“It’s been a challenging few days,” Ye Qin said.
“It wouldn’t be challenging if it weren’t challenging,” replied Huang Quan, stepping back from Ye Qin’s embrace. She retrieved two porcelain bottles and a porcelain box. “The porcelain bottles contain elixirs crafted from Boneflowers. There are more than sixty pills in total, exceeding our initial estimate. We can make an extra ten million from them.”
“The porcelain box contains an ointment made from Night Orchid Grass. It can be used to treat scars, I will give one to my third brother.. By selling the elixirs and the ointment, we’ll have tens of millions, and my third brother won’t need to take on those dangerous missions anymore.”
“Now, I’ll treat you to a grand dinner,” Huang Quan announced and headed indoors. “Wait for me, I’ll change my clothes.”
“Wait,” Ye Qin said, taking her hand.
Huang Quan turned around. “What’s wrong?”
Ye Qin smiled. “We don’t need to go out; we’ll have dinner at home. I’ll cook for you.”
Hearing the last sentence, Huang Quan asked, “Are you leaving?”
Ye Qin didn’t anticipate that she would guess it and nodded. “I have to leave for some time.”
“When will you be back?”
Ye Qin frowned but remained silent.
Seeing his silence, Huang Quan assumed he would be gone for an extended period and frowned unconsciously. “You’ve been here for almost half a month. Based on your deathly aura’s three-month cycle, you need to be back in at most two and a half months if we consider it together.”
“But it won’t take that long,” Ye Qin reassured her with a smile. “I’ll be back in no more than half a month.”
“Really?” Huang Quan blinked. “You don’t look too pleased about it. I thought you’d be gone for a long time.”
Ye Qin muttered to himself, “A day feels like three autumns, and half a month… It’s still a long time.”
“I’ll return as quickly as I can,” he assured her before walking into the kitchen. “Go freshen up and take a bath, and I’ll prepare the meal.”
Huang Quan watched him leave, and after a while, she raised her hand and touched her heart.
Her heart wasn’t racing as fast as before, but it wasn’t as calm as it used to be either. It was still beating a bit faster, particularly when she had seen him. During the process of refining the medicine, her heartbeat had been normal and steady.
When Huang Quan emerged from her bath and finished washing up, Ye Qin was already in the kitchen, cooking.
Recognizing that Huang Quan had been working hard in the past few days and that he was about to leave for a while, Ye Qin had prepared a substantial meal.
Huang Quan couldn’t eat it all, but she ate as much as she could.
After dinner, Ye Qin sat across from Huang Quan and announced, “I’ll be leaving soon.”
“So soon?” Huang Quan was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly understood. “You should have left a while ago, right? But you waited for me because I didn’t come out?”
“No,” Ye Qin replied with a smile. “The reason I’m leaving early is so I can return early.”
Huang Quan gazed at him, choosing not to expose the lie. She responded, “Well then, have a safe journey.”
“Yes,” Ye Qin nodded. “Quanquan, make sure you eat well while I’m away. Also, Qin Yuan’s son, Qin Yang, should hurry back to Tianhuang as soon as possible. He may have brought people from Tianqi when he returns this time. When you meet him, be cautious and keep an eye on the people around him.”
“I understand,” Huang Quan assured him.
Ye Qin shared some final words with Huang Quan, and she replied to each of them. Eventually, Ye Qin departed.
After seeing him off, Huang Quan returned to the courtyard, looking at the empty space with a sigh.
Her third brother was gone, and now Ye Qin was gone, leaving her all alone.
