Chapter 168
Yan Ya was certain now: the little girl before her was her long-lost daughter.
By age, she should be ten years old, yet she looked barely five. Whatever the reason for her stunted growth, it was clear her daughter had endured immense hardship over the years.
Yan Ya didn’t know when the nursery’s conditions had started to improve, but the director of the capital star’s childcare center wouldn’t have lied to her. Previously, the environment here must have been terrible.
How many years had her poor daughter lived in such a place? She felt heartbroken just thinking about her adopted daughter living in these conditions—how much worse was it to imagine her own precious child, her most treasured jewel, here?
Clutching her chest, Yan Ya was overwhelmed by guilt and regret, to the point of suffocation. She opened her mouth to speak, but her sobs choked her words, and she failed multiple times to get them out.
Watching Yan Ya’s painful expression, Little Li Hua didn’t understand but still pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped the corners of Yan Ya’s eyes.
“Don’t cry, okay?”
Her soft, childlike voice had a soothing quality, but to Yan Ya, it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, making her cry even harder.
Little Li Hua frowned in frustration.
She couldn’t understand why this auntie kept crying. It was making her feel like crying too.
Just then, Xue Wei crouched beside them. She patted Yan Ya’s back and took over the conversation. “Little Li Hua, parents are your family too.”
“But… I don’t have parents,” Little Li Hua replied, tilting her head as she looked at Xue Wei. “I only have my brother. My brother is my family.”
“Tiantian, I’m your mother!” Yan Ya grabbed Little Li Hua’s shoulders, her voice trembling with emotion. “You can feel the connection between us, can’t you?
“I’m a Red-Tailed Lion, and so are you. My blood flows in your veins—you can feel it, can’t you?”
Overwhelmed, Yan Ya failed to control her strength.
Little Li Hua wriggled out of her grip, taking a step back with a frown. “You hurt me! And…”
“I’m not Tiantian. I’m Little Li Hua.”
She glanced at Yan Ya, then at Xue Wei, before turning and running straight to Su Ci. Hugging his leg, she hid behind him, only daring to peek out cautiously at Yan Ya and the others.
Su Ci had been observing the riverbank but turned his attention to Little Li Hua when she clung to him. Following her gaze, he saw Yan Ya standing there, looking helpless and unsure.
He didn’t address Yan Ya. Instead, he looked down at Little Li Hua and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“She’s weird,” Little Li Hua muttered, though her eyes kept flicking back toward Yan Ya.
Little Li Hua could feel the connection in her bloodline. Seeing the madam gave her a warm, familiar feeling, which was why she hadn’t pushed her away when the woman hugged her and cried earlier.
But she felt the same warmth toward Su Ci.
And hearing the madam’s words had filled her with unease. She hadn’t forgotten that this madam had come to take Xue Wei away.
If they were family, would she be taken away too?
She didn’t want to leave!
For Little Li Hua, who had grown up in the nursery since infancy, the nursery was her home, her entire world. Now that world had expanded a little, including the riverbank.
She no longer felt the panic she once did when visiting the riverbank. She could play freely here, confident that when it was time, she would return to the nursery, eat and play with her friends, and fall asleep in her familiar “home” with her brother.
She had never thought about leaving.
Little Li Hua glanced at the panda family in the distance and couldn’t help but think to herself: If having parents means leaving the nursery, then I don’t want parents at all.
She only needed her brother, Lang Ze, and the others, along with Su Su—that was enough for her!
Of course, if Sister Xue Wei could stay, that would be ideal. But if not… she would accept it.
“You don’t want to see her?” Su Ci asked.
Little Li Hua tilted her head up to look at him and thought for a moment before replying, “Not right now.”
She didn’t dislike the madam so much that she never wanted to see her, but for now, she didn’t feel ready to face her. She needed to talk it over with her brother first.
“Hmm, I understand.”
Su Ci glanced at A-Yan, who immediately caught his meaning.
The young man smiled, nodded, and walked toward Yan Ya and Xue Wei, beginning to speak with them softly.
“Caretaker Zhou…” Yan Ya called out anxiously as he approached.
Hearing this title for the first time, A-Yan paused briefly before saying, “Just call me A-Yan.”
Though he was smiling, his lips didn’t move when he spoke. Yan Ya blinked, then noticed the communicator in his hand emitting a soft glow. Realization dawned, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Following his suggestion, she adjusted her tone. “A-Yan, about Tiantian…”
“Madam, I understand how you feel,” A-Yan said, his voice calm and steady, soothing enough to ease her flustered emotions. He looked at Yan Ya and continued gently, “But Little Li Hua is still a child. She needs time.”
Yan Ya clutched the damp handkerchief that Little Li Hua had used to wipe her tears. The coolness of the cloth seemed to mirror the gradual cooling of her own emotional intensity.
Looking remorseful, she said, “You’re right. I was too impatient. Tiantian, she…”
A-Yan interrupted softly, “Little Li Hua already has a new name and her own life now.”
Yan Ya froze for a moment. She raised her head to meet A-Yan’s platinum-colored eyes, then looked at the little girl hiding behind Su Ci. At last, something clicked in her mind.
Tiantian had become Little Li Hua.
If she wanted her daughter to accept her more easily, she needed to embrace Little Li Hua as her daughter, rather than expecting Tiantian to return.
“I understand now. Thank you, A-Yan.”
Yan Ya, now fully composed, felt her expression gradually settle into calmness. She reminded herself that finding her daughter was something to be happy about. She couldn’t keep crying and scaring her child away.
She resolved to be a steady, calm mother—to win back her children’s trust and affection.
After soothing Yan Ya, A-Yan returned to Little Li Hua and extended his hand toward her.
Little Li Hua didn’t resist. She grabbed his finger with her tiny hand and nestled herself between him and Su Ci, though her eyes kept glancing toward Yan Ya.
“She’s not crying anymore,” she remarked.
“Yeah,” A-Yan replied, glancing at Su Ci with a proud, beaming smile, as if seeking praise.
Su Ci paused for a moment, gave a small nod of acknowledgment, and then reached out to ruffle Little Li Hua’s hair. “Want to see the grasslands?” he asked.
Without hesitation, Little Li Hua nodded. “Yes!”
Then, after a moment’s thought, she asked, “What’s a grassland?”
Su Ci didn’t answer but instead brought her and A-Yan to the top of the waterfall in a flash.
When they arrived, they saw someone had beaten them there. A figure was already perched on a large rock by the riverbank, gazing into the distance.
“Liu Liu!” Little Li Hua called out cheerfully when she spotted him.
Hearing her, Lu Li turned and jumped down from the rock.
While the other cubs had been busy with the panda family, Lu Li hadn’t joined in the fun. After catching some gossip, he had wandered off to the waterfall to be alone.
Perhaps from spending too much time as a monkey, Lu Li was quieter after returning to his human form. At the nursery, his presence was low-key, though he seemed perfectly content with his own company.
“What are you looking at?” Little Li Hua asked.
She was too short to see over the misty spray of the waterfall and couldn’t make out what lay beyond.
The boy smiled faintly, his light golden hair shimmering as the water droplets caught the sunlight.
“I’m looking at the hope of a beautiful world,” he said.
Little Li Hua tilted her head and studied him. She didn’t quite understand but felt it sounded impressive.
“Ohhh!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, nodding in agreement.
Lu Li chuckled and said, “You can come take a look too.”
“I can’t climb up,” Little Li Hua said, looking at Su Ci.
Su Ci glanced down at her, and in the next moment, the scenery around her shifted. When she focused on her surroundings, she let out an astonished “Wow!”
Below the waterfall stretched a vast plain.
The land, once shrouded in blood mist, had shed its menacing appearance, now adorned with a fresh coat of green. The landscape was clear and vibrant.
Lu Li’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he stood beside her.
Aside from Su Su and Brother A-Yan, no one understood the original state of this plain better than he did. Each time he came to the riverbank with Su Su, he would always visit this spot to observe the changes.
It had started about half a month ago, after the major incident. When he returned to the area, he noticed significant transformations on the plain.
Alongside the meandering river stretching into the distance, there was now a growing expanse of green spreading outward. Each time he came, the changes became more pronounced, and the sight brought him renewed joy.
Su Su had once told Lu Li that the changes in this land were brought about by a small wild grass they had found in the riverbed.
At the time, the little wild grass was on the brink of death, wilting and frail. But Su Su had told him then that this tiny grass would become the hope to transform the world.
And it did.
That tiny wild grass had grown into this vast plain, continuously spreading further.
Of course, the plain wasn’t always lush and green. After the grass had spread across the entire area and the concentration of blood mist had visibly decreased, the wild grass started to weaken.
Some plants withered and died, leaving patches of dark, barren soil scattered across the plain. When Lu Li first noticed it, he was alarmed.
But Su Su reassured him there was no need to worry.
Skeptical but trusting, Lu Li waited for a few days. To his amazement, new green shoots began sprouting from the exposed patches of soil. Nourished by spiritual energy, they grew quickly.
For the first time, Lu Li truly understood the meaning of “Wildfires can’t destroy it; it regrows with the spring breeze.”
He also gained a deeper appreciation for the meaning behind his own name.
Su Su explained that the mutated wild grass had gained the ability to absorb blood mist and release spiritual energy that promoted the growth of other plants.
When the blood mist concentration diminished or disappeared, these spiritual grasses would wither and die. However, before they died, they left behind seeds.
Not all of these seeds inherited the spiritual grass’s unique properties; most grew into ordinary wild grasses. In environments with sufficient water and nutrients, they thrived and grew normally.
Under the stimulation of spiritual energy, their growth accelerated.
Now, the lush grass covering this plain was mostly ordinary wild grass.
Although simple, these grasses formed a critical part of the ecosystem.
As the wild grass flourished, dormant insect eggs buried deep in the soil, lying there for countless millennia, began to awaken. After hatching, the insects emerged from the earth.
The smaller, less competitive mutated insects that couldn’t survive on the Star-chain Spiritual Fruit began migrating to this plain, feeding on the wild grass and smaller bugs.
The cycle of life was accelerating here. What it would ultimately become remained to be seen, and time would reveal its final form.
Perhaps, before long, even small animals might migrate here.
Little Li Hua, of course, knew none of this.
After marveling at the vastness of the grassland, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “There are no flowers!”
“Su Su, can we plant flowers on the grassland?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Of course we can,” Su Su replied with a nod.
Thanks to the spiritual grass’s purification, this land had fully regained its vitality. In addition to grasses, they could now transplant some perennial trees.
Bamboo would be a good choice—and maybe some fruit trees too.
The two spiritual pear trees were growing far too slowly. Who knew when they’d bear fruit? Perhaps they should plant some ordinary pear trees instead.
“We could even build a little house on the grassland someday,” A-Yan suggested. “On nice days, we could have picnics and fly kites…”
Thanks to his efforts, the rules around Base 24 had been largely stabilized.
In the past two weeks, there hadn’t been any extreme weather—only sunny skies or gentle rain—creating an ideal environment for life to thrive and settle.
Moreover, both his and Su Ci’s powers had partially recovered as a result.
Though their restored abilities were still a small fraction of what was needed for the entire planet, with time and consistent effort, there would eventually come a day when everything was completely healed.
Listening to A-Yan’s description, Su Ci couldn’t help but recall memories from long ago. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
But he quickly added, “Let’s focus on the work first.”
Given the evident effectiveness of the spiritual grass, it was imperative to transplant it to other areas. The mountain range where the demon flowers grew was an ideal candidate.
As Su Ci and A-Yan took the two children to begin transplanting the spiritual grass, the Crimson Flame Tiger—carrying the still-unconscious Rong Heng—finally returned to the nursery with Li Sinian.
