Chapter 164

Ling Yue could only answer like that, leaning against Jun Jun's soft fur, hearing the tiger say something so adorable, she immediately said: "Of course I like Jun Jun the most!"

"In the whole world, I like Jun Jun the most."

Jun Jun narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, making a gurgling sound, and proudly said: "Hmph, you're wise!"

Ling Yue laughed lightly, then suddenly tensed; she lifted her gaze, and the tiger that had just been proud quietly extended its thick, fluffy pure-white tail, flicked it, and precisely hooked her waist.

Ling Yue didn't know what to say; she pinched its ear tip, and in the blink of an eye, the thick paw pad slapped her wrist.

Jun Jun widened his round eyes, looking at her.

A night without dreams.

When she woke in the morning, Jun Jun had already disappeared; Ling Yue felt the bedding, warm, still retaining heat.

She lifted her hand; under the bright sunlight, the little tiger plush made from Jun Jun on the red string on her wrist swayed; the moment their eyes met, the little tiger blinked and curled its mouth into a cute arc.

Ling Yue: "Good morning."

Ling Yue heard its reply, sat up and got out of bed; the warm coziness from the blankets was completely blown away by the cold air when it met the snowy white landscape outside.

Ling Yue acted quickly; there wasn't much to pack anyway, but Qiao Qiao was a bit reluctant to leave, and Qiao's dad, hearing they were going up the mountain, was startled.

The night before, Ling Yue was summoned by him; upon meeting, the old man earnestly told her: "Miss, though I don't know what you're looking for, we must never engage in illegal or criminal acts!"

"Also, you must never go into those deep mountains and old forests; there are many raptors, brown bears, tigers, etc. —they're deadly."

Ling Yue nodded; as for the specifics of how to proceed…

In the snow-covered forest, the most numerous were cedars, birches, and red pines; the area was vast, and looking down, one could still see lush green conifers.

After Ling Yue had taken only a few steps, Jun Jun on her wrist could no longer hold back, pleading: "Yueyue, let me down; I can carry you up the mountain!"

Ling Yue was startled; she hadn't even thought of refusing him—riding the tiger up the mountain would surely be much better than her plodding alone—but she furrowed her brows slightly and glanced at Bai Ze beside her.

The big tiger Jun Jun let out a low growl, a bit proud: "There's not much space on my back either; I'm afraid it won't work. Yueyue, just let him follow behind us—he's a divine beast!"

That's a bit bullying.

Ling Yue hadn't forgotten; Bai Ze had said he'd lost all his magical power, and before she could say anything, he had already agreed.

So, when Ling Yue sat on the tiger's back, gripping Jun Jun's fluffy fur, Bai Ze followed behind all the way; Jun Jun seemed quite pleased, holding his head high, chest out, eyes gleaming.

Thus, Ling Yue on its back didn't notice as she glanced back; her clear pupils suddenly contracted, and the divine beast's luxuriant, handsome fur stood on end, its pair of green eyes refracting a glass-like sheen in the sunlight.

Ling Yue tightened her grip, having already withdrawn her gaze.

Half an hour later, Ling Yue looked up and saw a large pine tree by the path, its branches covered with a layer of snow; the strangest thing was its posture—for some reason, the trunk was slanted, making it a crooked-neck tree.

If I remember correctly, this is the third time I've seen this tree.

Ling Yue lifted her gaze; this time she also made an unexpected discovery—

On the pine's branches, two small squirrels clutching pine cones were perched at the hole, their fluffy big tails swaying, their big curious eyes watching them.

The dark-colored squirrel said: "How strange."

Its companion asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

The squirrel, holding a pine cone and nibbling nuts, said: "We've seen her several times already; this human is really strange, and there's a big tiger too."

The companion quickly grasped the point: "Wow, could it be that the humans are lost?"

Ling Yue couldn't help but lower her head, looking at Jun Jun: "How much longer to the secret place you mentioned?"

Jun Jun's movements stiffened; his palm-sized paws stepped into the snow, inexplicably feeling guilty: "Soon, soon."

Ling Yue tugged at the soft fur on its neck: "Really? I thought you were lost."

"If someone finds out you're lost and you still lead the way, I'll shave off your tail fur!"

She said that viciously; upon hearing it, Jun Jun's first reaction was: "Oh no!"

He didn't know why he suddenly couldn't find his secret base, even though it was right around here; he whined pitifully: "I, I think I really am lost."

Before Ling Yue could speak, he explained: "I didn't do it on purpose; I just suddenly couldn't find the way, even though I'd made markers."

Ling Yue was lost for words; she hadn't even said anything yet, and Jun Jun already began to plead pitifully.

But from behind, a man's light chuckle suddenly came: "Maybe too much time has passed, and he himself forgot."

Jun Jun trembled with anger; don't think he's stupid, he can tell this is just a roundabout way of calling him dumb—he can't even find his home.

To Yueyue he's cowardly, but to Bai Ze the big tiger barked: "Shut up, I'm talking to Yueyue!"

The man shrugged helplessly, his green eyes gazing at Ling Yue without expression; he said nothing, but the meaning was clear.

With Jun Jun on one side and Bai Ze on the other, Ling Yue shifted her tone: "Since we can't find it, let's first check other places."

She sensed the thousand paper cranes she had released earlier.

Ling Yue briefly mentioned the crying sounds of the past two nights; Jun Jun heard it and jumped in fright—he hadn't noticed at all, and Bai Ze furrowed his brows tighter, only then realizing something was off.

He pondered, his gaze wary, and only now did he belatedly realize that not only Jun Jun, but his own abilities were also restricted here; it seemed a seal blocking magical power had been placed.

Precisely because of that, the man curled his thin lips, meaning he had found the right place.

They temporarily changed course, following Ling Yue's lead, venturing deeper; the surrounding dense trees grew thicker and thicker, until finally the two could not encircle them with their arms.

Among them were many ancient trees, their branches intertwined, blocking out even sunlight.

"Wuu wuu~ wuu wuu~"

Better to come lucky than early.

Ling Yue suddenly thought of that phrase in her mind; the wailing matched exactly the crying she heard every night; Jun Jun also froze—there really was crying, and at the same time he finally sensed a trace of pure aura.

Ling Yue had long since dismounted from the tiger, and she lightly and swiftly headed toward where the thousand paper cranes were; after walking a while, behind a large tree she saw a small, chubby white foot.

Ling Yue saw at a glance that the thousand paper cranes folded from scrap newspaper were flying in midair.

The little foot was probably no bigger than her palm, just lying bare on the snow, wobbling.

At the same time, the wailing transmitted into her ears grew clearer: "Wuu wuu wuu… don't die… wuu wuu…"

When things go awry, there must be a demon.

Moreover, she really felt a demonic aura; Ling Yue took three steps in two, seizing the moment it hadn't noticed, and ran straight over.

She finally saw the true owner of the little feet: he wore a red dudou, like a doll from a New Year painting, white and chubby, with a thick little topknot on his head, his lotus-root arms section by section, chubby and extremely cute.

At that moment he was wiping tears with his chubby hands when he suddenly saw Ling Yue, and he jumped in fright: "Waaah, a human, a human!"

It was so frightened it started stamping its feet, trying to burrow into the ground, when suddenly a hand grabbed its little topknot; Bai Ze narrowed his eyes slightly: "It's just a little ginseng spirit, good for tonic."

Meanwhile, Da Lao Hu Junjun, as if recalling something, suddenly smacked his lips.

The little ginseng spirit trembled with fear, too scared to even cry.

Ling Yue suddenly understood; she had only heard of ginseng spirits in cartoons and legends, never expecting them to actually exist.

At that moment the little ginseng doll's mind suddenly cleared, and it looked at the only silent person present, Ling Yue: "Wu..."

It cried miserably, easily stirring human maternal instinct—but not Ling Yue's, for she had come precisely because of the doll's crying.

Ling Yue: "Don't cry."

Hearing that, the little ginseng doll shuddered, its big watery eyes blinking, tears streaming down in strings.

Now it cried silently, and with Bai Ze pulling its little braid, it looked ever more pitiable.

Ling Yue didn't want to torment the child, so she stated her purpose directly: "I came because of your crying."

She spoke, sighing, as she looked at the pitiful little ginseng doll: "You cry every night, don't you know it disturbs my sleep? So——"

The little ginseng doll widened its eyes in terror: "So this human wants to eat me?!"

It was so frightened its topknot went limp: "Please spare me, I… I'll never… dare again…"

"Wu… don't eat me, I'm not tasty, I'm especially, especially not tasty!"

As soon as she finished, a light laugh rang out; Bai Ze raised his brows slightly: "Ginseng is indeed not tasty, but a doll that has become a spirit doesn't go by flavor—used medicinally, it can revive even those clinging to a last breath."

Ling Yue watched him speak; the little ginseng doll's face turned deathly pale, it covered its mouth, almost scared to death.

Ling Yue glared at him, then suddenly scooped up the ginseng doll; the trembling little creature grabbed her collar at once—no need to say it's stupid, it could sense that Ling Yue didn't want to eat it, and even felt her goodwill.

The little ginseng doll seemed to have found refuge, hiding under Ling Yue's coat, daring only to show a pair of beautiful big eyes; it stammered: "I… I can pull out hair for you."

Although the little ginseng doll looks small, it is actually at least a few hundred years old; its true form is a ginseng that has become a spirit, every part of which can be used medicinally, so the pulled hair is naturally also usable.

Ling Yue blinked at the words, shook her head: "No need."

She suddenly pinched the ginseng doll's chubby little face: "I came just to get you to stop crying at night—I never meant to eat you."

She finished speaking, yet the little ginseng began to cry again: "Wu… I don't want this either… my good friend Xiao Yun is going to die…"

It said, then looked pleadingly at Ling Yue: "Can you… can you save my friend?"

At this moment the hot-tempered Jun Jun felt that Ling Yue's holding of the ginseng doll was annoying no matter how he looked; hearing that it greedily wanted her help, his mouth almost twisted with anger.

"Yueyue, it's too greedy; if I may say, we should just eat it—it'd be good for your body too—"

He hadn't finished speaking when Ling Yue slapped him on the head, his voice instantly changing; for some reason, at that moment Bai Ze suddenly felt an urge to pat the back of his head.

Ling Yue actually didn't hit hard, just a light tap, the usual rough‑play strength, but the sly Da Lao Hu Junjun, who would never let an opportunity pass, looked at her aggrieved: "Yueyue, it hurts."

Ling Yue glanced helplessly: "Do you think I look weak and in need of tonic?"

Jun Jun was speechless.

On the contrary, the ginseng doll in Ling Yue's arms, seeing her strike the big tiger's head, found even the tiger that usually frightened it not angry but instead looking pitiful.

It instantly understood: this was the chance it had to seize.

The little ginseng doll stepped out of Ling Yue's embrace: "I beg you, I only have one good friend, Xiao Yun, who treats me especially well; if you help me, I'll give you all the ginseng in this area, please!"

"Don't you humans especially like ginseng? I've heard it can sell for a lot of money; I'll give you ginseng, will you save Xiao Yun?"

Ling Yue hadn't expected that, after just giving a warning, she'd run into something like this; looking at the ginseng doll, she lacked neither money nor ginseng, and her desire to help came simply from the doll itself.

Before Ling Yue could stop it, the ginseng doll clumsily knelt and kowtowed, its pure little forehead quickly reddening.

Ling Yue: "Get up, I can go have a look, but if I help you I don't know if I'll be able to."

Hearing that, the little ginseng doll jumped up at once: "Come with me, I'll take you to find Xiao Yun."

By now, what other options could it have? Since successfully taking human form, the little ginseng doll has never seen a human or spirit with higher cultivation in this area; otherwise, given the tonic nature of a ginseng spirit, it wouldn't have survived to this day.

Ling Yue's appearance gave it hope.

The little ginseng doll runs fast, though it has short legs, its steps are steady and resonant—perhaps because it is innately earth‑aligned, the earth being its mother.

Beside Ling Yue, the tiger let out a sigh, feeling a bit regretful; the next moment Ling Yue gave it another thump on the head.

"Does your cultivation still lack a ginseng spirit?"

Jun Jun shook his head; the tiger couldn't admit inadequacy: "Of course not, the tiger is more than capable— a ginseng spirit's little bit of cultivation is just a tooth‑gap filler for me." He hesitated, then said: "But I've heard people say the ginseng spirit tastes especially good."

Ling Yue: "Then that's settled; as for the taste being good——"

Ling Yue smiled: "Does pet food taste good?"

Jun Jun shook his head without hesitation, hearing Ling Yue's voice: "Then remember, you're not allowed to eat it."

Ling Yue isn't a saint; she merely looks at the lively, clever little ginseng doll and wonders what difference there is from an ordinary human doll.

She simply couldn't get past that hurdle in her heart.

To the side, Bai Ze watched them play and frolic, his eyes slightly lowered; whenever this happened, there was always an invisible barrier that shut him out.

He curled the corner of his mouth, gazing at the girl's back; isn't it precisely for this reason that he chose to stay by her side?

The man's jade‑green eyes gradually deepened, falling on her, as if seeing countless mysteries; otherwise how could his very self be completely entwined?

The reason he and Jun Jun are like fire and water, aside from their unwillingness to merge by nature, is also Ling Yue; when he first chose to split, it was precisely to reserve a retreat for his future self.

But he never expected that this strand of his divided spirit would develop its own consciousness and refuse to merge with him.

Bai Ze understands all things, yet he did not anticipate this variable.

The next moment, Ling Yue suddenly turned her head and met his gaze; though she wasn't a corpse, even if her look was faint, she could still sense it.

But after locking eyes, Ling Yue's mind went blank, the draft she had prepared forgotten; her vacant eyes fixed on him, she thought… somewhat handsome?

Ling Yue's ears grew hot; suddenly a low roar came from her side, Da Lao Hu Junjun bodily stepped in to block their gaze, his big head lowering and placing itself before her: "… Yueyue, we've arrived."

It didn't even mention Bai Ze.

Ling Yue nodded slightly, and the little ginseng doll had already led them to a woodland, where a splashing sound came from nearby.

Ling Yue casually glanced over and saw that there was a thawing stream here, and moreover, a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes; beneath her feet, the lush green grass and tiny flowers were woven into a colorful carpet.

With them as the center, within a radius of twenty meters, everywhere was filled with a warm spring feeling.

Winter seemed to have missed this place.

The little ginseng doll brought them to a big tree, clapped its hands, and the bark opened automatically; inside a nest lined with wula grass lay a slender, beautiful purple marten.

Warmth rushed over her, and for a moment Ling Yue felt that what lay inside was not a purple marten, but a fallen little sun.

Ling Yue gasped and lowered the hand she had been shielding her eyes with.

In the tree hollow, the little purple marten closed its eyes tightly, motionless as if asleep; its body was the color of a mango milkshake, and its fluffy fur looked glossy and smooth.

The little ginseng doll worriedly looked at its good friend and introduced to Ling Yue: "This is my good friend, Little Cloud."

"We had originally prepared to spend the winter here, but one day it came back and suddenly its body heated up; before I could even ask, it collapsed and has remained like that until now."

"I tried to cool it down with ice and snow, but its temperature wouldn't drop; later I threw it into the river, and even the ice there melted."

"The place where it was also began to regain spring, which frightened me terribly!"

"What should we do? What illness has it actually contracted?"

Such symptoms, Ling Yue had never heard of before.

She pondered, and beside her, Da Lao Hu Junjun's mind flashed with a clue, but it went by too quickly for Jun Jun to grasp.

It lowered its head in frustration; damn it, Hu Hu is really familiar, yet I just can't recall it!

Bai Ze pondered for a moment: "Could it be that it ate something it shouldn't have?"

Seeing Ling Yue look over, Bai Ze explained slowly: "This purple marten is just an ordinary purple marten with no special abilities, but it now shows an abnormality that must be caused by an external force, so I suspect it ate something strange."

"Mountain delicacies, wild fruits?"

"Ah!" Da Lao Hu Junjun suddenly cried out: "I've got it!"

It excitedly shook its head: "This is the sun fruit from my doorstep, which I specially cultivated to keep my valley spring-like all year round; it must have eaten my sun fruit!"

After hearing that, the little ginseng doll was stunned, then asked: "Why would it fall into an unconscious sleep? I've noticed its breathing has been growing weaker; if this continues for a few more days, Little Cloud might die."

Da Lao Hu Junjun: "Er..."

It also doesn't know.

After all, it has always grown this fruit merely as an ornament, never eating it, and moreover...

Jun Jun sighed and said: "My sun fruit is extraordinarily hard, rock-hard! Although it's only the size of a small tangerine, as long as it doesn't touch a certain kind of oil, it will absolutely not soften!"

Therefore, it greatly admires this little purple marten—how on earth did it manage to swallow it?

As for Ling Yue, after hearing Jun Jun's introduction, she began to closely observe the purple marten.

Suddenly, her motion stalled; she reached out to touch the little purple marten's throat, feeling it over and over, then lifted her gaze: "I think I... have found the problem."

The little ginseng doll clenched both hands nervously and stared at her: "What's wrong? What exactly is wrong with Little Cloud?"

"Is there any hope for Little Cloud to be saved?"

It was so excited that tears welled up, almost lying beside Ling Yue, repeating over and over.

Ling Yue nodded, then suddenly lifted the little purple marten, letting it keep a forward-leaning posture; afterward, Ling Yue began patting its back, and the slender body trembled.

Suddenly, with a "pop" sound.

The little purple marten, Little Cloud, suddenly opened its tiny mouth, and a round, pale yellow fruit was squeezed out from its throat, rolling onto the ground; seeing it, Jun Jun immediately exclaimed: "That's it, it's the sun fruit!"

At the same time, the unconscious little purple marten finally woke up, opening its dark black eyes; upon seeing humans, it shrank back in fright and screamed: "Ahhhhh humans!"

No wonder its reaction was so strong; it's merely a small mountain creature that has hardly ever seen a person in its lifetime, let alone at such close range.

Little Cloud the purple marten let out a hiss and darted out of the tree hollow; the next second, Da Lao Hu Junjun blocked it squarely.

With a "pat" sound, it was so frightened it fell flat on its rear onto the lush green grass.

Its mind turned to mush, filled only with thoughts of "it's over, it's over, this time it's surely going to die!"

Suddenly, it heard the voice of its good friend, the ginseng doll, and couldn't help but burst into tears, clutching its tail: "Wuu wuu wuu, how did you also get caught?"

The little ginseng doll wiped the cold sweat from its forehead, exhaled gently, and said: "Little Cloud, why are you running? I asked them to save you."

Hearing that, the purple marten stared wide-eyed in astonishment: "Humans... saved me?"

It trembled as it sat up, and the little ginseng doll seized its tiny paws: "You forgot—when you came back earlier, you suddenly collapsed stiffly before me; I, I even thought you had died."

Little Cloud the purple marten finally understood what had happened, still a little fearful as it looked at Ling Yue and apologized: "Sorry, I didn't mean to; I, I was just... too scared."

As it spoke, both front paws were raised; its cute little face was pointed, its ears round, and on its slender body, though the fur was all yellow, there were also lighter shades.

The small patch on its chest resembled a mango milkshake from a tea shop; further down, its slender body trailed a tail comparable in length to its body, which one could tell without touching was surely fluffy and soft.

At first glance, it looked just like a gradient scarf.

Ling Yue stared fixedly at its small appearance, when beside her Jun Jun suddenly thrust forward its big head, let out a hum, and exuded a sour vibe.

Ling Yue immediately came to her senses, shook her head, and said: "It's fine."

At this moment, she had already washed the sun fruit once, dried it with a tissue, wrapped the small sun fruit, and handed it to the little ginseng doll.

No matter what animal or plant, they all like warmth like spring.

Ling Yue hadn't forgotten Jun Jun's earlier words—the sun fruit is right at Jun Jun's doorstep; although it is also a spirit fruit, its spiritual energy is scarce, so she looks down on it a bit.

However, according to Ling Yue's speculation, it is precisely because of the sun fruit's scarce spiritual energy that it has kept the purple marten's life hanging on.

I've gone off track.

Ling Yue gathered her thoughts and asked the purple marten, Little Cloud: "Where did you pick the sun fruit? Could you take us there?"

Little Cloud the purple marten was a bit curious, scratching its big tail: "Sure, but that place is especially steep; I only discovered it by accident, and just happened to see this fruit..."

As it spoke, its tone suddenly stalled; bringing this up, it couldn't help but cover its face, recalling the fundamental reason for its coma.

After discovering this miraculous fruit, it was especially delighted, wanting to take it back to show the little ginseng doll, but fearing other animals might find it, so it hid it in its mouth.

But it never imagined that on the way it would encounter its natural enemy; frightened, it fled for its life, and the sun fruit in its mouth, due to the shock, became lodged directly in its throat.

It didn't even have time to react—there was a crack, its consciousness blanked out, and when it woke up again, it was already several days later.

The purple marten Little Cloud thought of this, furtively glanced at its friend, and swore in its heart that it would absolutely not tell anyone about this stupid thing!

It's really too stupid; it will definitely affect its image and status in its close friend's heart.

With the purple marten Little Cloud leading the way, Ling Yue's group finally stopped getting lost; half an hour later, the little marten halted before a vast stand of tall, dense cloud spruces.

It raised its paws, pointing at the leaves ahead: 'This is the place; ahead there are vast expanses of sun fruit!'

Ling Yue brushed aside the leaves, and the densely hidden new world beyond came into view.

Only then did she realize how vivid the vast expanses of sun fruit that the purple marten Little Cloud had spoken of were.

The continuous stretches of sun fruit in the sunlight resembled rows of glowing little lanterns, their smooth, lustrous skin giving a crystal-like feel.

A gentle warm breeze blew by; here there was not a trace of snow, as warm as spring.

Tender green grass and colorful scattered flowers carpeted the whole view; in the distance, bowl-sized flowers layered upon layered, exquisite to the extreme.

They formed a prosperous flower road that stretched downward all the way to the end of the iron-gray cliff.

Ling Yue even felt reluctant to set foot.

Roar!

I'm finally going home!

Suddenly a low growl came from behind; Ling Yue jumped, she turned her head to look, the drooping leaves of the fir tree rustled, and a big tiger head popped out like a small mushroom.

Jun Jun excitedly shook its fur.

It was so happy it almost took off, its gaze never wavering left or right; its four paws bounded, it shook its head, yet its momentum didn't wane in the slightest as it charged straight toward the cliff.

Ling Yue caught a glimpse and jumped, thinking it would smash into the wall and kill itself; she hurried over, and in an instant, Jun Jun's big tiger head had already struck the cliff, instead setting off ripples.

A shocking scene appeared before Ling Yue's eyes: the big tiger's head stretched inside, while the rest of its body remained outside, making it look as if it had no head.

Suddenly, Jun Jun again put its head □□, its thick tiger paw extended to her, inviting her: 'Yueyue, come home with me.' ：，.