Unable to bear seeing the little girl suffer, Jiang Jie sent Zhaoren to scare the monkeys away, but he never expected to see such a scene!
How would you describe Jiang Jie's current feelings?
I was both amused and exasperated.
A fearless little girl actually rode on Cloud Serpent after seeing it? How big of a shock was that?
Well, it seems this little girl, who's only ten years old, secretly ran away to wander off on her own. She really is fearless!
" Li Li!" Aysa walked over and called softly.
"Huh? Who called me?" Li Li turned around, waving her hands and shouting, "Sister Aysa? And Brother Ji? Come on, I'll treat you to a dragon ride!"
Aysa: "..."
Jiang Jie: "..."
Then came an explanation.
"So, you subdued Zhaoren, Master Jiang?" The little girl suddenly bowed deeply, saying respectfully, "Master, please accept my bow!"
Actually, when she bent over, her eyes were darting around, and no one knew what mischief she was up to.
Jiang Jie couldn't stand this little girl any longer and quickly stepped aside, saying, " Li Li, your master is Gao, right? Isn't it inappropriate for you to casually become a disciple like this?"
"It's alright, I have many masters, Uncle Chen is also one of my masters, and I'll be learning martial arts from Master Shang Xi at the training ground in the future, so one more of you won't make a difference!" The little girl said, "Alright, you're my master now, you can't just abandon me! I'm so bored, can you take me to find Uncle Chen? I want to go wandering!"
Jiang Jie: "..."
This quirky little girl is truly both hilarious and exasperating.
She's like a piece of chewing gum, sticking to me and refusing to let go, crying, making a scene, and hugging my waist—there's absolutely no way to get rid of her.
"Alright, alright, we need to go find Elder Pao Stormstout and get his permission first." Jiang Jie had no choice but to nod.
Actually, he quite liked this little girl.
Moreover, with her by his side, as long as word gets out, they'll definitely lure Old Chen over. Jiang Jie has long wanted to meet that Legendary Pandaren; he's probably the most powerful one on the entire Wandering Isle, right?
Even in Pandaria, there aren't many Monk stronger than him, right?
He must be Legendary, right?
I just don't know what level of Legendary it is...
I had no choice but to take a detour and go to Li Li's house.
"What? You're going on a trip?" Old Pao Stormstout's first reaction was no way.
It's only natural to worry about your child.
He has already lost his wife; he cannot afford to lose his daughter as well!
"There won't be any danger! Look, there are so many older brothers and sisters, as well as Sister Aysa and Brother Ji, and Master Brother Jiang! There's also Zhaoren and the four little Elemental Spirits! With them around, who would dare to bully me! Just let me go!" The little girl shook Pao Stormstout's old arm, shaking it incessantly, looking like she was saying, "If you don't agree, I'll cry."
" Pao Stormstout, we will take good care of Li Li." Aysa clasped her hands together.
"Yes, Pao Stormstout, don't worry, with me here, no one will dare to mess with Li Li!" Ji patted his chest and assured him.
"We will all protect Li Li!" said the four little Elemental Spirits.
They liked Li Li very much because they felt Li Li was their peer, at least mentally. They got along very well. Li Li even touched them several times to check if the Huo the Fire Spirit was too hot, the Shui the Water Spirit was too cool, the Earth Spirit's Wugou Earthen was too hard, and she even felt the airflow of the Wind Spirit's Dafeng...
"Well, I'll protect her too..." Zhaoren said somewhat reluctantly.
Because it already sensed that traveling with Li Li would definitely be a bittersweet experience.
"Don't worry, Mr. Pao Stormstout, with me here, Li Li will be safe," Jiang Jie assured him with a smile.
"Alright... Since Master Jiang has said so, and with you all here, I'm relieved." Elder Pao Stormstout instructed, "Just wander around for a bit and then come back. Find your uncle; I'll only feel at ease with him around."
"I know, I know! The children of the Stormstout family aren't that fragile, are they?" Li Li skipped and hopped happily as she went to find her crane.
A few minutes later, they set off for the Forest of Staves.
Along the way, the little girl was incredibly sweet-talking, calling everyone "brother" and "sister." This little girl was very clever; she never vied for the position of senior brother or sister. Her logic was: What's the point of being a brother or sister? Being a little sister is better; then brothers and sisters will love me, take care of me, and give me gifts...
As a result, a group of people gave her gifts, and her small backpack couldn't hold them all, so she had to hang or tie them to the Zhaoren the Onyx Cloud Serpent.
Finally, she ran up to Jiang Jie Jiang Jie, grabbed his arm, and said, "Master, I've just become your disciple, shouldn't you give me a gift? Or, how about you give me the Zhaoren? I really like it, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Zhaoren immediately objected, because it felt that Li Li was a little devil and a brat, and if it followed her, it would definitely suffer terribly!
"Are you going to abandon your crane? It will be unhappy." Jiang Jie smiled and took out a necklace, handing it to Li Li.
This is a good item from the Sunstrider's Treasury, of excellent quality, inlaid with beautiful rubies, very pretty. Purple epic equipment is not so easy to obtain, and there isn't a single piece suitable for Li Li. This is not because Jiang Jie is stingy.
After seeing Li Li off, we continued walking and arrived at the Forest of Staves twenty minutes later.
Jiang Jie easily defeated the guarding stone lion, drove away several Thornbranch Scamp that surrounded him, and met Master Shang Xi.
"Are you leaving? Go ahead." Master Shang Xi sat cross-legged on an open ground, his walking stick stuck in the ground, where small flowers had already bloomed.
"What are you doing...?" Jiang Jie sensed something was wrong. What was he going to do?
Master Shang Xi still has at least several decades left to live, so why did he give up his walking stick?
Isn't it only when life comes to an end that one plants their cane here, hoping it will slowly grow into a big tree?
"Jiang, I heard you tell me about the famous saying of the sages of your region, 'At fifty, one knows one's destiny.' I've lived for over a hundred years, long past the age of knowing one's destiny. I thought my destiny was to pass on knowledge and skills, to open a martial arts school and pass on the knowledge and martial arts of the Pandaren. But after learning your martial arts, I discovered that my destiny has changed."
Master Shang Xi remained calm and serene, showing neither sorrow nor joy. "My body has aged, but my soul grows ever stronger. Death is not the end of life's journey. I intend to let this body decay naturally, while my soul will leave the body and exist eternally in this Forest of Staves, becoming its Keeper."
Jiang Jie remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "You don't need to do that. Forest of Staves will naturally be protected by the elders of past generations, as well as by the young Pandaren."
"Master Shang Xi, Aysa is not leaving. Aysa will stay here and protect the Forest of Staves!" Aysa clasped her hands together, her voice earnest.
"I'm not leaving either, Master Shang Xi! I will also protect the Forest of Staves!" Ji shouted hurriedly.
"Jiang, you've seen many Thornbranch Scamp born in the Forest of Staves, but do you know why they appeared? Because evil is eternal, impossible to eradicate. This evil comes from the ancient Old Gods. Y'Shaarj's power was suppressed in Pandaria, yet it has also permeated the souls of every Pandaria being, including the Shen-zin Su, including us. We cannot completely eliminate this power, so we have always used an optimistic, peaceful, and tranquil way of life to suppress the evil to the minimum. But now I've discovered that your martial arts have given me a greater power, a power on the spiritual and soul level, a power that may be able to completely annihilate the faint evil power on the Wandering Isle."
Master Shang Xi said, "A thousand sails pass by the sunken ship, ten thousand trees bloom before the withered tree—this is what you told me. I don't have the power to fight the ancient evil deep within Pandaria, but my soul will merge with the Forest of Staves, gradually extinguishing the faint evil forces on the Wandering Isle. You are the young hope; protecting Pandaria and eliminating the remnants of Y'Shaarj depends on you. Your burden is heavier than mine!"