"Young master, look, it's that girl."
Xuan Ying, just out of the bun shop, immediately spotted Shen Qinglan with a bamboo basket on her back and a rice bag in her arms.
Duan Yunfei looked over and saw Shen Qinglan stopping at a fruit stall.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he said to Xuan Ming and Xuan Ying, "It's rare for you to come down the mountain, so go browse around first. We can meet up here later."
"Ah? But young master, you..."
Before Xuan Ying could finish his word "want," he was interrupted by Xuan Ming.
"Yes, young master!"
Xuan Ying wanted to say more, but Xuan Ming dragged him away.
Duan Yunfei saw the two had blended into the crowd before he strode over to where Shen Qinglan was standing.
Shen Qinglan bought a few pears, and just after paying and about to leave, she noticed someone standing behind her.
She was taken aback, then couldn't help but frown slightly.
When had this person stood behind her, and why hadn't she sensed it at all?
With a soft smile on his refined face, Duan Yunfei said, "Miss, we meet again."
Shen Qinglan scrutinized him vigilantly for a while, and seeing no malice, she responded with a soft oh and bypassed him to leave.
Duan Yunfei was slightly stunned, thinking: although he had altered his appearance, he didn't look that bad, so why was this girl not the least bit moved?
He glanced back at Shen Qinglan, who was already quite a distance away, and his sword-like eyebrows arched up, while his light purple eyes flashed with a faint curiosity.
The fruit stall owner exclaimed, "This young lady looks frail, but surprisingly, she's got more strength than an old man like me."
"Oh?"
With interest, Duan Yunfei turned back, raising an eyebrow at the stall owner.
The stall owner said, "Did you see the bag she was holding? At first, I thought it was cotton, but it turned out to be full of rice."
"Rice?"
Duan Yunfei asked back, somewhat surprised, but recalling how that morning on the mountain, Shen Qinglan effortlessly dragged a boar weighing over a hundred pounds, he felt at ease.
This interesting little girl, I wonder which master taught her.
He suddenly felt a bit curious.
————
After leaving the fruit stall, Shen Qinglan headed straight to the Town Gate.
As soon as she arrived, she saw the coachman who brought her over today lounging under a big tree.
There were already a few women sitting in the cart, but Shen Qinglan didn't know them.
When the coachman saw her, his eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly waved to her, "The young lady is here, quickly get on the cart."
Shen Qinglan responded, ignoring the gazes of the others, and directly placed the rice bag and bamboo basket onto the ox cart, then sat down herself.
She looked up at the sky, estimating that it should be just after the 9th hour, or about 3 p.m.
She had left home at dawn, and by now, her family would surely be worried.
Shen Qinglan's guess was correct, as the Shen Family hadn't seen her return for a long time and had already searched the village and mountain, but didn't see her anywhere. Dong Yao and Shen Qingju were so worried they started crying.
Besides the Shen Family, even the old Shen couple joined the search.
After asking around in the village, everyone said they hadn't seen her, and they were about to borrow an ox cart to go to the town.
Not finding her, everyone gathered at Shen Shan's house, so as soon as Shen Qinglan entered, she saw the old Shen couple and Shen He, along with Shen Tang and a group of people, even the youngest cousin Shen Qing'an was there.
"Third sister!"
The youngest brother, Shen Qingping, was the first to see her and immediately ran over crying.
Shen Qinglan, with her hands full, couldn't stop him, and had to let him cling to her leg, nose running and eyes tearing.
With her leg held on, unable to move, Shen Qinglan felt a bit speechless and could only stand still.