Chapter 44: Given to the Fox Spirit

The young man was silent for a moment, then pointed toward the bedroom and said in a low voice, "It’s in there."

When Wen Qian came out of the kitchen, she found Yin Zhi and the other two all staring toward the bedroom. Confusion flickered in her almond-shaped eyes as she waved a hand in front of them. "What are you guys looking at?"

"Qianqian, do you still remember the Critical Stone?" Gu Mian glanced to the side, a complex emotion coloring his deep eyes as his gaze settled quietly on the girl.

Wen Qian nodded instinctively, her voice bright. "Of course! You told me about it."

"It might be in your bedroom." Gu Mian retracted his gaze. After a moment, he said calmly, "Can you let us go in and take a look?"

Wen Qian’s eyes shot wide, her mouth falling slightly open. It took her a long moment to react. "O-of course! Of course you can!"

She had never seen a Critical Stone, but from Gu Mian and Yin Zhi’s descriptions, she knew it was an object of extreme importance to the Beast World.

It was the key that determined whether Beastmen could return to the Beast World—a gateway to their home.

The three men and one woman filed into the bedroom.

Yin Zhi still had his doubts about Li Jiu’s ability. ’Although Li Jiu can sense the Critical Stone’s presence, he isn’t a true Inspection Envoy, after all... The extent of his perception is still unknown.’

’Besides, I come in and out of this room all the time, and I’ve never seen a hint of the Critical Stone.’

Upon entering the bedroom, the four of them fell into an unspoken silence.

Li Jiu lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly. His solemn expression showed he was clearly pondering something.

A moment later, his fingers twitched almost imperceptibly, and a swirl of blue light appeared on the tip of his index finger. The translucent light pulsed rhythmically, like a butterfly beating its wings, and after a moment, it slowly flew toward the window.

"There!" the young man suddenly exclaimed, looking up. His gaze landed on the wind chime by the window.

The wind chime’s design was rather unique. The bell was a large, pink seashell connected to a metal chain threaded with pearls. At the end of the chain hung blue crystals of various sizes, each tightly wound with metal wire, giving them a distinct beauty.

The other three followed the young man’s gaze to the wind chime.

The room fell quiet, as if the entire world had stopped.

Not until a gentle breeze swept past, causing the blue crystals to collide with a melodious TINKLE, did the four of them snap back to their senses.

"Qianqian, where did you buy this wind chime?" Gu Mian asked after a moment of silence, shifting his gaze back to Wen Qian’s face.

"I made it..." Wen Qian answered honestly. She then reached out and tugged on Yin Zhi’s sleeve, gesturing for him to take the wind chime down. At that height, both she and Li Jiu would need to stand on a stool, but it was a different story for Yin Zhi and Gu Mian.

Given their height, they could reach it just by stretching out an arm.

"Sure~" A brilliant smile instantly lit up his face. Yin Zhi tilted his head slightly and shot a provocative glance at Gu Mian, as if to say, ’See? When there’s a problem, I’m the first person Qianqian thinks of.’

Gu Mian couldn’t be bothered with his petty little tricks. He just raised his hand and patted Wen Qian on the head, saying softly, "Let’s go wait outside."

「About half a minute later.」

"I didn’t think there would be so many fragments!" Yin Zhi said, his face lighting up with delighted surprise as he took down the wind chime. However, the room was eerily quiet, and no one answered him.

Dangling the wind chime from one hand, a flicker of confusion crossed the young man’s eyes. He turned around, only to find that the people who had been standing by the door had vanished.

He froze on the spot, but it didn’t take long for him to realize what had happened. The young man silently ground his teeth. ’That damned snake is a real piece of work.’

「In the living room.」

Once Yin Zhi laid the wind chime out on the table, Wen Qian instinctively reached to detach the ice-blue crystals. But the moment her hand moved, Gu Mian stopped her. "There’s no rush."

’They’re only fragments. Removing them now won’t be enough to repair the Critical Stone.’

’Besides, Wen Qian made this wind chime with her own hands, and it’s so beautiful...’

"Qianqian, can you tell me where you found these?" the man asked, his lips curving into a smile, his eyes gentle.

Wen Qian looked a little sheepish. "Actually, I’m not sure myself. They must have been left by my mother..."

They had been at the place where Wen Qian was found, right after the disaster.

At the time, she had been found wrapped in a quilt, an ice-blue pendant hanging around her neck. No one knew her family history, but she came to be seen as a symbol of good luck.

But in reality, aside from the pendant around her neck, a box had been buried about half a meter away from her. Inside that box were many similar crystals.

The rescue workers didn’t know what they were, assuming they were just ordinary handcrafted items. Figuring it might be a gift the child’s mother hadn’t had time to finish, they put the box away for safekeeping. They waited until Wen Qian was a little older before giving it to her.

Later, Wen Qian used these fragments to make the wind chime and hung it in her room. Every time she heard its beautiful, light sound, she would be reminded of her mother. Though they had never met, her mother had left her a legacy of luck and tenderness in her own way.

After Wen Qian finished explaining the fragments’ origins, Gu Mian stroked her head affectionately. He observed her expression carefully, relieved to see she wasn’t showing any sadness.

’His little girl has grown up,’ he thought. ’She’s very brave and strong.’

"Actually... there are two more pieces," Wen Qian said, looking up at the man’s nearly perfect face. When all three men turned their gazes on her, she guiltily lowered her head again.

As if he had already guessed as much, Gu Mian said calmly, "One of them is with your adoptive parents."

"Mhm..." Wen Qian’s expression darkened slightly.

’Back then, she had considered the fragments symbols of luck. She was incredibly grateful to the adoptive parents who took her in. With nothing else to give in return, she had given them one of the fragments as a gift.’

’The fragments were extremely important to her. Giving one to her adoptive parents wasn’t just a sign of how much she valued them; it was a sign that she now considered them family...’

’If those things hadn’t happened later, or if her adoptive parents had just been a little kinder toward Beastmen, they could have all lived happily together.’

"Then what about the other piece?" Yin Zhi, sitting beside Wen Qian, propped his chin in his hands, his eyes sparkling. ’After what happened today, I’ll get to know Wen Qian even better.’

At this, Wen Qian’s gaze suddenly became evasive, and she started to stammer, "Um, that... that was a really long time ago."

"Did you lose it?" There was no urgency in the young man’s tone, but rather a deep-seated curiosity.

Gu Mian shot Yin Zhi a cool glance but remained silent. Instead, he shifted his gaze to Li Jiu. "Besides these, are there any others nearby?"

The boy was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. "All the fragments in the house are here."

"N-no, it’s not... I didn’t lose it." Wen Qian ducked her head even lower. ’How am I supposed to explain this to them?’ she thought. ’I can’t just tell them I gave the fragment to a vixen, can I?’