"Huh?"

  Yunmian stared at Wen Ting's eyes, speechless for a long time before saying: "Except for the first day, it was almost like that... Xi Yuan used to practice archery in the past, and so did I, so we just went together. When Xi Yuan went there for the first time, he got up earlier than me and ran away when he saw me. On the second morning, I took the initiative to let him stay, so we've been together ever since..."

  Yunmian answered very honestly, but her eyes looking at Wenhui's eyes were even darker.

  Wen Ting pressed her lips together and said, "...... You deliberately let him stay?"

  "Hmm!"

  Yunmian nodded cleverly and obediently.

  She thought for a moment and replied: "Xiyuan was not on good terms with us before, but Wenhe and Qingyang have already apologized to me. Moreover, he seemed to be trying to talk to me without any malice previously. Now the situation is special, Xiyuan is probably also angry about what the little phoenix of the Phoenix tribe said to us before. We should all focus on our cultivation, and if we prioritize the bigger picture, it's still better for the two of them to cooperate with each other..."

  Yunmian's words were reasonable and well-founded, and he analyzed them very seriously. Wuting couldn't think of anything to refute him, but he listened with great anxiety, gripping Yunmian's hand tightly and refusing to let go, the sweat on his forehead streaming down his face.

  He said, "But didn't you already win before? Just follow the official's instructions and learn step by step, or practice for a while after class as homework. Why do you need to get up so early to practice archery?"

  When Wen Ting asked this question, Yunmian hung his head in shame: "Because the time I won was just a coincidence. I only accidentally hit the red heart and won, and afterwards, even if the target is closer, it's not every time that I can hit it. If we really compare five targets, it's not necessarily possible to win. If it's always just this level, and let other phoenixes see it, maybe they'll laugh at the first year of the book academy again...

  "But since you were just going to the back mountain to practice archery, why didn't you tell me? I could have gone to the back mountain to teach you how to shoot, why did you keep it from me?"

  "I hope you sleep a bit more. I got up at the third watch, and besides your schoolwork, you also have to learn Taoist magic and practice swordplay with Master Huo, it's very tiring... Recently, many of the immortal herbs in the courtyard have matured, my own skills are not as good as yours, so there's only so much I can help with. You rarely speak up, but actually half of the work is done by you, if I were to call on you, it would easily take away an hour or two of your sleep..."

  Yunmian said up to here, her face turned a little red, and she said shyly: "I hope you can sleep for a while longer, sleep more comfortably... don't always have to accommodate me..."

  Yunmian said so and so, and suddenly she wanted to act spoiled like usual. She wanted to transform into a fox and walk over to nuzzle Wen Ting, but Wen Ting held her hand tightly and wouldn't let go. She couldn't transform into a fox now, so she could only try hard to lean in close and press her fluffy ears against his chin.

  Wen Ting suddenly called out: "Mian Er..."

  Yunmian's words made him pause for a moment, as if he was originally furious but suddenly had a sugar cube stuffed into his mouth. Although he still hadn't finished venting his anger, his heart suddenly felt sweet for an instant. Wen Ting had many things she wanted to say, but when the words reached her lips, she found it hard to speak up.

  He said, "It's good that you want to practice archery, but don't be too obsessed with the Phoenix Clan. The Phoenix Clan trains their eyesight from a young age by practicing archery, and these people are the Divine Phoenix Xuanhe from the South Yu Immortal City, equivalent to the Celestial Fox in Qingqiu City, who have an innate advantage in this area. You've just started learning archery, and this gap can't be made up for overnight. In the future, apart from archery, there will definitely be other cultivation methods. Being too obsessed with competing with the Phoenix Clan will only disrupt your rhythm."

  He paused for a moment, then said: "Moreover, you shouldn't be alone with Xiyuan without telling me. At the hour of the tiger, before dawn breaks, there are hardly any people on the back mountain. You sneaked out alone for so long and didn't come back, I would have been very worried..."

  "But..."

  Yunmian thought for a moment, subconsciously wanting to say something more, but in the next instant—

  Bang!

  Yunmeng had just been pulled into the house by Wenhui, and she had been talking to him nonstop, answering his questions. Her back was always close to the door, almost leaning against it. Suddenly, Wenhui leaned in closer, reducing the distance between them, and Yunmeng subconsciously pushed backward, her back fully leaning against the wall, making a slightly panicked noise. Accompanying the noise was the sound of Wenhui's hand pressing against the wall above her face, his palm hitting the door.

  Yunmeng had just lifted her head when she saw Wen Ting staring straight at her eyes above, his eye color was very deep, yet he stared at her motionlessly.

  "......Ah."

  Yunmian suddenly felt a little uneasy and flustered, her heart beating rapidly, faster than usual.

  They were very close, and they would often gather together to sleep at night, and their bodies would also sit together to practice magic. However, the feeling was different from now. As soon as she raised her eyes, she would meet Wen Ting's face, and his deep eyes. It was still the usual Wen Ting, but somehow, he suddenly gave off a strange oppressive feeling at this moment.

  Yunmian had always known that Wenting was a bit taller than her, and it was okay to lean on him when playing around, but she didn't realize he was actually this much taller than her. Once they got close, she could almost look up at him from below.

  Yunmian didn't dare look into Wēntíng's eyes and involuntarily averted her gaze.

  At this time, Wen Ting was quite anxious, and he also knew in his heart that he might be too impatient and react too strongly, but he couldn't help it. He wrapped Yunmeng entirely under himself, looking at her being completely enveloped in his shadow, only then could his mood calm down a bit, letting the surging blood gradually quiet down.

  He anxiously said: "I can see that you will be very worried. Also... don't go alone to meet Xiyuan."

  "Ah..."

  Yunmian stared at him in a daze and subconsciously said: "Good..."

  "Also don't think about not telling me! If you're alone with other boys, I'll be very unhappy!"

  Yunmian blinked and asked in surprise: "Are you unhappy because of this?"

  “……”

  He heard Ting's sudden intake of breath, and their conversation was interrupted, but he lowered his head to look at Yunmian, who opened her almond-shaped eyes and looked up at him with a confused expression. In his heart, he still felt annoyed. They were already very close, and he really wanted to bow down and hug her, really wanted to just kiss her! He wanted to get even closer...

  Yunmian didn't want to hear Wuting's concerns, so she tried her best to explain: "Don't worry too much, I asked Mr. before and he said this area is all Qingqiu Xianjing, there won't be any other dangers. My first encounter with Xi Yuan was an unexpected situation, and I didn't feel any ominous aura from him, and he apologized to me today... if there's danger, I'll immediately run back home... Wuting?"

  Yunmian gazed at the silent Wen Ting, worriedly pushed his shoulder, only to find that Wen Ting's shoulder was hard and strong, and couldn't be pushed open.

  Yunmian's hand was placed on Wēntíng's chest, touching the fabric of his clothes. She thought to herself in a daze, although they were both white foxes, but being different genders made them slightly different after all. Wēntíng was quite tall and had grown up quickly, and in terms of physical strength, he was indeed stronger.

  Yunmian pushed again, but still couldn't push it open.

  Just then, Yunmian caught a glimpse of the sky outside the window with the corner of her eye. She suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Wenting! It's getting late, we might be late for school!"

  As she spoke, her body flexed nimbly and slipped out from under Wen Ting's arm.

  Wen Ting: "......"

  Yunmian didn't notice Wenhua's unease, and hastily transformed back into a small white fox. In her fox form, she ran faster, busily scurrying around to gather the things in her small cloth bag, putting away the homework that she had lazily not put away last night, one piece at a time, and anxiously wagging her tail.

  At this moment, Wēn Tíng's mind was still not calm and peaceful. He knew that Yún Mián had just left his side a short while ago, and he could still smell the soft fragrance of her hair on his nose tip. If he stretched out his hand, it seemed as if he could pull her into his arms and hide her in a place where no one else could find her.

  Just now when Yunmian ran away, he was not completely unable to stop him, but even his own heart was constantly struggling.

  Wen Ting bit her lip and didn't do anything else. She transformed back into a fox and went to help Yun Mian gather the small cloth bundles.

  They are both in fox form, so they can run very fast and will definitely be able to arrive at the dojo on time.

  ……

  In the following days, Wen Ting and Yun Mian practiced archery with Xi Yuan every morning in the mountains behind the school. Wen Ting taught them roughly while practicing himself... Wen Ting's starting point was too high, and his room for improvement was limited, but Yun Mian and Xi Yuan improved very quickly.

  Especially Yunmian, she was delighted to practice archery with Wenhui, and her spirit was much higher than before. She jumped up and down in the back mountain, because she didn't have to hide from Wenhui anymore, she could save time by directly bringing the small cloth package to the Taoist temple.

  However, as Wen Ting said, apart from archery, Hu Guan and Feng Guan will definitely arrange other events.

  In the book house, every few days there would be a day off. On this day when it was her turn to rest, Yunmian originally wanted to sleep in and snuggle up on Wenhui's body, but after the sky brightened, she suddenly heard the sound of scratching at the door outside the wooden house.

  "Huh?"

  Since the wooden house was built, Yunmian and Wenting had no guests visiting. She was still wondering if the sound was made by squirrels sharpening their claws.

  She vaguely climbed up from Wenhua's body, closed her eyes and ran over with a few jumps, preparing to scare away the squirrel. Who knew that relying on feeling, she pushed open the door and saw several small foxes standing outside with uneasy expressions.

  "Ah?!"

  Yunmian opened her eyes and made an effort to wake up completely.

  She rubbed her eyes with her paws and said in surprise: "Xiao Yue? And..."

  There were three or five little foxes who came together, all of whom were mountain foxes from the same school, and after clearing up misunderstandings, they often played with Yunmian.

  Xiao Yue and Yunmian were the best of friends, and Yunmian had always been most reliant on her. So Xiao Yue took a step forward, looking embarrassed as she said: "Yunmian, can you accompany us up the mountain? We're going to Dongxian Palace, there's something we need your help with."