Running Late

Time passed quickly.

Before she knew it, Su Qing had been listening at the storyteller's stand for a long time.

The sun on the horizon had already turned an orange-red.

The listeners had also departed one after another.

Even the storyteller was preparing to close his stand.

"Young lady, I'm preparing to close up. If you like it, please come back tomorrow," the storyteller said with an apologetic tone as he packed his things.

Su Qing smiled helplessly, nodded, and said, "I've troubled you for so long, sir..."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

The storyteller smiled and cupped his hands in a salute to Su Qing, saying:

"It's my honor as a storyteller that a young lady comes to listen, and even more so that someone is willing to hear my tales!"

"However, it's getting late now. You should head back soon, young lady."

"Although there are no truly wicked people in Huai County, a young lady as beautiful as you might encounter some danger walking the streets at night."

Su Qing didn't argue but simply smiled and said:

"You are very kind, sir. However, I still have to wait for a few people. I can't leave until they arrive."

Seeing this, the storyteller didn't press further. He cupped his hands again and bid her farewell.

After the storyteller left, Su Qing looked at the setting sun on the horizon.

She couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated...

"Those few fellows still haven't returned after all this time. They've truly played until they've forgotten everything else," Su Qing shook her head slightly and muttered to herself.

Beside her, Leng Xiang heard this and couldn't help but say:

"Master, why not just go find Ao Ying and Gongsun Zhixue directly? If we go to them, we won't have to wait here so long, right?"

Su Qing smiled helplessly at the words. "It was just a slight miscalculation on my part."

Su Qing had naturally thought of the method Leng Xiang mentioned long ago.

It was just that Su Qing felt... whether it was Gongsun Zhixue or Ao Ying, both were the type who had never played in the mortal world before, and they had a great interest in it.

An opportunity to play like today was quite rare, so she wanted to let them have their fun for a while.

Therefore, she didn't go directly to find them, not wanting to disturb their enjoyment.

Only... what Su Qing hadn't expected was.

These two had played so much they had forgotten themselves, even forgetting about her.

It was already nearly sunset, yet they still hadn't returned.

Leng Xiang tilted her head slightly and didn't delve deeper, only asking, "Then Master, shall we go find them now?"

Su Qing performed a quick calculation with her fingers, then shook her head slightly and said:

"No need. They are already on their way back. We can just wait here a little longer."

"..." Leng Xiang smiled helplessly and said, "Master truly is strangely persistent in certain matters."

Su Qing found this slightly strange.

While it was indeed the truth... being teased by Leng Xiang felt a bit subtle.

"You~ stop teasing me," Su Qing said helplessly. "It's the price of a mistake~ let's wait a bit more! They'll be back soon."

Hearing this, Leng Xiang only smiled helplessly and nodded, not continuing the argument with Su Qing.

She only offered suggestions, but whether the master listened or not, the decision-making power remained with the master.

And she only needed to follow her master's choice.

Even if it wasn't quite right.

Fortunately.

Su Qing didn't make a mistake this time.

Of course, it was impossible to make a mistake this time.

After all, at this hour, there really wasn't much left to do on the streets...

If they didn't return now... then they would truly be too happy to think of home!

After a short while, Ao Ying and Gongsun Zhixue returned, stepping through the lingering light of the setting sun, carrying many things in their hands.

Of course, this was only the portion they were carrying; how much was stored in their Sleeve Universe was unknown, but it was certainly more than just this little bit.

Su Qing saw Ao Ying and the other, and they naturally noticed Su Qing as well.

So they shouted from a distance, "Sister Xiao Qing, we're back."

Su Qing smiled helplessly, nodded slightly, and walked over to greet them.

Although she had waited a long time and had been quite bored, she had chosen to wait for them, so she had to accept the consequences of her choice.

Therefore, she naturally couldn't blame them.

"You've finally returned! How was your day?" Su Qing asked the two, who still looked like they hadn't had enough.

"Sister Xiao Qing, your hometown is quite fun. So many delicious things! Compared to you, Sister Xiao Qing, it's completely different."

Gongsun Zhixue heard this and couldn't help but say giggling:

"Sister Xiao Qing, you only know how to bully people and can't even cook. You're even more boring than Sister Leng Xiang!"

Su Qing was speechless. She reached out and grabbed the little girl who was taking the opportunity to mock her, rubbing her head as she replied:

"In that case, I'll have to give you a good lesson later. Besides, I can cook; I'm just not as good as Leng Xiang."

"Let, let go of me! I've never eaten your cooking, so that means you can't!" Gongsun Zhixue said stubbornly.

"Honestly, besides being stubborn, do you have any other specialties?" Su Qing couldn't help but rub her head again, pinching her cheeks while she was at it.

This little fellow's face after transforming into a human was very comfortable to pinch.

It was on par with Leng Xiang's.

As she pinched, Su Qing suddenly remembered something seemed to be missing.

Ignoring the muffled speech of Gongsun Zhixue, she asked:

"Speaking of which, where are the little ones? Weren't they with you? Why didn't I see them return with you? They didn't get lost, did they?"

Although Su Qing had calculated that everyone would return together, because she didn't see the little sparrows, she couldn't help but worry if she had miscalculated.

Ao Ying shook her head slightly and handed the cloth bag in her hand to Su Qing with a smile, saying:

"They're in here. These little ones followed us shopping, and as they flew, they said they couldn't fly anymore, then they crawled into my pocket and fell asleep! Should I wake them?"

Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly at the sight, feeling quite impressed by these little fellows.

She said, "As expected of them... to be able to fall asleep like this."

"But there's no need to wake them; let them sleep. Anyway, if they were awake, it would just add to the noise."

Ao Ying nodded upon hearing this and continued to carry the bag in her hand with a smile.

"By the way, Sister Xiao Qing, are we going directly to the Changbai Mountains next? Or are we leaving first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Let's leave tomorrow morning. It's already too late now; even if we reach the Changbai Mountains, it will be dark. Besides, we don't have a place to stay in the Changbai Mountains yet!"

Su Qing thought for a moment, then said:

"Let's go! We'll find an inn to stay in first."

"Okay."

"By the way, how was your day? Did you have fun?"

"Of course I did! Sister Xiao Qing said it wasn't interesting before, so I thought it really wouldn't be."

Su Qing smiled slightly and said, "That's good then..."

"Sister Xiao Qing... was your grave sweeping successful today?" Ao Ying asked, carrying her bags and turning her head to look at Su Qing.