Chapter 34: Acknowledging a Dad is Fine, But a Stepdad is Out of the Question
Yun Wuxiang held a snake Gu like a cat teaser, waving it back and forth in front of the black dumpling. He watched the other’s eyes follow the swaying of the poisonous snake relentlessly. “Want to eat?”
Little Black Tuft nodded.
Yun Wuxiang placed the snake Gu under his nose. Just as the boy opened his mouth tentatively to bite forward, Yun Wuxiang pulled his hand back. Scanning Little Black Tuftâs confused and longing eyes, the corners of his lips quirked up as he deliberately said, “Not giving it to you.”
Song Yilou pursed his lips, his cheeks puffing out slightly, prompting Yun Wuxiang to poke them with a finger.
The little black dumpling stared at him quietly. Yun Wuxiang played with the snake Gu in his hand, and the boy stopped chasing it with his eyes. Instead, he stared at Yun Wuxiang’s face, unblinking, like a mute little beast secretly holding a grudge.
Having teased him enough, Yun Wuxiang threw the snake to him. “Eat.”
Song Yilou grabbed the poisonous snake and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it in large gulps as if he were starving.
After eating, he looked at Yun Wuxiang’s hand with unsatisfied intent, his eyes filled with blatant appetite.
Yun Wuxiang spread his hand. A red butterfly flew over, bringing a scorpion that was entirely green except for a tail that shone bright red.
The scorpion landed in his palm and he held it out to Song Yilou.
The child looked at the scorpion, then at Yun Wuxiang. His hand moved lightning-fast to grab the scorpion and stuff it into his mouth, as if afraid Yun Wuxiang would take the food away again.
After that, Yun Wuxiang’s hand didn’t move anymore. The red butterfly caught toxic Gu one after another, using his palm as a transfer station, until all of them ended up in Song Yilou’s mouth.
Song Yilou’s stomach seemed like a bottomless pit. Even after eating for a long time, he showed no sign of stopping. Yun Wuxiang pressed on his stomach; it was soft, without any feeling of food existing inside.
Two little claws grabbed his hand, arranging it palm-up, then the boy looked up, searching for the shadow of the butterfly.
Suddenly, a clip from a dog training video Yun Xinyang had seen popped into Yun Wuxiang’s brain.
If you want to teach your dog a skill, like shaking hands, you first guide your dog to do the motion, then give it a treat as a reward.
After doing it a few times, you extend your hand. Wait for it to shake on its own, then give the reward. Smart dogs will learn the command quickly. Of course, some puppies are naturally a bit slow; in that case, the owner needs a little more patience…
The synthetic voice, full of technological artificiality, drifted through his mind. Yun Wuxiang glanced at Little Black Tuft, who was still looking for the butterfly. Unable to find it, Song Yilou was looking up at him, his round eyes full of confusion. He really did look like an uncultured cub.
When you see a toxic creature that will be extremely difficult to handle when it grows up, but currently appears in its larval stage with a suspected possibility of domestication, would you feel an urge to tame it?
Yes.
After recovering his memories, Yun Wuxiang’s humanityâformed by the main body’s forced gift and years of accumulationâremained firm. He acknowledged himself as human, but some instincts of a demon were slowly recovering.
The instincts of a Heart Demon: plunder, competition, possession.
Seize the opportunity to domesticate him. Train Song Yilou into an obedient Gu, allowing myself to drive him at will.
Unfortunately, this was just an illusion.
The thought rose and dispersed quickly; everything was but a fleeting fancy.
The red butterfly continued the feeding.
Gu insects were brought one by one. Little Black Tuft initially accepted everything, but later he started being picky, refusing to eat those not toxic enough.
Just as the nearby highly toxic Gu insects were about to be fished clean by Yun Wuxiang, Little Black Tuft finally rubbed his belly and closed his mouth.
Full? Yun Wuxiang touched his stomach again. It was still soft, with no sign of food inside.
Yun Wuxiang calculated that the volume of Gu insects this guy had eaten was at least three times his current body size.
Where did the stuff go? Was Song Yilou’s stomach connected to an interdimensional space?
The satiated little thing yawned, rubbed his eyes, and flopped forward, resting his head on Yun Wuxiang’s leg to sleep.
Just as Yun Wuxiang was about to pick the person up, the guard’s voice came from outside. “Lord Scorpion Envoy, the Holy Son doesn’t allow anyone near… Ah!”
Hearing the words “Scorpion Envoy,” Yun Wuxiang glanced at Little Black Tuft’s fair neck. The scorpion tattoo wasn’t there yet.
Oh, it was the previous Scorpion Envoy.
“Get lost.” An arrogant, fierce male voice rang out, and the door was kicked open with a bang.
The newcomer had long hair tied in a scorpion-tail braid. A scorpion tattoo was printed on a face that could be called rogueishly handsome. From head to toe, he was written over with ‘I’m not to be trifled with, I’m a thorn in your side’, and his demeanor screamed one sentence: I’m here to cause trouble; you provoked me.
As soon as the Scorpion Envoy arrived, he kicked the half-open screen standing not far in front of Yun Wuxiang. The screen emitted a crisp sound of fracturing bones and crashed to the ground in pieces.
Yun Wuxiang felt a brushing sensation on his leg. Looking down, the child, awakened by the sound of the kicked door and the screen’s death wail, turned his head to look at the Scorpion Envoy. His pupils were pitch-black, his thoughts unknown.
“Kid, don’t think that just because you have a Life Gu you can run wild over my head.” The Scorpion Envoy kicked aside the shattered screen and slapped the table beside Yun Wuxiang. He was aggressive, his expression ferocious.
Yun Wuxiang originally thought the Scorpion Envoy had some old grudge against the original Holy Son, but it seemed this person was here for him?
“Where is my Red-Tailed Poison Scorpion? Where did that broken butterfly of yours take it? Hand it over immediately!”
Yun Wuxiang’s eyes flitted to a certain Gu-eating beast. Caught stealing Gu by the owner, huh.
His leg felt heavy. Little Song Yilou’s head turned back, silently resting on Yun Wuxiang’s knee again.
“If I don’t see my Gu today, I’ll smash this place clean!”
The Scorpion Envoy’s ferocious expression suddenly froze. His eyes looked down, sweeping over the red flute stopped just in front of his throat.
Yun Wuxiang spoke in a calm tone that could annoy people to death: “I don’t have the Gu. If you want to fight, I can oblige.”
Just a fake person in an illusion, what’s all the noise for?
“If you disturb my ears again, you won’t need your tongue anymore.” The red-clad youth sat in the chair, one hand holding the red flute, his eyes raised slightly as his pupils swept over the man in front of him.
The Scorpion Envoy was so angry his face twitched, the tattoo on his face trembling. He took two steps back, moving his throat away from the edge of the jade flute, and pointed at Yun Wuxiang to shout a threat: “Arrogant junior, just you wait!”
He came in a hurry, and he left in a hurry.
Song Yilou raised his head again to watch his retreating back. Yun Wuxiang watched his little movements and was just about to lift his leg to dump the little thing off.
The guard’s voice came from the door again: “Lord Toad Envoy, the Holy Son is…”
“Let her in,” Yun Wuxiang called out, reaching down to pick Song Yilou up and place him on his lap.
He twirled the red flute in his hand a few times, attracting Little Black Tuft’s attention.
Immediately after, the red flute stabbed into Song Yilou’s heart without warning. Blood splattered onto the side of Yun Wuxiang’s face.
This smear of blood instantly transformed the elegant youth of rosy clouds and moonlit rhythm into a Jade-faced Asura.
The Toad Envoy saw this scene the moment she entered. Her heart stopped for a second, and all the words she had prepared beforehand lost their use.
Yun Wuxiang pulled out the jade flute and waited a moment, watching the round hole in the heart heal fiercely, before looking at the Toad Envoy who hadn’t spoken since arriving.
“Cooperate?”
The Toad Envoy looked at him expressionlessly, then asked, “What does the Holy Son want?”
Yun Wuxiang: “What I want doesn’t conflict with your goal.”
“Then what does the Holy Son think my goal is?” The Toad Envoy smiled ambiguously. The lower half of her face, hidden in the shadows of the veil, suddenly shifted in style to something dark and grotesque, like a Guan Yin falling to become an Evil Buddha.
Yun Wuxiang lifted Little Song Yilou’s face. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to see what this little thing can turn into in the end.”
“The Poison Mist Swamp is too boring. It’s rare for an interesting little guy to appear. The Toad Envoy shouldn’t mind someone helping you raise your son, right?” His fingers moved from the small dumpling’s chin to his little belly.
“I suspect you can’t afford to feed him yourself.”
The Toad Envoy’s eyes flickered, and she said decisively, “Happy cooperation.”
The corners of Yun Wuxiang’s lips hooked into a smile. In this illusion, the person who knew Song Yilou’s secrets best wasn’t the childhood Song Yilou, but the woman in front of himâSong Yilou’s mom.
The little thing looked only six or seven years old. Song Yilou said he turned into a Gu at ten. If that statement was true, he would have to stay in the illusion for several years to see the whole process. Too slow.
And if the ten-year deadline was also something Song Yilou casually made up, wouldn’t he have to wait even longer?
There was no need to watch the entire illusion to understand Song Yilou’s past. There was still a Mini-Heart Demon with unknown motives outside; staying here too long would surely lead to nothing good.
Just as the cooperation was reached, the Scorpion Envoy returned with a group of people.
“Holy Son, you openly snatch Gu raised by others. What are you trying to do?” The speaker had a snake hanging on his shoulders, his face gloomy, eyes burning with anger.
The Toad Envoy stood aside, assumed by this group to be here to demand an explanation as well.
Before they arrived, Yun Wuxiang had thrown Little Black Tuft onto a nearby soft couch. The little thing was currently sleeping soundly.
His hands leisurely wiped the blood stains off the jade flute. A red phantom flashed like lightning, finally coming to rest peacefully on his fingertip.
“I want to cultivate a Gu King. I’ve requisitioned your Gu. Are there any other problems?”
“Of course there are… Hiss!” As soon as the Scorpion Envoy opened his mouth, a stinging pain came from his neck. He raised his hand to touch it, feeling moisture. The smell of rust filled his nose. Looking at the red liquid on his hand, he glanced at the others and found everyone making the same motion, wearing the same expression.
“If there’s nothing else, leave. Toad Envoy, stay. Let’s discuss the matter of your son knocking over my Gu vat.”
After Yun Wuxiang finished speaking, the people beside the Scorpion Envoy bid farewell one after another. Before leaving, they even cast sympathetic glances at the Toad Envoy.
The Toad Envoy silently pulled at the veil on her head, hiding her expression.
Lacking allies, the Scorpion Envoy looked fearfully at the red butterfly on Yun Wuxiang’s fingertip, then turned and left with a nasty expression.
Having sent away the fixed obstacles in the illusion, Yun Wuxiang looked at the Toad Envoy. “Will you die if your heart is dug out?”
Toad Envoy: “The Holy Son wants to kill his ally as soon as we cooperate?”
Yun Wuxiang finally cleaned the jade flute in his hand. Leaning back in his chair, he said slowly, “You are his mother.”
Was the Five Venom Envoy of this time period not a Gu Human yet?
A few days ago, he felt that the Spider Envoy’s aura was different from the Gu Humans he had seen. If he had to describe it, the ‘non-human’ feeling wasn’t strong enough. These Five Venom Envoys in the illusion smelled too much like humans.
“Forgot to askâare you two biologically related?” If they are biological, what’s with Little Song Yilou’s condition? A mutation?
The Toad Envoy touched her face. “Doesn’t it look like it?”
Yun Wuxiang looked at the large round eyes identical in both mother and son, and the pure, beautiful contours of their features. “So, when you said earlier that he looks very much like his father, that was a lie?”
Toad Envoy: “It’s true. The three moles under that little beast’s left eye are exactly the same as that abandoning, ungrateful, bastard father of his.”
Yun Wuxiang: “…” So just inheriting the moles on one part of the face counts as ‘exactly the same’?
“Is his dad still alive?”
The Toad Envoy laughed. “I poisoned that enemy of mine. If he leaves me for more than ten days, he’ll have a splitting headache every day. More than a month, and he’ll be in agonizing pain every night at midnight. More than three months, and he will die.”
“When I poisoned him, I told him right to his face. That enemy of mine said, ‘Poison as you wish, I will never leave you.'”
The Toad Envoy’s fingers unconsciously curled the veil, ridicule flashing in her eyes. “Now he’s been gone for seven years. The little beast has grown this big.”
“Since he wanted to leave me even if it meant painful death, I let him have his wish.”
Yun Wuxiang: “What is this death-defying enemy’s name? Shall I help you look for him?”
If there was a chance after the illusion ended, he would definitely go find this irresponsible friend for a chat.
Abandoning someone was one thing, wanting to run was one thing, but running away after creating a lifeâif you had the ability, take Song Yilou with you!
The Toad Envoy said wearily, “What use is looking for a dead man?”
“Maybe he isn’t dead. You told him about the poison. Without a cure, would he dare to run?”
Yun Wuxiang’s words struck the confusion deep within the Toad Envoy’s heart.
“If he really cured your poison, I’d like to know what method he used.” Yun Wuxiang added a patch to his reason for inquiring about Song Yilou’s father.
The Toad Envoy was persuaded. “His name is Mo Xuanzhi. His features are obviousâhe has three moles under the eye on the left side of his face.”
Yun Wuxiang looked at the Toad Envoy’s right cheek, hidden by the veil. “Do you have two moles under your right eye?”
The Toad Envoy gave a faint smile. Her clear and beautiful face seemed to turn on a special filter with that smile, radiating a unique charm. “The Holy Son is so curious about my private affairs. Could it be you want to be a stepdad to that little beast?”
“He ate so many of my Gu; getting him to call me Dad wouldn’t be a loss. But the position of the Toad Envoy’s husband… better leave that to that enemy of yours. I won’t swallow your poison.” Yun Wuxiang said.
Acknowledging a dad is fine, but a stepdad is out of the question.
“Let’s end the small talk here. Let’s talk business. was that little thing born like this, or was it some coincidence?” Yun Wuxiang got up and walked to the soft couch, lifting the cloth covering Little Black Tuft.
“Probably just a hard life (tough fate). After that enemy left, I wanted to abort this little beast. I took plenty of abortion medicine and poison, but the result was that he didn’t drop.”
The Toad Envoy looked at her son with some disgust. “Although his life is tough, his brain isn’t good. He still hasn’t learned basic Gu refining techniques. If you plan to raise him, take him. I really don’t want to see his face.”
A red shadow flashed, stopping less than half a finger’s width from the Toad Envoy’s eyes.
Yun Wuxiang twirled the jade flute in his hand, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly as he looked at the Toad Envoy. “Leaving the person with me, eating my food, drinking my drink, and still hiding things from meâisn’t that a bit improper, Toad Envoy?”
“You raised this little thing for seven years and sent him to steal my Gu to eat. And regarding his constitution, the only explanation you give me is ‘tough fate.’ do you think I’m that easy to fool?”
From the moment the Toad Envoy started speaking, Yun Wuxiang felt a familiar scent. It was the dĂŠjĂ vu of Song Yilou’s mouth not having a single word of truth.
If anyone believed Song Yilou’s words, they were a fool. Song Yilou’s mom was the same.
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