They watched the sunset by the river for a long time, and listened to Xie Qingci's heartbeat for a long time.

His love was turbulent, like waves beating against rocks.

True and strong love is more intoxicating than the strongest wine.Qing Ying dipped her chopsticks in the past and tasted a little bit of the immortal wine—it was definitely not as intoxicating as it is now.

She knew that she liked senior brother, but at this moment, facing such a deep and sincere love, she was sure——

"I think, right now, I love you."

This may be a momentary drunkenness.

But after those three words blurted out without thinking, Qing Ying felt... very relaxed and fulfilled.

But this obviously contradicts what she said before.

"Love" should not be abused, should be restrained and cautious——

"But the right expression of love is satisfying."

Xie Qingci smiled and said, "I think, we can add another sentence to the letter."

Qing Ying thought for a while, then nodded slightly: "You are right."

Today, she has gained a new little knowledge. It turns out that in love, you can also properly express I love you.

She simply regarded this sentence as a restrictive word before, and never mentioned it.

The last sliver of setting sun in the sky dimmed, and the sky completely darkened.

Xie Qing said: "Go home."

"Okay." She blinked, "Brother, you can talk about family now?"

She used to go home one by one.

The girl's voice was relaxed and light.Xie Qingci's voice made her feel broad, turbulent and reassuring. After listening to it for half an hour, she felt as if she had a spiritual massage.

"En." Xie Qingci stroked her hair.

Or rather, play around.

Probably, the fingertips circled and circled the hair, and pulled it away again.

Judging from his untiring attitude, he should have wanted to do this for a long time today, but he just didn't do it until now.

——How can a majestic immortal demean himself for the childish behavior of a young man?

But in the end he did.

Qing Ying was a little surprised by this, but she didn't object to this intimate action.

The two walked hand in hand on the way back.

This time it was Qing Ying who took the initiative.

Occasionally on the road, would meet villagers returning home late, or lower their eyes in surprise or awe, not daring to look directly at the two of them.

After all, intimacy such as holding hands and embracing in public is extremely rare in both the cultivation world and the mortal world.

Everyone pays attention to the estrus and the ceremony.

But Qing Ying only wanted to hold hands with Xie Qingci, and she naturally let the latter go as well.

When Cai Cai saw it and chatted at night, she hesitated to express her thoughts——

"Do you want to hold hands with Su Mu?" Qing Ying said confidingly, "If Su Mu wakes up before you become an adult, do you want to hold hands with him all the time and hug him as you like?"

Cai Cai was stunned for a moment, obviously imagining such a scene, and then her face turned reddish.

"That's not polite."

Qing Ying patted the mattress, and said confidently: "Where is this place?"

Caicai replied subconsciously: "Tianxie."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Caicai... the Holy Maiden of Tianxuan."

"That's right, this is the Tiansha City that we rebuilt from scratch."

Tianxuan City used to be conservative, closed and old-fashioned.

"After that, we are the ones who decide what the rules of Tianxuan will be." Qing Ying said disapprovingly, "First of all, start with the relationship between men and women. Of course, you can't do it in public, but walking hand in hand can't be regarded as immoral."

Caicai thought for a moment, then nodded in a subtle way.

She felt that sister Qing Ying was right.

"Show some confidence." Qing Ying encouraged, "You are a saint, why are you afraid of the outside world's opinions in everything?"

Under Qing Ying's warm chicken soup for the soul, the fourteen-year-old first-generation saint nodded slightly, and had a new understanding of her status.

in a blink of an eye

, it is already mid-December, and the end of the year is approaching.

It is the end of the new year, but the weather in Xi Qi has already touched the edge of summer.

Qing Ying looked at the red lanterns that every household had prepared, and there was some drama.

"This is a custom that has been passed down from ancient times." Caicai said, "Not only that, but every household also has to post the character "Xi."

"Blessing post?" Qing Ying came back to her senses, pondering, "Then let my brother write for my family, his handwriting is beautiful."

Caicai said: "The innate Dao name is taboo, which has the auspicious omen of expelling evil spirits. It also has the same pronunciation as Fu. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation, and I don't know how many years."

It was very similar to her previous world, but not quite like it.

Qing Ying then asked about other customs: "Do you have any other customs for Chinese New Year?"

"It should be about the same, right? Reunion dinner, setting off firecrackers and the like."

Qing Ying gradually accepted the summer new year's setting, and said with great interest: "At that time, let's move a table and have a reunion dinner together in the yard."

"Yeah." Cai Cai smiled, but the joy in her brows and eyes was not as good as before.

Qing Ying understood that the word reunion touched on Caicai's sadness.

She counted the time, it has been nearly a month since Su Mu fell into a deep sleep, there must be some movement.

In fact, every three days, she would ask Xie Qing about the germination of the sacred tree, but the reply she got was that the time had not yet come.

Qing Ying patted the top of Caicai's hair lightly, and the little girl shook her head silently, indicating that she was fine.

She didn't say anything, and decided to ask her senior brother when she got back, what was the timing difference, and if she could help solve it.

Caicai chanted to that handful of soil every day, which made her feel very worried.

I didn't expect it to be a coincidence this time.

Facing her question, Xie Qingci responded straightforwardly: "The time is coming."

There was no need to delay. At the end of spring, the three of them started to revive the Shenmu.

...

Xie Qingci said that the most important role in awakening Shenmu is Caicai.

Even he can only preside over the purification ceremony, guide the people's power of faith, and lighten the spiritual form of the sacred tree.

But to wake up "sumu", it can only rely on Caicai.

Qing Ying understood very well.

"The power of love, the power of love, do you know?" She and the little girl muttered, "Use your common memory to find him, otherwise Daimu will be confused."

Cai Cai nodded solemnly, holding an amulet tightly in his hand.

This was given to her by her pestering sister Qing Ying.

This amulet was consecrated by a successful love person like Sister Qing Ying, so it must be a blessing to luck.

The girl who tied her hair into two flower buds kneeled on the futon and closed her eyes piously.

The spiritual light of the magic circle flourished, and the power of faith and merit raised by thousands of families blended together, protecting the little girl's spiritual consciousness, and gently touching the dormant seed under the soil.

He is having a long dream, waiting to be awakened by spring.

Lord Shenmu, Lord Shenmu.

Spring is almost over.

I beg you...

Hear my voice.

Caicai felt her spiritual consciousness sinking infinitely, and finally felt——

A clear and cool dream.

He is a tree.

Since ancient times, since the prehistoric times, it has stood there, germinated from the soil, and grown in the wind and rain, that's all.

But compared to other creatures, he may be a little different.

Because, a group of noisy people surrounded him.

"This is the seed left by Mr. Shennong before his enlightenment."

"That's Shenmu."

"We must enshrine the sacred tree!"

But he is just a tree.

Therefore, no matter how many gold and silver treasures a mortal offers, and no matter how gorgeous and pious rhetoric he writes, he will never respond.

The world is full of troubles, and it is asking for trouble if you take the initiative to intervene.

Tree—no, he has a name, called Shenmu.

Shenmu decided to learn from Master Shennong and become a tree that is not

A good tree that speaks but does not think.

On the contrary, his choice is in line with the wishes of mortals, one hundred years, two hundred years... Mortals no longer imagine that this leftover fairy seed can bestow them with secret books and spirit treasures.

He really became a sacred tree, growing quietly on a high mountain.Ordinary people only choose to open a mountain to worship him at the end of the year, the end of spring and the beginning of summer.

Arguing once a year is still tolerable in the tree's concept of time.

until that day—

The offerings of mortals were changed. They offered him a little girl.

"Lord Mountain God, this is dedicated to your bride. May you protect Tianxuan Village with good weather and a good harvest of food."

After the quarrel, the mortal packed his things and went down the mountain, leaving only the little trouble in his body.

——That girl is in his tree hole.

She is injured, you want to save her?

... No, can't save her!

Be a tree with peace of mind, so that everything will be safe and sound, there will be no fire, no flesh and blood, no sandstorm...

But the little girl in the tree hole was bleeding.

If you don't save her...

Because of his existence, the birds and beasts in the forest have their own spirituality. Innocent creatures like this little girl will be rescued in a short while.

Remember, he is just a tree, a tree without thoughts.

In this darkness, quiet for ten years... a hundred years...

"Master Shenmu?"

"Master Shenmu, wake up!"

"—Su Mu!"

But the slumber of the sacred tree was interrupted.

Because just now, the little girl who was hidden in his tree hole woke up by herself.And she actually struggled with her wrist injury and struggled desperately.

The little girl picked up a branch and knocked on the edge of the tree hole.

"Look who I am?"

Shenmu turned his head with difficulty, he was resisting and thinking about this matter, he just wanted to be a quiet tree.

But the little girl knocked even more urgently.

Not only that, seeing that he didn't respond, the girl actually struggled to break free with her limbs injured and regain her freedom.

Didn't she see that her body was scratched by wooden thorns?!

The sharp smell of blood stung him.

"Mortal, you should go back to where you are."

"Are you awake? Are you talking to me?!" The little girl was pleasantly surprised, "I'm Caicai, do you remember me?!"

Picking——

Sure enough, Master Shenmu had the same resentment as Sister Qingying said.

Cai Cai's heart sank, and she didn't panic for a while.

Sister Qingying and the others attached great importance to this awakening.Under the leadership of Sister Qingying and Xie Xianjun's supplementary ideas, they imagined 34 possible reactions of Shenmu, and specially helped her design countermeasures one by one.

At this moment, she could feel that Master Shenmu's spiritual consciousness was very low, close to a state of dormancy, and facing her touch, he responded with an evasive and negative attitude.

Sister Qing Ying is very familiar with this situation, saying "I understand this kind of situation, I don't want to hurt you, so I want to push it away".

And while speaking, he also took a look at Xie Xianjun.

... Strange, why did she want to see Xie Xianjun?

Caicai focused all her attention on waking up Su Mu, and didn't think too much about this issue, maybe it was just a detailed exchange between lovers.

Caicai chooses to implement Sister Qing Ying's suggestion immediately.

That is to tell the common memory, express the determination to be together, and completely crush him emotionally. In the end, even Tiemu will blossom!

"Master Shenmu, I have been waiting for you for a long time, I miss you so much."

"..."

"Think about it during the day, think about it at night, think about it all the time."

"..."

"Can you talk to me a few more words?"

"..."

"That, that sentence is fine, just say one sentence, okay?"

Shenmu finally spoke, and he said, "I am a tree."

But even that is enough to make Caicai happy,

Sister Qing Ying said that it is a good thing to be willing to communicate.

"It's okay, I'm here just to make you sprout."

Shenmu closed his mouth again: "..."

Caicai doesn't mind, she tells Shenmu what she has prepared for his recovery.

"There is a love certificate. The paper Xie Xianjun gave me is said to have the power of a contract. Sister Qingying said that when you germinate, we can use leaves as decorations. That will be our unique love certificate."

"I want to hang the love certificate on the highest treetop, the wind blows, the sun shines, the birds fly away...all existences will know that we are together!"

"I also specially wrote the initial handbook on how to get along with Taoist couples, but at present it mainly focuses on maintenance and germination, so can you talk to me a few more words?"

"Besides, the people in Tianxuan Village are different from before. They are all good people. If you don't wake up, Sister Liu might introduce me to you."

...

present world.

Qingying stood outside the magic circle, just like everyone in Tianxuan Village, praying quietly for the sacred tree.

People who can live in Tianxuan Village, not to mention kind-hearted, are definitely innocent.Those who yearn for a stable life know best what a sacred tree means.

During the long interval of praying, Qing Ying would open her eyes and glance at the state of the divine wood.Unfortunately, divine wood has remained silent.

The slender and young girl was kneeling on the futon, quiet and persistent, making one unable to believe her.

Qing Ying sighed softly in her heart, concentrated her attention, and called Su Mu to wake up.

After a while, maybe a moment, or maybe a long time.

Qing Ying suddenly heard Cai Cai sobbing.

She faintly felt something, and immediately opened her eyes.

Sure enough, on the ground in front of the girl with the bud head, a small seedling sprouted its tip, green and full of vitality.

Come spring, the divine wood sprouts.

This means many things.

For example, they can celebrate the New Year happily.

For example, my brother's eyes and her condition have improved.

For example...their wedding date.

On a quiet moonlit night, Qing Ying and Xie Qingci sat on the stone bench in front of the courtyard and watched the moon.

But she is the one who appreciates the moon, Xie Qingci just chatted with her in a different environment.

When the time is almost up, they will end the private chat between couples and go back to their room to rest.

It is absolutely impossible to chat online with Tianshuling, Xie Qingci does not allow her to play Tianshuling during sleep time.

"It can be considered that the matter of Su Mu has been solved." Qing Ying let out a long sigh of relief, "Every morning when she leaves, Caicai has to look back at Su Mu... To be honest, every time at that time, I feel very sad..”

"Just wait now." Xie Qingci said peacefully, "When the divine wood grows its first branch, it will be able to gain the ability to change shape."

"Oh." Qing Ying elongated her voice, "Then at least you can have a good year."

"Ok."

"Then there's one more thing," the little girl hesitated, "do I have to start studying tomorrow... um... pictures of ladies?"

Xie Qingci was puzzled: "What do you want to learn from that?"

Qing Ying has never shown any interest in painting.

Tsk.

"I'm not good at makeup." Qing Ying said tactfully.

"You want to practice makeup through pictures of ladies?" Xie Qingci frowned slightly, "This..."

He felt that the two things were quite far apart, and could even be said to have nothing to do with each other.But is it inappropriate to speak the truth?She seems to be interested in makeup.

This reminded him that when he was in Bie Yue Pavilion before, Qing Ying used to be bored in the room for a whole morning for the Dao Couple Competition.

Xie Qingci considered the little girl's mood, so she was silent for a while.

But his thoughtfulness was of no use.

Qing Ying only thinks that Xie Qingci can consider exchanging ideas with Su Mu.

——Euphemistic expression, he didn't understand at all.

Where has all the usual cleverness gone?

"First of all, makeup takes time and practice."

Secondly, didn't you say that we will get married after the divine wood sprouts?"

Qing Ying turned to look at Xie Qingci.

"Then, may I ask my smartest and wisest brother, when will we get married?"

Xie Qingci immediately understood where the little girl was awkward.

It's just that he didn't panic, and said softly.

"You should ask when we first got married."

He thought they could have married ninety-nine times in different places.

Ninety-nine is generally regarded as an auspicious number.