Jiang Zhou took him to a food-related market, right next to Sanshu Lane, which turned into a dark alley.

The dark alley was primarily filled with fish vendors. Due to the town’s dense water network, the fish there weren’t particularly valuable. However, because of the mountains around them, there was very little farmlands that could owned by the villagers.

Hence, many people continued to catch fish. These fishmongers not only sold their catch to nearby villages but also sold it in this dark alley.

Consequently, the strong fishy odor in this area was quite choking.

As they strolled through this dark alley, Jiang Zhou made a conscious effort to keep a distance from the fish stalls, because Wen Yan had a very sensitive nose.

In the past, when Wen Yan cooked, the one thing he didn’t prepare was fish. He didn’t like it because of its strong fishy smell. In fact, Wen Yan felt a shiver down his spine at the sight of fish scales.

However, with their villages around the river, fish was very much ingrained in their meal. After all, they could catch it for free while meat would need money to buy it. Wen Yan wasn’t a fan of preparing fish, but he loved to eat it.

Every time, Jiang Zhou would buy cleaned fish, never killing them in front of Wen Yan. He made sure the scales were removed. He was quite particular about it, and the local vendors knew it was that his wife was scared of fish scales. So, every time Jiang Zhou came to buy fish, the vendors meticulously scaled them for him.

However, not all vendors were patient. Some fish were not properly cleaned. Jiang Zhou didn’t mind. He would borrow a knife and patiently handle them himself so as not to frighten Wen Yan.

During this particular visit, Jiang Zhou led Wen Yan to detour down Jiangshui Lane.

There was a slaughterhouse in this area, but it was not doing well. Only one butcher had managed to survive over the years.

The butcher’s last name was Chen. He was a tall, robust man with a very kind demeanor. When he spotted Jiang Zhou, he warmly greeted him, “Long time no see, Jiang Da!”

Indeed, it had been a while since their last meeting. Jiang Zhou used to be a regular here.

He bought some meat to bring back for his wife to restore her strength. After the time traveler came, that man had bought meat from him twice. However, he had been busy with work, and his wealth had gradually dwindled, so Butcher Chen hadn’t seen him in quite some time.

Butcher Chen glanced at Wen Yan who was following Jiang Zhou and understood the situation. He envied Jiang Zhou’s deep affection for his wife, “You two have a great relationship. You always come here for years for him. You truly love him.”

Jiang Zhou scratched his head in embarrassment, but didn’t display false modesty. He simply replied, “You’re too kind. We’ve been sweethearts since childhood. It’s a blessing to marry Wen Yan in this life.”

Butcher Chen nodded earnestly, saying that humble couples often faced hardships. Now he had found a way to make a living, led a comfortable life, and his wife was close to him.

The two men shifted away from this topic.

Jiang Zhou looked at the meat at the butcher’s shop and asked, “Do you still have large bones?”

Butcher Chen pointed to a pile of bags in the corner and said, “Over there, they’re all large bones. They’re the parts that no one wants, so they asked me to remove all the meat from them. I thought if nobody wanted them, I’d give them away. Do you want them?”

Jiang Zhou nodded in agreement. Selling large bones was challenging nowadays, particularly when they were cleaned and had little meat on them. Instead of paying for these bones, people decided to spend a bit more for substantial pieces of meat.

Jiang Zhou came here to buy these bones, he took whatever was offered, “I’ll take all of these bones. I’d also like to ask for ten pounds of lean meat, ten pounds of fatty meat, ten pounds of sesame seeds, and ten pounds of cartilage. I’ll arrange for a someone to help me move them to uncle Yu’s boat later.”

After making this request, Wen Yan burst into laughter behind him. Jiang Zhou was confused.

After leaving the butcher shop, he asked, “Why are you laughing?”

Wen Yan leaned against the wall, took a few deep breaths while chuckling, and then pointed at Jiang Zhou, saying, “I’m laughing at you, you’ve become like Lu Zhishen.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a willow tree, gestured to it, and added, “Are you planning to put on a weeping willow act later?”

Jiang Zhou suddenly recalled the part where Lu Zhishen demanded ten pounds of chicken, ten pounds of fatty meat, and ten pounds of golden cartilage when he humiliated Butcher Zheng.

He hadn’t read the story in a long time, so it didn’t immediately come to mind. Now, when Wen Yan brought up uprooting the weeping willow, he was struck by the memory.

This recollection wasn’t due to his time travel, but rather a result of his long-forgotten knowledge.

However, he didn’t have much time to ponder it, as all he could see were Wen Yan’s eyes filled with laughter. His vocabulary wasn’t extensive, but he couldn’t help but feel as if the sparkling ripples of the entire serene river were reflected in Wen Yan’s eyes.

Wen Yan stopped laughing for a moment, wiped away tears of mirth from his eyes, and looked at Jiang Zhou. He felt his own cheeks were burning and his face turned crimson.

The two of them gazed at each other silently for a while, not uttering a word.

After some time, Wen Yan touched his own warm cheeks and hesitated, “What are you thinking?”

Jiang Zhou moved closer, his eyes filled with depth, and he replied, “You are so beautiful.”

Wen Yan’s face reddened even more, and he pursed his lips without saying a word. Seeing Jiang Zhou approaching, he didn’t resist, instead leaning against the wall.

Jiang Zhou was quite nervous. His hands were already clenched into fists behind his back, and his heart was pounding loudly, as though it might burst at any moment.

As they drew nearer, they could almost hear each other’s rapid heartbeats.

Jiang Zhou reached out and gently brushed away the vines hanging near Wen Yan’s ears. He used this motion to press Wen Yan against the wall.

Wen Yan had closed his eyes ready; his trembling eyelids showed his nervousness.

A warm and moist breath blew into Wen Yan’s ear which made his ear turned redder.

Jiang Zhou deliberately lowered his voice and said closely, “I want to kiss you.”

Their feeling had always been a matter of letting nature took its course. Jiang Zhou’s most unrestrained words were just ‘I love you’, when the two had their wedding.

How could Wen Yan be able to bear such a straightforward statement like this? He was so embarrassed that he opened his eyes!

But, as soon as he opened his eyes, he was covered by Jiang Zhou’s warm palm then he felt Jiang Zhou came closer to him.

His lips were held and rubbed carefully and a tongue licked between the lips then sneaked inside his mouth. When he gasped, his mouth was already wide open.

Jiang Zhou kissed Wen Yan sweetly, as if he could feel that he had truly returned from the warm of Wen Yan’s mouth.

Free from the possession of another’s soul and a year of slumber.

In this gentle and undeniable kiss, he poured his heartache, regret, and guilt.