Chapter 38

Three months later, outside the Dusk Mountains.

In late autumn, a sense of solemnity and desolation permeates the rolling hills. The green leaves darken, and the breeze carries a chill, leaving tiny marks on the dark brown branches.

But in a small valley, spring is in full bloom, and greenery is flourishing. Except for the occasional hint of a cool late autumn breeze, this valley seems completely isolated from the outside world.

Amidst the lush green grass, a lush peach tree with golden leaves and flowers stands tall.

Pink blossoms dot the branches, their green leaves tipped with graceful grace. As the sun shines, the petals sway in the wind, creating a vibrant scene of golden dots, a vibrant scene of lush vitality.

"Dahei, when do you think your brother will come back?" Amidst the bright and beautiful scenery, a milky little voice suddenly emerged.

Then, among the gorgeous clusters of pink flowers, a fluffy little head popped out with a rustling sound.

The fine, soft black hair, which had grown longer than before, was carefully gathered together and tied into two round little tufts on both sides of the round head.

However, the round little owner obviously did not take special care of his soft fur.

The round bun that should have been smooth and neat was now sticking up randomly, and the hair around it that was not long enough to be combed was even more disheveled, and a few pink petals were stuck on it at some point.

Of course, the little guy had no idea about the little flower on his head.

He was looking up with his round little face, staring eagerly at the narrow path leading out of the valley.

"Woof woof woof."

The next moment, a black furry head pushed aside the green branches and leaves around the little ball and barked softly.

"I knew Dahei didn't know either." Little Dumpling sighed, his face gloomy. "For this family, we can only rely on Sui Sui!"

"Swish, swish, swish." The leaves on the side carefully avoided the position of Little Dumpling and the black dog, and then swayed, as if to express agreement.

"Woof woof woof!" The black dog barked back, unwilling to be outdone.

Then, the green grass below began to stir, and the narrow leaves collided with each other, making a crackling sound.

For a moment, the whole valley was bustling with the sounds of dogs barking and branches rustling.

"Aiya—" A chaotic sound filled the valley. Little Dumpling puffed up his cheeks unhappily and shouted angrily, "It's so noisy!"

As the little dumpling's voice fell, everything seemed to be paused, and all the sounds disappeared completely.

But Sui Suiyuan's eyes were bright and sharp. He immediately noticed that the tall peach tree under him took advantage of the chaos to stretch out a thin branch and hit the big black dog's butt.

"Taotao!" Suddenly, the little dumpling was furious: "Don't bully Dahei."

The big black dog happened to come over at this moment and gently rubbed the soft and chubby face of the human cub. Its furry ears drooped drooping, and it looked very aggrieved.

The cub's heart ached. Suisui quickly stroked the black dog's furry ears to comfort it, then patted the brown branch under its short legs. Its thin eyebrows knitted together as it sternly taught him, "Taotao, you can't bully Dahei."

"We are a family, we can't fight!"

The little fat boy said earnestly: "Besides, brother is very tired every day, we have to be good."

The lush peach trees drooped their branches reluctantly.

After a moment, it quietly stretched out a tender branch covered with pink flowers and gently poked the soft back of the chubby little boy.

Sui Sui turned her head to look.

Then, a large handful of pink petals fell from the sky, covering Sui Sui and the big black dog beside her that was slowly wagging its tail.

Looking at the big black dog with flower petals on its head and a confused look on its face, Sui Sui couldn't help but frown.

However, Suisui is now reconciling family conflicts.

As a calm and serious kid, Sui Sui couldn't help laughing, then immediately put on a serious face again and said solemnly, "Okay, it seems Tao Tao has realized her mistake."

One of the little fat paws picked up the big black dog's right front paw, and the other little fat paw grabbed the branch of the peach tree that had just poked him.

Sui Sui brought the dog's paw and the branch closer together: "You can shake hands and make peace now~"

The dog's paws froze and the branches froze.

"Don't you want to?" the little fat boy asked suspiciously.

The dog's paw immediately pressed down on the branch, and the branch also wrapped around the dog's paw with extra enthusiasm.

"That's right!" Sui Sui said happily, "We are all good friends, we can't fight~"

"Fighting will cause trouble for my brother~"

The big black dog nodded, and the peach trees swayed their branches in agreement.

Suisui wanted to say something, but the next moment, he saw a familiar figure on the narrow path leading out of the valley.

Suddenly, the little fellow's round, black eyes lit up, like shimmering obsidian, exceptionally bright. The calm and serious little cub disappeared. Suisui hurriedly urged the peach tree to take him under the tree. Before he could even stand firmly, he fluttered his short legs and happily pounced towards the figure.

"elder brother!"

Jiang Mingyan caught the cheerful little fellow and held him up in his arms with familiarity. His cold eyes softened. "What was Sui Sui doing in the tree just now? You looked so happy."

Compared to the little fat boy who has hardly changed, Jiang Mingyan has been reborn in just three months.

There was no trace of childishness in his eyes anymore, instead, there was a cold indifference honed through killing and scars.

He was much taller than before, and the smooth lines of his muscles were faintly visible under his gray robe, like a cold blade unsheathed, wrapped in a biting sharpness and coldness.

But when he picked up the soft little cub, the sharp coldness in his body dissipated, like a sharp sword being sheathed. The coldness was still there, but it no longer hurt others or himself.

"Sui Sui is just maintaining family harmony." The little fat boy proudly puffed out his chest, feeling very proud.

"Really? Suisui is so great?" A smile appeared in Jiang Mingyan's eyes.

He glanced at the dog and the tree not far away, who immediately moved away from him with disgust as soon as Sui Sui left, and understood what was going on.

——None of them are innocent.

He held the little guy steady with one hand, and with the other hand slowly picked out the petals that had fallen from between the little guy's messy hair. The little guy's babyish voice could be heard in his ears.

"Just now, Taotao bullied Dahei, and Suisui taught Taotao a lesson seriously, and Taotao and Dahei reconciled..."

The angry roar of the monster beside my ears and the bloody smell lingering at the tip of my nose gradually dissipated, leaving only the soft breath of the little fat cub becoming more and more distinct.

Jiang Mingyan smiled softly: "Thanks to Sui Sui."

It seemed to be talking about what had just happened, but also seemed to be referring to something else.

But Sui Sui didn't hear it.

After the excitement of suddenly seeing his brother faded, he began to worry: "Is my brother injured today? Is the monster very fierce?"

As he asked, the little fat claw held up his brother's handsome face and carefully examined it from the beginning.

Jiang Mingyan let the little guy play with it: "The monster is not fierce, and it is not injured."

Suisui ignored him and continued to pull his brother while twisting his little body.

"There's a wound!" Seeing the bleeding claw mark on the back of Jiang Mingyan's hand, the little fat boy's chubby face immediately pouts.

"That's all." Jiang Mingyan soothed him gently, "Sui Sui, can you apply the medicine to your brother later? It will be healed soon."

Sui Sui hummed in response.

Jiang Mingyan didn't put the little fat boy down until he reached the crown of the Hypericum aviculare tree.

The Hypericum affine tree immediately stretched out several branches, twisting them into the shape of a chair.

Jiang Mingyan paused, but did not refuse. He took out a thick cushion from the Lan Qiuying bracelet, spread it out, and then put the little fat boy on it.

"Blood blood!" Sui Sui didn't care about these details. As soon as he sat down, he started shouting about blood coagulation grass in a small voice.

The lush green grass on the ground swayed without a breeze, its leaves swaying. A plant, seemingly identical to its neighbor, pulled its blood-red roots from the ground, then, clattering towards them, shaking them.

When it was only a few steps away from Sui Sui, the green grass stopped growing roots.

A faint blood-red spiritual light lit up, and it began to grow thicker and taller, until it was almost as tall as the Hypericum virginianum, like a tall tree, and the green grass stopped changing.

Under the watchful gazes of the children beside him, Jiang Mingyan smiled and handed his injured hand to the blood-clotting grass that had changed its shape.

The grass blade drooped slightly, stopping less than an inch from the wound. The next moment, a blood-red aura, brighter than before, fell on the wound on the back of Jiang Mingyan's hand.

After a few breaths, the wound healed.

"Blood stick!" Suisui nodded in satisfaction, then looked at his brother and sternly demanded, "Brother, next time you get injured, you can't hide it from Suisui!"

Jiang Mingyan's heart softened. He didn't say that he really didn't take this little injury to heart, but nodded seriously: "Brother is wrong. I will never hide it from us again."

"That's right!" Sui Sui leaned over and kissed her brother hard on the cheek.

Jiang Mingyan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.

"Did Suisui study today?" He naturally brought up the instructions before leaving: "Have you figured out the difference between Yushimon and Xuanguangmon?"

Sui Sui's little face couldn't help but wrinkle, and he looked at his brother accusingly with his round eyes.

Jiang Mingyan's smile deepened. "Yu Shi Beast and Xuan Guang Beast are quite common in the outskirts of the Dusk Mountains. Sui Sui can't see them and not recognize them, right?"

"The most powerful demon beast outside the Dusk Mountains is a third-grade demon beast." Sui Sui, already a knowledgeable kid, argued back with reason and evidence: "With Tao Tao and Xue Xue around, neither Yu Shi Beast nor Xuan Guang Beast dare to come looking for Sui Sui~"

Jiang Mingyan laughed.

Three months ago, when he was recovering his spiritual roots, Sui Sui also fell into a coma. By the time Sui Sui woke up, the blood-clotting grass had already reached the sixth level of Qi training. Even the green-leafed Hypericum, which had been stuck in the middle stage of foundation building for a long time, had successfully broken through to the great perfection of foundation building, becoming a third-grade spiritual plant.

This is also the reason why Jiang Mingyan was reluctant to let Sui Sui, Hypericum jasminoides, and Hemoclotting Herb stay in the valley.

In fact, Jiang Mingyan didn't want Sui Sui to leave his sight at all.

However, when he fought against Foundation Establishment Stage monsters that were higher in level, he was always bound to get injured.

He couldn't bear to worry about Sui Sui all the time, so he had to leave Sui Sui in a safe place.

Looking at the little guy's cunning expression, Jiang Mingyan felt at peace.

——His choice was right.

"Woo?" Seeing that his brother was just looking at him gently without saying anything, the little fat boy couldn't help but feel a little confused.

But before Sui Sui could ask, a few uninvited guests broke the warm atmosphere in the valley.

"Help--" A figure rolled down the slope of the valley in a panic, startling countless birds.

Jiang Mingyan frowned and protected Sui Sui, and the Yuansu sword appeared silently in his hand.

"Asi?" Then, a worried and crisp female voice came from above the valley. She ignored the boy's attempts to stop her and hurriedly climbed down the tree trunk.

Sui Sui looked at it curiously.

The person who rolled down was a young man wearing black tights. He was covered in dust and looked extremely disheveled.

The pretty girl came down and quickly helped the boy up. She had a neat ponytail and her eyes were filled with worry.

The last one to come down was a calm young man. He protected the two people behind him. Although he was slightly startled when he saw Sui Sui, he was still alert.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you. My companion just accidentally missed a step and fell down." The calm young man explained in a deep voice, "We mean no harm and will leave soon."

"Are you from Wanggui Town?" Sui Sui asked in a childish voice, looking at the black cloth strips on their wrists.

"Yes." The calm young man looked at the soft-faced little cub protected behind the gray-robed swordsman with some surprise.

The black cloth wrapped around his wrist was the symbol of the cultivators in Wanggui Town, and he was not surprised that he could be seen.

——Or in other words, the existence of the cloth strips is to show their identity and provide a guarantee.

He was surprised that he could recognize such a small cub.

Sui Sui giggled and poked his brother with his little chubby paw.

Although Suisui didn’t study today, he still remembers what he learned a few days ago!

So brother, don't worry about not studying today~