He lifted his tender, rosy face, his emerald eyes full of certainty. His small hands were clasped nervously, the thin wings behind him trembling slightly, his voice faltering.
"I... I think she's not a bad person! Not only is Mother-Adult approving, but we attacked her just now, and she didn't hurt us. Instead... instead, she apologized to us. I think bad people wouldn't..."
Before he could finish, he glanced at Jin Bao'er and, noticing her gaze on him, quickly lowered his small head, his cheeks already completely red, feeling utterly shy and nervous!
She was looking at him! So tense!
Jin Bao'er was slightly surprised. The little boy was the same shy yet fierce little sprite who had retaliated verbally when Lina was fighting her earlier, hiding behind her!
Lina's face was also full of astonishment. She never expected that he, usually shy and introverted, would put aside his reservations for a human woman. As expected, this woman had some issue!
The Elf King glanced at the little boy, a faint glimmer in his eyes... Dunyi, the last elf born from the Elf Tree after the loss of that little girl! This human woman was surprisingly likable to their young elves...
"Alright... I agree!"
With that, the Elf King took the lead, and Jin Bao'er followed without hesitation. She suddenly turned to look at the shy little boy and smiled kindly.
"Thank you!"
After saying that, she strode forward, not noticing the little boy's body instantly stiffen, his face flush red, and him covering his face with his hands as he squatted down. The thin wings behind him enveloped him, as if he had reached the peak of shyness.
Not long after, the Elf King led her to the edge of a lake, looking with complex eyes at the towering tree in the center of the lake. Countless withered branches lay quietly in the lake, and the seemingly wilted tree looked extremely listless.
"Look... it's crying!"
Jin Bao'er looked up in confusion. On the trunk of the tree, a leaf quietly fell. The moment it touched the lake water, it vanished. It truly had a desolate feeling of weeping.
"Go over! It's waiting for its child!"
At this moment, all the elves appeared around the lake, their eyes full of sorrow as they looked at the great tree and a figure that had suddenly flown towards the Elf Tree.
Jin Bao'er circulated her spiritual energy, her body flying straight towards the Elf Tree. The little girl in her arms slept ever more comfortably... Then she stopped, using her spiritual energy to support her weight, appearing to walk on the lake! She wanted to land on the tree, but with so many watchful and guarded eyes on her, she feared she would be hated to death the moment she stepped on the Elf Tree!
Perhaps sensing someone's approach, the branches slowly moved. When Jin Bao'er got close, they gently took the little girl from her arms.
This time, the little girl only whimpered restlessly, turned over, and continued to sleep! At the same time, she let go of Jin Bao'er.
The Elf Tree seemed very happy, its branches swaying slightly, and new sprouts could be faintly seen growing. A fresh and clean aura emanated from the tree, carrying abundant spiritual energy, as if a gentle breeze was bringing the source of life to the world.
All the elves, feeling that aura, broke into smiles and fluttered their thin wings, happily dancing in the air! The scene was incredibly beautiful.
Although Jin Bao'er couldn't feel that so-called life-giving breath, she had to believe what the Elf King had said. Thinking this, she sighed, considering it her sending the baby home.
As she thought this, she suddenly noticed something, her pupils dilating! Her eyes were fixed on the jumbled branches in the lake. Although they varied in size, overall...
This wasn't the aura of Zhuluyuan? It was somewhat similar to the Elf Tree, but having been separated from the trunk for so long, it had lost its exact resemblance! The core of the top-tier defensive formation, now piled in the lake like firewood, and in such large quantities!
It wasn't that she was surprised. The defensive formations created by Zhuluyuan in the past had helped her a lot and could withstand attacks from the Nascent Soul stage! It was truly a treasure. In the cultivation world of her past life, many people had fought fiercely for it after learning its function!
However, to the elves, who knew nothing about formations, they were just redundant scrap! How could she not be shocked!
"What's wrong?"
A questioning voice came from behind. The Elf King's tall figure instantly appeared beside her. Perhaps due to his innate ability to sense emotions, he quickly detected Jin Bao'er's abnormality.
He immediately followed Jin Bao'er's gaze to the lake beneath the Elf Tree, the piles of branches...
Jin Bao'er regained her composure, her expression quickly returning to normal. Clearing her throat, she suppressed her thoughts and said calmly.
"Why are there so many branches? It seems the Elf Tree has cried quite a bit these past few years."
She remembered Long Li Xing saying that Zhuluyuan was a branch of the Elf Tree! He had seemed quite disdainful at the time. Now, it was no wonder.
"Heh! It's all because of those arrogant peacocks!"
Flower birds, peacocks... Could he be referring to the Phoenix clan? The baby clearly got along with Jin Huang like sisters, yet their clans had such a history...
Suddenly, the Elf Tree's branches began to sway in a flustered manner, like a new mother fumbling about! The little girl on the tree seemed to be sleeping more and more restlessly, especially when she touched the hard trunk. She frowned and slowly opened her eyes.
Her action of sitting up instantly frightened all the elves. They looked terrified, afraid she would continue crying! The Elf King's expression changed, and he quickly covered his ears and retreated!
At the same time, the little girl sat up from the center of the trunk. Her dazed gaze swept around. Because Jin Bao'er was at the bottom of the tree, she didn't see the familiar figure. Her lower lip pouted, her eyebrows curved, and tears instantly filled her eyes, a slight sob escaping her throat.
She was about to wail loudly! Jin Bao'er quickly flew up the tree and immediately hugged the little girl, looking quite helpless.
"I said you could cry if you wanted to, but you can't just cry all the time, can you?"
The familiar voice sounded. The little girl looked up, her eyes brightened. She sniffled, and instantly the tears in her eyes disappeared, and she smiled carefree.
"Hehe! Big sister doesn't want me, so I'll cry, I'll cry!"
Her mischievous look instantly made Jin Bao'er react with a mixture of amusement and exasperation! So her previous demeanor was all an act! Her tears could be summoned and retracted at will! Her emotional expression was perfectly timed! She was truly an acting prodigy!
Afterward, Jin Bao'er explained the situation roughly to her, especially since this little girl now particularly disliked the Elf King! She completely didn't believe anything he said.
The baby listened very attentively. Although she didn't understand some of the words, she got the general idea!