Shao Yunan stuffed the three small fairy fruits into the mouths of the three children. Before the children could taste them, they started having stomach aches. Wang Shijing was frightened, but Shao Yunan had some experience. In his previous life, the first time he drank half a bottle of Spiritual Milk, he also had stomach cramps. 

He had Wang Shijing help him hold the three children, comforting them and helping them endure the pain. The three children cried loudly in pain and when the pain finally subsided, they had diarrhea, and a foul-smelling black liquid oozed from their skin. After enduring all of that and taking a bath, the complexion and skin of the three children improved significantly. They also had forgotten the pain and kept saying how comfortable their bodies felt.

Afterwards, the three children slept in the space for a whole day without eating anything. Shao Yunan speculated that the effect of the fairy fruit was probably similar to that of Spiritual Milk, perhaps slightly less potent, which is why Tiger went to such lengths for Spiritual Milk. But personally, he felt it was just as effective. As for why Brother Tiger kept the already grown fruit without eating it, Shao Yunan temporarily didn’t know.

Through this incident, the children also learned about the existence of Spiritual Milk. Fortunately, they were obedient and didn’t act recklessly. As for Brother Tiger and Big and Little Gold, Shao Yunan was still worried.

The scene returns to the present.

Entering the Spiritual Milk cave, Brother Tiger followed inside. Shao Yunan first checked if there was any Spiritual Milk. He was surprised to find a drop of Spiritual Milk in the bottle. He turned back and said to Brother Tiger, “Brother Tiger, not bad. We have a drop today. I’ll give you and Big and Little Gold more to drink when we have more, but for now, you have to bear with it.”

Brother Tiger wagged its tail and stared at the bottle containing Spiritual Milk, licking its lips. Shao Yunan said, “Brother Tiger, I want to take this fairy fruit out to give it to someone. You probably won’t understand the reason behind it. In short, we caused trouble for my big brother and I need to use this fairy fruit to resolve it. Is that okay?”

Brother Tiger licked its lips. Shao Yunan rolled his eyes, picked up the bottle of Spiritual Milk, and Brother Tiger immediately opened its mouth. One drop of Spiritual Milk won over Brother Tiger. Shao Yunan found a crystal bottle, rinsed the fairy fruit with Spiritual Spring water until it was transparent, and then carefully plucked the fairy fruit with hands that had been washed three times.

There was a slight tremor in the space, and the children playing outside and Big and Little Gold stopped moving. Shao Yunan quickly put the fruit into the bottle, poured some Spiritual Spring water over it, and twisted the lid. The crystal bottle shimmered, and the soaked fairy fruit remained dazzling.

As soon as the fruit was separated from the plant, the last four open leaves curled back up, and the glow of the entire fairy grass dimmed by more than half. Shao Yunan suddenly felt a bit sad.

“Brother Tiger, will this fairy grass die?”

Brother Tiger, who had remained calm throughout, bit its tail, seemingly uninterested in whether the fairy grass lived or died. Shao Yunan asked again, “Will it keep growing?”

“Roar.” Tiger turned around and walked out, seemingly only interested in Spiritual Milk. Facing the dimmed fairy grass, Shao Yunan clasped his hands together. “Fairy grass, fairy grass, I need this fruit to serve a great purpose. I promise I’ll give you more Spiritual Spring water and Spiritual Milk in the future. Please forgive me.” He bowed three times to express his gratitude and apology, then put the bottle into his embrace and disappeared on the spot.

The carriage moved slightly, and Wang Shijing, who was driving, asked without turning his head, “Is it done?”

“It’s done,” Shao Yunan emerged and hugged him from behind. “I feel a bit sad. After plucking the fruit, the fairy grass doesn’t shine as brightly anymore. I don’t know how long this fruit had been growing, and we just plucked it like that. Maybe this plant was working hard to bear a fruit fairy.”

Wang Shijing reached out and pulled his wife over, embracing him with one arm. He asked, “Did Brother Tiger try to stop you?”

“No.” Wang Shijing said, “If Brother Tiger didn’t try to stop you, then it definitely isn’t a heavenly Fruit. You said it must have become enlightened, so how could it not recognize its own kind?”

Oh? That’s true. Shao Yunan looked up and said, “That makes sense.”

Wang Shijing continued to console him. “I think that fruit must have taken a long time to grow so big, but Brother Tiger never ate it. One possibility is that it couldn’t bear to eat it and the other is that it doesn’t have any benefits for Brother Tiger. The first possibility can be ruled out because Tiger gave it to us, so it’s not about not wanting to eat it. The reason must be that it doesn’t have any benefits for Brother Tiger. Since it doesn’t benefit Brother Tiger, it’s definitely not an immortal plant. But for ordinary people, it can already be considered a Heavenly Fruit. After you plucked the fruit, did the fairy grass wither?”

“No, it just became much dimmer, not as vibrant. But I feel like Tiger’s meaning is that it will grow again.”

“Then don’t be sad. When we have more Spiritual Milk, you can water it with a few drops.” Wang Shijing said, taking this opportunity to kiss his wife. “Go inside and rest.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Rest.”

Shao Yunan pursed his lips and smiled, then entered the carriage. He and Brother Tiger had exhausted themselves trying to escape, which greatly worried Wang Shijing. Wang Shijing also knew that at that time, his wife’s choice was the correct one, but he couldn’t forgive himself for hiding in a safe place when his wife was in danger and needed help, leaving him to face it alone. Shao Yunan knew that Wang Shijing was still blaming himself and behaved very obediently. There was no other way, his spouse cared for him too much. If Shao Yunan’s friends who had also traveled through time heard him say this, they would definitely be disgusted.

Jiang Kangning, who was anxious with blisters all over his mouth, heard from the returning yamen officer that Wang Shijing, Shao Yunan, and the children had all returned safely. He almost wanted to rush to Xiushui Village immediately, however, the returning yamen officers told him that they would come after tidying up, so Jiang Kangning temporarily suppressed his eagerness. But he also couldn’t focus on anything else and handed the matters of the county office to the county magistrate, instructing them not to disturb him unless it was a major issue.

After waiting for some time, Wang Shijing arrived driving the carriage. Jiang Kangning personally went out to greet them. He saw that the five people had returned safely, with no missing limbs or legs, and noticed that the three children looked particularly good, with very white and tender skin. At that moment, the worry that had been lingering in his heart finally settled. With his worry eased, Jiang Kangning’s face turned dark. Seeing his preparedness to scold them, Shao Yunan hurriedly said, “Big Brother, we have urgent matters to discuss. Let’s go inside and talk.”

“You two!” Angered, Jiang Kangning scolded the two of them, then turned and walked away. Shao Yunan patted Jiang Moxi and whispered something to him. Jiang Moxi quickly ran to his uncle’s side and called out, “Uncle.”

With this address, Jiang Kangning’s anger dissipated by more than half. He bent down to pick up Jiang Moxi, then turned around and said, “Why aren’t you coming over? Qinger, Nizi, come here to Uncle.” Wang Qing held his sister’s hand and ran over, while Jiang Moxi let his uncle put him down and held his sister’s other hand.

Once inside, Jiang Kangning sat down in the main seat and angrily said, “You two! Especially Shijing! You’re not kids anymore! Taking three children into the mountains with a big monster, how could you be so reckless! Ah! What if the monster turned back and wanted to eat people? What would you do! You went into the mountains on one end, and on the other, there was a huge flood. Do you know how anxious I was?”

“Big Brother, we were wrong,” Shao Yunan obediently admitted his mistake. Wang Shijing said, “Big Brother, we were reckless this time. We thought we would come back quickly, but we didn’t expect such things to happen. I promise to be careful and never make the same mistake again. Please don’t be angry, Big Brother.”

“You two!” Jiang Kangning scolded them again, but after taking a deep breath, he didn’t scold them any further. After all, everyone had returned safely, which was better than anything else.

“Moxi, take your younger brother and sister to play. Uncle and I have something to discuss. Also, go to the kitchen on your way and tell the head chef not to bother with dinner. I’ll take care of it.” Jiang Kangning said, nodding his head.

Jiang Moxi agreed and took Wang Qing and Nizi out. Wang Shijing stood up and followed them outside. He went to the courtyard and told the guards stationed there, “We have important matters to discuss with Big Brother. No one is allowed to enter.”

“Yes.”

Wang Shijing went back inside and said, “I told the guards outside not to let anyone in.” Jiang Kangning asked seriously. “But something happened, didn’t it?” He immediately thought of the changes in Xiushui Village and asked, “Did you encounter something in the woods? Do you know what happened there?”

Shao Yunan said, “Yes. We are the ones who caused those disturbances.”

“What?!”

Edited by: Jaisland

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