Chapter 190: The Prodigy Comes to Bless Us

Jifeng strode into the room, nodded at the adults as a greeting, and headed straight for Tuan Tuan.

Tuan Tuan stretched out her little hands, and Jifeng seized the chance to scoop her up, hefting her and saying, "Not bad, you're a lot heavier than last time in the Fiery Kingdom."

Tuan Tuan pouted, "Why are you doing the same thing! I'm not a little pig!"

Jifeng laughed heartily.

Xiao Er clasped his hands and said, "Brother Jifeng! Hope you are well!"

Jifeng looked him over from head to toe and said, "You've recovered quite well."

Tuan Tuan clung to his neck, "Uncle Xiao Er's injury healed long ago! Uncle Jifeng, why have you come?"

Jifeng, still holding her, grabbed a random chair and sat down, "Da Xia is spreading rumors everywhere, staging that so‑called Shen Tong nonsense ceremony."

"Honestly, I wasn't interested at first, but our Jifeng‑Tuan market has already been set up, and I was bored, so I thought maybe you'd show up; anyway, nothing to lose, so I came to take a look."

Xiao Ze clasped his hands to him, "Thank you, Brother Jifeng, for your repeated assistance today."

Jifeng shrugged, "Honestly, I keep my distance from your Fiery Kingdom and their Da Xia, but Tuan Tuan got along with me, matching my temperament."

"I, Xi Lu, am not afraid of Da Xia; if they dare make Tuan Tuan unhappy, I'll make them unhappy as well."

Tuan Tuan rubbed against his face, "Uncle Jifeng is so nice! Thank you, Uncle Jifeng. Ah! Your beard! It's so prickly!"

Jifeng laughed heartily.

Tuan Tuan pulled a wolf fang that Jifeng had given her from her collar, "See, I've been wearing it all along."

Jifeng looked down, pinched her little cheek, "So well‑behaved!"

Jifeng looked at Xiao Er, "Aren't you planning to leave yet?"

Xiao Er looked a bit stunned by the question and glanced at Xiao Ningchen.

Xiao Ningchen clasped his hands to Jifeng, "I am Prince Ning's second son, Xiao Ningchen. Thank you, Brother Jifeng, for your protective kindness toward my sister."

"We came this time because…" He recounted the whole chain of events.

"Therefore," he smiled, imitating Jifeng's earlier words, "this Shen Tong nonsense ceremony isn't over yet, so we can't leave for now."

Jifeng nodded, "I see. That Da Xia National Preceptor is quite old, always watching Tuan Tuan and you all—don't you find that odd?"

Xiao Ningxun replied, "It is said that Gongsun Zhi is his disciple; Tuan Tuan made him lose face at our Fiery Kingdom's rain‑praying ceremony, probably because of this."

Jifeng glanced at him, "Who are you?"

Tuan Tuan interjected, "He is my Third Brother!"

Jifeng looked at Prince Ning's second son, "Fine then, you and your brothers—Ning Prince's Mansion really does have talent."

Tuan Tuan proudly lifted her little chin, "Of course! All my brothers are the best!"

Xiao Ze asked, "What about me?"

Tuan Tuan, with a puzzled face, "You're certainly one too! You're my Third Elder Brother!"

Xiao Ze smiled with satisfaction.

Jifeng, unusually serious, said, "You have a National Preceptor; our grasslands also have a Great Shaman."

"Before I arrived, the Great Shaman prophesied, 'When the eagle sees the twin moons, a lucky star will fall into the dragon's nest.'"

Everyone exchanged glances, all bewildered.

Xiao Er asked, "Please, Brother Jifeng, enlighten us—what does it mean?"

Jifeng replied, "How would I know? Anyway, it's nothing to be polite about."

Xiao Ze looked at Tuan Tuan, "Tuan Tuan, do you understand?"

Tuan Tuan shook her head, "I don't understand."

Jifeng placed his hand in his mouth, gave a gentle blow, and the sound resembled an eagle's cry.

Footsteps sounded from outside; a hulking man dressed in Xi Lu's attire, his face covered with a tangled beard like Jifeng's, entered.

Jifeng nudged at Tuan Tuan in his arms, "That's her. From today until she leaves Da Xia, protect her for me."

The hulking man examined Tuan Tuan carefully, "Alright, I understand."

Xiao Ningchen couldn't hold back a mouthful of tea and spat it out.

It turned out to be a delicate, feminine voice!

Tuan Tuan froze, looking at Jifeng, "Uncle Jifeng, how should I address her? Uncle, or Auntie?"

Jifeng smiled proudly, "As for her, no one knows whether she's male or female, or how old she is. But still, how will you call her?"

The hulking man's voice suddenly turned into that of an old man, "Just call me Old Man Qing Qing."

Tuan Tuan was stunned, "Qing Qing, you're amazing!"

The hulking man smiled and stepped back out.

Tuan Tuan asked curiously, "Why did Qing Qing leave, not staying with me?"

Jifeng shook his head, "She won't be with you, but wherever you are, she'll be there."

Xiao Er stood up and saluted, "Thank you, Brother Jifeng!"

Jifeng waved his hand, "Da Xia people will certainly keep an eye on me, but they can't do anything to me. Tuan Tuan is different; she's become a thorn in Da Xia's side."

He set Tuan Tuan down, patted her little head, and pointed, "I live at the Yiguan just a short left turn from the exit; feel free to come find me when you have time."

Having said that, he took his leave.

Xiao Ningxun watched his back, "That Jifeng, comes and goes like the wind, truly like an eagle over the grasslands."

Two days later, at noon, the sun was just right.

Tuan Tuan ran around the Yiguan, counting the ants on the stone steps three times; finding nothing new, she went to tug at Xiao Er's hem.

"Uncle Xiao Er, let's go out for a walk, just at the doorway, okay?"

Xiao Er glanced at Xiao Ningchen, eyes pleading, "The little girl is so pitiful."

Xiao Ningchen thought for a moment; his sister had indeed been cooped up in this tiny Yiguan for days, "Alright, go, but don't wander far—just around here, and return quickly."

"Yes."

The two walked out of the Yiguan, and the bustling festive atmosphere hit them. Tuan Tuan happily hopped and skipped, browsing stall after stall without stopping.

Suddenly, a chorus of startled shouts rose from the street.

"Move aside! Everyone, make way for the young master!" A youth in splendid robes galloped on horseback, paying no heed to the panicking pedestrians.

The crowd instantly turned into chaos.

Amid the turmoil, a woman cradling a baby was jostled by the crowd, stumbling as she was about to fall to the ground.

"Watch out!"

Xiao Er rushed forward, extended his iron arm, grabbed the panicked woman, and spun, barely avoiding the horse's hooves that brushed past.

The horse‑riding youth did not even turn his head, and rode away.

"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!" The woman's face turned ashen, still shaken, and she was about to kneel while holding her child.

Xiao Er hurriedly helped her up: "No need."

Tuan Tuan ran over, rose onto tiptoes, gently touched the baby's face and said, "Little brother, don't cry, it's okay."

The baby, after being touched, gradually quieted its cries, but continued to sob intermittently, unable to stop.

Tuan Tuan tugged at Xiao Er's sleeve: "Uncle Xiao Er, the little brother seems frightened; shall we take them to see a doctor?"

Xiao Er nodded, asked the surrounding people for the location of a nearby Yiguan, and led the mother and child over.

The senior doctor, after taking the pulse, said, "It is indeed a fright, but no problem. Grind this medicine into powder, mix with water, and take it for a few days."

Xiao Er silently paid the consultation and medicine fees, and Tuan Tuan took out a few pieces of broken silver from her little Sachet and slipped them into the woman's hand: "Here you go."

The woman's eyes reddened, tears rolled down, and she thanked repeatedly.

The townsfolk inside and outside the Yiguan witnessed everything and praised it profusely.

"Isn't that the Immortal Envoy from the Fiery Nation? That black‑faced man who rescued the person also seems to be from the Fiery Nation."

"They're all kind‑hearted people!"

"It seems the Fiery Nation isn't all bad people either."

After leaving the Yiguan, Xiao Er led Tuan Tuan and was just about to return when a clamor suddenly arose from the far end of the long street.

"Shen Tong is here! Everyone, come quickly! Shen Tong has come to bless us!"