"Who? Who's there?" Ever since entering the Crimson Forest, Flame's nerves had been on edge.
Although it wasn't his first time in the Crimson Forest, he had always ventured out during the day. The first time he came out at night, he was with Steel Hammer Daddy, delivering stones, so he wasn't worried. The second time, although he came with Flametongue, Flametongue had also been to the Crimson Forest alone, and it was already past midnight then; although it was still dark, the sun came out soon after. This time, however, he was not only setting off in the dead of night, but he was also bringing his two twin brothers, who had never set foot in the Crimson Forest before, and he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Huh? Is anyone there?" One of the twins, Firebeard, was clearly startled, his voice involuntarily rising: "Big brother, what is that? A magical beast?"
"Warcraft?! Ah~~~" Firebeard was even more useless than Firebeard. Upon hearing his older brother say that, he immediately screamed in agony.
Stone was about to stand up to answer her brother Flame's question when she was startled by Firebeard's scream and fell back down. Instantly, she felt a burning pain in her sexy little buttocks.
"Big brother, what do we do? What do we do? Will we get eaten by monsters?"
"We're doomed, we're going to die! Who's going to bring Stone some good food now?!"
Beard and Firebeard were completely flustered, but thankfully, they still had some conscience; even in this life-or-death situation (or so they thought), they hadn't forgotten about Stone. This greatly moved Stone, who was struggling to his feet and rubbing his bottom. Of course, it would have been even better if they were more reliable.
"You two shut up!!!" At this moment, Flame suddenly felt incredibly... well, the uncultured kid couldn't express how he felt. If it were Stone, she would definitely tell her older brother.
That feeling is called—ball pain.
With a roar, Flame finally silenced the two beasts. He gestured for them to stay put and then slowly walked towards the direction of the sound, carrying the Radiant Stone. Logically, there shouldn't be any magical beasts here, but nothing is absolute. Besides, even if there weren't magical beasts, there might be wild animals; he had encountered wild animals that had accidentally wandered into the Crimson Forest before.
"Who is there? Are you an intelligent being? Please speak!" The flames slowly approached the source of the voice. He estimated that he was no more than five or six dwarves' lengths away from the source of the voice, but at such a close distance, he did not sense any danger.
Could it be that it really is a harmless little wild animal?
At this moment, Stone, who had been suspected of being a wild beast, finally couldn't resist rushing towards the flames: "Big Brother..."
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Extra chapter tonight...
☆, Chapter 72 The Two That Vanished Without a Trace
"Stone, Stone!" Striked by the stone, Flame dropped the Radiant Stone from its hand. Staring blankly at the sobbing Stone who had thrown itself into its arms, Flame felt its tongue was about to tie itself in knots: "You...how did you get here?"
Firebeard, who had been trembling with fear, rushed over in a flash, exclaiming in utter surprise, "Stone! My God! It really is Stone! Did you come to pick us up?"
"Definitely not, how did Stone know we'd be coming today?" Huo Hu stopped screaming and calmly analyzed, "Stone must have realized we hadn't visited her in a long time, so she wanted to go home and see us. Stone, right?"
Stone:……
She was so embarrassed to admit that she was actually lost! ~~~o(╯□╰)o
"Alright, you two, stop talking. Stone, let's go. Elder Red Stone has been very angry ever since you left. If you want to go home, you should wait a while longer!" Flame hugged Stone and gently patted his back, soothingly saying, "Let's go back to the tree hollow first!"
Following behind his three older brothers, Stone seemed to have some energy now, perhaps because he was in a relaxed mood: "Big brother, why is Elder Chishi angry? Isn't he just trying to kick me out?"
"Stone, Elder Chishi is just unhappy because he feels that our father has embarrassed him by secretly bringing you out like this. But it's okay, after a while, Mom and Dad will definitely bring you home."
Although she knew Flame was just offering words of comfort, Stone still felt much better. Tsk tsk, see? She's not a child abandoned by her family! As for that Elder Red Stone who's practically dead, who cares about him!
etc!
As she walked, Stone suddenly remembered the glutton she had left in the tree hole. It hadn't eaten all day; was the glutton out looking for food, or was it still crying in the tree hole?
Shi Tou was deeply depressed. What would she do if her three older brothers saw that glutton? God help her, she hoped they wouldn't just wander into the tree hollow on a whim! Who knew how many contraband items were inside her tree hollow? Not to mention the smooth cement floor alone was a problem to explain!
"Stone, we've arrived."
After walking for almost four more hours, Stone finally saw her long-lost tree hole. Before she could even sigh with emotion, Stone was horrified to find that Flame was calling on Firebeard and Firebeard to move the things into the tree hole.
"Big brother!" Stone suddenly exclaimed, his voice high-pitched and shrill with urgency: "No need to bother, just leave it outside."
“How can this be? Firebeard and Firebeard, put the things in the tree hole, and also, help Stone clean the tree hole.” Flame directed the twins to work while comforting Stone: “Stone, don’t worry! Yesterday morning, the Dwarf Kingdom dug a new mine tunnel, and Dad and several elders went down to inspect it. Mom said they won’t come back up for at least three to five days.”
Stone was a little confused and looked blankly at the flames: "So?"
"Hehe, so don't worry, Stone. The first two times were because of time constraints, but this time it's different. Your brothers will definitely take good care of you." Flame patted his chest proudly, looking like a big brother.
Stone wanted to cry. She didn't want to take care of them! Wait, the twins are already inside! How was she going to explain this?!
"Um, big brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, it's still dark. Why don't we rest for a while? There's no rush to clean up the tree hollow. Besides, I've only lived here for ten days, and the tree hollow is very clean!" Looking at the still-dark sky, Stone racked his brains to come up with this flimsy excuse. He'd keep it a secret for as long as possible, no matter what.
Fortunately, it was Flame and the twins who came this time. They weren't very bright, but when Stone said that, they happily nodded in agreement. Although they all entered the tree hole, they didn't look around carefully and just sat down on the ground. Before long, they were all fast asleep.
Shi Tou looked at the group of people who fell asleep in ten seconds and was quite speechless. However, at this moment, she didn't have time to express her feelings anymore and had to get back to work!
First, Stone searched the inside of the tree hole thoroughly, confirming that Rice Noodles wasn't there at all. Then he went outside and wandered around, not daring to go far or shout loudly. After an hour of searching, he still couldn't find Rice Noodles.
Good heavens! That girl with the rice noodles, could she have been so hungry that she ate herself?! [{(>_<)}]
Although Stone always said that Rice Noodles was annoying, all she did was eat and never work, she would still feel heartbroken if Rice Noodles really disappeared. You see, elves' lifespans far exceed those of humans and dwarves. According to the memories extracted from Baozi, young elves usually reach adulthood at around 60 years old. Stone didn't know how old Rice Noodles was this year, but that glutton looked to be at most ten years old!
What will happen to a tiny, inexperienced elf, who is utterly defenseless but incredibly valuable, as it wanders alone in the Crimson Forest?
Shi Tou didn't dare to think any further.
Suddenly, the stone rushed off in one direction—it was Baozi! Perhaps at this moment, only Baozi could find the little elf!
"Baozi!" Although he didn't dare to shout loudly, Shi Tou tried his best to call Baozi's name: "Where are you? Baozi, come out quickly!"
Following the path he had walked many times before, Stone lowered his head and carefully searched the ground, looking at it bit by bit, but the steamed bun was still nowhere to be found.
"My dearest big steamed bun, the cutest big steamed bun, the big steamed bun that Stone loves to eat the most... cough cough, wrong, it should be Stone's most beloved big steamed bun, where are you? Come out quickly!"
Stone clasped his hands together, put them to his mouth, and whispered, "Baozi! You're the most capable soup dumpling! Come out quickly!"
However, apart from the howling cold wind, there was not a single sound in the forest.
What's going on?
Stone sat on a large rock, pursing his lips and resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought. Rice Noodles could walk on its own; if she were truly starving, a glutton like her would definitely find food herself. But what about Steamed Bun? Stone clearly remembered that Steamed Bun had once said that only by Stone's side could it freely change its form, speak, and move.
Although Baozi's words were highly unreliable, Shitou felt that they were probably true. Of course, it was also possible that Baozi was genuinely angry and deliberately avoiding seeing her. Although this possibility was small, Shitou deeply felt that with Baozi's peculiar thought process, she really was capable of doing such a despicable thing.
"Baozi, come out quickly! I promise I won't bully you anymore, just come out! I'm telling you, Mifen'er is gone. Your one million purple gold coins are all gone!" Shi Tou muttered to himself, hoping that Baozi would finally jump out.
"Stone!"
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I recommend a new book by a cunning author: [bookid=2424004,bookname=《攻心太子妃》]
I transmigrated and became the illegitimate daughter of a prime minister's family. My stepmother treated me with disdain, and my elder sister plotted against me relentlessly.
Many handsome men coveted her, while many beautiful women hated her to the core.
Watch as the cunning concubine's daughter slaps down the arrogant and domineering young lady, uncovering all sorts of hidden conspiracies and schemes.
They bombarded the troublemaking concubines in the inner palace.
Chapter 73: Little Loli Transforms into a Mature Woman
Just as Stone was scrunching his little face in distress, the sound of flames drifted from afar. Stone quickly got up and ran back towards the tree hole, calling out as he ran, "Big brother, I'm here!"
"Stone, where have you been so early in the morning?" Flame looked Stone up and down worriedly. "Even though this is the outer edge of the Crimson Forest, you should still be more careful in the future, understand?"
"Okay, I understand." Stone nodded obediently.
"Aaaaaah!" A bloodcurdling scream came from the tree hole. Flame and Stone exchanged a horrified glance, then ran quickly toward the tree hole.
At the entrance of the tree hollow, Huo Xu was standing outside, pointing at the makeshift stove built by Baozi and screaming repeatedly. Huo Hu, on the other hand, plopped down on the ground at the entrance of the tree hollow, pointing inside and shouting something.
Upon seeing this, Shi Tou immediately cried out in alarm, "Hey, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, listen to me!"
"Ouch! Daddy went too far! He said Stone was pitiful all alone out there, but Stone's place is even better than home!" Huo Hu, sitting on the ground kicking his legs, shouted indignantly, "Look, what a nice tree hole! What a neat floor! What beautiful walls! And so much furniture!"
"And there's a stove and a barbecue grill! There's so much delicious food piled up inside the tree hole. Stone only needs to eat and sleep all day long. She's so lucky!" Firebeard shouted back, not to be outdone.
Shi Tou opened his mouth, unsure of what to say for a moment.
"Big brother, big brother!" Firebeard and Firebeard ran up to Flame, each grabbing one of his hands and pleading in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Let us live with Stone too! We'll take good care of Stone, really!"
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
The twins responded without hesitation with three crisp, roasted chestnuts each: "Shut up!"
Turning back to look at the stone: "Stone, this is..."
Stone lowered her head guiltily. How could she forget that it was Steel Hammer and Flame who brought her here? Back then, the tree hollow was incredibly rudimentary!
"Stone..." Flame didn't know what to say. Although he came late at night last time and was in a hurry, the ground he was standing on back then was definitely not like this! How could it have changed so much in just ten days?
"I wanted to ask you when I woke up, but you were gone. Stone, what happened?"
Looking at Flame's innocent expression, and then at the twins' pure curiosity, Stone suddenly found himself speechless. "Well, lying won't turn you into having a long nose, right?"
"Chirp! Stone!" A sound a hundred times more pitiful than the twins' cries suddenly came from Stone's head. Then, before anyone could react, a figure fell heavily to the ground.
"Bang!" The figure, defying conventional aesthetics, appeared before everyone in a rather comical fashion, landing on its bottom with its four legs in the air: "Chirp chirp woo woo la chirp chirp!"
Stone stared dumbfounded as an unidentified flying object made a spectacular landing: "Rice Noodles?" Looking up at the sky, wait, where did she fall from? Could it be that there are airplanes in this other world? Or a UFO? Or perhaps, fairies can fly?
"Stone!!!" When Mi Fen'er saw that her cries had not elicited any sympathy from Stone, she panicked and reached out to grab Stone's hand: "Mi Fen'er, I'm hungry!"
(╯^╰)
Honey, can we make a deal? Can we use a different word?
"Stone, this, this..." Flame was terrified, his face pale, and he asked tremblingly, "What is this thing?"
This guy is a complete scoundrel!
Stone really wanted to answer like that, but reason told her that if she didn't want Steel Hammer Daddy and Fat Mommy to come over immediately, it was still necessary to explain properly: "Her name is Rice Noodles, and I found her nearby a few days ago."
Is this explanation acceptable?
Shi Tou remembered something. In her past life, when she was little, she had found a puppy by the roadside. Because her mother was very busy with work, she secretly hid the puppy in her room for a whole month without being discovered. But eventually, her mother found out and said, "Put it back where you found it! Picked-up things are so dirty!"