Chapter 6 No wonder it's called bitter wheat, it really is bitter!
Shu Xin let out a soft breath and reached out to nudge the half-succubus sleeping like a log next to her: "Wake up, Xi, wake up, it's time to eat!"
The blond boy suddenly opened his eyes: "Eat!"
Upon learning that this meal was not the same as the one she was used to, Xi was a little listless, but she still got up and followed Shu Xin downstairs to the restaurant on the first floor.
There were no chairs in the restaurant, only a large round table. A huge withered yellow leaf was used as a tablecloth on the table, and wooden bowls and plates were placed on it. It looked simple and primitive, and Shu Xin thought it was quite rustic.
After Shu Xin and Xi arrived, Nuonuo Li and Peng Peng An also flew over.
Peng Peng An was in high spirits. He flew up and down, waving his arms and legs excitedly, and exclaimed that he had never had the chance to sleep in the Flower Castle of the Magic Tree in his life. He swore that he had never slept so well before.
Nono looked no different from yesterday, still with his serious and unsmiling demeanor. He glanced at the blond boy following behind Shu Xin, then summoned a fairy and whispered a few words to him.
The servants quickly brought out the food—a tiny flower fairy flew over carrying two large wooden bowls. At first glance, Shu Xin thought the bowls had floated over on their own.
In front of Shu Xin, besides a large bowl full of bitter wheat porridge, there were two snow-white rice cakes. In front of Peng Peng An and Xi, there was a clear bowl of bitter wheat soup—Peng Peng An's wooden bowl was only the size of a soybean.
The unequal treatment was too obvious, and Shu Xin always felt that her bowl of thick wheat porridge would only make the already impoverished granary even worse.
The small, round white rice cakes looked like white grapes. Shu Xin took a bite and found them to be dry and mealy with a bland taste, like chewing wax.
Shu Xin took another sip of bitter wheat porridge, and then she almost spat it out on the spot—it was so bitter! How could it be so bitter! Just a small sip, and the continuous bitterness made Shu Xin feel like she couldn't even keep her mouth!
When Shu Xin ate another white rice cake at this moment, she could almost immediately taste the juiciness and sweetness that fruits are unique to!
However, there were only two small white rice cakes in front of Shu Xin. Once they were eaten, there were none left. Only the thick bitter wheat porridge, which was full of preferential treatment, slowly emitted a strong bitter smell.
...No wonder it's called bitter wheat, it really is bitter!
Peng Peng'an looked bitter and resentful as he drank the bitter wheat soup, while Xi remained calm. Shu Xin stared in disbelief as he sipped the soup one sip after another until he finished it.
Shu Xin: "Don't you find it bitter?!"
Xi said nonchalantly, "It's good enough to have something to eat!"
Shu Xin: "...I can tell you're really hungry."
Peng Peng An pricked up his pointed ears warily, wondering how the black creature that exuded an evil and dangerous aura had suddenly turned golden and even seemed to be very close to the princess.
Frustrated, Pengpengan glanced at the wheat soup in front of him, gritted his teeth, frowned, and picked up the bowl of bitter wheat soup to drink in large gulps.
After gulping down the bitter wheat soup, Pengpeng'an's features contorted in pain. Noticing Shuxin's gaze, he forced a smile, though his words were somewhat incoherent: "Bitter, very bitter, but the magic is gentle! Truly worthy of being called the Great Princess! The Sinful Land she chose!"
Shu Xin: ...Thank you for your hard work, Peng Peng An.
Shu Xin felt that she didn't pay much attention to food. She usually just ate whatever was available and could get by with a meal. So, it wasn't until now, facing a bowl of this strange world porridge that was steaming with a strong bitter taste, that she suddenly realized that she did have some standards for food—the ordinary stir-fries and steamed buns in her memory suddenly became delicious.
Wasting food is shameful. Shu Xin remained silent for a long time before forcing down a bowl of bitter wheat porridge, treating it like medicine. She tried to ignore the bitter taste that seeped into her bones, but found it hard to ignore the rough texture of the bitter wheat. It was practically like eating cement without any substance...
After struggling to finish a meal—
Shu Xin: Why do people live?
After calming down for a while, Shu Xin looked at the flower fairy who was quietly guarding her side: "Nonoli, have someone send me some bitter wheat seeds later. I want to study where the bitterness comes from. Now take me to the highest point of this castle."
Nonoli said very respectfully, "Yes, Your Highness, please come with me. There is a terrace on the fifth floor of the castle."
Shu Xin turned to look at the bright-eyed red-haired fairy: "Peng Peng An, are all the magic taxes for the territory with you? Take them all and come over."
Pengpengan proudly declared, "Yes, Your Highness! All the magic tax is with me!"
Standing on the rooftop terrace, Shu Xin gazed into the distance, where all she could see was a vast expanse of pale yellow.
Beneath the high dome lies the vast, pale yellow Gobi Desert. The raging winds, carrying sand and gravel that seem to have taken on a pale yellow hue themselves, howl and roar tirelessly between heaven and earth. Shu Xin can even smell the foul stench carried by the wind with each breath.
Shu Xin pursed her lips, steeled her resolve, and following the original owner's memories, she spread her wings, closed her eyes, and began to unleash a large-scale spell—
Including the two magic gems extracted from Xi's body, all the magic tax that Pengpengan took out, and a dozen drops of magic condensate, all of them slowly floated up in front of the flower fairy who was emitting a faint light, and rose into the sky.
It was as if a dozen suns had fallen from the dome, their dazzling yet gentle golden light spilling out in all directions, and the howling winds that had been raging between heaven and earth suddenly ceased.
"Brother, the wind outside has stopped." A soft, delicate voice rang out in the darkness.
“Ananna is talking nonsense again. May the goddess of flowers protect you and may the fever be gone.” Ananka muttered to himself. He fumbled for the clod of earth he had dug up the night before and held it to his sister’s mouth, who was curled up beside him. “This one is different. This one is soft. Ananna, you can bite it.”
"Brother, I'm not hungry." The little flower fairy, her body burning hot, said in a soft voice, "I heard it, brother, the wind outside has stopped. Mother said that she would come to pick us up when the wind stops."
Ananka silently stuffed clods of dirt into her sister's mouth. Their mother had died of a fever and wouldn't come back; the wind wouldn't stop either.
In the end, Ananka decided to go out and take a look, because Anana kept saying that the wind had stopped and refused to eat anything.
He cautiously peeked out from the underground cave. The sudden light made Ananka unable to open his eyes, but he heard it. The wind, which sounded like loud wailing during the day and soft sobbing at night, had really stopped.
When Ananka was able to open her eyes, she was completely stunned.
The sky was an unprecedentedly pure and azure blue; even the air no longer made her nose and mouth ache. Ananka tilted her head back, staring blankly at the large, radiant orb hanging high in the sky—was this the sun her mother had told her about? Did the sun really look like this?
The sun is so bright! It feels so nice to have the sunlight on me. It turns out Mom wasn't always lying to me.
"Anna! The sun is rising!"
Like Ananna, many flower fairies could sense that the wind had stopped, and those who could get up crawled out of their underground hiding places.
Voices drifted over from near and far:
"Has the wind stopped?"
"The wind has stopped!"
"The wind has really stopped!"
"What's that?" The sharp-eyed flower fairy made a new discovery: "Is that... is that the city wall?"
Ananka had just half-dragged, half-carried Ananna out of the burrow when he heard someone mention a city wall. How could there be a city wall here? Even if his mother liked to lie, she had never told such an outrageous lie. However, Ananka couldn't help but look in the direction of the fussy flower fairy, and then he froze—
In the distance, between the azure sky and the yellow earth, there is a long line shimmering with white light.
The towering, pure white city wall gleamed in the sunlight.
The desolate wasteland, now free from the howling winds, became utterly tranquil. The intense sunlight kissed the cheeks and foreheads of everyone on the ground with perfect impartiality, whether you were a slave just peeking out of a burrow or a princess standing atop a high building.
A note from the author:
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