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"Brother, is the outside world really as fun as you say?"

The soon-to-be-sixteen girl, Li Yao, shook Qin Fang's arm, her eyes filled with a yearning inquiry.

"Of course it's fun! Way more fun than what I've told you..."

Qin Fang looked at the youthful and beautiful girl in front of him, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.

Qin Fang and his companions had stopped in the Luosang Tribe, staying for the night at a friend's house of Auntie Song, and Li Yao was the child of that household's host, who was fifteen this year or to be exact, turning sixteen in a few days.

Girls from the mountains are different from those outside, very much so.

Outside the mountains, sixteen-year-old girls are still in school, still high school students, still children—

But inside the mountains, a girl can be wed and bear children once she turns sixteen.

Li Yao is just at this age. During dinner, her parents were already discussing that it would soon be time to find a husband for her.

That's also why Auntie Song didn't allow Wen Yan to enter the mountains, as Wen Yan is already twenty years old. At such an age, a girl in the mountain would have long been married and might already have a pile of children.

Initially, when Auntie Song was sixteen, she didn't want to marry so early, so she secretly ran away from the mountain and after many hard years, she finally met Uncle Wen.

Girls in the mountains are simple; they have few thoughts. Just like that, they grow up slowly, then marry, bear children... and then slowly spend their lives.

Li Yao initially also planned to just let life pass her by in such a way. She had never been in contact with people from outside the mountain, didn't even recognize a single character. It was just that when Qin Fang and his companions came to stay, she saw the differently dressed Wen Yan and heard about some things of the outside flourishing world, which immediately piqued her interest. She then eagerly bombarded Qin Fang with questions...

"Yao Yao, it's late, the guests need to rest..."

Just when Li Yao still wanted to learn more about the outside world, her father came over and called her away with a stern face.

The men were very hospitable and polite to Qin Fang and his companions. They had even brought out three-year-old Wo Tuo Luo Wine for them to enjoy a feast.

However, when he noticed his daughter Li Yao persistently pulling at Qin Fang to inquire about the outside world, his heart clearly became unhappy...

People from the mountain are accustomed to living in the mountains; the outside bustling world might be tempting for them but it's also a sort of nightmarish presence. Those who had left and returned depicted the outside world as very horrible, which only made them even more fearful of leaving the mountains.

They do not venture out, naturally they do not hope for their children to be tempted away.

Although daughters don't have much status in a family, not comparable to sons at all, they are still a very important economic source because when a daughter marries off, they can receive a cow, several sheep, and other betrothal gifts...

Thus, in the tribe, the households with the best living conditions may not necessarily be the Family Heads, nor those with many sons, but rather those with more daughters. Each daughter married off brings a considerable amount of wealth.

For this reason, men do not wish for their daughters like Li Yao to be attracted by the outside world, lest she secretly runs away. Losing a daughter would be a minor issue, but missing out on such a wealth would be a major loss!

In the eyes of these mountain people, a daughter is not as valuable as cattle or sheep—otherwise, there wouldn't be such absurd events like bride-kidnapping.

Therefore, most girls in the mountains don't know a single character. Even if free education from the outside world comes to teach, it is mainly boys who attend classes, with only a very few girls participating.

Qin Fang could discern the worry in the man's eyes and could only helplessly shake his head at this. He was no saint who felt the need to meddle in everything.

Since the mountain folks have lived this way for so many years, naturally they have their own rules. If he were to meddle recklessly, perhaps he would not be helping people, but harming them instead...

Auntie Song once said that some tribes are very strict about running away from the mountain; the penalties are severe, ranging from crippling of the legs to being beaten to death with sticks.

"Xiao Qin, it's cold and desolate in the mountains, rest early..."

The conditions in the mountains are simple, much like the household they were staying with, which altogether had just four simple rooms. Only two were made of stone while the others were built from wooden planks, quite rudimentary.

The host couple occupied one room, the children squeezed into another, and since her parents were nearby, Wen Yan naturally couldn't stay with Qin Fang—they had never shared a room anyway. She was with her mother, Auntie Song, while Qin Fang, Uncle Wen, and Song Qingshan, the three men, squeezed into another room.

Just as Uncle Wen said, the mountain conditions are basic, and with nightfall comes a lack of electricity, extremely secluded. Apart from sleeping, there is no other activity.

"Uncle Wen, please go to sleep first..."

Qin Fang smiled. Uncle Wen had been carried for the latter half of the day's journey. Although he was physically weaker than the younger men, he was quite tired by now and soon fell asleep after lying down.

Meanwhile, Qin Fang and Song Qingshan sat cross-legged, silently practicing their cultivation...

True Qi is painstakingly trained bit by bit. Even though Qin Fang has shortcuts, he still needs to refine it slowly. The air in the mountain is very fresh, much better than the polluted air of the cities, and even the effects of training are much improved. This is why those great sects are all located in the mountains, rather than in bustling metropolises.

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