Once we turned homeward, the girls let their laughter fade like ripples on a pond, faces tightening like bows drawn in dusk.
The tunnel ran deep and shadowed, a stone throat where beasts could lunge from silence, and the walls and ceiling hung like tired bones ready to fall.
Under Luyao and Purple Illusion’s guidance, the line moved clean as a thread through a loom—yet Yue Liuyi saw the black‑haired girl pacing alone, brows knotted like storm clouds.
“Teng Ying, what’s wrong?”
“N‑no big deal… Miss Liuyi, what are you planning next?”
“Huh? Next… after I settle everyone, I’ll head to Xinke District. I can’t just wait; I want to do something.”
“No, please don’t!”
Teng Ying shook her head like a willow in wind, voice hesitant yet firm as a set stone. “Please stay in Winterwood District. Don’t risk yourself. If we protect you, that’s victory.”
“Protect…?”
Yue Liuyi blinked, puzzled, her gaze a lake with ripples.
“Miss Yue Liuyi, you’re the World Tree Maiden, right? I felt that familiar pulse back in the Mystic Illusion Cafe.”
“What—Teng Ying knows?!”
“Mm… I only guessed at first, but after hearing a lot from Lidashi, I can confirm.”
“Mm…”
It wasn’t a surprise that Teng Ying learned Yue Liuyi’s identity; Liuyi never hid much from those near her, and a quick mind can stitch clues like leaves to a branch.
“Um…”
Guilt welled up first, heavy as wet wool; Yue Liuyi wanted to apologize, because she felt unworthy—she’d been passing as a boy, and as Dreamwood Star’s guardian, she hadn’t saved the planet.
But Teng Ying spoke first.
“Miss Liuyi, you really look like Sister He Yi… I can’t believe I missed it, with such similar name and face.”
“Eh? H‑He Yi…”
“Mm… Miss Liuyi, you’re Sister He Yi’s daughter, right? That’s why you’re disguised as a boy?”
…
…
Rain kept on falling, soft needles stitching sky to earth, and Winterwood’s lush greens drank it like roots sipping tea.
Water fed the trees; mist rose like breath from moss, thickening the rain until it hummed like a curtain.
Near the subway exit, the downpour clattered like beads; distant fire and smoke blurred into a watercolor beneath the drifting haze.
Night spread its cloak over the city, black silk swallowing neon.
“So… Teng Ying met my mother when she was little?”
“Mm. Sister He Yi saved me. I owe her my breath.”
Melancholy drifted in first, a cool draft through Liuyi’s chest; most memories of her mother had faded like ink in rain, and only the warm ones still glowed.
“Sister He Yi was gentle, like a drop of dew, always watering the world in quiet.”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’m just a lazy, lecherous boy—ugh! A girl now!”
“Uh—no! Miss Liuyi, that’s not what I meant!”
“Don’t comfort me, Teng Ying. I know my flaws. But I’ll try. I won’t drop my duty.”
She clenched her fist like a sapling taking root; being a World Tree Maiden wasn’t a perk but a mantle—if she held power, she’d guard everyone with it.
“No, that’s not it. I mean, as long as you live healthy, that’s enough.”
“Huh?”
“Honestly, it’s lucky you’re the World Tree Maiden. So many people can shield you—it’s a blessing in a storm.”
“Eh…?!”
“Back then I was small, with no power, so…”
Teng Ying’s eyes softened like moonlight on water, and her hand lifted toward Liuyi’s pale‑blue hair like a moth to a lantern.
That’s when Yin Mu sprinted up from the rear, footsteps tapping like rain.
“Master, trouble!”
“What is it, Yin Mu?”
“The passage collapsed. A few at the end got hurt!”
“Yikes! Take me!”
…
…
“Waaah! I’m so miserable!”
A middle‑aged man lay under the bite of fallen rock, once a small boss and now a sniveling slug, tears and snot shining like rain on stone.
“Am I gonna die here? Waaah!”
“You won’t die. Head‑pat, head‑pat.”
Blood ran red down his suit like wine on slate, and on the other side, Lidashi stroked his head with a gentleness like warm sand.
“What happened?”
“Sis Ying, bro! You’re here!”
Lidashi stood, eyes on the ceiling like a mason, and to prevent more collapse he kept others moving along the line.
“I heard we had a wounded and ran over. Is it him?”
“Yeah. The others are just grazed, so they went on with the team.”
“Looks like a fracture. Where’s LittleSnow? Still covering the rear?”
“Yep. Some Mechanical Mantises chased us, so the silver‑haired sister ran to intercept.”
“Alright… I’ll handle this.”
The man’s wound wasn’t severe; fear, not blood, washed him pale like paper, because he’d never faced stone and dark teeth.
“Am I dying?! I need to settle my inheritance first!”
“You’re not dying.”
Even a World Tree Maiden couldn’t knit bone on the spot like bark after frost.
Yue Liuyi let healing flow, a green breeze that cleaned and soothed, then reached for a plank to splint his arm like a branch bound straight.
“Aaah! That hurts!”
She’d barely touched him, and the scream tore out like a broken kettle.
“Uh… Lidashi, do we have anesthetic?”
“Nope. The med box at the Mystic Illusion Cafe only has knockout meds.”
“Then… sorry about this.”
Yue Liuyi set her hand to his forehead like a leaf to a stream.
“What are you doing!”
“Gotta use a sleep spell. Don’t worry—when you wake, you’ll be safe.”
Magic rippled out soft as dusk, and the man dropped into silence like a stone into still water.
“Okay, now I can wrap it.”
With no trembling, her bandage ran neat as white ribbon, and Yue Liuyi’s hands moved like birds weaving a nest.
Teng Ying couldn’t hold back a laugh, a bright bubble like a bead snapping. “Haha!”
“Did I wrap it wrong?”
“No, I’m not laughing at you. I’m just amazed—so practical. Only you would think of that.”
“Thanks. I just think it’s urgent, and this way is best for him and for everyone.”
For Lidashi and Teng Ying’s safety, Yue Liuyi didn’t say more; the cave felt like a tired beast, and danger pressed in like a second heartbeat.
“This is good. Miss Liuyi, you’re a fine World Tree Maiden. You’re no less than Sister He Yi.”
“What—Brother Dongfang Chen is a World Tree Maiden?!”
Lidashi, kept in the dark like a cat in a cupboard, finally caught the truth of Yue Liuyi’s identity.
