Upon hearing Yan Zu’s address, Xiao Wu’s face broke into a smile—pure and bright, like sunlight after rain, instantly dispelling the gloom in the small room.
The two little fangs she revealed no longer seemed fierce; instead, they added a touch of adorable charm.
Su Qing stood up, fetched a basin of warm water, and found some of Yan Zu’s old clothes.
“Xiao Wu, take a bath first and change out of those dirty clothes. With all these injuries, you need to clean up properly.”
Xiao Wu looked down at her tattered clothes, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
In all her life, she had never been in such a sorry state in front of humans.
“I… I can do it myself,” she whispered.
“You’re still injured, don’t move around,” Su Qing said gently but firmly.
“Let me help you.” The word “Mom” had slipped out naturally, as she often used it at home.
“Mom?” Xiao Wu was taken aback.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing,” Xiao Wu lowered her head, her eyes reddening again.
She remembered that her own mother was already…
Su Qing didn’t press further, only gently helped Xiao Wu remove her tattered outer garments.
As the bloodstained clothes came off, Yan Hu turned away, and Yan Zu stepped outside.
“A’zu, go bring the chicken soup warming on the stove,” Su Qing instructed from inside the room.
“Alright,” Yan Zu replied.
“A’zu, come in now,” Su Qing’s voice called out.
Yan Zu entered with the chicken soup.
Xiao Wu had already changed into his old clothes.
The oversized garments hung loosely on her slender frame, looking a bit baggy but undeniably cute.
She sat upright on the bed, hands neatly placed on her knees, though her eyes wandered restlessly.
“Here, have some soup,” Su Qing scooped a spoonful, blew on it to cool it, and brought it to Xiao Wu’s lips.
Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth to drink.
As the warm chicken soup flowed down her throat, she felt a comforting warmth spread through her body, as if she had returned to the days when her mother was still alive.
Her eyes grew hot, and tears spilled out.
“What’s wrong? Was it too hot?” Su Qing panicked.
“No…” Xiao Wu shook her head, her voice choked.
“I… I haven’t had such delicious soup in so long.”
In the Star Dou Great Forest, she ate raw fruits and drank from mountain springs.
Su Qing’s heart ached at her words.
She handed the bowl to Yan Zu and pulled Xiao Wu into her arms, gently patting her back.
“Good child, don’t be afraid. From now on, you’ll always have it.”
Yan Hu also walked over, his burly frame crouching down to make himself appear less intimidating.
“Xiao Wu, if you don’t mind, treat this place as your own home. Uncle Yan may not be capable of much, but I can at least make sure you’re well-fed and clothed.”
Leaning against Su Qing’s embrace, Xiao Wu felt a warmth she had never known before.
She thought of her mother.
When her mother was still alive, she would hold her like this, soothing her to sleep.
“C-can I stay?” she asked softly, uncertainty in her voice.
Yan Zu pointed to a small bed beside his own.
“This bed will be yours from now on.”
Xiao Wu nodded without speaking, but the sense of belonging in her eyes said it all.
She knew she had found a temporary harbor, a place where she had met people who truly cared for her.
Seeing Xiao Wu completely let down her guard, Yan Hu and his wife felt greatly relieved.
They did not press about Xiao Wu’s origins, nor did they wonder why she had appeared alone in the mountains and forests.
In their eyes, this child was far too pitiful.
As long as she was willing to stay, they would treat her like their own daughter.
Night deepened.
The oil lamp was blown out, and the small cottage fell into silence.
Xiao Wu lay on her small bed, but sleep was nowhere near her.
She could clearly feel a gentle, warm energy constantly lingering around her—it was the aura from Yan Zu, which made her feel incredibly at ease.
She closed her eyes, and in her mind appeared Yan Zu’s smile when he handed her the spicy strips, Aunt Su Qing’s gentle embrace, and Uncle Yan Hu’s honest, simple appearance.
Meanwhile, Yan Zu lay in bed but did not fall asleep immediately.
Through the Auspicious Beast Heart-Linking Talisman, he could clearly sense the changes in Xiao Wu’s emotions—from initial fear and wariness, to later curiosity and gratitude, and now to a sense of security and attachment.
Time flowed on, summer gave way to autumn.
The rice fields of Five Soul Village rippled with golden waves, and the old locust tree in the corner of the yard shed its withered leaves all over the ground.
Xiao Wu had been recuperating at the Yan family’s home for over three months now.
During this time, the little girl’s injuries had completely healed under the Qilin Vitality and Su Qing’s Green Sprout Nourishment.
Her originally pale little face, weakened by the Human Transformation and the earlier danger, had become rosy and full.
Her temperament, too, had gradually shifted from initial caution and timidity to liveliness and cheerfulness.
She already possessed the purity and agility of a spirit beast after Human Transformation.
Now, having shed her defenses, she was like a light-footed little rabbit, following Yan Zu around all day, calling him “A’zu little brother” nonstop. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
When Yan Zu cultivated, she would sit on the stone steps nearby, chin in hand, quietly watching him, occasionally reaching out to brush off fallen leaves that drifted onto his shoulders.
When Yan Zu went to the back mountains to gather herbs, she would follow closely behind, using her spirit beast’s keen perception to help him locate medicinal plants.
Once, she pointed at a brightly colored mushroom and declared confidently that it could definitely be used as medicine.
Yan Zu took a look—it was a highly poisonous mushroom, the kind that could send you straight to the coffin if eaten.
He silently tucked the mushroom into his basket, thinking: I’ll keep this; maybe it’ll come in handy for poisoning an enemy someday.
Xiao Wu, still beside him, said proudly, “A’zu little brother, aren’t I amazing!”
Yan Zu nodded.
“Amazing. In the future, if anyone bothers us, you can feed them this kind of mushroom.”
Xiao Wu: “?”
When encountering low-level spirit beasts, Xiao Wu would instinctively step in front of Yan Zu, baring her sharp little fangs, looking both serious and adorable.
Once, she was blocking a thirty-year “Timid Rabbit.” The rabbit was so frightened by Xiao Wu’s imposing aura that it immediately played dead, lying stiffly on its back with its tongue lolling out.
Xiao Wu paused, crouched down, and poked the rabbit.
“A’zu little brother, is it… dead?”
As soon as she spoke, the rabbit scrambled up and dashed into the grass, disappearing without a trace.
Yan Zu said expressionlessly, “Mm. Died very suddenly.”
Xiao Wu: “…”
Yan Zu taught her to recognize Douluo script.
She learned incredibly fast, but after finishing her lessons, she would always pester him to tell her stories about “White-Bearded Grandpa.” Yan Zu would then adapt fairy tales from Blue Star and tell them to her.
When he told “Little Red Riding Hood,” Xiao Wu asked nervously, “Did the big bad wolf eat Grandma?”
Yan Zu said, “No, the hunter saved Grandma.”
Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, “Was the hunter really powerful?”
Yan Zu thought for a moment: “Well, the hunter has a very sharp axe.”
Xiao Wu’s eyes lit up: “So the hunter’s spirit is an axe? Like Uncle Yan?”
Yan Zu: “…Something like that.”
When telling the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” Xiao Wu asked again: “What happened to the big bad wolf in the end?”
Yan Zu said: “It got its butt scalded by boiling water and ran away.”
Xiao Wu nodded thoughtfully, then asked a question that left Yan Zu silent for a long time: “Did the fur on its butt fall off?”
Yan Zu: “…Probably.”
Xiao Wu: “Oh, will it be cold in winter then?”
Yan Zu: “…” Why does this rabbit always focus on such strange things?