“Suisui, for you.” Lang Xuan put down the back basket, which was filled with colorful spirit stones.
“Wow! Tree Brother, you have so many spirit stones!” Suisui’s small mouth rounded in a circle, and her eyes went wide.
“They’re all for you,” Lang Xuan said.
These were all things a fool had muttered and stuffed under his tree; he only remembered them because he saw that Suisui wanted some.
“I don’t want them! I want to earn them myself. I will definitely earn even more spirit stones than Tree Brother!” Suisui put her small hands behind her back and puffed out her chest, full of ambition.
Bian Yun glanced at the stall, which had only had one hair clip and one doll taken since it opened, and that was only because people thought Suisui was too charming and wanted to show support. Earning a whole back basket of spirit stones through this would likely be quite difficult.
“Then help me keep them for now.” Lang Xuan pushed the basket toward Suisui.
“Well, alright. Tree Brother, tell me if you need to spend spirit stones.” Suisui was very skilled at helping to store things. With a wave of her chubby little hand, she put the small basket into the stone space.
Mother said that if she put things inside the rock, thieves wouldn’t be able to see or touch them, so they couldn’t be stolen.
In the Immortal Realm, Li Jiushu’s divine sense left on the Xingluo Stone was triggered once again.
If nothing went wrong, that spiritual beast egg should have hatched. Was this back basket of spirit stones meant to thank him?
Based on the things coming in and out these past few days, which were all children’s playthings, Li Jiushu guessed that the other party was indeed a child, a little girl. It seemed she was treating his Xingluo Stone as a storage space.
Li Jiushu summoned an orange-gold fruit and placed it on the Xingluo Stone.
Suisui sat back down in front of her stall, gave Lang Xuan a milk fruit, and picked up the half-eaten milk fruit from earlier to continue nibbling. Suddenly, she discovered that the big rock had produced another fruit. This time, it was golden and shimmering, like a fruit of the sun.
Slurp! I want to eat it!
Suisui peeked around her surroundings. She even knew to turn her back, covering her mouth with her small hand, and whispered softly, “Big Rock, I’m swapping my milk fruit for your fruit-fruit. If you don’t speak, that means you’ve agreed!”
After Suisui finished her one-sided conversation, she took out that delicious-looking fruit.
Bian Yun, who was silently guarding nearby, saw a different fruit suddenly appear in Suisui’s hand. While shocked, she immediately cast a barrier.
She looked at the fruit in Suisui’s hand, which was the size of a child’s fist.
A Golden Sun Fruit. The flesh was plump and juicy, the texture delicate and smooth, and the taste was sweet and sour, perfect so a child wouldn’t get tired of it.
This kind of fruit was a staple in households with children in the Immortal Realm. It was a fruit used to build a good foundation for children, as it could nourish the meridians and purify impurities in the body. Long-term consumption could temper the bones and roots and improve cultivation talent.
Although Bian Yun had some guesses about Suisui’s background, she hadn’t expected her to have a way to obtain items from the Immortal Realm.
Li Jiushu watched as the half-eaten milk fruit was sent in, taking away his Golden Sun Fruit. The small tooth marks on the milk fruit were clearly visible.
The image of a gluttonous milk-dumpling holding a milk fruit with both hands and nibbling on it appeared in his mind. The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly; she certainly knew her goods.
In the lower realm, Bian Yun was thinking about whether to ask about the immortal fruit when she saw Suisui press her small nose against it and take a deep breath of the fragrance. Even though she clearly wanted to eat it, she hesitated to take a bite. Listening closely, one could hear her little mutterings.
“Suisui will only take one bite, just a tiny little bite.”
After Suisui finished muttering, she used her small teeth to bite through just a tiny bit, sucking hard with her small mouth. Upon tasting the sweet juice, she smacked her lips in realization before reluctantly putting the fruit back into the stone space.
The little Ice Phoenix jumped up wanting a bite but was pressed down by her small hand. Turning her head to see Lang Xuan staring at her, Suisui’s little face showed the guilt of not sharing.
She reached out and stuffed the milk fruit that Lang Xuan was holding but hadn’t eaten into his mouth. “Tree Brother, eat this. This is yummy, just like ice cream.”
Lang Xuan blinked and passively opened his mouth to take a bite, then turned his hand and fed it to Suisui, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.
“I have some!” Suisui took out the half-eaten milk fruit from earlier and ate it, completely forgetting that this milk fruit had just been used to exchange for that golden fruit.
“Why didn’t Suisui finish that fruit just now?” Bian Yun couldn’t help but squat down and ask.
Children in the lower realm could eat this kind of fruit, not to mention that Suisui’s constitution allowed her to eat anything.
“I have to save it to protect Mother, to eat when I’m taking Mother and running away.” Suisui chewed on the milk fruit, her voice a bit muffled.
Mother said that the things sprouting from the rock that smelled like red fruits should be saved to be eaten when saving lives or running away, or they could be eaten when feeling very unwell. Even that most fragrant small bottle she picked a few days ago had been given to Mother for safekeeping.
These were all kept to be eaten as “medicine-medicine,” otherwise she would really have to eat bitter medicine and get poked with needles.
After hearing Suisui’s reasoning, even Bian Yun, who was naturally indifferent, felt some heartache. In Ye Wan’s words, at an age where she couldn’t even control her bladder, she was actually controlling her cravings. If there were enough resources, why would there be a need for this?
If only her own storage magical treasure… best not to mention it!
Suisui suddenly thought of something, covered her mouth with both hands, and her eyes rolled around. “Master Bian Yun isn’t allowed to ask me where the fruit came from. Even if you beat me to death, I won’t say!”
Mother said the secret of the rock couldn’t be told to others. Master Bian Yun looked after her, ate with her, and slept with her, even though she was the one who taught Master Bian Yun how to take care of a child at first…
Now that Master Bian Yun was like family, did she still count as “others”?
“Alright, I won’t ask. However, in the future, if you take out a fruit again, you must tell me first. Otherwise, it will be snatched away by bad people.” Bian Yun didn’t insist that Suisui explain everything just because she was a three-year-old child.
Suisui nodded like a woodpecker, feeling that the secret regarding the big rock was safe.
Turning her head, she saw Tree Brother looking at her. Suisui blinked. “Tree Brother isn’t allowed to ask either. Even if you ask, I won’t tell.”
Lang Xuan nodded and even pinched the little Ice Phoenix’s beak shut. “I won’t ask.”
Little Ice Phoenix: Is this human speech?
Li Jiushu saw the immortal fruit returned with only a tiny hole the size of a child’s milk tooth, and the milk fruit was taken away as well. He couldn’t help but laugh out of irritation.
Could it be that she was actually disdaining it? Choosing to eat that useless milk fruit instead of his immortal fruit? Fine, then he wouldn’t feed her anymore.
Li Jiushu was about to withdraw his divine sense from the Xingluo Stone when he thought about the other party being a child… well, maybe it just wasn’t to a child’s taste.
Li Jiushu, with his mouth saying no but his actions saying yes, plucked another Kaiyuan Fruit and put it in. This kind of fruit was a snack that women and children loved to eat. He had seen its leaf edges shimmering with a faint golden light on his way to retrieve other treasures and had conveniently plucked it to plant in his space. He didn’t like to eat them, but he liked to look at them.
When Suisui saw another fruit appear, her mouth started turning into a waterfall again.
Another fruit! Does that mean she can take another bite?
Suisui took out the previous fruit and took another gentle bite, a bit bigger than the last one, and the juice she tasted was even sweeter.
She glanced at Lang Xuan watching nearby and hesitated before handing the fruit over. “Tree Brother, I’ll give you a tiny bite. Just a tiny one!”
Lang Xuan turned his hand and pushed the fruit back to her lips. “You eat it.”
“So Tree Brother doesn’t like to eat it. Actually, it’s not that yummy anyway.” Suisui quickly put the fruit away.
Bian Yun: “…”
It must be that she had seen too few toddlers, otherwise why would she always be surprised by this toddler’s maneuvers?
Li Jiushu watched the Golden Sun Fruit that was taken out and then quickly returned. The bite mark on it was larger than before, but not by much.
He seemed to understand something and let out a “tsk.” While disdaining the Divine Tree for not knowing how to choose a master, he summoned a few more fruits and placed them on the Xingluo Stone. He used a spell to write the word “Eat” floating above them, completely unaware that the one on the other side was a little illiterate.
When Suisui saw the word floating on the rock, she tilted her head.
She didn’t know how to read!
Never mind, this word definitely wasn’t for her to see. Who would write words for a three-year-old to see?
However, the big rock had sprouted so many fruits. Does that mean she can finish the fruit she already bit?
Yes, if she doesn’t finish it, it will go bad, and that would be a waste.
Suisui nodded her little head, having convinced herself. She took that fruit out again to eat, taking two bites and giving Lang Xuan one, her eyes waiting expectantly for Lang Xuan to say he wouldn’t eat it.
Lang Xuan felt that Suisui was so good to him that if he refused again, she would be sad. So, he took a bite.
Suisui’s eyes widened bit by bit.
Didn’t we agree that you don’t like to eat it?
The aunties and sisters in the village were right: a man’s mouth is a lying ghost.
Suisui quickly withdrew her hand, turned her back, and took a huge “Awoo” bite.
If she took a bigger bite, she could eat more!
Lang Xuan scratched his head, feeling that Suisui seemed to be angry, but not understanding what he had done wrong. It was still better to be a tree.
The little Ice Phoenix hopped up and down at Suisui’s feet: Where’s mine? Where’s mine?
“Jiushu, are you listening?”
Seeing Li Jiushu spacing out, the Li family ancestor couldn’t help but raise his voice.
Not only was this junior spacing out today, but he also seemed to be smiling—smiling like an old tree in the ancestral land blooming.
Yes, Li Jiushu had received another summons from the ancestral land. This time, it wasn’t just the Li family ancestor; there were also several family elders who were already at the rank of Immortal Saint.
Li Jiushu withdrew his divine sense from the space and calmly met the ancestor’s probing gaze. “Ancestor and Elders, for what matter have you called me?”
The Li family ancestor said, “Your father’s soul tablet has shown movement. We need a drop of your essence blood to find his whereabouts.”
Li Jiushu arched an eyebrow. “A thousand years ago, you said the same thing to trick me out of a drop of essence blood.”