How could he actually lick that?!
Cen Moyu flushed a deep red. “No, there is no need. I have a child now. We are not suitable.”
“Moyu chirp,” the little bird in his arms murmured groggily. “Let the stinky godfather guard the door for us. He is very useful for that sort of thing.”
Since Little Treasure had spoken, Cen Moyu had no choice but to accept. He even made space on the bed for Wenren Qi. “A Qi, you sleep here.”
Wenren Qi asked, “Then what about you?”
Despite being a father, Cen Moyu still looked very youthful and green. He placed the little bird on top of his head, hurriedly dressed himself, and pointed to a small daybed nearby. “I will sleep there.”
Wenren Qi shook his head. “I will sleep there.”
He gave Cen Moyu no chance to refuse. He easily picked up the little bird demon and their chick, tossed them onto the bed, and covered them with the quilt.
The candle was extinguished. Outside, the sounds of revelry from the pavilion could still be heard. In the next second, Wenren Qi raised his hand and seemed to cast a spell. Suddenly, all noise from the outside was cut off.
In the darkness, the muffled voice of the Fairy Pitta drifted over. “A Qi, you are truly kind.”
Wenren Qi felt inexplicably irritated whenever he heard Cen Moyu speak. The Scripture of Purity he had recited since childhood provided no peace at all. Even with the candle out and the surroundings silent, the sound of the breathing entering his ears made it hard for him to sleep.
Even in a puppet body, once cultivation reaches a certain level, staying awake for several days is no great feat. Wenren Qi had rushed all this way to chase the little bird and had watched over the two birds for half a day. Once the older one fell asleep, he brought the little bird into his sea of consciousness.
The bird chick was tiny, at an age where it needed nothing but sleep and food. Being a half demon, it did not require Cen Moyu to watch it day and night. Finding itself back in this place, the three year old human face of the chick wrinkled in a scowl as it looked at the man standing nearby. “I want to sleep.”
In the sea of consciousness, Wenren Qi appeared in his true form, which was vastly different from the face of the puppet. To a chick that had recently hatched, however, there was little difference. The bird eyes of the hatchling had not yet opened. It identified people by scent and was very clingy toward Cen Moyu.
Its vision in the sea of consciousness was also poor. It could only see the silhouette of a man standing by a stream. It rolled around on the ground. “I do not want to be here.”
The cruel father showed him no affection. “In the future, whenever he sleeps, you shall come here with this Seat to cultivate.”
This was a tragic fate for a newly hatched bird. It rolled two more times. “I do not want to! I want to be with Moyu, not with you!”
Even though he had once been a child himself, Wenren Qi had always disliked children. He had never previously considered having one of his own. The identity of Cen Moyu was suspicious. If this little bird were captured by Wangyuan, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Cen Moyu had low cultivation, but the chick had an excellent foundation and great potential for growth. Although Wenren Qi had disciples, he was too lazy to teach them. Lu Jijun had been left to grow up on his own.
Countless cultivators throughout the world wished to have him as a master. Not only was this little brat ungrateful, but he was also incredibly noisy. The man frowned. “Roll one more time and this Seat will throw you away.”
“Then throw me! I want to sleep with Moyu! I do not want to be here with you!”
The voice of the child was accompanied by chirping sounds. If it were Cen Moyu, he would likely be cupping the face of the child and saying how cute the baby was.
In the sea of consciousness, the father whose face could not be seen clearly was extremely stern. He was even hiding his identity to stay by the side of Moyu. The threatened little bird was full of silent rage, chirping and peeping in great dissatisfaction. Wenren Qi spoke again, “What kind of behavior is it to make such sounds? If you want to protect him, stand up straight and listen to this Seat.”
The brat in the sea of consciousness had tiny arms and legs and a pair of eyes identical to the eyes of Cen Moyu. He was still small and exceptionally muddled. Perhaps he would only return to normal once his bird eyes opened.
He was also unhappy with his father addressing him as “you.” He said aggrievedly, “I have a name.”
Wenren Qi replied, “This Seat knows.”
The little bird looked toward the source of the voice. “I am called Gugu. Moyu likes it.”
Wenren Qi nodded. “Can we begin now?”
His voice was no longer so raspy. Gugu asked again, “Why do you not tell Moyu your identity?”
He had stayed in the egg for a long time and heard many things. Although he had never met Mai Li or Yu Xiang, he had heard many of the conversations Cen Moyu had with them. Combined with his own innate spiritual energy, he naturally understood that the cultivator before him was the Sect Leader Mai Li spoke of and the master of the Senior Brother whom his daddy admired.
The sea of consciousness of Wenren Qi was a desolate expanse, much like his living quarters in the Qingheng Sect. It was a world of ice and snow, silent and soundless. It was far too boring for a child.
The cultivator did not speak. The little bird sitting on the ice huddled into a ball and asked, “Moyu said you would kill us. Is it true?”
Even without having spent much time with Cen Moyu, Wenren Qi had sensed on that rainy night that the rebellious gatekeeper did not like the cold. Lan Que had also mentioned that the Fairy Pitta preferred warm environments. Immediately, the scene in his sea of consciousness shifted, transforming into a forest.
Wenren Qi was not good at lying. Even with Cen Moyu, he simply followed along with the words of the other. Standing beside the child, he looked down and said, “Not for the time being.”
Even as a half demon, the half of the bloodline of Wenren Qi could easily suppress the demonic aura of the other half. In the eyes of Wenren Qi, the poor sighted chick looked very much like Cen Moyu and was quite adorable, though it had many questions. “Then why did you save us?”
“If you had not appeared and Uncle Fox had arrived a bit later, Daddy and I would have been killed.”
The innate spiritual energy naturally drew father and son together, but Wenren Qi had lost his kin long ago and did not care. Jue Ya always said he was unfilial for upsetting his biological father to death. In the view of Wenren Qi, the rules of his father were rigid and archaic. If he was upset to death, he deserved it.
Back then, his father resented him for going to Wangyuan without permission. If not for that, his eldest brother would never have met Kuai Wan. It was utterly absurd for a cultivator and a demon to fall in love. His father had tried every means to obstruct them, yet his brother refused to turn back.
Many said the Wenren family of the Qingheng Sect were all martyrs. Wenren Cheng, the most gentle and jade like among cultivators, had his soul destroyed to slay demons. They did not know that Wenren Cheng was embroiled in the succession struggles of the Demon Lord of Wangyuan, nor did they know that his relationship with Kuai Wan had nearly killed their father with rage. In the end, his father still blamed Wenren Qi.
At this moment, a tiny hand tugged at the hem of his sleeve. “Godfather, why are you not talking?”
The lake green eyes of the chick were misty, not as clear as the eyes of Cen Moyu. He wondered if that bird demon looked like this when he was young. No, when he was young, he had not yet taken human form. He was probably being all affectionate with that vine, making private vows. Yet he still loved whoever he saw, loving his disciple and then devouring him.
Greedy little demon, even trying to run away with this child.
Wenren Qi stared at his wrinkled sleeve. He did not brush the hand of the child away but knelt down and asked, “You said Cen Moyu wants to go back. Where does he want to go?”
His true form in the sea of consciousness was naturally much better looking than the appearance of the puppet. Unfortunately, the young bird had not opened its eyes and could not see clearly. It could only smell the clean scent on its stepfather and feel the pattern on the sleeve it was pinching. It felt like entangled vines and was very nice to touch.
“I do not know.” The little bird could only look toward the source of the voice. “Moyu did not tell me.”
Wenren Qi asked again, “Then how do you know?”
“Moyu talks to himself when he is carrying me.”
To run so far while carrying an egg, it must have been hard for that demon. Wenren Qi naturally suspected whether Cen Moyu had help from others. Otherwise, the spiritual energy emitted by this egg from the moment of its birth would have surely attracted a horde of demons, like a moving top grade pill.
Wenren Qi tidied the hair of the child. His technique was gentle, unlike his ice cold tone. “With whom did he leave?”
The child shook his head. Wenren Qi did not believe him. “Then how did you get to the Demon City?”
“Uncle Mai sent us.”
Wenren Qi tracked the timeline. “And before that? Did you not settle in Taining?”
The eyes of the little bird were hazy. It did not notice that its long hair had been braided exactly like the hair of Wenren Qi. “Papa left alone. Uncle Mai came later.”
Wenren Qi asked, “No one helped?”
“Then who was he talking to?”
Was he escorted by a demon cultivator? Or was it someone else?
A hatchling in the egg stage requires much sleep, and its memories were fragmented. “I do not know. That uncle was with Daddy before I was born.”
It seemed they had been in league for a long time. Wenren Qi released his hand. “What was the name of that person?”
Was he hiding in the shadows? Cen Moyu had been a gatekeeper for a hundred years. What information had he sent back to Wangyuan? Were they still plotting against the Wheels of Retrospection?
The little bird thought for a while. “Moyu called him Xi Xi.”
The scent on Wenren Qi was quite bitter. The little bird preferred the scent of the chest of Cen Moyu. He tugged at the sleeve of Wenren Qi. “I have already told you. Let me go back. I want to sleep with Moyu.”
The cunning adult did not fulfill his promise. “Once you learn to control your spiritual energy, you can go back.”
The little bird chirped in anger, but it was no match for the tall Master of the sea of consciousness. It was kept there to practice for an unknown number of hours.
When Cen Moyu woke up, the little bird in his arms was still sleeping. Even though its feathers had not yet grown, its closed eyes were still exceptionally adorable in his sight. He kissed it for a long time.
Wenren Qi coughed for a while before Cen Moyu finally snapped out of it. Realizing there was another person in the room, he greeted Wenren Qi sheepishly, “A Qi, good morning.”
Wenren Qi replied, “It is already noon.”
Cen Moyu let out a soft exclamation. “I slept for that long?”
He had never nursed a child before and had no idea how to take care of a newly hatched bird. “Why is Little Treasure still not awake?”
Of course he could not wake up. He had been drilled by Wenren Qi in the sea of consciousness for three hours. No matter how high the talent, he would be too tired to open his eyes.
Cen Moyu grew anxious, almost thinking he had nursed the child to death. Finally, Wenren Qi could not bear to watch and said, “Hatchlings are like this. They need much sleep.”
Cen Moyu was still uneasy. “When Brother Yu Xiang returns, I will ask him.”
“That cockatiel who lives with you?”
“Yes, he went out of the city.” After surviving a terrible night, Cen Moyu had regained his energy. “The house collapsed. I wonder if Brother Xinchi told him.”
Wenren Qi walked over. At this hour, the pavilion was at its quietest. The guests had left, and the demons were fast asleep. He withdrew the barrier and walked to the bedside to look at the little bird held by the youth. “I will take care of it.”
Cen Moyu was surprised. “That might not be good. You are not a bird demon either.”
Wenren Qi made use of his identity as a tree vine and followed the role. “You have sat on me before.”
Cen Moyu did not think of it in any other way. “Is that so?”
He watched as the man held the hatchling in his palm. A gentle demonic power was infused into the body of the small bird. The chick tucked in its wings and seemed to change its sleeping position.
The eyes of Cen Moyu lit up again. “So cute.”
A moment later, he let out a gasp. “Gugu pooped.”
The expression of Wenren Qi was very poor. Cen Moyu hurried to apologize and was about to take the bird, but the other waved him off. “I will clean it.”
Cen Moyu looked at him. The man was built like a wall, but he did not expect him to be quite skilled at taking care of the little bird. He asked curiously, “Have you raised birds before?”
Wenren Qi replied, “I have seen others raise them.”
When Wenren Qi was young, he had followed Elder Lan Que for a while. Back then, Lan Que was not the one eyed old man he was now. He spent every day leading his disciples across mountains and valleys, and the arrays he researched were all used to detect how many birds were on the mountains. Wenren Qi also had the misfortune of being dispatched to watch the disciples use transmission talismans to collect bird calls. By the time they returned at night to report, the entire room would be filled with the rising and falling sounds of birds.
The disciples were exhausted from bird watching, yet the elder who ordered them was full of enthusiasm.
He was sick.
The young Wenren Qi was not as sharp tongued as he was now. He only dared to say it in his heart. After being hungry for a day, he mentioned the actions of Elder Lan Que to his brother. Wenren Cheng, who had also been busy with sect affairs for a day, comforted him. He told him that Elder Lan Que had once been saved by a bird demon, but unfortunately, the bird demon died for him. Later, he became trapped by love and went a bit mad.
Those words were finished by his sister, Wenren Jing’an. Wenren Qi did not dare say anything. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to cultivate under Lan Que for a year. During that year, he saw countless birds and helped rescue many hatchlings. Being covered in bird droppings was a common occurrence.
As for the Fairy Pitta, they were very rare. Other disciples seemed to have collected their calls within the borders of Qingchuan, but Wenren Qi had never encountered one. He never imagined he would have a hatchling with a Fairy Pitta.
“Others?” Unfortunately, the System was not there. Otherwise, Cen Moyu would have asked who those others were. The Fairy Pitta close at hand blinked his eyes. “Do you not hate it?”
It was too close. Wenren Qi wiped the smudge from his person and avoided the gaze of Cen Moyu. The voice of the puppet was raspy and unpleasant, making the word “hate” sound very sincere.
Perhaps because he had been tormented by Elder Lan Que in his youth, Wenren Qi could tolerate bird calls but could not stand the cries of apes. Previously, he had made Lu Jijun send away many apes, and some birds and insects with unpleasant calls were also sent to other peaks by the disciples. In the place where the Sect Leader lived, the birds and beasts had to be pleasing to the eye and ear. The young attendants had to be not only clever and skillful but also of superior appearance.
Since the Sect Leader was like this, those below followed suit. The visual competition in the Qingheng Sect had become a tradition.
The little bird, who had collapsed from exhaustion after being trained by its biological father in the sea of consciousness, seemed extremely sleepy. It needed someone to wait on its every need. Cen Moyu, silenced by the word “hate,” had no choice but to shut his mouth. He watched the wood demon deftly wipe the little bird and use a familiar cloth to cover the bottom of the tiny bird.
The cloth had a drawstring, and the stitching was much better than what Cen Moyu had learned from Yu Xiang. Looking at the pattern of the fabric, it was the diaper Cen Moyu had made for the tiny bird. However, no matter how poor his eyesight, Cen Moyu could see it had been clearly modified.
“I made this for Little Treasure. When did you change it?” Cen Moyu leaned in close again. This time, Wenren Qi did not remind him. He looked down at the dozing chick, rubbed its feathers once, and gave a silent click of his tongue. It was not as nice to touch as the feathers of Cen Moyu.
“While you were sleeping.”
“Then did you not sleep at all?” Cen Moyu was shocked. “No wonder your complexion is so poor. Go and rest. Leave Little Gugu to me.”
“No need. Putting on a diaper is quick.”
“You sew better than I do. When did you learn?”
The little bird demon was used to leaning toward the other person when speaking. Wenren Qi could not help but think of the listlessness the sect disciples had shown after the gatekeeper quit. It seemed that those scoundrels had spent quite a lot of time staring at this little bird demon while passing the mountain gate. Knowing his habits, they probably leaned in even more to look at his beautiful eyes. It appeared their daily tasks were not heavy enough if they had time to focus on other things.
Wenren Qi snorted loudly in his mind. He did not forget to worry about the cultivation of the sect disciples from afar, adding a great deal of homework for them.
“I learned just by looking a few times.”
“Then you are a genius.” Others might say this insincerely, but Cen Moyu stared at the pattern on the diaper. The tiny bird looked so cute in it. “A Qi, thank you for being willing to be the godfather of Little Treasure.”
The hatchling pretending to sleep felt very aggrieved. Cen Moyu was too simple. He had no idea what this villain was plotting. Unfortunately, he had been placed under a restriction and could not inform on him. Any attempt to give a hint would just turn into a bird call.
Cen Gugu patted his wings, which had not yet grown feathers, in frustration. The bird call sounded exceptionally aggrieved. Wenren Qi placed him in the palm of Cen Moyu. “Just a godfather?”
Cen Moyu stared at the chick in his palm and whispered, “Are you unwilling?”
Being so close, the familiar scent on Cen Moyu wafted over. It was much like the incense that burned year round in his bedchamber, yet with a bit more sweetness. Just a moment ago, the little brat was crying and saying his scent was very bitter.
Wenren Qi suddenly asked, “Am I bitter?”
Cen Moyu, whose attention was all on the little bird, suddenly looked sideways. He collided with a pair of deep, dark eyes. For some reason, he suddenly thought of that rainy night where the mistake occurred. The eyes of the person staring at him were also like a mountain rain. He abruptly looked away. “What?”
Wenren Qi spoke again, “Where did the fragrance on your body come from?”
Cen Moyu gave a soft response. “Previously.” He assumed Wenren Qi was a previous romantic entanglement of the Fairy Pitta. When he sat in the carriage of Hu Xinchi, he had told him that after becoming human, he went to the Qingheng Sect to guard the gate.
“Why go to the Qingheng Sect?” It was very quiet outside. The Demon City during the day was not as lively as at night. The city was open for three days, and it seemed there was trouble last night. There were patrolling forbidden guards on the street.
“I, I had some business to attend to.”
Wenren Qi knew it was not that simple. He stared at him and asked, “What business requires giving birth to a child and then running away?”
Cen Moyu replied, “That was an accident.”
An ordinary chick would poop right after eating and had not opened its eyes, but a half demon was much easier to care for, though its appetite was larger and it needed more frequent feeding. Cen Moyu sat to one side. “I went there to be a matchmaker.”
“A matchmaker?” Wenren Qi frowned. “You act as a matchmaker for cultivators?” For some reason, he let out a cold laugh. “Stealing what you were supposed to guard?”