Chasing through the woods—a race between man and rabbit.

In the afternoon, Zhao Liang hurried back to the Charity Lodge.

Upon entering, he ran into Tian Yi, who eyed Zhao Liang up and down, full of suspicion at his dusty, disheveled appearance. “Weren’t you out hunting? How did you end up looking like this?”

Zhao Liang replied, “Don’t get me started. I ran into a rabbit craftier than any fox. Not only did I fail to catch it, I ended up with a nose full of soot.”

He proceeded to recount his rabbit-chasing adventure, though he left out any mention of Bai Ling or Little White.

Tian Yi listened in amazement. “Who would’ve thought that after a few days away from the mountains, even the rabbits have grown cunning?”

At dawn the next day, Zhao Liang made his way back to the spot where he’d tried to catch the rabbit. Bai Ling and Little White were already waiting for him.

Zhao Liang scrutinized Bai Ling, peering at her left and right, leaving her thoroughly perplexed.

She glanced down at herself, puzzled. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

“What are you staring at, Zhao Liang? You’re making me uneasy.”

He said, “Didn’t you promise to take care of the water? I’ve been looking at you for a while now and haven’t seen you bring anything large enough to carry water.”

Bai Ling burst out laughing behind her hand. “Did you think I’d bring along a giant barrel like you?”

With that, she pulled out a wine jug, no larger than her palm.

Zhao Liang blinked and scratched his head in confusion. “You’re going to carry water with that? It barely holds a mouthful!”

Still smiling, Bai Ling said nothing but turned the jug upside down. Water gushed forth in a steady stream, and strangely enough, it seemed as if it would never run dry.

Zhao Liang clapped in delight. “What a marvelous treasure!”

Bai Ling, looking quite pleased with herself, declared, “This jug is called River and Sea. It can hold the waters of every river in the world. I sneaked it out behind my mother’s back.”

Zhao Liang said, “That’s incredible. Let’s catch the rabbit quickly and return the jug before your mother finds out and scolds you.”

The two of them, along with Little White, set off to search for rabbit holes. After half an hour, they discovered five entrances within a fifty-pace radius.

Zhao Liang found four large stones and blocked off four of the holes. Then, at the last opening, they took out the River and Sea jug and began pouring water into the hole. Water streamed in, filling the burrow.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the rabbit, drenched from head to toe, shot out of the hole, startling them all.

Not hesitating for a second, the rabbit bolted. Little White dashed after it.

Little White had only taken a couple of steps when Bai Ling called out, “Little White, come back! Zhao Liang, Little White, hurry up here!”

Bai Ling had already summoned the Cloud of Snow Ribbon; it seemed that this time she was determined to catch the rabbit, sparing no treasures.

The two humans and the fox mounted the Cloud of Snow Ribbon and sped off in pursuit.

Spotting that his pursuers could fly, the rabbit changed tactics, zigzagging and weaving through the terrain, making it difficult for them to catch him.

Thus began a fierce chase and escape between the trio in the air and the rabbit on the ground.

“Ling’er, to the left, to the left! I saw it run into the grass there!”

“Ling’er, to the right, to the right! Now it’s behind that big tree—go around, go around!”

“Enough, enough! Stop shouting, you’re making my head spin. Ah! That was close! That’s your fault—I almost crashed into the tree. Wait, where did the rabbit go? It’s gone again.”

“Don’t panic, let’s look carefully. There! It’s over there! It’s running—quick, after it!”

Though their flying speed was fast, making sharp turns in the air was not as easy as on the ground.

The forest was dense, and Bai Ling, focused on the rabbit below, narrowly avoided crashing into trees several times.

The two humans and the fox chased and paused, paused and chased, with the rabbit always just out of reach.

After an hour of pursuit on the Cloud of Snow Ribbon, they still hadn’t cornered the rabbit.

Bai Ling finally guided them down to the ground for a rest.

She said, a little weary, “The Cloud of Snow Ribbon drains spiritual energy too quickly. I’m running low—let’s rest on the ground for a bit.”

“Does the Cloud of Snow Ribbon really consume spiritual energy?” Zhao Liang asked.

“Of course. Did you think reciting an incantation was enough to make it fly? Without spiritual power, it’s nothing more than a strip of cloth.”

Zhao Liang grinned sheepishly. “Heh. I really thought a spell would do it. Didn’t realize it cost energy. Heh.”

Bai Ling shot him a disdainful look. “Stop grinning like that. Did you bring anything to eat? After all that chasing, I’m starving.”

“Of course I did!” Zhao Liang quickly produced two cornbread buns from his tunic and handed them to her.

She wrinkled her nose at the buns. “What are these?”

Zhao Liang scratched his head. “They’re just cornbread buns. Haven’t you ever had them?”

“Not only have I never tasted them, I’ve never even seen them before,” Bai Ling remarked in wonder.

Zhao Liang was astonished. “Really? Then what do you usually eat?”

“Usually, vegetables, rice, fruits. Oh, I brought some plum-blossom cakes my mother made—my favorite. Here, take a look.”

She produced three small cakes, each the size of her palm.

The cakes were shaped like five-petaled plum blossoms, their white tinged with green, as beautiful as jade.

Before even tasting, a faint floral fragrance wafted up, refreshing and irresistible.

Zhao Liang swallowed hard. “I’ve never seen anything so exquisite.”

Amused by his look, Bai Ling giggled and handed him one of the plum-blossom cakes.

Zhao Liang devoured the cake in just a few bites, unable to savor the subtleties, only knowing that it was delicious beyond compare—he nearly bit his tongue in the process.