Chapter 40
Chapter 40: A Shrewd Divine Tree
Hu Nuan’s emotions finally erupted. Hu Qing didn’t dare interrupt her, so she just listened and let her talk.
When a message came in from outside, Hu Qing replied that she was fine and told them to stop hovering and go do something else.
Outside, Lin Yin glanced at the crystal-clear iceberg and smiled. “Letting it out is good. Hu Nuan must be nervous too. Hu Qing came back at just the right time.”
Mother and daughter might fight, but those ice spikes always pointed outward.
Lin Yin lowered his head and asked, “Hu Nuan can still throw out a move like that after shrinking. What about you?”
The mini Jin Xin puffed up and said, “Master, if you keep this up, you’re going to lose me.”
He pulled a face and stuck out his tongue. “Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh.”
Lin Yin chuckled and smacked the back of his head.
So annoying. Not only had he shrunk, his temperament had regressed too. If he’d known earlier, he would’ve warned Hu Qing so she could be prepared. Instead, these kids had slept straight through until Hu Qing arrived, and everyone got caught off guard.
Hu Hua Hua dragged Hu Zhu Zhu along and called to Tang Yu Zi and Xuan Yao. “Come on, let’s go play!”
He puffed his little chest out. “I’m not three anymore. I’m two. We can’t do anything. Uncle, go get food. Mom and Sister will definitely be hungry later.”
He threw Shui Xin a look that clearly said, You know what I mean. My mom won’t let you off.
Shui Xin muttered through clenched teeth, “My fault. I shouldn’t have brought her to the Buddhist Sect.”
Inside, Hu Qing patiently listened while Hu Nuan talked on and on, topping off her honey water cup again and again. Finally, Hu Nuan got to the part about the cave and the mysterious formation.
She sucked in a huge breath. “So I helped the divine tree detox. He lived. He thanked me for helping him survive a life-or-death trial, and he said he’d give me a gift everyone dreams of… and then we kind of stumbled out somehow… and then we realized we’d gotten smaller.”
Hu Qing waited a beat. “So what gift did he give you?”
Hu Nuan held out her short little hand and spoke each word slowly, like she was making an announcement. “Re-ju-ve-na-tion.”
Hu Qing stared at her. Then, very calmly, she reached over and pressed Hu Nuan’s thumb down. “Did you tell the divine tree you’re already in your youth? You didn’t need to go back that far.”
In her heart, she cursed. That divine tree had to be seriously poisoned if it messed up the gift this badly.
Juan Bu went silent, stunned out of his mind. Rejuvenation meant Time Law at the very least, and reversing time at that. And this once-in-a-lifetime chance had only shaved off a few years?
What a waste.
What kind of divine tree was that? A divine tree that could twist time?
Hu Nuan suddenly lunged forward and hugged Hu Qing tight, rubbing her little cheek against her chest. “Isn’t this good, Mom? After I turned five, you stopped staying with me every day.”
Hu Qing’s heart lurched. Could it be… Hu Nuan had cared all along, had resisted growing up deep down, and the divine tree sensed it and gave her this “gift”?
“When you were in kindergarten, Mom wasn’t with you every second either.”
Hu Nuan thought hard, then shook her head. “I can barely remember.”
Hu Qing stroked her hair. “Then Mom will stay with you every day. This time, I’ll grow up with you.”
“Okay. Then when I’m busy, Mom can go do your own stuff.”
Hu Qing’s eye twitched. This kid…
She forced herself back on track. “You’re happy about it. What about everyone else? Jin Xin, Xiao Ou, Leng Ruo, Lan Jiu—are they mad?”
“Why would they be mad?” Hu Nuan said, delighted. “We get to grow up all over again. Everyone’s super happy! Oh, and Mom, this time we’re going to lose our teeth ourselves. No more tooth-dropping paste.”
That brought back a whole mess from the past.
Hu Nuan had been the youngest, but she was the first to lose a tooth. A bunch of kids had pestered Elder Tang Er about it. Elder Tang Er was skilled in both alchemy and poison, and he couldn’t be bothered explaining. He just smeared paste on all their teeth.
They thought it was dental care. The next day, every single one of them lost a tooth—the same tooth, in the same place.
Hu Qing’s temple throbbed. Great. Their bodies weren’t the only things that had regressed. They were excited about losing teeth, too.
She tried not to imagine how Lin Yin, Shuang Hua, and Di Yuan were taking this. As for Master Qiao Yu… he’d probably just accepted his fate.
Hu Qing leaned closer. “What else did the divine tree say?”
Hu Nuan turned her palm. A clear, teardrop-shaped bead slipped out, shimmering with its own glow. Inside it, a tiny tender green leaf was sealed, still connected to a tiny pale yellow bud.
“The divine tree gave this to me,” Hu Nuan whispered, leaning in close. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Hu Qing couldn’t help laughing. Exactly. That was more like it.
The ones who had saved the divine tree were Hu Nuan and her spirit pet Amethyst Jade Zhi. There was no way the divine tree’s gratitude would be “the same gift for everyone.” This bead was the real present. The “rejuvenation” nonsense was probably just cover so Hu Nuan could hide it.
Tsk. That divine tree really did have a mind of its own.
Then Hu Qing narrowed her eyes. “Hold on. A poison that could kill a divine tree… and Little Ou Hua, a tiny worm, could cure it?”
Hu Nuan snatched her hand back and hid it behind her back.
“Hu Little Nuan?”
“Mm-hm.”
Hu Qing almost laughed. Sure enough, even her lies had regressed. She grabbed Hu Nuan’s left hand, spread it open right in front of her, and tapped the center of her palm. “What’s this?”
Hu Nuan’s eyes widened, cheeks puffing. “It’s so tiny and you still saw it.”
It really was no bigger than a pinprick, but Hu Qing’s eyes missed nothing.
Hu Nuan looked left, looked right—anywhere but at her.
“Hu. Xiao. Nuan.”
Hu Qing raised her hand.
Hu Nuan didn’t cry. She just grinned guiltily. “My good Mom—”
Hu Qing’s palm landed on her butt with a solid smack.
“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you,” Hu Nuan blurted. “Little Ou Hua’s belly is too small. He can’t eat it all at once, so… so I’m holding it for him for now. He can eat it for a long, long time. It saves you money feeding Little Ou Hua, Mom.”
Hu Qing nearly laughed in anger. Wonderful. So her daughter was currently carrying a deadly poison inside her—a poison that could kill a divine tree.
She forced herself to stay calm. “Why you? Did the divine tree say why your body can store a poison he couldn’t even handle?”
Hu Nuan mumbled, “I didn’t ask.”
So the divine tree hadn’t said.
Juan Bu finally found his voice. “Could it be Nuan Bao has some huge background? Right. You weren’t normal to begin with.”
He didn’t know what Hu Qing was hiding, but he’d watched her long enough to know one thing: her past was anything but simple.
Hu Qing’s thoughts twisted. Could their constant world-crossing have always been tied to Hu Nuan? Could it be—
Was Hu Nuan not human?
It wasn’t impossible. People had past lives. She held Hu Nuan’s head in both hands and examined her from every angle.
“Mom?” Hu Nuan blinked up at her.
Hu Qing squeezed her cheeks. “In your last life, you were definitely a meatball spirit. The dumb kind.”
“Mom!”
Hu Qing burst out laughing, rubbed her head hard, and pulled her into a tight hug. “Meatballs are great. Mom loves meatballs the most.”
Hu Nuan squirmed in her arms and mumbled indignantly, “If I’m a meatball, then does that mean the mom who gave birth to me is a meat belly?”