The Envoy of Abundance from Onphalus

The chaos that Huanlong had hoped for, the chaos caused by the power of the Jianmu tree, was extinguished before it could even ignite, thanks to this massive reserve force. And the situation in the Youju Prison was also destined to remain unchanged.

……

Changletian was bustling with noise.

Russell, holding Lin's hand, strolled through the bustling streets. The boy, sporting delicate deer antlers, gazed curiously at his surroundings with his jade-green eyes: the dazzling array of goods sold in the shops, the hurried or leisurely passersby…

All of this was incredibly new to him.

"Father, what's that?" Lin pointed to a stall by the roadside that was steaming hot and smelled sweetly, and tugged at Russell's sleeve.

“Those are tapir rolls,” Russell explained with a smile, walking directly to the stall. “Boss, two orders, please.”

"Alright!" The stall owner quickly wrapped up two portions of hot pastries and handed them over, his gaze lingering curiously on Russell and Lin, especially on Lin's antlers. "And who is this young master...?"

Russell accepted the pastries without hesitation, handing one to Lin while keeping the other for himself, saying naturally, "My son, Lin."

"Oh my! It's your son! He's so handsome! His eyes are just like yours!" the stall owner immediately complimented him warmly.

Lin was a little embarrassed by the praise. He lowered his head and took a small bite of the tapir-shaped steamed bun in his hand. The soft, sweet taste melted on his tongue, and his eyes lit up instantly: "Father! This... is so delicious!"

He mumbled something indistinctly, then quickly took a big bite, his cheeks puffed out like a greedy little squirrel.

Russell watched him eat with a gentle smile in his eyes, and then took a bite himself. The two walked and ate like this, with Russell stopping to buy something for Lin to try almost every interesting-looking food stall they passed.

"Father, try this lotus root cake, it's crunchy!"

"This soda soy milk... tastes really weird, but... it's kind of addictive?"

"Hot goat milk! It smells so good and warms me up!"

Lin seemed to have opened the door to a new world. Every time he tasted something new, he would excitedly share his feelings with Russell. Russell listened patiently, occasionally explaining a word or two about the ingredients or cooking methods, but most of the time he just smiled and watched his childlike excitement.

Finally, the two sat down to rest at a storyteller's table at an open-air tea stall. Lin contentedly stuffed the last piece of an unidentified dessert into his mouth, chewed it carefully, and swallowed it.

Then he picked up the tea Russell had ordered for him, took a big gulp, and let out a satisfied sigh: "Father, the place where you live is wonderful! There are so many delicious and fun things I've never seen before! It's so much better than... much better than that place with only roots and seals!"

Russell picked up his teacup, his gaze sweeping over the bustling crowd, a hint of nostalgia in his voice: "Yes, it's lively and bustling here, it has its merits. But... this is ultimately not my hometown."

"Hometown?" Lin tilted his head, his deer ears twitching slightly. "Father's hometown... isn't it another immortal ship?"

“Of course not.” Russell withdrew his gaze, looked at Lin, and a distant longing flashed in the depths of his eyes. “My hometown is in a very faraway place. It is also very beautiful there, but it is a different kind of beauty.”

“If one day I find my way back…” He paused, his tone softening and becoming firm, “you will come back with me. You will absolutely love it there.”

"Yes!" Lin nodded vigorously without hesitation, "I'll listen to Father!" Then, full of curiosity, he asked, "What is Father's hometown like? The way you talked about it makes me really want to see it!"

Russell smiled and reached out to ruffle Lin's soft hair. "Then remember this curiosity well. I'll definitely take you with me when I return home." He put down his teacup. "Are you full?"

"Mmm! I'm full!" Lin patted her slightly bulging belly, looking satisfied.

“Alright, we should go then.” Russell stood up. “I’ll take you somewhere.”

"Where are we going, Father?" Lin also stood up and naturally took Russell's hand.

“The Prison of Confinement,” Russell said calmly.

“A… prison?” Lin repeated, a hint of confusion flashing in his azure eyes. “It sounds…like a place where prisoners are held? A prison?”

“It’s a prison.” Russell led him forward, his tone flat and even. “Inside are some… people who have committed heinous crimes and are unforgivable.”

"Oh..." Lin nodded as if he understood, then keenly caught the unspoken meaning in his father's words, "But... what?"

Russell paused slightly, turned his head, and a cold, sharp smile curved his lips, a stark contrast to his usual gentle demeanor: "However, most of those most deserving, most incorrigible guys have already been personally sent away by me." The chill in his tone made Lin instinctively shrink back.

"And the reason we're going back this time is to deal with... the remaining small part."

“Solve…” Lin repeated the word softly, as if sensing the heavy weight contained within it.

Just then, Russell seemed to remember something and stopped. He flipped his wrist, and a uniquely shaped command flag, the Ten Thousand Banners, appeared out of thin air in his palm.

"Here, take this." Russell casually handed it over, and the triangular imperial edict flag landed steadily in Lin's hand. The flag felt slightly heavy in his hand, with a strange, warm feel.

"Father, what is this...?" Lin looked at the flag in his hand with curiosity, his fingers unconsciously tracing the cold and intricate patterns on the flagpole.

"Ten Thousand Banners." Russell's voice returned to its usual gentle tone, but with a solemn meaning. "I'm giving this to you as your first birthday present."

"Birthday...gift?" Lin was still a little unfamiliar with this concept, but the word "gift" made his eyes light up.

“Yes.” Russell pointed to the flag and instructed earnestly, “Remember, Ah Lin. You have a kind heart, and you wish to heal suffering and bless all living beings.”

He made a gentle waving motion, saying, "With just a thought, a light flick of this flag can spread sweet rain, nourish all things, and soothe pain."

"If we encounter a stubborn, incorrigible villain who brings disaster to the people..." He suddenly made a downward slashing motion, as if an invisible sharpness was cutting through the air.

"Then let it be swung back down, summoning weapons to crush them."

Seeing Lin's earnest expression, which seemed to understand but was trying hard to remember, Russell's expression softened again: "As for the other wonderful uses of this banner... once you use it for a long time and feel it with your heart, you will naturally understand."

"It will become the sword in your hand, and the medium through which you spread kindness."

Lin gripped the banner tightly in his hand, as if he were holding a heavy responsibility and a great strength.

He raised his head, his azure eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity and determination: "Yes! Father! I remember!"

...............

Image: "来张昔涟", Location: "Images/1758220392-100445955-113867250.jpg"

This chapter is 3k words long. Goodnight everyone. Still asking for the same three things: one more chapter to pay off the remaining twenty-four.

Golden Branches Endure Through the Ages: Another Month-End Bounty for Rankings

One extra chapter for every 100 monthly votes;

One extra chapter for every 100 razor blades;

An extra chapter will be added for every 10,000 cat biscuits donated.

One extra chapter for every 1000 recommendation votes.

The Silver Treasure Chest (A Happy Ending) - Chapter 5;

Chapter 25 of The Golden Treasure Chest (A Happy Ending).

悬赏日期:9月19日13点~9月30号12点

Repayment method for chapters: While maintaining a daily update rate of 6 chapters, 1-2 extra chapters will be added daily if possible, to repay the debt gradually.

Reason for repayment method: With limited time remaining after the start of the school term, the only option is to repay the debt gradually over a long period.

Reason for the bounty: I want to boost my ranking at the end of the month, so I'm offering a bounty to help me climb the charts. Wish me luck! It's the last month of the new book rankings, and I want to earn some money from the rankings.

There probably won't be any more bounty events after this, since it would be a shame not to offer bounties now that it's the 10th anniversary.

Chapter length: approximately 2500 words on average.

Once the bounty expires, any remaining unpaid portions of the bounty will be collected and made up.

For example, if there are extra chapters owed after calculating monthly tickets, they will be considered as 100 tickets to make up the difference.

Thank you all for your support of this book!

There are currently 24 chapters in debt.

(This is now complete, including all previously owed chapters, totaling 30 chapters. There will be no more bounties or similar rewards after this.)

Golden Branches and Enduring Legacy: Leave of Absence Statement

I've been thinking about this for an hour today, but I still can't figure out the plot. I guess I'm stuck. I'm not going to keep writing here, so I'm taking the day off.

I feel completely out of it. So I'm going to go to bed early tonight to get back into the swing of things and prevent any sudden sudden death. Luckily, tomorrow's Saturday I can do a big update, so I'll get some rest today.

good night, everyone.

Golden Branches Through the Ages: Chapter 166 Self-righteous Fools

Russell, with Lin by his side, sank into the unique coldness and deathly silence of the Dark Prison.

When they encountered Judge Raven at the entrance, this judge of the Ten Kings, known for his face as cold as ice, fixed his gaze precisely on the boy with strange antlers beside Russell.

A rare, barely concealed look of surprise flashed across the crow's eyes.

"Mr. Russell, and who is this?" Han Ya's voice was as calm as ever, revealing no emotion, but the subtle pauses and the gaze fixed on Lin Lu's antlers betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

“My child, Lin.” Russell’s answer was concise and direct, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact.

"..."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. A clear crack finally appeared on the ever-unchanging, icy face of the crow.

Abundant resources make one weary... Could there really be offspring? This thought itself was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a tidal wave in the intricate workings of her mind.

Who is the child's mother?

Is this child a distorted creation of abundant power, or a true life naturally nurtured by the universe?

Countless questions, like runaway star rafts, collided and swirled fiercely in her mind.

However, her composure as a judge allowed her to instantly suppress all her turbulent thoughts, and her face quickly returned to its usual icy demeanor.

"I'm glad you've returned safely." Her voice returned to its usual flatness, as if her earlier outburst had never happened. She simply nodded slightly, indicating that Russell could continue.

Russell nodded, without further pleasantries. The best situation was for him and the Ten Kings to each perform their duties.

He took Lin Weiliang's small hand and led her down the spiraling, icy passageway to the deepest part of the prison.

The further down you go, the thinner the light becomes, and the chill in the air mixed with a metallic, decaying smell grows stronger.

Along the way, they encountered the busy porters again—the werewolf soldiers disguised as fox-people laborers.

They were moving the company's Buliren mechs, which were wrapped in the flesh and blood of Buliren and exuded an ominous aura, deeper and deeper into the building.

“Father,” Lin gently tugged at Russell’s sleeve, his deer-eared ears turning warily toward the porters, his voice low, “they…smell wrong. Like…wild beasts? But also have a metallic smell.”

"Very observant." Russell approvingly ruffled his hair, his gaze sweeping over the group of seemingly hardworking "fox people."

“They are definitely not fox people. Look closely at their gait; even if they are disguised, the habitual, wild, heavy stomping, and the unnatural bulging of their arm muscles when carrying things, are all characteristics of the Bu Li wolf soldiers.”

“They’re acting, and the audience…” His gaze swept over the sparse prison guards around him, “seemingly playing along with the show.”

Just as Lin noticed, and as Russell confirmed, the number of guards in the prison was now less than half of what they had when they first entered.

The closer you get to the bottom, the fewer guards there are. The whole scene exudes a deliberately created sense of laxity.

However, these Bu Li people, immersed in "role-playing," have clearly had their vigilance dulled by the immense psychological pressure and heavy physical labor.

They were so focused on carrying the loads that they were drenched in sweat that they had no time to look at anything else.

After all, the truly valiant warriors of the past had all been slaughtered in the battle against Russell.

These people before me are nothing more than the scum who escaped by sheer luck after the defeat back then, living like rats in a sewer, with little courage and wisdom left.

When Russell and Lin reached the penultimate level, an unusual phenomenon caught Russell's attention—the incredibly heavy entrance to the lowest level, the Prison of Imprisonment, which theoretically could not be opened without the presence of a judge, was now wide open.

Russell frowned slightly, then stopped a prison guard who was hurrying by and pulled him aside to ask, "What's going on? The gates of the prison are open? I remember the rule is that a judge must be present to open the gates."

The jailer who had been stopped, upon recognizing Russell, visibly relaxed, wiped the sweat from his brow, and explained, "Mr. Russell, the situation is unusual! The higher-ups have issued a note saying that the batch of Flesh and Blood Mechs sent by the company is too strange, and the level of danger far exceeds expectations."

"As you know, that thing contains the flesh and blood of the Buli people, making it a living, abundant source of pollution! It was only thanks to the company's specially made alloy shell that it didn't cause any problems."

"After assessment, the Ten Kings Bureau concluded that only the restrictions of the lowest level of the Imprisonment Prison could completely suppress their instability, and they must be transferred there as soon as possible."

"We are really short-staffed. The judges are all dealing with other urgent matters, so we can only make an exception and open the door to move people out first."

Russell nodded, his gaze drifting to the bottomless darkness behind the gate, then asked casually, "What about the Tianbo Division and Yunqi Army brothers who helped with the transport? Will they have no problem getting to the bottom level?"

"Hey, we're all from Luofu, and the General's Mansion has given us special approval." The jailer waved his hand, looking helpless.

"Luofu is going through a lot lately. The Jianmu tree is sprouting and the star core is causing trouble. There is a shortage of manpower everywhere."

“It’s common for different departments to borrow and support each other, and the Ten Kings’ Department is no exception. As long as the procedures are complete, they are all serving the Immortal Ship, so we can’t be too wary, right?” His tone revealed weariness and a tacit understanding that everyone understood.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Russell didn't ask any more questions and gestured for the jailer to leave.

Once the jailer was out of sight, Lin immediately approached Russell, her clear, doe-like eyes filled with confusion: "Father, your expression just now...did you discover something? What that jailer said seemed to make a lot of sense?"

"The logic is sound, but the timing is just intriguing." Russell's lips curled into a cold smile as he took Lin's hand.

Instead of heading towards the open entrance to the ground floor, they pulled her back to the shadow of a huge supporting pillar next to the entrance, where the view was open but not easily noticed.

"Shove all the known destabilizing factors—these dangerous flesh-and-blood mechs, and those imposters—into the most heavily guarded but also the most enclosed bottom layer."