In the fields beneath Oxheart Mountain, half-green wheat swayed in the breeze. The crop was growing splendidly, its ears fully formed and grains plump; it looked as though the harvest would come before long.
A group of children crouched anxiously yet excitedly by the field, snapping off green wheat stalks with their hands. The little girl leading them had white hair and pink pupils, making her especially conspicuous among the children.
Yet the other children had clearly long since grown used to her appearance and did not treat her differently. Since she looked older than them, they even regarded her as their leader and followed her lead.
"Everyone, hurry up!" Bai Lingmiao crouched on the ground, reaching out and yanking hard at the green wheat in the field.
The children looked terribly nervous, glancing toward Liang Qu from time to time as if they were guarding against something.
Under Bai Lingmiao's lead, the children moved quickly. Before long, each of them had at least a handful.
Just then, an old man carrying a hoe came running over from afar, shouting as he came. "Hey—!"
"Run, everyone! Third Uncle is coming after us!!" At her command, all the children scattered like a flock of birds.
Because she had warned them early, every child got away without being caught, and they regrouped at the foot of Oxheart Mountain.
Looking at the two bundles of spoils in her hands, Bai Lingmiao's face flushed red from the heat. She flashed the gap where one of her teeth was missing and laughed loudly with the children from the other relatives' families.
"Big Sis, fire." A little radish-head beside her stood on tiptoe, stretching the Fire Striker he had brought from home toward Bai Lingmiao.
When the other children saw this, no one needed to tell