"Then what?"

"...That's it."

"..."

Compared to Tao Mian's endless chatter, Rong Zheng was brief and to the point.

For a moment, it was hard to tell who was actually involved with Du Yi.

The sun had not yet risen, and the refreshing mountain air breezed through the window. It was the most comfortable time during the summer heat.

Rong Zheng and Tao Mian sat facing each other, the remnants of a candle flickering on the table, and they exchanged glances.

"Little Hua," Tao Mian frowned, "are you sleeping too well? Du Yi didn't even get to finish his sentence in your dream before you fell into a deep sleep."

"That's true."

Rong Zheng felt a bit guilty as she brought up the topic.

"The daily routine of a Shadow Guard is to live in reverse, but I get sleepy in spring, tired in autumn, hibernate in winter, and nap in summer. Shi Fu used to tie my bangs up with a string to train me."

"And after that? Did you improve?"

"I did change. I never wore a hairstyle with bangs again."

"…"

Knowing one's mistakes and correcting them, but correcting them wrongly.

The current situation was awkward. Tao Mian was pushing the plot forward at a rapid pace, while Rong Zheng's side was almost at a standstill.

It was like the Shi Fu had somersaulted 108,000 miles away, while the disciple was still at the starting point tying the donkey's reins.

Tao Mian was quite helpless.

"It's clearly a story about two people, so why does it have to involve my name?"

Although Little Rong Zheng was amusing, this situation was illogical.

"Besides, in the dream, you're already about to follow Du Yi back to the pavilion. Is it really okay for me to keep sneaking around?"

"Haven't we done enough sneaky things together…"

"No way, that's impossible. I'm such a noble and upright Immortal."

"…"

Finally, Rong Zheng came up with an idea.

"Next time you dream about me as a child, why don't you say you're a god from the heavens and I'm the chosen one, and passing your test will let me ascend?"

Tao Mian looked skeptical.

"Would the younger you really be that gullible? Even child abductors don't use such tricks anymore."

"There really was, don't doubt it."

Tao Mian believed her.

Continuing to chew over these idle words from the dream was meaningless, so the two of them stepped out of the house.

The yellow chicken had been strutting arrogantly around the courtyard, patrolling its territory.

As soon as it saw the hem of a yellow skirt lift over the threshold, it quickly hid, diving into a pile of uncollected branches and leaves from the previous day.

Except for its head, it didn't manage to cover anything. Such poor disguise was easily spotted by Nanny Rong.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

She grinned mischievously, spreading her hands like claws, and lunged at the yellow chicken in the corner!

A flurry of feathers and squawking ensued.

Tao Mian shook his bamboo fan and squinted at the golden light outlining the distant mountains.

The weather was excellent today.

The day was leisurely, but the heat rose quickly from the foot of the mountain, and it soon became hot.

Rong Zheng, with her fire attribute spiritual root, found this sweltering weather particularly unbearable. After chasing the yellow chicken for three laps, she complained of dizziness and sprawled on a bench in the shade, refusing to get up, one hand covering her stomach and the back of the other shielding her eyes.

Tao Mian squatted beside the bench, fanning her, and said he would take her to a cool place.

"Where, where?"

Rong Zheng jumped up eagerly, almost losing her balance, but Shi Fu steadied her with a hand on her back.

"Take it slow, sit and rest. That place won't grow legs and run away."

Rong Zheng giggled, saying Little Tao was still the best.

"I've been afraid of the heat since I was a child. If I stayed in the sun too long during the day, I'd faint, and the nights were unbearable too. When I was little, it was fine because my Shi Fu had a piece of cold jade, a relic from her mother. Seeing me suffer from the heat, she lent it to me to cool down.

Later, when my Shi Fu left, the jade disappeared too.

After that, I followed Du Hong everywhere, while he enjoyed chilled wine and sweet fruits in the tavern, I could only count stars outside.

Halfway through counting, I'd see stars before my eyes and faint. Du Hong would open the door, find me not guarding properly, and demand I return to the pavilion for punishment."

Rong Zheng spoke lightly, but Tao Mian's frown deepened.

"If he treated you so poorly, Little Hua, why didn't you leave earlier?"

"I didn't think of it before," Rong Zheng reached out, peering through the gaps in the leaves at the sunlight filtering through, "everything I had was given by the Floating Pavilion, and Du Hong was my benefactor. Without comparison, there was no disparity. It was only after living on Peach Blossom Mountain for so long that I realized, the past was really not a life for people."

Rong Zheng tilted her head in thought.

"Besides, Du Hong was quite good to me at first. But later, everything changed. Even I don't understand why he changed so quickly."

"…I have a bold guess."

"Little Tao, I know you want to guess, but don't."

"I can't help it, if I don't say it, I feel uncomfortable," Tao Mian, always straightforward, said, "I think you were deceived by Du Hong. It was actually Du Yi who saved you and treated you well, but Du Hong used some means to make you lose your memory, causing you to attack your savior."

He added at the end—how could Du Hong be so wicked.

"You said the same thing last time… is this guess reasonable?"

"Reasonable, it must be reasonable. In my past life, I read extensively, and your situation matches several stories, it can't be wrong."

"…"

Tao Mian had mentioned this guess to Rong Zheng once before, and back then, she thought it was pure fantasy.

Now, she was a bit shaken.

"Then Du Yi… isn't he a bit too wronged? Oh no, if the truth is like this, won't I have to atone with my life?"

"There's no rush for death, after all, everyone lives until they die."

"Little Tao, say something people can actually understand…"

Their conversation was light-hearted, but Rong Zheng understood that Tao Mian was preparing her for the worst possible outcome.

He feared that when the truth was unveiled and memories resurfaced from the depths, his disciple might not withstand the sudden blow.

His fifth disciple had already endured too much suffering, and he wished for her to live the rest of her life freely.

Rong Zheng understood.

"Little Hua, if you don't want to, we can stop pursuing the dreams from the Bone-Illuminating Mirror. Life doesn't need to uncover every truth, memories are always a mix of bitter and sweet, a cup of poison."

Tao Mian picked up the bamboo fan from the bench and waved it slowly, creating a cool breeze.

Rong Zheng propped her arms on either side, stretching her long legs, the tips of her boots tapping against each other.

"I know, I understand. But the simpler the truth, the harder it is to achieve," she maintained a good attitude, "I've never been superstitious, stubborn since I was a child. Shi Fu said I fell at the same hurdle eight hundred times because I always wanted to come back and see if I could still fall."

Tao Mian was listening, and as he heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing him smile, Rong Zheng joined in the laughter.

"Fall once, gain a lesson. Fall twice, gain another lesson. If I fall at the same hurdle eight hundred times, I'll gain nine hundred lessons, nine hundred in a year, three thousand in two years, by the time I live to die, I'll be incredibly wise."

She performed a smooth calculation, leaving Tao Mian dumbfounded.

"Dear disciple, tell your Shi Fu honestly, did a martial artist teach you arithmetic?"

"I'm so brilliant, of course, I'm self-taught."

Tao Mian was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

"With such brilliance, haven't you considered—falling at the same hurdle halves your wisdom—such a principle?"

"…First time hearing it."

Rong Zheng's playful banter diverted the serious topic.

By not responding, she had already subtly expressed her stance.

Regardless of the truth, she didn't regret seeking the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, and she was prepared to face everything.

"Besides, I have Little Tao with me," Rong Zheng smiled, "I'm not homeless now, I have someone to rely on. If the truth is as Little Tao says, then I must live well.

Dying seems like an end, but it's actually weakness. Living allows for redemption and atonement."

Rong Zheng was a very special person, continually surprising Tao Mian.

Even long after, Tao Mian felt fortunate that his fifth disciple was Rong Zheng.

The deaths of Gu Yuan, Yuan Di, Liu Xue, and Sui Yan had taken pieces of Tao Mian's heart. No matter how detached he tried to be, the real pain was like sharp paper, cutting him unexpectedly as he flipped through the book of memories.

He would look forward, but his soul was heavily burdened.

Yet Rong Zheng pulled her feet out of the mire, and despite being scarred, she raised her mud-covered hands high above her head, waving to him, saying, Little Tao, catch me.

The mountain not only watched people leave but also had those willing to stay.

This gently supported Tao Mian's descending heart.

"Don't worry," Tao Mian patted Rong Zheng's head, her hair warm from the summer sun, "even if you really wronged Du Yi, Shi Fu is willing to walk through the Underworld for you, to plead with the King of Hell, and arrange a good family for him in the next life.

And you, you stay here, do good deeds every day, help the villagers, and be kind to the yellow chicken."

Rong Zheng beamed brightly.

"Then it's settled! Little Tao, you can't stop me from dreaming anymore. I've said I want to recover my memories!"

"Alright, alright, I promise. But why am I getting dragged into this when you're the one who needs to recover memories…"

The Shi Fu and disciple chatted idly, and as promised, Tao Mian took Rong Zheng deep into the mountains to escape the heat.

In a clearing in the forest, a spring bubbled up, the scorching sunlight blocked by the dense woods. Rong Zheng cupped the spring water and drank two mouthfuls, feeling instantly refreshed.

She lingered there, unwilling to leave until the evening heat dissipated, then followed her Shi Fu down the stone steps.

That night, as Tao Mian prepared to sleep, he paused.

He thought, perhaps because they lived next door, the Bone-Illuminating Mirror's dream had accidentally included him, an unrelated person.

This time, he deliberately waited for Rong Zheng to fall asleep before lying flat on the bed, covering himself with a thin blanket.

However, it was of no use. Tao Mian fell into a deep sleep and didn't meet the Duke of Zhou; instead, he saw Little Rong Zheng.

This time, she was noticeably taller than before. Who knows how much time had passed in the dream, but his little disciple had grown from a small stool to a small stump, standing almost at his waist.

She was being punished in the courtyard, balancing a bowl on her head, holding water buckets in both hands, and standing in a horse stance.

Seeing a "living person" like Tao Mian suddenly appear, she opened her mouth wide, and the bowl on her head tilted forward, crashing to the ground.

"Oh my, a 'dad' who's been dead for years suddenly came back to life!"

"…………"