The tree trunk lying across the crevice swayed, and Lang Junxian cautiously stopped, not daring to move too much.
From the crown of the large tree that had been quietly spanning the crevice, a thin vine suddenly stretched out, trembling as it wrapped around Lang Junxian’s waist.
The vine tightly coiled around his waist several times, then slowly lifted him up.
Lang Junxian let go of the tree trunk, nervously gripping the vine at his waist, tensing up and not daring to move.
Inside his clothes, White Fur felt a familiar aura. It poked its head out of the collar, curiously looking around.
At this moment, the vine just placed the person on the ground.
White Fur bravely jumped out, saw the familiar vine, and affectionately nuzzled it.
“Squawk!~”
The vine around Lang Junxian’s waist gently loosened.
Its tip lingered, rubbing against White Fur before weakly retracting.
White Fur chirped anxiously, biting onto the vine tip with its tiny mouth, and was dragged two steps forward.
The vine shook a little, as if signaling him to let go.
White Fur’s eyes were determined, stubbornly clamping down on the vine without letting go.
Lang Junxian looked at the tree hanging over the crevice, about to fall at any moment, then at the thin vine in White Fur’s mouth.
He stepped up to help White Fur hold onto the vine that was trying to retreat.
White Fur gave Lang Junxian an approving look, his small black eyes filled with worry.
Where is Mother?
The vine is about to fall…
Just as White Fur was getting anxious, Su Yao finally arrived.
The earthquake had startled her awake from cultivation.
Thinking of the two little ones at home, she hurried back.
When she returned, the house was still well protected by the barrier, but there was no sign of the two little ones.
Only then did Su Yao start looking in the places White Fur usually played.
From afar, she saw Lang Junxian holding tightly onto a vine, being dragged little by little forward.
With a wave of her hand, Su Yao moved Lang Junxian and White Fur together to a safe spot.
Then she flicked her sleeve, lifting the large tree that lay across the crevice.
The tremors had already stopped.
The tree was gently placed back on flat ground.
The once towering ancient tree now looked pitiful.
Large swaths of lush branches were broken off, its deep roots pulled from the ground, lying crooked on the earth.
The ancient vine clinging to the tree was naturally not much better.
The main vine was torn into several segments, raggedly hanging on the branches.
This last remaining vine was already very weak.
White Fur timidly ran over to nuzzle the vine, softly chirping, eyes glistening with tears.
The vine moved slightly, rummaged around in the tree canopy for a while, then shakily produced a small bundle and handed it to White Fur.
— It was exactly the little bundle White Fur had originally brought, filled with trinkets it had collected and treasured here.
White Fur immediately became even sadder.
It tossed the bundle aside and tightly hugged the frail vine with both wings, refusing to let go.
Su Yao had to exert quite a bit of effort to finally pull him off.
The ancient vine was broken into several sections, its root system destroyed.
It was unknown how many years it would take to reestablish and recover, if it could even keep its meager sentience with so much life force lost.
Su Yao weighed it in her mind, said softly, “Forgive me,” then swiftly cut off the small section of vine that carried the ancient vine’s consciousness.
White Fur hadn’t even finished letting out a hiccup before it was scared back down.
Its little black eyes brimmed with tears, sniffling as it looked at Su Yao, pitiful beyond words.
Su Yao rubbed her temples, looked at Lang Junxian and jerked her chin, “Xiao Hei, hold onto Fur.”
She picked up the bundle on the ground, pulled out a hairpin from her hair — and tossed it.
The bronze hairpin rapidly enlarged.
Su Yao gathered them onto it, shielding them behind her, then rode the hairpin flying home.
Home was also a mess.
The house hadn’t collapsed, but the quake was so strong that all the furniture and belongings were displaced, stacked crookedly together.
Looking at White Fur hugging the vine, crying, then at Lang Junxian holding him awkwardly, Su Yao pressed her temples.
From her sleeve she took out an object, gave a soft command, “Go.”
That object grew little by little in midair, finally landing in the open space, transforming into an ancient-style residence.
Lang Junxian’s eyes widened in shock.
Su Yao patted his stunned shoulder.
“What are you standing there for? Get inside quickly.”
Lang Junxian’s face was expressionless as he held White Fur, dazedly following inside.
The interior of the residence was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
From the outside, it seemed about the same size as the house they lived in, but upon entering, he realized the inside space was far beyond that.
Following Su Yao to the main hall, it wasn’t long before maids dressed in ancient-style gowns came in with tea.
Lang Junxian curiously watched as a maid poured tea for him, feeling something faintly off.
Unconsciously, he stared intently at the maid beside him.
“Do you feel something’s different?”
Lang Junxian nodded at her words, frowning as he continued to scrutinize the maid, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Su Yao took a sip of tea.
“These are all puppets.”
Lang Junxian’s eyes widened.
A flash of understanding came to him—he realized what was wrong: the maids’ eyes were dull, lacking the spark of living beings.
He cast a respectful look at the exquisitely crafted puppets.
Without Su Yao needing to explain further, he understood that such a residence and these lifelike puppets were not something ordinary people could possess.
At least, in the Lang family, he had never seen anything like it.
While they were speaking, White Fur hopped onto the table carrying a small section of the vine, carefully placing it into a cup of water.
Its little black bean eyes looked expectantly at the vine, hoping it would start moving again.
But the vine, stuck upside down in the teacup, remained motionless.
White Fur’s eyes drooped in disappointment.
It sat on the table looking crestfallen and deflated.
Su Yao reached over, took the vine out of the teacup, and patted White Fur on the head.
“If you soak it like this, even if it’s alive, it’ll be soaked to death. Come with me.”
Saying that, she took the vine and walked off.
White Fur perked up, shook out its feathers, jumped down from the table, and tugged Lang Junxian along to follow.
In the alchemy room
Su Yao set the vine aside, rummaged through the shelves full of various items for a while, then pulled out a pale blue porcelain bottle with a long neck.
She unscrewed the cap, sniffed it to confirm it was the right one, then grabbed a large-bellied bottle and carefully dripped in a drop of milky white liquid.
The liquid was thick, a round drop wobbled out, slowly falling into the big-bellied bottle.
Su Yao picked up a water jug nearby, shook it, and poured in about half a bottle of water.
Only then did she carefully place the last surviving section of the vine into it.
White Fur stared unblinking at the submerged vine.
After a moment, the vine inside the bottle faintly twitched.
White Fur joyfully fluffed out its wings, craning its neck to look closer.
Sensing a familiar aura, the vine leaned over and affectionately rubbed against him.
White Fur’s anxious little heart finally settled.
The black bean eyes that had been sternly watching relaxed into soft, happy slits, making him look like a cuddly little ball again.
The vine was badly injured.
Even though Su Yao had brought back its most vital core and was nourishing it with thousand-year stone milk, it would still take a very long time to fully recover.
After briefly waking, the vine soon quieted down again, falling into a deep sleep to begin self-repair.
That night
Once the vine was settled, night had already fallen.
After such a frightful day and a bout of crying, White Fur quickly started nodding off.
Walking behind, its little head bobbed up and down, black bean eyes squinting into thin lines.
The rooms were already tidied.
Su Yao sent Lang Junxian and White Fur to their room.
Seeing them settled, she finally felt at ease and went off to rest.
They had been out and about all day, both covered in dust.
Lang Junxian, being originally black-furred, didn’t look much different after patting himself off.
But poor White Fur, with his tender yellow little body, had rolled around on the ground several times and turned a dirty gray.
Earlier he hadn’t noticed because his mind was occupied, but now that he relaxed, White Fur looked at his filthy feathers and became thoroughly dejected, even the little tuft on his head seemed to droop.
Lang Junxian chuckled softly, holding him and walking toward the bath in the back.
“Let’s take a bath first before going to sleep.”
“Squawk!”
White Fur flapped his little wings in agreement, nestling obediently in Lang Junxian’s arms to be carried off for a wash.
In the bath
The bath was in a side room behind the bedroom.
The puppet maids had already prepared a steaming hot bath.
The large tub, big enough for two adults, was filled with warm vapor.
White Fur’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the tub.
He chirped excitedly, flapped his wings, urging Lang Junxian to put him in.
Understanding, Lang Junxian placed him in the tub.
The moment White Fur touched the water, he burst into happy play, diving under with a splash.
Tiny claws paddled rapidly, diving to the bottom then shooting back up, having the time of his life.
Lang Junxian took off his clothes, furry black ears shyly flattening against his head as he covered certain places and then stepped into the tub.
The warm water massaged his tense body, making Lang Junxian let out a content sigh.
They changed the water twice before finally getting all the dust out of their fur, soaking until fully satisfied.
Wrapped in cozy warmth, Lang Junxian held the fluffy White Fur, and the two drifted off to sleep together.
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