The young girl looked at Ye Ping’an’s smiling face.
As if she felt his sincerity, she stretched out her trembling right hand, but just as she was about to touch Ye Ping’an, she tried to pull back. After all… someone like her—how could she possibly deserve happiness?
Ye Ping’an thought she was just being shy. He immediately grabbed her hand and smiled, saying, “Since you’ve already reached out, why bother pulling back? Alright then, from now on, we’re family.”
In that moment, the boy’s smile imprinted itself in the girl’s heart. Finally, with tears welling in her eyes, she softly murmured, “Mm!”
“Since we’re family now, I don’t even know your name,” Ye Ping’an said gently while holding her hand.
“I…” the girl hesitated, then as if she had made up her mind, said, “Since I’m starting over, of course I should have a new name. How about… you give me one, young master?”
Although Ye Ping’an wasn’t too fond of her calling him “young master” so humbly, he couldn’t really argue—after all, he really was still just a child.
So he didn’t make a fuss about it. But what name should he give?
Just then, as if sensing the moonlight above, Ye Ping’an looked up at the sky. The moon was slowly solidifying into form. An idea struck him.
“How about… Ningyue? Ye Ningyue.”
“Ningyue… Mm! I really like it,” the girl softly murmured.
That year, Ye Ping’an was six years old. The girl was nine.
Of course, since the girl claimed she was just an ordinary person who only wanted to live a normal life, she never tested her talent, and so she became Ye Ping’an’s servant.
Incidentally, something happened not long after that which left a deep impression on Ye Ping’an.
It had nothing to do with the newly taken-in maid, Ningyue. It was about a piece of news Ye Ping’an’s father had brought back.
Ye Ping’an’s father was named Ye Lingtian. Despite having a rather imposing name, unfortunately, after cultivating for most of his life, he had only reached the Core Formation stage.
Ye Lingtian sometimes suspected that his son had been knocked silly when he was younger.
Although he matured early, he always thought up strange, unrealistic fantasies. So one day, he pulled Ye Ping’an into his room and spoke to him with rare seriousness:
“Ping’an, I know you’re always letting your imagination run wild, but this time, the news I brought back—you really need to be careful.”
“Dad, what news?” Little Ye Ping’an looked up at his father eagerly.
“Recently, a highly dangerous person has entered the territory of minor sects like ours. So don’t go out for now. Once the danger passes, you can do whatever you want,” Ye Lingtian said seriously.
“Highly dangerous? What do they look like?” At that instant, countless images flashed through Ye Ping’an’s mind—grotesque demons with terrifying faces, or massive brutish monsters.
“This is that person’s portrait—you can take a look.”
With that, Ye Lingtian took out a memory stone and handed it to Ye Ping’an.
Ye Ping’an immediately infused a bit of his meager spiritual energy into it, and an image appeared before him.
The image showed a delicate, doll-like young girl, around eight or nine years old. Her fair skin resembled fine jade, and she wore a fluffy princess dress, looking like a tiny angel—so adorable it was almost explosive.
Ye Ping’an couldn’t help but drool a little while staring.
After admiring her breathtakingly cute face for a while, Ye Ping’an finally snapped out of it.
Then he looked at his father with a strange expression. He didn’t expect his dad to have this kind of taste.
Silently, he rolled up the image and handed it back to his father.
“Dad, you brought the wrong one.”
“No, I didn’t,” Ye Lingtian replied firmly, clenching his fist and shaking his head. Of course, he noticed Ye Ping’an’s reaction just now.
But worried he might knock even more sense out of his already odd child, he held back.
“Huh? You’re telling me this cute little angelic girl is the highly dangerous person?” Ye Ping’an asked incredulously.
Ye Lingtian shrugged helplessly.
“Can’t be helped. This information was personally handed to us by the lower sect. They say it came from the upper sects—even from a Holy Land.”
“This little girl? Really?” Ye Ping’an was stunned. Though he didn’t know much about the world yet, his father’s tone made it clear the intel came from some powerful sects.
But would those kinds of sects really label a little girl as extremely dangerous?
Could she be one of those loli-looking monsters who’s actually a few thousand years old?
“Anyway, just don’t go out for now. I’ve got other matters to attend to. You go play on your own.” Ye Lingtian was also helpless—he’d reacted the same way when he first heard the news.
And he wasn’t alone. The other sect leaders in the same league had also been shocked, giving that lower sect elder a hard time explaining things.
Her danger, apparently… lay in her limitless future potential. So if spotted, she was to be eliminated immediately.
However, Ye Lingtian didn’t tell this part to his son. After all, no matter how mature a child might be, they’re still a child.
After bidding his father goodbye, Ye Ping’an immediately returned to his room.
As if she had fully embraced her role as a maid, the girl rushed over and respectfully called out, “Young master.”
Looking at Ningyue, now freshly bathed and dressed in clean clothes, Ye Ping’an secretly nodded in approval.
Though her looks were rather plain, the saying goes that fair skin covers a hundred flaws—and Ningyue wasn’t ugly, just ordinary.
With the dark arts from his past life, Ye Ping’an believed that with such a good foundation, he could absolutely turn her into a goddess—if he wanted to.
Suddenly, Ye Ping’an remembered what his father had told him and said to Ningyue, “Oh right, there’s a really dangerous person nearby. Dad told me not to go out for a while. You should stay here in the sect with me too. Once it’s safe, I’ll take you to inspect my empire!”
“A dangerous person?” Ningyue asked in confusion.
“Actually, it’s just a little girl! About your age, but…” Ye Ping’an glanced at Ningyue and trailed off, the implication clear—she’s prettier than you.
“What?” The girl was instantly shocked, even a little flustered.
But Ye Ping’an mistook her reaction as simple surprise and spread his hands helplessly.
“No idea what they’re thinking, labeling such an adorable girl as dangerous. If it were me…”
“If it were you…?” the girl asked.
“I’d totally steal her away and make her my wife,” he said.
“Eh?” For some reason, the girl’s cheeks turned slightly red, and her previous panic faded a bit.
“Just think! If she’s that cute as a kid, imagine what she’ll look like grown up? Definitely a heart-stealing enchantress! Raise her right from childhood, and boom—one more beautiful wife!”
As he watched Ningyue’s face gradually darken, Ye Ping’an suddenly realized—Ningyue was a girl too.
So, he scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled.
“Sorry! I was just joking around.”
Is she using illusion to hide her face? And why eliminate her wouldn’t it be better to recruit her?