375: Chapter 376 Thirty-Three Days and the "First Letter"

On the thirty-third day after Little Girl left, New Homeland received her first "letter."

Calling it a "letter" wasn't quite accurate, because the thing was neither written on paper nor stored in a data chip, but... a tree.

That morning, the Yao Race warriors on patrol discovered an extra tree at the edge of the forest.

The tree was silver-blue all over, looking no different from the surrounding small trees, but its branches were covered with tiny, iridescent points of light, like countless miniature stars.

"What is this?" a warrior asked, leaning in for a closer look.

Those points of light suddenly moved, converging in the air to form a line of words:

[I'm doing well. Don't worry. ——Little Girl]

As the news spread, the entire New Homeland was in an uproar.

Madam Liu was the first to rush to the edge of the forest; looking at that line of iridescent words, her tears flowed uncontrollably.

"This child... this child has learned how to write letters..."

Zhao Iron Pillar squatted beside the tree, studying it for a long time while scratching his head. "How did this thing grow? It wasn't here three days ago."

Senior Brother Zhang arrived with instruments. After scanning it, his expression became complex. "This isn't a naturally grown tree. It was... 'sown.' Someone used a method we can't understand to send a Seed here, letting it grow overnight, and then hung these points of light on it."

"Who sent it?" Wen Youyi asked.

Senior Brother Zhang was silent for a few seconds. "Little Girl herself, or... someone she met over there."

Those iridescent points of light hung on the tree for an entire day, from dawn to dusk. Regardless of wind or rain, they remained motionless, shining quietly.

In the evening, the points of light began to dissipate, but they didn't go out; instead, they slowly floated toward the sky like countless fireflies, vanishing into the twilight.

Madam Liu stood under the tree, head tilted back, watching those points of light fly further and further away.

"She really is over there," she murmured.

Wen Youyi stood beside her, saying nothing.

He was thinking about something else: What did Little Girl see over there? What did she learn? When would she be able to come back?

In the forest, on tiny brighty's branches, another silver-blue flower bud had appeared at some point.

This was the second one.

In the days that followed, more and more "foreign trees" began to appear in the forests of New Homeland.

Every few days, a new silver-blue tree would pop up in some corner. They grew very fast, reaching the height of a person overnight, and then becoming covered in iridescent points of light.

Every time, those points of light would form different words:

[I learned a new song today. The trees sang it. I'll sing it for you when I get back.]

[The rainbow potatoes here aren't as tasty as the ones at home, but there's a kind of fruit that glows and is very sweet.]

[Bright Fur Ball made a new friend, an iridescent little beast. I named it "Huahua."]

[Auntie Cai says my door has opened a bit wider, and I can see more things now.]

[Uncle Wen, how is your book coming along? Remember to let me see it when you're finished.]

Madam Liu would read every letter several times until she could recite them by heart. She copied those words into a notebook, flipping through it every night before bed as if Little Girl were still by her side.

Every time Zhao Iron Pillar saw a new letter, he would squat in front of the tree and study it for a long while before scratching his head and saying, "This child, her handwriting has gotten better than before."

Xiao Li whispered a reminder from the side: "Master, those are words formed by points of light, not written by Little Girl's own hand."

"So what? It was written by her regardless!"

On the day the thirty-seventh letter arrived, the content was a bit different:

[I saw Cracked Eye's grandfather.]

Wen Youyi stared at that line of words, stunned for several seconds.

Cracked Eye.

The organization that had been passing intelligence in the shadows for three hundred years, sacrificing seven generations of people.

Someone was still alive?

[His name is 'Wang,' and he's Auntie Cai's friend. He says he knows Auntie Lin's Master.]

By the time Lin Jiang received the news and rushed over, the line of words had already begun to dissipate. She only managed to see the last few words, but that was enough.

"Wang..."

She stood before the tree, motionless for a long time.

Her Master's code name was "Wang."

The person who had lived for three hundred years within Cracked Eye was using her Master's code name.

"He's still alive?" she asked, her voice trembling.

The points of light had completely dissipated; no one could answer her.

But the next day, another letter arrived:

[Grandpa Wang says he owes Auntie Lin an explanation. He'll come along when I'm able to return.]

Lin Jiang was silent for a long time after reading that line.

Then she smiled.

It was the first time in three years she had truly smiled.

When the seventy-third letter arrived, the content became longer.

[Auntie Cai says I'll be able to return soon. There's one last thing to learn.]

[Once I've finished learning, I can bring Bright Fur Ball and Huahua back together.]

[Huahua is Bright Fur Ball's friend, that iridescent little beast. It talks more than Bright Fur Ball, chirping all day long. Bright Fur Ball thinks it's noisy but refuses to be apart from it.]

[Grandpa Wang asked me to bring a message to Auntie Lin: When your Master left, he was smiling.]

[He said your Master's final words were: "Tell her to live well and see that day for me."]

Lin Jiang stood before the tree, watching the iridescent points of light dissipate one by one, her eyes reddening.

But she didn't cry.

She just stood there for a long, long time.

The day the one hundred and first letter arrived was a special day.

It had been exactly one hundred days since Little Girl left New Homeland.

That morning, Madam Liu went to the edge of the forest as usual to see if there were any new trees.

As soon as she got there, she froze.

The edge of the forest was densely packed with trees—not one or two, but over a hundred.

Those trees were all silver-blue, their branches covered in iridescent points of light. They stood in a row like a glowing wall.

As Madam Liu approached, the points of light moved simultaneously, converging in the air to form a massive line of words:

[Mom, I'm back—!]

Before she could react, she saw a familiar small figure rush out from behind the trees and throw herself into her arms.

"Mom—!"

Madam Liu held that soft little body, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

"Little Girl... Little Girl... You're back... You're really back..."

Little Girl looked up at her, beaming.

"Mom, I'm back."

Behind her, Bright Fur Ball sat on the back of an iridescent little beast, wearing a smug "I told you we'd be back" expression. The iridescent little beast chirped away, clearly curious about everything in New Homeland.

Further away stood an old man.

He wore a set of washed-out grey robes, and his hair was entirely white, but his back was as straight as a poker. His eyes were very special—one was a normal black, while the other was silver-white, as if it had been replaced by something.

He looked at Lin Jiang and slowly walked over.

"Xiao Jiang," he said, his voice hoarse but very gentle, "it's been three hundred years."

Lin Jiang looked at him, her lips trembling; it took a long time before she could make a sound:

"Master..."

The old man smiled.

"Not Master," he said. "It's 'Wang.' I used your Master's code name in his place for three hundred years."

He paused, looked into Lin Jiang's eyes, and said softly:

"His final words—I have delivered them."

Lin Jiang stood there, her tears finally falling.

In the distance, Wen Youyi watched this scene without speaking.

He simply looked at those silver-blue trees, at the iridescent points of light, at the Little Girl who refused to let go of Madam Liu, at the two chirping little beasts, and at the old man who had finally returned to fulfill his duty after three hundred years.

Then he smiled.

"It's good to have you back," he said softly.

Beside him, tiny brighty's branches swayed gently.

On its branches, the third silver-blue flower had finally bloomed.

(End of Chapter)