Chapter 54 Sudden Questioning

In the southeast corner of the palace, there is a secluded garden that few people visit.

The sunlight there is mostly blocked by tall buildings, leaving only sparse patches of light, which is why many shade-loving plants grow there, and the air is filled with the damp earth and the fresh scent of grass and trees all year round.

Since developing a stronger interest in "vitality", Tang Lu discovered this treasure land.

Most of the plants here are still immature and ignorant, but their most primal perception of the environment is exceptionally keen.

Tang Lu loves coming here. The pure wood spirit energy on her body makes these shade-loving plants feel comfortable, and she can also feel a kind of peace belonging to silent life from their silent, fragmented "whispers," which is different from the warm embrace of Chi Li.

That day, as usual, she squatted beside a clump of "black jade moss" with thick leaves and a deep green color, her fingertips flowing with a pale green halo as she gently stroked the cool, damp surface of the moss.

She could "hear" the moss's satisfied, subtle sighs.

Suddenly, a very faint breeze swept by, causing a barely perceptible tremor to occur on several nearby silver-lined ferns with slender leaves and silvery edges.

Their auras conveyed a vague message tinged with fear.

Tang Lu tilted her head curiously, channeling more wood spirit energy over them in an attempt to soothe them, and gently touching them with her spiritual sense: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, what's wrong?"

Her consciousness was pure, and she easily merged into the simple and repetitive mental fluctuations of the silver-thread fern.

At first, they were just random, disorganized fragments.

A dependence on darkness, an aversion to excessive moisture, a wariness of the occasional crawling insect...

Then, some deeper and more distant fragments of "memory" were disturbed by her aura and slowly rose to the surface.

It wasn't a clear image, but rather an emotional imprint, a collective fear and sorrow that transcends time and space.

*...Hot...It's terribly hot...It's coming from the sky...*

...Green...so much green...is disappearing...is crying...*

*...Southeast...very far...yet very near...the same kind...wailing...*

*...Dead...all dead...the ancient tree...the shelter...is gone...*

*...The King...is the aura of a King...the King of Fire...*

These fragmented pieces of information, mixed with fear of devastating high temperatures, lamentations over the mass extinction of life forms of the same origin, bewilderment at the disappearance of the "protectors," and finally, clearly point to a single source.

That king, who carried the aura of burning everything, making them instinctively tremble...

Tang Lu's smile froze.

Confusion and unease gradually spreading in his amber eyes.

Heat? Fire? The disappearance of green?

The wailing of our own kind?

Southeast...?

She recalled the bittersweet feeling she had before, the sorrowful blue light in her dream, and the large, weeping tree she had unconsciously drawn in the center of the water...

All the clues, those fragments that inexplicably saddened her, were connected by the fear and sorrow conveyed by these few innocent silver-thread ferns, stemming from the instinct of life.

A blurry yet unsettling outline gradually became clear.

Is it Lili...?

Did Lili...do something...that caused so much green...to disappear?

Is it causing the homes of our kind to weep?

She abruptly withdrew her hand, staggered back a step, her face instantly drained of color, and even the tender leaves at the ends of her hair curled up uncontrollably, turning somewhat gray.

"No...no way..." she murmured unconsciously, shaking her head, "Lili is fine...Lili is warm...no way..."

She tried to deny this terrible conjecture, which was the source of all her reliance and trust, the warmest light in her heart.

However, the fear and sorrow conveyed by the silver-thread fern corresponded perfectly with the mournful cries she had previously sensed.

If that "warmth" becomes so terrifying... then...

Tang Lu stood there, feeling a chill rise from the soles of her feet and instantly engulf her entire body.

She looked at the sparkling bracelet that Chi Li had personally put on her wrist, and for the first time, she didn't feel warmth or joy.

She didn't linger, even forgetting to say goodbye to the black moss and silver-thread ferns, and stumbled out of the quiet garden.

She needs to find Lili.

She needs an answer.

An answer that could warm up the suddenly cracked, cold crack in her heart.

Chi Li was listening to the guards report on border affairs in her study when she suddenly sensed Tang Lu's aura rapidly approaching, aura that was chaotic and urgent.

She immediately raised her hand to stop the guards' report: "Step back."

The moment the guard disappeared, the study door was pushed open with a bang, and Tang Lu's small figure appeared in the doorway.

She was panting heavily, her hair was a little messy, and her face was pale. Her usually clear amber eyes were now filled with confusion, hurt, and disbelief.

"Lili!" Her voice was choked with sobs as she rushed in.

She ran to the desk, looked up at Chi Li, tears welling up in her eyes:

"Was it you? Was it you who caused the southeast... so many green... homes... to disappear? Did you make them... all cry?"

Chi Li's hand, holding the vermilion brush, tightened instantly.

The moment she least wanted to face, yet anticipated to face it, arrived so suddenly and in such a way.

Looking at the shattered light in Tang Lu's eyes, Chi Li felt as if something was gripping her heart tightly, a pain a thousand times more intense than when the old wound on her shoulder flared up.

She had imagined countless ways to confess or conceal, but she never thought that the truth would come crashing down on the treasure she had so carefully guarded in such a primitive, direct, and cruel way.

She put down her pen, stood up, walked around the desk, and went to Tang Lu.

"Tang Lu..." she began, her voice dry without her even realizing it.

"Is it?" Tang Lu persisted, tears finally rolling down her cheeks and splashing onto the smooth floor, leaving tiny watermarks. "Silver thread ferns...they're so scared...they say...it's the King of Fire...it's you..."

She could not deny, nor could she use lies to taint Tang Lu's pure sorrow at this moment.

“Yes.” A clear and heavy word came from her lips.

Despite having a premonition, Tang Lu's small body still swayed slightly when she heard Chi Li admit it to herself.

She looked at the face before her, the face that had given her warmth, shelter, and whom she clung to so dearly, but now it was shrouded in a shadow that frightened her.

"Why..." she choked, her small shoulders trembling, "They...they are green too...they are alive too...why..."

Chi Li watched as her tears rolled down her cheeks; those tears seemed to carry a scorching heat, making her heart flutter with unease.

She reached out, intending to wipe away her tears as usual, and embrace her.

But Tang Lu subconsciously took a small step back to avoid her touch.

This subtle movement caused her hand to freeze in mid-air.

Deep within his crimson-gold eyes surged suppressed pain and resentment, yet the moment they met Tang Lu's tearful eyes, they forcibly transformed into a pale calm.

"They tried to take you away." Chi Li's voice was low, carrying a coldness that severed the past. "They used methods you couldn't understand to bewitch you and shake you. Any possibility of taking you away from me must be completely eliminated."

This is her logic, the way the Demon King Chi Li protects others.

Tang Lu listened blankly, unable to understand the complex words like "bewitch" and "shake," she only grasped a little of it.

Because those "green" things might want her to leave Lili, Lili made them... all "gone".

"But...but Tanglu didn't want to leave..." she cried, sounding wronged like a child who had been wronged. "Tanglu likes it here...likes Lili...they just...just make Tanglu feel a little sad...they didn't want to take Tanglu away..."

She couldn't connect the heartbreaking resonance she felt with "bewitching" or "taking away".

In her pure world, it was just another form of "sound," a presence that confused her but was not malicious.

Looking at her tears and listening to her naive yet incisive accusations, Chi Li felt speechless for the first time in front of her.

She could conquer the three realms with her power, but she couldn't explain to a pure-hearted little tree spirit the scheming, potential dangers, and the extreme measures she took out of fear in the adult world.

Her protection, in the eyes of her treasure, became an incomprehensible cruelty.

"I...cannot take any risks." In the end, she could only repeat these words helplessly.

Tang Lu stopped talking, just lowered her head and sobbed softly, tears falling in a steady stream.

The ginkgo seed bracelet on her wrist swayed slightly as she cried, and its golden luster seemed to dim a little.

Chi Li stood before her, watching her weeping figure, and for the first time realized how cold this spacious and imposing study could be.

She eliminated the threat and protected her territory.

But it seems like I'm about to lose her.