Under a jujube tree in the courtyard, a girl with red hair and a red skirt sat on a stone bench.
One hand lazily flipped through a book while the other unhurriedly sipped a cup of floral tea.
Judging by the color and aroma of the tea, it was clearly the Glazed Floral Tea from Hua Yuhan’s private collection.
Without a doubt, it was “contraband.”
“Yo, finished washing?”
Sensing the girl stepping out of the wooden building, Hua Yan set down her teacup with a smile and turned to look.
Hua Xiangrong was standing barefoot on the last step of the wooden stairs.
She was wrapped in nothing but a large bath towel, her damp pink hair clinging to her back.
Perhaps because she had just begun her cultivation, or perhaps because she had just finished her bath, her small face looked exceptionally smooth and fair.
At the moment, however, it was flushed red with embarrassment.
She wrapped the towel tightly around herself and glared at Hua Yan.
“You didn’t even prepare a change of clothes for me!”
Oh, right.
I forgot about that.
‘Tsk, kids who can’t use storage bags are such a hassle.’
With a flick of her finger, a set of girl’s clothing flew out from the storage bag.
The clothes automatically wrapped around her until she was neatly dressed, and her wet hair was dried in the process.
“There, all settled. Next, let’s talk about what you should learn during the Qi Condensation stage.”
As Hua Yan spoke, she tossed the book in her hand into Hua Xiangrong’s arms.
“This is the schedule I drew up for you. Take a good look.”
Hua Xiangrong nodded and opened the thin volume. Inside, it read: Mao Hour: Wake up, meditate
Chen Hour: Morning run
Si Hour: Horse stance
Wu Hour: Bathing, meditation
It was nothing but tedious basic lessons.
“Don’t think I’m being too harsh. Back in the day, I went through the same thing.”
Seeing the other party silently look up at her, Hua Yan blinked.
“Start practicing today. It is already the Wei Hour, so you should go do the horse — “
Rumble —
A loud growl suddenly erupted from the pink-haired girl’s small stomach, causing her cheeks to turn red again.
Oh, right.
Hua Yan realized.
Oh, that’s right.
She has only just entered Qi Condensation.
To achieve Bigu and live without eating, she has to wait until she truly reaches Foundation Establishment…
‘In that case, I have to prepare food for her… How can raising a child be this troublesome?’
‘Besides, how exactly am I supposed to feed her? I don’t know the first thing about cooking…’
She scanned her storage bag with her divine sense.
It was mostly filled with rare medicinal herbs and high-grade spiritual materials; where was she going to find food suitable for a child at the Qi Condensation stage?
Moreover, Hua Xiangrong had just finished her breath induction.
She needed to digest spiritual energy through exercise and meditation.
If Hua Yan fed her the spiritual fruits she usually ate as snacks, the girl would likely suffer from spiritual energy overload and explode on the spot.
There was no other choice.
This would have to do for now…
Hua Yan reached into her storage bag and pulled out an ancient bronze alchemy furnace.
“Wait for me for seven minutes. I’ll refine two batches of Bigu Pills for you.”
With a casual wave of her hand, several common herbs flew up from the courtyard and vanished into the furnace.
Then, with a tap of her finger, a ball of crimson flame ignited out of thin air, steadily enveloping the furnace body.
“Okay,” Hua Xiangrong replied without asking questions.
She simply nodded obediently and stood quietly to the side, watching her “lunch” being refined.
“Don’t just stand there and watch. Go find a place to sit.”
“Okay.”
“Can’t you say anything other than ‘okay’?”
Hua Yan raised an eyebrow and asked casually, “What flavor do you want the Bigu Pills to be? Orange or apple?”
“Is roasted meat flavor okay?”
“You’re certainly not holding back… Then one batch of roasted meat and one batch of orange. You can rotate them later.”
In the small courtyard surrounded by flowers and grass, the pink-haired child sat obediently on the stone bench under the jujube tree.
Her chin rested in her hands as she watched her mother perform the alchemy.
The red-haired, golden-eyed girl wore a casual smile.
Even though they were inside a ship’s grotto-heaven, a breeze blew in from somewhere, gently stirring the hair at her temples.
The warm afternoon sun spilled down, making her figure look dazzlingly beautiful.
……
‘Hmm, not bad. Throughout the day, that girl actually followed the curriculum I drafted to the letter. This temperament of hers is somewhat similar to mine back then.’
That night, in a magnificently decorated bedroom, Hua Yan sat before a dressing mirror.
As she removed her makeup, she felt a sense of smugness, completely forgetting that when she was a child, she only did her horse stance because Hua Yuhan whipped her with a ruler.
Back then, she couldn’t even last seven minutes before she started complaining and acting spoiled — which, of course, only earned her another beating.
‘As expected of my daughter…’
In the mirror, the red-haired girl’s eyes were full of pride.
‘Wait, that’s not right.’
‘Why am I happy for that brat? In the beginning, I clearly found even the thought of teaching her to be a hassle.’
Hua Yan’s hand stopped as she went to remove a pearl flower hairpin.
‘Hmph, whatever. She is my daughter, after all. If the daughter is impressive, doesn’t that just prove that I, as the mother, am even more impressive?’
The corners of the beauty’s mouth in the mirror curled up high again.
‘Wait, that’s still not right!’
‘What mother? This young master is a dignified man! I’ve only temporarily turned into this form!’
Hua Yan slammed the hand holding the pearl flower onto the vanity.
With a loud bang, the cosmetics, powders, and hairpins on the table wobbled and tumbled.
‘Oh no, I can’t break these! I went through so much trouble to pick these out from Sister Liu and the others. If they break, where will I find replacements?’
The girl quickly channeled her spiritual energy, barely stabilizing the jars and jewelry that had nearly fallen and shattered.
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft knocking sound came from the door.
“…Come in.”
Hua Yan quickly tidied her appearance and adopted her usual teasing tone.
The wooden door creaked open, and a pink head clutching an embroidered pillow poked in timidly.
“Didn’t I say not to bother me unless it’s important?”
The red-haired girl turned around, her nightgown trailing on the floor.
She frowned slightly, her voice carrying a hint of impatience at being disturbed.
“What, was the training during the day not enough? Do you want extra lessons?”
“No.”
Hua Xiangrong shook her head, her loose pink hair swaying with the movement.
“I… I just wanted to ask…”
She looked up, her voice very soft.
“Tonight… can I sleep with you?”
“Of course no — “
The refusal was on the tip of her tongue, but Hua Yan suddenly stopped.
She saw Hua Xiangrong’s expression.
The girl’s eyes were cast down, and her nose twitched slightly.
She looked cautiously lonely, a stark contrast to how she had been during the day.
“…Is it really not okay?”
Hua Xiangrong looked up, her gaze shimmering with a faint plea.
“When I was in the valley… I always slept with Great-grandmother…”
Hua Yan was stunned.
‘This brat… she was quite lively during the day, so why does she seem like a different person at night?’
‘Is this her true nature? Or… did Yun Xuechang used to sleep with her earlier on? Is that why she feels lonely?’
She thought of the girl’s embarrassed look during her bath at noon, and then of Yun Xuechang’s cold face that seemed like it would never melt.
‘No, that’s not right. With Yun Xuechang’s personality, forget sleeping together, even bathing together probably only happened when she was a toddler.’
Hua Yan suddenly had a realization, believing she had found the answer.
‘Thrown into this remote Demonic Cult by her own mother, and having grown up facing Yun Xuechang’s cold face…’
‘…No wonder she was so close to her warm grandmother.’
‘So now… is she trying to find a bit of that same warmth from me?’
Thinking of this, Hua Yan felt a bit at a loss.
This kind of straightforward, child-like dependence was far too sudden for a “mother” who had only recently taken on the role.
“I guess… it’s still not okay…”
Seeing her silence, the light in Hua Xiangrong’s eyes gradually dimmed.
She hugged her pillow a little tighter and began to step backward.
“Then… I won’t disturb Mother’s rest…”
“Hold on.”
A voice sounded from behind, stopping her.
“When did I say you had to leave?”
Hua Yan turned around, her brow arched as the corners of her lips curled into an expression that was half-resigned and half-indulgent.
“Come up. I’m not cultivating tonight, and I just happen to be missing a body pillow.”
She patted the soft bed, her golden eyes reflecting the warm yellow lamplight.
“— You’ll do.”
……
“Host, your acting is incredible! You even fooled a villain like Hua Yan!”
In the middle of the night, 099’s excited voice rang out in Hua Xiangrong’s mind.
“Hmm.”
In the darkness, Hua Xiangrong snuggled slightly into the warm, soft, and faintly scented embrace beside her, responding vaguely.
“…”
“099.”
“Yes? What is it, Host?”
The little system’s voice was still cheerful.
“It’s just, I suddenly feel…”
Hua Xiangrong spoke softly in her consciousness, “I feel like Hua Yan… isn’t actually that bad.”
After saying that, she slowly closed her eyes and sank into a peaceful dream.
……
However, the red-haired girl lying beside her had a completely different plan in mind: ‘Hahahaha! Yun Xuechang, you definitely wouldn’t expect this!’
‘Today, I not only bathed Hua Xiangrong and made her food, but I even slept with her!’
‘I’m going to make your precious daughter completely loyal to me. When I find you in the future, she will only stand on my side and speak for me, and she won’t even acknowledge you as her mother anymore!’
‘Hahahahahahahahaha!’
Amidst these fantasies of revenge against Yun Xuechang, Hua Yan also closed her eyes contentedly and fell into a sweet sleep.
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