43 In the forest 1

After one week..

Xia Lian looked at her brother who threw a tantrum for an entire week.. Yes, this over-protective bunny did not allow her to leave the house alone. After persuading him in a n number of ways, he finally stopped making a fuss. But, still Xia Lian had a headache on seeing her little bunny boycotting her..

" I will bring you something good when I return. So, stop being like that..." Xia Lian frowned at the little bunny who is not talking with her.

On seeing that the little one has no intentions of looking at her, Xia Lian walked to him and crouched down to meet with his eyes. She held his chin so that he would not avoid her eyes. After struggling like a fish out of water for a good while, Xia Ming calmed down and finally looked at her.

" Look, I can't carry you and protect you at the same time. This time it is dangerous for you. Listen to your sister and be a good boy."

Xia Ming pouted for a while before nodding his head. " Now, that's a good boy.." Xia Lian kissed his cheek and smiled. Xia Ming looked at his sister and he bent slightly and kissed her cheek and lifted his hand showing his pinkie finger " Promise me that you will come back.."

Xia Lian's heart ached as she knew that their mother's death had a huge impact on the boy. So, she hooked her finger with his " Your sister never breaks her promise."

Xia Ming finally smiled and Xia Lian left after leaving him at her master's house. Xia Lian smiled along the way while walking remembering her masters nagging..

" It's good to have someone who cares.." Xia Lian mumbled.

Xia Lian's main objective for coming so deep into the forest is for searching midget silkworms. She read that these special kind of silkworms are capable of producing pigmented silks. Xia Lian had many ideas in her mind. But, anything can be achieved step-by-step and rearing of these midget silkworms is her first step.

These worms grow in damp, dark and moist places. So, they are very difficult to obtain. This forest acts as a border for Qilin and Azure countries. No one in Qilin country succeeded in catching these silkworms making them depend on Azure country for high quality silk. So, Xia Lian more than determined to catch these silkworms and she prepared herself to enter deep into the forest.

Xia Lian stopped in her tracks and turned to her left after smelling a fruity scent. After walking for a while, Xia Lian stopped and looked around her with astonishment. Her eyes shone brightly like twinkling stars.

" Oranges.. mandarins.. tangerines.. Whatever they are called.. I found my oranges at last.." Xia Lian almost cried on seeing her second favorite fruit.

Xia Lian filled her sack with as many oranges as she can. She made a mental note of this place to come later as there are hundreds of orange plantations here..

Xia Lian started to eat the fruits along the way while humming a song.

After walking for two days continuously, Xia Lian noticed the changes in her surroundings.

Xia Lian was careful in her steps as the soil is wet and is slightly sinking. Xia Lian climbed on a tree and jumped from one branch to other as she felt that there was something wrong with the soil. After a while, she found a large fresh water swamp. Xia Lian looked down around her before she resumed her jumping.

At one point, Xia Lian found hundreds on while lotus flowers in the marsh waters.. Xia Lian sat on a thick branch to admire the scenery for a while. She felt that it would be truly a waste if one does not appreciate this beautiful sight. So, she sat for a while before resuming her journey.

Xia Lian found many species of snakes on the trees and she was given a fright when she almost stepped on a python. She immediately increased her jumping speed to escape from it. She truly did not want to fight with a snake ah! Xia Lian was careful with her steps as she did not want to not provoke any snake..

Xia Lian finally found the nest of silkworms and sighed in relief. She took out a wooden box with holes to collect them..