Ding Fan carried Ruv Ling out of the cave and, only after finding his travel bag, did he start sprinting with Ruv Ling on his back, leaving the cave directly.

Although initially Ding Fan did not want to get involved in Ruv Ling's affairs, since he had no connection with Ruv Ling, he couldn't ignore the fact that Ruv Ling had called out to him as "Brother Fan." Just for that call, Ding Fan couldn't possibly neglect Ruv Ling's plight.

Carrying Ruv Ling, he ran non-stop for about forty or fifty li until they reached a small town.

Upon arrival, Ding Fan looked for an inn with Ruv Ling and after getting a room, he carried Ruv Ling up to it.

Ruv Ling had been in a coma up until this point, and Ding Fan knew it was just due to the shock. With some rest and care, Ruv Ling would be able to recover.

After ensuring Ruv Ling was not in critical condition, Ding Fan took out Ruv Ling's phone, found her family's number, and called them.

Once the call connected, It was Ruv Ling's mother who answered. Ding Fan made clear which town they were in and the name of the inn before urging them to arrange for someone to come pick up Ruv Ling quickly.

Ding Fan did not have the time to watch over Ruv Ling since he had to enter the mountains. It was not convenient to take Ruv Ling along, as she needed care. So, having Ruv Ling's family pick her up was the most reliable method.

For Ruv Ling's safety, after calling her family, Ding Fan found a place to hide near the inn. He had to ensure Ruv Ling's safety until her family came to fetch her.

Ding Fan had hidden for less than an hour when a squad of police arrived quickly, and soon after reaching the inn, they carried Ruv Ling away. Ding Fan could confirm that these were the people arranged by the Spirit Family. Since Ruv Ling was safe, he decided not to waste any more time here.

Thereupon, Ding Fan shouldered his luggage and continued walking in the direction indicated on the map toward Immortal Peak Primeval Forest…

The flower seller Zhen Xiang had set up her stall for the past two days, her eyes incessantly searching the crowd for a glimpse of Ding Fan.

In the garage, it was Ding Fan who saved her. Without him, she couldn't even imagine what would have become of her.

Yet, facing her savior, Zhen Xiang did not even utter a word of thanks; instead, she kicked Ding Fan so hard that he vomited blood.

Although she had not disclosed it to the police, Zhen Xiang knew that the one who killed Mouse and set the garage on fire was Ding Fan. As the police continued their relentless search, Ding Fan was bound to be discovered. What she wanted now was to find Ding Fan quickly, to thank him in person, and then advise him to escape immediately.

However, the more anxious she became, the less likely she was to spot Ding Fan. She even wondered if the police had already arrested him, but fearing she might expose him, Zhen Xiang didn't dare to inquire at the police station.

"Sister Ruoran, I saw Brother Fan following that flower seller that day."

At that moment, at the entrance of the vegetable market, Wu Min pointed at Zhen Xiang's stall and spoke to Zhou Ruoran beside her.

Since Ding Fan left, Zhou Ruoran felt as if she had lost something in her heart, so much so that she didn't even attend the interview at the Central Institute of Politics and Law.

Zhou Ruoran had also been searching for Ding Fan these past days. Ding Fan had been quietly taking care of her, while she naively spoke coldly to him and even suspected he was living off a famous star, Xiao Bai, yet Ding Fan never offered any explanation. Now, she was eager to find Ding Fan and apologize in person…

She had been to the docks where Ding Fan used to carry loads and seen those laborers baking under the sun; Zhou Ruoran's heart ached. Ding Fan, pampered since childhood, when had he ever done such work? But after asking around the docks, no one knew where Ding Fan had gone.

Wu Min had been accompanying Zhou Ruoran these past few days, knowing her mood was down.

It was at lunch today that she suddenly remembered the flower seller and, coincidentally, once Zhen Xiang was mentioned, Wu Min immediately recalled the incident where Zhen Xiang had been taken away and Ding Fan had followed behind.

The two agreed and decided to ask Zhen Xiang, hoping she might know where to find Ding Fan.

"Hello, do you know Ding Fan?" Zhou Ruoran approached Zhen Xiang and asked politely.

Zhen Xiang was taken aback for a moment. "What do you want with Ding Fan?"

These were trying times, and given the direct questions about Ding Fan, Zhen Xiang couldn't help but be cautious—who knew if the other party was a police informant?

Zhou Ruoran naturally noticed Zhen Xiang's nervous reaction upon hearing Ding Fan's name and was sure that Zhen Xiang knew Ding Fan. "Can we find a place to talk?"

"Who are you?" Zhen Xiang scrutinized Zhou Ruoran from head to toe.

"I'm his... friend," Zhou Ruoran intended to say fiancée, but remembering the scar on her face, she swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

For the first time, she was concerned that claiming to be Ding Fan's fiancée might embarrass him.

"I have my own stall to look after, so let's talk here if you have something to say."

Seeing that Zhen Xiang didn't seem to be leaving, Zhou Ruoran straightforwardly asked, "May I know if you are aware of Ding Fan's whereabouts? I urgently need to find him for something important."

"I don't know." Zhen Xiang didn't dare to say much about Ding Fan without clarifying the stranger's identity, and besides, she truly didn't know Ding Fan's whereabouts.

"Are you referring to the Ding Fan who impoverished the Ding Family? I've heard of him, a good-for-nothing, a young master who commits every conceivable misdeed…"

Who knew when, a sunny-looking boy had walked over from the side.

Zhou Ruoran frowned, but before she could say anything, Zhen Xiang had already stepped forward.

"Ding Fan isn't like that, he's a man who would rather be misunderstood than explain himself, a man of integrity who never takes advantage of others in distress! If you speak ill of Ding Fan, please never come to my stall again!"

Zhen Xiang held her head high, as if she was fighting for the truth.

Zhou Ruoran looked on as Zhen Xiang's face was full of solemnity.

'A man who would rather be misunderstood than explain himself, someone who never takes advantage of others in distress…'

Zhou Ruoran pondered over Zhen Xiang's words, feeling a mixture of emotions, realizing that she, Ding Fan's fiancée, didn't understand him as well as a flower seller did...

Ding Fan was nothing but a man with a broad heart... It was a pity that she only came to this realization after he had already left.

How could Zhen Xiang possibly allow someone to insult Ding Fan in front of her? Ding Fan had been her savior, someone more important than a lifesaver to her. If the insults had been captured on video, she would feel disgraced even in death.

Now that someone was speaking ill of Ding Fan right before her eyes, there's no way she could just stand by idly.

The one speaking ill of Ding Fan happened to be the son of a fruit shop owner, who often came to court Zhen Xiang at her stall. He had simply meant to join the conversation to win her favor, but his comments had led to her kicking him out instead.

Seeing Zhen Xiang's stern face, the fruit shop owner's son didn't dare to provoke her further and slunk away.

"Thank you…"

Zhou Ruoran sincerely thanked Zhen Xiang before turning and walking away.

That 'thank you' held her gratitude towards the flower seller for speaking up for Ding Fan, and also her newfound understanding of Ding Fan's character.

Despite having just met Zhen Xiang, Zhou Ruoran was now certain that Ding Fan had not fought with thugs over a flower seller out of jealousy. Otherwise, how could Zhen Xiang have said, 'A man who would rather be misunderstood than explain himself, someone who never takes advantage of others in distress'?

Along the way, with Wu Min's company, both of them returned to the villa, where Zhou Ruoran walked in silence to the flowerbed that had been arranged by Ding Fan.

Remembering the farewell meal day, when Ding Fan had silently tended to these flowers, her heart ached, wondering if Ding Fan had felt the same sadness speaking to these plants...

Zhou Ruoran crouched down and noticed that a white flower that had been blooming in the corner of the flowerbed was gone, and now by its side, a young shoot had emerged.

Zhou Ruoran felt that perhaps the white flower held some special significance to Ding Fan, and maybe that young shoot was sprouted from the seeds of the white flower that had fallen.

Right away, Zhou Ruoran hurried back to her room, fetched some water, and gently watered the young shoot...

…

After running wildly the entire night, Ding Fan finally slowed down, having made sure that he had travelled far enough.

Although the people he had killed were inside a cave and he had burned their corpses with fire, if it were discovered that he was the murderer, he would attract police attention and would no longer be able to show his face in the secular world. Then he would truly have to live like a hermit in the remote woods.

After running the whole night, Ding Fan was somewhat tired. He took out some compressed biscuits to eat and regained some strength. Then, Ding Fan sorted through the money he had taken from the cave.

Since leaving the cave, Ding Fan had not had the time to deal with the money, which he had carried in a sack.

After sorting it out, he found he had over eighty thousand yuan in cash, besides some gold and silver jewelry. These items were of no use to Ding Fan, and rather than keeping them, it was more practical to exchange them for money…