Chapter 209: 2 Shichen

Chapter 209: Chapter 209: 2 Shichen

Hua Buwan joyfully followed the Ling family on their way to the town, completely unaware that the journey would take a full four hours.

When she first set out, her heart was full of excitement and anticipation. She had guessed the distance might be somewhat far, but she never expected it to be quite *this* far. Along the way, she was in high spirits, her mind filled with visions of a Lingnan market from a thousand years ago. She wondered what a bustling, dazzling scene it would be, and what surprising differences it might hold compared to the Lingnan she lived in now. Harboring this irrepressible excitement, Hua Buwan followed closely behind the Ling family, her steps so light she seemed untiring.

However, time quietly slipped away. An hour later, the morning sun slowly peeked over the horizon.

By now, Hua Buwan was panting heavily, bead-sized drops of sweat rolling down her forehead. She raised a hand to wipe the sweat away and asked hopefully, "Are we there yet? Are we arriving at the town soon?"

After all, just fifteen minutes ago, the Ling family had clearly told her the destination was not far. Yet now, the road ahead seemed endless, stretching on as far as the eye could see.

In stark contrast, the four members of the Ling family were still radiating energy. None of them had even changed expression; their breathing was steady, and they had barely broken a sweat. Their relaxed and effortless state greatly surprised the exhausted Hua Buwan.

It didn’t take long for her to realize the reason, though. She had to remember that the Ling family had been exiled from the prosperous Capital City to the remote lands of Lingnan! Their journey had taken months, and they had relied solely on their own two legs the entire way. Even for those who were usually pampered and incredibly delicate, such a grueling, months-long trek would have long since forged their endurance into unyielding resilience.

For the Ling family, daily long-distance treks had become a routine occurrence. Walking a full day during their exile was perfectly normal to them, so this mere four-hour walk to the town was an absolute walk in the park. But Hua Buwan’s situation was entirely different. She rarely ever walked such long distances in her daily life, so by comparison, she naturally appeared much weaker.

As the Ling family looked at Hua Buwan’s sweaty, panting state, they finally woke up to the problem. At first, they had been solely focused on getting to the market as quickly as possible. When they saw Hua Buwan keeping up with them early on, they mistakenly assumed their pace was reasonable and didn’t realize they were walking too fast. Little did they know, she lacked the stamina to keep it up. Now, she looked utterly drained and exhausted.

Ling Qianjun said with remorse, "I’m sorry, we seem to be walking too fast. How about we pull over to the side and rest for a bit before moving on?"

He had also been eager to check out the market. He had paid attention to Hua Buwan at the beginning, but seeing her walking so briskly, he eventually focused on carrying their belongings and watching the route, failing to pay her much more attention. It was his fault. He should have been more careful and looked back to check on her.

Xu Panqing, Ling Yunge, and Ling Qianfan also chimed in to express their apologies.

Looking at their expressions, Hua Buwan waved her hand. "It’s not your fault, I’m just too out of shape. It seems I need to exercise more in the future. By the way, how much longer until we reach the market?"ℯ