"Looks fine," Han Shengtao said faintly.
A little farther from the courtyard, Han Shengxiao and Han Shengtao were standing on a slope, watching the scene inside.
After observing Xu Zimo for an entire day, Han Shengxiao slightly nodded.
"We were overthinking. Our family is neither wealthy nor powerful, there’s nothing here worth scheming for."
"But that Floating Village he mentioned, I’ve never heard of it. Must be a village from some other kingdom," Han Shengtao said.
"Second Brother, what do you think of him?" Han Shengxiao suddenly asked.
"What do you mean, Big Brother?" Han Shengtao was stunned.
"Rou’er is of marrying age now," Han Shengxiao let out a long sigh.
"Big Brother, don’t tell me you’re thinking…" Han Shengtao asked in disbelief. "What nonsense. They’ve barely known each other for half a day. How could Rou’er’s lifelong matter be decided so carelessly?"
"That’s not what I meant," Han Shengxiao glared at him. He said, "You never even ask why."
"Why then?" Han Shengtao asked stubbornly.
"You know well, Rou’er has never been accepted by others because of her appearance," Han Shengxiao said. "Sometimes you have to believe it, eyes are the windows of the soul, they reflect all that’s inside. When Little Mo first saw Rou’er, I could see it clearly. There was no disgust or rejection in his eyes. Aside from a little surprise, no other emotion at all."
Han Shengtao snorted but didn’t refute.
"Step by step. At least now we know he has no bad intentions. The rest depends on fate between the two," Han Shengxiao said. "Let’s head home."
That night Xu Zimo didn’t eat. He once again experienced the tempering of the Great Dream Scripture.
The sound of footsteps outside woke him.
Dawn was just breaking.
Everything seemed in its most primal state, all things still asleep.
Xu Zimo walked out of the room. Outside, Han Yanrou was carrying a basket, preparing to leave.
"Where are you going so early?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.
"To pick some ingredients for breakfast," Han Yanrou said softly.
"Can I come along? Just happens I can look around the area," Xu Zimo said. "And I can protect you too."
Seeing Xu Zimo flex his arm to show his muscles, Han Yanrou covered her mouth and giggled.
She nodded lightly.
It was clear that no matter what she did, she always seemed delicate, as if a breeze could blow her away.
Following behind Han Yanrou, Xu Zimo walked out of the village.
After the two left, Han Shengxiao and Han Shengtao came out from a nearby house.
"Should I follow them?" Han Shengtao asked.
"No need, trust my instinct," Han Shengxiao replied with a smile before heading back inside.
Han Shengtao stood thinking for a long time before finally sighing.
…………
Leaving the village, the two walked north.
"Are you human?" Xu Zimo asked, looking at Han Yanrou.
"What race is that?" Han Yanrou asked curiously.
"I only know we are of the Blood Rune Race."
"You look very much like the humans I’ve seen," Xu Zimo said.
"Do I look ugly like this?" Han Yanrou asked with some self-doubt.
"Not at all," Xu Zimo shook his head. To be fair, Han Yanrou had a pure and fresh look. Xu Zimo thought inwardly that it was mainly her plain clothing that hid much of her charm.
If she wore some light makeup and proper clothes, she might not be stunningly breathtaking, but she would surely be a beauty.
Her dimples were especially attractive, and paired with her little tiger teeth, she naturally gave people the urge to tease her.
Hearing Xu Zimo’s words, Han Yanrou’s cheeks flushed, and her appearance grew even lovelier.
"Do you know how vast our world is?" Xu Zimo asked, trying to gather useful information.
"The farthest I’ve been is the Dark Kingdom," Han Yanrou shook her head. "And as citizens of the Dark Kingdom, without the king’s command, we’re not allowed to leave the kingdom’s territory."
"Why?" Xu Zimo asked, puzzled.
"You don’t have such rules where you’re from?" Han Yanrou asked curiously.
"No, why is it like that?"
"There’s no why. It’s the law set by the king."
"Do you know where the Sea of Blood is?" Xu Zimo asked again.
"Sea of Blood? What is that?" Han Yanrou shook her head once more.
"I don’t remember the way home. I only know there was a Sea of Blood near my home," Xu Zimo said after thinking.
At this, both of them fell silent.
"Don’t worry. Father and Uncle will definitely help you find the way home," Han Yanrou encouraged. Then she looked at Xu Zimo expectantly. "When you go home, will you come visit us again?"
"I’ll take you to my place. It’s much more exciting there," Xu Zimo said with a smile.
"Really?" Han Yanrou’s face lit up with joy as she asked eagerly.
Xu Zimo nodded slightly.
"Come with me, I’ll show you something," Han Yanrou said with a smile. She tossed her basket aside, grabbed Xu Zimo’s hand, and ran toward the distance.
They ran for nearly ten minutes, arriving at a tall hill.
"Look quickly, it’s just in time," Han Yanrou pointed to the horizon.
Xu Zimo raised his head and saw that in the originally dark sky, a streak of blood-red had appeared.
The red light spread across the horizon like evening glow, but the color was much deeper.
Mixed with a bit of gold, it looked very beautiful.
"Every morning when dawn breaks, this sight appears," Han Yanrou explained shyly. "Beautiful, isn’t it?"
"Sunrise?" Xu Zimo was surprised.
But this world clearly had no sun, so why did such a phenomenon exist?
As the blood-red grew stronger, the world gradually brightened.
After a while, both felt tired and lay down in the grass on the hilltop.
"Do you know, all these years, you’re the first person my age willing to stay and talk with me," Han Yanrou said.
"Why?" Xu Zimo asked in surprise.
"They all think I’m ugly," Han Yanrou said sadly.
"With them looking like that, they still have the nerve to call you ugly...?" Xu Zimo blurted.
But then he quickly realized, everything is relative.
From the human perspective, these Blood Rune Race members were grotesque, even monstrous.
But from the Blood Rune perspective, perhaps humans were the ones who looked like monsters.
"Were you born this way?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Father tried to find ways to heal me. They said it’s a bloodline reversion," Han Yanrou explained. "One of my ancestors once interbred with humans, so that’s why there’s such a thing as reversion. Though the odds are one in ten thousand, it happened to me."