Regarding the New Year, Du Yu didn't have any special feelings.
After all, he had never experienced a joyful family gathering, and thus never had any expectations for any festival.
However, as a good apprentice, he still sent holiday wishes to Master Qing, but unfortunately, Master Qing did not respond at all.
The filial piety of Prince Du was thus lost like a stone sinking into the sea.
The next day, after 10 AM, Du Yu received the cultivation subsidies for the first quarter of 997.
Unwilling to give up, he took out 100,000 from the 150,000 and transferred it to Master Qing.
The reality, however, poured cold water over Du Yu.
A full 100,000 yuan couldn't even buy a single response from Master Qing...
Alright, they didn't even accept it.
"So busy." Du Yu rubbed his eyes and slept until after ten, truly indulging himself.
Mumbling softly to himself, he couldn't help feeling a bit worried, hoping that the task of the master wasn't too dangerous.
Du Yu tossed aside his phone, sat at the bedside, and stared blankly into space.
Since he was alone at home, he naturally didn't have the habit of closing doors. The Firethorn Tree noticed its master was awake, and a branch "peered sneakily" inside.
Du Yu was no longer a newbie, and he sensed someone acting in the shadows immediately!
He turned his head and saw the approaching branch, under the dense leaves hung a few red fruits.
Du Yu couldn't help but laugh, "Good morning, Firethorn Fruit... uh, Brother Tree."
Firethorn Tree: "..."
The lush branch paused, then continued to proffer, reaching the bedside. With a flurry of leaves, a tempting fruit presented itself before Du Yu's eyes.
"Thank you." Du Yu extended his hand and picked off a heavy fruit, about the size of a baseball.
The fruits produced by the Celestial Level Firethorn Tree were originally the size of ping pong balls.
But now they were so big, full of nutrients!
Du Yu held a Firethorn Tree leaf and wiped the fruit: "Let me help you eat a bit.
Having so many fruits hanging on you, jingling around, must be troublesome, right?"
Firethorn Tree: "..."
Little Fen Yang cheered joyfully in his mind: "Time to eat the fruit~"
Du Yu looked down at the tempting fruit in his hand, closed his eyes, and took a big bite, almost sending himself away...
The flavor like several times concentrated lemon juice soaked his taste buds, sour enough to make his scalp tingle.
Seeing Du Yu's grimacing face, the Firethorn Tree shook happily~
The rustling sound was very pleasant.
"Swipe!" Two more Firethorn Tree branches reached over to the window, pulling the curtains to the sides.
In an instant, the room that was somewhat dim before was filled with brightness.
Outside was a vast expanse of white, large fluffy snowflakes gently floating down.
Immediately, Du Yu was drawn to it.
He fought against the churning in his stomach, swallowed the Firethorn Fruit in one big gulp, and got out of bed to stand by the window, the outside world was covered in a blanket of silver, breathtakingly beautiful.
The small pavilion by the lake in the neighborhood below had taken on a new appearance, serene and lovely.
"By the way, have you guys never seen snow before?" Du Yu summoned Xiao Yan only to find that Little You Ying and Little Tai Sui weren't in the Acupoint Home.
"Eek~" Xiao Yan, still drowsy, showed no interest in appreciating the beautiful view before her.
She snuggled into Du Yu's embrace, rubbing her head from side to side to find a comfortable position, and fell back asleep.
Gazing at Xiao Yan peacefully falling into a slumber, Du Yu couldn't bear to disturb her and, carrying her, walked out the door.
"Where are You Ying and Tai Sui?" Du Yu asked softly.
Outside, a Firethorn Tree branch pointed to the room across, which was Little You Ying's nursery.
Curious, Du Yu left the master bedroom, and as soon as he entered the nursery, he was greeted with a heartwarming scene.
Two small figures were there.
Little You Ying, holding a large torch, sat on the windowsill, lost in thought while gazing at the heavy snow outside.
Little Tai Sui lay on the window, his two big shiny black eyes curiously looking outside.
The colorful soft padding on the nursery floor allowed Du Yu to sneak up quietly.
Seeing the little tail on Tai Sui's bottom, Du Yu couldn't resist reaching out to give it a gentle pinch.
"Eek!" Little Tai Sui cried out upset, but upon turning his head and seeing it was Du Yu, he quickly shook his head happily.
One of his little bear paws held onto Du Yu's hand, while the other pointed outside, as if telling Du Yu to look at the snow outside.
Du Yu silently chuckled, this little one lived all his days in the Southwest Mountain City - Bamboo Grove.
There, with the Tai Sui Bamboo in charge, the Demon Spirit Realm was eternally spring, so where would snowflakes come from?
Since returning to Ancient Pine Tower City with him, Little Tai Sui had seen the snow on both sides of the streets but had never witnessed snowy weather.
"It's very beautiful." Suddenly, a petite figure floated in front of Du Yu, her small face moving close to the window.
Little Fen Yang, with her big orange-red eyes, gazed at the world of snow outside.
"Fen Yang?" Du Yu was genuinely surprised that Little Fen Yang chose to come out!
It clearly startled the Firethorn Tree!
One could tell from its body language, as several accompanying Firethorn Tree branches retracted slightly.
"The Firethorn Tree is ours; it just needs to keep our secret," Little Fen Yang whispered, the orange-red eyes she directed towards the outside world showing a hint of confusion.
She murmured softly: "It would look even better if the snow were replaced with fire, the whole world on fire."
Du Yu: "..."
In the legendary tales, the Ancient Golden Crow was a symbol of auspiciousness.
Their kin would often help lost travelers in the Otherworld, assist people in getting through crises, and escape from danger, earning such a good name.
But hearing Little Fen Yang's words, why did it feel somewhat off?
He grabbed the Firethorn Tree branch beside him with a serious expression and, rarely, called the Firethorn Tree by its full name: "Firethorn, you must keep this secret for us."
Little Fen Yang's sudden action had Du Yu negotiating with the Firethorn Tree for quite a while.
Actually, it made sense when you think about it.
Previously at Master Qing's house, Little Fen Yang dared not reveal herself, only occasionally sneaking out into the guest room at midnight to see Du Yu.
Now, Du Yu was at his own home, and if Little Fen Yang were still restricted, that would be unreasonable indeed.
In response to its master's request, the Firethorn Tree naturally agreed.
Perhaps Little Fen Yang had also made a long-term investigation, figuring out the Firethorn Tree's temperament before deciding to show up.
It was quite rare for Little Fen Yang to acknowledge a tree, considering she wished to strip the bark off every tree in the world.
After admiring the snow for a while, Little Fen Yang floated into the living room and went to play under the tree.
In the distance, you could still hear the "shasha" sound of the Firethorn Tree shaking its branches.
Du Yu hadn't seen Little Fen Yang's true form for a long time.
Seeing her again, her body lines were much clearer.
The clothes she wore had a feeling of being woven and transformed with wings, looking very exquisite.
"No one can say a word." Du Yu finally reminded.
The Firethorn Tree swayed its branches up and down as Du Yu casually picked several fruits. He tossed one into the torch of the Ghostly Firefly Doll and tucked another into Little Tai Sui's embrace.
Finally, he held the Firethorn Fruit and placed it under Xiaoyan's nose.
Sniff~
The sleeping Xiaoyan suddenly twitched her nose.
Her eyes still hadn't opened, but her tongue came out first. She licked and licked, finally opening her drowsy eyes.
Du Yu watched, full of envy!
If someone woke me up with spicy chicken, sweet and sour ribs, and fish-flavored shredded pork, I could wake up too!
"By the way, Brother Tree, should I teach you how to cook?"
Firethorn Tree: ???
Du Yu: "It's very simple. You have so many branches; it's like having so many hands. You're born with the talent to be a chef!"
Speaking of which, Du Yu's heart moved.
The Mud Po Goddess Sculpture's hands are also plenty, right?
Especially after advancing to Spirit Level, the whole big disk on its back is all mud hands!
Could keep one at home, act as a sculpture and art piece, then use it for cleaning, becoming a chef?
The only downside is that the Mud Po Goddess Sculpture's Dharma Mud Body is solemn and mysterious, with a majestic aura!
Every time he sees such a creature, Du Yu always feels an urge to burn incense...
Every day when he opens his eyes, the first thing is to bow and offer incense to his own demon pets—who can stand this?
"Eep!" A soft cry suddenly woke Du Yu from his sweet dream.
Even Xiaoyan in his arms, eating fruit, turned to look at the window sill.
Little Tai Sui was sitting on the window sill, holding half a Firethorn Fruit in his small bear paw, eating happily, while the Fire Demon Breath fluctuated intensely!
Du Yu couldn't help but feel delighted!
The last time Tai Sui advanced, it was around December 20th, and now it's January 2nd—is he about to advance again?
Even though Tai Sui is just Mortal Level, advancing quickly, this is still kind of too fast!
Is it because the Shadow Gu Tower nourished him too comfortably?
Or... oh, right!
Du Yu suddenly realized!
The day before yesterday afternoon, he broke through into the Demon Tamer·Minor Success Stage. The advancement process lasted more than four hours.
Little Tai Sui in the Acupoint Home naturally benefited greatly!
Just like Master Qing, substitute training Bai Yujing.
Two words: take off~
"Hm?" Little You Ying curiously looked at his little friend.
"Don't disturb him." Du Yu tugged back on the torch head.
Little You Ying hugged the torch handle with both hands, and his body naturally was lifted off the ground.
A string of mysterious ghostly green runes formed below him, and he promptly sat cross-legged on the symbol, suspended in mid-air.
His pair of ghostly green eyes were fixed on his playmate.
Little Tai Sui's body suddenly bathed in flames, with a light so dazzling it was nearly blinding!
In the living room, the playful Little Fen Yang stopped alongside the Firethorn Branches, as there were Firethorn Branches in the children's room; only Little Fen Yang flew back.
She landed behind Du Yu, peering over his shoulder with big eyes, quietly observing Tai Sui.
The Firethorn Tree was extremely experienced, spreading its lush leaves to wrap around the window and window sill, preventing damage from the flames.
"Nom nom nom."
In everyone's intense anticipation, another layer of flames emerged, and the sound of Little Tai Sui eating Firethorn Fruit was heard.
Du Yu: "..."
Swoosh~
A ring of flames spread wide!
Little Tai Sui finally stuffed the small half-piece of Firethorn Branch into his mouth, turned his furry head, and looked at Du Yu with blinking, shiny eyes.
Du Yu: "You've advanced, do you know that?"
Little Tai Sui tilted his furry little head, with a puzzled expression: "Eep?"
Du Yu was speechless, saying, "You've grown bigger, can't you feel it? You're as tall as Little You Ying now!"
"Eep!" Little Tai Sui suddenly smiled, with a trace of cunning in his shiny eyes.
With Little Fen Yang greatly opened to intelligence, he had learned how to tease his owner...
Du Yu looked both angry and amused at Tai Sui, while the little guy already stood up.
Earth-level Chi Bear!
Compared to when he was Mortal Level, his body had grown significantly, at least 50 centimeters tall.
The little guy still belonged to the category of plush toys, just not mini any longer. Now, he can directly use a stick to hit people's knees without jumping...
Trying to use him as a Chi Bear Hat, it's a bit too big now.
But can be used as a Chi Bear Pillow?
Du Yu picked up the plush toy, weighing it up and down, feeling the weight.
"Don't move, let me try." Du Yu sat down, laid Little Tai Sui flat on the ground.
Then Prince Du rested his head on Little Tai Sui's furry belly, comfortably lying down.
"Eep!" Tai Sui extended his small bear paw, nudging Du Yu's head.
Realizing his owner had no intention of getting up, Little Tai Sui hesitated a bit, then resigned himself to lying spread-eagle on the colorful cushion.
"Eep~"
After all, having just eaten a big Firethorn Fruit, a nap to recharge is nice?
A little nap,
I'll get up and train!
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