Gratitude Gift

"Really?"

Uncle Xu murmured to himself. "That's good, then."

"That's good."

His expectations weren't high.

Perhaps it was because he had truly waited too long.

The passage of time had nearly worn away all his hopes.

Besides, as Master Xiao had said, she was a monster.

He couldn't hold her to human standards.

A word suddenly came to mind.

Plants and trees were heartless.

It seemed that was true.

"By the way, the leaves changing color was her own decision."

Xiao Xiao suddenly spoke. "I was surprised at the time, too."

"But it really was a very original way to say hello."

The brilliant red maples really were beautiful.

Xu Qingzhu froze for a moment, then remembered the sea of red leaves he had seen back then.

Thinking of what Master Xiao had just said, he smiled.

That was right. A monster who had changed the color of the leaves for him, who remembered his name and called out to him, who had stayed by his side for more than ten years. Now that he thought about it, perhaps he had held her back from cultivating for a long time.

He should be content.

She had been doing her best to treat him well.

Even if she hadn't quite known how.

Even if that foolish monster had actually thought he'd always been doing just fine.

Still, he really was doing well now.

And after waiting for so long, he had finally received an answer. So he shouldn't dwell on the rest.

Xu Qingzhu smiled, taking it in stride.

It was simply a monster's nature. It seemed unreasonable for him to blame her.

So he could only accept it.

"That's right. It really was a special way to say hello."

Xu Qingzhu's expression softened. "It