The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

"Little White, will you come home with me?"

Yao Yao hugged Qi Ji's long neck tightly, burying her face in its soft, warm fur.

Although the little girl spent very little time with the white deer, she really liked Qi Ji.

Whether it was Qi Ji rescuing her from the wooden house, her brave fight back when encountering wild dogs, or her fierce protection of the robbers not long ago, Yao Yao could never forget them.

This was no ordinary deer, but a ray of white light that unexpectedly entered her life during a difficult time.

The little girl instinctively wanted to hold on to him tightly.

She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice filled with the earnestness unique to a child: "Little White, my home is so big! There's endless tender grass, fresh fruit, and sweet milk cakes and pastries made by the royal chef. The palace is so safe; no bad guys will ever chase us again. I'll go back and tell my father to build you the biggest deer farm ever, with endless sunshine and inexhaustible spring water, okay?"

Qi Ji looked at the little girl in front of him and gently shook his head.

Before Yao Yao could speak again, Qi Ji had already turned to the side, his deer head facing the edge of the forest not far away, where the herd of deer was waiting quietly and anxiously.

Further into the distance, there are endless, verdant mountains and forests.

Qi Ji was unable to speak, but his meaning was already quite clear.

Little girl, I can't go with you. This is where I should stay for now.

The ten royal guards on the side all looked surprised when they saw Qi Ji's actions.

Linqin and Zhihua exchanged a glance; both of them could tell that the little white deer seemed to understand the little princess's words.

"Truly a propitious creature, it is so intelligent and understanding."

"The little princess seems to really like it."

Yao Yao looked at Qi Ji's gaze towards the mountains and forests, her little mouth pursed, and she tightened her arms around its neck.

Seeing this, a guard stepped forward, lowered his voice, and bowed, suggesting, "Princess, this white deer saved your life and is so intelligent. Why don't we forcibly take it back to the palace? So that it can stay by your side and protect you."

"no."

Yao Yao immediately shook her head, her little face full of determination beyond her years, and even though her eyes were red and about to drip water, her voice was not unclear at all.

"Xiaobai risked its life to save me several times. I can't do things it doesn't want to do. It likes being here, and I can't force it."

Upon hearing this, the guard could only bow and retreat, saying no more.

Yao Yao reluctantly let go of Qi Ji's arm, took a half step back, stood seriously in front of it, tilted her little face up, and looked straight into its clear deer eyes.

She bit her lower lip hard, forcing back the tears that had welled up in her eyes, her small shoulders trembling slightly.

"Little White, you must be well and grow up healthy. Don't let bad people bully you or other animals hurt you. I will grow up well too. When I grow up, I will definitely come back to see you. I definitely will."

Qi Ji looked at the little girl's forced composure and his ears twitched slightly.

He took two slow steps forward, walked up to her, and gently brushed his moist, cool deer nose against her reddened eyes. Then, he gently touched her cheek with his soft forehead.

That touch, as light as the wind, instantly shattered all of Yao Yao's carefully constructed defenses.

Tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks in large drops.

Yao Yao hugged Qi Ji's neck tightly again, burying her face in its snow-white fur, sobbing, "Little White... I really love you so much... I can't bear to part with you..."

Qi Ji stood quietly, not breaking free from her embrace, but letting her hold him, letting out a low, gentle deer-like cry, as if to soothe him, or perhaps to say goodbye.

It wasn't until Linqin and Zhihua stepped forward again and gently reminded the princess that it was time to leave that Yaoyao reluctantly let go of her hands and was carried on the back of a guard.

Before leaving, the little girl kept turning her head and waving at Qi Ji.

"Goodbye, Little White. You must miss me!"

"Little Bai, I will definitely come to see you."

Goodbye, little girl.

Qi Ji stood there, watching the little girl's figure disappear into the forest with the ten guards, and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

This is fine.

The little girl is human after all, and following the deer herd indefinitely is not a viable option. She can only be safe by returning to the place where she, as a human, should be.

Just then, the long call of the mother deer came from behind; it was Qi Ji's mother calling her back to the herd.

Qi Ji glanced one last time in the direction of the mountain path, then turned around, pushed off the ground with all four hooves, and leaped lightly towards the edge of the forest, returning to the herd of deer. Following the deer's footsteps, he stepped back into the familiar dense forest.

... ... ....

In the days that followed, Qi Ji's life returned to complete tranquility.

They migrate and forage with the deer herd every day.

In the early morning, they followed the mother deer to drink the sweet spring water in the mountain stream.

At noon, they would find a sunny slope to bask in the sun and nibble on the tender branches and leaves.

In the evening, they would seek out secluded spots in the woods to rest.

Life was regular and peaceful.

Of course, this stability does not mean that there were no disturbances. During this period, the deer herd still encountered several roaming wolves and jackals, as well as black bears foraging in the forest.

Fortunately, the deer herd was able to detect the movement in advance each time and escape by using their agile movements and speed. The three fawns in the herd, apart from Qi Ji, also grew rapidly in each crisis. They would not stand still like before, but would immediately follow the footsteps of the herd and run away.

Their size is also increasing rapidly. In just over a month, they are a whole size bigger than before and already look like young deer.

Among them, Qi Ji grew the fastest.

Perhaps due to the enhancement brought about by the system's physical strengthening, its development speed far exceeds that of ordinary sika deer of the same age.

On this day, as Qi Ji finished eating, the sound of "Spirit Points +1" rang in his mind, and he finally accumulated 100 Spirit Points again.

"System, I want to enhance my physique."

This is Qi Ji's third physical enhancement.

As the energy heat that suddenly appeared in his body spread, Qi Ji's muscle strength began to increase.

At this time, Qi Ji's physique was completely different from when she parted from Yuan Yao. Her shoulder height was now the same as that of an adult female deer, her limbs were long and powerful, her hooves were firm and steady, and a clear bulge had appeared on the top of her originally smooth head.

The three fawns that were with Qi Ji were noticeably smaller, and they didn't even have bulges on their heads yet.

The physical enhancement session lasted a bit long, and Qi Ji gradually became sleepy and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Qi Ji was unaware that while he was asleep, a portion of the energy and heat within his body automatically gathered towards his head, resulting in the small bump on the top of his head growing at a visible rate until it successfully grew into a new antler, which continued to grow without stopping.

In less than ten minutes, a pair of straight deer antlers successfully grew on Qi Ji's head...