The virulent Azure Grass, glowing with purple light, approached Tang Sui, who was sobbing. Instead of harming her, it curved its tip and gently, albeit clumsily, nuzzled her soft hair with its leaf, which was larger than Tang Sui's head. It moved from her crown to her tail, stroking her head as if to comfort her, with remarkable human-like tenderness.
Tang Sui, who had been crying uncontrollably, looked up with tear-filled eyes. Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, she reached out and directly grasped the edge of the dark purple leaf, which clearly oozed poison. Disregarding the purplish-red thorns that were extremely close to the leaf, she boldly held onto it and refused to let go.
The Azure Grass vine indulgently allowed the little cub to hold the edge of its leaf, remaining motionless. However, another Azure Grass vine slithered up, its large leaf splitting off to repeat the same comforting head-patting motion as the previous one. The remaining vines carefully lifted Tang Sui, forming a nest, and swayed gently as if lulling a baby to sleep.
Tang Sui, who had been crying, began to close her red eyes, her little head nodding. Finally, her head was caught by a cunning leaf, serving as a pillow. The exhausted Tang Sui slowly drifted off to sleep in the aerial cradle woven by the Azure Grass.
The onlookers who had witnessed the entire process were speechless.
Zhu Zhuqing's cool and cautious expression cracked. She turned her head and cast a subtly strange, piercing gaze at Tang San, who was wrapped so tightly by the Azure Grass vines that he resembled a sealed zongzi. Her gaze seemed to penetrate the thick vines, trying to see the Tang San at the center.
As expected of him, even when his consciousness was unclear, he was still thinking of his sister.
Ning Rongrong, who had never had siblings, showed a hint of envy. Ma Hongjun's last shred of thought about Tang Sui vanished.
He silently hugged his own weak and pitiful self, muttering to himself.
"I didn't realize Little San was such a terrifying sister-complex… Sister-complexes are truly terrifying… I'd better find other girls who don't expect me to raise them… Preferably an only child, with no weird older cousins or anything, just a beautiful girl with a sister-complex…"
Dai Mubai, who was very close to him, was speechless.
He deeply agreed with Ma Hongjun's thoughts.
Then, he subtly glanced at Zhu Zhuqing.
Thankfully, although he and Zhu Zhuqing weren't only children and had siblings, their situation... wasn't quite as extreme.
Zhao Wuji's face was a complex mask. He felt that words were insufficient to describe his current feelings. Only the profound and encompassing term "shengrè" (生草 - literally "growing grass," implying absurdity or absurdity that induces laughter) could express it.
Tang Sui, who had caused them all so much trouble, only needed a small bed to be soothed to sleep. How incredibly ridiculous was this situation?
However, fortunately, the most troublesome Tang Sui had been dealt with. Now, only Tang San, who was still absorbing the remaining energy, remained.
The group, whose nerves had been taut for several hours, could finally take a temporary respite and rest on the spot, waiting for Tang San's process to conclude.
They waited until the sky began to show the pale white of dawn.
As the warm sunlight filtered through the gaps in the dense forest and shone upon the dark purple "zongzi," the black color on its surface slowly seeped out, evaporating into wisps of fine smoke in the sunlight. Only deep blue-purple Azure Grass vines remained, slowly dispersing to reveal Tang San, who was also slowly opening his eyes.
The terrifying spider legs that the group had seen on his back were gone, replaced by eight gaping holes.
"Little San, you're finally awake!"
Xiao Wu, the first to notice Tang San awake, quickly stood up from the ground, looking at Tang San excitedly. The others, seeing Tang San finally awake, also let out sighs of relief.
It was finally over.
Tang San's wobbly vision stabilized, and upon seeing Xiao Wu's familiar face, he was slightly stunned. Then, a look of joy appeared on his face. "Xiao Wu, you're alright?"
Seeing that Tang San was still worried about her, Xiao Wu felt touched. She shook her head and pointed to the Azure Grass vines in mid-air, still diligently lulling Tang Sui to sleep. "I'm fine. Little San, hurry and have the Azure Grass let Sui Sui down."
"Exactly, Little San. Those vines look poisonous; it makes people hesitant to get close," Ma Hongjun also bounced up from the ground, adding his agreement.
Tang San followed the direction of Xiao Wu's finger, his lips twitched. He controlled the Azure Grass vines to slowly lower from mid-air. His legs, which had been immobile for a long time, staggered as he took his first step. Xiao Wu quickly supported him, preventing him from falling clumsily.
"Thanks, Xiao Wu." Tang San offered a faint smile. Xiao Wu shook her head. After Tang San adjusted for a couple of seconds, she let go and stepped back at his nod.
Now able to control his body proficiently again, Tang San walked towards Tang Sui, knelt down, and placed his hands on her wrist to check her pulse. After confirming his sister's condition, his tight heart finally relaxed completely.
Dai Mubai and the others watched as Tang San bent down and carefully picked up Tang Sui from the Azure Grass vines. Feeling the familiar closeness, Tang Sui wasn't disturbed at all. She even skillfully adjusted her position and slept soundly in Tang San's arms.
After securing his sister, Tang San finally looked up at his expectant companions. His clear and calm black eyes met theirs, and he asked, "What exactly happened?"
As soon as he asked this, Ma Hongjun and the others began to spill out everything that had happened while Tang San was absorbing the spirit ring, like a string of beans.
When Ning Rongrong spoke of Tang Sui's abnormality, her keen observation skills led her to cautiously glance at Tang San's calm expression, and she cleverly refrained from asking further questions.
Ma Hongjun wanted to, but Dai Mubai elbowed him. With an "ouch," Zhao Wuji finally intervened, "Alright, children. We'll discuss Tang Sui and Tang San's matters after we return to the academy. For now, we must leave the Star Dou Great Forest. We're in a state of battle damage, and remember, those spirit beasts are not to be trifled with."
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongjun also quieted down.
— Author's Notes —
You guys are all complaining about waiting for updates and pulling at your ears, while Mo Li's eyes are teary from writing every day. I haven't touched games for almost a week, sob sob sob.
See you at noon, by the way. Noon will have a small burst of updates~