Black Terrace City is really empty! Even the cowardly man from yesterday ran away!

Xia Xiao couldn't find a carriage, so he led two horses over.

“Can you ride?”

Shu Shuang shook her head, and Xia Xiao tied a rope to connect the two horses.

After helping her onto the horse, Xia Xiao mounted the horse skillfully. With a slight squeeze of his legs, the horse raised its hooves and headed east.

With the horses, their speed was much faster. They left Yewshan at noon, changed horses and ran all afternoon, arriving at Fujikawa in the evening.

The Nanshang defenders in the two cities still don't know what happened in Heitai, but the Nanshang Empire will know, and that cowardly man will tell them everything. Faced with the truth of the matter, the Nanshang Empire has no choice but to keep it secret, after all, it will not benefit anyone if it gets out of hand.

As the strongest of the seven countries in the Great Wilderness World, the emperor of the Southern Shang Empire not only has the ambition to unify the world, but also has a clear mind and will not publicize it.

At night, when the last ray of light disappeared in the sky, the tightly closed Longgang West Gate opened.

Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang, who had crossed the snowy plain, returned. They led two horses home, feeling a little excited, especially Xia Xiao! He had originally thought it would take five days, but he didn't expect it would only take four days. Although there was only a one-day difference, the poison in his mother could not be delayed.

Before returning home, Xia Jinghong and Xia Xu were standing at the intersection waiting. They sensed the presence of two people.

Looking at the two horses, Xia Xu became excited. He hadn't ridden a horse for a long time since arriving in Longgang.

Handing the reins to his eldest brother, Xia Xiao nodded to his father, indicating that everything was going well.

"good!"

Xia Jinghong grinned, quite satisfied.

"No trouble, eh?"

Shu Shuang glanced at Xia Xiao, but the latter behaved very normally and only said the word "no".

There was no point in telling my father about those things, it would only make him anxious for nothing. Since I was fine and there was no more talk, I would just leave it at that. However, Xia Xiao had already kept those notes, they would come in handy one day!

Xia Xu took off the horse's harness and took it to graze.

Back in the room, Xia Xiao took out a wooden box from his backpack, which contained three ice grasses and a little bit of mist.

"You've been busy all day, let's take a night's rest first."

Xia Jinghong suggested, but Shu Shuang shook her head.

"It's better to take it as soon as possible. The longer you delay, the more dangerous it will be."

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Shu Shuang."

Shu Shuang took the ice grass, smiled at Xia Xiao, and then replied:

"Uncle, you are welcome. This is what I should do."

After that, she got busy.

In terms of medical skills, no one in the Xia family is proficient, only Xia Wan knows a little bit, so Xia Xiao and his father sat aside and watched the two girls busy. As for his mother, she had taken medicine and fell asleep, but her hands were still clenched, her nails pierced into the flesh, a few drops of blood flowed out, and her once beautiful face showed some pain.

"How are you going to repay her?"

"Buying some jewelry?"

Xia Xiao sought advice from his father, who had little experience in this area.

"No! I can't give away inferior goods, and I can't afford good ones."

"What should we do then?"

"You can make something for her. It will be a thoughtful gesture no matter how you do it."

"I can't."

Xia Xiao was a little confused. Is it so troublesome to give gifts to girls?

"If you don't know how, you can learn. Make a simple one, like an hourglass or a bracelet. It's low-cost, thoughtful, and add a letter, and it'll be perfect."

"letter?"

"If you're embarrassed to say it in person, just put it in the letter."

That makes sense, Xia Xiao nodded.

"Then I'll try."

While he racked his brains to think of what to do, Shu Shuang was concentrating on cutting off the roots of the ice grass and grinding them into powder. The roots were crushed into tiny ice particles when they met iron. The leaves had to be stemmed, which was a difficult task, but Shu Shuang was very skilled.

The elixir is effective but difficult to process. About a quarter of an hour later, Shu Shuang heaved a sigh of relief.

"Second sister, are the other herbs ready?"

"I'm ready."

Shu Shuang took out a handful of ice particles and two leaves of grass, weighed them carefully before handing them to Xia Wan.

"This is for tonight."

Xia Wan went to boil the medicine, while Shu Shuang packed the ice particles and grass leaves in bottles and jars. These were the results of Xia Xiao and her nearly losing their lives.

"Okay, go back and rest, I'll take care of this."

Xia Jinghong placed his palms on the backs of Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang and gently pushed them. Whenever this happened, Xia Xiao felt as if he was being urged to enter the bridal chamber.

"Observe for a week. If Auntie's poison can be completely resolved, these two stalks of ice grass can be sold or given to you to take."

Shu Shuang hummed a little song happily and put them away, treating them like treasures. Seeing that she cared so much about him, Xia Xiao was more concerned about preparing a gift. He had to prepare a better gift. Shu Shuang had worked hard these days.

Xia Xiao couldn't help but yawn. It was too late, but Shu Shuang still prepared hot water for him.

"I can do it myself."

"My job is to take care of you!"

Shu Shuang said this again, and Xia Xiao, who never refuted, spoke this time.

"You need care, too."

Xia Xiao was very serious, which touched Shu Shuang. Before coming, she had prepared for the worst. No matter what kind of person the person who came from afar mentioned by her master was, she would do her best and also thought about the grievances she might suffer. But with Xia Xiao, she felt a different kind of warmth.

Xia Xiao is not a good communicator and seems extremely cold in the eyes of others, but Shu Shuang can see that he is quite gentle and not hypocritical.

Shu Shuang, sitting obediently on the bed, smiling, is a delight to the eyes.

"Then let's take care of each other."

Smiling and nodding, Xia Xiao prepared hot water for Shu Shuang to wash up. She sat aside and watched, feeling happy.

"Stop laughing, wash up and go to bed."

Shu Shuang nodded her head repeatedly, very happy. Xia Xiao was so good to her, no matter how hard or tired she was, it was all worth it!

The candles went out and everything was silent.

Xia Xiao slept on the floor, breathing in and out as usual. He had no dreams tonight, and should have had a good sleep, but Xia Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had just woken up, or as if someone was calling him.

I glanced at Shu Shuang, who was sleeping peacefully as usual. I opened the door, and the usual cold night wind was no longer noticeable. Compared to the freezing cold at the Snow Dragon Pass, this was nothing.

The family members were all asleep, and my mother drank the medicine. There was no movement in the room. I thought she could sleep well and there would be no new scars on her body when she woke up tomorrow morning. But who was this voice coming from? Xia Xiao always felt that someone was calling him.

For some reason, Xia Xiao suddenly thought of the forest inside his body and the little guy inside it. Could it be this?

Tiptoeing back to the room, Xia Xiao sat cross-legged on the floor, made a hand seal, calmed himself down slightly, and entered the familiar forest.

The forest was still lush and full of life. Xia Xiao walked through it and soon came to the altar covered with grass and flowers. Everything here was familiar, but Xia Xiao frowned. Where was the little guy above? Why did he disappear?

Is it awake?

Xia Xiao was not sure, because he didn't know what it was, and he wasn't sure if it was a living thing. But in the end, Xia Xiao still found it in the woods.

No matter where Xia Xiao was, the forest inside him was always under the bright sunshine. Therefore, the shadows of the leaves under the trees were colorful.

In a beam of sunlight, the little fellow, only the size of a palm, turned his back to him. Slowly, it moved, a pair of bird-like claws stepped on the soft grass, and ran in front of each tree.

Xia Xiao followed it and felt strange. What could such a small thing be?

"Um... hello?"

In response, the little guy turned around. He saw that this little guy had a human head and a bird body!

The little fellow's chubby face was full of flesh, and his belly was round under the green fur. His wings were like leaves, and they held a small bunch of flowers against his chest, dyeing the green fur light pink.

Xia Xiao's first reaction was Ju Mang, the god of spring in the original world, who also had a human head and a bird body. But can things in mythology really exist? Now that he has come to this world, nothing is impossible.

Squatting down, Xia Xiao spread out his hands and whistled like calling a dog.

I'm afraid this won't work. When Xia Xiao was about to stop, the little guy ran over happily. It was only five meters away, but it struggled with its short legs for a long time.

"Hmm~"

It made a soft sound, like a babbling baby, and handed a few small flowers in its hand to Xia Xiao.

"For me?"

Seeing it nodded, Xia Xiao became curious.

"Can you really understand?"

It nodded again, then opened its little mouth and babbled as if it was learning.

“Yes, yes!”

It happily circled around Xia Xiao's feet, and fell down while running. It was chubby like a ball, rolled a few times, got up and continued running.

Tired of running, the little guy stuck out his tongue and slowly uttered three words.

“I understand!”

“I understand!”

It made a crisp and clear sound, like a little elf. Xia Xiao held it in his palm and looked at it carefully.

The little guy sat on Xia Xiao's hand, smiling, lively and cheerful. At this moment, when their eyes met, Xia Xiao had a mysterious feeling that he couldn't describe!

"What's your name, little one?"

The little guy tilted his head and puffed up his mouth, as if thinking.

Xia Xiao was afraid that it didn't understand, so he asked again:

"My name is Xia Xiao, what's yours? What's your name? Don't you know it?"

The little fellow smiled and flapped his wings, bringing a cool feeling to Xia Xiao.

"I don't know. I don't know."

Although Xia Xiao is usually cold, this little guy is quite cute.

"Then I'll call you Ju Mang from now on. You have to have a name."

"Jumang, Jumang..."

The little guy seemed to be cheering, dancing, then pouting his little mouth happily and blowing bubbles with his saliva.

Xia Xiao played with it for a long time. The little guy has a strong learning ability. If Xia Xiao says something, it will know it immediately!

When Xia Xiao woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Shu Shuang was sitting on the side, having washed the clothes she had worn a few days before. She wiped her hands and smiled as she said good morning to Xia Xiao.

Looking at Shu Shuang, Xia Xiao felt a little excited.

“It’s awake!”