Upon returning home, Madam Fang saw her daughter had returned with Qi He and asked nothing further.
As night fell, Fu Xin Ci thought she would sleep soundly, but she lay on the kang, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
Tossing and turning, she rolled aimlessly on the kang.
She didn't know how long she had been restless before she finally drifted off to sleep.
She woke up very early again the next morning. If she hadn't been waiting to eat breakfast and think of a suitable excuse, she would have already ridden her horse away.
After breakfast, Qi He was about to head to the sea. Seeing her conflicted expression, he couldn't help but tease her, "Why don't you come to the sea with me?"
"Okay." Fu Xin Ci thought it was a great idea and immediately agreed.
Once the two of them had ridden out of sight of their families, Qi He quietly instructed, "Go ahead, I'll be waiting for you here tonight."
"Mmm."
Fu Xin Ci agreed readily, and Qi He smiled heartily. He let Fu Xin Ci go first, saying he wanted to watch her receding figure.
When the young girl's graceful silhouette disappeared into the distance, Qi He then spurred his horse towards the sea.
As soon as Fu Xin Ci appeared within her friends' sight, Xiao Ai, with all her enthusiasm, rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
"Xin Ci, you were the busiest yesterday, we only had time for a few words."
"Yes, yes," Yang Xin Jie and Xu Ru Yi also crowded around and hugged her, refusing to let go.
Fatty Dun'er wanted to go over too, but was stopped by Xu Jia Can. "With your weight, it's best not to. Also, look at Xin Ci's current attire. This is the Great Ming, and if the local natives see your actions, Xin Ci's reputation will be ruined."
"Right, Jia Can is right. You'd better honestly maintain order and don't get too close to the young ladies."
"I..." Fatty Dun'er felt wronged, but no one listened to his explanation. It was indeed too busy here; the entire valley was filled with tents.
They had to maintain order and resolve disputes.
Lan Tian Yao and Xiang Tong were talking on the northern ridge. "Xiang Tong, I'm planning to take my people to scout the north. According to pre-apocalypse maps, that area should be plains."
"We'll likely have to cross that large mountain."
"Mmm. I'll leave my wife and children with you to look after for now. Once I've figured things out over there, I'll come back to get them."
"Okay, no problem. You be careful too."
"Mmm." Lan Tian Yao agreed verbally, but inwardly he envied Xiang Tong, having Fu Xiao Niu find this prime location for them first.
Yan Feng had also been observing Xiang Tong's movements. Seeing Lan Tian Yao leave with his men, she reluctantly walked over.
"Xiang Tong, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, but we agreed beforehand, you can't make unreasonable demands." Xiang Tong guessed what Yan Feng wanted to say, but he didn't dare make decisions for Long Teng.
Yan Feng: Before she could even speak, Xiang Tong had already shut her down.
"What?"
"..." Yan Feng bit her lip, her mind seemed to be tied in knots.
Seeing her silence, Xiang Tong prompted her.
"Yan Feng, since it's summer, you should first find a place to settle."
"Ah?" With Xiang Tong's direct reminder, Yan Feng found it hard to ignore. She looked up at the entire valley, muttering intentionally, "The scenery here is really nice, and the place is spacious."
Xiang Tong didn't respond, as if he hadn't understood her unspoken meaning. His eyes remained fixed on the busy people of Longcheng in the valley.
Frankly, he didn't like interacting with people from Phoenix City. He always felt they were difficult to get along with.
He hadn't forgotten how many disputes had arisen in the city since the people from Phoenix City arrived.
Every time the reason was investigated, most of them were initiated by people from Phoenix City.
Yan Feng had been waiting for Xiang Tong's reply, but he just didn't engage, as if he hadn't understood. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Yan Feng felt frustrated and simply made a perfunctory remark, "I'll go back and discuss it with everyone."
In reality, there was no need to discuss. Everyone hoped she would marry Long Teng. But Long Teng himself wasn't interested, so what could she do?
Even if she wanted to force him, she couldn't beat him.
The captain who was being thought about was currently blocking Fatty Dun'er and spewing expletives.
"Are you guys going too far? Even if there are fish in this river, you can't just destroy them like this."
"How are we destroying them? Aren't fish for eating?"
"Is this how you eat fish? You're not eating, you're annihilating."
Fatty Dun'er looked down on the people from Phoenix City, and they dared to have designs on their captain? They were dreaming.
Xiang Tong also heard the commotion and ran over quickly to inquire, "What's going on?"
Fatty Dun'er saw Xiang Tong arrive and started to complain to him.
"Brother Xiang, look at these prodigal women, look at how they've harmed these fish." Fatty Dun'er said, pointing to the dying small fish by the riverbank, "They came to catch fish, they caught big and small fish alike. They plan to take the big ones with them, and they're just throwing the small ones by the river."
Xiang Tong saw so many small fish struggling on the pebbles, so he squeezed through, put all the small fish back into the water, and then, with a displeased expression, stared at the women from Phoenix City and said, "Lan Tian Yao has already taken his people to find a place to settle. You should also go with Yan Feng to find a place."
"...?" The women were also stunned. They hadn't expected their momentary carelessness to attract Xiang Tong's attention.
When Yan Feng rushed over, the women had already slunk away.
"Xiang Tong, I'm sorry."
Xiang Tong didn't even look at her, only saying, "This valley is where we, the people of Longcheng, will live. Perhaps our descendants will live here for generations to come, so we cannot do such destructive things."
Xiang Tong's words made Yan Feng unable to speak. She bit her lip lightly, as if she had made up her mind, and then said, "I will take them away as soon as possible."
After speaking, Yan Feng, blushing, turned to leave.
Xiang Tong, however, offered her a piece of advice, "Life requires choices. Some people are truly not worth bringing along."
"Xiang Tong, thank you."
Yan Feng said, and left without looking back.
"Brother Xiang, by doing this, have I offended them all?"
"I think it's great. Otherwise, Brother Xiang wouldn't have known how to get rid of them."
"Yes, I've never seen such wasteful things. Everyone has experienced despair and knows the preciousness of food. How dare they waste things, they deserve a beating."
The people of Longcheng, since being teleported here yesterday, had regarded this place as their home. They would not allow others to damage it.
Fu Xin Ci and Xiao Ai and the others also ran over upon hearing the commotion, but they remained silent, wanting to see how Xiang Tong would resolve the situation.