“Wan Shuang!
Not long after, the wooden cabin’s door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure clad in water-blue swept in like the wind.
Her deep blue eyes anxiously scanned the room: “Where is my daughter? Where is she now?”
Her gaze immediately locked onto the target—a small blue figure lay listlessly on the hard plank bed by the window, face buried in the crook of her arm, her tail limply hanging over the edge of the bed.
Meanwhile, by the wooden table, the silver-gray-haired Wolf Clan Leader calmly sipped hot tea, flipping through a yellowed scroll.
“You’re here?”
Xun Xue instantly cast Wan Shuang out of her mind and hurried three steps to the bedside. With great care yet deep affection, she scooped the small blue bundle into her arms.
Pressing her face to her daughter’s soft hair and tiny ears, she rubbed again and again as if reunited with a long-lost treasure, pure joy radiating from her face.
“Ugh~”
The tiny body in her arms shivered almost imperceptibly, letting out a faint, plaintive whimper.
“Hm?”
Xun Xue keenly caught that slight oddity. She stopped her rubbing and stepped back slightly, lowering her head to scrutinize her daughter—who looked listless and buried her face even deeper.
Tilting her head, Xun Xue turned to Wan Shuang and asked, “What’s wrong with this little one? She seems really down today.”
“She made a mistake and I disciplined her.”
Wan Shuang set down the scroll, picked up her tea cup and blew gently on it, her voice calm: “She made a mistake, so I disciplined her.”
Then she looked up at Xun Xue, her silver-gray eyes serious and scrutinizing. “Maybe… a little too harshly. As her mother, you’d better go soothe her first.”
“Ah…?”
The mention of the Yao Clan startled Xun Xue for a moment, then she tentatively asked, “What mistake did she make?”
“She colluded with a Rénzú cultivator to steal our clan’s precious medicine. Not only was she unrepentant, she even shouted that she was a disciple of the Tianyuan Sect, a Rénzú, not one of us.”
Wan Shuang frowned slightly, putting down her cup as she leaned forward, her gaze sharp and assessing as she faced Xun Xue.
“Xun Xue, I think the problem isn’t really with her, but with you as her mother! Were you so focused on advancing your cultivation that you just left your daughter to be raised somewhere out of sight? You didn’t even know when she was taken by the Rénzú?!”
“That’s not true!”
Pouting, Xun Xue protested to Wan Shuang, “Don’t wrong me, Wan Shuang! I was seriously injured this time… I couldn’t even leave the Cave Residence and had to focus solely on recovery!”
As she spoke, she instinctively rubbed her chin against the fluffy blue top of her daughter’s head, as if seeking some affirmation, only to receive another faint “whimper” of protest from Lu Qiancha.
“So that’s your excuse for leaving your own child to raise herself?”
Wan Shuang lightly massaged her forehead, her tone tinged with helplessness.
“Xun Xue, you’re a mother now. You can’t behave like you did back in the Royal Palace, carefree and reckless. You mustn’t let your child run wild and let her identity be so easily fooled.”
“B-but… what else can I do? I want to guard little Qiancha every day too…”
Xun Xue murmured miserably, fingers absentmindedly twisting a few strands of her daughter’s blue hair.
Suddenly, she belatedly remembered the important part.
“Wait! You said she stole… cough, took some medicine from your clan? Essence-Returning Fruit? Oh no, whatever it is, I’ll compensate you! Double! You name the price, and those fruits will be considered sold to my daughter, okay?”
Her expression instantly turned magnanimous, as if any problem solvable with spirit stones wasn’t really a problem.
“It’s only a few Essence-Returning Fruits, nothing too important as medicine.”
Wan Shuang waved a hand dismissively, then continued, “No need for compensation. Consider it a gift for the child’s first meeting.”
“Hehehe, Wan Shuang, you’re the best. Then I’ll thank you on behalf of little Qiancha.” Xun Xue beamed, not forgetting to gently shake the small bundle in her arms. “Come on, Qiancha, thank Wan Shuang.”
Lu Qiancha:
(playing dead)
Just then, Wan Shuang, still serious and a little puzzled, dropped another bombshell:
“By the way, Xun Xue… when did you get married? You even kept it from me? Though we haven’t been in touch much these years, I should at least have received a wedding invitation, right? Not even a proper gift prepared for my niece…”
Her tone held a trace of displeasure at being kept in the dark by a close friend.
“Ah…?”
Xun Xue was momentarily stunned, then hurried to explain, “I’m not married.”
“Huh? Not married?! Then this child… where did she come from??? Could she have fallen from the sky?!”
Wan Shuang’s mind reeled, her eyes darting back and forth between the two who looked like sisters: Lu Qiancha and Xun Xue.
“More or less… you could say I found her?”
Xun Xue blinked, causing Wan Shuang’s previously calm expression to furrow deeply.
“Found her?!” Wan Shuang’s voice shifted pitch, feeling her well-tempered conviction cracking.
“You mean… you found a little one who looks almost exactly like you and carries a pure Royal Bloodline aura?! What a coincidence!”
“Mm, not entirely accurate, but pretty much like that.”
Xun Xue nodded, effectively agreeing with Wan Shuang’s assessment.
“???”
Wan Shuang was completely dumbfounded. In all her years, she’d never heard of such a bizarre story.
“Alright, let me explain…”
Xun Xue slapped her forehead and proceeded to recount how she had met Lu Qiancha in the East Victory Divine Continent, given her own essence blood to her, and ended up with a daughter.
Wan Shuang thought for a long time upon hearing this. It was the first time she’d heard of using essence blood to transform a Rénzú into Yao Clan. And not a half-demonkin either, but a pure-blooded Yao.
“So then why did the little one say she was a disciple of the Tianyuan Sect…”
Wan Shuang asked softly, curious to see Xun Xue’s reaction.
“Huh? My daughter was originally from the Tianyuan Sect?”
Xun Xue blinked, an idea flashing through her mind—maybe she could find a chance to live at the Tianyuan Sect later… that way she could be with her daughter every day.
“You didn’t know?”
Wan Shuang frowned.
“How could I? I only saw her once before I ran home to recover.”
Xun Xue’s voice sounded a little aggrieved.
“…I really can’t deal with you.”
Wan Shuang rubbed her forehead lightly, taking a deep breath before speaking with some helplessness, “Xun Xue… you’re a mother now. Can you try to be… just a little more responsible?”
“Hehe…”
Xun Xue knew she was in the wrong, quickly hugging her daughter and offering an apologetic smile. Her tail wagged behind her, trying to play dumb and get away with it.