Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Guardian.

Inside the forest,

A large figure wrapped in a black cloak could be seen walking calmly, step by step.

Yet strangely enough, each step seemed to cover a hundred paces.

The figure blurred, disappearing and reappearing among the tree like a ghost.

“…”

Goldie stopped in its tracks and surveyed the area.

Its master had told it to find two things.

One was the frozen lake.

The other was the first woman.

….That emotionless woman it had seen for the first time, the one its master love to played with on the bed every day.

Goldie didn’t fully understand what “playing” meant.

But Goldie knew she was important.

Very important.

Slowly, it lowered its gaze to its own hand.

Looking down at that large palm, which now seemed to contain far more overwhelming power than before, its golden-lit eyes flared slightly.

Just then—

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Movement came from above as ten more white-cloaked figures landed around Goldie.

Some stood on the trees, while others touched down nearby.

They were identical.

And yet… different.

Each pair of golden eyes shimmered with faint emotion.

Like newborn children seeing the world for the very first time.

“…”

Goldie looked at its siblings.

Despite being puppets, traces of emotion could be seen in each of their similar golden-lit eyes, as if they were curious about everything around them.

Their heads turned left and right, quietly observing the world with open wonder.

Remembering its additional mission…..to teach and guide these siblings, Goldie fell into thought for a moment.

Then Goldie suddenly remembered something.

From one of the books it had read, there was something about educating young children.

It mentioned that being protective was good, but sometimes you needed to let the child wander and explore to gain their own experience.

It might be harsh.

But it was also the fastest way to toughen them up.

Goldie pondered for a while before calling all of its siblings over.

Soon,

Through their spiritual connection, all ten white-cloaked figures lined up neatly before Goldie.

Unlike how solemn and serious they were in front of their master, they now looked excited….like little children since only Goldie was with them.

Sensing their excitement, Goldie didn’t mind.

After all, it had already spent quite a while with them back when they were still in their soul state.

Goldie understood them better than anyone.

“…”

Then Goldie relayed its intention for them to spread out and search.

Not only would it be faster, it would also help these newborn puppets gain their own experiences more quickly.

“~”

“…!”

“…~”

As expected, all ten of them grew even more excited, waving their hands in the air and hopping lightly in place.

Then,

Within the next moment, all ten moved and disappeared in different directions, as if they had finally been given the chance to explore the world.

In the blink of an eye, they scattered and vanishing into the forest like white streaks of light.

“…”

Seeing that all of them were gone, Goldie slowly knelt down.

Crack…

It inserted its large hand into the earth and began to use its new ability—

[Wood Manipulation].

“….”

Letting children go out and experience the world was a good way for them to grow.

But…

Since Goldie was entrusted by its master to watch over them, Goldie had to make sure nothing happened to them.

Slowly, the ground began to trembled faintly.

The nearby trees shivered, their roots twitching beneath the soil.

Below the surface—

Something began to spread.

Like veins.

Like nerves.

Like an enormous underground web slowly stirring to life.

“…”

If letting children experience the world was necessary for growth…

Then as their guardian…

…Its would become the world that watched over them.

Goldie’s golden-lit eyes flared softly.

Crack…

Crack…

Crack…

Unknown to the world above,

Deep beneath the earth,

….Something huge was moving as it slowly spreading in all directions.

_

_

_

Whoosh—

A small figure landed lightly on a branch atop the tall tree.

The wood beneath its feet barely creaked, and the white cloak fluttered before settling.

The puppet tilted its head, looking around its surroundings with a curious gaze.

Though the environment resembled its mother, so many things were different…

…and that was life.

“…?”

Everything it saw along the way was new.

The wind,

The smell of moss,

The faint chirping of insects hidden in the bark, or a bird singing from above.

Its golden eyes reflected the world like a child seeing colors for the first time.

It crouched down and pressed a finger against the tree, feeling the roughness…..different from its mother.

It scratched lightly, causing flakes of bark to peel off.

Looking at this plain bark as if it were fascinating, it tried to rotate it, inspecting it from all directions.

Its golden-lit eyes seemed to turn into crescent moons as it discovered even this to be interesting.

Then it jumped down from the branch.

Whoosh—

Upon landing on the wet soil and scattered dead leaves, it sniffed the air. Something sweet wafted toward it.

Though it didn’t know what “sweet” really meant, the word came to its mind.

Its head snapped toward the scent, and soon it saw…

…a flower.

A small blue spirit flower blooming beneath the roots.

“…?”

Curious about why it smelled so sweet, it slowly walked closer and crouched low to examine it.

It reached out…

Tap.

The petals trembled at its touch, and a cold spiritual energy brushed its fingertip, causing the wooden figure to freeze.

Instead of fear, its eyes brightened slightly as it stared at its frozen finger, like an ice sculpture, and couldn’t help but look at the flower as if it had discovered something priceless.

“…~”

A faint, happy hum escaped its throat.

Instinctively, it plucked the flower.

Then it stared at it in its hand and tilted its head slightly, wondering what to do with it next.

What now?

Eat? Throw? Keep?

It didn’t know.

So it simply held it, knowing this flower was definitely a… treasure.

Treasure?

Yes.

This felt like a treasure.

Its master must like treasures.

Maybe this was good.

The puppet nodded to itself seriously and tucked the flower into its sleeve. Since it didn’t know what else to do with it, it would just gift it to its master.

Just as it looked around, scanning the tree for any more treasures…

Then—

Rustle….

The leaves shook.

And it froze slightly…

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