Qimeng looked up at the walkway.
Three figures were stepping out from the shadows of the trees.
The leader had short, silver-gold hair.
Shiny silver rings hung from her pointed ears.
Behind her followed two young girls, about the same height as Yinzhi.
Their attire was much sleeker than that of the ordinary clansmen, and they held slender staffs in their hands.
“Those ones look quite impressive,” Qimeng remarked.
“Yes, the leader is Eve,” Yinzhi explained in a low voice. “She is one of our clan's spiritual seeds, and also a candidate for Spirit Maiden.”
“The ones behind her are spirit attendants.”
“Their role is similar to Elsa and the others—the three Wood Elves who covered our retreat earlier. They are my personal spirit attendants.”
As they spoke, the girl named Eve stopped at the other end of the walkway.
She was cautious, stopping at a safe distance.
Her gaze swept over Qimeng before settling on Yinzhi.
“Spirit Maiden, so you really are here.”
Yinzhi replied calmly, “Is something the matter, Eve?”
Eve crossed her arms, sizing Qimeng up from head to toe.
“I heard you brought back outsiders.”
“Is it her? Black hair, pointed ears... She doesn't look like a Wood Elf. And that strange bee girl. Where on earth did you find them?”
Her words were filled with instinctive wariness and distrust.
This manner of speaking was highly unpleasant.
Yinzhi cast a cold glance at her.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I heard you were captured by an earth spider and ended up being saved by a complete stranger. Is that true?”
“Yes. And I am grateful to her for saving me.”
Eve's lips curled into a mocking sneer.
“We've been searching everywhere for the Spirit of Nature, doing everything we can.”
“Yet you, our highly anticipated Spirit Maiden, almost died out there and had to rely on an outsider to save you. Even the Elder had to personally step in to bring you back.”
“How embarrassing.”
Yinzhi looked at her calmly.
“Are you saying I am unfit to be the Spirit Maiden?”
“Are you not? Aside from her, you brought back absolutely nothing this time.”
Eve glanced at Qimeng.
“And you even brought outsiders into the tribe without permission.”
Qimeng had been sitting quietly by the side, not saying a word.
Holding her bowl, she watched the two confront each other across the walkway with great interest.
One stood there with calm mockery, while the other sat quietly, speaking few but direct words.
She found it quite amusing, like watching two small animals baring their claws at each other.
Xiaomi whispered in her ear, “Master, are they fighting?”
“Yeah, they're bickering.”
“What are they bickering about?”
“Over the position of Spirit Maiden.”
Xiaomi asked again, “Then whose side are you on?”
Qimeng set her bowl down. “I'm not taking sides.”
“But Yinzhi is a vassal I picked up in the cave. In theory, she should count as mine now.”
“Didn't you just say you weren't taking sides?”
“So I'm simply declaring ownership, not participating in their internal struggle.”
Xiaomi shook her head, realizing she would never win an argument against her master.
Across from them, Eve had clearly overheard this.
She turned an unfriendly gaze toward Qimeng.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing,” Qimeng waved her hand dismissively. “Carry on, just pretend I'm not here.”
With that, she actually picked up her bowl again.
She downed the rest of the porridge in one hearty gulp, completely ignoring their stares.
Eve frowned in displeasure, then looked back at Yinzhi.
“Tonight is the Sacred Spirit Gathering.”
“Since you brought nothing back, prepare to be demoted to a spiritual seed. It is time for a new Spirit Maiden.”
“And you had better bring this outsider along tonight to explain her origins to the Elders. Our clan has never harbored outsiders.”
Leaving behind those words, Eve turned and left.
The two spirit attendants followed closely behind her, quickly vanishing into the shadows of the trees.
The walkway fell silent once more.
Yinzhi remained sitting there quietly, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
Qimeng wiped her mouth and set the bowl aside.
“Are you choosing a new Spirit Maiden tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need me to go?”
“They will definitely question your origins. If you find it too troublesome, you don't have to go.”
Qimeng thought for a moment, casually brushing the straw bits off her dress.
“I'll go check it out. If you go alone, they'll probably gossip even more.”
“Besides, I'm actually quite curious about what exactly you all are fighting over.”
Yinzhi was silent for a moment before speaking.
“Earlier outside, you asked why our clansmen can only exert Novice Rank strength.”
“Yeah, pure curiosity,” Qimeng nodded, signaling her to continue.
“Because the source of our power is the Spirit of Nature.”
Yinzhi turned her head to meet Qimeng's gaze.
“You've seen the magical beasts outside, right?”
“I have.”
“A Demon Rabbit is Low-tier, while a demon wolf is Novice Rank. Those are their naturally fixed species ranks. A Novice Rank beast will remain Novice Rank for its entire life; it is impossible for it to become Intermediate Rank. This is a bloodline shackle they are born with.”
“But we Wood Elves are different. Our power exists in symbiosis with the Spirit of Nature.”
“However high the Spirit of Nature grows, that is how high our power ceiling can reach. And the stronger the mana in our bodies, the taller we grow.”
As Qimeng listened, her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the walkway.
Just then, a few little girls ran past, their heads barely reaching her waist.
“So since I'm over 1.6 meters tall, doesn't that mean I physically crush your entire clan?”
Yinzhi blinked. “You're over 1.6 meters?”
“Around there. Why?”
“Then you are indeed quite a bit taller than even our oldest Elder.”
Yinzhi's expression turned slightly odd. “But Wood Elves don't fight based on height.”
“That doesn't prove anything,” Qimeng lifted her chin and crossed her arms. “It only proves that your entire clan standing together still wouldn't be as tall as me.”
“Do you really have to gloat over something like this?”
“It's rare for me to have an advantage. Can't you let me brag a little?”
Yinzhi turned her face away, puffing out her cheeks as if unable to win the argument. “Suit yourself.”
Having gotten the reaction she wanted, Qimeng was thoroughly satisfied.
A clear, irrepressible smile danced in her eyes.
After a moment, she tilted her head curiously again.
“If there's no ceiling, does that mean the stronger you get, the more you'll eventually turn into a giantess?”
“How could that be?” Yinzhi was somewhat exasperated by this bizarre train of thought.
“At most, we would only reach the stature of an adult female.”
“Besides, many of our clansmen prefer to maintain their current height, finding it much easier to move around in the forest.”
“I see. Now I'm even more curious. Who is currently the strongest among you?”
“The Elders. They are about 1.4 meters tall, which is already extremely rare in our current clan.”
Qimeng nodded in understanding. “No wonder.”
“We didn't originally live here.”
“Oh?”
Yinzhi directed her gaze toward the withered giant tree in the center of the valley.
Her eyes grew dim.
“We originally lived in the Flourishing Forest further north. Mana was abundant there, and the trees were far taller than they are here.”
“But later, the Mother Tree grew old and withered. Powerful magical beasts took advantage of the weakness to invade. To feed on the mana, they began to slaughter us.”
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