For a moment, Laozi thought he had misheard. What did Tong Tian say he was going to do?
Go out? Why go out? The situation inside and outside the Primordial World was unclear, and now there was an additional daughter of unknown origin. Laozi didn’t think this was a good opportunity at all.
“What are you going out for?”
Tong Tian didn’t answer, while Taichu was still playing with Tong Tian’s hair ribbon—she really liked it.
Regarding Tong Tian now having his own ideas, Laozi felt both pleased and troubled. It was naturally a good thing that his younger brother didn’t seem as impulsive as before, but had their relationship worsened? No matter what he asked, sometimes Tong Tian was unwilling to answer.
If he hadn’t deduced that nothing had happened, he would have thought Tong Tian had encountered some trouble.
Laozi glanced at Taichu in Tong Tian’s arms and patiently asked, “Have you run into some trouble?”
Tong Tian: …
“I plan to go out and find some things.”
To be precise, he intended to gather some items. It seemed from books that children needed quite a lot of things, and he couldn’t access that so-called Taobao or Douyin.
Hearing this, Laozi slightly furrowed his brows. “It’s not for this child, is it?”
Laozi still held to his previous views and opinions. He didn’t approve of Tong Tian investing too much effort in this child—it was the same old issue. To this day, he couldn’t figure out the child’s origins.
If Tong Tian went out now, who knew what Karmic Connections and troubles might arise?
It really wasn’t worth it for this child.
The more Laozi said this, the more Tong Tian resented his interference.
“This matter has nothing to do with you.”
Essentially, you say your piece, but I have no intention of listening.
Laozi: … Could he really be going through a rebellious phase?
Laozi couldn’t help but glance at the child in his arms. He already had a child—how could he still have a rebellious phase!
Looking closely, the child really did resemble Tong Tian more and more. Whether it was because she had gained the Heavenly Dao’s recognition or was truly connected to Tong Tian’s Fortune, although her features remained the same as before, her aura was truly…
Dressed in green robes with her hair tied in two buns, the little girl sitting there really made one feel as if they were seeing a miniature Tong Tian.
Laozi couldn’t quite describe his feelings. Since their manifestation, they had always looked like this—born with great divine powers, he had never seen his younger brother weak or young.
Now, seeing Taichu instead stirred slight ripples in Laozi’s usually calm heart.
Looking at her, one could always imagine what Tong Tian might have been like as a child.
The more he looked, the more he felt this child was truly connected to Tong Tian by fate. Laozi originally thought he should carefully deduce her origins again and, ideally, persuade Tong Tian to hand the child over to him.
Taichu, of course, didn’t know Laozi’s thoughts. She tugged at Tong Tian’s hair ribbon and curiously started chewing on it a few times. Children are curious about everything around them, especially shiny things.
Unable to resist, Taichu was still gnawing on the ribbon when Tong Tian caught her red-handed, snatching the ribbon back from her mouth.
“It’s dirty, don’t eat it.”
Taichu: Ahhh!
Demon beast: … That’s a Spiritual Treasure, supposed to be spotless, thank you very much.
Laozi watched the interaction between father and daughter, his expression complex for a moment. He still intended to advise Tong Tian, "There are so many spiritual treasures among the beasts in Kunlun Mountain. Why must you go so far out of your way?"
Tong Tian glanced at Laozi but said nothing, making it clear: mind your own business.
Laozi: …I'm a little angry.
Meanwhile, Taichu was completely unaware of the tension between Tong Tian and Laozi. She was still struggling with her father's hair ribbon, truly enamored with this shiny, sparkling accessory. After being told she couldn't eat it, she kept clutching it in her hand. Tong Tian glanced at her and, with a careless smile, pulled it from her grasp.
The next second, Taichu was on the verge of tears.
The moment her toy was taken away, she burst into loud sobs.
Tong Tian, however, snorted triumphantly.
Laozi: ??
Wait, Tong Tian, what are you doing? She's crying, and you're gloating? Is this how a father should act?
What on earth is my brother doing?
In that instant, Laozi felt as if he were watching an older child leading a younger one, hand in hand, straight into the abyss…
The words "Attain the Dao" seemed to drift further and further away from him.)
When a child cries, there's no rhyme or reason to it. Laozi watched helplessly as she rolled around in Tong Tian's arms, her already messy hair from sleep now even more disheveled.
Normally, for cultivators at their level, clothing and hair are like extensions of their physical forms, not easily altered. In other words…
A child's hair becoming tousled from sleeping and crying was something he had never seen before.
Tong Tian, however, seemed completely oblivious. He even threatened his own child, "Stop crying!"
Upon hearing this, Taichu cried even louder.
Laozi: …
The child cried so hard her voice even cracked…
The demon beast watching nearby couldn't help but feel pity, while Laozi's mind was filled with thoughts of "remaining unmoved by honor or disgrace." How could he explain to his brother and his sobbing niece that they practiced the Daoist Arts of "Dao follows nature"?
They couldn't cry like this over a mere hair ribbon, and they certainly couldn't scold their daughter for grabbing it!
Laozi suddenly felt a faint sense of melancholy, though he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
"Tong Tian," he said after some thought, "you're already a mature adult. Don't stoop to a child's level."
Why not just give her the hair ribbon?
Especially since this child is your daughter!
Tong Tian: ?
Heavenly Dao: …
Three days ago, Tong Tian was still the youngest, most pampered brother. Now he's a mature adult.)
Tong Tian hadn't expected Laozi to say this. Though Taichu didn't understand, she seemed to sense that Laozi was backing her up. Between sobs, she sneakily glanced at Tong Tian, and upon seeing him frown, she resumed her wailing.
Tong Tian remained firm. He calmly looked at Laozi and said, "No."
He even felt disdain for his brother, clearly someone who hadn't read the child-rearing manual. It stated that sometimes, you shouldn't fully satisfy a child's demands, or it would encourage their desires.
If it's just a hair ribbon now, who knows what it might be in the future.
He glanced at Laozi, thinking he was still too naive.
At this moment, Tong Tian felt he had already matured into an adult, completely different from Laozi.
Laozi: ?
While Taichu was still tugging at the hair ribbon with Tong Tian over here, Laozi watched from the side, utterly speechless. He reached out to hold the child, only for Taichu to duck back into Tong Tian's embrace.
The child was already squirming in Tong Tian's arms, her hair disheveled, looking truly pitiful as she cried.
Laozi: (…I can hardly bear this.)
He reached into his sleeve and casually pulled out something, offering it to the child. Taichu took it, glanced at it, and her crying stopped because of the object.
The demon beast took a look and thought, oh, another Spiritual Treasure.
Having finally managed to stop the child from crying, Laozi received an even more disdainful look from Tong Tian.
It clearly said, "You can't raise a child like this."
Laozi: …
Tong Tian picked Taichu up, took the object from her hands, and returned it to Laozi. Just as Taichu began to pout again, Tong Tian removed the hair ribbon from his own head.
"Stand still."
Placed on the ground by Tong Tian, Taichu had just steadied herself when she felt the person above reach out and tie the ribbon around her head.
Seeing the neatly tied bun with the ribbon back in place, Tong Tian finally withdrew his hand with satisfaction.
His bone structure was perfect, and his slender fingers brushed past the child's head before he glanced expressionlessly at Laozi.
Laozi: …
What did he mean by that?
Watching Tong Tian hold the child and tie the ribbon for her, Laozi felt a complex and subtle mix of emotions. In the end, he still gave the ribbon to the child.
With the ribbon tied, Taichu immediately noticed the silky ends falling beside her face. Unable to resist, she reached up to grab the ribbon and soon began amusing herself. Meanwhile, Laozi and Tong Tian resumed their conversation. Tong Tian glanced at Taichu and said, "My journey this time isn't for her sake, but for an opportunity."
Laozi calculated with his fingers and indeed sensed something.
Tong Tian wasn't lying. He had also divined that his Magical Treasure was about to manifest. Even with Taichu around, he had to go retrieve his treasure. Besides, that object was inherently connected to him.
Hearing this, Laozi felt somewhat relieved. Lately, he had been oscillating between feeling like his younger brother was in a rebellious phase and thinking he had matured. "I, too, have divined that this object has some connection to us. Since that's the case, we shouldn't delay. Let's set out as soon as possible."
Tong Tian nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Taichu curiously looked up.
Laozi glanced at Taichu, and Taichu looked back at him. With Tong Tian's ribbon tied around her head and dressed in green robes, the child resembled a round little green dumpling.
"Speaking of which, before we go,"
Laozi looked at Taichu, his expression shifting slightly, "shouldn't we prepare some supplementary food for her first?"
The demon beast: …
Heavenly Dao: That won't do. Who knows how long you'll be gone this time.
Tong Tian didn't share Laozi's eagerness to prepare supplementary food. He flatly refused, "Children shouldn't eat stale food."
Laozi: …
Tong Tian glanced at Laozi and added, "And they shouldn't eat raw or cold things either."
Heavenly Dao: Damn, he remembers that pretty well.
Regarding this, Laozi could only glance at Taichu before saying with great regret, "It seems we can only make a quick trip there and back." Laozi had indeed taken note of what Tong Tian said, and he had even borrowed that book from Tong Tian again. This time, Laozi studied it carefully.
Then he spoke up, "What are we waiting for? Let’s set off as soon as possible."
Of course, it wasn’t for the sake of the child, but for their own opportunities and for their Great Dao.
Speaking of which…
Laozi put away the book and pondered for a moment. Weren’t there many supplementary food ingredients mentioned in the book available outside?
Author's Note:
Actually, it really was for the child, going out to shop for supplies [eating melon]