Douluo Continent: Gretchen at the start, empowered by the Star God.

Chapter 37 Arrival at the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire

Although Soto City is quite far from Sunset Forest, given the speed of the World-Painting Creatures created by Gretsch, it wouldn't even take half a day to get there.

Langley and Little Gretchen chatted while looking at the scenery along the way. It didn't feel like long before Langley could see a large forest ahead.

"arrive!"

Soon after, Langley and Gretchen reached the outermost edge of Sunset Forest and stretched their bodies.

"Gresh, shall we go in?" Lang Lei composed himself and looked at Gresh.

"Okay, I'll do whatever Brother Lang Lei says." Little Gretchen nodded.

"Okay, let's go!"

So, not long after leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Lang Lei and Little Gresh entered another primeval forest today.

Walking through the Sunset Forest, Lang Lei appeared less carefree; at least, this time, Lang Lei's Earth Dragon Dust Martial Soul remained active.

As its name suggests, Sunset Forest is teeming with dark spirit beasts and poisonous creatures. While they might not pose a significant threat to Lang Lei and Little Gretchen, being attacked by them would still be quite annoying.

Little Gretsch was alright; the poisonous creatures couldn't break through her defenses, and since she was always being held in Lang Lei's arms, the probability of the poisonous creatures being able to directly attack her was extremely small.

But Lang Lei is different. If he doesn't activate his martial soul, and happens to encounter some extremely powerful but inconspicuous poisonous creature, he will feel pain if he gets hit!

As for why it doesn't need to fly...

Langley figured that little Gretchen probably liked forests and similar places, perhaps because of their vibrant colors? So he chose to walk, and that was all.

Sure enough, little Gretchen loved the colorful hues of the forest, and even Langley, who was holding her, could feel her genuine joy.

"Brother Lang Lei, look, look!" Gretchen suddenly became excited, gently patting Lang Lei's shoulder with her left hand and pointing in a direction with her right.

Lang Lei looked in the direction the other person was pointing and saw a large patch of brightly colored mushrooms growing on a grassy area.

Mushrooms are almost all different colors, each shimmering with a unique halo, their colors extremely vibrant and complex.

"Brother Lang Lei, what do those taste like?" Gretchen was clearly intrigued.

"Little Greta, those are probably inedible~" Lang Lei observed the brightly colored grass thoughtfully. "The prettier the mushroom, the more poisonous it might be~"

Of course, given Gretchen's constitution, that little bit of toxin wouldn't be a problem.

But what if you get diarrhea?

Langley didn't want little Gretchen to take that risk.

"Is that so..." Gretchen nodded. "Mother Aponia also said that we shouldn't eat wild plants we don't recognize."

"That's right, Aponia is absolutely right." Langley smiled. "And little Greta might want to take a closer look at that meadow; it's quite something."

"Hmm." Little Gretchen looked at the grass and then let out a soft "Eh."

"You've found it, haven't you?" Lang Lei walked calmly toward the patch of grass where the brightly colored mushrooms were growing.

As Lang Lei stepped onto the grass, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and then a huge mouth emerged. At the same time, the grass and the mushrooms disappeared from Lang Lei and Little Gretchen's sight.

Almost at the same moment the terrain changed, Lang Lei pushed off with his foot, leaping up with little Greta.

Then, several Earth Dragon Dust Daggers shot out, knocking away the soul beasts that were trying to ambush them.

Knowing it was no match for the beast, it hurriedly turned and fled.

Lang Lei didn't continue chasing after them. Instead, he pointed to the other person's back and said to little Greta, "See that?"

"It's the pretty mushroom from before..."

"That's why the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is!"

"The more beautiful, the more dangerous..." Little Greta nodded thoughtfully.

"Then, Brother Lang Lei, am I in danger?" Little Gretchen asked seemingly casually.

Lang Lei was instantly terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

Did he dig a hole for himself?

I feel like no matter how I answer this question, it's not right!

Is the answer dangerous?

What a joke! How could the adorable, sweet, and soft little Greta be in danger?

Nonsense!

Besides, if Langley said that to little Gretchen, wouldn't she cry?!

I bet you will!

But if the answer is no danger... according to his previous explanation, wouldn't that mean little Gretchen isn't pretty?

However, it is extremely impolite to say this to a girl of any age under any circumstances!

If he were to say it, not to mention how little Gretchen would react, that knight lady would definitely smash his head with her greatsword the next time she came out! He swore that if he answered like that, she would do just that!

Lang Lei's mind raced, and cold sweat poured down his back.

Little Greta tilted her head, not understanding why her brother Lang Lei, who usually answered her questions immediately, was hesitating for so long this time over such a simple question.

"I……"

"Brother Lang Lei?"

"Little Gretchen is definitely 'cute'!" Lang Lei exclaimed, a sudden inspiration striking him. "Let's save 'pretty' for Gretchen when she grows up!"

"Thank you, Brother Lang Lei!"

Little Gretchen was clearly very happy at that moment, having been praised for being cute by her brother Lang Lei!

Seeing that little Gretchen was in a good mood, Lang Lei also breathed a sigh of relief.

But little did he know that at that moment, he was digging a huge hole for his future self...

-

"Little Gretchen, can you help your brother find a pool of water that has both blue and red colors?" After searching for a while, Lang Lei still hadn't found anything.

Already lost, he was now wandering aimlessly through the Sunset Forest like a headless fly.

He began to wonder if he was just going around in circles in the Sunset Forest.

"Sure!" Little Gretchen replied instinctively, but her tone betrayed a hint of disappointment.

Lang Lei, of course, understood, and he suddenly had a guess.

"Wait a minute, little Greta, you're not just going to laugh at your brother, are you?"

"No, I didn't!" Little Gretchen immediately denied. She just wanted to stay in Lang Lei's arms a little longer...

"Alright, then I'll leave it to little Greta." Lang Lei didn't doubt it, assuming he had misheard.

"Hmm..." Gretchen closed her eyes and released several flying Eironn Creatures.

Before long, little Greta made a discovery.

"Over there!" Gretchen opened her eyes and pointed to the west. "The shape of that symbol looks just like the Tai Chi symbol that Sister Hua showed me... and there's some green mist around it!"

"Yes, that's it!" Lang Lei asked as he ran westward, "About how far is it?"

"At Lang Lei's current speed... it will probably take about ten minutes!"

"Okay, little Greta... hold on tight, time to speed up!"

"Um!"

Without the slightest hesitation, little Gretchen wrapped her arms around Langley's neck.

(End of this chapter)