Chapter 544 Thirteen Years Later, He Has a Sister

Chapter 544: Thirteen Years Later, He Gains a Sister

"Little Heart, look, I can walk properly now. My sweet granddaughter says in just a few more days, I’ll be able to move freely again!" The mermaid Xiaoyue slowly stepped forward and said, "Originally, the tendons in my leg were severed by hooks, but my granddaughter reconnected them for me."

Ci Xin acted like a child for a moment. After a long pause, he hugged Ruo Xi Baby and sighed, "Ah, you little girl, always so amazing. What am I to do? You're making me look incompetent."

"Nonsense! You’re Little Heart, the little black dragon!" Ruo Xi Baby replied.

"I feel like I'm turning green," Ci Xin muttered.

"The Four Divine Lords have their own tribulations these years. The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird face love tribulations, while the Black Tortoise and White Tiger face life tribulations," Ruo Xi Baby explained.

"Baby, when you chose to self-detonate, did you know your own trial had come?" Ci Xin asked her.

"Mm-hmm!" Ruo Xi Baby nodded. "To attain true cultivation, one must endure all trials under heaven. And since I still had unfinished trials, I couldn’t reach the final success."

"Oh? Then what are you?" Ci Xin asked.

"I... I don’t know either!" Ruo Xi Baby shook her head. "I can know about you, know about Uncle, know everything about all of you—but I don’t know about myself!"

Though Uncle carried the aura of the Purple Dragon, he was actually the Black Tortoise.

The Black Tortoise presides over the wellbeing of all people under heaven.

Unexpectedly, General Yuanhui was the White Tiger. Due to his once-violent temperament, he was cast down to undergo tribulations. This was his final one—now that he's found love, his nature has changed entirely from before.

Xiao Yin, Xiaoyue, and the others only stayed on the island for about half a month before returning to the mainland.

No one breathed a word about the secrets of the mermaid island.

The prince and princess returned with them, though they still worried about the mermaids on the island.

"Thousands of years ago, hundreds of years ago—they were all evil, utterly vicious. But after all these years, hearts can mellow into peacefulness. There are still cruel ones on the mermaid island, still fights and killings. But now, the island has laws. So in the future, everything will be fine," the prince and princess said.

"Yes, this visit ashore has made us so happy. Little Heart, Ruo Xi Baby—you are both our precious ones. Just being able to see you in our lifetime is already enough. We’ll return now and continue improving the mermaid island, so that one day, our mermaids can live normally like everyone else."

Because she herself was a descendant of the mermaid race, Xiaoyue’s words carried deep sincerity.

During this visit ashore, she still heard many common folk speak of mermaids with misunderstanding and hatred. Even when someone tried to explain, she stopped them.

"The problems are real, so we'll solve them. It’s alright—I believe we can handle it well. Just like my leg, useless for so many years, yet little Xi'er fixed it in an instant!" Xiaoyue crouched down and hugged Ruo Xi Baby.

If there was anything she couldn’t bear to part with, aside from her son and daughter-in-law, it was her two grandchildren.

The elder grandson was bold and clever, wise beyond his years.

The little girl was wickedly clever and exceptionally capable—she couldn’t help doting on her.

"We can come visit often from now on!" Ruo Xi Baby patted her grandmother’s shoulder.

Because of her mermaid bloodline, Xiaoyue’s appearance hadn’t changed much over the years.

Xiaoyue was extraordinarily beautiful—otherwise, that prince wouldn’t have been willing to abandon his life for her.

Standing beside Xiaoyue, Xiaoyue held her own completely, which made Ruo Xi Baby delighted to see.

"Mother is a stunning beauty, and Grandmother is absolutely gorgeous!" Ruo Xi Baby declared, which everyone agreed with.

Xiaoyue and the others departed.

"Did you fix the mechanisms on the island?" Xiao Yin asked his son.

"Of course I did, Father. Don’t you trust me?" Xiao Yuze pouted.

"I’m just worried you fixed them but didn’t tell your grandparents, and they won’t even be able to enter their own home!" Xiao Yin said helplessly.

Time passed quickly.

In less than three years, as expected, a small-scale earthquake occurred in East Ming.

After restructuring, many mines were abandoned, and the people began clearing land to plant trees and crops. Since North Ming had received many seeds three years earlier, when East Ming’s people prepared to cultivate the barren mountains, North Ming sent over a large quantity of seeds.

As the central kingdom, Great Wei also provided seeds, which thrilled the people further.

"These are the types suitable for mountain planting. Try them and see how they grow," the official delivering the seeds added at the end, "This is from our Little Princess herself!"

"Ah, seeds from the Little Princess? Wonderful! We’ll tend to them with care!"

The people’s eyes lit up, and they busily began planting.

Eventually, no matter where Great Wei’s court officials went or what they did, whenever they encountered difficulties, just dropping the Little Princess’s name did the trick.

Time slipped away like this.

The realm was unified, an era of peace and prosperity.

The people’s lives gradually improved, whether in the northern deserts or the southernmost seas.

Over these years, Ruo Xi Baby visited the mermaids’ island several times, bringing back basketloads of pearls.

She even brought back a little girl.

The girl was several years younger than her, and when State Tutor Ci Xin saw her, his face darkened.

"Brother!" The girl hugged Ci Xin’s leg and called him brother.

"Your folks... really outdid themselves. This daughter is lovely too!" Xiaoyue nudged Ci Xin with her elbow and laughed.

"I think our two children seem too few. Ruo Xi is already fifteen—she’s no fun now!" Ci Xin looked at his tall daughter and sighed. "She’s grown up, doesn’t cling to me like she used to. And who knows when she started learning the four arts!"

"The Empress Dowager taught her. She said it’s fine not to master them, but she must know a little. Xier adores her grandmother, so of course she listens," Xiaoyue said with a smile.

"Did you hear what I said earlier? Let’s have two more!" Ci Xin turned to Xiaoyue.

"Oh, you’re asking for it!" Xiaoyue chased after Ci Xin, who had already run off after speaking.

Ruo Xi Baby watched her childish parents and pouted. Honestly, her father was such a handful—she had her hands full with them!

"For the imperial banquet, let’s hold another annual martial arts contest. Do you remember thirteen years ago, when the top ten finalists deferred their match and said they’d wait for the next one? Well, thirteen years have passed—it’s high time we held it!" Xiao Yin announced from his seat.