Returning to the Thatched Cottage, Xiao Li came running out in quick, eager steps and threw herself straight into Hu Yang's arms.
Hu Yang carried her into the Thatched Cottage.
"Where did you go so early in the morning?" Ling Yao asked as she cleared the table.
"Oh! I just took a stroll around the village. Guess who I ran into?" Hu Yang looked at Ling Yao mysteriously.
"Who?" Ling Yao asked with a smile.
"I happened to run into Yue'er."
"Who?"
"Tuoba Yue."
"M-Moon Esteemed Consort? Sh-she's in this village too? Then why have I never seen her?" Ling Yao was both shocked and puzzled.
Hu Yang gave a bitter smile, thinking, You wouldn't recognize her even if you saw her.
"Do you know that big tree at the entrance of the village?"
"The big tree? Of course! What does Moon Esteemed Consort have to do with a tree?" Ling Yao was even more confused.
Hu Yang recounted everything that had happened when he met Tuoba Yue. Ling Yao's eyes widened, her pink lips parted, and her face filled with disbelief.
"Y-you mean Moon Esteemed Consort... she turned into a big tree?"
Hu Yang nodded.
"Father, what big tree?" Xiao Li blinked at Hu Yang, not knowing what the two adults were talking about.
Hu Yang rubbed Xiao Li's head. "Eat first. Father will take you to see the big tree later."
Xiao Li immediately grew excited and hurriedly began stuffing food into her mouth.
"Slow down, don't choke!" Ling Yao, who had calmed down, hurriedly called out.
A short while later, Hu Yang brought Ling Yao and Xiao Li back beneath the big tree.
Ling Yao examined the tree with a puzzled expression. "Isn't this just an ordinary big tree? How does it resemble Moon Esteemed Consort?"
"Father,