Chapter 58

Teacher Meng was well aware of Qingyao's parents' occupations. Rumors within the residential complex suggested that the couple possessed some extraordinary abilities, but since no one had ever witnessed them firsthand, the residents were generally skeptical and didn't really believe the gossip.

However, she did not interfere. After thanking them, she entered the kindergarten.

The child's grandmother carried the little girl inside with her.

Qingyao turned back to wave goodbye to the teacher, then immediately grabbed Lang Xiao's hand. She looked worriedly at Lang Xiao's somewhat pale face, tears instantly welling up in her eyes, which she seemed to have been holding back all this time.

With tears trembling in her eyes, Qingyao choked out, "Mom, did I do something wrong? Are you hurt? Please don't die, wuwuwu."

She thought she had caused trouble. If she hadn't pulled on the iron chain around Xiaoyu's ankle, Lang Xiao wouldn't have had to use her demonic power and gotten hurt.

Lang Xiao's demonic power had only been disrupted; it wasn't enough to injure her seriously. A brief period of resting and settling her spiritual energy upon returning home would suffice.

She was somewhat concerned about the origin of those chains. They were hidden so deeply and ominously; if Qingyao hadn't discovered them today, neither she nor Hu Yuanfei would have noticed.

Moreover, during her investigation, she had discovered countless other chains stretching deep into the earth. There might be countless children suffering just like Xiaoyu. What on earth were those forces trying to achieve?

Yet, these worries were not suitable to share with a child.

She smiled and picked Qingyao up, wiping away her overflowing tears, and said gently, "I'm fine, I'm not hurt. How could a mom as powerful as me die? I am a great demon; I will live a long, long time—until Qingyao grows into an adult, until the day Qingyao can stand on her own two feet. You did nothing wrong today. By discovering the chain on Xiaoyu's ankle in time, you prevented any accidents that might have happened to her in the future. You did a good deed and saved her life."

Qingyao rubbed her eyes and asked, "Really?"

"Of course. That chain was no good thing; it had ensnared Xiaoyu's soul. If that chain had eventually dragged Xiaoyu's soul away, she would have died. Think about how heartbroken Teacher Meng would have been if she lost Xiaoyu, and Xiaoyu wouldn't have been able to be your teacher anymore."

"I don't want Teacher Meng to be sad, wuwu." She hugged Lang Xiao's neck and cried for a while before calming down.

"I want to become strong too, so I can help Mom beat up the bad guys." Qingyao waved her tiny fist. If she had just been a little stronger earlier, she would have been able to pull the iron chain out, but she had used all her strength and failed. She wanted to become as powerful as Lang Xiao—no, even being as powerful as Qinglai and Qingli would do.

Lang Xiao couldn't help rubbing her cheek against Qingyao's: "Alright, when our Qingyao grows up, until she's as tall as Mom, she can protect Mom."

Qingyao only reached Lang Xiao's thigh right now; it was impossible to tell how many years it would take to grow as tall as her. Qingyao was not easily fooled; she pursed her lips and said, "That will take forever and ever. I want to protect Mom right now."

Lang Xiao's eyes curved into crescents: "But Mom wants to protect you right now too. What should we do then? Do you not want Mom to protect you?"

"I do."

"Then how about this: if Mom ever needs your protection, I'll tell you, okay?"

"Okay, Mom must remember, let's pinky promise."

"Pinky promise."

One large hand and one small hand came together. Hu Yuanfei, watching enviously from the side, stretched out his hand as well. With a wronged expression, he said, "Dad wants to make a pinky promise with Qingyao too."

Qingyao pressed fingers with him as well, then wriggled out of Lang Xiao's embrace and made pinky promises with Qingli and Qinglai too.

The two of them had been present when the scene earlier unfolded, but they had been completely unable to help and could only stand by helplessly.

Both Qinglai and Qingli were frustrated by their own lack of strength, unable to offer any assistance.

The two silently vowed to work much harder at their cultivation in the future.

The three little ones walked home hand in hand. They didn't go to the shop today, and the storefront had been closed early.

As soon as they returned, Lang Xiao lay down and began to cultivate. Qingyao remained somewhat worried, asking Hu Yuanfei to move her small table and chair next to Lang Xiao so she could practice her handwriting right beside her.

Every few strokes, she would look up at Lang Xiao. Once she finished writing, she carefully rolled over to her side, leaning against Lang Xiao's less-than-soft fur to finally feel at ease, acting like a steadfast little guardian.

Meanwhile, after finishing work, Teacher Meng went straight home with her child. Once they arrived, Xiaoyu's grandmother, still dwelling on what Lang Xiao had said, actually ran into the kitchen and fetched a kitchen knife.

"Let's try it again. Maybe this time it'll work."

Teacher Meng said helplessly, "Mom, this is all superstition."

"There must be some truth to things that get passed down. I must have done it wrong last time, let's just try it again. It's no trouble anyway. You don't know this, but back in our village, old Li's boy couldn't walk when he was little either, and his great-grandmother slashed the floor with a knife a few times and he was genuinely cured. I wonder if it's because this floor isn't made of dirt? Should we go down to the plaza downstairs and try?"

Not wanting to make a spectacle of herself outside, Teacher Meng quickly steadied Xiaoyu: "No, let's just do it right here. Be gentle and don't hack up the floor."

Xiaoyu's grandmother began to chop at the ground behind the child, chanting as she struck: "Chop away the tripping ropes, Xiaoyu walk along quickly, Xiaoyu walk along quickly."

Accompanied by her chanting, Teacher Meng released her grip on the child. Xiaoyu stood in place for a moment. Whether it was in response to the words behind her or not, she actually lifted her foot and began to walk forward. This time, she didn't fall, nor did her legs go limp and drop her to the floor. Instead, she walked steadily all the way to the table, caught hold of it, and stood firmly.

The grandmother was so startled that the knife dropped to the floor. Teacher Meng let out a gasp, fighting back her overwhelming emotion as she clapped: "Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu, Mom is right here, come to Mom."

Xiaoyu turned to look at her and once again stepped forward, walking toward her.

At the exact moment the knife in the grandmother's hand had struck the floor, the precarious iron chain that had been tethered to Xiaoyu's ankle completely snapped, dissolving away into thin air.

Xiaoyu's steps grew smoother and steadier with every stride.

Teacher Meng couldn't help covering her mouth as she wept with joy.

"She can walk! She can really walk! This is wonderful!"

The grandmother smiled so hard her face crinkled up: "We must go thank that parent tomorrow. If she hadn't reminded me, I never would have thought to try it again."

One family's joy contrasted with another's worry.

Once Lang Xiao began her cultivation, she didn't get up, remaining down even through dinnertime. As a result, Qingyao lost all her appetite, furrowing her little brows as she stared continuously at Lang Xiao, wanting to wake her up yet not daring to.

She tugged gently on Hu Yuanfei's sleeve and asked in a tiny voice, "When is Mom going to wake up? She'll be hungry if she doesn't eat."

Hu Yuanfei soothed her, saying, "She's sleepy and wants to sleep, so she won't be eating tonight. You eat your dinner and go to bed early; Mom will be awake by tomorrow morning."

Usually, however, the family of five always ate together, and they had never missed a single meal. Looking at the dinner, which was just as delicious as ever, Qingyao asked, "Should we prepare something else for Mom?"

"Then what would you like to prepare?"

Qingyao only vaguely remembered that the two older demons used to bring other kinds of food back home in the past, and that was what they used to eat. She recalled it seemed to be rats.

"Can we prepare a rat for Mom? No, two, is that okay?"

Hu Yuanfei hadn't expected this answer and couldn't help letting out an "ah." Lang Xiao wasn't particularly fond of eating rats.

Yet this was a token of filial piety from their cub, so of course he had to satisfy her wish.

"Alright, I'll go catch some in a bit."

"Dad, remember to catch big ones so Mom can eat her fill."

Hu Yuanfei suppressed a laugh: "Alright, I'll definitely bring back the biggest ones."

He wondered what kind of expression Lang Xiao would wear when she saw the special late-night meal Qingyao had prepared for her; it was bound to be spectacular.

Lang Xiao woke up in the dead of night. She gave a long stretch and opened her eyes, only to find two exceptionally plump, gigantic rats twitching rapidly right in front of her face. The rats made silent squeaking noises, their four paws clawing at empty air, and their tails swaying like serpents.

She raised her gaze speechlessly and saw Hu Yuanfei suspending the rats with his demonic power, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at her.

"You're awake. Look, this is the midnight snack Yaoya prepared for you. She asked me to find her two biggest and fattest ones. It's our daughter's sweet thought, you should eat up."

Lang Xiao: "..."

What on earth? I suspect this crafty fox is trying to trick me.

However, Hu Yuanfei knew she didn't like eating rats, so it was impossible he had caught them purely of his own volition; it was highly likely this was indeed Qingyao's idea.

The corners of her mouth twitched: "Thanks, I'm not hungry. I'll gift both of these to you, don't mention it."

Hu Yuanfei had known she wouldn't eat them; he opened his mouth and swallowed both rats in one go, then pushed over half a sheep's leg he had prepared beforehand.

"I specially ordered pure mutton online, it was super expensive. I originally wanted to give you a surprise, and it's just right to help you recover now."

The mutton was very fresh, still oozing blood, and emitted a pungent, gamey, and metallic aroma. It was a long-forgotten scent.

Lang Xiao paused for a moment, then began to ravenously tear into the meat, even crunching the bones to pieces before swallowing them down.

"Thank you."

"As long as you like it." Hu Yuanfei happily wagged his tail. "Qingyao was worried sick while you were cultivating; she barely ate any dinner, and it took me forever to coax her into finishing. You must give her a proper comfort tomorrow."

At the thought of that mental image, Lang Xiao couldn't help hooking the corner of her lips. "Mm, she was frightened."

Hu Yuanfei moved close and lay down beside her, his expression turning serious.

"What did you discover this afternoon?"

The relaxed expression vanished from Lang Xiao's face as well. She said, "Nothing at all. The chains had no bottom, and besides that one, I discovered countless other chains connecting downwards."

"Where is down there? The Underworld?"

Though the two of them had encountered many ghosts and even seen the minor soldiers under the command of the City Gods, they had never dealt with the Underworld itself, not even running into a single underworld emissary. This was because underworld soldiers and minor ghosts traveled the ghost paths; unless one specifically sought them out or happened to stumble precisely onto a ghost path, they remained invisible.

It was cultivators of the divine path like Daoist Wen Yuan who, having partnered with official authorities, maintained more frequent contact with the nether realm.

The few unyielding ghosts they had previously encountered had all been subdued and handed over to Daoist Wen Yuan to take away and process. Lacking direct personal contact, the two of them were currently somewhat bewildered.

Lang Xiao pondered for a long while before shaking her head. "It doesn't seem to be. The Underworld ought to comprise more places than just the nether regions; we'd better leave this matter to old Daoist Wen Yuan and the others to resolve."

"True."

Relying on just the two of them to root out an issue that potentially involved countless children was impossible, and they couldn't possibly manage everything anyway; they might as well just live their peaceful little lives.

Having thought it through, Hu Yuanfei asked with concern, "Were you hurt? Are you better now?"

Lang Xiao cast a sideways glance at him. "Killing you with one punch wouldn't be a problem."

"Tch, you just know how to bully me." Hu Yuanfei thumped his tail rhythmically against the floor, yet he didn't move away from Lang Xiao's side, pressing fur to fur as he settled back down.

Early the next morning, the moment Qingyao woke up, she didn't even bother changing her clothes. She scrambled rapidly out of bed, her bare feet pattering against the floor as she sprinted out. First casting a glance at Lang Xiao and seeing her lounging lazily basking in the sun on the balcony, Qingyao's face lit up and she instantly flew into her embrace.

"Mom, Mom, are you all right?"