11 Guardian Spirit

The following morning, Lin Tao and Ji Yun entered the Obsidian Forest. Lin Tao could not resist Ji Yun's endless pleading the night before. He knew the reckless girl would sneak off once more, so he relented and helplessly made the girl promise not to wander away from him.

"The bluemist iris can be found around the Floral Lake. Follow me."

Bai Lian was inwardly celebrating as the two children advanced towards the lake.

"Wow you're so knowledgeable, Tao," cheered Ji Yun in a fawning tone. After the harsh scolding she faced the previous night, she was quite eager to keep Lin Tao in a good mood. After all, it was no secret how opposed he was to this trip.

'When did this girl become such a bootlicker,' mused Lin Tao to himself. "Only an idiot would brainlessly head into the forest before researching where to find what they're looking for."

Ji Yun pouted. She opened her mouth to refute him, but she could've find the words to defend herself. She could only let out a sheepish laugh.

Listening to the the banter between the young pair, Bai Lian could not help but be reminded of her elder brother, Bai Ru. The longing she felt was tinged with sorrow. Her gaze towards the pair of children softened.

As the pair came closer, Bai Lian began spamming the girl with signals, attempting to discover the range of her signals to humans.

"Such a pretty lake!" Lin Tao firmly grasped Ji Yun's arm before the little ball of energy could dash towards the lake that had just come into view.

Ji Yun sheepishly laughed as she turned her head away from Lin Tao's glare. "Don't worry. I remember my promise. I won't leave your side."

"Says the girl who was just ready to bolt."

Before Ji Yun could refute, her face twisted into an expression of bewilderment and shock. Ji Yun quietly questioned, "W-who's there?" Upon voicing out her question, the "Heyheyhey…" in her head came to a halt.

"What did you hear?" Lin Tao asked, worry and confusion evident in his inquiry as he studied Ji Yun's expression, noticing traces of fear.

Bai Lian discovered her range for sending signals to humans was 15 meters, which was less than her 50 meters range for plants. To her delight, there was no qi in the signal. She did not need to take caution against sending signals to cultivators, so she held no reservations against sending a signal to Lin Tao, who was a rank 7 spirit warrior.

"I was the one who spoke to her." A gentle voice eased its way into the minds of the two children, inducing them to subconsciously put their guards down.

Ji Yun was shocked by the contrast between the previous goofy, childish voice and this beautiful, gentle one. However, the gentle voice had successfully weeded out all traces of fear from her face.

"Who are you?" Lin Tao awoken from his shock sooner than Ji Yun.

"I am the guardian spirit of this forest." A bell-like giggle resounded in their minds. Bai Lian's gaze was tinged with mirth as she studied the two children's expressions.

Lin Tao knitted his eyebrows. He was skeptical of this declaration. However, Ji Yun was more trusting and was unable to conjure suspicions towards someone with such a gentle voice. Her eyes shined with admiration and marvel.

"Little Tao, turn 30 degrees to the right and head straight. You should be able to find the bluemist iris."

Lin Tao was surprised to hear the voice call his name. However, his suspicions were not cleared. After all, with Ji Yun's loud voice cheerfully calling his name, it would not be odd for someone to hear. He narrowed his eyes. 'If this person is not a spirit, then she must be much stronger than me to be capable of hiding her presence while speaking into our minds.'

"How did you know we were looking for the bluemist iris?" The respect shining from Ji Yun's eyes shone brighter.

"I already told you, Little Yun. I am the guardian spirit of the Obsidian Forest. Nothing in this forest can escape my eyes and ears."

Lin Tao was more surprised to hear Ji Yun's name than his own. He did not voice her name often. He tried recalling when he had mentioned her name during their trip to the forest, but nothing came to mind.

The young pair followed Bai Lian's instructions and sure enough, they were able to successfully pick the bluemist iris.

"How old are you children?"

Having picked the bluemist iris, the pair's trust in this so-called guardian spirit grew. At the very least, Lin Tao did not think the spirit wanted to harm them.

"Although you already know our names, I'll properly introduce myself. I'm Ji Yun and I'm 12 years old! This here is Lin Tao. He's also 12." Eager to speak with the guardian spirit, Ji Yun cheerfully introduced Lin Tao before he could say anything.

"So young, yet already wandering these woods. You young ones must be careful."

"I've been cautious this whole time, but this fool here might do well to take heed in your words"

"Tao!" Ji Yun pouted.

A bell-like giggle sounded in their minds, "The two of you sure do get along."

"What get along? He's clearly bullying me!" Ji Yun cutely shot a glare at Lin Tao.

"You two have different surnames. Are you guys perhaps engaged?" Bai Lian couldn't help, but tease them.

"Y-you! Why would getting along and having different surnames imply we're engaged? It's not good to make blind assumptions!" Lin Tao spoke quickly as his ear reddened.

A familiar bell-like giggle could be heard resounding through the minds of the two children, successfully irritating Lin Tao as he became more embarrassed.

"Yun, you promised we would leave after finding the bluemist iris." Lin Tao ignored Bai Lian's laughter and turned around, refusing to make eye contact with Ji Yun. With the bit of sensibility she had, Ji Yun decided not to mention it.

"But I want to talk to the guardian spirit! Who knows when I'll get another chance to enter the Obsidian Forest. It's not even late yet," Ji Yun whined.

'There she goes disregarding her promises again.' Lin Tao sighed, "We finally got the bluemist iris. Aren't you eager to be able to cultivate? You can come visit the guardian spirit after you become stronger."

'Ah so that's why they were looking for the bluemist iris,' thought Bai Lian to herself. The bluemist iris' main use was countering poisons. 'A poison that prevents one from cultivating… How rare. Perhaps I was poisoned in my previous life too.'

Ji Yun finally remembered the purpose of their trip. "Guardian spirit, I'll come back again as a spirit master. Promise me that you'll call out to me again!"

"I promise."

Ji Yun giggled, "See you later, Guardi… I just realized… You know our names, but we're stuck calling you guardian spirit."

"Then call me big sis."

Before Ji Yun could consent, Lin Tao sneered, "Granny would probably be more fitting for an old spirit like you! Later, granny." He began to drag Ji Yun away.

'He's still mad. I even held back the teasing in consideration to that brat. If I had known he would repay my generosity by aging me so many decades, I would have teased him some more!' Bai Lian grumbled to herself as she had a sudden realization, 'I was originally planning to stop sending signals to them after confirming my signal's range. However, since I ended up chatting so much anyway, I should have asked for some information like the date.'

Bai Lian pondered over the two children. After conversing with the pair, she realized she had been quite lonely all this time. Unwilling to admit her fondness of the two after being called granny, she thought to herself, 'Perhaps they will be of use in the future.'