Chapter 849: Afternoon by the Small River
Maple Leaf Courtyard, morning.
It was a rare day off. Inside the small wooden house, Lolan Hill remained in bed, unwilling to get up. The clean and comfortable bedding seemed to possess a special magic, making this witch reluctant to rise. Instead, she shifted slightly, pulling the blanket closer, and continued sleeping.
On the other side of the room, Ye Ling also stirred uncomfortably under the covers, her breathing soft and gentle.
Without anyone waking her, this little dragon maiden would usually only wake up around noon.
After hesitating for a moment in the warmth of the bed, Lolan decided not to wake Ye Ling. Everyone wanted to sleep a bit longer; why be so strict? With that thought, she brushed aside the slightly itchy strands of hair beside her face and drifted back into a comfortable dream.
Time slowly crept toward noon. Outside the window, a few cheerful cicadas chirped, their sounds sometimes drawn out and at other times short, fully expressing the joy of summer.
Finally, Ye Ling, who had slept enough, was awakened by the sound of the cicadas. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up on the bed, dazed for a while. Looking at the unfamiliar maple ceiling and the round, petite furniture beside her, she took a moment to realize that this was Lolan Hill’s home.
She stretched lazily, then put on slippers and stepped down from the bed, curiously approaching the other bed where Lolan Hill was still asleep.
This was the first time she had seen Lolan Hill sleeping. Before, she was always the one sleeping in Lolan’s arms.
The sleeping Lolan Hill lay on a soft pillow, covered by a light quilt that outlined her figure. Long, silky silver hair spread across the quilt and pillow, some strands falling onto her neck, contrasting beautifully with her snow-white skin. One hand protruded slightly from the quilt, revealing slender, curved fingers with pale pink nails, unadorned.
Seeing Lolan still asleep, Ye Ling bent down, touching her cheek lightly, wanting to wake her, but feeling a pang of reluctance. It was rare to see Lolan sleeping in such a lazy manner; perhaps it was best to let her rest.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she stood up quietly, gently pushing open the door and stepping out of the room.
Outside the small house, intense sunlight shone on the ground, reflecting dazzling white light that made people squint involuntarily. Ye Ling shielded her eyes with her hand and descended the wooden steps, stepping softly on the white-textured stone slabs.
Where should she go to play? She was not very familiar with this place yet.
Scanning her surroundings, Ye Ling decided to head to the small river. Lolan had mentioned that the river was good for fishing.
However, after walking a few steps along the path between the stone slabs, she realized something was amiss. Looking down at her slippers and the sleeping clothes she wore, Ye Ling decided to change into more suitable attire.
Stealthily slipping back into the room, she changed into light shoes, shorts, and a sleeveless shirt. Then, she picked up a wide-brimmed hat she had bought in Solande and put it on before stepping out again.
Chirp chirp~
Watching the shadowy figure sneaking below, Dai Ju, perched in the nest under the eaves, emitted a questioning call. Flapping its wings, it looked at the dark crow beside it, which was still dozing, and decided to follow out to investigate.
Dai Ju was active during the day, unlike its companion, who preferred the night.
With a burst of energy, Dai Ju fluffed its feathers, cleared its throat, and let out two non-imposing calls: chirp chirp.
Then, it leaped from the wooden nest, spreading its wings to catch the gentle breeze, easily following the fleeing dragon maiden ahead.
The mana here is quite rich and comfortable.
Soaring in the air, Dai Ju felt the sun’s heat, and the forest provided ample mana for cultivation. This seemed like a perfect place to settle down.
But if not for Lolan leading it here, it might have never discovered this place. Dai Ju occasionally turned its head to look at the massive red maple tree nearby.
Although it was just a tree, this one was incredibly powerful. Ordinary demonic beasts would usually avoid such a strong presence, as they couldn’t win in a fight.
But as a partner, this was incredibly joyful. With such a formidable guardian, it was truly a happy thing for the bird.
Dai Ju’s small head pondered various thoughts, occasionally flapping its wings to glide through the branches, following the nimble Night Spirit who was jumping forward on the path.
Turning a corner obscured by layers of leaves, Dai Ju sensed the faint sound of flowing water and saw Night Spirit disappear behind a hillside in the forest.
Adjusting its wings to change direction, Dai Ju skillfully avoided the branches, lowering its altitude, and gliding through the area. Finally, it landed softly on a branch after lifting its feet.
Before it was a tranquil river valley. Maple trees on both sides blocked the intense sunlight, creating a cool and shady environment. Fallen leaves covered the slopes and rocks on either side, while a narrow stream flowed through the middle.
The water was clear, revealing numerous smooth stones beneath. A few black fish swam occasionally or remained motionless, making them hard to spot.
As a Dai Ju bird, it used to avoid fish, considering catching them too difficult for a small bird like itself. Generally, only large birds like eagles could manage such a feat.
However, extraordinary animals, like extraordinary humans, could achieve things previously impossible. Catching fish now came easily to it.
Standing on a branch, Dai Ju flexed its legs, finding a comfortable spot, and then crouched down, watching the Night Spirit below. It wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to catch fish.
Observing the little dragon maiden sit on a rock by the river, first testing the water temperature with her hand before removing her shoes and dipping her feet in, splashing water, Dai Ju found humans strange. Despite being able to transform into a powerful fire dragon, she seemed afraid of the water. At first, it wondered if she would turn into a giant dragon and drink the river and the fish dry.
Though small, Dai Ju didn’t dare underestimate the white-haired, twin-tailed dragon maiden. Several times, it had been caught by her, feeling the strength in her small arms that it couldn’t resist. This experience made it understand the power of a great dragon.
Still, the big chicken leg she gave was delicious, and she was a good person.
Seeing the Night Spirit play with the water for a while and then attempt to catch a fish, only to slip and fall, Dai Ju clicked its beak, feeling incredulous and somewhat bored. It felt like a movie with a disappointing ending, no exciting climax.
Forget it, let’s go somewhere else. Come to think of it, it felt like taking a bath too.
Recalling the last time it bathed was when Lolan Hill placed it and the dark crow in a basin and scrubbed them, the sensation was odd.
Spreading its wings, Dai Ju jumped silently, gliding for a while, and arrived upstream of the river valley, where Night Spirit couldn’t see it, and it wouldn’t be disturbed.
Landing on a rock by the river, Dai Ju looked at the flowing water below, then moved a few steps to a shallow gravel bank, feeling the slightly cool water.
It seemed quite nice, so it took a few more steps, half-submerging itself in the water.
Feeling the cool water flow through its feathers, carrying away the heat, a refreshing clarity washed over it.
Flapping its wings and shaking its body, water splashed everywhere. After washing its lower body, Dai Ju turned to let the water rinse its back, doing this back and forth until it felt satisfied, then stood up in the water and flapped its wings to fly.
Since its wings were wet, flying wasn’t easy. Dai Ju decided to take a nap on a branch, letting its feathers dry.
In the summer forest, cicadas chirped intermittently from afar, and occasionally, a breeze rustled through the tender green leaves.
A light yellow tiger crouched low in the underbrush, peering through the gaps in the leaves at a distant, pale yellow bird.
This was the first time it had seen such a powerful demonic beast in this forest. Although it appeared just a fat bird, the steady flow and overflow of mana from its body couldn’t be faked, emitting a fiery sensation.
Where did this guy come from? It had never seen anything like it before. The tiger crouched in the underbrush, puzzled.
This forest had few fish and insects, almost isolating it from other animals. Its ability to enter here was due to meeting a special human long ago. She helped remove bone spurs, and later, after becoming familiar with her, she brought it here to drink water and play, allowing it access.
Even though the human girl hadn’t appeared in many years, this place became its home.
Rarely did it find clean water, and there were no other animals or demonic beasts competing for it. It was a beautiful place. Occasionally, it even went swimming and caught fish for snacks.
Despite its average talent and lineage, it relied on the rich mana here to gradually rise to the Natural Sequence 5 — Lin Xi Golden Tiger, becoming a minor overlord in the surrounding forest.
After observing the fat bird for a while, the tiger decided to be cautious. The bird looked formidable and could fly in combat, so it was better not to provoke it. Unfortunately, other demonic beasts were arriving, and it felt unhappy about having to share the waters with them in the future.
Slowly, its broad paw retreated among the broken stones and dead branches, then it ran towards the outside, preparing to find food for the day.
Remembering that the plums on the west side of the forest were almost ripe, it thought about going to eat some today. As a specially evolved tiger, it had the ability to eat plants, which was crucial for its survival.
Caw caw~
Seeing the Level 5 tiger not attacking the foolish bird, the hidden crow in the forest branches clicked its beak, making a disdainful sound.
Another close call for the clumsy bird.
But whatever, it was too lazy to care now. Considering Lolan’s personality, if it attacked the tiger now, it might upset her, as she was kind-hearted unless provoked.
The crow spread its wings again, gliding over the forest after watching the scene, and kicked the sleeping Dai Ju off the branch.
Caw caw (Woke up, silly bird)
Chirp chirp (Why are you here?)
Dai Ju flipped in mid-air, stabilizing itself, and flew up, curiously looking at its good brother, wondering why it was awake.
Caw caw (Lolan asked me to wake you all, dinner will be ready soon)
Upon waking up, Lolan discovered that Ye Ling and Dai Ju were missing and learned from the crow that they had gone out to play. She then asked it to fetch them back for dinner.
Hearing that dinner was ready, Dai Ju ignored the crow’s rough awakening method and happily chirped a few times, flying toward the river valley with the black-and-blue bird.
At this point, Night Spirit had already taken off her shoes, standing in the water, focusing intently on a nearby black fish, and suddenly lunged to catch it.
Unfortunately, just as she caught the black-scaled fish, it struggled violently, splashing a lot of water, momentarily blinding Night Spirit. Seizing this brief moment, the fish slipped from Night Spirit’s grasp and darted back into the river, escaping far away.
“Stop running! If you run any further, I won’t be polite!” Night Spirit shouted angrily, regardless of whether the fish could hear.
She had been holding back her strength, not using any extraordinary methods. If she had used more force, the fish would have been crushed.
Plop plop—
After a few splashes in the river, Night Spirit had the impulse to transform into a dragon and burn the river dry to catch the fish. However, thinking about how this would destroy the scenic river valley, she had to give up the idea.
“Hmph, next time, I’ll bring a fishing rod and bait. I don’t believe you won’t bite,” she said angrily, returning to the shore to dry her wet clothes.
Chirp chirp~
Two birds, one yellow and one black, flew over, landing in front of Night Spirit and chirping loudly. Dai Ju raised a wing, pointing towards Lolan’s small house, occasionally flapping it.
“Oh, I understand what you mean now,” Night Spirit said, easily guessing that Lolan was calling her.
“Alright, it’s indeed not early anymore, and I’m getting hungry.”
Rubbing her stomach, which felt empty, Night Spirit spread her small dragon wings and leaped from the river valley, flying back in the direction she came.
Along the way, one person and two birds chattered happily, and when they returned to Maple Leaf Courtyard, Night Spirit saw Lolan Hill setting up a small pot beside the house to cook something.
Between the tripod, a bright yellow flame burned among the firewood, and the ceramic pot on top emitted bubbling sounds. Steam rose from the opened lid, and the aroma of pork ribs and lotus root filled the air.
Sitting on a small stool, Lolan Hill had a thick book on her knees, using this spare moment to write down some small tasks she needed to do in the next couple of days.
Lunch was ready, and the others should be back soon.
The wind blew occasionally, and she kept brushing her disheveled hair back. Until the sound of chirping approached.
“Lolan~ We’re back.”
Let’s add some light daily life scenes to transition into the imperial chapter.
