Master of Nine Stars

Chapter 584: Chapter 354: Wishing You a Fortune

Bailing Village was located thirty kilometers outside Wan’an Pass. The distance was considerable; a little farther north was the Dragon River, which marked the border between Huaxia and the Russian Federation.

This was the farthest north Rong Taotao had ever been. Unfortunately, the pitch-black night and the blizzard raging across the sky made it difficult for him to get any sense of the distance.

After all, no matter which way he went, he was met with the same pitch-black darkness and the same desolate wilderness.

“We’re here. I see the village fence,” Gao Lingwei said, and the rest of the team’s spirits lifted.

They had finally arrived, their journey filled with tension but ultimately without incident.

Rong Taotao was grateful for the Cyan Mountain Army’s Snow Soul Banner. It had stopped the raging winds in the area and frozen the Shuangxue in place. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how arduous the journey would have been.

Fu Tiance spoke up. “Watch what you say in a moment. Even though we’re here out of goodwill to help the Bailing Tree Maiden clan, we still need to be mindful of our attitude.”

“Understood!”

“Understood…”

Rong Taotao nodded without any particular reaction, though he didn’t know the reason behind the warning.

In truth, the escort mission was one difficult part, but the real challenge was convincing the Bailing Tree Maidens to return with them to the Third Wall.

These beings were exceptionally gentle and held great compassion for weaker creatures. The Bailing Tree Maidens often provided shelter for other creatures of the Snow Realm, protecting them through blizzards.

But it was this very kindness that made them so reluctant to leave their homeland.

The last time, a year and a half ago, when the blizzard season arrived, the Snow Burning Army had come to Bailing Village to negotiate with these female tree-people, asking them to return within the Three Passes to take shelter from the storm. However, the Bailing Tree Maidens had sternly refused and would not go back with them under any circumstances.

Outside Wan’an Pass, humans had helped Snow Realm Soul Martial practitioners build many villages. The vast majority of these Soul Beast villages had been persuaded by the Snow Burning Army to return to the Third Wall. Only two races had refused to go back: the Bailing Tree Maidens and the Snow Prison Warriors.

Of course, the Snow Prison Warriors didn’t refuse to take refuge in the Third Wall because they wanted to stay and protect small animals. It was because they were belligerent by nature and extremely powerful in combat. The famous Soul Skill: Snow Prison Arena originated from their clan.

To be honest, they were hoping the Snow Realm Army would invade. For them, it was simple: just fight!

Their belligerent nature was already a handful. Add to that a complete disregard for their own lives, and it was entirely predictable that the Snow Prison Warriors would choose to remain in the vast, perilous blizzard.

…

Guided by the light of the White Lantern Paper Cages and the glowing eyes of their Snow Night Shocks, the team arrived at… a cypress forest?

Gao Lingwei had been telling the truth. There was indeed a wooden fence here, clearly man-made. But were the only things inside the enclosure… giant cypress trees?

There were, however, plenty of Soul Beasts: Snow Rabbits foraged all around, Cold Night Birds hid in the branches, Snow Stone Pupas remained motionless, and Ice Blade Pinecones hung from the boughs…

Wait a minute!

Ice Blade Pinecones?

‘How can pinecones be growing on a cypress tree?’

“This is an emergency, we’re not using the main gate!” Fu Tiance said. “Over the fence! Wake up the Bailing Tree Maidens!”

As he spoke, Xu Yiyu, who was at the front, dismounted and slipped through a gap in the wooden fence.

As Xu Yiyu entered, a few nearby Snow Rabbits scurried away.

The others quickly dismounted as well. Although Rong Taotao didn’t understand what was happening, he copied their actions.

His gaze, however, remained fixed on the slender, graceful figure not far away.

He watched as Xu Yiyu approached a huge cypress tree, reached out, and slowly pressed her palm against its trunk.

She tilted her head back and said softly, “Hello.”

Rong Taotao climbed into the enclosure, watching the female assassin with the blood-red banner curiously. He listened to her clear, pleasant voice, but… nothing happened.

Then, two other voices sounded nearby.

Rong Taotao looked around and saw Fu Tiance and Cheng Border from the Cyan Mountain Army doing the same thing as Xu Yiyu—placing a hand on the rough cypress bark, tilting their heads back, and calling out softly.

Seeing this, Rong Taotao also walked up to a huge cypress tree, placed a hand on it, and whispered, “Hello?”

WHOOSH…

Right above Rong Taotao’s head, the gray-black cypress bark suddenly rippled, and the outline of a human face emerged from it.

Rong Taotao: !!!

His mouth fell open in an “O.” ‘This scene… it’s too fantastical, isn’t it?’

“Hello,” the large, exquisite face in the cypress tree said slowly.

It was clearly a woman’s face, and the soft glow of the White Lantern Paper Cages added a touch of ethereal beauty to the scene.

Her voice was gentle and her tone friendly. “The aura of Shuangxue, the scent of a Lotus… Human, I hope you have a kind heart.”

Rong Taotao stared up, stunned, at the beautiful face on the bark. ‘A kind heart?’

‘Is it because the power of the Lotus Petal is so great that this Bailing Tree Maiden is afraid I’ll use it for evil?’

After a long moment, Rong Taotao finally came to his senses and hastily pulled off the ferocious-looking warthog headgear. “Hello, I’m with the Snow Burning Army.”

Before Rong Taotao’s eyes, the bark rippled again as the enormous female face slowly lowered itself…

She studied Rong Taotao’s face carefully, then a small smile appeared. “What do you need?”

“I need—huh?” Before Rong Taotao could finish, he felt a small twig brush past his head, disturbing the White Lantern Paper Cage hovering there.