Out of modesty, and her regard for her intimate clothing, Jiang Xue would rather stay wet than hand over her clothes for drying. Even when Shui Yixuan offered his own half-dry outerwear for her to wear temporarily, she declined. It was only after night fell and her outer clothing dried that she emerged from the lake, donned her outer garment, washed her inner clothes, and placed them on a stick to continue drying. During this time, she was not only bare inside, but there was also the risk of her thighs being exposed.

Shui Yixuan proactively draped his outer clothing over her, turning himself around so she could sleep in the grass hut. It was thoughtful indeed, but the scenario was quite awkward for both of them.

He caught fish, and after they both finished eating grilled fish, Jiang Xue directly lay down in the grass nest to sleep while he leaned against a large stone to relax with his eyes closed.

Around midnight, four young men clad in white simultaneously landed in front of Shui Yixuan: "Subordinates pay respects to Young Master, we are late, please punish us, Young Master."

It turned out that four of the Shui Clan Twelve Mu had found their way here following the clues Shui Yixuan left. He lifted his eyelids and cast a glance at them.

"Is everyone alright?"

The expressions of the four instantly became indescribable, and Mu Hui, the leader, was silent for a moment before speaking mournfully.

"The earthquake came suddenly, and the mudslide worsened things, wiping out the entire Imperial Family. Fifteen members of the Tang Family Manor fled. Although we survived the most, twelve ordinary clan members sacrificed themselves, and as for the Twelve Mu, only 8 remain; four have perished."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Shui Yixuan was still shocked by the reported numbers: "How many injured?"

"Nearly all are injured; eight seriously wounded have currently stabilized. But as for you, Young Master, we could never locate you. We even considered seeking help from the Mountain Villa, but then saw the signal you sent, realizing you were safe, the subordinates reported to the Manor Master and Valley Master. They were both worried about you."

"How much time has passed?"

"Twenty days."

Shui Yixuan was astonished, "That long?" It truly felt like time without years in the mountains, while outside, decades had gone by!

To him, it seemed like merely a few days, yet twenty had already passed!

"Yes, Young Master, currently, the aftershocks have ceased, all dammed lakes have been resolved, and the migrating main troop has temporarily taken shelter in Yan City. Next, the court plans to allocate money for reconstruction."

Shui Yixuan replied indifferently, "Let them rebuild as they will; we’ve done what we can. Notify the Shui clan people to return to the Hui clan, assess the losses, and start reconstructing our strength."

"Yes, Young Master." Mu Hui glanced at Shui Yixuan’s back, "Manager Wang of Yi Garden asked us to inquire about his family’s Miss Jiang, Jiang Xue."

"Oh, she’s well; let them accompany you back to the Hui clan. Subsequently, I will lead her back to meet them."

"Understood...", having made contact with his own people, Shui Yixuan was relieved. Mu Hui also brought them some dry rations and change of clothes, though no women’s clothes; the men’s clothes varied in size; it seemed that Jiang Xue was also taken into consideration.

Jiang Xue slept soundly, hardly affected at all, mainly due to her lack of Inner Strength, and Mu Hui and the others spoke quietly, allowing her to sleep until daybreak.

"I have already contacted the clan, but due to the earth dragon overturning, all possible routes are destroyed, horses are out of the question, so we’ll have to walk back. You seem in no hurry to return to Snow Wolf Mountain; I’ve instructed my people to inform your people to head to Holy Water Manor to meet up. How does that sound to you?"

The situation indeed stands as such; not to mention the inns, even the common folks’ houses are mostly collapsed, regardless of Holy Water Manor’s condition now, the only place she could go just happened to be here. After all, they were neighbors, and Jiang Xue shamelessly planned to take advantage of this.

Thus, she obediently put on the men’s attire Shui Yixuan provided, using a hairpin to tie her hair up high. Wearing the men’s clothes, although she looked handsome like a young man, her stature was too short, appearing like a little brother beside Shui Yixuan.

"Big brother, thank you for your care along the way."

Jiang Xue mischievously blinked at Shui Yixuan, and he, seeing her attire, felt quite satisfied.

"Don’t worry, little brother, follow the big brother and there’ll be meat to eat."

"Are we not going to report this situation to the court?"

Shui Yixuan shook his head, "What’s there to report? Regardless of how the dammed lake was breached, it’s done with. As for your explosives, I already had them report that continuous heavy rains made it impossible to delve into it. So we’ve glossed it over; from now on, don’t worry about this matter, and I won’t let you take the lead. My Holy Water Manor has fulfilled its duties, and anything else doesn’t concern us."