After Jian Tongyao climbed back to the Treehouse, Ding Ding followed her. "Little Ninth, roast meat, eat."
She reached out and flicked Little One lightly. Ding Ding spun once in midair, then clung to her hair and swayed, wheedling for attention. Jian Tongyao had plenty of patience for Ding Ding, who was as adorable as a tiny figurine. After a moment's thought, she explained, "It isn't safe to light fires in the Elf Clan's territory. Look at all the flowers, grass, and trees around us. If we accidentally set something alight, the whole forest could burn down."
That was a risk she dared not take.
Ding Ding immediately flopped onto her crossed legs and played dead.
Jian Tongyao soothed Ding Ding for a while, then could not help recalling that shivering sensation. Alongside her distress was a trace of delight that even she failed to notice.
Leaning back against the Treehouse, Jian Tongyao soon drifted into a hazy sleep.
Ding Ding flipped upright like a carp and sprang from Jian Tongyao onto the Treehouse roof, watching the surroundings intently like a sentinel lurking in the night.
Jian Tongyao had a bizarre, kaleidoscopic dream. In it, she was like a bystander, watching a human who looked quite similar to her current self do things she would instinctively do. Everyone around that woman called her Qian Minghui...
Early in the morning, while Mu Sheng was still resting against the Sacred Tree, he heard a jumble of footsteps rushing toward him in a panic. He opened his eyes to see Dongfang Minghui standing before him-no, before the Sacred Tree-with her head tilted back, apparently looking at its crown.
Little Lecher extended a vine and hooked it around the Sacred Tree, then slipped free of Jian Tongyao's wrist.
"Ming Hui, what's wrong?"
Jian