The little one sitting on the ground has tears streaming down his small black face, filled with despair. 

In the room, Wu Ye watches Qing Heng’s face, so close yet so distant, then glances at the heartbroken child in his spiritual sense.

A flicker of struggle crosses his eyes. Qing Heng has not replied to him yet. Wu Ye can’t wait any longer, he reaches out his hand.

Just as his fingertips are about to touch Qing Heng, he remembers Qing Heng’s aversion to people and hesitates, curling his fingers back.

“I’ll give you a moment to think about how to answer me.” Wu Ye says, gently tugging at his sleeve and leading him outside.

“Don’t take the blindfold off, I’ve killed many ghosts outside, and the sight isn’t pleasant.”

With his eyes covered, Qing Heng finds it somewhat clumsy to move. He presses his thin lips together, then speaks up: “I’m not afraid.”

Isn’t it just killing ghosts? He has done it many times before. He has slain countless monsters and demonic cultivators.

“I know you’re not afraid.” 

Wu Ye replies with the same line: “I just don’t want to dirty your eyes.”

Qing Heng: “……”

Qing Heng falls silent. What’s so precious about his eyes? Why should he care about being dirty or not? While he thinks this in his heart, he still hesitates to remove the blindfold from his eyes.

“Qing Heng, your eyes are beautiful, and Qiao Qiao’s eyes look a lot like yours.”

However, since Ming Qiao is still young, his eyes have yet to fully develop and are a bit rounder.

Wu Ye, holding onto Qing Heng’s sleeve, walks slowly while speaking: “I originally thought your eyes were the most beautiful thing about you.”

“But now that you’re blindfolded, I realize there’s more to your beauty than just those eyes.”

With his eyes covered, Qing Heng appears somewhat less cold and aloof. He knits his brows, a hint of confusion showing on his face, reminiscent of a lotus blooming in the rain.

The pure white lotus sways in the rain, beautiful enough to evoke pity, yet it also stirs an uncontrollable urge to pluck it. Wu Ye’s straightforward praise only deepens the frown on Qing Heng’s brow.

From a young age, Qing Heng has been handsome, and throughout his life, there have been countless who admire and adore him.

He has heard so many compliments that he has long learned to let them go in one ear and out the other. No amount of praise could ever touch him.

But for some reason, perhaps because Wu Ye is so annoying, he can’t help but feel a bit irritated after just a couple of compliments from him. “Shut up.”

After Qing Heng coldly reprimands him, he adds, “Don’t say such frivolous things again!”

Seeing him annoyed, Wu Ye’s gaze on his face becomes even more fixated. Taking advantage of Qing Heng’s blindness, Wu Ye looks at his face freely, curling his lips in a casual smile. 

“Qiao Qiao praises you every day for being good-looking. You don’t get mad or upset and even kiss his little face.”

“Why is it that when I praise you for being good-looking, you get angry?”

Qing Heng: “……”

Qing Heng is utterly speechless at this person’s brazen questioning. “How old is Qiao Qiao? How old are you?”

Qing Heng coldly replies: “Comparing yourself to a child, your skin is indeed thicker than I expected.”

Wu Ye chuckles lightly, not feeling insulted at all. He feels quite proud: “You’re just now realizing I have thick skin.”

Having slowly climbed up from the very bottom of society, if he didn’t have thick skin, he would have died hundreds of times over.

“Wu Ye!” Qing Heng truly cannot endure any longer. He raises his hand, not yet removing the blindfold but reaching for his sword instead.

Seeing him reaching for his sword, Wu Ye calls out to the child sitting a few steps away on the ground, “Qiao Qiao.”

At the moment Wu Ye steps outside, the fire that had been burning and couldn’t be extinguished just moments before, suddenly dies out completely.

All traces of the unusual fire seem to have been covered by an invisible hand. Of course, the normal burn marks still remain.

The little one on the ground rubs his eyes, staring blankly with a dazed expression. When Wu Ye calls him twice, he finally turns his head. “Daddy—”

At this moment, his head is still a bit dazed, so upon seeing Wu Ye, he instinctively calls out “daddy”.

After calling out “daddy”, he notices his mother behind Wu Ye and hurriedly covers his mouth with his hands.

Wu Ye: ???

Before Wu Ye can speak, Qing Heng, who has followed him out, hears his child’s voice and immediately removes the blindfold.

He casually tosses the blindfold aside, but Wu Ye catches it, storing it in his storage bag, and strides toward the child on the ground.

“Mommy!” Upon seeing his mother approach, the little one with the black face finally comes back to his senses.

He pouts, and the tears he just managed to stop burst forth again. “Qiao Qiao thought you both died!”

“Don’t worry, we won’t die.” Qing Heng picks up the little one without minding the dirt and uses his clean sleeve to wipe his blackened little face.

“Were you scared? It’s okay now, I’m back.” He soothes the child patiently, holding onto the little dirty one’s wrist as he carefully checks for any issues with his small body.

After the examination, Qing Heng breathes a slight sigh of relief. Thankfully, there’s nothing wrong.

Under Qing Heng’s gentle words of comfort, Ming Qiao sniffles, feeling much more stable emotionally. His little chubby hand clings to Qing Heng, and his hesitant little eyes glance towards Wu Ye.

Earlier, he had accidentally called Wu Ye “daddy”. Qing Heng notices the little one’s guilt and falls silent.

Wu Ye leans closer, gently stroking the little one’s cheeks, offering some comforting words. While Wu Ye is busy comforting him, Qing Heng suddenly speaks up. “Qiao Qiao.”

Looking at the tear-streaked face of the little one, Qing Heng can’t bear to let him hold back from calling him “daddy” anymore.

“From now on, if you want to call him daddy then call him daddy. If you want to call him uncle, then call him uncle.”

Ming Qiao: !!!

Ming Qiao’s eyes widen in surprise. Wu Ye, who was just coaxing Ming Qiao, is also stunned. Both faces, one big and one small, turn to look at Qing Heng in unison.

Ming Qiao raises a hand to rub his little ear, seeming a bit incredulous about what he just heard. He turns his small face and opens his mouth, tentatively calling out, “Dad— daddy.”

Wu Ye: “……” Wu Ye’s expression freezes in place.

Ming Qiao calls out again, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Daddy!”

Finally able to call him “daddy”, Ming Qiao’s eyes turn crescent-shaped with joy. His soft, milky voice falls into Wu Ye’s ears, leaving him momentarily at a loss.

Earlier, when he pressed Qing Heng about why he wouldn’t let Ming Qiao call him “daddy”, he had done so with a commanding presence.

Now that Qing Heng has truly allowed it, Wu Ye finds himself at a loss. He stands there, even turning his gaze towards Qing Heng.

Seeing Wu Ye’s speechless expression, Qing Heng feels the anger he had towards him dissipate significantly. He ignores the pleading look in Wu Ye’s eyes and calmly holds the child, watching the scene unfold.

Ming Qiao calls out a few times but receives no response. His bright little eyes dim, and his delicate brows furrow. “Daddy doesn’t want Qiao Qiao.”

Ming Qiao’s chubby little hand grips Qing Heng’s clothing tightly, his whole little body drooping like a wilted eggplant, looking pitiful.

After finally calling out “daddy”, it seems that his daddy doesn’t want to hear it.

“No, no.” Seeing the hurt expression on the little one’s face, Wu Ye takes a deep breath, finally managing to speak.

He reaches out, taking the little one from Qing Heng’s arms. “I didn’t mean that I didn’t want you.”

Having been solitary for many years, Wu Ye has never had a companion and never thought of finding one. Now, suddenly crossing that boundary and being handed a child, he naturally feels a shock inside.

“I’m just very surprised.”

Holding the soft, dirty little one, Wu Ye has held him many times before, yet this time he feels awkward and stiff, almost dropping the child.

Fortunately, the little dirty one senses that daddy is holding him unsteadily and tightens his grip around Wu Ye. 

“Daddy, if you raise Qiao Qiao now, when I grow up, I’ll be filial to you.”

After acknowledging Wu Ye as his father, Ming Qiao seriously begins to make promises: “Qiao Qiao is a good baby. When I grow up, I will be filial to daddy and also to mommy.”

And uncle, Senior Brothers, and big brother. He’ll be filial to all of them!

The little one earnestly painting his future is a feast for the eyes, even if the “cake” he is drawing may not be eaten for a long time. Still, the one being offered the “cake” is already feeling soft-hearted.

“Okay.”

Wu Ye swallows this “cake” without questioning why the little one suddenly calls him “daddy.” At this moment, he only wants to lift him high.

“From now on, I’m your daddy.”

Wu Ye lifts the little one high, a smile lighting up his handsome face: “Daddy will take good care of you, my good baby! Daddy is waiting for you to grow up and be filial to him.”

Wu Ye adapts to the identity of “daddy” quite quickly. He happily holds the freshly minted cub, his mouth full of “baby” and “daddy”, so much so that Qing Heng can’t be bothered to listen.

“Alright, enough playing around.”

Qing Heng interrupts: “Has Chun Sheng been found? What’s going on with this village?”

“I found him. This village is a ghost village with many evil spirits. I’ve dealt with the evil spirits.”

If it weren’t for the need to leave Chun Sheng for granny Meng, this fire alone would have been enough to scare Chun Sheng’s soul away.

Wu Ye briefly explains the situation of the village, not mentioning how he dealt with the evil spirits but laughing it off, saying he accidentally set fire while exorcising them.

Now, there aren’t many living people left in the whole village. The women and children who remain look at the dead men in their homes with little sorrow on their faces.

Most of them are products of the evil deeds committed in this village. With the source of evil gone, they might live better lives.

Wu Ye wants to take Chun Sheng and leave this place quickly. But Qing Heng insists on taking care of the aftermath.

He asks the surviving women and children in the village. Some women want to leave, while others wish to stay. 

Qing Heng leaves money for some children to attend school. To go to school, learn knowledge, and discern right from wrong. These children might have a different fate than their ancestors.

After leaving the village, Ming Qiao leans on Wu Ye’s shoulder, looking back when he suddenly asks: “Daddy, where’s Xiao Hua?”

Tie Zhu has a grandmother taking care of him, but Xiao Hua is missing. Although Ming Qiao is scared of the paper figure-like Xiao Hua, he still wants to ask about her sudden disappearance.

“Xiao Hua is at her home.” Wu Ye replies, not mentioning that Xiao Hua has transformed back into a paper figure.