Loyal Heart Roaming the Skies

Chapter 21: Starry sky in the eye

As the only large city within a hundred miles, the houses in Maple Forest City were naturally not cheap.

Linghe's support was a drop in the bucket, and Jiang Wang himself didn't have much savings. But fortunately, there was a rich young master.

Jiang Wang went straight to Zhao Rucheng with Jiang An'an in his arms.

"Give me some silver." Jiang Wang got straight to the point.

Zhao Rucheng was staring at Jiang An'an, but casually asked when he heard the voice, "How much do you need?"

"How much silver do we need to buy a small courtyard near the Taoist temple? My sister and I will live there."

"Why buy a courtyard? You can just live with me. I have many empty rooms here." Zhao Rucheng winked at Jiang An'an from time to time, occasionally showing off what he thought was a handsome smile. Of course, his appearance could indeed be called beautiful.

Jiang Wang glanced at Jiang An'an before saying, "We need our own home."

It didn't matter where he lived, but Jiang An'an was different. The little girl had just been brought over, and no matter how strong she appeared, her heart was inevitably fragile and sensitive.

"Oh." Zhao Rucheng rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "I seem to have several houses near the Taoist temple. Let me ask."

He shouted, "Uncle Deng!"

Soon, a middle-aged man with a warm temperament came in and bowed respectfully. "Young Master."

"Do we have a suitable house near the Taoist temple? Clear out one and give the deed and title to my third brother."

The steward called Uncle Deng replied, "There's no need to clear one out specifically. There are still three vacant ones. Which one do you want?"

Zhao Rucheng looked at Jiang Wang again. "Third brother, what do you think?"

Jiang Wang smiled gently at the steward. "Thank you, Uncle Deng. The house doesn't need to be too big, just enough for me and An'an to live in. The most important thing is that it's close to the Taoist temple so that I can go home and accompany her anytime."

The steward smiled back. "There's a small courtyard in the Flying Horse Lane behind the Taoist temple, but I don't know if the layout suits your taste."

"Let's go take a look!" Zhao Rucheng immediately said, "Give me the key."

Although Jiang An'an didn't like to talk or interact with people, her delicate and pretty face naturally made people like her.

Along the way, Zhao Rucheng kept teasing her.

"An'an, who do you think is more handsome, Brother Ru or Brother Wang? Ah, I asked an unanswerable question. There's no comparison."

"An'an, An'an, did you see the candied hawthorn over there? Come to me and let's buy the whole bunch! Is that okay?"

"An'an, do you know you're heavy? Look how fat you are! Your brother's hand is almost broken! Why don't you let Brother Ru hold you for a change?"

Jiang An'an had been silent all this time, but when she heard the last sentence, she tilted her head and looked at Jiang Wang.

"Are you tired?" She asked softly.

Jiang Wang smiled warmly. "Not at all. I can hold you until next year without letting go."

The small courtyard in Flying Horse Lane was quite nice, with a main room, a south room, and two east and west wing rooms. Although no one lived there, all the facilities were complete, and it only needed some daily necessities to move in immediately.

The room was also decorated in a simple and comfortable style.Jiang Wang led Xiao An'an to every room and made sure she didn't resist.

"Okay, this is it." Jiang Wang smiled brightly at Zhao Rucheng, who was chattering around Xiao An'an. "Give me the key, you can go back now."

"Okay!" Zhao Rucheng turned around with a great sense of understanding and walked away. When he crossed the doorway, he suddenly turned back and waved to An'an, "Your brother Rucheng is leaving, don't miss me too much~"

Xiao An'an ran over, and in Zhao Rucheng's bright smile, she forcefully closed the courtyard gate.

At night, the bustling Maple Forest City became quiet.

The little earthworm in the Tongtian Palace completed its final leap and spit out a round of Dao Yuan into the Starry Sky Formation.

Jiang Wang opened his eyes, ending today's pulse cultivation. The accumulation of Dao Yuan day and night, bit by bit, all the efforts will not be in vain. They will eventually be transformed into the foundation formation and open up transcendence.

It is precisely because of these countless days and nights of boring cultivation that the future will be full of brilliance.

The room was quiet, and Jiang An'an lay on her small bed, her little hands placed outside the quilt, motionless.

Because An'an was too young, Jiang Wang specially ordered a small bed for her to sleep in the same room as himself. Two beds, one large and one small, were placed on opposite sides of the room.

Listening quietly to Xiao An'an's breathing, Jiang Wang softly said, "An'an, haven't you fallen asleep yet?"

The room immediately sounded a little panicked voice of a little girl, "I...I'm asleep."

Jiang An'an's nervousness made Jiang Wang's heart ache. Such a small child has already learned to read people's faces. It was just because Jiang Wang had reminded her to sleep early before pulse cultivation, and now she was confused and anxious because she couldn't fall asleep.

A little girl who is less than five years old suddenly came to a strange place and suddenly left her mother. It was already very strong not to cry out loud. What kind of panic was in her heart?

But of course, these things should not be mentioned again.

"Um, brother can't sleep either." Jiang Wang's voice became softer, "Do you want to see the stars?"

After a while, a voice as small as a mosquito sounded in the room, "Um."

"Then let's get up." Jiang Wang got up and lit the oil lamp, then walked to An'an's bed to help her put on her coat.

Those hands that wielded swords nimbly were particularly clumsy when taking care of children.

"That's not how you wear it, brother, you put it on backwards..."

Jiang Wang awkwardly withdrew his hand, "Then you can wear it yourself, An'an."

The two of them were busy for a while before walking out of the room.

At this time, the bright moon was in the sky, and the stars were shining. The empty courtyard was filled with clean moonlight, making this night that should have been a bit lonely, become warm.

"Are we just going to watch the stars in the courtyard?" Jiang An'an asked, looking up at Jiang Wang.

"Of course not." Jiang Wang suddenly hugged her and jumped onto the roof.

Jiang An'an screamed and when she landed on the roof, her little face was red.

Jiang Wang lowered his head and looked at her, feeling a little guilty, "Did I scare you, An'an?"

Jiang An'an blinked her big eyes and was unexpectedly a little excited, "Brother, you can fly?"Although she seemed eager to try, Jiang Wang didn't want to jump around on the roof like a big monkey, which would be ridiculous. "You don't know how to do it now, but when Brother's Dao skills improve in the future, we'll fly there together, okay?"

"Okay."

Jiang Wang took off his coat and laid it on the roof, then lay down next to it, propping his head up with one hand and beckoning, "Come on, lie down like Brother and look at the stars."

Little An'an obediently lay down on Jiang Wang's coat, her little hand carefully propping up her head. She opened her big round eyes and gazed up at the sky.

Countless stars twinkled in the vast night sky. In the endless darkness, countless lights were born, forming a vast Milky Way that contained countless dreams and memories.

"That's the Ziwei Star, and that one is called the Yuheng...the Nan Dou is over there, see, there..."

"They're twinkling like they're winking at us."

"Only cute little An'an can blink like a star. Your Wild Tiger Brother, the one with the big beard you saw during the day, blinks like a cowbell."

Jiang An'an giggled.

"Do you know, An'an, these stars are all in the far reaches of billions of miles..."

"Billions of miles, how far is that? Is it farther than from Fengxi Town to here?"

"Much farther than this, far beyond counting. If there were a road to the stars, an ordinary person would only just be setting out on that road after a lifetime of walking from birth to death."

"Ah?" An'an was surprised. "That far away?"

"Yes, that far away. They span such a great distance in the endless darkness, bringing their light to you. They offer their beauty, perhaps extinguished for tens of thousands of years, to you."

"They're so good."

"Father is like one of those stars. He may have left us a long time ago, but he is still far, far away, shining brightly and accompanying us with his light. So no matter what happens, don't be afraid, okay? Brother will always be with you, and so will the stars."

"Brother." Jiang An'an's voice was small. "My mother doesn't want me, does she?"

Jiang Wang fell silent for a moment.

Should he tell her the truth, that she was a burden, affecting her mother's life?

Should he condemn Song Yiniang's selfishness and make An'an hate her birth mother from now on?

What should he say?

He didn't have much time to think, because silence was also a kind of harm.

In the end, he just turned to the side, took An'an's small hand seriously and gently, and said, "An'an is so cute, how could anyone not want you? Brother really, really wants to live with you. That's why Auntie had to send you over. When Auntie left, she cried so hard, she didn't want to leave you either."

"Really?"

The starlight and moonlight shone on Jiang An'an's small face, caressing her still-wet tear marks. She was as beautiful as a fairy of the stars and moon.

Although there was still some confusion on her face, her big eyes suddenly lit up.