Chapter 23: You Are So Kind; I Think So Too

Two children, six or seven years old, walked by holding hands.

The boy pointed to a peach on the stall and asked the girl in a milky, childish voice, "Peaches are your favorite. If I give this to you, will you be my wife?"

"I don't want to be your wife," the little girl said earnestly. "I want to be a witch, and then I'm going to marry many men!"

"Don't do that!" The boy scratched his head. "I'll be a witch too. That way, we can just be together, no one else, okay?"

"Hmm, alright then!" The little girl agreed reluctantly.

The boy was overjoyed. "Come on, let's go ask the Witch God for a blessing!"

"Okay!" He took her hand and led her toward the high platform.

Ji Yaoguang chuckled, "He didn't even give her the peach, why would he go to ask the Witch God?"

Lin Zhao was amused. He fiddled with the peach the child had just pointed at, then felt a flicker of doubt. Looking at the fervent atmosphere of the crowd around them, he couldn't help but lean in and whisper in his ear, "Hey, does your Father God really care about romance?"

Ji Yaoguang also laughed, speaking in a low voice, "As for that... he actually doesn't."

Seeing the curiosity in A-Zhao's eyes, Ji Yaoguang explained gently, "All these years, Father God has had to resist the purple sun pollution throughout the Witch Kingdom, balance the interests of various armies, support local states, and handle Source cultists and clan conflicts. Where would he find the time to manage romance? He just lets those things take their natural course."

"Then who is in charge of romance?"

"No one has been for a long time," Ji Yaoguang naturally couldn't discuss this loudly in such a setting, so he leaned even closer to A-Zhao. "The Witch God of Fate is the Ninth Witch God. After the Great Catastrophe ten thousand years ago, we lost all word of him. The current schools of divination can only predict weddings and funerals; for bigger things like military expeditions or national wars, they are powerless."

"I see. I thought the Witch God would give his children special treatment in matters of love!" Lin Zhao sighed, putting the peach back.

Ji Yaoguang smiled, "If only it were that simple."

The two whispered to each other while waiting for customers. Perhaps because it was a day for declarations of love, their fruit business was lackluster; an hour passed without a single inquiry. Meanwhile, the nearby stalls selling flowers and trinkets were packed, crowded to the point of being impassable.

"Should we switch to selling flowers?" Lin Zhao wondered.

"My tree can't just bloom on command," Ji Yaoguang advised. "It's fine. If we don't make money, I'll build you a tent under the bridge with vine branches; we can rest just the same."

He actually enjoyed these quiet, leisurely moments spent with his little bird. Having A-Zhao curled up on his branches to sleep—well, that was a lovely thing, too.

"Can you bear fruit without blooming? Forget it," Lin Zhao rejected the idea of the bridge. "This isn't about where we sleep. If you don't earn money, how are we going to cross the border into the Witch Kingdom? Don't you need money to pass the checkpoints? Or do you want the Lord of the Di State to send me back?"

"You make a valid point. I hadn't thought of that." Ji Yaoguang realized his oversight, then added, "I've held a high position for too many years, and then I was suddenly cast into the Vast Sea. Without anyone to guide me, I'm unfamiliar with many common realities. It's fortunate that I have you, A-Zhao. What kind of flowers do you want?"

"If it's inconvenient for you to sell flowers, then we won't," Lin Zhao patted him generously. "Why are you apologizing? It's not a mistake. Besides, a grand old tree like you, with no airs, a gentle temper, and a kind heart—you must have been bullied quite a bit in the past, right?"

Ji Yaoguang paused, then couldn't help but laugh. "That certainly never happened. They all respected me. Even if there were occasional slights, they would do their best to compensate me the next time."

"Since that's the case, stop talking nonsense. Come on, let's make a change." Lin Zhao picked up the peach from earlier. "Here, make a peach hairpin based on this. It needs two leaves at the bottom, the peach should be extra red, the stem smooth, and add an extra branch at the base."

Ji Yaoguang took the peach, shrank it down, and fashioned it into a chain, hanging it casually among the necklaces around his neck. "Like this?"

"Yes, exactly like that."

Ji Yaoguang smiled with confidence. Drawing inferences from this, their stall's fruit soon transformed into pomegranate pendants, grape earrings, and peach hair accessories. Lin Zhao even taught him how to arrange fruit into bouquets, which looked incredibly novel.

Before long, their stall was swarmed.

"Wow, the ornaments these two young brothers are selling are so unique. How much for one... wait, they're the same price as the fruit?"

A young girl immediately took a fancy to two pieces. "I want that pomegranate and the peach one!"

"Are there any more grape pendants or hanging charms?"

"Wow, it's actually edible, so sweet!"

"Good quality and cheap! Sister, come over here, look at these wonderful things..."

"Darling, which one do you like?"

...

By nightfall, their fruit ornaments had sold out, and the fruit itself had been consumed by enthusiastic youngsters, leaving them with a heavy pouch.

"Love just makes people poor!" Lin Zhao clicked his tongue, weighing the heavy pouch and saying triumphantly.

Ji Yaoguang felt as if he could see the feathers on his little bird's tail perking up. He smiled, reached out to pull up the slightly tired A-Zhao, and lifted the basket with one hand.

In that instant, a sudden thought crossed his mind: to put A-Zhao in the basket and carry him away.

*Oh! How could I think of something so intrusive!*

Ji Yaoguang firmly suppressed the thought.

As they packed up their mat and placed it in the basket, preparing to leave, they saw a weather-beaten woman twisting the ear of a five or six-year-old child, scolding him as they walked: "I work so hard to pay for your rune tutoring at the witch apprentice’s house, and you dare to run off here to play! Do you know that if you don't become a witch, you'll end up like that couple, only able to set up a stall to sell fruit from dawn till dusk, not even earning enough to feed a family!"

Ji Yaoguang whispered a correction, "We aren't a couple..."

Lin Zhao was feeling quite smug about his business acumen, and upon hearing this, he flared up: "What do you mean 'not enough to feed a family'? Explain yourself!"

His old tree was very easy to keep! The easiest in the world!

The woman hadn't expected them to hear her from so far away. She waved her hand awkwardly, tightened her grip on the ear, and hurried away.

Once she was gone, Ji Yaoguang was prepared to express his own embarrassment, but Lin Zhao just raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Let's go, 'couple'."

So much for being embarrassed!

Ji Yaoguang frowned, his expression serious. "That way of addressing me doesn't sound right. You should call me Yaoguang." After a pause, he added, "Though, calling me 'brother' is fine too."

Seeing him so solemn, Lin Zhao burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, brother. Are we going or not?"

Ji Yaoguang laughed, and the green-leaf crown atop his head sprouted a few small leaves that swayed in the wind.

"Let's go."

The evening breeze blew, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the brilliant glow of the bonfires eclipsed the purple light of the sun. As the crowds dispersed, walking through the square, Lin Zhao felt it was no different from the city he lived in—both held that intoxicating sense of tranquil, enduring peace.

Ji Yaoguang followed him, carrying the basket. He had never lived like this before, but he found he strangely enjoyed it.

Just as they were about to leave the plaza, Lin Zhao keenly noticed several tunnel exits opening beneath the high platform. Many workers were using wheelbarrows to push dirt out from the tunnels, dumping it onto barges in the nearby river before returning for another load.

"What are they doing?" Lin Zhao asked curiously.

"They're digging an underground palace." A trace of worry crept into Ji Yaoguang's brow. He looked at the distant sky. "Every so often, the Vast Sea of the Demon Ruins experiences inexplicable disturbances, and ferocious beasts frequently attack the Great Wall. To be prepared, the Di State maintains its defenses. The underground palaces where mortals take refuge during wartime are one of those defensive works."

"You're kidding, we just came out of the Vast Sea, and the disturbance is already starting?" Lin Zhao was very unhappy. Were these ghost things targeting him?

"Don't be afraid. The kind of 'Black Tide' that could break through the Di State lasts a very long time and is massive in scale. Usually, it would be reported to the Witch Kingdom to mobilize the Five Emperors for defense," Ji Yaoguang comforted him. "And with your and my abilities... oh!"

Before he could finish, his expression changed, and he gripped his left eye tightly.

The next second, he grabbed A-Zhao's hand like a bolt of lightning and pressed it against his eye socket.

Before Lin Zhao could speak, he felt a scorching source of energy rush rapidly down his arm to his heart. The feather totem there became so hot it began to smoke, and almost instantly, a new feather sprouted.

After several breaths, Ji Yaoguang slowly moved the little bird's fingers away from his face. His expression was grave, and he kept holding A-Zhao's claw without letting go.

"Old tree, there's a problem," Lin Zhao was just as shocked as he was. "By my estimation, that was about sixty percent of what I absorbed the first time. Your condition is progressing a bit too fast!"

Ji Yaoguang shook his head slightly, staring into the distance. "The Di State may be in trouble."

"What?" Lin Zhao was full of questions.

"Just now, I could feel something performing a ritual to summon what is sealed within my eye, stirring it up." Ji Yaoguang's eyes were filled with concern. "If that is the case, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you for the next few days."

"What kind of trouble is that?" Lin Zhao smiled generously. "This is called 'keeping me fed.' I couldn't be happier."

Ji Yaoguang gazed at him, then suddenly broke into a bright smile. "A-Zhao, you are truly kind."