One large and one small figure disappear from the Suiyi Sect. Bai Yu holds the little one in his arms. After they walk far away, he corrects himself, “Qiao Qiao, we’re going to find medicine, not your mother.”

“But I have a mother.” 

Ming Qiao replies, pressing his small bun face against Bai Yu’s. He softly says, “In the forest, mother is there.”

“Hmm, which one is your mother?”

“Why are you showing me this letter… I don’t recognize it. Are these even words?”

“Alright, we will look for your mother when we get there.”

The voices of one large and one small figure slowly fade away in the wind. 

Bai Yu’s chest is solid and broad. After being held for a while, Ming Qiao starts yawning. “Senior brother, Qiao Qiao wants to sleep.”

“Sleep, sleep~” Bai Yu gently pats Ming Qiao’s back. During these days when You Qing is not around, he has accompanied the little one to sleep with Mo Fan and Huang Qiao. He knows how to coax the little one to sleep.

“Qiao Qiao, close your eyes, and senior brother will tell you the story of the little pig building a house.”

“Okay”

As Bai Yu narrates the story in a low tone, Ming Qiao’s little head leans against him and the little one falls asleep.

Once he is asleep, Bai Yu wraps him in his cloak and speeds up again.

In the Suiyi Sect, the senior brother Huang Qiao practices both sword and artifact cultivation. The third senior brother Mo Fan specializes in talisman cultivation. The fourth senior sister, who is away, is an alchemist. And Bai Yu himself is a spell cultivator, best at all kinds of formations. 

They have never participated in any competitions, and they aren’t even quite sure about their own skills. Their only confidence lies in their ability to escape quickly.

Bai Yu flees for three and a half days. He finally reaches a small town on the outskirts of the Xisha Forest, far from their small sect.

The town is crowded with people, most of whom are cultivators. The Xisha Forest has magical beasts, spirit herbs, and some ancient ruins. As long as one has enough skill or luck, they can gain great rewards here.

Of course, some people may gain rewards, while others may face misfortune and lose their lives. After all, the magical beasts in the Xisha Forest, as well as some traps, can be deadly.

“Senior brother, noodles!”

The little one sitting on Bai Yu’s arm doesn’t pay attention to the various people around. Instead, his little chubby finger points at a noodle stall, he is almost drooling.

The steaming noodles, topped with a scoop of meat sauce, look delicious. Bai Yu wipes the stool with a towel and places the little one on it.

“Boss, give me two bowls of noodles! One with extra meat.”

“Got it, coming right up.”

The boss is a capable person. In no time, he brings over two steaming bowls of noodles. Bai Yu stirs the bowl with meat, blows on it a bit, and sets it in front of Ming Qiao.

“Here, eat more.”

“Mm!”

A big bowl of noodles, Ming Qiao worked hard to eat for quite a while, but more than half is still left. This bowl is too big, he can’t finish it. 

Knowing his appetite, Bai Yu reaches over to pat his little belly when he sees the little one can’t eat anymore. His belly is round. After patting his belly, Bai Yu takes the remaining noodles and eats them.

“Hey, buddy, in a place like this, why did you bring your kid?”

The red-clothed sword cultivator sitting opposite Bai Yu has been watching them. “Your kid is so pretty, it’s too dangerous to come here.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yeah, are you new here?”

Noticing the underlying tone in the red-clothed sword cultivator’s words, Bai Yu hands over two pieces of candy. He casually asks, “I’m indeed new here. Has something happened?”

The two cute, wrapped candies are Ming Qiao’s snacks. Besides the candies, Huang Qiao also made milk cakes, flaky pastries, and flavored small steamed buns.

Bai Yu hands over the candies. The red-clothed sword cultivator stares at them for a few seconds before reaching out to take them. The candies are sweet. The red-clothed sword cultivator bites into one and swallows it. Then he says to Bai Yu: “You need to keep a close eye on your kid.”

“In the city, several children have gone missing. Some parents bring their children out to see the world. While others’ sects take them, hoping for a chance at opportunity.”

“They have all disappeared, and their spirit lanterns are extinguished.”

Baiyu “…”

Bai Yu’s expression changes with this news. He lifts the little one, who is sitting obediently on the bench beside him, onto his lap. He holds his child tightly and asks, “Only children have gone missing? What about the adults? Have the parents and the sects found anything?”

Bai Yu asks a lot of questions. Given two pieces of candy, the red-clothed sword cultivator answers patiently, “Only the children are missing, the adults are fine. Look at those people, they are looking for clues. The pictures on the wall are all the missing children.”

Ming Qiao hears the conversation between Bai Yu and the red-clothed sword cultivator. He follows the direction pointed out by the cultivator and sees a row of portraits.

These portraits make Ming Qiao very anxious. He grabs Bai Yu’s clothes with his small, chubby hands. He looks up at him and asks, “Senior brother, will Qiao Qiao get lost too?”

“Qiao Qiao will never get lost.”

Bai Yu lowers his head and presses his forehead to Ming Qiao’s. “Senior brother will protect you”, he says softly.

“Mm!”

Ming Qiao trusts him and rubs his little face against Bai Yu.

The two nuzzle each other. The red-clothed sword cultivator envies them, saying “So this is your little junior brother. He looks so small.”

“He is indeed quite young.”

Bai Yu, holding the little one, prepares to find an inn to book a room. The Casual Sect has few people, and they grow their own food, so they rarely have extra expenses. With no expenses, they also don’t have much income.

This time, Bai Yu brings all the money from the Casual Sect with him.

Though the amount isn’t much, he still chooses the best room when booking.

Since the city isn’t safe, a better inn is at least somewhat more secure.

He spends most of the money on the room, leaving the remaining funds to be used sparingly.

After bidding farewell to the red-clothed sword cultivator, Bai Yu carries the little one and checks into the inn.

Rooms at the inn are in high demand, and Bai Yu almost doesn’t manage to book one. Fortunately, a passing woman in blue sees him holding a child and offers him a room.

The woman is quite beautiful but looks somewhat haggard. Her voice is hoarse, as if she has been crying.

“Today you and the child can stay here. But you should leave by tomorrow.” She advises Bai Yu softly. Her gaze fell on Ming Qiao’s sweet little face. Tears brimmed in her eyes all of a sudden again.

“Now, the parents and sects that take care of children have taken them away. This place is very dangerous for children.”

Seeing the woman’s expression, Bai Yu realizes she is also someone who has lost a child. He tightens his hold on the little one and says firmly, “I will leave here as soon as possible.”

The woman nods slightly and then walks away quickly.

Bai Yu watches her figure and notices she joins a few other people near the stairs, and they seem to be discussing something.

“Qiao Qiao, look”, Bai Yu points to a few people in white near the stairs. These people wear similar clothes, with jade belts tied around their waists and jade pendants.

“These people are from the Lin Tian Sect, the top sect. They exterminate demons and have chivalrous hearts.”

“They are probably taking charge of the situation about the missing children.”

Bai Yu’s guess is correct. Nearby, several members of the Lin Tian Sect are discussing the missing children’s case with a blue-clothed loose cultivator.

“Senior brother, Qiao Qiao wants to go down.”

Ming Qiao recognizes the clothing of the Lin Tian Sect and kicks his little short legs, urging Bai Yu to let him down.

“Why do you want to go down?”

Bai Yu is confused but sets the little one down.

As soon as he places him on the ground, he sees him, who can barely stand, twist his small body and run away quickly.

Bai Yu: “?”

Bai Yu is stunned. “Qiao Qiao, where are you going?!”

Ming Qiao doesn’t run far, he strides over to the disciples of the Lin Tian Sect.

“Uncle” 

Ming Qiao runs over. He looks up, his pretty face delicate. He softly asks, “Excuse me, is Immortal General Qing Heng here?””

The people from the Lin Tian Sect are briefly stunned. They know their Immortal General Qing Heng has many admirers. Many wish to meet him. But this little one wanting to meet Immortal Qing Heng seems a bit too small.

“Little one, what do you need Immortal Qing Heng for?”

One of them, fond of children, squats down and kindly asks Ming Qiao. Seeing the other person squat down, Ming Qiao beams at them with his eyes. He feels a bit shy but gathers his courage to ask, “Have you, um, seen Immortal Qing Heng?”

The other person nods, “Before Immortal entered seclusion, I was fortunate enough to meet him once.”

Knowing that the other person has seen Qing Heng, Ming Qiao’s little heart starts racing. Father said that his eyes and mouth resemble mother’s. The opportunity for verification is right in front of him.

Ming Qiao’s small chubby hand grips his clothes. His curled lashes tremble, and his tender little voice shakes as he asks, “Uncle, do you think I look like Immortal Qing Heng’s child?”

“What?”

The disciple of the Lin Tian Sect, who is squatting, gasps in surprise. He is almost knocked off balance by this little one’s question! The other disciples standing behind him also look shocked.

They stare at this bold little one, briefly at a loss for words. If it were someone else connecting their Immortal Qing Heng with a child, they would have rolled up their sleeves to fight!

Everyone in the Cangxuan Realm knows that Immortal General Qing Heng has a cold personality. He doesn’t get close to others, not even his own brothers.

The most aloof and unapproachable Immortal General in the Cangxuan Realm would never have romantic feelings and certainly wouldn’t have a child!

“You little one, you are very pretty…”

Yang Jian forces himself to calm down. He rubs the little one’s head, preparing to have a proper conversation with him. But while speaking, he wonders if it’s just his imagination. He genuinely thinks this little one’s eyes are somewhat similar to their Immortal’s eyes.

“Ahem.”

Yang Jian clears his throat, firmly believing it’s an illusion. He says, “But no matter how pretty you are, it has nothing to do with our Immortal Qing Heng.”

“Immortal Qing Heng has no partner and no children.”

Ming Qiao pulls at his clothes, not telling Yang Jian that he might be Qing Heng’s future child. He lowers his little head and continues to plead, “Can you let me see Immortal Qing Heng?”

“The Immortal General isn’t here.”

“I can go find him.”

“He is in seclusion.”

After a few rounds of questions, Ming Qiao realizes they don’t want to take him to see Immortal Qing Heng. His little head hangs lower and lower, and he seems a bit at a loss. Bai Yu, who has been listening to their conversation, sees this. He picks up the dejected little one.

“Qiao Qiao, are you done talking? Senior brother has called for hot water to give you a bath, okay?”

Ming Qiao loves taking baths the most. But this time he wraps his little hands around Bai Yu’s neck, his face not showing a hint of happiness. Bai Yu feels a pang of heartache.

“Be good, after the bath, I will buy you a little tiger mask.”

As Bai Yu comforts him, he carries the little one away without even saying goodbye to the Lin Tian Sect. Once their figures disappear completely, Yang Jian can’t help but turn to his fellow disciples.

“Don’t you think that little one does resemble Immortal Qing Heng a bit?”

“I don’t think so. Senior Yang, don’t say such things. It’s tarnishing the Immortal General’s reputation.”

There is a devoted admirer of Immortal Qing Heng present. With cold looks, they don’t believe Immortal Qing Heng had a lost child!

“I have seen him, I really do think… forget it, I won’t say more.”

Yang Jian doesn’t want to fall out with his junior brother. So he stops the topic and shifts the focus back to the matter of the missing children.

“This child-kidnapping incident looks like the work of demonic cultivators.”

“Thirty years ago, there was an incident in which demonic cultivators harmed children.”

As they discuss serious matters, the disciples of the Lin Tian Sect express their determination. They will work quickly to find the culprit and the missing children. Until the perpetrator is found, they will take turns keeping watch at night.

Soon, darkness envelops the entire city.

Ming Qiao finishes his bath and is wrapped in a large towel, placed on the bed. His little face still looks sullen and unhappy. Bai Yu hears him mention looking for his mother. But, he feels that Qing Heng cannot possibly be his mother.

“Qiao Qiao, how about I take you to see Lu Heng instead?”

“Okay.”

Since he can’t see Qing Heng, Ming Qiao wants to see Lu Heng.

Seeing him agree, Bai Yu kisses his little face and comforts him, “Tomorrow morning, I will take you to find Lu Heng. It’s night now, and it’s dangerous outside. Let’s be good and go to sleep.”

“Mm!”

Ming Qiao obediently nods his little head and asks Bai Yu to help him change into his sleepwear. The candlelight in the room goes out.

The big one and the little one, now in their sleepwear, drift off to dreamland.

Around midnight, Ming Qiao’s little ears catch a strange sound. It was like someone knocking on the door or calling for him.

He rubs his eyes and sits up in confusion.

—————————————————————

Author’s note: 

Ming Qiao: Who’s calling for me?