Xiaojiu awoke as the brilliant sunlight streamed through the window, revealing all the little particles of dust drifting around the room. The weather looked favourable compared to yesterday, but the air was also a lot warmer. It could almost be described as stuffy. Xiaojiu looked around the empty room and saw Qingti sleeping like a log, not moving at all, simply breathing in and out peacefully. He must've been tired from yesterday's journey, she figured. She let him rest while she fiddled with her hairpins. Looking around the tiny cabin, hearing no outside noises at all, she felt a certain sense of peace. She knew things could take a turn for the worse at any time if the palace troops showed up, but at the present moment, she couldn't feel safer or more at ease. This was the most peaceful morning she's had since descending to the mortal realm.

After a while, Qingti stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw upon waking up was Xiaojiu. As she looked at him, he felt his cheeks burning up. How embarrassing it was to be seen like this! He quickly sat up and tried to straighten his knotted hair.

"You're finally awake, Qingti." When she looked at him and smiled lightly, his heart raced out of control.

"I... S-should we go eat breakfast?"

"Yes, but maybe not quite yet." She chuckled. "I think you should fix your hair first." At her remark, Qingti panicked internally and made a second attempt to fix his hair. Xiaojiu couldn't help but laugh, and handed him his hair clip. Embarrassed, he took it. Xiaojiu looked at him as he tried to pull himself together. He looked different when his hair was not in a ponytail. Even though he was a mess, he looked like some kind of ethereal deity. It was as if he was too good for the mortal world. Soon, Qingti was back in a presentable state, so they headed out for breakfast.

After enjoying a simple meal, Qingti and Xiaojiu went back to the grass field to retrieve their horses. Thankfully, the two horses were still exactly where they left them. This made the route back to the village much faster. On the way home, the two passed by a small blacksmith shop, which piqued Qingti's interest. He stopped his horse to look at it, and Xiaojiu stopped with him.

"Look, it's a blacksmith shop. It looks like they don't have much staff, why don't we go and see if they want to hire me?"

"Okay," Xiaojiu nodded. "Let's drop off the horses first."

When they returned to the main part of town, the sun was high in the sky, its blazing light heating the earth beneath it. The village was waking up, and people were filling the streets. For a small village, the streets were more crowded than either of them expected. However, Qingti's remarkable good looks still stood out in the crowd, and many ladies passing by slowed down to stare at him for just a bit longer before they parted ways. All Qingti could do was smile through the embarrassment and lower his head, with Xiaojiu awkwardly following him.

The blacksmith shop indeed seemed in need of staff; besides the boss, there was only one other worker. There didn't seem to be much business either. When Qingti and Xiaojiu entered, the boss, a tired looking middle-aged man, immediately smiled warmly at them.

"Welcome! What can I do for you two?"

"Hello, boss. Would you happen to be looking for workers? I am looking for a job." As Qingti spoke, the boss looked him up and down.

"You must be new around here. I know I haven't seen you around, because I would certainly remember if I did!" He paused and smiled. "Ever since the beginning, it's just been me and my pal Ol' Wang running this shop. We'd love to have you help us, please get started right away!"

Because he was a new worker, Qingti was sent outside to collect firewood for the shop. Although the forest was quite a distance from the shop, he finished the task faster than anyone expected, which pleasantly surprised the boss.

"You're an able-bodied young man. Since you've finished this task so quickly, why don't you try your hand at forging metal for us?" When Qingti agreed, the boss was delighted.

Qingti got to work immediately, and Xiaojiu sat off to one side to watch him. As soon as he picked up the hammer, it seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing. True, Xiaojiu reminded herself, Xuanren trusted him with forging weapons before. Of course he knew what he was doing.

Watching him work away at this moment was really the first time Xiaojiu took a good look at him. For the first time, she consciously realized how remarkably attractive this man named Ye Qingti was; perhaps she had acknowledged this fact before, but only subconsciously. Although she still thought Dijun was the best, Qingti had a different vibe about him: one that was valiant and refreshing, and made her want to trust and rely on him. Her gaze was fixed on him, but Qingti was so focused on his work he didn't have any time to notice. Such a loyal and hardworking man, what would it be like if she lived in this town with him for the rest of her time in the mortal realm? They would probably lead a simple life, separated from the affairs of the palace. They wouldn't have to worry about anything concerning the Lingbi stone, politics, or empresses. If anything bad happened, Qingti would be there to protect her no matter what, and they would overcome problems together. How nice it would be to just live simply like this, enjoying the small things in life. How nice it would be, if she could take Qingti back to Qingqiu for company and never see the royal palace of Chengyu ever again. It wasn't like anything would change even if she returned there in one piece; she still couldn't show love to Song Xuanren even if they got married, and she would soon ascend back to Qingqiu and probably never see Dijun again. It was like fate couldn't bear to see them together: when Xiaojiu was chasing Dijun, he didn't even know it, and now that Dijun's incarnation was chasing her, all she could do was try to break his heart. She couldn't even have Dijun's mortal incarnation... What a miserable world this is. Here she was, suffering this misery, all because she fell in love with the wrong man. And here she was, escaping to this tiny village, with the man who fell in love with the wrong woman.