This sapling had only its trunk and a few sparse roots left. Its leaves and branches were all gone, making it look half-dead.
Totoro hugged the sapling, unable to let go. The corners of its mouth stretched all the way to the back of its ears, clearly delighted.
Zhu Qingling recognized it at a glance. This was the Elf Mother Tree.
Could it be that the Ice King gave me a fake one before?
Zhu Qingling frowned and took another sapling out of her bag.
Its shape and appearance were nearly identical to the one in Totoro's arms.
The difference was that the one in Zhu Qingling's hands was more delicate and vibrant.
But that vibrancy was an illusion.
The tree in Zhu Qingling's hands was an artwork that had been "carefully carved and polished." It was not the real Elf Mother Tree at all.
"Even after things reached that point, the Ice King still tried to fool me with fake goods?"
Zhu Qingling pondered this.
"It seems the Ice King is still unwilling to accept defeat. He refuses to surrender and is still thinking about turning the tables! Even the first gift he sent was fake. His intentions are obvious to everyone!"
After Ding Ling had instilled so much knowledge in her, Zhu Qingling naturally knew many stories related to idioms.
At that moment.
After realizing that everything the Ice King had given her was fake, she set the fake Elf Mother Tree aside.
It looked incredibly real and radiated an intense aura of life. Even she had been deceived.
Compared to the real Elf Mother Tree, the fake one was much more ostentatious.
The real one, by contrast, kept its depths hidden and revealed not the slightest trace of vitality.
Zhu Qingling estimated that this fake Elf Mother