, her legs curled up, her arms wrapped around her legs, staring blankly at the firelight.

When Wang Huanzhen saw this scene, his heart ached. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he thought about how he had gained nothing, he didn't utter a word.

A gust of autumn wind blew by, causing the fire to flicker. Lin Qingyan quickly got up and crouched down in the windy spot to shield herself from the flames. Once the fire had reignited, she looked up, her face lighting up with joy.

"Brother, why are you only just getting back? It's already dark!"

The girl jogged up to Wang Zhenhuan and took his arm. Her undisguised smile of surprise eased Wang Zhenhuan's guilty conscience considerably.

He gently stroked the girl's hair, took out a water bag from his waist and handed it to her, saying with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry, I really don't have any talent for hunting. I saw a few rabbits, but they all got away."

"It's alright, I'm just glad you're back safe and sound. Look what I left for you?" Lin Qingyan smiled and took out half a steaming hot pancake from her bosom, handing it to Wang Zhenhuan.

Wang Zhenhuan looked at the pancake he had left for Lin Qingyan before he left. His eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and he turned his head away so that Lin Qingyan wouldn't see the expression on his face.

He rubbed his eyes in the darkness, then pretended to be angry and said, "Who told you I didn't eat anything because I didn't catch any prey? Your brother was already up in the mountains, eating his fill of wild fruit. I even brought you a few. Look if you don't believe me."

He pushed the pancake to the girl, then pretended to rummage through his pockets. Unexpectedly, he actually found a few round things, which he took out to examine.

He realized that he had picked the plums in that dilapidated temple and deserted village. Although he had thrown away all the plums in his arms, he hadn't lost the ones in his pocket.

These plums had been with him all this way, and they had just come to his rescue. When Lin Qingyan saw him take the plums out of his pocket, the doubt on her face turned into a smile.

She reached out to take a plum, but Wang Zhen suddenly pulled her hand away. Pointing to the half-eaten, still-steaming flatbread, he said, "You eat the flatbread first, and you can try this plum."

Lin Qingyan couldn't refuse him, and with the water Wang Zhenhuan had just brought back, she quickly finished the pancake in a few bites. She held out her hand to Wang Zhenhuan and said, "I'm done. Where are the plums?"

Wang Huanzhen opened his palm, took out a pill, held it in the air, and said to Lin Qingyan, "Let's make it clear first, you can't spit it out after eating it. Anyone who does is a little dog."

"Hmm? I'm not eating it anymore, this plum must be very sour." Lin Qingyan crossed her arms and turned around. Wang Zhenhuan, seeing this, was not annoyed, picked up the remaining plum, and threw it into his mouth.

He was munching away, looking quite pleased with himself. Lin Qingyan saw this out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't resist any longer. She turned around, shook his arm, and begged him for a piece.

Wang Zhenhuan chuckled and tossed a plum into the girl's mouth. Lin Qingyan closed her eyes, intending to savor the plum's sweetness, but unexpectedly, the sourness made her pretty face tremble.

"Haha—" Wang Zhenhuan spat out the plum from his mouth and lay on the ground laughing loudly. Lin Qingyan then realized she had been tricked, and she went over noisily. The two of them laughed and played around on the ground.

Suddenly, a rapid sound of horses' hooves came from the distant official road!