Chapter 86: A Triumphant Return

Upon hearing this, Pinecone finally felt at ease and couldn’t help but laugh in his simple, hearty way.
“Hehe, Sister White, you’re absolutely right! Our master truly is the best master in the world! I’ve noticed, not only is he kind and approachable, but no matter what happens, he always thinks ahead of us—take the whole ‘dreaming’ to become disciples thing, for example. Originally, that dream was supposed to be Little Meng’s…”

“Enough!” Before Pinecone could finish, Little Meng interrupted him furiously, “Pinecone, if you hadn’t mentioned the ‘dream’ thing, I might have forgotten all about it, but now that you brought it up, I’m just fuming! Pinecone, tell me, why did you betray us?”

“Huh?” Pinecone was stunned, his big, dark eyes looking innocently at Little Meng as he responded, bewildered, “Little Meng, what are you talking about? When did I betray us?”

“You blockhead, still won’t admit it?” Little Meng, furious, pinched Pinecone’s golden cheek, gritting her teeth as she tried to twist it—but fearing she’d hurt him, she let go and said, “Just now, when Master said he dreamed we wanted to become his disciples, you said that dream was supposed to happen in a few days and be mine… Tell me, you’re no immortal, so how did you know I’d have that dream in a few days? Isn’t that just openly telling Master we already planned to ask him? If that’s not betrayal, what is?”

“Oh!” Pinecone breathed a sigh of relief, “So that’s what you meant, you scared me! Hehe, Little Meng, that was really an accident, I didn’t mean to say it, but when Master mentioned his dream, I got excited and just blurted out our plan!”

White Moon couldn’t help but laugh, “Little Meng, even if Pinecone hadn’t said anything, Master would’ve known! Actually, Master never really had a dream…”

“What?” Little Meng and Pinecone were shocked, exclaiming in unison, “Really? Sister White, how do you know?”

“Master told me,” White Moon replied. “Little Meng, Pinecone, while you two were singing and dancing, I asked Master about the ‘dream,’ whether he’d overheard our plan to ‘dream’ about becoming his disciples. Master said he had! That’s why he said he dreamed about us wanting to be his disciples… He said that at first, he couldn’t bear to turn away the three of us, since we’re all kind-hearted and devoted to the Way. But then, he realized accepting us as disciples was truly the right choice! Master told me, ‘White Moon, rest assured, I keep my word: these three disciples I will accept. Once I recover, I’ll choose an auspicious day for your formal ceremony, and then I’ll treat you all equally, just like Danzi…’”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Little Meng exclaimed happily, “Pinecone, I’m sorry, I wrongly accused you! Hehe, lucky for you I didn’t really pinch your face earlier… Otherwise, your golden cheeks would have turned blue and purple, and I’d be regretting it right now!”

“Hehe,” Pinecone laughed, “Little Meng, no need to apologize. If pinching my face helps you calm down when you’re angry, go ahead—really, my skin’s thick, so your soft little hands can pinch all you want!”

“Hehe…” Little Meng grinned, “Oh, stop it! Pinecone, you used to be my classmate, now you’re my junior brother—I ought to take care of you, not treat you as a punching bag! If I ever need to vent, I’ll go after She Mei’er instead…”

“Hey, hey, that won’t do!” Pinecone turned pale with fright, “Little Meng, Master already said, don’t mess with someone like She Mei’er… Her master is even more powerful than ours, and if you really anger her, the havoc she’d cause would be too much for our master to handle!”

“Hehe…” Little Meng laughed, “Pinecone, I was just teasing. I’m surprised you remember Master’s words so clearly. Don’t worry, I’m not foolish, I won’t provoke She Mei’er for no reason…”

Just then, as Little Meng finished speaking, a furious voice suddenly called from outside:

“So! Little Meng, how dare you call me a ‘little demon’?!”

---

“What?” Little Meng exclaimed, startled, “She Mei’er? She’s back?”

“Yeah?” Pinecone also jumped in fright, “Why is it that the more we fear something, the more it happens?”

Before they could finish speaking, Yan Redhero’s voice rang out:

“Master, Sister, Little Meng, Pinecone, I’ve returned!”

“Oh no!” White Moon’s face changed instantly, “Little Meng, Pinecone, they must have run into trouble on the way to be back so quickly… Come on, let’s go see!”

With that, she rushed outside.

Little Meng and Pinecone hurried after her…

In the blink of an eye, the three reached outside. Looking around, they saw Yan Redhero and She Mei’er standing together on the grass before Pure Void Temple, both empty-handed—Yan Redhero’s sword was nowhere in sight! Worse still, there was a gash in the front of Yan Redhero’s robe, cut by a sword.

White Moon’s heart instantly went cold, and she cried out,

“Brother, you… how come you’re back?”

“Sister, of course I came back!” Yan Redhero beamed, “Because we’ve already got the ‘Heartfruit’ and the ‘Revival Stones’!”

“What?” White Moon, Little Meng, and Pinecone exclaimed in shock, “Really?”

“What’s this? You don’t believe us?” She Mei’er said smugly, “Then watch…”

With that, she murmured an incantation, and instantly, five bright red ‘Heartfruits’ and three grayish-white ‘Revival Stones’ appeared in her snow-white hands, summoned from her storage ring.

White Moon, Little Meng, and Pinecone’s eyes all lit up. They hurried closer, gazing at She Mei’er’s palms in wonder, delighted:

“Heavens, are these the ‘Heartfruits’ and ‘Revival Stones’? Little Meng, which ones are the ‘Heartfruits’?”

---

“Silly, isn’t it obvious? The five red ones! Hehe, such fresh ‘Heartfruits’! So bright and shiny, I really want to eat one…”

“Wow, these three eggs are the ‘Revival Stones’? But wait, ‘Revival Stones’ should be rocks, why are they eggs?”

Yan Redhero laughed beside them, “That’s right! Sister, the eggs are ‘Revival Stones’—they’re laid by the Revival Bird. Their shells are as hard as stone and look just like rocks, so they’re called ‘Revival Stones.’”

“Oh, I see!” White Moon, Little Meng, and Pinecone chorused.

She Mei’er saw their eyes brimming with amazement and pride, and said triumphantly,

“Well? Impressed, aren’t you? Hehe… Now stand back, I’ll show you something even more incredible!”

She handed the ‘Heartfruits’ and ‘Revival Stones’ to Yan Redhero, then murmured another incantation, pointing at her storage ring. Instantly, fifty multicolored ‘Spirit Stones’ appeared on the lawn before them—a dazzling heap, brilliant and mesmerizing.

“What?” White Moon, Little Meng, and Pinecone gasped, staring wide-eyed at the ‘Spirit Stones,’ “Such colorful stones, they’re beautiful!”

“Hmph, you three bumpkins!” She Mei’er said, chin held high, “White Moon, Little Meng, Pinecone, listen well: my family owns a ‘Spirit Stone’ mine in Deadly Valley—this pile of ‘Spirit Stones’ before you is my gift to you!”

“Really?” Little Meng was so excited she nearly cried. She threw herself onto the heap, caressing the stones lovingly, “My goodness, so many ‘Spirit Stones,’ they’re dazzling!”

Pinecone, overjoyed, bent down, picked up the largest ‘Spirit Stone,’ cradling it as he laughed, “Hehe, ‘Spirit Stones,’ they’re wonderful!”

White Moon, deeply moved, gazed at She Mei’er’s radiant face with heartfelt gratitude,

“Miss She, thank you for your generous gift! It seems your journey to Deadly Valley was truly worthwhile—you’ve returned with riches beyond measure!”