As they approached Elder Wu's house, the young girl Aya led Ye Tiancheng and the others to the door, introducing them, "This is where Elder Wu resides."
At the same time, Aya knocked on Elder Wu's door.
After only a few knocks, a response came from inside, "Who is it?"
Aya replied, "Elder Wu, it's me, Aya."
Upon receiving a response, Elder Wu said, "It's Aya, come in. What is it?"
After getting Elder Wu's reply, Aya pushed open Elder Wu's door and led Ye Tiancheng and the others inside.
As soon as Ye Tiancheng and the others entered, Elder Wu's gaze fell upon Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, and then he narrowed his eyes slightly.
He did not ask Aya who Ye Tiancheng and the others were.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had nothing to fear and allowed Elder Wu to scrutinize them.
Elder Wu's gaze also swept over Ye Wuji, who was following Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
After a long while, Elder Wu finally spoke.
"Are you... here for the girl from the village to the west?"
Ye Tiancheng and the others were first stunned for a moment before they realized that the girl from the village to the west that Elder Wu was referring to was Ye Wuji's mother.
Earlier, in order to speak with Aya, Ye Tiancheng and the others had brought out Ye Wuji's mother's urn. Therefore, at this moment, facing Elder Wu's question, Ye Tiancheng said, "Yes, we are here to send our companion's mother back to her homeland."
Elder Wu's gaze fell on the urn held by Ye Tiancheng. After looking at it for a while, he finally let out a long sigh.
"I never expected that I had seen her back then, and yet now, upon meeting again, it is like this... Everything has come to pass as foretold, and you have arrived in the village."
Ye Tiancheng's eyebrows twitched.
Looking at Elder Wu's face, which resembled old tree bark, he wondered what the old man meant by his words.
Did he already know that he and the little fox would come here?
Ye Tiancheng said to Elder Wu, "She still has a wish, which is to see her parents, even if it's just to pay respects at their graves."
Elder Wu said to Ye Tiancheng, "So be it, so be it."
He waved his hand.
"Do as you please. You don't need to ask me. Aya will lead you. Go there and ask around, and everyone will know what to do."
Aya asked Elder Wu, "So, they can stay then?"
Elder Wu chuckled and scolded, pointing at Aya, "Don't get so excited just because they are good-looking. They are outsiders, so don't get any ideas."
Aya pouted in dissatisfaction.
Ye Tiancheng also noticed that this was not the first time Aya had mentioned their good looks.
Moreover, listening to their conversation, it felt rather strange. Ye Tiancheng became inwardly wary.
Since Elder Wu did not object to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox coming to the village, the others here naturally would not have any objections.
Thus, Aya led Ye Tiancheng and the others to the village to the west.
Everything went unexpectedly smoothly.
It was so smooth that Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of unease.
He felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. So, he decided to quickly finish what they needed to do and leave this place as soon as possible.
After all, they had only come here to help Ye Wuji's mother fulfill her wish. Besides that, they had other important matters to attend to and could not delay here.
When they arrived at the village to the west, they easily found out where Ye Wuji's mother's original home was.
However, to their great regret, there was no one left in the family's home.
Ye Wuji's mother's biological parents had also passed away long ago.
With no other recourse, Ye Tiancheng and the others inquired about the location of their family's graveyard and then buried Ye Wuji's mother beside her family. In this way, Ye Wuji's mother's wish was completely fulfilled.
Having lifted this burden, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox breathed a long sigh of relief.
However, after completing these tasks, although it did not take too much time overall, from their arrival in the village to the completion of these matters, only one day had passed.
By the time these tasks were done, it was already dark.
Given the mountainous and wooded terrain, it was not convenient for Ye Tiancheng and the others to leave immediately. Fortunately, with Elder Wu's permission, the people here did not reject outsiders like Ye Tiancheng and the others, so they were fortunate enough to be able to stay overnight.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox decided to rest in the village for a while and leave the next morning.
As for hosting Ye Tiancheng and the others, it was naturally Aya, as she was the one who had led them in.
Aya also enthusiastically invited Ye Tiancheng and the others to have dinner together.
However, Ye Tiancheng and the others adhered to a principle: they would not consume any local food in Xiaojing City. Therefore, they all refused Aya, stating that they had their own food and were not accustomed to eating food from outside.
Aya was somewhat displeased and pouted again.
However, she ultimately said nothing.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were on high alert.
Aya led them to the guest rooms to rest for the night.
The next morning, as soon as Ye Tiancheng woke up, he felt a bit lost. He felt as if he had forgotten something very important. He shook his head, trying hard to recall, but he couldn't remember anything.
After thinking about it and being unable to recall, he gave up.
Ye Tiancheng thought that since he couldn't remember, the matter probably wasn't that important. When he wanted to remember, he would surely be able to.
He then looked around the room, feeling that it was both familiar and strange.
"How strange," he thought. "Why would I feel this way?"
"This is clearly my own home?"
Ye Tiancheng felt that everything was strange after waking up today. He kept thinking about random things, and felt as if he hadn't fully woken up and needed to clear his head. So, he decided to go out for a walk and wash up.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng got up and went outside.
He instinctively found the washbasin and began to wash up. As he was wiping his face, he heard a door open, followed by a series of footsteps, indicating someone was approaching.
Ye Tiancheng paused his wiping and looked in the direction of the sound.
It turned out to be his younger brother, the little fox.
Ye Tiancheng breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"How strange, why was I so nervous just now? Could it be some other dangerous person approaching?"
After waking up, the little fox also felt that something was not right, and he was a bit disoriented.
He felt as if he had forgotten something.
Then, he instinctively looked around the room and, out of habit, wanted to find his elder brother.
Clearly, the little fox regarded Ye Tiancheng as his elder brother and therefore placed his sense of security in him.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng now, the little fox felt much more at ease.
So, the little fox immediately ran towards Ye Tiancheng, "Big brother!"
Seeing the little fox, Ye Tiancheng said to him, "Run slower, be careful you don't fall. Come and wash up."
Upon hearing his elder brother's words, the little fox obediently came over to wash up.
As the little fox ran over, Ye Tiancheng also helped his younger brother prepare the washing supplies and changed the water to clean water.
After washing up, it was naturally time for breakfast.
However, they did not need to worry about making breakfast, as they had other family members at home.
So, as soon as Ye Tiancheng and the others had finished washing up, Aya came out of the house and called out to them, "Come and eat breakfast!"
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox quickly responded.
Aya's cooking was as good as ever. After eating, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox praised her highly.
Ye Tiancheng complimented Aya, saying, "I didn't expect your cooking to be so delicious."
Aya gave Ye Tiancheng a slightly reproachful look and complained, "I've always cooked at home, is this your first time eating my food? Why say something like 'I didn't expect'..."
Ye Tiancheng quickly apologized.
Then, Ye Tiancheng also stated, "Lunch and dinner today will be taken care of by me and the little fox. You can rest well and don't trouble yourself with these matters."
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's firm attitude, Aya did not refuse.
Not only did Ye Tiancheng promise to take care of lunch and dinner today, but after breakfast, he also took on the task of washing the dishes, with the little fox helping him.
Ye Tiancheng was a person who valued his family and tended to favor his family members.
Aya was his newly married wife. They were childhood sweethearts who had grown up in the same village. Their affection grew over time, and they eventually got married, built their own house, and settled down independently.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng was reluctant to let his wife do any dirty or strenuous work.
Ye Tiancheng subconsciously felt that his wife was delicate and precious, like a golden branch or a jade leaf, a noble person who could not endure hardship and was not suited for such tasks. These things were for him to do.
However, when he thought of this, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.
When he thought of his wife, another face seemed to appear in Ye Tiancheng's mind, another familiar yet strange face. But that face was definitely not Aya's.
After a moment of distraction, Ye Tiancheng frowned and shook his head.
"What random thoughts am I having? Aya is my only wife, and I must never do anything to betray her."
"What is wrong with me today?"
"My mind is always in a mess, thinking about all sorts of things. It's so annoying."
As Ye Tiancheng washed the dishes, he sighed softly.
The little fox was helping Ye Tiancheng nearby. Seeing Ye Tiancheng sigh, he asked, "Big brother, what's wrong? Why are you sighing? Are you unhappy?"
Hearing his younger brother's question, Ye Tiancheng immediately shook his head.
He explained, "I'm not unhappy. It's just that after I woke up today, it feels like I didn't sleep well last night, so my mind has been chaotic, thinking about strange things, and I keep getting distracted and feeling a bit dazed."
"I'll be fine once I get moving."
The little fox nodded in agreement upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's words and said, "So, Big brother, you didn't sleep well either? I feel a bit listless today too. If you're not feeling well, Big brother, you should rest more."
Ye Tiancheng said to his younger brother with some indulgence, "You go and rest. Your brother is fine, I'll be alright after a while. I still need to chop wood later and prepare meals for our family."