“I look at him and he doesn’t seem like your dad.”

Qing Heng collects all the letters, along with the pile of things Ming Qiao takes out. “Put these away.”

“Okay!” Ming Qiao obediently puts the items back into the storage ring, arranging them neatly. 

After finishing, he leans against Qing Heng, blinks his eyes, and emphasizes to his mother again, “It’s daddy! Qiao Qiao eats like daddy, he can eat a lot!”

Qing Heng: “…”

What kind of resemblance is that? Qing Heng glances at the round little belly beside him and says softly: “It’s normal for little kids to eat a lot.”

Ming Qiao tilts his head, confused. “Is it?”

Qing Heng replies with an uhm. Ming Qiao trusts his mother, so he nods in realization, indicating that he understands. His pretty little face tightens slightly as he falls into a new round of contemplation. Since he doesn’t have his dad’s appetite or looks, what else does he have in common with him? The little guy thinks seriously for a while but doesn’t come up with much.

Qing Heng leans against the hot spring wall, with a chubby little cub sitting on his lap. He lowers his gaze to the little face of the child. He hasn’t told the little one… At this moment, the little guy’s serious expression is somewhat reminiscent of Wu Ye. Just a little bit, no, maybe he’s mistaken. Perhaps there’s not even a little resemblance.

“Qiao Qiao.” Qing Heng retrieves his thoughts, dismissing someone from his mind.

His cold features are perhaps warmed a bit by the steam from the hot spring, making him appear more approachable than before. “Come here, let me see your spiritual roots.”

Although Ming Qiao has five spiritual roots, he hasn’t properly used them. Qing Heng supports his little chubby bottom with one hand, bringing him closer, and uses one hand to explore his spiritual condition. In the past two days of seeking spiritual treasures, Ming Qiao has indeed mobilized his spiritual roots. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have attracted the sensing of spiritual treasures.

“Close your eyes and feel the circulation of spiritual energy.”

Qing Heng doesn’t want to mention anything about having a dad or not, so he simply organizes the little one’s spiritual veins. Ming Qiao closes his eyes and feels vaguely aware. Under Qing Heng’s patient guidance, he eventually tries to enter a meditative state for a short while.

“Your talent is very good.”

Qingheng evaluates but holds back another comment. His health is too poor. Upon closer inspection of the little body, he finds it worse than he thought. Ming Qiao only hears his mother praise him, and he happily beams at him with a sweet smile.

“Mom is amazing! Qiao Qiao is only amazing because of mother.” What he means is that his greatness is inherited from his mother.

Qing Heng has grown accustomed to the little guy’s heavy filter, in the little one’s eyes, he seems to be the best.

After soaking in the hot spring for a while longer, Qing Heng takes out a little undergarments and dresses the little one, who isn’t even wearing any little underwear. When they first came to the hot spring, the little cub was a bit shy and would wear little underwear.

Now, as they soak, the little guy reveals his chubby little bum, showing no shyness at all. He even leans over to show his mom the little flower on his bottom. He shows his mom the little flower and wants to see the little flower on his mom’s thigh.

Qing Heng has only shown him once. His birthmark is on the inner thigh, a sensitive spot he never shows. Only this little one in front of him has seen it once.

“Not bad, very suitable.”

The little undergarment with red embroidery fits well. Qing Heng feels the material, it’s soft and snug. The aunt who made Ming Qiao’s undergarment really put some effort into it. Ming Qiao’s storage ring contains a few sets of clothes, they are all good clothes. But since the weather is getting warmer, he still needs to prepare some thinner clothes.

Qing Heng dresses the little one at a leisurely pace while already planning whether to buy clothes back at the sect or in Feilong City. The clothing store is crowded, and he doesn’t like to browse. Maybe it’s better to return to the sect and have someone send a few clothes over.

While Qing Heng thinks, his hands keep moving. Before long, the sleepwear is on. Ming Qiao opens his little hands, hugs Qing Heng’s neck, and leans his face against him. He’s sleepy. Qing Heng skillfully wraps him in his coat, holding him back to the library. That night, Ming Qiao sleeps soundly in his mother’s arms, his little hands and feet entwined with her, still sleeping sweetly. 

Meanwhile, You Qing also gains something in the library. The book spirit doesn’t need sleep. Seeing that both Ming Qiao and Qing Heng are asleep, it goes to find You Qing to play.

“Since you are the baby’s big brother, whatever kind of secret manual you want, I can give you one.”

The book spirit says, sounding quite smug: “The secret manuals I have stored are unique copies, very precious. Wang Feilong can’t borrow them even if he wants to.”

You Qing listens to its words, and doesn’t hold back at all. “I’m cultivating with a broken spirit root. Do you have any secret manuals that can make me stronger?”

The book spirit is taken aback, saying in shock, “You still want to cultivate even with a broken spirit root? You’re quite resilient!”

You Qing remains nonchalant about its praise. The book spirit looks at him, hesitating for a moment, then says: “I do have a unique copy that just happens to record the secret method for cultivating a broken spirit root. However, the master of this particular one was indeed strong but ended up exploding and dying…”

“I want that unique copy.”

You Qing seems to have only heard about being strong, not the exploding and dying part. His gaze is serious, and his tone carries a hint of insistence, but his waist bends slightly as he thanks the book spirit.

The book spirit hesitates and finally finds the unique copy to give to him. As it hands it over, the book spirit advises him: “Why don’t you choose again? I have other unique copies here too.”

“I don’t need it, I only want this one.” 

You Qing makes a choice and won’t change it. He accepts the unique copy, right in front of the book spirit, he flips through it once. Being cautious by nature, he knows that since the manual is precious, he needs to keep it in mind. Anything he carries could be stolen or destroyed, but knowledge in his mind cannot be taken away easily.

The book spirit looks at the child in front of it, who is only a few years older than Ming Qiao, and feels a bit puzzled. It’s strange, this child gives it a sense of danger. But this child is only a few years old! How can it feel a bit scared of this child?

You Qing doesn’t pay attention to the book spirit’s thoughts, he continues flipping through the book. This library filled with so many books is a rare find. And having the book spirit there to help him look for books is a unique opportunity he doesn’t want to miss but needs to seize.

Upstairs, one child is buried in his mother’s embrace, sleeping. While downstairs, the other stays up all night reading, both finding satisfaction in their own ways.

The next day. Only three days remain until the test ends. Ming Qiao sits on the bed, allowing his mother to change his clothes, tie his hair, and wash his face. Qing Heng has never learned these things before. But somehow, he gradually gets the hang of it. 

He knows that this little one can do these things by himself. But watching him struggle with his clothes and hair ties makes Qing Heng frown with concern. He cannot explain why he feels increasingly protective of this little one. This feeling is overwhelming, causing some of his previously firm thoughts to waver quietly.

“Mom, Qiao Qiao is going out now.” After everything is ready, the little one, all dressed up beautifully, looks up at Qing Heng to say goodbye.

After saying goodbye, he doesn’t leave immediately. He looks up at Qing Heng, not wanting to leave just yet. Only when Qing Heng bends down to let him give a kiss does he finally agree to go.

“Mother, Qiao Qiao will come back early.” After kissing Qing Heng’s handsome face, Ming Qiao waves his little chubby hand, satisfied. Qing Heng nods slightly, watching him go out.

Ming Qiao’s daytime routine is structured: Going out, eating, taking medicine, preparing for the tests. Meanwhile, You Qing also takes time to observe his cub. Seeing that his little one is no longer being bullied, he feels relieved to continue reading. 

Besides reading, he also visits the old Ge at the door. He brings old Ge some wine. Old Ge doesn’t ask how he got in and doesn’t order him to leave. Neither of them is talkative, but they do chat a little. You Qing asks, “Why don’t you manage the kids who misbehave?”

The children coming for the test are not all good. Ming Qiao has been bullied, but no one stepped in to help. Old Ge burps from the alcohol, slightly tipsy, and replies: “Anyone who can enter here is either gifted or comes from an influential family.”

“Among children, they’re allowed to stir trouble themselves. If they end up unhappy, they’ll hold grudges against each other.”

“If Wang Feilong intervenes, he helps someone and not another, the parents involved will surely hold grudges against him.”

“He’s always clever and manages to avoid trouble.” Old Ge’s words clear You Qing’s confusion, but also leave him with a worse impression of Wang Feilong.

Time flies. On the last day, the final test ends, and everything is settled. You Qing finds an interesting book in the library that teaches talismans. It’s a True Word talisman. Using this talisman, one can only speak the truth, otherwise, they will suffer various consequences. If one doesn’t tell the truth, their body will rot. If they lie twice, worms will infest their body. If they lie three times, they will be striked by a thunder calamity and die.

You Qing is very interested in this talisman. The book states that this talisman is extremely difficult to draw, perhaps only one in ten thousand talismans is successful. But he has never cared about probability issues. He studies this talisman with great interest and asks the book spirit for some ink and brushes.

The book spirit provides them and watches him draw from the side. As he draws, the book spirit suddenly gaps, “Wait, this talisman you’re drawing isn’t a proper talisman.”

You Qing focuses on drawing and doesn’t pay attention to it. The more the book spirit thinks about it, the more nervous it becomes. It forms a large hand and pats You Qing’s shoulder, advising: “I suggest you don’t practice this anymore. I remember this, it’s a book of demonic cultivation.”

The talismans in this book are not created by legitimate talisman masters. You Qing shows no fear at the mention of demonic cultivation, which is supposed to make everyone’s expression change. He continues to study the talisman.