A gentle voice drifted through the air, and a few words inevitably reached Xu Ling's ears as she focused intently on her work. Visibly, her movements paused, and then she turned to look behind her.
The bright moonlight revealed her bewildered expression. Seemingly sensing that the elves were conversing with the Tree of Life, she didn't ask, but instead looked up at the Tree of Life with a puzzled expression, as if asking, "What are you talking about?"
Noticing Xu Ling's gaze, the Tree of Life, which was about to deliver another blow to Emerald, suddenly froze. Even though it knew that Xu Ling couldn't see its movements in the darkness, it still obediently lowered its branches.
"N-nothing," the Tree of Life shook its branches as if nothing had happened. "I was just chatting with Emerald."
Normally, Xu Ling would have curiously pressed the Tree of Life for details, but... the other party in the conversation was the elf. Even though she knew the Tree of Life was just giving her a perfunctory answer, she nodded listlessly, "Oh, I see."
She gave a curt reply, turned back, and continued doing what she had been doing.
The system screen reopened, and Xu Ling glanced at the large number of points required for the magic circle, then quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
With a few more nights of hard work, she'll have enough points to redeem!
With victory in sight, she continued her previous unfinished task with renewed vigor.
"Whoosh—"
Xu Ling harvested the already mature crops in the fields once again, and the next second, new crops pushed through the soil and sprouted tender green shoots.
One crop after another was planted in succession, and knowing that Xu Ling was no longer paying attention to its movements, the Tree of Life couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Then, while the elf's gaze was still on Xu Ling, its branches unexpectedly bound her.
[Alright! Now, tell me how you found out about 'points'!] The Tree of Life paused for a moment after transmitting the message to Emerald's heart before speaking again, [I hope you tell the truth, otherwise—I wouldn't mind killing you and raising a more obedient elf!]
No matter how much the Emerald had previously caused trouble, even when its roots were severed, the Tree of Life, which had never shown any murderous intent, now posed a strong threat to the life of the elves for the first time.
Even though Emerald is no ordinary spirit, it wouldn't hesitate to kill Xu Ling for her sake!
She only tried to struggle slightly, but immediately felt the branches binding her tighten. Unlike before, when they were just trying to teach her a lesson, this time the force was almost like tightening to kill her.
Their bodies were squeezed together, and their breathing became difficult, but even so, there was not a trace of panic on Emerald's face.
She simply raised her head and looked into a corner of the lush green leaves. She didn't actually see anything, but her gaze, as if it were tangible, had already glimpsed the secret hidden beneath the leaves.
"Are you so eager to create a new elf to replace me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't rush me, things aren't that bad yet!"
Slightly widening the increasingly smaller space, she continued, "[You wanted to know how I knew, didn't you? I'll tell you!]"
[Really?] The Tree of Life was full of doubts; it found it hard to believe that this wicked elf would be so kind!
Jade: [Of course! Otherwise, why would I let you stay tied up like this without resisting?]
If she hadn't wanted to have a proper talk with the Tree of Life, and her life had been threatened, why wouldn't she have shown any sign of resistance?
[I can't breathe, can you loosen your grip a bit so I can tell you?]
Jade stretched her hands out to the sides with all her might, finally creating some space so she could breathe in some fresh air.
Sensing that her bindings weren't very strong and that she didn't mind continuing to tie her up, the Tree of Life hesitated for a moment before deciding to loosen the bindings slightly, intending to listen to the elf's excuses.
After all, its initial plan wasn't to just irrationally kill the elf!
It certainly has the ability to kill the elf, but just like back then, when that damned elf risked injury to sever its roots, it will also have to pay a heavy price to make the elf truly dead!
The injury from last time has only just healed. If it suffers another serious injury, I really don't know when it will be fully recovered.
Of course, it is not afraid of how long the injury is healed, but it is afraid that if it is attacked by a powerful enemy during this period after losing the high combat power of Emerald.
Therefore, after careful consideration, it decided to temporarily suppress its murderous intent and see how Emerald would explain how she knew about "points".
[Then tell me, how did you know that?]
After taking another deep breath of fresh air, Emerald no longer teased the Tree of Life's nerves with the same attitude as before.
Finally, he honestly revealed the reason: "[Have you forgotten my origins?]"
What is the origin of jadeite?
The Tree of Life, which had never considered this perspective before, was taken aback by the jade's reminder.
However, before it could even voice its thoughts, the elf nodded in affirmation: "[That's exactly what you think! You know I'm different from other elves!]" Emerald said this with undeniable arrogance, "[Naturally, from the moment I became conscious, I learned some things from you!]"
Yes, it wasn't that the Tree of Life let something slip; it knew perfectly well even when the Emerald was still inside the fruit!
As for why this wasn't mentioned before?
The reason is simple!
Before this, Xu Ling was nothing more than someone who was "very important to the mother tree" to her, nothing more!
What business is it of hers what Xu Ling's secrets are? She neither cares nor is interested!
She didn't reveal this secret openly, purely because she didn't want to offend the Tree of Life or... the task she had to complete.
As for why I'm saying this now?
The reason is equally simple!
She's interested in Xu Ling!
It wasn't just because of the Tree of Life that she was interested in Xu Ling; she was genuinely starting to be curious about her!
Why does she possess such an extraordinary ability as "points"?
Why is it that she can quietly change a barren and desolate land by simply doing the same thing day after day?
Why is she completely different from everyone else?
Why is that?
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