Chapter 77: Return

"Little brother, can my foot injury really be treated?" Little Qingfeng's eyes were filled with hope. As such a young child with a limp, she was naturally distressed and eager to recover.

"It can be treated. With some precious medicines, it will definitely heal," Little Bud pointed his gaze at the ball of fur on his shoulder.

The ball of fur had been sound asleep. It shivered suddenly, waking from its dream, and quickly jumped from his shoulder to perch on an ancient tree, looking down with vigilance.

"Hairball, don't be so stingy. Qingfeng is like this now. Don't you want to help her?" Little Bud smiled and waved at it.

"Chirp chirp," Hairball cried out, refusing to come down.

Qingfeng's left foot had been bitten by a venomous dragon. Although the wound had healed, it looked quite horrifying, like a growth, which was very out of place compared to her delicate little face.

The venomous dragon was not a true dragon but more like a venomous snake, only a few meters long, with a single horn on its head and a deadly poison. Anyone bitten by it was doomed to die. On that day, Qingfeng was bitten, and if it weren’t for her critically ill grandfather who used his essence to extend her life and expel the poison, she would have surely died.

"So cruel. How can they be so heartless to such a small child?" Little Bud spoke with a tone of an old sage, completely forgetting his own age.

As he spoke these words, the western frontier was turbulent, and a great earthquake shook the capital of the Stone Kingdom, causing a massacre. But Little Bud, the person involved, was unaware, detached from the world, and had long forgotten about those events.

"Little brother, where are we going?" Qingfeng asked.

"We're going back to my clan's true ancestral land. Once your injury heals and we adjust your body, when my strength is greater, we'll head to the Celestial Pavilion."

"Ah, the true ancestral land?" Little Qingfeng's eyes widened in surprise.

"Whinny," the unicorn reared its head and neighed long, its entire body silver-white, with scales shimmering with light. It carried the two children into the sky, crossing streams and heading towards the distance.

The Great Wilderness was filled with fierce beasts, and bloodshed was inevitable on the way. However, Little Bud had already traveled this route before, so this return journey was much smoother.

Qingfeng was astonished to hear that Little Bud had traversed three hundred thousand miles in the wilderness alone. Her mouth fell open in shock, and she felt that if news of this were to spread back to the Stone Kingdom, it would surely cause a sensation.

"There's a huge bird's nest on the mountain peak, covering the entire mountaintop," Little Bud pointed out.

Deep in the mountains, on a towering peak, there was an enormous nest, unmatched in size, with a diameter of over a hundred meters. It exuded an oppressive aura.

In the distance, a gigantic fierce bird flew towards them like a dark cloud, nearly a hundred meters long, with wings spanning two to three hundred meters. Its menacing presence was overwhelming, its black feathers like metal, flashing with a terrifying glow.

Along the way, Little Qingfeng frequently gasped in amazement, as she had never encountered such terrifying creatures in the wilderness before.

"Wow, that tree just devoured a giant fire rhinoceros!"

Soon after, they saw a towering ancient tree with branches moving, piercing through a several-meter-long fire rhinoceros, absorbing its blood. The entire tree had turned red, a truly terrifying sight.

"The Great Wilderness is very dangerous, with all kinds of strange creatures. We must be cautious, or we might face deadly peril with even the slightest lapse in vigilance," Little Bud warned.

It was a bizarre and frightening world, with a harsh natural environment and fierce competition. Humans had to fight to survive.

They proceeded carefully, avoiding many perilous areas that were beyond their current capabilities. The mists were dense, and terrifying shadows could be seen from afar, chilling to the bone.

Of course, bloodshed was inevitable. The fierce birds and beasts along the way were numerous, and Little Bud had to engage in multiple fierce battles daily, drenched in beast blood.

After more than twenty days of travel, the two children approached the Stone Village, their beast-skin clothes tattered and stained with blood.

"Wow, wild people, two wild people have come!"

By the azure lake, a group of children saw the bloodied figures and began shouting, quickly surrounding them.

"No, that black-red horse is a unicorn. Little Bud is back," the children recognized them as they got closer to the lake.

Little Bud and the others looked disheveled. Even the unicorn was stained with beast blood, its once shimmering silver scales now covered in blood, and Hairball was no exception. It was clear they had encountered many bloody battles along the way.

"Oh, Little Bud, you're back! The clanspeople have been so worried. You've been gone for over fifty days!"

"Little Bud, you look so miserable. I almost didn’t recognize you."

A group of children quickly surrounded them, showing great warmth. Despite their filthy and bloodied appearance, they immediately embraced each other, chattering endlessly.

"Who is this child?" they naturally asked upon seeing Qingfeng.

"His name is Shi Qingfeng. He'll be our little brother from now on," Little Bud introduced.

A group of adults were alerted and rushed out, including Shi Linhu and others, who were very excited, with even some older clan elders running out.

A young child crossing the Great Wilderness alone and surviving such a journey was nothing short of a miracle.

"Wonderful! Child, you’re finally back. Just being alive is a blessing," even the usually steady clan leader’s voice trembled with relief. They had been deeply worried.

The trial was incredibly arduous; even adult warriors would face near-death experiences when traveling together. Yet, Little Bud had succeeded.

This was once the most brutal trial by ancient ferocious beasts like the Qiu Long and Ya Zi for their young. Even those terrifying beast offspring could perish halfway.

Little Bud succeeded and returned with a child in tow.

"Child, you’ve done remarkably. You’ve completed the most terrifying trial, and you’re bound to soar to great heights in the future," a group of clan elders trembled with joy, some even with tears in their eyes.

For years, the legends of Stone Village had been treated as mere stories, with little belief in the ancient glory. But now, with this child’s rise, the past splendor might be revived.

"Child, did you make a breakthrough?" the old clan leader asked with concern.

"No, I plan to enter seclusion in the village. Making a breakthrough is not a problem; I want to reach even higher," Little Bud replied.

Everyone nodded, pleased for him.

"You’ve done well, completing the terrifying trials of the ancient era," the Willow Tree transmitted, and the clanspeople immediately bowed in reverence.

Little Qingfeng looked on in amazement, curious.

Little Bud was somewhat surprised as well, noticing that the Willow Tree looked different. The charred old bark had fallen off significantly, and there were protrusions on the trunk as if something were about to emerge.

"I will enter seclusion. For the next year, I will be in a deep slumber," the Willow God announced, causing a stir among the villagers.

"Respected Willow God, are you alright?" an elder asked, trembling.

"For me, it’s a good thing. But you must be careful, for during this year I won’t be able to protect you," the Willow God transmitted.

The villagers were alarmed. They would lose the Willow God’s protection and would be left vulnerable. The only comfort was that there were no evil beasts in the area, and no disasters had occurred.

"It’s okay. Last time, the Willow God also slept for a long time, and we were all fine, so it should be no problem," Shi Feijiao reassured the villagers.

"You are doing well. Don’t waste your talent. When I wake up, I will show you a different world," the Willow God’s advice was just for Little Bud.

From that day on, the Willow Tree's entire body grew dim. The green, glowing branch no longer shone at night, and it fell into a deep slumber.

"Plop," "Plop."

The beautiful lake was clear and blue. A group of children jumped in one after another, swimming joyfully, shouting and playing happily.

Little Bud, being completely nude, dove in headfirst to wash off the bloodstains on his body. Qingfeng, watching from the shore, was envious, as he couldn’t swim.

"Come on in, it’s fine. We’ll teach you how to swim," the older children called out.

"Ah, I can’t swim, I’m afraid of the water." Qingfeng hesitated but was still dragged in. With the protection of the group of children, he splashed around for half an hour and finally learned how to swim.

"It’s so beautiful here. It’s just gorgeous," Qingfeng said happily. In the azure lake, fish covered with golden scales sparkled and occasionally leapt out of the water. The shore was lush with green grass, and flocks of colorful birds strutted around, their feathers vibrant and shimmering. They were unafraid of people, looking exceptionally beautiful. There were also groups of unicorns running along the shore, utterly pure and sacred.

Qingfeng felt that this was like the world he had once imagined in his heart—peaceful and serene, with no disturbances. He thought that living here long-term would be very joyful.

In the evening, a group of children climbed ashore, sneaking around, with Hairball hiding in the grass, peeking out.

"What are they doing?" Little Qingfeng asked Shi Hao, puzzled.

Little Bud whispered, "They’re planning to steal bird eggs. These are the eggs of a rare bird, the Little Phoenix, which are a great tonic. Generally, the clan leader wouldn’t allow such things to happen."

Qingfeng was both surprised and intrigued.

Sure enough, soon there was chaos on the beautiful lakeshore. A group of children and Hairball had gathered a bunch of colorful speckled bird eggs and started roasting them over a fire.

In the distance, Shi Linhu’s roar could be heard: "You little rascals, don’t do this again in the future. If this continues, these rare and exotic creatures will surely be frightened away."

"Got it!" The children giggled, eating the fragrant bird eggs and taking bites of the golden, oily dragon beard fish, feeling extremely content.

"This place is really wonderful," Little Qingfeng was very happy. With so many playmates and so many interesting things, he felt incredibly joyful.

The transitional chapter might seem a bit calm, but the excitement will soon return. Please call upon your brothers and sisters to cast their recommendation votes and also consider adding this book to your collection.