After leaving the reading hall, Lin Xiaolu bounced and jumped all the way with Xiao Yuer. They ran around Emei Peak, which was like a fairyland, without any worry or fear. The two of them, who were orphans in Winter Melon Village, were used to being wild. At this moment, they wandered the mountain and played in the water while heading in the direction they remembered towards Pluck Star Peak.
Before long, the siblings came to a jade bridge made of jade.
Seeing this jade bridge was the same as the one they remembered coming on, the siblings held hands and walked onto the bridge together.
After crossing the jade bridge, the brother and sister continued along the route they remembered, and met many seniors dressed in Daoist robes along the way.
Almost every cultivator who saw the siblings would whisper to each other for a few sentences.
"Strange, why are the little disciples from Pluck Star Peak here?"
"I don't know, they're probably just here to play around?"
"Shouldn't they be in the reading hall studying at their age? I don't get it."
"Haha, they probably skipped class and snuck out to play. We used to do that too back in the day."
"Hehe, true."
Xiao Yuer heard the whispers of the cultivators around her and seemed a little puzzled. She looked up at Lin Xiaolu and said, "Brother, it seems like they're all looking at us."
"That's normal," Lin Xiaolu said with a proud look on his little face. "After all, we are wanderers. We are full of the aura of kings and tyrants, which naturally attracts admiration. So in the future, this will happen more and more. Xiao Yuer, you have to get used to it, understand?"
"I understand," the little girl replied sweetly.
The siblings kept talking and laughing as they continued forward.
Soon, they came to a fork in the road.
Xiao Yuer looked at the two mountain paths ahead of her and twirled her finger in confusion, "Brother, was there this fork when we came before?"
"Hmm..." Lin Xiaolu thought for a moment, then pointed to the path on the left.
"Let's take this one," he said very confidently, then led Xiao Yuer onwards.
The two walked through a mountain path lined with flourishing green bamboos, and put in a great effort before reaching the top. There, they saw a huge circular stone archway.
"Brother, I think we went the wrong way," Xiao Yuer said with a sad look on her little face. "We can't seem to find the way back."
Lin Xiaolu was also a little embarrassed for the moment. He scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, "Don't worry Xiao Yuer, we can ask someone for directions later."
After speaking, he curiously looked at the circular stone arch in front of them.
He didn't know how to read, so of course he couldn't understand the plaque on the archway. Still, the two were very curious and walked through.
Passing through the circular arch, the siblings came to a long wooden terrace, with ponds full of lotus flowers on both sides.
"Brother, come quick, there are fish here!" Xiao Yuer squatted at the edge of the terrace and looked at the red carp fishes swimming in the pond excitedly.
"Swoosh!"
Just as Xiao Yuer was enjoying herself, she suddenly heard a clear cry from above. Looking up, she was even more delighted: "Wow! Such a big sparrow!"
In the sky, several red-crowned white cranes circling above almost crashed into the trees when they heard the little girl's words.
Where did this little girl come from, mistaking them for sparrows?
These cranes were spirit beasts raised on Emei Peak, quite intelligent, and could understand human speech.
Just as the white cranes were extremely vexed, the boy below scolded the girl, "How could those be sparrows? Can sparrows be so big?"
The cranes in the sky were slightly pleased at these words, and some even called out to the boy in praise, commending the boy for having good eyesight.
"But brother, look how red their heads are," Xiao Yuer continued asking, pointing at the red crowns of the cranes.
Lin Xiaolu looked at the red crowns of the cranes, and explained very confidently, "That must be because they fight a lot, and hit each other's heads red and swollen."
"Oh!" Xiao Yuer looked completely enlightened after hearing this, and smiled happily at the boy, "Brother, you know so much!"
"Swoosh!"
A sharp, sonorous crane cry rang out. The cranes in the sky really couldn't stand it anymore. They dove down one after another, lifted their long beaks, and charged at the siblings.
"Run quick, the mutant white chickens are coming to hit us!" The 7-year-old Lin Xiaolu pulled his sister to run. The siblings sprinted swiftly on the wooden terrace, stomping the boards with loud "bang bang" sounds. Soon, the two ran out of the terrace through a square doorway and rushed out.
Seeing them leave the lotus garden, the white cranes stopped chasing.
...
...
"Huff... Huff..."
Xiao Yuer squatted on the ground, panting heavily, and said between breaths, "Brother... the mutant white chickens are so fierce."
Lin Xiaolu was also leaning against a railing, just as out of breath. After panting for a while, he nodded and said, "That's right, it's because they are so pugnacious and like fighting that their heads got beaten red."
After speaking, the recovered Lin Xiaolu curiously looked around him and found that he was leaning against a long railing.
This railing was very big and long, seemingly endless at a glance.
Where was this place?
He looked around at the shady grove of green willows. There were dense trees everywhere he looked. Then, he curiously climbed onto the railing wanting to take a peek at what was behind it.
But he was too young, his legs too short to climb up, so he just hung by his hands on the railing.
"Xiao Yuer, come help me up."
"Oh okay, coming!"
Xiao Yuer hurriedly came over to push her brother's little butt, struggling to push him up.
Finally, with his sister's help, Lin Xiaolu climbed onto the railing. Just as he was about to look inside, a roar that shook the heavens suddenly sounded!
"Roar!!!"
In the next moment, a titanic shadow burst out from inside the railing. The blast of air it brought directly knocked the siblings to the ground.
Inside the railing, an enormous monster reared up halfway, revealing itself to be a gigantic flood dragon. Its actual full length was unknown, but just the visible part was already dozens of meters wide and long. Its massive body was covered in purplish-black scales that glimmered in the sunlight.
Its head was even more terrifying, about the size of a house, completely blocking out the bright sun. Right now, it was looking down condescendingly at the fallen siblings with a pair of golden vertical pupils!
Seeing this, the scared Xiao Yuer immediately screamed and threw herself into Lin Xiaolu's arms. Lin Xiaolu hugged Xiao Yuer tightly and looked up tremblingly at the sky-covering monster, "D-Don't eat my sister!"
The flood dragon's huge golden eyes showed the reflection of the two children, seeming to be considering something.
After a while, the flood dragon's enormous head slowly lowered, and its mouth slit extended a snake tongue bigger than Lin Xiaolu's whole body, scaring the boy's face pale.
Just then, an urgent voice suddenly rang out from afar.
"Elder Bauhinia, please hold your attack!"
Hearing the voice, Lin Xiaolu turned to look. He saw a charming young girl in a blue dress and cute bun hairstyle flying swiftly from the distant forest. When she arrived, she placed herself between him, his sister, and the giant monster. She clasped her hands towards the monster and said, "Tang Xin of The Demon Peak, pays respect to Elder Bauhinia!"