Although she was a bit confused, A-Liao wasn't upset. She didn’t even have a concept of “anger” or “holding a grudge.”

  Just like Liang Yudong, Mo Bai remained one of the most important people in her life.

  As Liang Yudong applied the cool ointment to A-Liao's wound, he shook his head and said, “I've told you a thousand times, keep a low profile. What if you get seriously hurt in a fight?”

  "I'm not some fragile teacup; I won't break that easily.” A-Liao winced from the pain.

  "Be gentle, be gentle!”

  He stopped what he was doing.

  "For me, you're the only one.” He looked at A-Liao for a moment, seeming a bit lost in thought before quickly regaining his usual composure. Standing up, he picked up the medicine box and headed toward the inner room. "There′s still soup in the kitchen. Go serve yourself.”

  Lately, her master seemed a little different from before.

  A-Liao watched his retreating figure, gently rubbing the corner of her mouth.

  When Liang Yudong first met A-Liao, she was barely over three years old.

  As he tossed a thick stack of cash onto the greasy, grimy wooden table, two pairs of greedy eyes lit up as if charged with electricity. The woman′s cracked lips trembled as she muttered, “Never thought someone would pay for a little girl we picked up from the mountains.” She then changed her expression, calling excitedly toward the kitchen, “Girl, get out here!”

  It was the end of December, and heavy snow was falling over the mountains.

  A small girl appeared at the doorway, looking about three or four. She was wrapped in an old, thin sweater, its cuffs and colr fraying, barely covering her thin frame. She held a bowl of freshly boiled potatoes in her hands, her big, dark eyes shining brightly from her little round face, smudged with soot and ash.

  "Dad.” She ran over to the man, looking up at him with a bright smile as she held out the potatoes. “Look, this time I didn’t burn them!”

  The man impatiently snatched the bowl and set it aside, then picked her up and shoved her in front of the young man by the window. “Here, she’s yours now.” He shot a gre at the little girl and said, “From now on, he's your father. Go with him.”

  What he handed over wasn't a person—just a piece of property he was free to sell.

  "Dad and Mom look really happy. That's nice.” Standing by the crooked fence gate, the little girl looked back at what was once her “home.” Her big eyes sparkled, and her face showed no sadness, no anger, no fear—only a smile, as beautiful and quiet as a wildflower blooming in secret.

  Liang Yudong watched this small child. From the moment he held her hand and led her out the door, she′d been as docile as a kitten, showing no resistance as he guided her toward an entirely unknown future.

  "Aren't you going to ask where I'm taking you?” he asked.

  "Nope.” She looked up, wiping her runny nose from the cold, and grinned. “You're not going to eat me, are you?”

  He shook his head, crouched down, and carefully wiped her dirty nose with a handkerchief, ughing, “You really are as clean as a bnk sheet of paper.”

  A thin yer of snow covered the courtyard, and the tall ginkgo tree next to the wall was adorned with yers of lush green leaves, vibrant and fresh, as if they could squeeze out water. Despite the biting cold and the sharp wind, the tree thrived with life.

  The unusual pairing of white snow and green leaves radiated a vibrant vitality.

  Liang Yudong gnced at the tree, then took the little girl′s hand and turned to leave. On the winding mountain path, their footprints—one big and one small—stretched out ahead of them.

  In the simple countryside inn, Liang Yudong tidied up the messy bed, frowning as he said, “We′ll be home tomorrow. Let′s make do for one night and get to bed early.” He turned to look at her, who was gncing around. “A-Liao, did you hear me?”

  "This pce..." She ran over to Liang Yudong, happily grabbing his hand. “This house is so beautiful!” With that, she leaped onto the bed, rolling around on the slightly musty cotton bnket, cpping her hands and ughing, “It’s so soft and comfortable!”

  "You've never slept on a bed like this before?” Liang Yudong sat on the edge of the bed, watching the excited child whose face was flushed with joy.

  "There′s no bed in my house, only at Dad and Mom′s. But I have lots of straw! And I always sleep next to Xiao Du. It’s so warm lying next to him.” She hugged the pillow tightly, pressing her little face against it. “I wonder if Xiao Du has eaten yet.”

  "Who is Xiao Du?”

  "The dog that helps Dad and Mom watch the yard! It has fur as white as snow and is really big, but it's always so skinny, never puts on any weight.”

  "Oh, I see.”

  Liang Yudong straightened her body and pulled the bnket over her. “Sleep now. It won’t be cold tonight.”

  "Mm!” Her little face, as red as an apple, quickly tucked into the covers, leaving only her eyes, which sparkled with sweet ughter. “I'm really happy today.” Then she popped her head out again and asked seriously, “Will I still be able to see Dad and Mom in the future?”

  "They′ll be doing well,” he said, stroking her head. “Having a daughter like you is a blessing they’ve earned over many lifetimes.”

  "Ha, that's great!” She snuggled contentedly into the bnket, drifting off to sleep. "You should sleep early too, Master.”

  With that, she poked her head out once more, giving Liang Yudong a sweet smile. "Master, you′re really kind!”

  "Mm.” Liang Yudong gave an awkward smile.

  On the way here, he had done two things. One was to casually give her a name while passing through a vast field, and the other was to crify their future retionship. He didn’t like calling her "little girl," and he certainly didn’t want her to call him “Dad.”

  In the dead of night, a knife-like mountain wind howled through the broken window. The winter in the mountains was damp and cold, seeping into the bones. Liang Yudong sat on the bed, reading by the faint light of an oil mp. The yellowed pages of the book were even older than the dusty mp itself. A-Liao was curled up beside him, sleeping soundly like a little pig, her fingers innocently resting in her mouth.

  He closed the book and gazed at the little figure next to him. In the flickering light, his expression turned solemn and deep.

  A gust of strong wind rushed in, extinguishing the oil mp.

  Liang Yudong couldn’t help but sneeze.

  Rubbing his nose, he forced a bitter smile. He had become so weak that even a little cold was enough to bring him down. Once capable of soaring through the skies and conjuring homes from mere wood, those days were now distant memories. Now, he could barely withstand a small chill.

  Even if the ginkgo tree yaokai has taken human form, even if it has a thousand years of cultivation, when the great camity approaches, it is nothing more than a dying shell.

  To escape means to live on; to be caught means the end.

  This is the predetermined path of the yaokais.

  In the darkness, the steady and peaceful sound of breathing beside him, A-Liao′s smiling face and cheerful ughter flickered in his heart, sometimes clear and bright, other times blurred and distant.

  At the break of dawn, Liang Yudong opened his eyes, feeling warm. He found himself covered with a bnket that he didn't know when had been pced over him. Although it had a strange smell, it effectively shielded him from the cold. A-Liao was curled up next to him, barely covered by a corner of the bnket, her little hand resting on his arm. She was still sleeping soundly, snoring and drooling.

  Just as Liang Yudong was shaking his head to adjust the bnket over her, A-Liao stirred and woke up.

  "It seems I'll have to use glue to stick you down so you'll stop kicking off the bnket at night,” Liang Yudong teased as he shot her a pyful gre.

  "I didn′t kick off the bnket!” A-Liao rubbed her eyes and sat up, protesting.

  "Then how did the bnket end up on me?”

  "I heard you coughing in the middle of the night, so I covered you with the bnket,” A-Liao answered honestly. “I didn’t kick it off.”

  He paused for a moment, then asked, “But if you gave me the bnket, aren't you cold?”

  "I'm cold, but I'm not coughing,” A-Liao pouted. “Before, Xiao Du would cough and shiver too. I would just pile thick straw on it and hug it, and it would get better quickly!”

  "I'm not Xiao Du,” he said, giving her nose a pyful poke.

  "But you're right next to me,” A-Liao tilted her head and seriously counted on her fingers. “I don’t want you to get sick. If you′re sick, you′ll be unhappy, and if you′re unhappy, A-Liao will be unhappy too. I want Dad, Mom, Xiao Du, and Master—everyone around me—to be happy!”

  "Silly child.” He gently patted her head, his smile tinged with an indescribable bitterness.

  Because you are here with me…

  Fine, from now on, you′ll stay by my side.

  Liang Yudong extended his index finger and lightly poked A-Liao's forehead, a faint glow radiating from the tip of his finger.

  "A-Liao, you no longer have a past; you only have a future to live alongside me.”