Flower Fairy: After transmigrating again, I became An'an's younger brother.

"So delicious! This is so delicious too!"

Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old swept away his previous gloom and happily began eating the pudding that Xia Tong had just taken out of the refrigerator.

Although forming a guardian contract didn't increase my combat power, having delicious food... feels pretty good.

As an aside, because Xia Mu is not good at cooking, she never keeps cold dishes in her refrigerator; instead, she usually keeps a lot of desserts.

Of course, Xia Tong also gave a pudding to Jiu Qiansui, An Yingchun, and herself.

As the Ninth Prince ate his own portion, his gaze drifted toward the Shadow Ninth Prince, who was happily eating beside him.

The other person had a little milk stain on their face and was still busy stuffing it into their mouth. Their completely unguarded appearance suddenly reminded her of what Xia Tong had said earlier.

The child is right. They don't seem like the type to cause trouble. The reason Chun's shadow got angry was because her own shadow provoked her first.

Shadow Chun elegantly sipped her food in small bites, then glanced at Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old as he wolfed it down, and scoffed softly, "Heh, little brat."

She completely forgot that she herself had been eating just as happily as the Shadow Ninth Prince before.

As soon as Xia Tong picked up her pudding, she felt a burning gaze fixed on her.

"?"

He looked up and met the eyes of Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old, who had already finished her pudding.

At this moment, she was staring longingly at the perfectly intact pudding in Xia Tong's hand, her eyes sparkling with a mixture of unfulfilled desire and almost overflowing anticipation.

The air fell silent for a moment.

"Well……"

Xia Tong's hand holding the pudding froze in mid-air. He wasn't stingy, after all, he often ate it, but the "aggressiveness" in her eyes was a bit too strong.

The Ninth Prince, who was standing nearby, naturally saw this scene as well, and she sighed helplessly.

"Hello,"

The Ninth Prince couldn't help but speak up, trying to remind his shadow to pay a little attention to his image, "You've already finished your portion."

The Ninth Prince of Shadows seemed not to hear, his gaze still fixed on Xia Tong's pudding. He even unconsciously swallowed and muttered, "Yours looks... a little tastier than mine?"

child?

Looking at the expression on the face of the Ninth Prince of Shadows, who was completely immersed in the emotion of "wanting to eat," the word flashed through Xia Tong's mind.

Right, I almost forgot. Even with thousands of years of memories, her consciousness was only born today. It's not surprising that she would do such a thing as a newborn.

With that thought in mind, Xia Tong placed the pudding on the table, and then, under the suddenly brighter gaze of the Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old, pushed it in front of her.

Here, take it.

Dark Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old was stunned for a moment, then a big smile bloomed on her face. She quickly leaned over and started eating the pudding bite after bite.

At the same time, she mumbled indistinctly, "You little brat, you're the best!"

"Little... brat?" What kind of weird nicknames are these?

Xia Tong looked puzzled. Come to think of it, the two noblemen called him strangely; one called him a child, and the other called him a brat.

Seeing this, the Ninth Prince felt relieved. His own shadow was so easily satisfied, it seemed... it really wasn't some complicated or dangerous creature.

An Yingchun frowned, staring at An Ying Jiuqiansui, feeling inexplicably irritated. Her gaze swept back and forth between Xia Tong and the figure enjoying the meal.

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue softly.

Afterwards, Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old finished his second serving in a whirlwind, and once again turned his expectant gaze to Xia Tong.

This time, Xia Tong shook her head decisively. Although there was still some left in the refrigerator, she said, "No, the rest should be left for my sister."

Oh yeah, speaking of older sisters, where is my sister?

Xia Tong only just remembered that her older sister had been taken to her alternate dimension by the Ninth Prince and hadn't come out yet.

More than an hour has passed, hasn't it?

Xia Tong then asked the Ninth Prince about her sisters' situation.

"That flower fairy magician."

After sensing the internal situation of the alternate dimension, the Ninth Prince said, "She's still inside."

"Still inside?"

Xia Tong tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What did you test her on?"

After a moment of silence, the Ninth Prince recited four lines of poetry: "...The mountain scenery delights the birds, the pool's reflection empties the heart. All sounds are silent here, only the tolling of bells and chimes can be heard."

"What can't you deduce from a single poem?"

Xia Tong knew that the poem the Ninth Prince recited only had the second half; the first half was: "Entering the ancient temple at dawn, the rising sun shines on the tall trees. A winding path leads to a secluded spot, where the Zen room is surrounded by flowers and trees."

Then he pressed on, "Anything else?"

Upon hearing his words, the Ninth Prince decided to show him the scene inside the alternate dimension. She raised her hand and gathered plum blossom petals, which formed a circle in front of Xia Tong. Then, the circle displayed the scene inside like a television screen—

In the soft pink-toned alternate dimension, the ground is divided into many squares, and Xia An'an and Kukuru are wandering around in them.

Each time they stepped onto a new square, a pattern of plum blossoms and a white path would appear on the square beneath their feet.

Shadow Chun curiously leaned closer to take a look, while Shadow Jiuqiansui, having already known the contents, showed little interest and remained seated in the same place.

"..."

After watching for a while, Xia Tong turned to the Ninth Prince and asked,

"So the test comes from overcoming this?"

The Ninth Prince nodded after hearing this.

"Is it really that simple?"

"Simple?"

The shadowy Tsubaki cast a questioning look at him. "You can't tell anything from this, can you?"

The Nine Thousand Years Old and the Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old also looked at Xia Tong, curious about how he would explain.

"The poem that Your Excellency just mentioned represents the idiom 'a winding path leads to a secluded place,' which means that hidden, winding paths often lead to beautiful places."

Xia Tong explained to An Ying Chun, "Simply put, my sister and the others can reach the end by following those paths, but..."

He thought about it carefully and realized it couldn't be that simple. Then he asked the Ninth Prince, "You didn't dig a trap for me, did you?"

The Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old was also intrigued by Xia Tong's words and came over.

Xia Tong continued, "Like how after a certain period of time, the floor they are stepping on will become more numerous, or that when they reach the end, they will find that the exit can only appear when someone steps on it."

After hearing this, the Ninth Prince shook his head, but the Shadow Ninth Prince said with great interest, "So you can play it like this? I'll try it next time."

Xia Tong stared at the petal screen for a while longer. In the image, Xia An'an and Kukuru were still cautiously probing the ground, slowly moving forward along the white path.

He soon felt a little bored, yawned slightly, leaned back, and sank into the soft sofa.

"Anyway, there's no time limit."

Xia Tong said lazily, "With my sister's personality, plus Kukuru... even if we use the dumbest method, slowly and painstakingly walking through this alternate dimension for an hour or two, we'll eventually find the exit."

He said it casually, but the Ninth Prince paused slightly when he heard it.

The Ninth Prince shifted his gaze from the petal screen, glanced at Xia Tong who was sprawled on the sofa, and then looked at Xia An'an and Kukuru on the screen, who indeed seemed overly "composed".

Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

It seems... a bit too easy? The original intention was to test her intelligence and observation skills. If she doesn't even feel a sense of urgency, then it does seem to be missing something.

She didn't respond to Xia Tong's words, but her fingertips twitched slightly, and a faint, almost imperceptible wisp of magic silently merged into the screen made of flower petals.

No one in the living room noticed her little gesture, except...

"Eh?"

The Shadow Nine Thousand Years Old, who was peering curiously at the screen, suddenly blinked, tilted his head in confusion, and looked at his own body.

The Ninth Prince remained calm, as if she had done nothing.

At this moment, inside the alternate dimension—

As Xia An'an was discussing with Kukuru which way to go next, she suddenly felt the light ahead seemed to distort. Then, about ten meters in front of them, tiny pink specks of light coalesced and quickly formed a huge, clearly defined number outlined by glowing plum blossom petals—

30: 00.

As soon as the numbers appeared, they started jumping.

29:59…58…57…

"W-What is this?!"

Kukuru was so frightened that he flew half a meter into the air and shouted at the countdown that had appeared out of thin air.

Xia An'an was also startled. She stared at the decreasing number, then looked at the floor and the path beneath her feet, and quickly realized: "It's a time limit. We need to find the door before the countdown ends."

"What?! It wasn't there just now! How come it's suddenly..."

Kukuru frantically spun around in the air, "How can this be enough time? There are so many compartments here!"