338: Chapter 337: A Simple Family (11th Update) 338: Chapter 337: A Simple Family (11th Update) The stove blazed fiercely, casting the side room in a fiery radiance.
Ye Xuan sat in silence, his legs crossed.
No breath of life could be detected from him, nor was there any sign that he was absorbing nature’s spiritual energy.
He seed to have beco an ordinary mortal, seeking the answer that lay within his heart.
“Red Dust Heart Refining, the path of humanity; why do these ordinary people, with their satisfied faces, glow so?
Is this what human life is like?” Ye Xuan murmured to himself, his eyes reflecting an ever-deepening bewildernt.
Half a month later!
At last, the snowstorm ceased, and the first rays of sun bathed Qingtian Town in a resplendent golden light.
Every mortal in Qingtian Town began to open their doors, from which cheerful laughter and chatter could occasionally be heard.
Many children piled up large snown on the sides of the streets, a sight filled with warmth and liveliness.
The adults, brooms in hand, worked tirelessly to sweep away the snow, and nurous vendors appeared along the streets hawking their wares.
A flourishing atmosphere took root and spread throughout Qingtian Town.
During this half-month, Ye Xuan had pondered over the question in his heart.
He had never responded to any of the couple’s inquiries, leaving them to sigh helplessly and assu that Ye Xuan’s faculties might have been damaged by the inclent weather.
Pushing the door open to the crisp air, Ye Xuan stepped out, gazing across Qingtian Town.
He appeared to rge with the small town, quietly embracing the Red Dust Qi surrounding him.
“Big brother, you’ve just recovered from a serious illness—hurry back inside, lest the cold air harm your body again.”
A voice of urgent concern rang by Ye Xuan’s ear as a child swiftly approached, tugging at his arm with small, tender hands, evidently intending to push him back into the house.
This scene left Ye Xuan dumbfounded.
Sothing in his heart seed to be touched.
His gaze deepened as he looked at the child before him, and in a gentle voice, he slowly asked,
“What is your na?”
Startled by Ye Xuan’s query, the child fell abruptly silent.
Over the past half month, despite the parents’ attempts to converse with Ye Xuan, he had not responded once.
But now, he had spoken, causing the child’s hand on Ye Xuan’s arm to freeze.
“Han’er, my na is Li Han’er.” After a mont of stillness, the child quickly replied, the look in their eyes filled with intense curiosity.
“Big brother, what is your na?”
Hearing the child’s innocent question, Ye Xuan’s eyes glazed over, and after a few breaths, a smile spread across his face as he said, “My na is Ye Fan—’Ye’ as in leaf, and ‘Fan’ as in mortal.”
The conversation between the young and the old hastened the couple from the house to step out.
Seeing Ye Xuan talking with the child, surprise and joy appeared in their eyes, and they quickly made their way toward him.
“Young brother, it seems you’ve made a good recovery; my wife and I can rest easy now,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.
“Many thanks for both of your rescuing hands.
This kindness will be forever engraved in Ye Fan’s heart,” Ye Xuan said as he bowed to the couple, the gesture void of any pretense.
If such a scene were to be witnessed by the world, it would likely leave them speechless, their jaws dropping in astonishnt.
Ye Xuan bowing to mortals was simply a fantastic notion, akin to a wild tale.
“No need for such formalities, brother.
We are just happy you survived,” the young woman said with a smile.
“The weather had just ward up, but the chill was still quite heavy, let’s talk inside our house,” the middle-aged man said, aiding Ye Xuan as they headed back ho.
In the midst of the house.
The stove blazed fiercely while the young woman flitted between the room and the cooking area, placing dish after dish on the square table.
Although all were simple vegetarian fare, under the young woman’s exquisite culinary skills, they appeared exceedingly delicate.
The middle-aged man had gotten hold of a roast chicken from sowhere, and when he placed it at the center of the table, Li Han’er’s eyes betrayed a longing, and she even unconsciously licked her lips, clearly having not eaten at for a long ti.
“Brother Ye, this is our homade strong liquor.
It’s nothing fancy, but as you’ve just recovered from a serious illness, drinking a couple of cups can help speed up the expulsion of the residual chill within your body,” Li Shan walked over to Ye Xuan with a jug of liquor, his warm voice rising with the gesture.
The bowls and chopsticks were neatly set, and the family of three sat opposite Ye Xuan.
When Li Shan poured the liquor into the bowls, the strong aroma of alcohol wafted through the air.
“Brother Ye, I toast to you,” Li Shan lifted his cup, clinked it against Ye Xuan’s bowl, and drained the contents in one go, a slight flush coloring his cheeks.
When the strong liquor touched his lips, Ye Xuan downed it in one gulp, which made Li Shan burst into laughter, “Brother Ye may seem frail, but brother, I see your capacity for liquor is truly extraordinary.”
“I have always enjoyed a good drink, you flatter , Brother Li,” Ye Xuan responded warmly.
As the drinking continued, the atmosphere shifted from unfamiliar to convivial, and the two n’s conversation gradually beca more animated.
Through talking with Li Shan, Ye Xuan learned that Li Shan was a hunter; whenever the weather cleared, he would leave Qingtian Town, venture to the mountains outside to hunt ga and gather mountain goods to provide for his family of three.
However, since nature’s spiritual energy had revived, the ferocious beasts in the forest, nourished by the spiritual energy, had beco extrely vicious.
Li Shan dared not venture too deep, sticking to the outskirts of the forest, which made their life sowhat harder.
Li Shan’s wife, Xiao Ruoxue, took on knitting and nding work to bring in extra money for the household, and every day she would instruct Li Han’er in reading and writing.
They had been living this way for many years.
It was not just Li Shan’s family; the entire Qingtian Town, located on the northern plateau, followed ancient customs of living, and there were few outsiders who ca to Qingtian Town, making it not an exaggeration to call this place a world apart.
A plain and simple family, all caught up in the trivial matters of mortal life, Ye Xuan occasionally tasted the dishes on the table, listened attentively to Li Shan’s words, and engaged in exchanges with him, which made Ye Xuan seem very much in harmony with this family.
Ti passed, but Ye Xuan noticed sothing odd: the family of three only ate the vegetarian dishes on the table, and the greasy roasted chicken remained untouched.
This observation made Ye Xuan think, the confusion in his eyes deepening.
“Han’er, this drumstick is for you.”
As Ye Xuan’s thoughts circled back, he personally pulled off a chicken leg and placed it into the child’s bowl.
The sll of the roasted chicken made the child swallow repeatedly, longing apparent in his eyes, yet when the child saw his parents subtly shake their heads at him, the yearning disappeared in an instant.
“Big brother, Han’er doesn’t like chicken legs, you eat it,” the child said as he picked the chicken leg out of his bowl and promptly placed it into Ye Xuan’s bowl, although the look of disappointnt in his eyes was completely noticed by Ye Xuan.
“Brother Ye, our family usually adheres to a vegetarian diet; we can’t really handle the greasiness.
I’m afraid after eating it, we would have to run to the toilet all night long,” Li Shan joked half-seriously.
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