A deer-woman brought it
It was the same old woman from last time; she always seemed to have a cheerful and happy look whenever I saw her.
"Grandma Yuling, what's wrong?" Baozhu bowed and asked with a smile.
“The King says he needs to speak with the two young ladies. Please come with me quickly,” Granny Yu Ling said, leading the way. “The King seems quite happy; it might be something very good.”
Shen Qiexing and Baozhu exchanged a glance, seeing the same question in each other's eyes.
What good things could Su Hanyuan possibly have to offer them?
Perhaps they've invaded another tribe and are here to show off.
If that's the case, he'd pull out his tongue first.
"Hahahaha! My beloved concubines have finally arrived," Su Hanyuan hurriedly stepped down from the throne and helped the two up. "There's no need for such formalities."
"I wonder why the King summoned my sister and me here?" Baozhu took Shen Qiexing's arm and pouted slightly. "We were embroidering and chatting, and the King ruined our mood. He should be punished!"
"It doesn't look like acting at all," Shen Qiexing exclaimed.
"Punish, punish," Su Hanyuan clapped his hands, and immediately two maids came up to the three of them with trays in their hands and bowed their heads. "If you're going to punish someone, wait until your two beloved consorts have seen this wonderful gift. You'll definitely like it!"
On the tray lay a black box containing two pearls, each about half the size of a palm, gleaming with a strong bluish-pink light that illuminated the black palace as if it were daytime. To the naked eye, not a single flaw could be seen.
“A-Zhu, these were just presented as tribute by your father this morning,” Su Hanyuan said with deep affection. “He knows that you and Baozhu are close, so he specially presented two of them, saying that one for you and one for Baozhu. You can take them and tell the servants what kind of jewelry you like, and they will make it for you.”
Qiu Yu was quite perceptive; with a subtle movement, she raised one eyebrow and said softly with Baozhu, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
When he last saw Qiu Yaozhu, that little girl, her hair was simple, with only a pair of jade hairpins. So he would have his servants set the pearls into one of the hairpins, and then he would personally give it to Qiu Yu when he had time.
After all, he only managed to infiltrate the Jiao Palace by taking advantage of Qiu Yu's opportunity, so he should make a statement both morally and logically.
Wait, a hair ornament?
His pupils suddenly contracted, his heart began to pound violently, as if it wanted to burst out of his chest, and with a slight tremor in his hand, he flipped his wrist, and a pair of green hairpins immediately appeared in his palm.
This was something I hadn't had a chance to return to the Little Deer Fairy during the celebration ceremony...
He thought of something else, and this time he held in his palm a section of dark brown, slightly wavy long hair, which still shone with a sheen.
This was the only thing that still connected him to the deer. He gave a bitter smile, clutching the hairpin and his long hair tightly to his heart.
—
"go!"
The tiny leaves, imbued with a profound spiritual energy, spun rapidly in a graceful parabola, cutting through the air with a rustling sound, and embedded themselves deeply into tree stumps dozens of meters away.
The girl in the green dress lightly touched the branch with her toes, concealed her aura, and couldn't help but smile with joy.
Previously, she was unable to master the magical power from the Sun-Golden Core of the Forest King, but in the past few days she has practiced even more diligently and has finally made some progress.
Her internal magical power was still somewhat turbulent, so she simply sat down cross-legged on the tree and tried to regulate her breathing.
Judging from the current trend, she will be able to cultivate to the near-god level before the war arrives.
She hasn't learned anything else these days, but she's become more and more proficient at the leaf-picking and flower-throwing technique. At first, she could only throw out one leaf, but now she can throw out eight leaves at the same time, and each one hits the target.
It seems she needs to pick a large bag of leaves and put them in her pocket before going to the battlefield.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lu Yixin finally opened her eyes. A flash of new green light quickly crossed the center of her pupils before returning to normal.
The lynx sent a challenge yesterday, which mainly set a time and place and included some irrelevant trash talk. They will be hunting at Yushan Pass on the fifth day of next month. Counting the days, she has about twenty days left.
The forest was quiet. Lu Yixin sat alone on a tree branch, resting her chin on her hand and lost in thought.
Once this battle is over and the remaining matters concerning the Sen tribe are settled, she will set off to seek out the gods.
She absolutely had to find out why her grandfather had slaughtered the dragon clan back then.
She could still vividly recall everything that happened during the celebration ceremony that day, even with her eyes closed. What a look that was! It was the first time she had ever seen someone's eyes filled with so much negative emotion.
She believed he wouldn't have done something so extreme unless he was truly desperate and had no other options.
But she also believed that her grandfather was not the kind of person who would wantonly kill living beings, and there must be some reason for this!
However, she doesn't know the reason for this yet.
"Xin Xin! You're here."
"Brother Shixu!"
Lu Yixin immediately looked down and said with a smile, "Brother Shixu, what brings you here?"
She leaped down from the tree and was caught steadily by Shi Xu.
"Do you remember what day it is today?" Shi Xu gently tapped her on the forehead and smiled. "Come back with me now."
Lu Yixin had indeed forgotten. She covered her forehead and asked in confusion, "Go back? Go back where?"
Since the King of Forest recovered from his illness, she moved out of the Canggu Temple and returned to her own little courtyard.
"Today is your birthday! Come with me to the Ancient Temple. Everyone is here, just waiting for you."
Yes!
She's been overwhelmed with so many things lately that she can't even keep track of the days, let alone remember her own birthday.
"Well," she winked mischievously and smiled at Shi Xu, "what gift have you prepared for me?"
“Of course,” Shi Xu transformed into a white lion, letting Lu Yixin ride on his back. “It’s not just me, everyone has prepared gifts for you.”
Sen Wang, Lang Ruo, Bai Tanxiang, Zhao Zhao, Li An, Lian Chu and others all sat around a huge round wooden table, which was filled with all kinds of congratulatory gifts.
"You've finally arrived!"
Zhao Zhao excitedly ran over, took Lu Yixin's hand, and quickly walked to her seat. "We've been waiting for you. Come and see our congratulatory gift."
White Sandalwood was the first to open a beautiful green box and said with a smile, "You girls all love to be pretty. This is the perfume balm I developed. If you apply a little of this every night before bed, your skin will become more and more delicate and your complexion will improve over time."
"Thank you, Lady Sandalwood."
Lu Yixin picked up the perfume balm with great delight and put it into her small handbag.
“Come see mine,” Shi Xu said, picking up the largest gift box, “so you won’t get itchy again.”
The gift box was almost half a person tall, and everyone stared at it curiously, wondering what was inside.
"Is this a bow?"
Lu Yixin was the first to laugh, "Brother Shixu, but I don't know how to use a bow and arrow."
"You can learn if you don't know how. I'll teach you."
Shi Xu's archery skills are indeed quite good; he was taught by Lian Chu himself, and Lian Chu's most proficient weapon is the bow and arrow.
"You're quite clever, kid," Lian Chu laughed after reading it, patting him on the shoulder. "I didn't even think of giving you a bow."
“This is no ordinary bow,” Shi Xu gestured for Lu Yixin to pick it up. “This bow does not come with any arrows. Instead, the user needs to use spiritual power to create arrows. The bow can only be drawn when it comes into contact with spiritual power. You can try it now.”
He stood behind Lu Yixin, holding her arm, and whispered gently in her ear, "Try to gather your spiritual power and put it on the string."
His voice was so loud that it tickled Lu Yixin's ear. She chuckled and scolded him, "It's all your fault for being so close to me. My hands are shaking from laughing."
She channeled her inner magic power, gathering it in her palm and slowly guiding it to the bowstring. Suddenly, a water-green sword shadow appeared. Lu Yixin exchanged a delighted glance with Shi Xu, "It worked, didn't it!"
“You’re quite talented,” Shi Xu said with a smile as he released her. “Starting tomorrow, you will spend one hour each day at the Canggu Temple, and I will teach you archery.”
"good!"
Seeing that she had finally put down the bow, Zhao Zhao immediately opened her gift box: "It's my turn, it's my turn."
“Xin Xin, you always make me snacks, so I wanted to make some for you too,” she said, taking out a food box and opening the lid to reveal six plump custard buns. “This is a batch I finally managed to make after several failed attempts. You have to try it.”
Lu Yixin picked one up, took a bite, and the sweet filling inside almost oozed out. She squinted her eyes happily, "Delicious!"
"This is the best custard bun I've ever eaten."
Lian Chu prepared a traditional Chinese ink painting for her, depicting a distant view of her small courtyard; Li An, on the other hand, presented a pair of beautiful white jade earrings...
The Ancient Temple was rarely this lively. Everyone was eating and laughing, and even playing drinking games.
But Lu Yixin suddenly lost her desire to have fun and suddenly thought of Shen Qiexing.
If Qiexing's brother were still alive, what kind of gift would he give her?
All traces of him in the house gradually faded, and she had forgotten many things about him.
A sudden, inexplicable sadness welled up inside her, but she couldn't quite describe this unfamiliar feeling.
Although she had concealed it well enough, the Forest King saw through it at a glance. He picked up his wine glass and lightly touched it to hers on the table. His aged voice rang out: "Child, what are you thinking about?"
"grandfather......"
Lu Yixin looked up at the Forest King. The words she had originally intended to say after the war ended came to her lips prematurely. She drank the sake in her cup in one gulp, mustered her courage, and said in a soft but firm voice, "After the war is won, I will leave the Forest Clan for a while. I want to go find Brother Qiexing."
She smiled at Sen Wang, "Grandpa, I know you can't say it, but you don't have to force yourself. I can do it myself. I think I will be able to find out the truth someday."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
