Slightly dizzy, Su Qian suddenly remembered that he had only eaten a few wild fruits that day. He planned to go to the monastery's kitchen to prepare these hunted objects. The two of them temporarily stopped chatting.

The firewood in the kitchen was abundant, but the bottles and jars on the stove had been sitting there for who-knows-how-long. Su Qian dared not touch them recklessly, but dipped his finger into one of the jars to confirm that it was salt. Salt doesn't expire, so it was still usable.

The sky gradually darkened. Ning Caichen rubbed his eyes, put down his pen, and Su Qian lit an oil lamp, inviting him to have a meal.

Su Qian knew how to make simple meals. In no time, a pot of pigeon soup and a dish of salt-baked rabbit were served on the stone table.

Ning Caichen neatly collected his paper and pen. He wasn't the kind of person who only worked hard right before exams, so there was no need for him to rush for immediate results.

Courtesy demands reciprocity, so Ning Caichen took out the meat pie and steamed bun he had purchased in the city from his backpack.

The two of them were not overly polite with each other. However, Su Qian was particularly observant. Ning Caichen had excellent table manners, he didn't speak while eating, and had a small appetite. What was particularly awkward was that he seemed to pay special attention to any food that might stick to his mouth. Every now and then, he would use a handkerchief to wipe it off.

After several encounters, Su Qian also lost interest and felt that Ning Caichen seemed to resemble a young lady who had been brought up in a well-educated and secluded environment.

Thinking back to seeing the exceptionally tall and slender Xiao Qian yesterday, Su Qian was startled by his own thoughts.

After dinner, Ning Caichen became lively again and enthusiastically started a conversation at the stone table. The moon was bright and pure, its clear light resembling water. The two of them engaged in a lively chat once again.

Most of the discussions were about ghosts and monsters. During the conversation, the scholar in the eastern chamber hurriedly ran out. Su Qian was startled at first. "We don't talk about people during the day, and we don't talk about ghosts at night." In the middle of the night (actually not that late, around eight or nine o'clock) chatting about ghosts in the Lanruo Temple, Su Qian thought Little Qian had come, but upon closer inspection, the bookboy was holding a lamp. It turns out that the scholar needed someone to accompany him during his late-night study sessions.

After the two individuals had resolved their major life matters and returned to the courtyard, the scholar finally found a moment to take a glance at Su Qian, whom he had met during the day engaged in idle chitchat in the courtyard.

"Don't you need to rest, Brother?" The scholar's lascivious gaze swept up and down Ning Caichen, his tone sinister as he said, "Oh, what a beautiful scholar you are, but is Brother here your newly acquired confidant?"

Ning Caichen understood the intention of the scholar and his eyes turned cold, saying, "What did you say?"

"Ning Xiong, calm down," Su Qian whispered. "A villain like this will naturally have someone deal with him."

The book boy saw that although Su Qian didn't speak much, his eyes seemed even colder than that scholar's. He yawned and said, "Young master, let's go back to the room and rest."

"You just don't understand. Haven't you read in the books that many men are fond of handsome men?" The scholar patted the bookboy's head, feeling frustrated.

Su Qian was helpless as he saw Ning Caichen's face turn red with anger. He had a menacing look in his almond-shaped eyes, which were truly breathtaking if seen purely from an appreciative perspective.

"Ning Xiong, please do not get angry," Su Qian said to avoid suspicion, also considering his agreement with Xiao Qian yesterday. He pretended to casually look at the sky and said, "It's getting late, Ning Xiong should rest early. If there are any strange sounds at night, please do not be curious."

Taking out the women's clothing that was put into Yan Chixia's luggage last night, Su Qian changed into it again, and then put on a hat to cover his face, waiting for Xiao Qian's arrival.

The dark clouds gradually swallowed the moonlight, making the night even darker. The wilderness was dim and obscure, making it impossible to see any figures.

In the vast expanse, faint blue lights flickered and danced. A woman's voice resounded, "It seems that we have made gains tonight."

Another version was, "But there was a Taoist priest in the temple..."

"That's no problem at all, I'll just go and meet him."

In the darkness, two figures emerged, one red and one white. The candlelight cast a slightly eerie glow on their beautiful faces. The woman in red spoke, "Four."

The woman in white spoke softly, "I'll take the two on the north and south, and you can handle the ones on the east and west."