Little Sprout swayed its heads, bobbing ceaselessly from side to side.
That was right. A moment of carelessness from Dongfang Minghui had caused Little Sprout to grow two little heads. Two heads had emerged from a single sprout bud, one yellow and one red. The colors were quite lovely together. From a distance, the overlapping hues looked like a lotus lantern poised to bloom. But on closer inspection-well, they were two distinctly separate flower buds.
She carefully cradled the Heavenly Sound Helmet and blinked at Little Sprout inside it. Her lone little seedling bobbed its heads back at her, looking full of energy. During her two months away, she had always fed it in a rush, like a thief, tossing it back into the storage space as soon as she finished. In those brief moments, it had changed. Seeing Little Sprout again left Dongfang Minghui with a curious feeling, as though she had been longing for it to grow, only for it to grow up when she was not looking.
"Why did you bring it out?"
Qian Wanyu turned and bumped into the Heavenly Sound Helmet. The metal ornaments on her clothes struck it, sending a crisp, melodious sound far down the tunnel. A moment later, an echo returned.
Dongfang Minghui held Little Sprout, which was now bigger than her head, and stared wide-eyed in bewilderment. "Little Sprout wanted to come out on its own," she said softly.
Ordinary people would never have believed that, but Qian Wanyu had already witnessed far too many strange things around Dongfang Minghui. She frowned slightly. "Gold-Devouring Rats love devouring high-quality gold ore, refined iron, and other metals. This is the Heavenly Sound Helmet. If you want to bring it along, Ninth Sister, you must keep a close eye on it."
Remembering the Gold-Devouring