"Your Royal Highness Princess, drink a little more broth, the lord will definitely come back safely, please take care of your health!"

"Thank you, Emily." Zhu Ji took the bowl gratefully, looking at the pieces of meat in the bowl, Zhu Ji's black jade-like pupils were misty.

Because of the critical situation, when they were sent out of the castle, they didn't have time to bring anything except family heirlooms, and there was no money to sell meat at all, and now there was chaos everywhere, and it was difficult to even get ordinary food, let alone meat, Cui had been by her side since she was a child, her body was weak, and she couldn't hunt, she didn't dare to imagine what kind of price Cui paid to get meat.

In order not to let Cui's kindness go to waste, Takehime couldn't help herself from crying and drank the soup.

Seeing Zhu Ji drink the soup, Cui's worry dissipated slightly, and when Zhu Ji finished drinking the soup, Cui bowed down and took the bowl and put it beside her, helped Zhu Ji lie down, and then picked up the bowl and walked out.

After a while, Zhu Ji heard the sound of Cui going out, and her heart was blocked again, thinking that her family's whereabouts were still unknown because of the city's ruin, she was upset for a while, and felt that her heart was almost out of breath, and she became uncontrollably violent.

I didn't know how long it took to stop, and I really didn't want to sleep, so Takehime put on her clothes, went to the pine tree next to the house, and sat down against the pine tree.

Looking at the lush green forest around her, Zhu Ji felt even more irritable, and couldn't help but think of her favorite poem: "Looking for and seeking, cold and lonely, miserable and miserable...... This time, what a sad word. ”

In the past, Zhu Ji only thought that this poem was beautifully written, but now she really feels the desolation between the lines.

"This song is so sad, I don't like it, can you change it." Before she could finish reading the words, a rough and deep voice sounded in her ears.

Takehime didn't panic when she heard this, she asked softly, "May I ask who is talking?" Can you come out and see you? ”

"I'm right next to you."

Takehime looked to both sides suspiciously, except for the pine trees and boulders, there was no one else.

She thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Dryad?" ”

"That's right, that's what you humans usually call me." The other party replied.

"I'm so sorry to disturb your peace!" Takehime stood up and bowed to the pine tree.

Takehime found herself different at a very young age and was able to hear sounds that no one else could hear, and later she learned from a shrine maiden that the strange sounds she had heard since she was a child were youkai talking, so she learned that Matsuki was a youkai, and she was not afraid.

Pine said indifferently: "It doesn't matter? I've always been the one here.,Occasionally, other demons come.,It's boring.,You might be able to add some fun when you come.,Can you tell me why you're upset? ”

"This ......" Takehime hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer Matsuki.

Pine continued to persuade: "I'm a demon, ordinary people can't hear me at all, even if you want to say it, you can rest assured to tell me, don't be afraid of me saying it, after you tell the unpleasant things, maybe you won't be depressed?" ”

Takehime thought about it and felt that Matsuki's words made sense, and in her heart, she actually wanted to talk to someone, otherwise she felt that she had no motivation to live at all, so she began to talk about it.

After listening to what Takehime said, Matsuki didn't express any opinions, and he said to Takehime gently: "Don't be sad, I'll carve a puppet for you." ”

"Carved a puppet for me?" Takehime was stunned.

"That's right."

"How to carve?" Zhu Ji was puzzled, and couldn't figure out how to carve a tree, but she couldn't move.

The pine tree uses his telekinesis to control the carving knife to fly, cut a branch from himself, and then carve it.

"Demon power, you are a big demon!" Takehime looked at the pine tree in horror, she didn't expect that there was a big demon next to the place where she lived.

Matsuki replied as he carved, "Whatever I am, I won't hurt you, don't worry." ”

Takehime couldn't believe Matsuki's words, and got up and ran away to hide back in the house.

The shrine maiden who told her about the yokai said that ordinary youkai don't have any abilities, just be smart, just be careful not to be deceived.

The big demon above the ordinary monster is different, with demon power, and can do all kinds of things far beyond human imagination, so you must be careful when you encounter it.

If the pine tree is just an ordinary monster, she may not be afraid, but seeing that the pine tree actually controls the carving knife out of thin air, she can't be calm, the good and evil of the pine tree is unknown, if it is an evil person, then too much contact is to find death.

Matsuki didn't care about Takehime's actions and continued to carve.

The next morning, when Cui opened the door and went out, she found a doll at the door, she picked it up and looked at it, and found that the doll was carved lifelike, and it looked like Takehime.

"What a beautiful doll, look at your Royal Highness Princess." Cui immediately ran into the house with the doll and showed the doll to Takehime.

Taking the doll from Cui's hand, Zhu Ji lost her mind for a while.

"Your Royal Highness Princess, it seems that someone is secretly taking care of you, so I can rest assured!" Cui smiled and left the house and went down the mountain to work.

Takehime stared at the doll for a long time, silently putting the doll away, but did not go out to find the pine tree.

On the third day, when Ei went out, she saw a doll at the door again, along with some mushrooms.

After taking a closer look, Cui found that although the baby's face shape this time was still Takehime, the style of clothes was different from last time.

On the morning of the fourth day, there was also a doll, and some bamboo shoots.

On the morning of the fifth day, there was a doll and some fruits and beans at the door......

Seeing these things at the door every morning, Cui was more relieved that Zhu Ji was at home, and Zhu Ji didn't take the initiative to say anything, so she didn't ask.

By the morning of the sixth day, Takehime couldn't hold back any longer, and after a few days of observation, she felt that Matsuki was not an evil youkai, and maybe she could communicate.

After Cui left, she put on her clothes and walked out of the house, came to sit down by the pine tree, and said softly, "Thank you, your doll and food." ”

Pine made a smiling voice: "No thanks, I don't have anything else to do anyway, as for the food, it was found by the little ones I asked them to, you should thank them." ”

"Little ones?" Takehime asked suspiciously.

"That's us!" A sparrow fell from the sky and landed on Takehime's lap.

"Sparrow Demon?" Takehime was slightly moved

"My name is Ash, I am a demon clan living in this forest, please call me Ash by Her Royal Highness the Princess!" Sparrows bow like humans.

"Huh!" Takehime was amused by the sparrow's cute appearance.

"The princess's smile is more beautiful than the white clouds and rainbows in the sky, and she should smile more." Pine praised.

Takehime's face flushed slightly, and she looked down at Ash and didn't reply.

"Does the princess know how to play chess?" Pine asked again.

"Yes." Takehime nodded slightly

"Then let's play the next game."

Out of nowhere, he took out a wooden chessboard and two boxes of wooden chess pieces

"You can also play chess?" Takehime was very surprised.

"An old monk taught me."

"Oh." Takehime nodded, didn't ask more, picked up one of the colored chess pieces and played.

Since then, Takehime has been playing chess and chatting with Matsuki every day, and her depressed mood has gradually eased, and with the food sent by Matsuki, Emerald has been relieved for most of the time, and she only needs to earn money to buy salt and daily necessities.

In the blink of an eye, autumn goes to the winter solstice, winter leaves and welcomes spring, accompanied by pine trees, like life in the peach garden, Zhu Ji has to forget that he is in the troubled times.

"Your Highness, I'm going to work." On this day, Cui, as usual, went down the mountain with the doll carved by Zhu Ji.

During this time, Takehime learned to carve from pine trees.

"Be careful on the road, Emerald." Takehime sends Tsui to the intersection, and whenever this happens, Takehime feels that she is too useless and has too little to do to help Tsui.

Turning back to the pine tree, she spoke out the anguish in her heart, and now she would tell the pine tree whenever she had something on her mind, and she would no longer feel unnatural.

Matsuki told a Buddhist story to Takehime, and after listening to it, Takehime was in a much better mood and sang her favorite song to Matsuki.

A morning passed in a blink of an eye, and in the afternoon, when the sun was in the west, Ash suddenly came and told Takehime a piece of news, and after listening to Ash, Takehime felt that his whole sky had collapsed.

That night, Emerald was sent back by a pack of wolves, and Emerald had a large hole in her chest, and the blood had flowed near the hole, and her eyes were wide open, as if full of fear.

Looking at Cui, Takehime could only cry helplessly.

This time the pine tree comforted Takehime's pain, and after burying Tsuihime, Takehime locked himself in the house.

For three days in a row, the cry of Takehime continued to be heard in the house, and on the fourth day, the emaciated Takehime walked out of the house, went to the pine tree, and said firmly to the pine tree: "Tree, I'm leaving, thank you for taking care of me during this time." ”

"Well, if you want to come back, you can come back at any time, I've always been here." The pine trees were not retained.

"I know." Takehime reached out and hugged the pine tree.

"Tree, when do you think this war will end?" Zhu Ji asked leisurely, she hated this world that had taken away all her relatives, but she was powerless to do anything to change it, so she could only hope that it would end soon.

"I hate this stone, it blocks a lot of sunlight, and now I am going to carve this stone into a Buddha statue, I don't know when the world will be peaceful, but I think when I carve it into a Buddha statue as big as the Buddha statue in your room, the world must be at peace"

Takehime looked at the house-sized stone beside the dryad and shook his head.

The Buddha statue in her room was bought by Cui some time ago, only one foot high, and the level of wood carving of the dryad may be extremely high, but the stone carving and wood carving are different, and it requires a lot of strength, and she now knows that the power generated by the demonic power that the pine tree can exert is not as great as her strength, so she doesn't believe that the pine tree can carve such a big stone into a one-foot-sized Buddha statue.

"Don't believe me? Let's make a pact. ”

Pine laughed.

"Promise? What conventions? ”

Takehime looked at the pine tree.

"If I carve the statue and the world is peaceful when it is done, you will give me the saber that you have locked in that red box, and I like that knife very much, and if I give it up or if the world is still in war when I carve it, I will give you the carved statue and I will give you nothing.

Don't you like the Daming Palace I carved very much? From now on, Daming Palace will be placed with you, as collateral, and I will give you Daming Palace together if I lose the agreement. ”

"Okay, that's it!" Takehime agreed

……

After some time, Takehime returned, and the clothes on her body were changed to monk's robes.

"Tree demon, I have already said to Master Huiyi, the owner of Pinglin Temple, that he will be buried in Pinglin Temple after death, and the knife will be handed over to Pinglin Temple for safekeeping, and if there is a big demon holding a Buddha statue to find me in the future, I will hand over my saber to the other party."

Pine replied, "Okay, I see." ”

Zhu Ji glanced at the pine tree deeply, and said softly: "Tree, I'll give you another song at the end, what I think of myself, named Songtao." ”

"Okay."

……

Quietly listened to the song sung by Takehime.

Takehime finished singing and left.

Pine didn't say anything, he turned all his attention to the stone next to him, because the strength was not enough, he had to use other foreign body friction methods to grind off the excess part of the stone first.

Since then, Matsuki has never seen Takehime again.

I don't know how long later, he heard that a human named Tokugawa Ieyasu had established the shogunate.

I don't know how long later, he heard that the demon clan united with the shogunate faction to overthrow the shogunate, but not long after the emperor ordered the demon to be destroyed, the ancient demon either died or fled abroad.

I don't know how long it took, more and more demon tribe little guys complained to him that the humans in this country had gone crazy and become more ferocious and tyrannical than the most ferocious beasts. Not long afterward, he saw a terrifying fire in a human city

Later, he heard from the little ones that humanity had created a weapon that could destroy the planet, and the world would soon be destroyed.

However, the end has not yet come, and the human race in this country has changed under the supervision of the human beings of the country that created the planet-destroying weapon, and it seems that there is really no longer fighting.

At this time, Matsuki finally grinded the boulder into the ideal outline and began to carve the shape, and he was eager to carve it as soon as possible, so that Takehime could know that he had won the agreement