Xu Xuan vaguely sensed what Jiang Lin meant.
He quickly said in a serious tone: "Miss Jiang has parents and a brother named Master Jiang. How can it be my turn as an outsider to speak?"
"And it is not gentlemanly to comment on a girl."
He simply wouldn't take this kind of thing.
Jiang Lin then laughed.
He called a boy to lead the way for Xu Xuan and said, "This Donghua Mountain is very large and the mountain roads are complicated. I asked this boy to lead the way for you, so that you can get down the mountain safely and write back to me."
Xu Xuan thanked Jiang Lin and took out a few small purses from his backpack.
He said, "There are many mosquitoes in the mountains. This is a powder I made myself to repel mosquitoes and ants. It works well. If Mr. Jiang doesn't mind, you can hang it on your body or bedside. It has a light smell and is not unpleasant."
He remembered something and added, "This purse was embroidered by my mother in her spare time. It is made of ordinary blue cloth with no patterns or words on it. You can use it without any worries."
Jiang Lin took the purse and felt that the scholar was indeed a thoughtful and wonderful person.
Later he specifically said that it was just an ordinary blue cloth, probably because he was afraid that Jiang Lin would avoid suspicion and dare not give it to his two "sisters", so he made a special explanation.
He asked a little boy to escort Xu Xuan down the mountain. When he returned to the mansion, he saw two jade-like little snakes looking around at the door.
Xiao Qing was still muttering, "Brother Jiang Lin is so stingy, can't he let us transform into human form for a little longer?"
Jiang Lin tapped her snake head with his finger and said, "If you like the human form, then practice hard. When you can transform yourself, you can stay in this form for as long as you want. You must know that what you gain through your own practice is much more real than relying on external forces."
Hearing him say this, Bai Suzhen said seriously: "What Jiang Lin said makes sense. I must work hard to cultivate. Now I can only give my benefactor some small things from the mountains. When I can transform, I can give him more good things."
Jiang Lin was stunned when he heard this.
He looked at the little white snake on the ground, and finally couldn't bear to say anything. No matter how talented you are, your cultivation and age are there. By the time you really turn into a human form, Xu Xuan will probably have reincarnated countless times.
As for Xu Xuan, with the help of a little boy, he quickly and smoothly went down the mountain.
Xu Xuan thanked the little boy, who smiled and waved his hand, then turned around and went into the forest.
When Xu Xuan returned home and told his family about this experience, everyone in his family was very worried.
His mother said worriedly, "This... I've never heard of anyone living in Donghua Mountain. Xuan'er, didn't you run into something... unclean?"
Xu Xuan mentioned what Jiang Lin said: "I remember that Carpenter Chen's family received a large order a few years ago? It seems that it was placed by this Mr. Jiang."
His mother was relieved after hearing this.
Then he heard his son laughing and said, "Besides, even if it is really a demon, so what? Young Master Jiang is a man of integrity, knowledgeable and intelligent. He was kind enough to take me in and send me down the mountain. He never had any bad intentions towards me."
He sighed, "I sincerely consider such a person as a friend. What difference does it make whether he is a human being or not?"
When he said this, he suddenly remembered the little white snake that often visited his yard.
Two days later, when Bai Suzhen went to the courtyard as usual, she saw Xu Xuan put down the book and looked at her and joked: "According to the story in the book, you should be very extraordinary. You won't suddenly turn into a beautiful lady and come to meet me at night, right?"
Bai Suzhen thought her identity had been discovered, and she was so frightened that the whole snake almost froze, lying on the table and not daring to speak.
But it turned out that she was thinking too much, Xu Xuan was just joking.
He was not only teasing, he also looked down on those stories: "But, even if you can really become a human to repay me, please don't come knocking on my door in the middle of the night."
He thought of Miss Jiang in the Jiang residence and smiled: "Then I will lock you out and scold you."
Bai Suzhen:
Xu Xuan just mentioned it casually and lowered his head to drink tea and read his travel notes.
He saw the small white snake coiled opposite him slowly swimming over and bumping the back of his hand with its cold snake head.
If an outsider saw this action, he would be terrified, but Xu Xuan was not afraid at all.
He already knew that this little thing was very smart and would not bite.
But Bai Suzhen usually wasn't too close to him, so he asked in confusion, "What do you want to say?"
Bai Suzhen was very anxious and wanted to know why he said that before, but she couldn't speak.
Seeing that Xu Xuan looked puzzled as to what she meant, she thought for a moment and turned around to swim towards Xu Xuan's study.
Xu Xuan was even more puzzled when he saw this. Although this little white snake often came, it always stayed quietly in the yard and never entered the house.
He followed the white snake into the study and watched it move very smartly around the cabinet full of books. After a while, it took out a storybook and placed it at his feet.
Xu Xuan picked it up and saw that it was a very common story about a fox demon repaying a favor by giving herself to him.
He asked, “You want to hear this story?”
After he asked, he saw the white snake's head shaking.
After getting along for a long time, the man and the snake have a tacit understanding that this means "no".
I didn't want to listen to the story, so I took out the book again.
Xu Xuan thought about it for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Do you want to continue the topic we were talking about earlier?"
The white snake raised its head and nodded very seriously.
Xu Xuan looked at her in surprise: "You are not really a spirit, are you?"
Bai Suzhen didn't move and pretended that she didn't understand.
Xu Xuan didn't care whether she really understood or not. He just sat down in the study and opened the notebook.
The content of this storybook is very ordinary. It tells the story of a scholar who saved a wounded fox. After the fox recovered from its wounds, it turned into a beautiful lady and had secret meetings with the scholar every night.
Xu Xuan flipped through the pages for a while and shook his head:
"This scholar, who obviously has a wife at home, hangs out with a woman of unknown origin. This is unfaithful to his wife. He moved out of the house under the pretext of concentrating on studying, but he does things like having a mistress every day. This is hypocritical. In addition, since he loves this fox girl, he should at least tell his family and welcome her into the house properly. What is the point of hanging out with her every night like this? This is irresponsible."
Xu Xuan threw the storybook aside and said, "This is clearly a scene imagined by a bored scholar, written for himself to read."
He laughed and shook his head: "I just fantasize about having a beautiful fairy who loves me wholeheartedly."
Take a look at yourself and see what you have that is worthy of the fox girl's attention.
Bai Suzhen was stunned.
She had also read the book and shed tears for the story in it.
Because the ending of this story is that the scholar's family found something wrong and forcibly drove the fox girl away. The fox girl fled far away while pregnant with the scholar's child, and finally struggled to give birth to the child and gave it to the scholar, and hid in a quiet and deserted place to wait for death.
The scholar also wrote some very touching poems for the fox girl.
But after hearing what her benefactor said, she now felt that the scholar was not that good.
He just happened to save the fox's life, but he didn't act like a benefactor, giving him delicious food or teaching him to read.
Bai Suzhen's mind was full of complicated thoughts, and she swam back absent-mindedly.
Xu Xuan didn't think too much about it, nor did he really think of her as a fairy who was repaying a favor.
But Bai Suzhen returned to Donghua Mountain and found Jiang Lin very confused. She told Jiang Lin about her conversation with Xu Xuan today.
After hearing this, Jiang Lin sighed and laughed, "I really didn't misjudge him."
Bai Suzhen asked: "Do you also think he is right?"
Jiang Lin asked back: "Do you think what he said is wrong?"
Bai Suzhen couldn't answer, she asked in confusion: "If he doesn't want to pledge himself to me, how can I repay him?"
Jiang Lin said: "Have you ever thought that he never thought about asking for your reward at all?"
"But he has done me a favor, so I have to repay him. It has nothing to do with whether he needs it or not." Bai Suzhen can still make this clear.
Moreover, monsters believe in cause and effect, and she owes Xu Xuan this.
"Then it depends on what he needs." Jiang Lin said.
He thought of the famous love story in later generations and tried to excuse himself: "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't pledge my love to you."
Bai Suzhen looked at him blankly, not understanding.
Jiang Lin patiently explained, "Xu Xuan and I both dislike that storybook because some of the logic in it is too weird. It's just the fantasy of a down-and-out scholar."
"Devoting yourself to someone is a lifelong matter. Suzhen, I hope you choose to be with him because you like him, and not because you sell yourself out to repay a favor."
Bai Suzhen nodded to show that she understood.
She no longer mentioned the storybook and continued to visit Xu's family as often as usual.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xu Xuan sent someone to deliver a gift. When he heard that Jiang Lin would not be going home for the festival, he warmly invited him.
Jiang Lin naturally refused and just said that he liked to be alone.
But on the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Qing suddenly rushed in and hissed, "Brother Jiang Lin, there is a huge Tai Sui at the door!"
Jiang Lin was curious and went out to see.
It was indeed a very old Tai Sui, but it lacked some luck and had no intelligence.
Even so, it is still a very precious thing.
It was placed here intentionally, obviously as a gift.
Jiang Lin only knew Xu Xuan here, and the Xu family was not a family that could afford to give such a precious thing. In other words, even the emperor in the mortal world might not be able to get such a thing.
He didn't want it and put it aside.
A few days later, there was something new at the door.
This time, it was a ginseng that transformed into a human form, white and plump, tied tightly with a red rope, and thrown at the door, crying loudly.
Still didn't see the person delivering the things.
This time Jiang Lin understood that someone had deliberately placed something here.
He paid attention and kept his consciousness focused on the surroundings.
But the third time, a precious red coral tree was placed at the door, so dazzling and gorgeous that Xiaoqing couldn't walk on the spot.
Jiang Lin didn't notice any sign of anyone approaching.
He stood at the gate of the yard, looking at the priceless coral tree. He stood there quietly for a long time, then called a little boy to move the red coral tree in.
Xiao Qing was surprised: "Brother Jiang Lin, didn't you say not to accept gifts from others casually?"
Jiang Lin looked at her and smiled without saying anything.
He probably already knew who sent the gift.
There was peace for many days after that.
On this day, a figure approached the mansion quietly.
He walked to the door, stared in a certain direction for a long time as if with longing, then took out a small jade bottle from his arms.
Inside is the cold marrow he just found from the thousand-year-old ice in the north, which is a very rare material for refining weapons and medicine.
After putting his things down, he was about to leave when his body suddenly froze.
Jiang Lin stood in front of him without him noticing.