"I want to thank the princess alone." The girl's eyes flickered, as if many stars were twinkling.
Shen Ruoxi's heart skipped a beat. This was the familiar feeling she had, the Wanwan she was familiar with!
“Princess, why are you crying?” The girl reached out to wipe the tears from Shen Ruoxi’s face, “Did Awan scare the princess?”
Shen Ruoxi held the girl's hand in her palm. Perhaps because of years of martial arts practice, a thin layer of calluses had formed on her palm, which made Shen Ruoxi feel even more distressed.
"Miss Awan didn't scare me. I just felt sorry for her."
The girl pursed her lips, wanting to say something several times but stopping herself, but finally couldn't help herself and said, "Princess, can you call me Wanwan like before?"
After saying this, the girl seemed even more embarrassed: "I don't know why, but when I heard the princess call me Wanwan, I felt very warm, like I had the warmth of a mother."
Shen Ruoxi was stunned.
The girl became even more flustered upon seeing this, and frantically explained, "Princess, I didn't mean to say anything about you. I know I'm not worthy of being your daughter. Oh, I..."
"I understand what Wanwan means." Shen Ruoxi suddenly interrupted the girl and whispered.
"From now on, I'll call you Wanwan. If Wanwan likes, you can call me mother in private, okay?"
The girl looked ahead blankly, suspecting she had heard wrongly.
"Wanwan, are you willing to call me mother?" Shen Ruoxi asked again.
The girl's eyes flushed red instantly, and she reached out and hugged Shen Ruoxi back: "I do! That's great, Awan also has a mother, Awan finally has a mother!"
The mother and daughter chatted for a while before Shen Ruoxi found out.
Awan was an orphan without a father or mother. When she was three years old, the high priest found her in the ruins and raised her by his side ever since.
She was told since she was a child that she carried the hopes of the entire Baiyu village, so she had to restrain her temperament, practice her skills diligently, and strive to become the leader that the people thought she should be.
However, even though she tried very hard, she still failed to get Cheng Huang's recognition.
"I was so close to defeating Cheng Huang and forcing him to sign a contract with me, but at that moment, I heard a cry for help from the bottom of the mountain. I was distracted for a moment, and Cheng Huang took advantage of me, ultimately failing."
Having said that, Awan sighed regretfully.
Shen Ruoxi looked at the girl and tried to put forward her own ideas.
"Wanwan, have you ever thought about not being the leader of the White Feather Clan and being an ordinary person?"
Awan tilted her head and said, "But the priestess said that there is a teardrop-shaped birthmark on my arm. I am chosen by God. As long as I am alive, becoming the leader of the White Feather Tribe is a compulsory course in my life."
Shen Ruoxi held the girl's hand: "Wanwan, there is nothing that you must do. Your life should be decided by you, not by others."
"Have you ever thought carefully about whether you really want to be the leader of the White Feather Tribe? Do you know that if you become the leader of the White Feather Tribe, you may even sacrifice your life and fall into the cycle of suffering."
He may not even live past the age of eighteen...
Shen Ruoxi couldn't say this, but she felt a dull pain in her heart.
"Wanwan, can you go with mother? Mother will take you away from the Baiyu tribe, and from now on you can do whatever you want." Shen Ruoxi looked at Awan expectantly.
Awan also looked at Shen Ruoxi, as if she was seriously thinking about what Shen Ruoxi had just said.
After a long time, he finally spoke.
"I'm sorry, mother, I can't promise you."
"You asked me if I really wanted to be the leader of the White Feather Tribe. I think I do."
Shen Ruoxi was slightly surprised: "Why?"
"As long as the White Feather Clan is without a leader, they will become weaker. This land gave birth to me, and I cannot bear to watch the villagers suffer."
"If Awan's sacrifice can bring peace and tranquility to this land, Awan will do her best to save it!"
Shen Ruoxi looked at the girl's eyes with an unprecedented determination.
She originally thought that Awan was forced by the Baiyu people to become the leader, but now she realized that she had already had her own ideas and considerations.
"Mother, you will accompany Awan to defeat Chenghuang and witness Awan signing a contract with it, right?" The girl hugged Shen Ruoxi's arm, acting coquettishly and begging.
Shen Ruoxi softened her heart.
"Okay, since you have made up your mind, mother will respect your choice and accompany you to do what you want!"
So what if he became the leader? As long as it wasn't Wanwan who sealed the chaos, the cycle of cause and effect in these three lives could be resolved.
*
The next day, Shen Ruoxi came to visit Awan again.
After a day's rest, both of them were in better physical condition than the day before, so they went for a walk in the village together, announcing to others that they were undergoing "rehabilitation training."
The two were chatting when suddenly a black figure flashed by.
"Be careful Wanwan!" Shen Ruoxi called out.
However, it was too late. The black figure directly hit Awan, and both of them fell to the ground at the same time.
"Sorry." A low voice with a hint of childishness sounded.
The dark shadow turned out to be a young man wearing a black mask.
"It's him, chase him!" The voice of the White Feather Clan guard came from behind.
The young man hurriedly got up and continued to run away. However, he didn't run too far before he was shot in the calf by an arrow from the White Feather Clan and fell to the ground.
"Little mute, I've told you so many times, you can't run away. You'd better be obedient, maybe you can earn a future for yourself." The leader of the guards slapped the boy to the ground.
"Little mute? Did I hear it wrong?" Awan murmured softly.
“You heard it right.” Shen Ruoxi blinked at Awan.
The two of them tacitly agreed not to discuss the matter again.
After the boy was taken away by the guards, Awan stepped forward and asked the captain of the guards, "Sister Guard, what on earth is going on?"
The captain of the guards and Awan were also familiar with each other, so they told everything without any hesitation.
"Don't be fooled by his young age. He has a wicked heart and a dark hand. I don't know how he managed to get the drugs and knock down seven or eight of our guards, injuring two more, and then sneak out."
A Wan glanced at Shen Ruoxi and asked again: “Are these people prepared for tomorrow’s banquet?”
The chief guard nodded. "Yes, if time wasn't tight and I wasn't afraid of being too ruthless and ruining my reputation, I would definitely give him a good beating!"
A Wan pursed her lips and said, "He doesn't look very old and doesn't look like someone who has done anything bad. Since he doesn't want to go, why not let him go? This matter was originally consensual."
The head guard suddenly smiled: "Our Miss Awan has grown up and now she understands that it's a matter of mutual consent."
"But this guy is not as simple as you see!"
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