Dusk stared silently at the sketch Hongyu had handed her.
She pointed toward the strange creature depicted on the paper.
It had four legs, an entirely black body, a pale belly, and several black stripes.
Then she looked at Hongyu, who was standing beside her with an expression of unmistakable pride.
“Yu…
what exactly is this strange creature supposed to be?”
“Hahaha!”
Hongyu lifted his head confidently and burst into exaggerated laughter.
“I call it…
A-Yao!”
‘Yu’s fooling around again…’
Watching Hongyu put on his ridiculous performance, Dusk couldn’t help thinking exactly that.
She shook her head helplessly and put away the sheet of paper, which had clearly been little more than a random doodle.
Then she picked up the next piece of Hongyu’s “homework.”
This time, however, the brushwork was no longer rough.
The proportions were mostly correct, and the colors were cleanly separated without looking garish or cluttered.
‘He’s improved so much…’
Dusk selected the painting she liked most from Hongyu’s work that day.
She carefully placed it into the private space she used specifically to store his paintings.
Over the past month, Hongyu really had been studying painting under her with remarkable seriousness.
Anyone who looked through his paintings in chronological order would immediately notice how much progress he’d made.
His earliest attempts, which Dusk had described as little more than incomprehensible scribbles, had gradually developed into works that could earn her genuine approval and praise.
And that made Dusk, whom Hongyu now addressed as “Teacher Dusk,” immensely proud.
‘See?!’
‘This is what happens when you study under me!’
‘Of course you’re going to improve quickly!’
Dusk placed her hands on her hips with a look of complete satisfaction.
“Hey, Dusk.”
Just as she was happily basking in the pride of being Hongyu’s teacher, his voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Do you think you could use your divine authority to turn that painting into one of your creations?”
“This one?”
Dusk took out the drawing Hongyu had named “A-Yao” once again.
She looked at him curiously.
“Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s adorable?”
“…Adorable?”
“Isn’t it?”
Dusk carefully examined A-Yao again.
How should she put it…
It was ugly, but in a strangely endearing way.
That was Dusk’s assessment.
“You want me to use this drawing as the basis for one of my creations?”
She sounded a little uncertain.
Hongyu, however, immediately nodded with an expression full of anticipation.
Ever since seeing A-Yao in Who Is Real, Hongyu had thought the little creature was adorable.
But with his presence altering the course of events, he wasn’t sure whether Dusk would ever create it on her own.
Of course, that was only a minor reason for his request.
The main reason was something far more serious.
According to Hongyu’s estimates, the time for his departure was drawing near.
No matter how desperately he struggled or how reluctant he was to leave, Sui’s existence remained a sword hanging over his heart.
‘If A-Yao exists, then perhaps the pain Dusk feels when I leave without saying goodbye…’
‘Perhaps it’ll be a little easier for her to bear.’
Out of concern for the withdrawn Dusk, Hongyu had, for the first time, asked her to create a living being specifically for his sake. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
It wasn’t as though he had never considered telling all the Sui fragments what he was doing and properly saying goodbye to them.
But was that really possible?
None of them would ever allow it.
And then what?
Who would deal with Sui?
According to Hongyu’s memories, the threat posed by Sui had continued to plague every one of its fragments.
Whether it was the danger to their independent existence or the suspicion and distrust they faced from Great Yan, their lives had never truly been peaceful.
Hongyu didn’t want them to suffer through any of that.
Thanks to his presence, Great Yan’s distrust and suspicion toward the fragments had already been completely eliminated.
Someday, they might even become honored guests of the imperial court rather than being ostracized and hunted simply because they were giant beasts.
And now, with his own lifespan already approaching its end, there was little time left for him to spend with them anyway.
Given all that, how could he possibly leave Sui’s remaining threat unresolved and simply wait to die of old age?
Countless thoughts passed through Hongyu’s mind.
Yet the only thing visible on his face was that familiar smile.
To anyone watching, he merely looked like a man eagerly awaiting Dusk’s creation of a little creature called A-Yao.
Dusk didn’t keep him waiting.
She picked up a brush and swiftly drew another A-Yao onto a sheet of rice paper.
Her version was considerably more refined than Hongyu’s original.
As her final brushstroke fell, the creature in the painting suddenly let out a cry.
“Gawuu—!”
Then it leaped straight out of the paper.
After emerging from the painting, A-Yao looked toward the calm-faced woman standing on one side.
Then it looked toward the smiling man on the other.
‘Are these my master and mistress?’
A-Yao tilted its head.
It tried to scratch its head with one of its short front legs.
Unfortunately, the attempt failed.
Its legs simply weren’t long enough.
Meanwhile, Dusk, who could sense the thoughts of her own creation, suddenly turned bright red.
‘I approve of this creation!!’
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…
Come here, little guy…”
Hongyu crouched down and extended his hand.
He repeatedly curled his fingers toward himself, signaling for A-Yao to approach.
A-Yao remained silent for a moment.
Then a question mark practically appeared above its head.
‘What’s the master saying?’
‘What does he want?’
‘Why does he look…
a little stupid?’
Hongyu remained blissfully unaware that his reputation in A-Yao’s mind was steadily deteriorating.
He continued making the same gestures one might use to call a dog.
“A-Yao, come here.”
On the other side, Dusk merely bent down slightly.
A-Yao immediately understood what she wanted and scampered toward her.
Dusk scooped up the little creature and began gently stroking and squeezing its soft body.
‘Hmm…’
‘It actually feels surprisingly nice…’
‘And looking at it like this…’
‘It really is kind of cute.’
“Hey!
Why does it understand you immediately but completely ignore me?!”
“Who knows?”
Dusk looked thoroughly pleased with herself.
“Maybe the problem is you, Yu.”
She held A-Yao in her arms, her red eyes sparkling with amusement.
‘Come on, you’re its creator.’
‘It would be far stranger if A-Yao didn’t feel close to you.’
Hongyu was just about to point this out when he noticed the smile on Dusk’s face.
He swallowed the remark.
After all, there was no need to ruin the moment.
What a lovely scene it was.
The midday sunlight poured into the otherwise cool, shaded room, bathing the girl in a soft golden glow.
Her bright red eyes were clear and brilliant, shining like stars.
When she smiled, they curved into delicate crescents, as though the quiet beauty hidden within them had finally begun to emerge.
Her lips formed a gentle smile.
Dusk was beautiful.
Hongyu had never denied that.
But Dusk was also remarkably sensitive.
And according to Nian, that made her an especially entertaining target for teasing.
For once, Hongyu found himself in a playful mood.
He decided to tease the girl, who was currently feeling rather smug about A-Yao’s affection for her.
“Haaah, as expected…”
Hongyu deliberately sighed.
“Newborn children really are closer to their mothers…”
He leaned toward Dusk and spoke beside her ear in an exaggeratedly sentimental tone.
The unexpected remark made the innocent Dusk’s thoughts grind to a halt.
‘Ch-Ch-Ch-Children…?’
‘Their mother?!’
‘Then wouldn’t that make Yu…’
“Naturally, that means I’m the child’s…”
Hongyu was just about to finish his sentence.
BANG!
Dusk had already fled into her room with A-Yao in her arms, slamming the door behind her.
“…Grandfather.”
Hongyu blinked.
‘Where did she go?’
‘Does she really dislike the idea of me considering myself her father that much?’
Inside her room, Dusk was still hugging A-Yao and smiling foolishly, having completely misunderstood Hongyu’s intentions.
Meanwhile, outside, Hongyu began wondering whether the other Sui fragments were equally opposed to him thinking of himself as their father.
[According to legend, a group of creatures known as A-Yao inhabit a mountainous region near Gouwu City.]
[These creatures share remarkably similar appearances, and it is said that the very first A-Yao was originally designed by the inaugural Grand Warden of Great Yan.]
[Source: A cheap storybook sold on the streets of Great Yan for two LMD.]
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this supposed to be…?”
Nian’s eyelid twitched.
She couldn’t believe she’d wasted two whole LMD buying such a book.
“Haaah.
Cheap merchandise really is the worst…”
Meanwhile, on Mount Huiqi…
“Gawuu—!”
“Gawuu—!”
A group of A-Yao were hopping excitedly around a sheet of rice paper.
And depicted upon that sheet was the original A-Yao.
The one Hongyu himself had drawn.