Looking at the gentle smile on Rover's face, Jue swallowed hard. Cold sweat instantly soaked through her snow-white dress.
'Jinhsi, for your sake I almost ended up sharing a table with Pollux. You'd better not let me down!'
Just then, a red robot with rabbit ears tumbled down from the treetop, wobbling as it fell.
"Moon Chasing Festival, wish, Moon Chasing Festival, wish, wish, wish…"
The robot bobbed unsteadily in the air like it was drunk, its playback device looping a string of incomprehensible words.
Rover's attention was immediately drawn to the little thing. Her golden eyes blinked, filled with curiosity.
"This is… a little robot?"
In response to her question, the Doctor lightly hopped down from the nearby stone steps and scooped up the robot, which was spinning in place, into her arms.
"Wish, wish…"
She examined it from side to side. "There are no signs of impact or external damage, but it's clearly malfunctioning… It seems to be related to the 'wish' it keeps repeating."
As she finished speaking, both the Doctor and Rover turned to look at Jue. But Jue clearly hadn't caught on. Her golden eyes were wide as she stared at the robot, blinking in an adorably clueless way.
"Can this little robot grant wishes? Even I, as a Sentinel, can't do that… or does this mean I've already been left behind by the times?"
At that thought, Jue suddenly turned to Rover. "Arbiter, have I been left behind by the times? Have I already become what people call an 'old relic'?"
Seeing Jue's big eyes instantly fill with tears, her cheeks faintly flushed, Rover shook her head helplessly. "No. Jue is this cute, how could you possibly be outdated?"
"Really?"
"Really!"
Rover answered firmly while thinking to herself, It looks like this robot malfunctioning doesn't have much to do with the Sentinel making a wish.
Still, this little thing is pretty tough, carrying a Sentinel's wish and not bursting into flames on the spot… the manufacturer must have some conscience.
"I wonder who this robot belongs to."
"Why don't we ask around?"
Rover nodded in agreement. As she looked up, she spotted three people not far away, taking a photo together at the foot of the mountain.
"Excuse me." Holding the robot in her arms, Rover quickly walked over to one of them. "Do you know where this little robot came from? It seems a bit off."
The man looked it over. "It looks like a robot from the Moon Tree House. Probably just broke down somewhere."
"What's the Moon Tree House?" Rover asked, looking genuinely curious. It sounded like some kind of all-purpose service place.
Most locals in Jinzhou knew about it, so the man didn't hide anything.
"The Moon Tree House is the hollow under the Wishing Tree. They say if you put your wish into the hollow, no matter what it is, someone will help make it come true sooner or later."
"Ah?!" Before the man even finished, Jue let out a startled cry beside Rover. "Wasn't it said that hanging your wish high up on the tree could also make it come true?"
As she spoke, the two little buns on top of her head swayed along. Paired with her small, adorable frame, she looked irresistibly cute.
The man seemed charmed by her as well and quickly waved his hands. "Wishes hung on the tree should work too."
"But a long time ago, the Magistrate issued a notice, so people wouldn't risk climbing trees to hang their wishes, all wishes have been placed into the tree hollow ever since."
"Phew, that scared me. I thought I flew up so high for nothing."
Jue patted her small chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
But before she could fully relax, a jade-like hand pressed down on her head.
"So, to make sure your wish would come true, you deliberately hung it at the very top of the tree?"
Feeling the killing intent coming from the hand on her head, Jue wished she could slap herself twice. If it didn't work, she could've just secretly made another wish and put it in the hollow later. Why did she have to say that out loud?
Regret was regret, but at this point, sitting still meant certain doom. Better to make one last desperate effort…
Finish writing the will she hadn't completed yet.
Just as Jue was trying to figure out how to escape Rover's grasp, the robot in Rover's arms suddenly started vibrating.
With its trembling, the ground shook, rocks shifted, and dust flew everywhere.
Rover's face flushed red, and she hurriedly let go of the robot, allowing it to fly off.
"Collection, error, analysis failed…" The robot wobbled forward as it called out to a figure in the distance. "...lost, wish, danger… Xiangli, help, help!"
"Xiangli?"
Rover frowned slightly. The name sounded familiar.
Taking advantage of her brief distraction, Jue crouched low and bolted after the robot like she was fleeing for her life.
"Xiangli, help!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Xiangli Yao was startled. He didn't even catch the Little Robot flying into his hands before looking up, just in time to see a bun-haired girl rush into view.
"Sentinel!?"
Jinhsi had already told a few of Zane's acquaintances about Jue's identity, Xiangli Yao included.
Of course, that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was, if someone could make the Sentinel call for help, was that someone he could afford to offend?
Xiangli Yao couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. Why hadn't he checked the almanac before leaving the house today?
Looking at the two figures approaching gracefully behind the Sentinel, he quickly decided he needed to say something.
"It's Rover..."
'...Wait, would calling them Rover and Doctor sound too distant?'
With that thought, he hurriedly changed his words.
"Thanks for bringing it back, sisters-in-law..."
The next second, two blades were pressed against his neck.
"…Call us elder sisters-in-law." Rover and the Doctor spoke in unison, startling Xiangli Yao so badly that cold sweat broke out across his back.
Even though Zane was indeed younger than Xiangli Yao, these two were older than him. Seniority had to be respected.
"E-elder sisters-in-law."
Only then did they withdraw their blades, satisfied.
Looking at the smiles on their faces, Xiangli Yao couldn't help feeling a bit unbalanced inside.
'...If you've got a good brother, why do you need girlfriends? Isn't this basically playing both sides? Don't you know women only slow down a good brother's pursuit of truth?'
'Zane, you've committed every possible evil!'
After the brief farce, Xiangli Yao got to work repairing Little Robot.
Watching him busy at work, Rover hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you the one who helps people fulfill their wishes?"
"You mean the owner of the Moon Tree House." Xiangli Yao multitasked effortlessly, his hands steady as he worked.
"The real 'owner' is someone else. I just inherited the Moon Tree House's duty... to collect and try to fulfill people's wishes."
"Try?" Rover's brows knit slightly. 'Could someone really grant wishes?'