Xie Qingyun wants to keep doubting life. However, the baby in his arms keeps coughing, making it hard for him to stay still. He holds the sleeping child with one hand and goes to find the medicine the child needs. Along the way, he mutters, “Where did this come from? Where exactly did it come from?”

Even though the child calls him “uncle” over and over, Xie Qingyun doesn’t believe this is Qing Heng’s child. He would rather think that the child made a mistake about their mother than believe that Qing Heng could have a child. Now, the only ones left in the Xie family are him and Qing Heng. Since Qing Heng cannot have children, this child must be his. 

“When did I lose my virginity?”

Having maintained his chastity for years, Xie Qingyun ponders while he continues to pick herbs. He tries hard to recall his past, but he can only manage to retrieve a fragment of a suspicious memory… 

Once, while cultivating, he encountered a great disaster. At that time, he was disoriented and temporarily blind, but he vaguely remembers someone taking care of him. This person was small, silent, changing his bandages and feeding him quietly. 

He asked this person many times for their name and identity. However, they never responded. Later, when he recovered and regained his sight, the person had vanished. He searched for a long time but found no trace of them. This memory is sealed in his mind, and sometimes he doubts whether it even exists, especially since he wasn’t fully conscious during much of that time.

“Mo… Qiao Qiao.” 

Looking at the child in his arms, Xie Qingyun forces himself to change his words. After making a face of disdain for a long while, he completely lets it go. He steadies his breath and solemnly says, “Children of the Xie family will never be abandoned. From now on, I will find plenty of herbs for you.”

He vows to take revenge for the Xie family and raise this child as well! Xie Qingyun’s change of heart goes unnoticed by Ming Qiao. All Ming Qiao knows is that he is sleeping very comfortably. His little hands grab Xie Qingyun’s clothes, his soft, round face pressed against Xie Qingyun’s chest, listening to his strong and firm heartbeat.

After an unknown amount of time, Ming Qiao wakes up, feeling well-rested. He stirs a little and notices something is off—his bottom feels cold.

“Uncle?” Ming Qiao opens his eyes in confusion, looking at his uncle, who is staring at his bottom, and feels a bit puzzled. Though Xie Qingyun acknowledges that this is a child of the Xie family, it still feels a bit like a dream to him. He has already examined the child’s little bottom many times to confirm the facts.

“Was the birthmark on your bottom there since you were born?” Seeing Ming Qiao’s confused expression, Xie Qingyun points to the small red flower and asks.

Ming Qiao blinks in confusion, then nods. “Yes, Qiao Qiao has a little flower.”

Ming Qiao knows he has a birthmark on his bottom. He says: “Mommy has one too.”

His daddy once told him that both he and his mother have little flower birthmarks. Upon hearing that, Xie Qingyun can’t help but feel a jolt of realization.

Alright, now he is even more certain that this really is his child.

“Uncle, what’s wrong?” Ming Qiao can sense Xie Qingyun’s emotional shift. He leans in closer, blinking his bright round eyes, his innocent voice filled with concern.

Xie Qingyun tightens his face. After a moment of contemplation, he decides to tell the truth to the child.

“Qiao Qiao, I’m not your uncle. I’m your father.”

Xie Qingyun reveals his own birthmark and recounts the memory he previously had. After hearing the story, Ming Qiao is completely stunned.

Though he’s small, his little mind is much clearer than his uncle’s!

“Uncle, you’re overthinking it!” Ming Qiao anxiously corrects his uncle’s mistaken assumption. He has seen his uncle’s face, and he doesn’t look like him at all! Ming Qiao feels flustered, wanting to make his uncle give up on being his father, but his uncle doesn’t listen at all. In his frustration, Ming Qiao’s face turns red.

Xie Qingyun awkwardly pinches his little face, trying to create a warm atmosphere. Besides pinching his face, he also praises, “Qiao Qiao, your face looks much better now, see, it’s all red.”

Ming Qiao: “…”

With his face flushed from anxiety, Ming Qiao ends up spitting out two small mouthfuls of blood.

Xie Qingyun: !!!

Seeing the cub spit blood, Xie Qingyun’s handsome face turns pale. In Ming Qiao’s little spurts of blood, Xie Qingyun finally gives up on being a father. “Alright, fine” 

He concedes, “You can call me whatever you want.”

It’s just a title, he doesn’t mind! Ming Qiao’s bloodied mouth gets cleaned by Xie Qingyun again.

Xie Qingyun wipes the blood off Ming Qiao’s mouth again. The two of them, one big and one small sit by the medicine pool. One cooks and brews medicine while the other soaks his feet to nourish himself. 

The medicinal spring is harmless, but Ming Qiao’s skin is too tender. If he soaks for too long, his delicate skin can’t handle it. Unable to soak his whole body, Ming Qiao takes off his shoes and socks to soak his little chubby feet.

“Come, eat some meat.” 

Besides making steamed egg custard, Xie Qingyun also prepares some meat. Ming Qiao loves meat, but after being forced to eat raw meat recently, he feels a bit nauseous seeing it now. He instinctively covers his mouth and shakes his head.

“Uncle, Qiao Qiao doesn’t want it.” After refusing the meat, Ming Qiao worries his uncle might think he is picky. He looks up nervously and explains why he doesn’t want to eat the meat.

After hearing this, Xie Qingyun tosses the meat aside, not letting him see it. “This meat isn’t cooked well anyway, the egg custard is better.”

Xie Qingyun serves him the egg custard, urging him to eat. The custard is soft and fragrant. Ming Qiao enjoys it very much. After eating his fill and proudly puffing out his little belly, Xie Qingyun finally reaches out to touch it.

“Soft”, Xie Qingyun comments, adding, “Just as I thought, it feels nice to touch.”

With his belly being touched, Ming Qiao smiles, his eyes squinting in delight.

Time in the secret realm seems to fly by. Ming Qiao sleeps, soaks, and takes medicine, completely unaware of how quickly time passes. He drinks a lot of medicine, both bitter and sweet. 

In the secret realm, he digs up and plants a bit of every kind of herb into the space of his storage ring. His storage ring is different from others. Most people can only store inanimate objects, but his space can also hold living things! Before, Mimi even played in his space.

“Qiao Qiao, how’s the herb gathering going?” Xie Qingyun asks.

“I finished digging them up and planted them!” Ming Qiao replies.

Ming Qiao is responsible for planting the herbs in his space, while Xie Qingyun gathers valuable things from the secret realm. He cleans up the medicinal recipes, stones, and treasures left behind by the Medicine Immortal. If he could take the medicinal spring with him, Xie Qingyun would want to pack that up too.

“It’s a shame we can’t bring this spring with us” Xie Qingyun mutters, frowning as he looks at the medicinal spring. 

“Next time, I’ll find a craftsman to make something that can hold it.”

With the medicinal spring available, it’s beneficial for Ming Qiao to soak more.

“My senior brother is a craftsman” 

Ming Qiao says softly while being held by Xie Qingyun, his little hands wrapped around Xie Qingyun’s neck. Xie Qingyun has heard him mention his senior brother many times. Now, when they go out, they need to find Ming Qiao’s senior brother, Bai Yu.

“Mm, I’ll go meet your senior brothers,” The senior brothers from the Suiyi Sect take good care of his family’s cub. Out of courtesy and obligation, he feels he should thank them in person. 

After leaving the secret realm, Xie Qingyun glances at the open space near it. The magical beasts that hadn’t died that day must have left. It’s not easy for a level six magical beast to reach that level. 

Xie Qingyun never intended to kill them, partly because they’re hard to kill, but also because he wants them to continue guarding the secret realm. This way, he can prevent others from coming to take it from him.

“Uncle, it doesn’t smell anymore.” Ming Qiao sniffs and finds it a bit strange. The air outside feels completely different from the secret realm.

“Smell your sachet.” Using some of the herbs he needed from the secret realm, Xie Qingyun makes a simple sachet for him. Ming Qiao holds the sachet and sniffs it, finally adjusting to the new smell.

This secret realm is quite far from the city, but Xie Qingyun, carrying the cub, doesn’t take long to reach the city gates. As soon as he steps in, he notices countless gazes on him. 

Ming Qiao notices too. Looking at the unfamiliar adults staring at him from all sides, he feels a bit anxious and uneasy. After a moment, he buries his little face in his uncle’s neck.

Ming Qiao notices it too. He glances nervously at the unfamiliar adults staring at them from all sides. Feeling uneasy, he slowly buries his little face into his uncle’s neck.

“Uncle, they’re all looking at Qiao Qiao.” Ming Qiao whispers, pressing his warm little face against Xie Qingyun, seeking comfort.

Xie Qingyun gently pats his back, whispering, “Don’t be afraid.”

As they walk through the streets, it doesn’t take long before someone blocks their path.

“Hey, fellow brother, where did the child in your arms come from?”

“Is this child named Ming Qiao? I saw his portrait.”

“Ming Qiao, your senior brother has been looking for you everywhere.”

The chatter floods into Ming Qiao’s little ears. He tries hard to suppress his nervousness and lifts his face from his uncle’s neck, gathering his courage to ask the approaching adults, “Where is my senior brother?”

“Your senior brother? I’ll send him a message. Just wait a moment.” 

These people all benefit from Bai Yu, otherwise, they wouldn’t be so eager to gather around. To prevent the child Bai Yu is looking for from being taken away, they block Xie Qingyun’s path, not allowing him to continue.

“This fellow brother, why don’t you sit down with us for some tea?” 

Some invite Xie Qingyun “Let’s have some tea and chat, consider making a friend.”

Xie Qingyun isn’t interested in making friends. But since he brought the child out to find Bai Yu, he goes over and sits at the tea table, reluctantly listening to their idle chatter.

Bai Yu arrives quickly after receiving the message. From a distance, he spots the cub he has been desperately searching for.

“Qiao Qiao!” Bai Yu’s eyes turn red, almost bringing him to tears. He rushes over, snatching the cub from Xie Qingyun’s lap and hugging him tightly.

“Qiao Qiao, I almost thought I’d never see you again!”

“Don’t cry, senior brother. Qiao Qiao is back.” Ming Qiao hugs Bai Yu tightly, trying to comfort him. The big and small embrace each other, making Xie Qingyun snort coldly.

After a moment, the crowd disperses, giving Bai Yu and Xie Qingyun a chance to talk. Xie Qingyun briefly explains what happened and his identity. Bai Yu frowns, not quite believing Xie Qingyun’s identity. 

Looking at Xie Qingyun, who doesn’t seem like a good person, Bai Yu gives a forced smile and decides to ask his own child first.

“Qiao Qiao.” 

Avoiding Xie Qingyun, Bai Yu quietly asks, “Is this man really your uncle?”

“Yes! He is my uncle!” Ming Qiao nods firmly.

Bai Yu remains skeptical, saying, “You two don’t look alike at all. They say nephews resemble their uncles; can you really be sure he’s your uncle?”

“Yes!” Ming Qiao responds. No matter how Bai Yu questions him, Ming Qiao sticks to his answer.

Seeing that he’s not getting anywhere, Bai Yu tries a different approach and starts casually chatting with the cub about other topics. Unexpectedly, it reveals something troubling.

Bai Yu casually asks Ming Qiao what his uncle likes to do in the secret realm. Ming Qiao innocently replies, “Uncle likes looking at Qiao Qiao’s bum!”

The little flower on his bottom is his uncle’s favorite!

Bai Yu: ???

———————————————

Author’s note:
Bai Yu: Alarm bells ringing!