Fuchen left.

Little Green sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, looking at the pill in her hand, her mind echoing with the words Fuchen had said.

"Little Green."

From outside the courtyard came her sister’s voice.

Little Green was startled and hurriedly tucked the pill back into her sleeve.

"Sister, you’re back," Little Green stood up, a flash of guilt passing through her eyes.

"Little Green, what’s wrong?" Bai Ruxue noticed that her younger sister seemed a bit strange.

"Nothing," Little Green shook her head, "Let me help you hang the clothes."

Little Green stepped forward, took the basin from her sister’s hands, and helped her hang the clothes one by one on the bamboo pole.

"Sister..." Little Green glanced at her sister’s profile and called out softly.

"Mm?"

"Just now a female Daoist named Fuchen came," Little Green asked, wanting to know if her sister truly knew Fuchen.

"Daoist Master Fuchen came?" Bai Ruxue was somewhat surprised.

"Do you know her, sister?"

"I do. Daoist Master Fuchen came to find me before, saying she wanted to take me as her disciple, but I refused. Xiao Mo said she was a good Daoist master. Later, sister heard Xiao Mo say that the Tianxuan Sect has an elder whose true form is a vermillion bird, named Fuchen. It should be this elder."

"I see," Little Green nodded, pressing her thin lips together, feeling reassured about Fuchen’s identity.

"Did Daoist Master Fuchen say something to you, Little Green?" Bai Ruxue asked.

"That..."

Little Green looked directly into her sister’s eyes.

"Sister, Elder Fuchen said that you must hibernate quickly this time. After this hibernation, you will transform into a boa. If you, sister, forcibly endure and don’t hibernate, not only will it damage your fundamental path, but you might even be in mortal danger."

"Sister!" Little Green grasped Bai Ruxue’s wrist, "Sister, let’s go up the mountain to hibernate. Otherwise, when Big Brother Xiao returns, if something happens to you, sister, what would we do?"

"Then Little Green, did the Daoist master say how long I would sleep during this hibernation and transformation?" Bai Ruxue asked.

"..." Little Green lowered her head, her expression complex.

Seeing her younger sister’s appearance, even without her sister saying anything, Bai Ruxue knew the answer.

Indeed, it was just as she had felt.

This hibernation would likely last for a very, very long time...

"Little Green, I’m fine. I want to wait for him to return," Bai Ruxue made her decision.

"Sister... this concerns your life," Little Green’s eyes seemed about to cry.

Bai Ruxue smiled and shook her head, "But Little Green, Xiao Mo is more important than my life."

Little Green: "..."

"Alright Little Green, don’t think about those things. Your sister’s luck is generally very good. Perhaps nothing will happen to me at all? As for cultivation level and foundation, when has sister ever cared about such things?"

Just as Little Green was about to say something more, Bai Ruxue’s pale fingertip gently pressed against her younger sister’s lips, "Don’t mention this matter again. Sister is going to cook."

Bai Ruxue walked toward the kitchen.

Watching her sister’s figure, Little Green gripped the pill in her hand.

Little Green knew that in her sister’s heart, Big Brother Xiao was very important.

Little Green also knew that if she slept this time, it might be for Big Brother Xiao’s entire lifetime.

Little Green knew even more that when her sister woke up, if Big Brother Xiao was no longer there, how desperate her sister would be.

If it were just the price of cultivation level, Little Green wouldn’t be so conflicted but this already concerned her sister’s life.

Her sister’s complexion had been getting worse and worse recently.

If this continued, could her sister really endure it?

It was already deep winter now, and she herself was getting more and more drowsy, really about to be unable to hold on.

If she hibernated and something happened to her sister, what would she do?

"No! Sister absolutely cannot have any mishap!"

Little Green tightly clenched the pill in her hand, her gaze becoming more and more determined.

That afternoon, Bai Ruxue sat in the courtyard, making shoes for Xiao Mo.

Little Green ground the pill into powder, dissolved it in water, and came out carrying the bowl of water, "Sister, have some water."

"Mm-hmm," Bai Ruxue took the cup.

Under Little Green’s nervous gaze, Bai Ruxue drank all the warm water in the bowl.

The water had a slightly sweet taste, but Bai Ruxue didn’t mind.

Bai Ruxue put down the clay bowl and continued making shoes for Xiao Mo.

Little Green sat beside her sister, seemingly reading a book, but was actually nervously observing her sister the whole time.

Half an hour passed, and Bai Ruxue felt herself getting more and more drowsy.

Bai Ruxue shook her head, washed her face with cold water, and after recovering her spirits, continued sitting on the stone bench but soon, Bai Ruxue began to feel drowsy again.

She took a chili pepper from the table and bit into it.

Bai Ruxue, who was always most afraid of spicy food, showed a pained expression, but the chili pepper only worked temporarily.

Bai Ruxue’s drowsiness became heavier and heavier.

This drowsiness was much stronger than before.

Bai Ruxue even felt that she couldn’t hold on anymore...

Even when Bai Ruxue wanted to pinch herself hard, she had little strength.

Little Green, sitting to the side, saw her sister using every method to try to stay awake, and her heart ached terribly.

"Little Green..." Bai Ruxue pulled her younger sister’s hand, "Pinch me hard."

"Sister..." Little Green’s eyes misted with tears.

Seeing Little Green couldn’t bear to do it, Bai Ruxue sat on the stool and picked up a thick needle from the table to prick herself.

Little Green snatched it away in one motion, "Sister, just go to sleep."

"I can’t."

Bai Ruxue forced herself to lift her head, her breath as light as gossamer, her consciousness like a thread about to break.

"His shoes... I haven’t finished making them yet."

"He’s still in the capital, and I haven’t waited for him to return..."

"I can’t sleep, I can’t..."

"I can’t break my word. He would resent me..."

Bai Ruxue’s voice became lighter and lighter, her head felt heavier and heavier, and her consciousness became increasingly blurred.

Watching her sister’s condition, Little Green’s heart felt as if bitten by ants, and she held her sister tightly in her arms, "Sister... Big Brother Xiao won’t blame sister. It’s all younger sister’s fault. Sister, I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."

Little Green’s voice became fainter and fainter in Bai Ruxue’s ears.

In Bai Ruxue’s mind, like a revolving lantern, fragment after fragment flashed by.

The first time she met him.

The first time she rode the ox with him.

The first time she had him teach her to read and write.

The first time he praised her cooking as delicious...

"Xiao Mo, what does ’growing old together with white hair’ mean?"

That spring, the young girl asked him this.

"Growing old together with white hair means two people spend their lives together, growing old together," the young man answered.

"Will we grow old together with white hair?" the young girl continued asking.

The young man was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand to gently stroke the young girl’s hair, smiling, "We will."

"I promised him that we would grow old together with white hair."

Leaning in her younger sister’s embrace, with Bai Ruxue’s final words falling, her eyes slowly closed.

In her final vision, she seemed to see his figure:

"He’s back..."

Little Green was stunned for a moment, lifted her head to look at the empty area outside the courtyard, and tears fell drop by drop.

"Yes, sister... Big Brother Xiao... he’s back..."