Chapter 313
"Keep your tail close, be careful not to be discovered!"
"The hoof! The hoof is showing!"
"Lower your head! Lower your head quickly!"
In a dense bush, there was a rustling sound mixed with a few low voices. If you looked carefully, you could see a little red, white, or brown in the gaps between the branches and leaves of the bushes.
Ten days had passed since Shoumu's proposal. The three cubs never expected that their gentle and reliable husband would actually listen to Shoumu's suggestion and keep them at home!
The three cubs were so shocked by the sudden move that they couldn't recover from the shock and were so angry that they decided to follow quietly without thinking twice, which led to the current situation.
"Don't look back———" Shoumu suddenly put his arm on Yuchuan's shoulder and whispered, "Are you afraid that your three little brats can't find you?"
"They are following us. I am afraid they are in danger." Yuchuan controlled himself not to look back. "They are still young."
Shoumu: “…”
"They were smaller before you picked them up. It was fine then, let alone now." He said quietly, "Why don't I go dig two young plants for you."
How can we have so many worries day by day?
"Don't worry, just go forward—" Shoumu pressed down on Yuchuan's shoulders with his arm, his voice gritting with teeth, "We are still leading the way ahead, how can these three be in any danger!"
With such a close distance and such poor tracking... Shouki was simply forcing himself to ignore it.
The three cubs followed them less than a hundred meters behind them, unaware of anything, and were smug about their own superb skills.
"Hehe, I'm not noticed even when I'm so close. I'm worthy of being me!"
"So what if Shoumu kidnapped you? We'll just follow him quietly~"
"Don't get carried away. Be careful! Be careful!"
Their voices were very low, but no matter how high or low, they were no different from the loud conspiracies of the two trees that cleared the way ahead.
Shoumu had his back to them with a distorted expression on his face. He was feeling a little regretful now. If he had known that he would face such a "miserable situation", he would have said it directly at that time!
"This concealment technique is too poorly learned." Shoumu muttered, "Luckily it was us who were following us, if it was any other alien plant, they would have been hung up and made into dried meat strips."
Yuchuan sighed: "Should I go and call them out?"
"Stop!" Shoumu stopped him, and half-forced Yuchuan to straighten his head, "The cub needs to exercise, don't spoil him too much!"
"Yuchuan!" After walking for a while, Shoumu paused and said sadly, "Don't look back quietly, I've caught you seven times!"
…
"Wow!" The phoenix flapped its palm-sized wings, raised its almost nonexistent neck, and exclaimed in amazement, "It's so big - what a huge tree!"
Below it, Qilin stood up and asked curiously: "Did you see Jianmu?"
The existence of Jianmu is in their inherited memories, but Jianmu is just a concept in their memories, and they don't know what it looks like specifically.
"It must be Jianmu!" The little phoenix was at a loss for words because of the shock in front of her, "What a huge tree!"
Xiao Shirazawa, whose vision was blocked by grass that was five times taller than himself, was a little envious of the little phoenix's wings that could fly.
"Just walk a little further east and you'll be out in a while." The little phoenix flapped its wings to indicate the direction, its tone a little anxious, "Sir, they're walking so fast, if we don't work harder, we'll lose them!"
When Qilin and Bai Ze came out from the tall grass, they also saw the "huge tree" that the little phoenix mentioned - there was no exaggeration in it, and the description was even a bit too conservative. At first glance, it was impossible to see the whole picture of the tree, and there was only shock and awe that covered the sky.
As the new inheritors, they have not been born in this world for a long time, and their inherited memories have recorded many great things, but no matter what they are, they cannot compare with the tree before them.
The sun and the moon hang in its crown, and the vast earth lies at its feet. Its existence cannot be defined by the concept of "plants and trees" at all, or in other words, it cannot be defined.
In such shock and awe, the three cubs were unusually hesitant. Shoumu said this was a gathering of plants and trees, and as uninvited beasts, was it really okay for them to just go there?
The three cubs got stuck in a tangle, and suddenly the ground shook beneath their feet. The little phoenix was not affected at all, but Qilin and Bai Ze fell to the ground with a cry.
The little Qilin felt dazed as its four hooves flew into the air, and something grabbed its fate by the scruff of the neck. It was thrown helplessly onto a broad back.
As a cub with relatively weak strength, the little Qilin's four hooves were firmly fixed on the smooth fur on the back, and it looked around timidly and fearfully - it seemed to be on the back of a musk deer.
Little Phoenix and Little Bai Ze were nowhere to be seen, and Little Qilin was a little panicked: "Where are you taking me? What are you going to do with my friends?"
"Don't be so scared of me." The musk deer's voice was rough and powerful. "You are just enough to fill the gaps between your teeth. I am too lazy to eat."
It said it lightly, but Qilin was frightened and trembled, with tears in its round eyes.
"If you shed tears on my back, I will throw you off." The musk deer's voice was filled with a hint of laughter. "If I throw you off, you won't be able to go to the grass and tree gathering."
Little Qilin: “…Ah?”
While asking this question, it wisely held back its tears.
The musk deer carried it on its back and walked forward slowly. Golden spots of light floated over from the direction of Jianmu and surrounded them. The golden spots turned into thin threads, interweaving to form the ground beneath their feet.
The musk deer walked onto the golden ground. The unicorn opened its eyes wide and took a startled glance through the gaps between the golden threads. It seemed to see many beautiful black flowers.
"Go get the other two cubs." The musk deer's voice sounded vague at this time, "...gather you together to make soup."
Taking advantage of the fact that it was on the back of the musk deer, the Qilin quietly rolled its eyes. It now knew that the alien beasts and plants that came to participate in the plant and tree gathering all liked to tease! Play! With! The cubs!
Kirin was not afraid at all now. He lay down directly on the back of the musk deer and even discussed with the musk deer with some interest: "My scales are very thick. They are not good for stewing. They are more suitable for frying or grilling~"
The musk deer almost laughed at the cub on its back.
"Since you are so enthusiastic," it said, "it's not impossible to try something else."
So all the way into the Plant Gathering, the two of them were discussing the crazy topic of "How to cook Qilin to make it delicious?"
When the ground made of golden lines came to an end, Qilin felt his eyes brighten. He saw an endless purple wooden platform. All the objects on the platform were entangled with green vines, with black flowers blooming one after another, and rare yellow fruits could be vaguely seen among the flowers.
"Wow!" It made the same ignorant sound as the little phoenix.
"We're here, get off my back." The musk deer couldn't help laughing. "Your friends are all here, but whether you can find them or not depends on your ability."
Qilin jumped off the musk deer's back, thanked it, and walked around curiously. Before it had taken a few steps, it found itself free again, so it picked it up with both hands.
Qilin: “……?”
It hung its little tail, and the whole Qilin seemed a little nervous, until it saw the face of the person holding it - it was Shou Mu.
Qilin: “!!!”
Its four little hooves turned into hot wheels: "Ahhhhhhhh Shoumu, you've already figured out we were following you, right? Hand the gentleman over to me!!!"
…
"Don't worry about the cubs that come in after you and Shoumu." The beautiful woman with long golden hair handed Yuchuan a glass of fruit wine. Her fingertips brushed over the black flowers beside her, and the flowers spit out several scenes. "Look, everything is fine."
The Qilin was trying to kick the giggling Shoumu with its hoof, the little phoenix was dazzled by the elegant Sanzhu tree and the warm and jade-like Langshu tree, and only the little Bai Ze was still alert and ran up and down the huge Jianmu, but unfortunately he still got lost, with a look of confusion on his face.
"This is the safest place in the world." Seeing Yuchuan's worried expression, the androgynous beauty stuffed the wine into his hands. "Don't stare at them so closely. If you're still worried and want to bring them to your side, just talk to Jianmu directly."
Fuso thought she had explained it very clearly, but for some reason, the transformed plant next to her still had a slight confusion in its eyes, as if it didn't understand.
Fusang blinked, her long golden hair flowing down from her shoulders like the brightest sunlight in midsummer. "Yuchuan, you don't... know how to communicate with Jianmu, do you?"
When she asked this incredible question, she herself found it a little funny. Even if it was a new tree species born between heaven and earth, it would know how to communicate with Jianmu. Communicating with Jianmu is just like a foreign plant taking root in the land. It is something that happens naturally and something that it naturally understands.
But what she never expected was that the young man next to her nodded hesitantly.
Fuso: “……?”
Fuso's head is full of question marks.
The friendly and gentle expression on her face froze, replaced by obvious worry - this situation was absolutely abnormal, and she was very worried that the plant in front of her had some rare disease.
Fusang could no longer sit still. She gathered spiritual power in her palms and poured it into her naturally formed purple wooden wall. The green vines climbing on the wall trembled, and the black flowers closed one by one.
建木之上極少有這樣的異動，扶桑附近的幾株草木感應到，匆匆趕來了此地，正巧看見那閉合了半牆的花朵———只有确認他們自己處理不了的緊急情況，才會這樣溝通建木。
“是出什麽事了嗎扶桑？”第一個趕到的龍血樹懷裏還抱着兩個石頭做的盆，“你是不是哪裏不舒服？”
扶桑已經是一顆成熟期的樹了，但離歸靜期還有近千年的時光，理論上來說，現在正是她最身強體壯的時候。
“不是我。”扶桑搖了搖頭，“是玉川。”
壽木不愧自己交友廣闊的名號，在剛踏入建木的感應範圍時，就請了幾個好友去接跟蹤他們的三只幼崽，他則将玉川帶到了現在的位置，讓穩重又靠譜的扶桑給玉川介紹草木集會的情況———壽木雖然次次不落，但論對集會的了解 ，他不及扶桑。
同類草木只會有一株開了靈智成為異植，其他都是普通植物，新草木的出現，讓其他異植也很好奇，但壽木早已私下傳音過他們，說他的新友人性子腼腆，讓他們不要一擁而上吓到了樹，大家這才克制地散開———草木生命漫長，一次又一次的集會中，大家遲早會熟悉起來的。
“是玉川有不适？”龍血樹的眉頭擰起來，看着有些兇，“不适的時候沒有和建木溝通？”
被他注視着的青年搖了搖頭：“我沒有不适，我只是不會溝通建木。”
“這比不适聽起來還令樹擔心。”龍血樹捏了捏自己的眉心，“你度過化形期多久了？”
龍血樹看到玉川沉默了片刻，然後輕聲回答：“我的記憶似乎有缺失，不記得了。”
扶桑和龍血樹對上視線，都從對方眼裏看到了凝重———問題比他們想象中的更大！
“幫我看一會兒這兩棵幼苗！”龍血樹将石頭做成的盆塞到玉川懷裏，“我去找其他樹！”
他的身影一溜煙地消失在了這方小平臺，因為跑的太過利索，身後的扶桑忍不住撫額，龍血樹太着急了，竟然都忘了只要在建木的範圍內，他們都能無視距離互相傳音。
扶桑利用另一邊牆上的木藤，溝通其他在建木範圍內的異植，還順手從玉川手裏抱走一個石頭盆給他減輕負擔。
意識到他們的舉動讓這棵看起來極年輕的樹有些不安，扶桑抱走盆後便轉移話題：“要不猜猜龍血樹懷裏的這兩個盆中種的是什麽幼苗？”
那兩個比腦袋還大三圈的盆裏裝着肥沃的土壤，兩盆土壤的正中間，都只有像頭發絲那麽細的綠意，草木之間确實有所感應，但這明顯剛發芽，處在生靈初期的植物，認起來難度也不低。
玉川注視着自己懷裏的石頭盆中間的綠意，小心翼翼地将意識探出去構成連接，一片空白的記憶中，湧上來了一股莫名其妙的熟悉感，他下意識地脫口而出———
“帝休樹？”
“猜的挺準，看樣子失憶的情況不嚴重。”扶桑驚喜的同時又松了口氣，“那我手裏這盆呢？”
同樣的熟悉感浮現在腦海裏：“帝屋樹？”
“是啊，龍血樹養了好久才發芽。”扶桑像是想到了什麽，笑着調侃，“你和龍血樹一個養幼苗，一個養幼崽，肯定很有共同語言。”
玉川看着那幾乎看不見的綠意，調整了自己抱盆的姿勢：“它們什麽時候能到化形期？”
“這可說不準，中間的變故太多了。”扶桑笑道，“不過大家都有很努力的在養這兩株幼苗，也許等我們重新成為幼苗的時候，就歸他們養我們了。”
龍血樹還沒有回來，若木倒是先來了，随之而來的還有他肩膀上金燦燦的金烏，因為金烏是由扶桑和若木共同養育的異獸，當扶桑出現負面情緒時，金烏便感應到了，它幾乎是扯着若木的長發，拍着翅膀拼命飛過來的。
扶桑将金烏抱在懷裏安撫，從金烏喙裏搶出自己頭發的若木正在龇牙咧嘴地揉腦袋，明顯痛得不輕。
從平臺往下看，能看到很多草木都在向這個方向趕，只可惜來遲一步———之前建木上閉合的黑色花朵同一瞬綻放，金色的光點纏繞在這個小平臺，它們拉長為絲織成網，構成了無法被注視的空間。
扶桑使用靈力的時候便溝通建木，與祂講述了玉川的情況，現下特殊空間構成，她總算放下心來。
玉川注視着這方特殊空間，那種隐隐的熟悉感又浮上心頭，金色的網———他好像在什麽地方見過。
……錯覺嗎？
一片空白的腦海開始作痛，帶着一種幾乎要将頭顱貫穿的痛楚，在疼痛之中，他感覺有什麽撫過他的面頰，溫柔的、輕輕的、像在愛撫一件無價的珍寶。
［不要想，不要深究。］
痛苦慢慢減淡，繼而消失無蹤。
“您是建木嗎？”他問。
玉川聽到建木的回答，祂說［是］。
比起他的拘謹，扶桑與若木就要自然多了，在建木構築出的特殊空間裏，他們自然而然流露出了信賴的姿态，扶桑用極有條理又極快的語速講明了她的憂慮。
［玉川是新的樹種，茶樹。］
有股輕柔的力道摸了摸玉川的發頂，帶着溫和的氣息，碎裂的意識在這一瞬都愈合了不少。
［他的天賦特殊，才會出現記憶缺損的情況。］
“根據玉川的氣息，他化形的時間應該不會超過十年。”若木揉着自己的頭發，憂慮道，“他天賦覺醒的時間太早了。”
草木一般化形穩定後才會有覺醒天賦的跡象，而這個穩定，大約是百年。
［玉川特殊，他的天賦與未來，聯系千絲萬縷。］若木好像被無形的力量拍了拍腦袋，［不用擔心，有我。］
無形的力量也給扶桑攏了攏金色的發絲，順便将她懷裏快被勒扁的金烏拎上她肩頭：［玉川樹齡不足百載，集會上多照應他。］
不足百載。
這四個字嵌入到扶桑的腦仁中，她第一的反應就是好稚嫩的小樹。
金線形成的網盛大起來，散出璀璨的光芒，扶桑和若木的身影消失在光芒中，玉川環視四周：“您有什麽要單獨交代我嗎？”
［順其自然，勿懷憂慮。］
無形的力量捏了捏他的臉頰，像是溫和寬和的長輩突然生出了童心，有一小團光點飄到了玉川眉心，融入到了他的意識中。
玉川擡起手，他的掌心出現青綠色的柔韌藤蔓，與建木枝葉上所纏繞的木藤顏色如出一轍，如果說他之前召出來的綠藤只有簡單的作用，現在綠藤就像他的本體一樣如臂指使。
［它與你的天賦聯結。］
所以現在、過去、未來，它永恒存在。
玉川周圍璀璨的金色慢慢淡去，扶桑與若木的身影若隐若現。
［見面禮，願喜歡。］
金色絲網回縮成光點，四散着在枝葉間盤旋，建木将他們隔開，好像兩方都單獨交代了些什麽，扶桑與若木誰都沒有問，只是扶桑上前，迅速拿走了之前強塞給玉川的果釀。
“你太小了，不能喝這個。”扶桑金色的長發拂過他手背，轉眼便給他塞了個果子，“這個也好吃。”
也不知道建木究竟交代了什麽內容，他們兩個看玉川的眼神，和看幼苗沒有太大區別。
建木構建的空間散去，其他草木便簇擁上來，草木集天地之靈萃，放眼望去沒有長得平平無奇的，美目流轉，各有風情。
三珠樹懷裏抱着已經大變模樣的小鳳凰，小鳳凰的羽毛間綴滿了珍珠寶石，看起來雍容華貴，琅樹在一旁，不住地投喂顏色各異的美味果實，小麒麟被壽木夾在胳膊下，滿臉生無可戀，白澤蹲在蒙木肩上竊竊私語……這方小小的平臺，一時間熱鬧無邊。
“問題已經解決啦！”扶桑出手攔了攔，“你們不要吓到玉川。”
她用傳音和其他草木簡短地解釋了一番，建木一出手，其他草木都放下心來。
“茶樹，确實是從沒聽過的新樹種。”龍血樹抱回了他兩個石頭盆，像寶貝似的護在面前，“現在草木集會裏，玉川是最小的那個了。”
他說完後又極快地補充：“我懷裏這兩棵幼苗不算。”
草木由于年歲漫長，大多脾性溫和，擅長照顧他人情緒，即使是東一句西一句的閑扯，也不會讓新來的草木感到不适，和他們聊着天，情緒還有些緊繃的玉川，自己都沒發現自己展露了笑顏———飄飄忽忽不安定的那顆心，終于在此時有了沉下來的感覺。
閑适的時光總是過得快，天邊出現晚霞的時候，三只幼崽已經重新挂在了他身上，和新的異植長輩們玩夠了，他們還是更喜歡粘着自己的先生。
“集會要結束了嗎？”玉川笑着問，璀璨的晚霞倒映在他的眼眸中，蒙上了一層柔和的橙金。
"Finally you're happy." Shouki put his arm carelessly on Yuchuan's shoulders. "When I saw you before, I always felt that there was a heavy emotion in your eyes."
Brushing away that gentle and light smile, Shoumu vaguely saw a kind of vague pain that he had nowhere to vent to. The illusory thing weighed heavily on his soul, tormenting it inch by inch.
"No." Yuchuan frowned, "It's not as exaggerated as you say."
The trees, which seemed to be separated from the rest of the world by a layer of space, finally had a real sense of the world. This change was so subtle that it was difficult to ignore. Other plants and trees stood beside them, basking in the sunset, and everyone was smiling, with a tacit understanding.
Jianmu blocks out the sun, a tree as big as a city, black flowers bloom in the sunset, bringing a rich and intoxicating fragrance, golden spots of light circling upward from the bottom of Jianmu, bringing crisp echoes, bright golden spots of light passing through the branches and leaves, like a grand performance, some monsters participating in this gathering jump lightly onto the particularly large black flowers, humming ancient ballads on the petals and dancing casually.
The sun sets and the moon rises, the years are peaceful.
The wind carried golden spots of light around Yuchuan. An invisible but perceptible force protected him. In the shadows between the branches and leaves of Jianmu, a cub covered with green scales looked up blankly. In its claws, it held a green grass, which was given to it by the branches and leaves of the trees passing by during the day.
Eat the grass and forget your worries.
It took a light bite and felt inexplicably happy, yet still felt a lingering sadness.
It raised its head and glanced at the noisy Jianmu branch again. Two or three sparse golden spots were pouring down and circling around it. It put down the reed it had taken a bite of, jumped a few times, and disappeared on the Jianmu.
It's lively and nice there, but it has nothing to do with it.