"Ahead."
He pointed forward with the hand holding the foxtail grass.
I thought to myself, "Does he really have this ability?" So I looked ahead.
But there was no one in front of me, only a small wooden temple on the left side of the road. As I got closer, I saw three characters written on the temple: "Temple for Giving Children."
I stopped at the entrance of the small temple and looked at Shen Yuan. "Did you skip some procedures?"
"The immortals have their own plans." He said, stepping into the temple.
I followed him into the temple. Inside, there was a couple lighting incense, praying to the gods, kowtowing and making wishes, and then devoutly leaving.
As Shen Yuan and I entered, the woman gave us a sympathetic look. As we passed each other, she said, "Young lady, if you are sincere, it will surely work."
My face immediately darkened, but Shen Yuan smiled and offered the wildflowers and weeds in his hand to the woman, saying, "This lady is kind-hearted. I just picked these flowers on the mountain and I'm giving them to you. May your wish be fulfilled."
The woman smiled gently and accepted them. She and her husband thanked Shen Yuan and then left the temple.
There were only the two of us left in the temple. I glanced at Shen Yuan with dissatisfaction. "Aren't you going to explain?"
"Didn't you come here to make a wish?" Shen Yuan retorted. "Is it wrong for her to bless me if I want true love?"
"This is a temple for granting children!" I pointed to the clay statue above. "This isn't someone worshipping you, it's a female fairy!"
"Hey, Little Fairy, why do you say that..."
He said, but when I turned around from the clay statue, I couldn't see Shen Yuan's face anymore. I looked around and then saw a glimpse of his pink clothes peeking out from behind the prayer box under the altar.
A clattering sound came from the prayer box. He had taken apart the box and taken out all the copper coins inside.
I pointed at him and reminded him again, "This isn't for you..."
Shen Yuan squatted on the ground, elegantly picking up the copper coins as he said, "It's the result of love. Cause and effect are inseparable..."
"I don't want to hear your nonsense. I only know how to take people's money and swindle them. You really have to solve their problems!"
"I've solved everything I could." Shen Yuan had already filled an entire purse, but he continued, "Judging from their faces, that couple might have good news soon. Little Fruit Fairy, there's no backlog of things in my Love Palace in the Nine Heavens."
Yes, he was very diligent.
Without his diligence, the Nine Heavens wouldn't be what it is now.
I wouldn't be where I am now either.
"Besides, in the mortal world, it's hard to move an inch without money. If I don't find some silver to dress us up, how can we find true love?"
I pouted. "True love depends on appearance?"
"First observe the face, then observe the heart." Shen Yuan picked up two purses, not greedy at all. He locked the petition box again and pushed it back to its original position. Then he handed me one of the purses.
I blinked, a little dazed. "There's a share for me too?"
"Little Fruit Fairy, I told you, as long as you're on my side, I'll use all my wickedness against others." He smiled gently, his expression truly that of a gentle god of love who cherishes all things.
But I knew this man had just verbally crushed me to death at least eight hundred times over without batting an eye.
I reached out, taking the money, then paused, emphasizing, "Stealing offerings from other fairies, that's what you did, you'll suffer the consequences."
Shen Yuan laughed, stuffing the purse into my hand. "If there's retribution, I'll take it."
After taking the money, Shen Yuan led me to an inn, where we washed up and changed into clean clothes. Then we squatted down at the inn.
Shen Yuan said, "I'm going to start looking for candidates for you."
He sat down in a corner of the inn, ordered a cup of tea and some pastries, and then began carefully observing the passersby. I felt he was reliable and dedicated this time, so I supervised for half an hour. Tired, I went back to my room and waited patiently for him to bring a destined person.
Then, that night, I actually waited.
I waited for him, who brought a dog to my room.
It had thick eyebrows, a goofy face, lots of fur, and big paws. It was quite handsome, but...
I looked at the dog, and the dog looked at me. Then it hid behind Shen Yuan, its head turned away, trembling, seemingly afraid of me.
Of course, that's to be expected.
I felt that the resentment and anger emanating from me was so intense that even a ghost would be afraid of me, let alone a dog.
"What do you mean?" I asked Shen Yuan.
He pointed to the dog hiding behind his heels. "The destiny you wanted."
I stared at him. "Aren't you going too far? This is the person you spent a whole day finding for me!?"
The more I talked, the angrier I got!
I grabbed a stool from beside the table, wanting to swat this rascal on the spot.
He pressed down on the stool with one hand and scooped up the puppy with the other, shoving it into my arms.
"Woof..."
"Ugh..."
The puppy's whimpering came from the front, followed by my sudden, labored breathing.
The puppy was scared, and I was a little scared too.
Shen Yuan tossed the dog into my arms and then let go. I instinctively caught it, first with one hand, then with both, and then I was frozen in place, as if under a spell.
The puppy was a soft, warm, and fluffy lump, so small that I felt I could easily crush it with a little force.
The puppy seemed to feel the same way. It was afraid of dying in my hands, and I was genuinely afraid of killing it.
I... as a fruit, I had never encountered such a soft and fragile life.
The Mountain and River Fruits on the Hidden God Tree are all resilient, as are my seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine brothers and sisters. We compete with each other, vying for the Mother Tree's nourishment. The winds and rains of the Divine Realm are not gentle. We must all grow on our own.
And this puppy...
It's so small, so soft and fragile, how can it grow up on its own?
It seems I need to touch it with the utmost care to protect its life.
"Take... take it away," I said to Shen Yuan.
But Shen Yuan remained unmoved. "Don't be so stiff, Little Fruit Fairy." He dragged the stool I was about to lift up and smash over, sat on it opposite me, raised his hand, his fingers slightly curled, and skillfully scratched the puppy's head.
The puppy whimpered again, and the previously motionless dog began to stretch its limbs and turn its head.
I gasped in fright, not knowing what to do with it. Afraid it would fall to the ground, I stiffened my fingers even more and used more force.
The puppy seemed uncomfortable, making a very soft but high-pitched whimper, as if it were crying.
I panicked even more.
Just when I was at my most helpless, the puppy was gently taken from my hands by another pair of large hands.
The puppy stopped whimpering the moment it left my arms, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But Shen Yuan had no intention of letting me go. He held the puppy and stroked it a couple of times to comfort it, then chuckled at me in a low voice, "Even the God of Laws isn't as gentle as the fingertips of an old tree like me?"
He then placed the puppy back on my lap.
My eyes widened slightly, and I immediately squeezed my legs together, my whole body stiffening, making myself as straight as a bench, afraid the puppy would fall off.
The puppy trembled anxiously in my arms.
"It's scared!"
I was scared too!
I stared at it, too afraid to move, when suddenly I felt someone grab my wrist.
I was startled, but dared not struggle too much, because the puppy was still in my arms.
Shen Yuan pulled my stiff hand, like teaching a puppet, and placed it on the puppy's furry back.
My fingertips twitched. But Shen Yuan's hand covered mine. "Don't hide, touch it, like this." He took one of my fingers and let my fingertip stroke the puppy's back. "It won't hurt you, a puppy's life isn't that fragile."
He said this, and that's how he taught me how to pet the puppy.
It really felt like teaching a puppet. I felt my finger joints go from stiff to slowly relaxing, and the trembling, frightened puppy did the same. It slowly relaxed, its body no longer tense, slowly stretching out, and finally, it lay on my lap, found a position, and fell asleep.
Then Shen Yuan released my hand, and I could also gently and slowly pet the puppy like him.
I... felt like I had learned how to touch a fragile life.
I felt its pulse and its breathing.
How amazing.
"It's asleep," I whispered in surprise to Shen Yuan. "Look, its back is rising and falling. It's still kicking its legs, it can dream too."
I looked up, subconsciously sharing my surprise with Shen Yuan.
And that glance I gave him immediately met Shen Yuan's eyes.
In the flickering candlelight, he rested one hand on the table, also looking at me, his gaze...
Well, let's just say it... the way he looked at me petting the dog now was a bit like the way I look at dogs now.
"Right, isn't the puppy amazing?" he asked me.
Me: "..."
Faced with Shen Yuan like this, I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Suddenly, I remembered why the dog had come, and then I snapped out of my daze.
I stared at Shen Yuan, my gaze sharpening. "The dog is nice, but I remember you said you were going to find me a soulmate, so you'd better have someone..."
"Let me explain," Shen Yuan said. "I've been sitting downstairs all afternoon, looking at everyone who's come and gone..." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "None of them were quite right, either too old or too unattractive..."
"True love doesn't concern itself with these things!"
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