Chapter 40: Dew Family

“Uh… Master.”

“It’s not that we don’t want to cooperate, it’s just that your request…”

“What’s wrong with my request?” The young Luozhilan looked at Li Muqun, who was hesitating and unwilling to agree, and crossed her arms in displeasure, huffing angrily.

“Are you really not going to help me with this little request? You still call yourself my disciple? I don’t have any disobedient disciples like you!”

“Then I won’t tell you the secret you want to know. You can just regret sticking with the aloof me!”

She pouted and turned her head away, completely ignoring the dark expression and bulging veins on Li Muqun’s face.

How did the girls he dealt with always end up being such annoying little brats?

Fists, really hard ones.

“Zuo Qiuli, maybe we should prepare some Chili Water and the Tiger Bench,” he said through Heart Voice to Zuo Qiuli.

But when he turned to look, he saw Zuo Qiuli silently bowing her head, a strange glint flickering in her beautiful eyes, her thoughts unreadable.

“Hey, hey, hey.”

A bad feeling rose in his heart.

“Zuo Qiuli, this little brat clearly isn’t harmless. Don’t fall into her trap.”

“Shut up!”

Zuo Qiuli unleashed a wave of energy that sealed Li Muqun’s mouth, forcing him to emit muffled whines in place.

She then shifted her gaze to the young Luozhilan and said:

“We can agree to your request.”

“Yay!”

Young Luozhilan cheered excitedly, but then Zuo Qiuli abruptly changed tone:

“But a family should look like a family, right? Even if it’s just playing house, we need people to act as neighbors and relatives. This place is so empty and desolate, what kind of act can we put on? Parents coaching you in mixed doubles training?”

What a clever counterattack!

Zuo Qiuli, I’ve wronged you!

Li Muqun, with his mouth still sealed, nodded repeatedly, making approving sounds.

Luozhilan hurriedly explained:

“N-no, that won’t happen.”

“Today is the Sun-Repelling Festival, and the Market Street beneath the Moon Palace is crowded with all kinds of people praying for blessings. It’s very lively. Let’s spend the day there, okay? It will definitely be fun.”

“In that case, we have no objections.”

Huh? What do you mean we have no objections?

What about me? Doesn’t my opinion count?

Li Muqun let out muffled complaints, but no one paid him any mind.

“It’s just dawn.”

Zuo Qiuli looked up at the Yangtian slowly rising on the horizon and said softly:

“Then until tomorrow morning, we’ll form this Dew Family.”

“Ah? So soon?” The young Luozhilan covered her mouth in surprise. “I’m not ready yet…”

“After all, there are many things we still need to do. Time is tight and the task is heavy; let’s speed things up.”

Zuo Qiuli then transformed; her beast ears and blue tail disappeared, and her long hair, once flowing freely, was gathered over her right shoulder.

Her cyan dress changed into a form-fitting blue knitted sweater paired with a black skirt. The sweater hugged her voluptuous figure, outlining deadly curves.

The once coquettish and sly Fox Girl of Qingqiu instantly became a gentle and alluring young woman exuding warmth and kindness.

WOC!

For a moment, young Luozhilan froze, and even the muffled Li Muqun was stunned.

Compared to Luozhilan’s shyness, Zuo Qiuli slipped into her role quickly.

She pulled Luozhilan into her arms, gently stroking her long hair and asked:

“Good daughter, have you ever ridden a horse?”

Being suddenly called “good daughter” made young Luozhilan a little uncomfortable, but Zuo Qiuli’s caress was pleasant.

She closed her eyes contentedly and obediently answered:

“Riding a horse? No, what’s that?”

“Hehe, it’s a kind of parent-child game popular among mortals. How about…”

At that moment, both of them simultaneously raised their heads and looked toward Li Muqun, who was watching them intently.

Li Muqun felt chills run down his spine from their sudden gaze and instinctively took a few steps back.

“Hey, hey… why are you two looking at me like that?”

“I never agreed to this pretend family thing.”

Zuo Qiuli smiled brightly and said to the Luozhilan in her arms, “Good daughter, let’s have your father demonstrate, okay?”

“Okay! That’s great!”

Luozhilan nodded repeatedly in excitement, her Dao fruit bouncing up and down beneath the black sweater.

Who, who’s your father?

No way, absolutely no way!

Even though I can’t speak, even if you stab me today, there’s no way I’m letting this crazy girl get on my neck!

That’s an insult to my dignity! I absolutely won’t…

Half an hour later, in the mountains around the Moon Palace, the bustling Market Street was filled with people.

Li Muqun, with a bruised face, carried the young Luozhilan riding on his shoulders, weaving through the crowd.

The girl looked excitedly at everything new, touching this and tasting that.

“Daddy, daddy, I want to eat that, I want to eat that one.”

Not far away, a vendor selling Sugar Hawthorn Skewers caught her attention.

She pounded Li Muqun’s head gently with her tiny pink hands, shouting.

“Keep your voice down, keep your voice down!”

Feeling the pressure on his back, Li Muqun scolded quietly, clearly unwilling.

“I don’t want to, I don’t want to.”

Young Luozhilan pouted unhappily, leaned toward his ear, and whispered:

“Daddy, don’t worry. There are so many people here, who would even care about us?”

Obviously, the heart of a young girl is still the heart of a young girl.

At first, she hesitated when calling him “dad” out of embarrassment.

But after a while, she was fully immersed in this play-acting game, calling out “mommy” and “daddy” nonstop.

Yet, opposite to the girl’s excitement was Li Muqun’s sour expression, his lips pursed in annoyance.

It’s not that he wanted to ruin the fun—after all, his plan for nonviolent noncooperation had been violently squashed by Zuo Qiuli from the start.

It’s just…

The Luozhilan on his back was really heavy!

Earlier, they had been at the Moon Palace, high on a mountaintop, while the Market Street was down below.

Carrying her all the way from the Moon Palace down to the Market Street had already left him sore and exhausted.

But for some inexplicable reason, whenever he tried to ask Luozhilan to get off, Zuo Qiuli would cast him a faintly threatening look that sent chills down his spine.

The words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back down.

Did she really think of herself as the mother now?

You’re so overflowing with empathy, forcing me into this girl-help-girl situation—why drag me into it?

He felt like crying but no tears came.

At that moment, he heard Zuo Qiuli’s voice.

“Alright, alright, good daughter, get down first. Let Daddy rest and go buy us some Sugar Hawthorn Skewers, okay?”

“Oh, okay.”

Young Luozhilan slid down Li Muqun’s back in an instant.

“Then Daddy, hurry up! Mommy and I will wait for you here.”

Alright, alright!

Feeling the sudden lightness on his back, Li Muqun let out a long breath, waved at the two of them, and dove into the crowd.

Hehe, you want me to come back?

The wave of his hand wasn’t consent—it meant no need to say more.

Just wait, I’ll go fish around for a while and see what I can find!

Rubbing his aching shoulders, he observed everything in the Market Street.

Although this was a memory world, Li Muqun had to admit, the details here were flawless.

The graphics were so lifelike that it was hard to distinguish memory from reality.

Just one thing: where’s the resting spot? I’d really like someone to give me a back massage.

The vendors’ cries filled his ears like a river, wave after wave.

Suddenly, this river seemed to burst its banks, roaring wildly.

“It’s the Palace Master! Look, at the mountaintop! That’s the Palace Master and Xuan Nu!”

“The Palace Master and Xuan Nu are about to conduct a blessing ritual! Everyone, gather ‘round and kneel!”

Amid the uproar of voices, the crowd in Market Street dropped to their knees with a whoosh, welcoming the two figures slowly descending from the white jade palace atop the mountain.

“Welcome, Palace Master!”

“Welcome, Lady Xuan Nu!”

As the two figures drew nearer, the noisy voices instantly fell into a rhythmic wave of uniformity.

To avoid drawing attention, Li Muqun slipped away from the crowd and secretly observed the seemingly otherworldly Palace Master from a quiet corner.

In his hands, he held some Board Chestnuts and Pear Water he had grabbed earlier.

Not bad—the food in this memory world actually tasted pretty good.

But as his gaze landed on the two descending figures, on the Palace Master who radiated a noble beauty like a bright moon, and on the shy Xuan Nu trailing behind her, the chestnut he had just popped into his mouth suddenly burst out, spilling everywhere.

Xuan Nu?

Isn’t that… Luo Dan’er?