"Brother Hao really is dead. He was one of our old-timers, too. Let him return to the World Tree and rest in peace."
Stone Mama sighed and directed Little White to scatter the pinch of ashes over the World Tree's flowerpot.
Little White's eyes were naturally brimming with tears.
Over all these years, the World Tree had grown a little.
The World Tree seemed to know, too, that the dog who formed part of its consciousness was gone. As the ashes fell onto the soil, its tender shoot glimmered, and a tiny leaf abruptly sprouted.
It looked so small, yet so full of life.
"It lit up! The World Tree actually lit up!"
(Brother Hao, this will always be your home.)
"Quack, quack."
The animals hoped Brother Hao could become part of this tender shoot-it was a small source of spiritual comfort, at least.
Old Sheephead, long accustomed to life and death, was the first to recover. "I don't know what's going on, but Zhang Ming's physical body seems to be inside the Gourd..."
"But [Unfulfilled Wish]'s power hasn't come through on a large scale. I don't know what happened."
"I can't sense anything more. I don't know whether Zhang Ming is alive or dead, and the so-called Demon God War hasn't broken out..."
"I can sense that this Gourd still has signs of life."
"So what should we do now? Where should we go?"
Stone Mama said in a muffled voice, "We shouldn't go back to Turtle Island yet. Until we've raised Little White into a Black Tortoise, it won't count as returning home in glory. What would be the point of going back? We absolutely cannot return to Turtle Island!"
Little White paused, then nodded slightly.
Even without Zhang the Great leading the way, Little White still intended