Chapter 10: An Extraordinary Little Secret

Yin Tian and Dong Mian were both shocked.

Of course, Dongri was the most shocked.

He was just about to leave when, before he could even reach for the door, it opened on its own.

For a little cub, this was an extremely terrifying supernatural event.

He was genuinely startled.

Then, without making a sound, his Papa and Daddy appeared before him.

Turning into two big scares.

His little brain quickly raced through his memories, finally remembering Yin Tian’s instructions: don’t leave the room, wait obediently for Daddy to come back.

…

Oh no.

They must have discovered he wasn’t in the room and came to catch him.

“I… uh, I…”

Escaping danger is a biological instinct. Dongri tried to string together some words to find a perfect excuse for being there, but his mind was a blank slate, not even a punctuation mark in sight.

He couldn’t help it.

The room was too smelly, he was too hungry, and this place smelled too good.

So everything happened so naturally.

By the time he realized it, it was too late.

“Who are you two? Why are you here?!”

But the middle-aged man whom Pei Qinglu had kicked out of the ward returned, shattering the heavy, shocked silence.

Yin Tian and Dong Mian snapped back to reality, their gazes finally leaving Dongri and discovering another child in the ward.

They breathed a sigh of relief.

But not a complete sigh of relief.

Good, good, they almost mistakenly thought Dongri was a little demon and were about to send him to the afterlife themselves.

But, excluding Dongri, the only other child was the one possessed by the little demon, and this child had just tried to kill Dongri.

Yin Tian looked at Pei Qinglu, his gaze filled with pressure, sizing the child up and down in a few seconds.

He was around seven or eight years old, with delicate and well-proportioned features and an elegant, gentle demeanor; he was every bit the young master of a wealthy family. 

He was also very bold.

Faced with their sudden intrusion, there wasn’t a trace of panic or surprise in his eyes, and he even returned their curious gaze.

Worthy of being possessed by the little demon.

The situation was sudden, and with a human and Dongri present, they couldn’t act rashly.

Anyway, they hadn’t been exposed, hadn’t stirred up trouble, and they remembered what the child looked like, so there was no need to rush to act immediately.

Dong Mian pulled Dongri into his arms and said, “Sorry, our child sneaked in here. We’re here to take him back.”

The middle-aged man wasn’t polite to them either.

“So he’s your child. You really should keep a better eye on him. Don’t be so careless and let such a young child run around.”

His tone was unpleasant, but they were indeed in the wrong, so they had to swallow it for now.

“…Sorry, we’ve caused you trouble. We’ll take him away now.”

Dongri was held in Dong Mian’s arms, and after hearing his dad’s words, he closed his eyes in despair.

He knew it; they were here to catch him after all.

But as they turned to leave the ward, Pei Qinglu’s voice came from behind: “Baobao.”

Yin Tian and Dong Mian stopped.

Dongri also immediately looked up from Dong Mian’s arms, looking at Pei Qinglu.

Pei Qinglu still smiled at him gently: “Come find me to play when you have time.”

Then, turning to the adults, he said, “Sorry, my butler is overly concerned. I don’t think Baobao is causing me any trouble. I’m very happy for him to come play with me.”

As he spoke, he gave the middle-aged man a stern look.

Yin Tian and Dong Mian had complex expressions on their faces.

They noticed the boy’s maturity and assertiveness beyond his age, but they were more focused on the boy’s term of address for Dongri—

…Baobao? Baobao?!

He had harbored murderous intentions towards Dongri, yet he could still call him Baobao so calmly?!

The key was that the Baobao in his arms happily agreed.

“…Okay!”

Remembering the delicious home-cooked meals he had eaten here, Dongri’s agreement was quite enthusiastic.

“…Baobao will come find you when he has time!”

“…”

No wonder he called him Baobao.

They thought it was some little demon’s sweet talk, but it turned out that the little guy was used to calling himself that.

Yin Tian and Dong Mian exchanged a look.

But whether it was self-talk or sweet talk, the little guy seemed to like this boy, so they couldn’t act differently in front of the child.

Dong Mian forced a fake smile: “Thank you, little friend. We’ll go back now.”

…

Back in Dongri’s ward, Dong Mian was finally able to ask carefully: “Baobao, why were you there just now?”

“…”

That’s a long story.

Dongri couldn’t explain it, couldn’t say it, and didn’t dare to utter a word.

The moment Pei Qinglu recognized his identity, he was terrified.

An unprecedentedly fierce and vicious thought popped up, thinking of biting through Pei Qinglu’s throat.

Although he was quickly frightened by his thoughts.

How could he do such a thing? It was too cruel.

When did he become such a cruel little divine beast? He was beginning not to recognize himself.

And in the gap where the little guy’s soul and reason were scattered, Pei Qinglu spoke again: “Don’t worry, I’m not human either.”

Dongri: !!!

Dongri’s eyes widened, the vicious thoughts subsided, but the shock in his heart multiplied several times.

The kind and good little brother in front of him wasn’t human either?!

“Don’t believe me?” Pei Qinglu smiled. “Look into my eyes.”

“…”

Dongri didn’t answer, but his eyes were already fixed on Pei Qinglu’s pupils.

Then, he watched with his own eyes as the boy’s light black pupils, which were no different from human ones, turned blue, and at the same time as the color changed, they twisted and turned into vertical pupils.

Dongri: !!!

He really wasn’t human!

Not only that, but he also smelled the spiritual energy emanating from the boy.

However, due to a lack of experience, he couldn’t determine its race.

“You, you…”

Dongri couldn’t express anything further; his heart raced, and he felt uncertain about what expression to wear.

And after proving that he wasn’t human either, the boy quickly changed his pupils back.

“Although you look like an ordinary human, and I can’t smell any scent on you, my intuition has always been very sharp.”

“…”

He couldn’t smell it, that’s right.

He almost starved to death in the human world before, so his current spiritual power recovery progress was still zero, and he had no choice but to maintain the appearance of a human cub.

Dongri pursed his lips, his expression very serious and earnest.

Although he dispelled the idea of biting through the other’s throat, he was finally able to say a complete sentence, a fierce threat.

“…This is a secret! My secret!”

At least he thought it was very intimidating, to the point where it could scare the other party out of their wits.

“…If you, if you tell anyone, I’ll fight you to the death!”

“…”

Unfortunately, in the other party’s eyes, it was not threatening at all, but more like a kitten acting cute, trying hard to extend its harmless claws.

There was nothing to be done; that’s how it was when strength was insufficient.

Even threats sounded like coquetry, and the other party would only find it cute and funny.

Pei Qinglu chuckled: “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone… Let’s treat this as a little secret between us.”

Dongri’s eyes, which had been trying hard to squeeze out a fierce look, instantly became clear—the other party was indeed a kind and good little brother!

“Then you too, you can’t tell anyone my identity.”

“…Okay!”

Dongri nodded quickly, looking reliable, utterly different from before.

“So, can you tell me, what is your true identity?”

Having a shared little secret meant they were good friends, and Dongri completely dropped his guard, honestly telling the other party: “Um… I’m very powerful, I’m a little Taotie!”

This surprised Pei Qinglu for a few seconds.

“…Indeed very powerful.”

No wonder he could eat so much, even eating the pomelo peel, it turned out he was professionally suited for it.

“…Little brother, then, what are you?” Dongri said, “I just smelled a scent, but I don’t know… I haven’t smelled it before.”

Dongri was so pure and honest that the boy didn’t hide anything, and in return, he showed the same honesty.

“My true form is a black dragon,” Pei Qinglu said. “But I’m sick right now, so I can’t show you more. I’ll definitely let you see it when I get better.”

As soon as he heard that the other party was ill, Dongri immediately felt a deep empathy, understanding, and sympathy.

Because he was almost the same.

Excessive hunger had led to the dissipation of his spiritual power, and he was currently unable to reveal his true form.

Reaching out and patting the other party’s shoulder, Dongri gave comfort very considerately: “…It’s okay, you’ll get better!”

“…I can’t transform either!”

“Hmm?”

“I used to always be hungry, not full, so pitiful, so pitiful!”

It could be said that he was selling his misery straightforwardly.

“Later… Papa, took me back! I can eat my fill, eat so full!”

“It’s just, the food Dad makes, isn’t as good as today’s… Today’s is so delicious, I’ve never eaten it before!”

It was just that he got lost halfway through, lost his target, and attached his most sincere praise.

“…Little brother, the food you gave me is really delicious!”

“…”

Who would have thought the topic would jump here, suddenly starting to praise his food?

And after the praise, the direction continued to be wrong.

“But Papa’s food, can also be eaten… I will eat a lot, a lot… But Papa, don’t let me eat a lot, a lot…”

Pei Qinglu listened quietly.

Fortunately, he didn’t find it boring or annoying.

He only found the little cub in front of him very interesting to talk to, like opening a treasure blind box of a language map, unable to guess what he would say next.

“And Papa, it’s so strange, the things he eats, he puts a little here, puts a little there, puts them everywhere… Hehe, but I can find them all, I’m very powerful!”

Pei Qinglu would even give appropriate responses: “Yes, very powerful.”

“I like, like cake the most… I like cream! Papa bought a lot of cakes, they look different, they’re all very delicious!”

However, the topic kept jumping wildly and eventually returned to its starting point.

“So, I can’t scare Papa… Papa can’t know!”

In the little Taotie cub’s mind, humans were very fragile beings.

He didn’t even need to do anything, just knowing his true identity would probably scare Papa to death.

Although he hadn’t spent much time with his two Papas, and still didn’t dare to get too close, the little guy had already developed a dependence on them in his heart, and was very grateful to them for taking him in and taking care of him.

He looked at Pei Qinglv very seriously, saying word by word, “…Little brother, our secret is a very important secret, we must keep it a secret, okay?”