The Third Prince and Mu Xueshi each rode a horse to that patch of grassland and found the twin tree. The moment Mu Xueshi saw the tree, he naturally remembered the scene from back then when he had parted from the Third Prince, and his heart still felt somewhat sour.
Seeing Mu Xueshi standing there in a daze, the Third Prince walked up to him and pinched his smooth, tender cheek.
“Are you thinking of leaving again?”
Mu Xueshi’s face flushed red at the Third Prince’s words. Pouting, he muttered in a small voice, “Even if you drive me away this time, I won’t leave.”
The Third Prince slowly poured the blood from the two bottles together, shook them, then sprinkled the mixture into the soil beside the tree trunk.
The dark red blood immediately seeped into the earth, leaving only a small patch of dried bloodstain behind.
Mu Xueshi crouched beside the trunk and stared without blinking, afraid he would miss the miraculous sight.
After a while, Mu Xueshi felt the tree begin to shake. The trunk started making creaking sounds, like mice digging holes.
“No way. It’s really this magical?” Mu Xueshi couldn’t help crying out in surprise.
The Third Prince poured all the remaining blood in the little bottle into the soil. Once it had fully seeped in, the changes in the trunk became faster and faster. As though someone had split it down the middle with an axe, one large tree soon divided into two trees.
“When will they merge back together?” Mu Xueshi asked.
The Third Prince replied calmly, “Within an hour.”
“Is it really that accurate? If the blood didn’t come from blood brothers, would the tree not split after it was dripped inside? I feel like maybe this tree simply reacts to blood. Why don’t we try using the two of ours and see whether it reacts?”
As he spoke, Mu Xueshi reached for the small curved dagger at his waist.
The Third Prince seized Mu Xueshi’s hand and said in a low voice, “Don’t act recklessly.”
Mu Xueshi felt his hand ache from the Third Prince’s grip and quickly begged him to let go. When he raised his head and looked at the Third Prince’s expression, he found that the man seemed very displeased.
“I only wanted to make the conclusion that ‘the two corpses are twin brothers’ more accurate. I wasn’t trying to cause trouble for you,” Mu Xueshi said cautiously.
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s head droop, his long eyelashes fluttering over his jewel-like eyes, which now reflected a dejected expression, the Third Prince couldn’t help sighing inwardly. He stroked Mu Xueshi’s head and said, “Let’s go back first.”
“Mm…”
By evening, Mu Xueshi was in the courtyard waving a stick around at random when he suddenly heard a servant report that the Second Prince was waiting quietly outside the courtyard and wished to take Su Ying back.
Mu Xueshi put down the stick in his hand and went inside to look for Su Ying, but after searching every corner, he still could not find any trace of him.
“Qingya, have you seen Su Ying?”
“This servant has not.”
“What about you, Qingzhu?”
“This servant saw the little master playing in this room just now, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.”
Mu Xueshi turned past the covered corridor and saw Eunuch Shangde standing there.
“Eunuch Shangde, have you seen Su Ying?”
Eunuch Shangde bowed slightly and answered Mu Xueshi honestly, “Replying to the Judicial Affairs Minister, this servant saw the little master pass through that pavilion just now and run toward the small woods to the west. Why don’t I go and look for him on your behalf?”
“No need. I’ll find him myself.”
Mu Xueshi also passed through that pavilion and ran toward the small woods, calling Su Ying’s name as he went. After quite a while, no response came from the woods. Ahead was a pond that was neither deep nor shallow. When Mu Xueshi saw the rippling water flashing gold beneath the sunlight, golden stars seemed to flash before his eyes as well.
“He couldn’t have fallen into the pond, could he?” Bad thoughts kept flashing through Mu Xueshi’s mind.
When he reached the pond, Mu Xueshi looked inside. The water was very clear. Apart from some water plants and goldfish, he could not see anything else.
After letting out a huge sigh of relief, Mu Xueshi began looking elsewhere. As he looked around, he suddenly discovered that a thousand-year-old ancient tree not far away had grown two extra feet.
Even if it had lived for a thousand years and turned into a tree spirit, surely it wouldn’t grow human feet!
Mu Xueshi crept over quietly and finally stopped beside the tree, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the scene before him.
Su Ying was curled up here, hiding his little body. From the back, he couldn’t be seen because the tree trunk blocked him. But once one walked around to the front, his entire body was practically exposed, and his two little feet were even stretched out freely. Only his face was covered with a large leaf, so much so that even though Mu Xueshi had already found him, Su Ying still hadn’t noticed.
“Su Ying,” Mu Xueshi called softly.
Su Ying’s little body shifted farther inward, but the large leaf in his hand remained over his face.
Mu Xueshi took the large leaf down and said with an expression that looked like he was about to laugh, “I saw you ages ago. What’s the use of only covering your face with this leaf?”
Su Ying still had not understood Mu Xueshi’s meaning. He lowered his head to look at the leaf, then said unconvinced, “But I never saw Uncle Mu.”
“#￥&%”
A while later, Mu Xueshi forcibly tucked Su Ying under his arm and walked toward the courtyard gate. Su Ying struggled and cried out against Mu Xueshi the whole way, refusing no matter what to go back.
The Second Prince was standing leisurely at the courtyard gate. Suddenly hearing his precious child’s voice, he looked in that direction and unexpectedly saw Mu Xueshi treating his son this way.
Anger flared in the Second Prince. Just as he was about to avenge his precious child, he saw Mu Xueshi lift his head and smile at him.
“Second Prince, I’ve brought this little living treasure over to you.”
It was the first time the Second Prince had seen Mu Xueshi’s true appearance. For a moment, he was stunned, and the words that had reached his lips were swallowed back down.
Su Ying continued crying and fussing. “I’m not going back! I’m not going back! I want to stay with Uncle Mu!”
Hearing Su Ying’s words, the Second Prince immediately snapped back to himself, his attention returning to his precious son.
“You truly don’t want to go back with Father?”
Su Ying shook his head and pouted as he went to hug Mu Xueshi’s leg.
Mu Xueshi clearly saw the Second Prince’s gaze suddenly become sharp. That look did not resemble the helplessness of a loving father seeing his son misbehave. Instead, there was an added layer of hatred within it.
And that hatred was clearly not directed at his son.
Frightened, Mu Xueshi quickly crouched down and said to Su Ying, “Su Ying, be good and go back with your father. After you wake up from sleeping, come back and play with Uncle, all right?”
After you wake up, please make sure you forget what Uncle said…
“No. Su Ying wants to sleep with Uncle Mu.”
Mu Xueshi froze at those words, while the Second Prince beside him felt even more complicated inside. Ever since Su Ying was little, he had only clung to him. Yet after seeing Mu Xueshi, he had gone an entire day without returning. And when Su Ying slept, he could only fall asleep while being held by him. Now he actually wanted to throw himself into someone else’s arms…
The Second Prince was probably truly angered. His usual careless, frivolous air vanished as he walked straight up to Mu Xueshi, picked Su Ying up, and headed toward his own residence.
Before they had gone far, Mu Xueshi heard Su Ying crying, and the cries grew louder and louder, every sound calling for Uncle Mu.
Mu Xueshi sighed inwardly. He absolutely could not soften his heart again, or he would definitely regret it. Having too much charm really wasn’t a good thing. It hurt people wherever he went…
Mu Xueshi lifted his head and let out a long sigh toward the sky, then walked toward Qingyun Palace.
Futile Devices Scans 
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