Just as the decaying moss was about to be completely cleared away, a "glug" sound suddenly came from the depths of the swamp—the mist from the direction of the spring suddenly thickened, and a layer of gray film appeared on the water's surface. The waterway, which had just resumed flowing, began to silt up again! A Mu gripped his sword hilt in a panic, suddenly remembering Loran's words about "swamp water vapor circulation." He immediately adjusted his ice and fire powers, turning the ice mist into a fine fog that flowed along the waterway toward the spring. At the same time, he used the power of fire to heat the peat around the spring, raising the temperature of the spring stone and accelerating the evaporation of water vapor.
" A He said there are 'water vein holes' hidden in the spring-fed rocks!" A Ya suddenly exclaimed. "We can guide the roots of the Swamp-Clearing Fern into the holes, allowing them to grow along the water veins and suppress the decaying moss at its source!"
A Mu immediately followed A He to the spring-fed stone—its surface was covered with tiny holes, from which murky spring water seeped. He inserted the New Sprout Sword into the cracks in the stone, using the power of ice and fire to pry open the holes, while A Ya carefully stuffed the roots of the Swamp-Clearing Fern into the holes and poured diluted Soul-Purifying Water over them—the roots seemed to have a spirit, quickly burrowing into the stone through the holes, and before long, the spring water seeping from the spring became clear, and the gray film on the surface gradually dissipated.
"Look under the spring-fed rock!" A He suddenly pointed to the gap between the rock and the peat. Everyone looked down and saw a crystal core with a pale green glow embedded in the gap—half of the crystal core was buried in the peat, and its surface was wrapped with very faint black threads. It was the " Marshheart Crystal "! Although the light of the crystal core was different from the golden light of the Sunset Crystal Core, it was equally full of vitality. It was obviously the ecological core of the swamp, but it was bound by the Evil Energy of the Heart-Rot Moss and could not play its role.
"This is the 'Heart of the Swamp's Spring Vein'!" Loran crouched down, his fingertips glowing with a purifying light. "Activating it will stabilize the spring's water veins, completely depriving the Heart-Rot Moss of its breeding ground— A Mu, would you like to give it a try?"
A Mu nodded, placing the New Sprout Sword on the springstone. Instead of immediately channeling power, he first allowed the temperature-regulating rune on the scabbard to resonate with the green light of the crystal core—the swamp was humid, so he needed to use the power of fire to stabilize the crystal core's temperature, and then use ice mist to filter the Evil Energy from the peat. As the power of ice and fire slowly seeped into the crystal core through the cracks in the stone, the green light of the crystal core instantly surged. The black threads on its surface, like silt washed away by the spring water, quickly receded, and the green light spread along the water veins, covering the entire Mist Swamp.
"The waterways are clear! And there are more Water-Purifying Frog!" Granny Swamp suddenly cheered. Everyone looked up and saw that the previously silted-up waterways had been cleared, and more than a dozen Water-Purifying Frog were swimming happily in the clear spring water. The Heart-Rot Moss on the surface of the water had withered and turned to ash, the leaves of the Swamp-Clearing Fern were glowing with a bright green light, and the Mistlight Grass had regained its pale blue light. The entire swamp seemed to have been washed clean, and even the mist had become fresh.
The swamp dwellers emerged from their yurts, carrying fresh swamp fruits and dried Swamp-Clearing Fern. A He's grandmother brought over a bowl of warm "spring water soup" and handed it to the boys. "This is swamp fruit soup made with spring water. Thank you for bringing the swamp back to life!"
A Ya took out her paintbrush and knelt down beside the spring-fed rock to sketch—she deliberately included the blue light of the Mistlight Grass, the silhouette of the Water-Purifying Frog, and the scene of the swamp dwellers harvesting swamp fruits in the drawing. She also marked the Marshheart Crystal core of the swamp with the words "Core of life in the Mist Swamp, requires monthly monitoring of spring flow and moss decay." The Icefield Wolf came over and gently touched the crystal core with its paw. The green light of the crystal core condensed into a small fern-shaped light pattern in its paw, making A He and the boys laugh.
As the sun set, the mist over the Mist Swamp gradually dissipated, revealing a clear blue sky. Swamp-Clearing Fern swayed in the breeze along the waterways, the blue glow of the Mistlight Grass mingled with the evening glow, the calls of the Water-Purifying Frog rose and fell, and the aroma of food wafted from the yurts of the swamp dwellers. A Mu compiled his patrol log for the day into a "Swamp Guardian's Log," the title page featuring a symbiotic diagram of spring-eye stones and Marshheart Crystal; A Shi, on the other hand, compiled swamp ecological data and the effects of suppressing decaying moss into a table, saying he would take it back to the Holy Land to compare with the tidal data of the bay, studying the dissipation patterns of the aftershocks of Evil Energy in different terrains.
On the return journey, the Marshheart Crystal suddenly emitted a pale green light, extending towards the " Fallen Star Woodland " on the western side of the swamp. Loran touched the crystal core and smiled, saying to the boys, "It seems it sensed the life force fluctuations in the forest. Next time we patrol, we can go and check out the Fallen Star Woodland."
A Mu gripped the New Sprout Sword tightly, the Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern on the scabbard echoing the green light of the crystal core. "Whether it's the woods or elsewhere, we can work together with the local residents to protect the life here!" The boys' laughter echoed over the swamp, and the golden figure of the Icefield Wolf ran at the forefront of the peatland, a Mistlight Grass dangling from its mouth, as if collecting a souvenir for the next guardian journey.
As night deepened, A Mu placed the Swamp Logs into the "Guardian Bookshelf"—the shelf was already filled with seven logs, from the water veins of the Clear Creek River and the flowers and plants on the edge of the abyss, to the Ironleaf Flower of the mines and the Fluorescent Butterfly of the Elven Woods, to the wind Windwhisper Stone of the grasslands, the Tidal Crystal Core of the bays, and the Marshheart Crystal of the swamps, each one filled with the growth and protection of the young people. Mistlight Grass shone through the gaps in the tent onto the logs, reflecting off the ice and fire warning crystals and the specimens of misty grass beside the bookshelf, as if telling a story: the path of protection has no end, and those small beauties hidden in the wetlands, grasslands, and bays, those warmth built hand in hand with different tribes, will eventually nurture a more complete picture of the continent's vitality over time.
The story of " The Qilin of Falling Maple " continues to unfold amidst the mist of the swamp, the light of the crystal core, and the laughter of the young boy. There are no thrilling battles, only the Swamp-Clearing Fern planted by hand, the ecological ledgers recorded by pen, and the inter-tribal friendships passed on on the peatland—these ordinary acts of protection, like the spring water of the Mist Swamp, are gentle yet steadfast, slowly converging into a protective river that illuminates the continent, flowing gently towards the more distant Fallen Star Woodland and richer ecological lands.