Matsukaze Castle.
Yin Shuwei and Zhao Fuyi stood on the newly rebuilt city wall and looked to the east and west. The defense formations of the three cities had been successfully connected.
The light curtain of the great array stretched across the east and west, shining in the darkness, like the light of the sky in an extremely cold place, blending with the purple stars in the sky, touching the heart.
"Thanks to your help this time, we were able to build this formation within half a month."
Yin Shuwei bowed to Zhao Fuyi with a sincere attitude.
Zhao Fuyi gave him a false helping hand, "This is what I should do. Besides, I promised Wangshu that I would complete the formation as soon as possible. She is still waiting for you in Taixuan Mountains. The longer she stays there, the more danger she will face."
Yin Shuwei nodded and said, "She is very good. I have read all the intelligence she sent back. She has almost figured out all the guards of the demon clan. Don't worry, the three-city coalition will definitely recapture the Taixuan Mountains this time, wipe out the demon clan, and bring your good nephew back safely."
"I'll leave it to you guys in this case."
Yin Shuwei was still a little worried when she thought about leaving tomorrow, "Can you really defend this place by yourself?"
Zhao Fuyi chuckled, "This formation is what I used when I was in the Earth Spirit Realm to resist the ghost tide. Back then, with the help of my good friend Li Jiuchuan, I resisted tens of thousands of ghosts for three days."
"Now, this formation has been improved and perfected by me, and it has been integrated with my soul, which is equivalent to my life formation. As long as you can return to support within five days, even if the demons send an army of 100,000, it will not be a problem for me."
Yin Shuwei looked towards the direction of Taixuan Mountain, with a gleam of confidence in victory in her eyes.
"Don't worry, we can take back the mine in three days instead of five."
*
"Yue'er, what are you looking at?"
Jiang Yuebai's eyes were pierced by the scorching sun's light, and the sharp tinnitus made her brain dizzy. She staggered back and was supported on the back by a big, broad hand.
A dark-skinned man squatted down in front of her, lifted up her sunshade hat, and wiped the sweat off her face with his sleeve.
"You silly girl, the sun is so strong, why do you always stand under the sun and stare at it? Aren't you afraid that the light will blind you? What will you do if you can't get married in the future?"
The nose was pinched by the man's rough fingers, and it brought a faint fragrance of rice.
Jiang Yuebai suddenly realized and stared at the man in front of her in a daze. Her mind was blank and she couldn't remember anything. She just felt particularly... twisted and felt that something was wrong.
It was like getting a heat stroke after being exposed to the scorching sun. The sky was spinning, and the noise, the chirping of insects and frogs made me feel bored and nauseous.
"Yue'er, go rest under the shade of the tree over there and drink some water. Then go back to the village private school to pick up your brother. Your mother should be ready for lunch soon. Leave the remaining rice to your father."
His head was rubbed and the hat was put back on to block out the scorching sun.
Jiang Yuebai slowly regained her memory. It was summer, the rice was ripe, and she and her father were harvesting the last bit of rice in the fields.
Yes, she is twelve years old now and can go to work in the fields to help her parents.
If I don't help my parents more now, I will be married in three years when I reach the age of 15, and it will be difficult for me to see my parents and my brother afterwards.
Jiang Yuebai walked to the edge of the field, opened the clay pot filled with water and poured a bowl of it. After drinking the sweet well water, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and felt refreshed, as if she had come alive again.
"Girl Yue, give grandpa a bowl too."
The old man holding the sickle walked under the tree, bent his back and pounded his waist. Jiang Yuebai smiled when he saw him.
"Okay, Grandpa Tao."
Old Tao took the bowl of water with one hand and stuffed a piece of dried meat into Jiang Yuebai's mouth with the other.
Jiang Yuebai ate with a smile, "Grandpa, you are so kind to me. Ever since my grandparents passed away, you have been the best to me in the whole village."
Tao Lao smiled and said, "Grandpa loves to see you smile. When you smile, Grandpa feels as if his heart is filled with honey. All right, go pick up your brother. After you finish your farm work in the afternoon, remember to come to Grandpa's house and finish reading the book you didn't finish yesterday."
"Okay!"
Jiang Yuebai agreed with a smile and walked towards Jiangjia Village in the west with his hat on.
The village has white walls and black tiles, and smoke is rising from every household, filling the air with a delicious aroma that makes one's mouth water.
Jiang Yuebai remembered that Old Tao was an outsider. It seemed that he was disheartened because his wife died early and wandered here, and was taken in by the village chief.
He used to be a private school teacher. Girls in the village were not allowed to go to private schools, but he was willing to teach them.
Walking on the road, Jiang Yuebai recalled every detail of her time in Jiangjia Village. She was satisfied with everything. The only thing that worried her was getting married in the future.
She didn't want to get married and resisted it from the bottom of her heart. She always felt that her life should not be like her mother's, getting married and becoming a housewife.
So what should she do
That twisted feeling came over her again, making her feel that everything was a little out of place and wrong, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong.
When I arrived at the private school, the morning class had just ended and Jiang Yuebai was standing in the shadow under the wall.
There were two very luxurious carriages parked under the poplar trees across the road, each with servants waiting.
One had a lantern with the word "Lu" on it, and the other had a lantern with the word "Xie" on it.
The Lu family is a prominent family in their area, and the Xie family is a merchant family, extremely wealthy.
Because Mr. Li, the teacher of their private school, was a famous scholar who kept his identity secret and liked to stay in the countryside, a young lady of the Lu family and the only son of the Xie family learned about Mr. Li and came to his house to seek advice.
The young lady from the Lu family was disguised as a man, and only Jiang Yuebai knew about this.
"It's a pity that I don't have money to pay the tuition, otherwise I would have disguised myself as a man and gone in to listen to the lecture."
Jiang Yuebai hung his head, thinking about how to make a lot of money. It would be great if he could dig up gold in the mountains.
"Yue'er!"
A joyful voice came from the door of the private school. Jiang Yuebai raised her eyes and saw Lu Nanzhi, who was dressed as a man, smiling at her.
"Anan!"
Lu Nanzhi walked quickly to Jiang Yuebai, turned around and took a stack of papers from the servant.
"This is the article that Master Li talked about today. I wrote it all down. I'm giving it to you."
Jiang Yuebai took it with a smile, "Anan, you are so nice."
She and Lu Nanzhi got to know each other through fighting. One time, she and her brother were discussing an article by the river and had different opinions. Lu Nanzhi, who was out on a picnic, heard them and started a debate.
Lu Nanzhi couldn't argue with her, but she didn't get angry at all. She didn't despise her background either. She became sworn sisters with her and treated her like a sister.
After that, Lu Nanzhi copied down the articles that Master Li talked about every day and gave them to her so that they could discuss them together.
"Ahem, what are you two doing? Men and women shouldn't have physical contact, don't you understand?"
Hearing this voice, Jiang Yuebai tilted his head and rolled his eyes. It was Xie Jingshan, the second generation ancestor of the Xie family again.
Xie Jingshan, dressed in gorgeous clothes, was followed by two servants. He walked up to Jiang Yuebai and Lu Nanzhi, glanced at Lu Nanzhi unfriendly, and suddenly put on a smile when he turned to Jiang Yuebai.
"Jiang Yue'er, I brought you some snacks made by my cook. Would you like to try them?"
Jiang Yuebai took a breath and refused, "Xie Young Master, men and women should not touch each other, please stay away from me."
"Sister!"
When his younger brother came out, Jiang Yuebai said goodbye to Lu Nanzhi, stuffed the stack of papers into his lapel, and went home with his younger brother.
On the way, Jiang Yuebai asked his younger brother what he had learned today. His younger brother had a bitter face and couldn't say a few words. Jiang Yuebai was so angry that he twisted his ear and started scolding him.
"Sister, spare me. I really can't go on with this school. Can you talk to my parents and let me learn carpentry from dad? Can't you go to school?"
“If only it were that easy!”
"Yes, it's really possible. Master Li said today that women can serve as officials in our Yun Kingdom. Master Li read the article I copied from my elder sister and said he wanted to see you."
Jiang Yuebai stood there in a daze. Yes, women were allowed to serve as officials in the Yun Kingdom. How could she have forgotten such an important thing
But she seemed unsatisfied with just being a court lady.
Jiang Yuebai looked up at the scorching sun, the twisted feeling became stronger and stronger. No, she wanted more than that.
"Hey, sister, look, that Jianghu guy is here again. Why do you think he looks so good?"
Her sleeve was tugged by her brother. Jiang Yuebai looked up and saw a swordsman in green standing by the side wall of her yard, like the bright moon and the gentle breeze.
Jiang Yuebai sighed and pulled his brother over.
(End of this chapter)