Chapter 220
Looking at the child’s adorable and well-behaved expression, Su Ci reached out and poked Mu Bao’s chubby cheek, which felt as soft and squishy as a marshmallow.
Mu Bao didn’t mind being poked. Instead, he grinned widely, revealing two sweet little dimples.
Although he didn’t have furry ears to pet, Su Ci found himself liking this child. After all, the plant demon blood running through Mu Bao’s veins gave him a natural closeness to Su Ci.
Placing a hand gently on the boy’s head, Su Ci infused a faint golden light. Mu Bao watched in surprise as his hair reverted from fine green vines to soft, silky strands.
This discovery made his already sparkling eyes shine even brighter.
Clearly, Mu Bao preferred being human over his plant-like form.
“Go play,” Su Ci said, ruffling the boy’s hair before withdrawing his hand.
Mu Bao hesitated briefly, then nodded. He turned and, with A-Yan’s help, took a few tentative steps toward his new friends. Slowly, he let go of A-Yan’s hand.
Having not walked for nearly a year, the act of moving on his own felt strange and unfamiliar.
Wobbling slightly, Mu Bao held his arms out to the sides for balance and carefully shuffled his feet forward.
After managing two steps on his own, he turned back excitedly, only to see Su Ci and A-Yan both watching him. A-Yan smiled encouragingly.
Mu Bao’s face flushed red with shyness, and he quickly looked away, focusing again on his legs.
Determined not to get distracted, he rested briefly and then continued moving forward. Each step required all his strength, and every small movement was a challenge, but…
He was doing it!
“If Mom were here, she’d be so happy!” he thought. “And Dad… I need to walk a little more so I can surprise him when he comes back.”
With that determination, Mu Bao resumed practicing, puffing and straining with every step.
But this time, perhaps because he was a bit too eager, his steps became less steady. After a few more steps, he suddenly felt his foot slip—
As the ground seemed to rush up to meet him, Mu Bao instinctively shut his eyes, curling his arms protectively around himself, bracing for the pain.
Yet, even after waiting a moment, the expected pain never came. Confused, he opened his eyes.
To his surprise, he found himself frozen in mid-fall, his upper body hovering just a fist’s width above the ground. A gentle force seemed to be holding him up, preventing him from hitting the earth.
Perplexed, Mu Bao looked up. In the distance, he saw his new friends, who had stopped playing and were now running toward him.
Bathed in the golden glow of the afternoon sun, they raced across the plain. The antlered boy was in the lead, followed closely by the wolf cub, who seemed to be making a strange gesture with his hand in Mu Bao’s direction, his expression oddly focused.
Suddenly, the wolf cub let out a sigh, and the supporting force vanished. Mu Bao tumbled to the ground.
Thankfully, the grass cushioned his fall, and with the force already dissipated, it didn’t hurt at all.
By then, his new friends had arrived by his side.
“Mu Bao, are you okay?” Lu Jiao, the antlered boy, asked as he bent down to help him sit up.
Lang Ze, who usually raced to be first, didn’t seem upset at being beaten this time. Instead, he looked excited as he exclaimed, “Mu Bao! Did you feel the power of the wind just now?”
Mu Bao thought about the invisible force that had supported him and nodded.
The little wolf cub cheered excitedly. Seeing that Mu Bao hadn’t been hurt, he wagged his fluffy tail and bounded off toward the cabin.
“Zheng Xing! Zheng Xing! I did it!”
Mu Bao tilted his head in confusion, watching the wolf cub’s retreating figure.
“Lang Ze has the bloodline of the Midnight Wolf, which gives him the ability to control wind,” Lu Jiao explained patiently as he brushed the grass off Mu Bao’s clothes. “This must be the first time he successfully used it on someone else, which is why he’s so happy.”
Since their adventure in the nightmare realm, Lang Ze had made significant progress, especially with the awakening of his bloodline powers.
Previously, he only had the speed of the Midnight Wolf. But after emerging from the nightmare realm, he discovered that he could manipulate the wind.
The most common example was when he fell from high places; he could now use the wind to cushion himself, allowing him to land steadily on the ground.
Although he couldn’t yet use wind to lift himself into flight, with his talent, it seemed only a matter of time.
Just now, in a moment of urgency, he had successfully used the power of wind on someone else. If he could replicate that feeling and use it consistently, it would be a significant breakthrough.
Lu Jiao was genuinely happy for Lang Ze. Since forming the younglings’ battle team and venturing to other bases for training and monster-hunting, he had come to deeply understand the importance of teamwork.
The stronger his teammates, the more powerful their team became. Each additional bit of strength increased their chances of victory against monsters.
Of course, Lu Jiao also worked hard on his own cultivation and training, determined not to be a burden to his team.
Mu Bao nodded with a vague understanding, but his gaze was soon drawn to the antlers on Lu Jiao’s forehead.
Unlike ordinary deer, the antlers of the Silver White Deer were semi-transparent, with an icy blue hue. They were covered in fine velvet, embedded gracefully on Lu Jiao’s head, exuding an ethereal beauty.
When Lu Jiao had introduced himself earlier, Mu Bao had noticed the antlers. But now, seeing them up close, he realized they were even more beautiful than he had imagined.
“Your antlers are so pretty,” Mu Bao couldn’t help but say.
Lu Jiao, who had been thinking about his next steps in training, blinked in surprise at the comment. He gave Mu Bao a curious look and noticed that his hair had returned to its normal strands.
Still, Lu Jiao hadn’t forgotten the earlier image of Mu Bao’s hair transforming into fine vines with leaves sprouting.
“Is your bloodline plant-based?” Lu Jiao asked. While plant-based bloodlines were rare, Lu Jiao, being a diligent learner, was familiar with such concepts.
Mu Bao nodded, his bright eyes curving into crescent moons. “Yes! Su Su helped me recover, and then… then I was able to walk again.”
Mu Bao’s explanation wasn’t very clear, but Lu Jiao understood him.
In other words, Mu Bao wasn’t in a wheelchair because of a physical disability, but rather due to issues caused by his awakening bloodline. After Su Su helped harmonize his bloodline power, his legs returned to normal, allowing him to walk again.
Lu Jiao wasn’t surprised.
He hesitated briefly before saying, “I have the bloodline of the Silver White Deer.”
“Oh!”
Mu Bao nodded enthusiastically, but slowly, his smile froze.
He looked at the boy before him, with his silver-white hair and antlers that seemed straight out of a fairy tale, and swallowed nervously.
“Are you… the kind of deer that eats plants?” Mu Bao asked timidly.
He then saw Lu Jiao nod slightly.
In truth, Lu Jiao felt a bit conflicted. He had always been at the bottom of the food chain at the nursery, but now, it seemed there was someone even lower.
Of course, the situation was entirely different now, and he no longer saw himself or the other children through such a lens.
But clearly, the newly arrived Mu Bao hadn’t let go of such concerns.
Seeing Lu Jiao’s nod, Mu Bao was visibly frightened. He asked pitifully, “Will… will you eat me?”
Although his body had recovered, it was still recent, and he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t revert to a plant-like form. Naturally, facing a “herbivore,” his young heart was filled with fear.
Still, looking at the gentle and friendly little white deer, he felt it was unlikely that Lu Jiao would harm him. Despite his fear, he didn’t run away.
“Of course not,” Lu Jiao replied, his lips curling into a soft, reassuring smile. “I might have the bloodline of the Silver White Deer, but at my core, I’m still human. I like eating fruits and vegetables, but I also enjoy eating meat.”
“It’s like you—you couldn’t survive on just water alone, right?”
Mu Bao hesitated. “When my plant-like traits were very strong, I could survive just by drinking water…”
For example, when his hair turned into fine vines and sprouted leaves, he could sustain himself with water and photosynthesis without eating any food.
“That was before,” Lu Jiao said, patting Mu Bao’s head gently. “Now that you’re here at the nursery, with Su Su around, you can learn how to control your bloodline power and get better, just like I did.”
Having his head patted, Mu Bao looked at the little white deer’s smiling face and thought he looked even more beautiful when he smiled.
“Can I really be like you?” he asked.
“Of course,” Lu Jiao nodded confidently. He glanced at Mu Bao’s legs and asked, “Can you stand up again?”
“I’ll try.” Mu Bao struggled to stand, resuming his walking practice.
Lu Jiao stayed by his side, ready to support him. When Mu Bao wobbled and nearly fell again, Lu Jiao reached out to catch him.
However, the little white deer wasn’t particularly strong, and as he caught Mu Bao, the two of them tumbled onto the grass together.
“Are you two okay?”
Their “collision” caught Lu Li’s attention, and he came over from watching in the distance. Seeing the two kids laughing even after their fall, he relaxed and stayed to help with Mu Bao’s rehabilitation.
When Mu Bao learned that Lu Li had the bloodline of a Golden Monkey, he hesitated and shrank back slightly. But with Lu Jiao’s friendly example fresh in his mind, Mu Bao didn’t let his fear show. Eventually, he warmed up to both of them, becoming good friends with the two.
Su Ci observed them from afar. Seeing how well they were getting along, he lazily withdrew his gaze.
“Su Su! Brother A-Yan!”
At that moment, Little Li Hua came running over with a sketchbook in hand. She proudly showed them her drawing of the autumn outing.
Although the style was childish, the colors were bright and vivid, radiating cheerfulness. It was the kind of drawing that made people feel happy just by looking at it.
Su Ci complimented her, “Not bad,” and ruffled the little lion’s furry ears. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Little Li Hua, would you like to become an art cultivator?”
Being the youngest, and with her ability tied to the more difficult-to-train art of verbal incantations, Su Ci hadn’t taught her much beyond basic control and spiritual cultivation.
Reflecting on the past few months, Su Ci realized Little Li Hua spent almost all her free time drawing. When Yan Ya taught her some painting techniques, her progress had been rapid.
Since she loved painting and had both the talent and dedication for it, becoming an art cultivator seemed like a good path for her.
