Framed

"Luo Han, Luo Han! Where have you gone? Don't scare me!"

She ran frantically everywhere, checking every nook and cranny, from baskets to haystacks, from pigsties to horse stables, but he was nowhere to be found. She decided to ask the villagers if they had seen him. All shook their heads, unaware.

Then she saw a group of children playing shuttlecock. She approached, intending to ask them about Bai Xiao, but then she heard a song from their mouths.

"Two pairs, two pairs,
Acting as one pair,
Until the day comes,
Both will perish together."

Followed by their eerie giggles. Wan Ru paused, pondering, "What in the world is this? Has this song spread to the children? Did these children hear it, or did they compose it themselves? Could it be that this village is not as peaceful as it seems?"

She took off the Fu An wreath and discarded it. "This wreath is also suspicious; it's best to get rid of it."

She turned to leave, and at that very moment, the children abruptly stopped playing shuttlecock, all staring intently at her.

She decided to seek help from the village elder. According to the villagers' directions, the elder's house was at the end of the village, past the rice fields.

She walked through the rice fields, which were in harvest season. Around her were piles of hay stacked high like mountains. A green robe fluttered behind a large haystack. Wan Ru immediately recognized it as Bai Xiao and shouted loudly.

"Little brother, where have you been? I've been looking for you for so long."

She was about to run to him when Bai Xiao spoke, "Don't come over here!"

He stepped out from the haystack, his head bowed. Worried for Bai Xiao, she said, "Bai Xiao, there are no outsiders here now. Tell me, where have you been all morning?"

He lifted his head, his eyes dark and lifeless, like those of a dead man. Not a trace of spiritual energy lingered about him.

"It is best you no longer follow me. What I do is none of your concern. Let us not meet again in the future."

Bai Xiao turned and ran.

"You scoundrel, don't let me catch you!"

Her physical strength had always surpassed Bai Xiao's. But today was different from what she expected. Bai Xiao ran so fast that even a cultivator like her could not catch up.

"What did he eat today to run so fast?"

She chased him for a long stretch until she lost sight of Bai Xiao, then she looked around in a panic. Standing alone in a desolate, nameless place, she felt utterly lost. Wan Ru clenched her fists, trying to maintain her last shred of composure.

"First, let's see if he left any footprints."

She bent down to look at the bare ground. Not a single footprint remained.

"How strange."

She walked back along the path she had chased Bai Xiao. The sky had completely plunged into a mysterious black, dotted with a few faint stars. After walking for a while, she saw a nail on the road. Wan Ru took out a handkerchief, wrapped the nail in it, and observed it.

"Why is there a nail here all of a sudden?"

This tiny nail emitted a heavy, sinister aura.

"Is that all? I wonder if I should go back to that village to rest."

She thought of the children from earlier. Her hand gripped the nail as she said,

"If I don't take risks, how can I save him?"

She returned to the village and, seeing a house not far away, went there to ask for a night's lodging. They welcomed her warmly, without the slightest discomfort.

"Thank you for allowing this humble one to stay tonight."

The family she stayed with consisted of six members: a husband and wife, and their four children—one boy and three girls. Their meal that day was a pot of watery porridge, yet the children were still joyful and eager.

"It looks so delicious, Mother!"
"It smells so good!"

The pot of porridge was mostly water, with no visible rice grains or scent of rice. The woman said,

"Our family only has this to offer, esteemed guest. We hope you understand."

She smiled bitterly, her eyes welling up. Having lived in the imperial palace for so long, enjoying a life of luxury, she had never known the suffering of the mortal world. She took out a piece of cured dried meat from her cloth bag and said,

"Do you children want to eat this?"

The children excitedly cheered.

"Is that meat, esteemed guest?"
"It's meat!"
"Meat, meat!"

Their father awkwardly stopped them, saying,

"You mustn't! Children, what did your father teach you?"

The children obediently folded their hands and said,

"Even in poverty, one must maintain self-respect."

The woman said, "Good children."

She felt a pang of guilt and spoke, "Your sincerity makes this humble one ashamed. To accept lodging for a night without repaying your kindness would leave me restless without end."

She handed the meat to the woman and said, "Please accept this small token of my sincerity."

The woman refused, but upon seeing her gentle smile, she couldn't bear not to accept. The children were delighted; perhaps this was their first time eating meat.

The young lady served porridge to everyone in turn, and finally to Wan Ru. Wan Ru took the bowl but hesitated to pick up her chopsticks. Though everyone else had received their bowls first, they did not rush to eat, but looked at her, intending for her to start first. The woman smiled and said,

"Could it be that this porridge does not suit your taste, esteemed guest?"

The children said,

"Esteemed guest, please eat! Our mother's porridge is very delicious!"
"That's right, super delicious!"

She awkwardly said, "I'll eat now, I'll eat now."

Wan Ru gulped down the entire bowl of porridge. However, she still managed to taste the watery, bland porridge. It was thin and tasteless, without the slightest sweetness of rice, and even had a slightly unpleasant, salty flavor. After finishing it, she wanted to vomit violently, but to maintain decorum, she forced herself to hold it in.

But that wasn't all; she also felt dizzy, and everything gradually blurred. Then Wan Ru fainted.

The entire family stared intently as she collapsed.