You Qing hands over the love letter, but the book spirit hesitates to take it.

“I’m a proper book spirit, love letters… well…”

“It’s from Ming Qiao’s father to Qing Heng.”

The book spirit perks up, asks curiously: “Oh? Can I read it then?” 

You Qing looks at him with a blank expression.

The boob spirit: “……”

It feels a chill from the gaze and silently reaches out with a twisted, dark tentacle to take the letter. Of course, it plans to deliver the letter.

Just as the book spirit is about to leave, it suddenly remembers something and turns back, confused. “Wait, how did you see this love letter?!”

“Wait, how did you even see this love letter?”

“Qiao Qiao showed it to me.” You Qing replies in the same calm tone, but for some reason, the book spirit feels he is subtly showing off.

“Hmph, Qing Heng will show it to me too!” The book spirit huffs before disappearing with the letter.

After the book spirit leaves, You Qing starts to wander around the library. Thanks to Ming Qiao, the book spirit had granted him permission to go up to the sixth floor. With six floors full of books, there’s no shortage of reading material.

You Qing walks in front of the shelves, browsing randomly. Whether by luck or misfortune, the books he picks are all incredibly complex and hard to read.

The content is hard to understand, but upon closer inspection, he finds it quite useful. As he reads, his photographic memory captures every page, as if he’s storing the entire book in his mind.

While You Qing is busy downstairs, the book spirit delivers the love letter to Qing Heng upstairs. “Baby’s brother came by” the book spirit announces.

Qing Heng, usually calm and composed, feels a slight unease at this.

“Don’t worry, not his real brother, just a brother Ming Qiao chose. His name is You Qing.” The spirit adds, trying to reassure him. 

“But this brother is nowhere near as cute as Ming Qiao!” 

After this remark, the book spirit points to the love letter and says: “You Qing said this is a love letter from Ming Qiao’s father to you.”

Qing Heng’s hand freezes for a moment as he holds the letter. While the spirit, still curious, asks: “Can I take a look at your love letter, Qing Heng? I really want to know what kind of person could have a child with you!”

It is very curious about the person who could have a baby with Qing Heng. Qing Heng glances over but doesn’t reply. Instead, he flicks his empty hand lightly, sending the book spirit flying against the wall.

“Hey! Ming Qiao was happy to show his brother, but you won’t let me see!” the book spirit complains. 

Qing Heng waves his hand again, closing the door and shutting the book spirit’s complaints outside.

He sits down at his desk and lowers his gaze to the letter in his hands. The handwriting is messy, almost illegible, but Qing Heng silently deciphers it.

Meanwhile, Ming Qiao happily heads to the dining hall, humming a tune. In the canteen, he spots Du Sheng right away.

Normally, Du Sheng would roll his eyes or try to annoy him, but this time, Du Sheng simply walks by with a serious expression, just like in the secret realm, avoiding him totally.

Ming Qiao doesn’t understand why Du Sheng’s attitude has changed so much, but he’s just glad not to be picked on. Cheerfully, he heads straight to the canteen auntie.

“Auntie! I’m here!” Ming Qiao calls out as he runs over with his short legs.

Hearing his voice, his auntie stands up, her face full of smiles. “Qiao Qiao, come here! Auntie made steamed eggs for you!” she says warmly.

Auntie always makes separate meals for Ming Qiao, not the big batch cooked for everyone else. She adores him and cooks special dishes for him every day.

Every meal is nutritious and delicious. Today’s meal includes warm steamed eggs, tender meat pastries, and a soup that’s been simmering for hours. 

Ming Qiao sits on a small stool, eating obediently while the auntie watches, smiling as she reaches out to touch his chubby cheeks. “You’ve put on some weight. Kids should be chubby to look cute.”

“Yep! Daddy also said chubby babies are cute!” Ming Qiao agrees, grinning as he proudly shows off his little belly. 

“My belly’s chubby!”

The auntie laughs, pinching his belly with delight. “Oh, our little Qiao Qiao is so adorable!” she says.

As the two chat happily, not far away, Du Sheng watches them with a dark expression, his eyes filled with hatred.

Even though his rare three spiritual roots make him exceptional, Ming Qiao’s five spiritual roots outshine him. The humiliation from the previous day lingers, and Du Sheng’s anger grows.

Du Sheng licks his lips, feeling pushed to take action. He can’t stand such an annoying presence for another day. 

“Du Sheng, why is aunt Fang so willing to help? I heard she spends a lot of time cooking for that sickly kid. Did that kid give her money or something?”

“Even when I offer Aunt Fang money to make a stir-fry, she won’t do it.”

Du Sheng seems to ignore the chatter around him. His gaze lingers on the stove behind auntie Fang’s food stand for a while before he finally looks away.

“Qiao Qiao, here’s some dried meat. Auntie made it herself with the best cuts, and it’s really clean. You can keep it and eat a little when you’re hungry.

“And these berries, old Ge gave them to me. They’re fresh and sweet, perfect for you to snack on.”

“And this undergarment. Wear it so you won’t get cold while sleeping.”

Auntie Fang chatters on, packing food and clothes for Ming Qiao, treating him like her own child.

Ming Qiao, sitting on a small stool, swings his legs happily, watching auntie with a smile. Once everything is packed, he carefully stores the items and jumps off the chair.

“Auntie.” He calls, tugging on her clothes to make her bend down. When she does, he stands on his toes and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“I like auntie!” he declares.

Auntie is momentarily stunned, her smile blooming like a flower. “Oh! Auntie likes Qiao Qiao too!” She beams, wishing this well-behaved, adorable child were her own.

After spending quite a while in the cafeteria, Ming Qiao finally goes outside. He heads straight for the library.

On the lower floor, Ming Qiao doesn’t see You Qing. At that moment, You Qing is in a corner, still reading. He had told the book spirit not to inform Ming Qiao of his arrival because he didn’t want to disturb him during the test.

Not finding his big brother, Ming Qiao stands on the steps and calls for his mother. His mother lives so high up that every time he climbs the stairs, he gets out of breath.

Now that his mom doesn’t let him climb, he calls for him from downstairs, and he will come to get him.

After several calls, Ming Qiao finally spots his mother. He runs toward him with open arms, burying his face happily against his legs. “Mom, I missed you so much!”

Though it had only been a day, Ming Qiao already felt like he missed him terribly. Oblivious to his mother’s somewhat strange expression, he continues to nuzzle against him.

For Qing Heng, traveling up the high floors is effortless. In a blink, they are back in his room. Ming Qiao, now back on the ground, holds his mother’s hand with his chubby fingers, his soft voice eagerly recounting his day.

He talks about how he got many spirit treasures and how no naughty kids bullied him, and how auntie Fang made him a little garment.

After sharing all this, he sits down beside his mom. He sticks to Qing Heng like a little tail, refusing to let go whenever he sees him.

“Mom, can you help me put on my new garment?” Ming Qiao asks shyly, his face turning pink as he hands him the soft fabric.

Qing Heng takes the garment and nods. “I’ll help you put it on after your bath.” he says.

“Okay!” Ming Qiao loves taking baths, and Qing Heng knows that soaking helps his weak body, so he makes sure to bathe him every night before bed.

After storing the garment, Qing Heng picks up his clingy son and takes him to the northern hot springs.

In the spring, Ming Qiao splashes around, trying to swim with his chubby hands and feet. Suddenly, Qing Heng asks: “Is there anything else?”

“Any other letters or things your father gave me?”

Ming Qiao: !!!

His little face freezes, and he forgets to swim, sinking down with a splash. Qing Heng quickly pulls him up and pats his back to help him cough up the water.

“Cough, cough.” Ming Qiao coughs repeatedly, his face turning red.

After a while, once Qing Heng channels some spiritual energy into him and gives him a sweet pill, he finally stops coughing. Once he’s settled, the two lock eyes. Ming Qiao, still blushing, looks nervous.

“Don’t be scared. I just want to know why you think I’m your mother,” Qing Heng says gently.

“The name.” Ming Qiao replies, sniffing as he gathers the courage to speak.

“Daddy said Mom’s name is Ah Heng. Daddy also left letters.”

Under Qing Heng’s gaze, Ming Qiao pulls out the letters and some items his dad left him from his storage ring. There are several letters.

Qing Heng holds the chubby cub with one arm and reads the letters with the other, carefully going through each one.

Ming Qiao watches nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. After a moment, when it seems like his mom hasn’t finished reading, he fidgets and timidly asks: “Qiao Qiao is small, I don’t know how to read the letters. Can mom read them?”

He asks hesitantly, his small voice filled with uncertainty.

Qing Heng remains silent for a few moments before replying: “I can read some.”

The letters are written in an uncommon language. The language itself isn’t difficult—Qing Heng is fluent in the eighteen languages of the Cang Xuan Realm.

The problem lies in the handwriting. The person who wrote the letter clearly never learned how to write properly, and the characters are so poorly formed that Qing Heng can barely stand to look at them.

“Mom, what did daddy write?” Ming Qiao asks, curious.

“Are you sure he’s your father?” Qing Heng replies.

“Yes! He’s my daddy!” Ming Qiao is very sure. Just thinking about his father makes all his nervousness vanish.

“Mom, daddy is really amazing!” Ming Qiao hugs Qing Heng’s arm and, with his clever little mind, realizes that his mom and dad aren’t together yet. So, he enthusiastically praises his dad.

“Daddy is very handsome!”

“He can cook!”

“He sews clothes for Qiao Qiao!”

“He tells stories too!”

As he lists all of his dad’s good traits, Ming Qiao proudly pats his little chest and declares, “And you know what? Daddy loves mom the most!”

“Daddy talks in his sleep. He says he misses Ah Heng and loves Ah Heng!” Ming Qiao adds the final touch, leaning in to rub his face against Qing Heng’s cheek, whispering: “Qiao Qiao loves Ah Heng too!”

Qing Heng: “…” Qing Heng’s mouth twitches slightly. He recognizes the letter’s author—it’s Wu Ye. He can also understand the content of the letter, which is a challenge to a duel.

Hah!

There’s no way this man could ever be his partner! And that someone like him could never have such a well-behaved child like Ming Qiao.

—————————————————————

Author’s note:

The baby is trying hard to promote: “Daddy is great!”

The Immortal General’s cold expression: “I could never have a baby with him!”