A sharp pang shot through Qian Wei’s heart.
He stumbled slightly, and the rabbits and squirrels he was holding seized the chance to wriggle free and dart away into the undergrowth.
“Little one… you… how on earth did you…”
Su Mingyue smiled, her expression looking all the more innocent and unassuming.
“Uncle Qian Wei, have you forgotten? I know everything, remember? And of course there is a way to save the little tiger. Besides, isn’t the clan most skilled in medicine across the entire Magical Beast Continent located just west of this forest? You’ve lived here for so many years how could you not know that?”
Qian Wei fell silent.
She was right there was indeed a chance to save Hu Lingxuan. But no one knew what price they would have to pay.
Letting him die would have been the easier, perhaps even the kindest, outcome. Because the ways of that clan and what they demanded from those who sought their help were notoriously harsh and cruel… something this little girl clearly did not yet fully understand.
“Very well, since you already know this much, I won’t argue. I’ll take you to seek their help but on one condition.”
The moment he spoke, Su Mingyue’s face lit up with hope as if lit by a flame. “I agree to any condition at all!”
For a split second, Qian Wei felt a twinge of guilt, as if he were tricking a child. But he pushed the feeling aside.
“It’s about how you address me. You can’t keep speaking to me so casually. Besides, you kept calling me… handsome… handsome…”
Su Mingyue fell silent.
Seeing the look of mild disdain on her face, Qian Wei’s cheeks flushed with heat. He quickly turned his head, letting the night shadows hide his embarrassment.
“Under these circumstances, you certainly can’t call me brother‑in‑law anymore. If you keep saying ‘Qian Wei’ this and ‘Qian Wei’ that, people will grow suspicious. To avoid trouble, you… you shall call me ‘Handsome Father.’ We will pretend to be father and daughter. That little tiger is just an injured beast we happened to pick up along the way. And you are my daughter. Agree to this, and I will take you to the healers.”
“Handsome… Father?” Su Mingyue tried the words tentatively.
Qian Wei’s eyebrows lifted, and a smile he could not quite hide spread across his face.
He cleared his throat and paused for a moment, deliberately lowering his voice and feigning indifference as he replied, “Hmph, you should feel honored to have such a handsome father. No need to thank me I can see how thrilled you are inside.”
Su Mingyue: “…”
As her expression softened, Qian Wei’s own grew more serious.
From what she had just said, he was even more certain now: though she knew quite a bit about this world, it was only surface knowledge. She had no idea of its true, darker nature. He could only hope she would not regret her decision once she learned what it would cost.
Even so, knowing this much already set her apart from ordinary beings.
He did not normally pry into others’ affairs, but her origins were beginning to intrigue him more and more.
Since their game had escaped and Su Mingyue disliked killing living creatures anyway, that evening they simply wandered the nearby woods gathering wild fruits to fill their stomachs.
“Hey, little one speaking of which, where did you find those tree crystals you gave me earlier?”
Qian Wei asked casually, as if it were nothing.
“Handsome Father…”
“…Yes?”
“Now that I’ve changed how I address you, shouldn’t you call me by a proper name too?” She looked up at the moon, and for a moment thought of the name she had gone by not long ago. It felt as though years had passed in just a few days, leaving her with a strange sense of nostalgia.
“Oh, you have a name? I’d almost forgotten you’re only three years old,” Qian Wei retorted, not sparing her from his usual mockery.
It was true: among beastfolk, only those born to parents who could take human form were given names at birth. Those whose parents never transformed and who grew up wild in the forest usually went their whole lives without any formal name.
Qian Wei himself had never been given one. The two characters “Qian Wei” had been bestowed upon him by Hulingye.
To hide the emotion flickering across his face, he turned his head away again, letting the darkness cover his expression.
Then, clear and bright, her young voice rang out beside him.
“Handsome Father, my name is Su Mingyue. You can call me Little Mingyue from now on.”
Qian Wei froze for three full seconds.
Su Mingyue suddenly tilted her head, as if something had just occurred to her. “But if we are father and daughter, your name is Qian Wei and mine is Su Mingyue won’t that sound odd?”
Qian Wei rolled the name over in his mind. After a moment, the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile, and he reached out to pat her head gently.
“No problem. Then I’ll just call you Su Qianwei instead. That sounds more fitting.”
For some reason, though he had disliked this little girl at first perhaps because she had once saved his life, or perhaps because she was so clever and endearing he now found himself feeling a strange urge to protect her.
If he had been as cute and cherished as she was when he was small, would his mother still have abandoned him and his sister all those years ago? He would never know.
Su Mingyue had not expected him to say that. She blinked, and soon felt warmth spreading across her cheeks. It was a feeling she had never known before.
In her past life, her parents had died when she was very young. Though she had not been sent to an orphanage, her life afterward had been even harder. From the day they passed away, she had been passed from relative to relative three uncles, one aunt, two cousins. Each household took her in for a few days at a time. At first it was manageable, but as time went on, with their own children to feed and raise, she became a burden. Slowly, the whispers began.
“Why does she have to come to our house? If her father’s family wants to take care of her, why don’t they do it themselves instead of dragging us into this?”
“School fees? Why should I pay for her? I can barely afford my own kids!”
“Honestly, why didn’t she just die along with her parents?”
“…Even if we feed her, she’ll never feel grateful. She’ll probably hate us sooner or later anyway.”
“Why should I be the one to send her away? She’s part of your family, not mine!”
She understood their reasoning, even now she held no resentment toward any of them. Once she graduated high school, she started working to support herself. She had not seen any of them in years, but if they heard she had died, they would probably feel relieved.
Her memories of her parents were warm, but so faint and distant that they were already fading.
So the moment Qian Wei’s hand rested lightly on her head, it felt as if she had suddenly been transported back to a warm summer afternoon. She could almost see her father holding her in his arms beneath the big tree outside their home, rocking her gently to sleep. She must have been no older than she was now three or four years old, perhaps. But she could not remember exactly.
“Little Mingyue… why are you crying?”
Hearing his voice, she touched her face and realized tears were streaming down her cheeks. She rubbed them hard, trying to hide her weakness from him. Yet the more she wiped, the faster they flowed.
“H-Handsome Father… I’m fine, really… it’s just… dust got in my eyes…”