The little girl's innocent smile filled Chen Nan's heart with warmth, silencing all the beasts and monsters.
"Hehe..." Happy children's laughter floated through Hundred Flowers Valley.
Perhaps she really was a little fairy. She was as beautiful as a carved jade, with crystal-clear skin that seemed to shimmer. Her big, bright eyes sparkled like black gemstones, and she had a delicate nose and rosy lips. She looked more holy than a little angel and more beautiful than a little elf.
She hopped and skipped barefoot on the fairy flower, her long, flowing black hair reaching her shoulders. Suddenly, she waved to Chen Nan and called out, "Brother..."
The child's innocent voice immediately startled Chen Nan awake. He hadn't expected this little girl to call him "brother." He walked forward step by step. Long Baobao followed closely behind, and eight or nine monster leaders also advanced. The other beasts and monsters lay quietly in place, watching the valley.
The restrictions on the ancient immortal ruins had indeed disappeared, and Chen Nan entered the Valley of a Hundred Flowers without any hindrance. The little girl waved her jade-like hand and smiled sweetly at him, truly like a little elf.
Suddenly, a tremendous force surged towards Chen Nan, pushing him back several steps. He was terrified and looked around, but saw nothing.
The dragon baby and the eight or nine monster leaders did not feel anything at all. They seemed not to have sensed the great force at all. They looked at Chen Nan, who was retreating, with puzzled expressions.
Chen Nan was puzzled. He drew the long sword from behind him, and after infusing it with his inner strength, a golden light emanated from it. He strode forward again, and that immense power reappeared. He raised the sword and slashed fiercely, a metallic clang echoing throughout the valley.
Chen Nan saw nothing; he relied entirely on his keen intuition to slash at the powerful attack. When the blade collided with the force, it produced a metallic clang.
"Uncles, please don't hit my brother..." A childish voice rang out in the valley as the little girl waved her small hands vigorously.
Chen Nan was startled and suspicious. He recalled what Princess Ba Ge had said before: some old demons often came here to teach the beings among the immortal flowers to speak. From this, he guessed that the person who had secretly attacked him must have been one of those old demons. However, the old demons didn't seem to want to take his life; they were only trying to stop him from advancing. Otherwise, if those ancient beings had truly intended to kill him, he would have been dead on the spot long ago.
"Why are you stopping me?" Chen Nan shouted.
"Young man, you should leave. She belongs to the demon realm of Kunlun Mountain, not to you." An aged voice rang in his ears.
"No, I want to be with my brother. He's my family, and he feels so familiar to me. But... I can't remember him right now..." The little girl's innocent words revealed her confusion.
Chen Nan was greatly shocked. That day, when he heard Princess Ba Ge say that a life was being nurtured within the fairy flower, he had wild thoughts and associated her with Yu Xin. Now, hearing the little girl's words, a tidal wave of doubt surged within him, and he began to suspect again.
Chen Nan charged forward once more. The old demons in the shadows seemed furious, their attacks becoming noticeably heavier. With a deafening roar, a powerful palm strike slammed towards Chen Nan. Chen Nan raised his sword to meet the attack, but the immense force instantly shattered his blade, sending him flying once more. At that moment, Long Baobao rushed forward, shielding Chen Nan.
The little girl cried out again, "No! Don't hurt my brother! I want to stay with my brother..."
Several aged sighs echoed from the shadows, and an old voice gently reverberated within the valley: "Truly not of this demon realm. So be it! So be it! So be it! So be it! So be it!"
The thousands of beasts and monsters outside the valley stirred up a commotion upon hearing these words, but then gradually quieted down.
These words had a different meaning to Chen Nan, and he strode forward. The little girl on the fairy flower smiled sweetly, opening her small arms to him, seemingly waiting for him to come and hug her.
The valley was filled with the fragrance of various flowers and fruits, but none of these could mask the delicate and sweet scent of the fairy flower. This fragrance could calm the mind and bring peace to the heart. The seven-colored light source in the valley came from the fairy flower that had given birth to the little girl, and the glow of the light made the little girl look holy and beautiful.
Chen Nan walked through the flowering grove, approaching the fairy flower step by step. The little dragon followed closely behind. At this moment, the greedy dragon baby seemed to ignore the strange fruits on the jade-green trees beside them. It blinked its big eyes and gazed intently at the child, its eyes full of joy. Of course, this was not the joy of discovering "food," but a joy full of emotion, just like its affection for Chen Nan—very friendly.
The eight or nine demon leaders also followed. Although the old demons of Kunlun Mountain had explained that the girl did not belong to the demon realm when they left, these demon leaders still couldn't resist their curiosity and wanted to see what was going on.
As Chen Nan approached, he discovered that this celestial flower seemed to be carved from divine jade. Its roots, leaves, and petals were indeed jade-like substances, but it emitted a faint fragrance and radiated a seven-colored light.
Only then did he notice that some jade-like threads were still wrapped around the little girl's legs, which was why she kept jumping on the fairy flower; she was trying to break free from those threads. However, the threads were extremely tough and she couldn't tear them off even a little. Upon closer inspection, one could see that light was constantly flowing from those threads into the little girl's body, while the colorful glow of the entire fairy flower was gradually dimming.
Chen Nan was utterly astonished. Everything he had seen and heard today seemed like a dream, and he felt it was all unreal.
"Brother..." A clear, childlike voice startled him awake. The little girl stretched out her snow-white arms and was about to rush into his arms, her face beaming with a sweet smile, looking incredibly innocent and adorable.
Such an adorable little sprite made Chen Nan instinctively open his arms and hug her. At that moment, he no longer cared about the little girl's origins, nor did he consider whether she was a fairy, a demon, or a monster. In this instant, in his eyes, the little girl was simply an irresistibly cute little angel.
"Hehe..." The little girl laughed happily in Chen Nan's arms. Her innocent and sweet smile seemed to infect Chen Nan, and a smile also appeared on his face.
However, when he remembered that he had come for Yuxin, his smile gradually faded, and his heart was filled with a bitter feeling.
When he looked down, the expression on his face suddenly froze, and a storm of emotions surged within him.
The celestial flower was actually rooted in a piece of top-grade divine jade. It turned out that the entire flower was indeed made of jade. The celestial flower seemed to have been formed from the divine jade, which gathered the primordial energy of heaven and earth and absorbed the essence of the sun and moon. However, this was not what shocked Chen Nan. What truly shocked him were the ancient characters on the divine jade: "I love you for ten thousand years."
The characters were from his time, ten thousand years ago, the handwriting of someone he knew well. "I love you for ten thousand years"—how profound the affection contained within! Chen Nan's eyes blurred; he had discovered Yu Xin's handwriting here. He seemed to see a lonely figure, her slender, jade-like hands trembling, carving this heartfelt cry onto the jade with deep emotion.
A gentle breeze stirs, the Valley of a Hundred Flowers remains, but where is the beauty? Where is she now?!
Warm tears rolled down Chen Nan's face. He held the little girl and bent down, stroking the words "I love you for ten thousand years" over and over again.
A gentle breeze stirred a few flowers that had been resting on the divine jade, and a slightly messy scratch on the jade caught Chen Nan's eye. Upon closer inspection, his heart clenched with grief. It was actually four characters, but they only occupied the space of two characters. "Rain" and "Chen" overlapped, and "Fragrance" and "South" overlapped.
"Yu Xin and Chen Nan...overlap...reunion..." Chen Nan murmured to himself, then couldn't help but shout loudly, "Yu Xin..." He felt an unbearable heartache, and tears rolled down his cheeks like a burst dam.
Seeing Chen Nan like this, the little girl seemed somewhat frightened. At this moment, the seven-colored light of the fairy flower faded more and more, and the radiance flowed into the little girl's body along the flower threads wrapped around her legs.
With a "poof," the celestial flower, having lost its luster, suddenly shattered, turning into dust that drifted down from the sky. At that moment, the divine jade it was rooted in also suddenly emitted a "crackling" sound, losing its brilliance and slowly crumbling.
The handwriting left by Yu Xin disappeared just like that, "overlapping"... "reunion"... it was such an "overlapping"... "reunion"!
"No, give me back Yu Xin..." Chen Nan roared to the sky, his mournful voice startling the thousands of beasts and monsters outside Hundred Flowers Valley into chaos. His sad and sorrowful roar soared into the clouds, and tears streamed down his face.
The last trace left by Yu Xin, who was all alone and helpless ten thousand years ago, in Hundred Flowers Valley has disappeared, seemingly foreshadowing the end of everything ten thousand years ago.
The little girl in Chen Nan's arms reached out her snow-white hand and gently wiped away his tears, her innocent voice ringing in his ears: "Brother... don't cry..."
Chen Nan looked down at her and found that the little girl's bright eyes were also filled with tears, and tears rolled down her face with every blink of her long eyelashes.
"Don't cry, brother... It hurts me too when you cry..."
Although the divine jade shattered because all its essence had been transferred into the little girl's body, it wasn't her fault. Chen Nan forced a weak smile, suppressing his grief, and said, "Brother, don't cry..."
"Brother looks so familiar, and Yuxin looks so familiar too..." the little girl murmured, her face full of confusion.
These words struck Chen Nan like a thunderbolt. He stared blankly at the little girl, speechless for a long time. If the little girl was only familiar with him, he wouldn't have noticed anything, as it might be due to a child's affection for him. But the fact that the little girl also seemed to have a sense of familiarity with the name Yu Xin was rather strange.
Based on what he saw, he guessed that the little girl was formed from the essence of heaven and earth after the divine jade became spiritual, but now it seems...
An absurd idea popped into Chen Nan's mind. He considered an extremely ridiculous possibility: Yu Xin had returned to this world with the help of the divine jade spirit. He carefully examined the little girl, trying to find any similarities between her and Yu Xin.
However, another thought popped into Chen Nan's mind. Since the Divine Jade was already sentient, it must have some recollection of what had happened around it. Perhaps ten thousand years ago, Yu Xin sat here alone, murmuring to herself, recalling the little things between the two of them. Their appearances, their story, were vaguely remembered by the Divine Jade at that time.
Chen Nan was filled with doubt and uncertainty. He didn't know whether this girl was Yu Xin reborn or a divine jade born from the essence of heaven and earth.
Before this, when he heard Princess Myna talk about the life growing within the fairy flower, he had thought of Yu Xin. It was purely intuition, an instinctive realization. However, later he became unsure, somewhat disbelieving in that feeling. Now, after careful consideration, he truly couldn't be sure anymore.
According to information obtained from the demons, the celestial flower only appeared three thousand years ago, and this little girl was only truly conceived in recent years. Even if we believe the little girl existed three thousand years ago, that's still seven thousand years before she was ten thousand!
These seven thousand years are a blank, an insurmountable gap!
Instinct and reasoning clashed in Chen Nan's mind, leaving him confused.
Chen Nan held the little girl and searched the valley carefully, but found nothing except for exotic flowers and trees.
"Brother, don't be sad, or it will break my heart..." the little girl said timidly.
Chen Nan hugged her tightly. This girl, whose origins were mysterious and unpredictable, filled him with a sense of warmth. He made a decision in his heart: regardless of whether she was Yu Xin or not, he would carefully protect her as she grew up and would never let her suffer any harm or injustice.
The dragon baby and the monster leaders did not disturb Chen Nan; they did not continue to follow him, seemingly sensing that he was preoccupied.
After seeing the little girl and Chen Nan together, the little dragon seemed pleased and stopped paying attention to them. It then turned its attention to the small tree, which resembled a piece of jade, and gazed at the exotic fruits brimming with spiritual energy. It swallowed hard with excitement, then toddled forward.
By this time, most of the beasts and monsters outside the valley had dispersed, leaving only a few monsters that had learned how to cultivate. After discussing it, the monster leaders inside the valley ordered the monsters outside to line up and enter the valley to begin distributing the rare fruits within.
Finally, the beasts and monsters departed, led by several demon leaders, leaving behind a dozen or so strange little trees of different varieties, their fruits completely harvested. The little dragon had the most bounty; before it lay a large pile of colorful, rare fruits. These wondrous fruits, brimming with rich spiritual energy, were no less impressive than even fully formed ginseng and mushrooms—definitely the little dragon's favorite.
Sunrise and sunset followed, and Chen Nan stood guard beside the shattered divine jade, gazing sadly for three days and three nights. The little girl nestled obediently in Chen Nan's arms, silently watching him, seemingly as sorrowful as she was.
On the fourth day, as a ray of dawn shone into Hundred Flowers Valley, Chen Nan let out a heavy sigh: "Alas..."
The little girl woke up in his arms and said timidly, "Brother, don't be sad..."
Chen Nan punched himself hard and said softly, "Brother is bad, brother is a bastard, I was only thinking about other things and didn't take care of you. Brother will go find you something to eat..." At this moment, his heart was filled with bitterness.
"I'm not hungry. Little Dragon brought me lots of fruit. Brother...eat..." The little girl raised her snow-white hand and offered him a crystal-clear, peach-shaped fruit that had a faint glow flowing through it.
Looking at the little girl's adorable and understanding nature, Chen Nan felt both pity and love. He gently moved her small hand away and said softly, "How about I give you a name?"
"Okay, okay!" the little girl cheered, and said, "Can my name be Yuxin?"
Chen Nan gazed at her silently, his heart surging with emotion. The morning glow illuminated the little girl's delicate face, giving her a radiant, holy glow. He couldn't help but say, "Since you were born in the morning light, let's name you Chenxi (Dawn)."
The little girl happily wrapped her arms around his neck, jumping and laughing, her childish voice echoing through the Valley of a Hundred Flowers: "Hehe, I have a name now. My name is Chenxi, and my brother found me in the flowers one morning."
Chen Nan felt a deep pain in his heart. A similar sentence from ten thousand years ago echoed in his mind: "My name is Yu Xin. I was found by my master in a flower bush on a rainy night." Everything from ten thousand years ago seemed to have ended, yet it also seemed to have just begun. He really couldn't be sure of the little girl's identity.
Chen Nan's eyes welled up with tears. Was this the end or the beginning?
"Brother, don't cry..." Chenxi raised her snow-white little hand and carefully wiped away his tears.
"Brother, don't cry, brother will never cry again!" Chen Nan stood up from the ground with Chen Xi in his arms and strode away from the Broken Jade Land.
Is this the end or the beginning?