"Goddess Yunxi's First Rain" - A Rain of Fire Adrift, Threatening Half a Lifetime of Calamity

I'm very sorry that updates to the VIP chapters have been slow lately. The truth is that I went skiing in Nozawa on the 27th and 28th, which required preparation beforehand and left me aching all over afterward... I had planned to write a chapter tonight, but my senior fellow student's doctoral defense starts at 5:30 this evening, and I have to attend. Basically, I won't be able to write tonight either.

I'm very uneasy about updating so slowly, but there's nothing else I can do, so I'm posting a public chapter first to explain!

I also took some photographs on this alpine skiing trip to Nozawa Onsen. Interested readers can visit here to see them:

xlyc.ttsite.read.php?tid-2090657.html

Just as unease stirred in Xing Yan's heart, the two girls beside him seemed entirely oblivious. Having inexplicably caused trouble a moment earlier, Qiong Rong was now doing her best to walk properly, though her comparatively small stature still made her look as if she were skipping along. Beside her, Xueyi wore a gleaming white gown and drifted gracefully behind Xing Yan.

After walking a little farther, Xing Yan began to wonder:

Why haven't we seen those legendary burning trees yet? Didn't they say Liling Isle was covered with blazing Never-Dimming Trees?

But after they walked a little farther, particularly once they had passed the Human-Faced Forest, more trees with leaves redder than fire appeared beside the road. The farther they went, the deeper the color of the branches and leaves grew, until at last they saw a grove that was truly aflame. Hearing the familiar roar of burning flames, Qiong Rong could not resist going forward. She stood on tiptoe and stirred her hand among the leaves that blazed like fire, then turned back and loudly reported that it was real