Chapter 13: Do You Feed Your Child Like This at Home?

The negotiations failed.

Dong Mian was melancholy, and Yin Tian was angry.

“That damn old bastard dragon, I should have stabbed him through with a spear.”

After returning to Dongri’s hospital room, both of their faces were grim.

The more Yin Tian thought about it, the angrier he became. If he hadn’t pretended to be injured in front of Dong Mian, he would have turned around and gone back to fight.

The pain in Dong Mian’s body had dissipated, but his mood was even heavier.

Having been in the mortal world for so long, this was the first time he had gotten a lead on the little demon’s whereabouts, but he had run into such a stumbling block. Was he going to watch the little demon escape?

Dong Mian asked: “…What you said just now, that the little demon would run away if it sensed your aura, was that true or false?”

“Would it stay and wait to die?” Yin Tian said. “The little demon isn’t stupid. After that commotion, it’s probably long gone.”

He told him not to stir up trouble, and now they had directly destroyed the nest.

If the little demon didn’t escape, it would be committing suicide.

“…”

Dong Mian’s mood became even heavier.

“But you don’t need to worry too much. No matter where he runs, I’ll find him again.”

“But the longer it takes, the more the little demon will recover, and the harder it will be to find him later, right?”

“He won’t have such good luck next time,” Yin Tian said. “Where are there so many divine beast whelps in the mortal world? This time was an accident.”

Dong Mian sighed: “I hope so.”

Yin Tian comforted him: “Don’t be discouraged. Anyway, with me here, finding the little demon is only a matter of time.”

Perhaps because he was constantly experiencing emotional ups and downs in his interactions with Yin Tian, hearing his words of comfort at this moment gave him a strange sense of security.

Dong Mian snorted softly: “You better be.”

“My freedom is still in your hands, little immortal,” Yin Tian raised an eyebrow. “You’re using me like a dog. I can’t wait to kill that little demon, hiss—”

As he spoke, he gestured with his hand, which inadvertently pulled on his injured arm. Yin Tian endured it, but he still hissed in response.

“…Is your wound hurting?”

Seeing Yin Tian’s injury, Dong Mian restrained the urge to retort.

For the sake of him taking the blow for him, he would let Yin Tian have his way this one time.

“Put your hand over here. Let me see if I can heal you…”

Yin Tian obediently extended his arm.

On the surface, he seemed silent and didn’t say a word, but inside, he was secretly ecstatic.

He still had to use the ‘bitter meat’ (feigned suffering to deceive others) strategy.

Although he was usually cold and indifferent toward him and never glanced at him, the little immortal was, after all, kind-hearted and willing to tend to his wound.

And his acting had successfully passed the test without raising any suspicion from the little immortal.

Yin Tian had never been particularly interested in finding the little demon. He felt a spark of curiosity today only because the little demon’s scent had changed, prompting him to wonder about the reason behind it.

Rather than catching the little demon, he secretly hoped that the little demon would escape.

So, when he first walked into that hospital room, he had already left his scent behind.

But he didn’t expect that the child would be a descendant of the dragon race—but that was good too. The man’s commotion provided him with perfect cover, and the little demon’s escape time had become more ample.

First, he pretended to expose his scent inadvertently.

Then, he acted in front of Dong Mian and seized the opportunity to play the ‘bitter meat’ strategy.

Although he hated that cheap black dragon, thanks to him, everything had become logical.

A warm, moist sensation covered and enveloped the wound. Dong Mian was earnestly healing Yin Tian’s wound.

But even after using all his magic, he could only barely stop Yin Tian’s bleeding and couldn’t heal the wound.

Dong Mian felt very frustrated: “…That’s all I can do. I’m sorry, healing isn’t my forte.”

The black dragon and the great demon’s magic were both above his. He was like using a bandage to plug a bloody hole. He had tried his best.

But Yin Tian knew when to stop. Everything he had achieved today had exceeded his expectations, and he couldn’t be too greedy and cause things to backfire.

“That’s enough,” he said. “It’s already much better. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“…”

It was unusual for the great demon to speak seriously, which made people feel quite uncomfortable.

Dong Mian had no choice but to shift his gaze to Dongri, who was still fast asleep.

The little guy had kicked off the blanket on one side at some point, his limbs spread wide, sleeping in a “大” big shape.

He was sleeping soundly after eating his fill.

He was making “whooshing” breathing sounds, and his small chest was rising and falling.

What could he say?

If he said that the little guy seemed carefree, it was usually because he was timid and quiet. If you said a few more words to him, he would immediately not dare to speak, only daring to blink his eyes.

However, if he admitted to being timid and introverted, he could still sleep soundly in a new environment, and his sleeping posture was somewhat erratic.

Whatever he was, the little guy had the superpower to restore his mood.

No matter how heavy his mood was just now, his cute appearance had healed most of it.

Dong Mian tucked the blanket back over the little guy and couldn’t help but poke his soft, chubby face with his finger.

So cute.

He was really like a little glutinous rice ball. He felt like he could poke out the filling directly.

Dong Mian stared at him for a long time, then lowered his voice and asked Yin Tian: “…Do you think what that black dragon said is possible? What if the little demon is possessing Riri?”

When he didn’t have this thought, he wouldn’t have thought of this possibility.

But after being reminded, he couldn’t help but imagine it, even if it was impossible.

“Do you think it’s possible?” Yin Tian snorted. “Am I that useless, or is the little demon in a hurry to die?”

“But didn’t you say that the little demon can completely hide its aura?” Dong Mian said. “Then, according to that theory, as long as the little demon doesn’t change hosts and doesn’t have any killing intent, it can continue to possess Riri?”

“Theoretically, that’s right, but the little demon is seriously injured. What would it do to possess such a malnourished little thing? Is it afraid that it will recover too quickly?”

“…”

Originally, Dong Mian had begun to think that there were no absolutes, because sometimes the most dangerous place was the safest; however, Yin Tian’s words directly dispelled all his doubts.

That’s right.

When they picked up Dongri, the little guy was nearly starving to death. He was still scrawny even after being raised all this time.

What use would the little demon have in possessing such a child? Would it starve with him three meals out of nine days?

What’s more, it was right under Yin Tian’s nose, and the risk was even greater. No matter how arrogant the little demon was, it couldn’t gamble with its life like that, right?

“I know. This time, you finally found the little demon’s whereabouts, but you were forcibly hindered, so you feel very upset. But since you can find it once, you can find it countless times. I guarantee that I’ll tear the little demon into eight pieces as soon as I find it.”

What else could Dong Mian say?

He could only hide his sigh in his heart and cheer up again: “…Okay.”

…

The next day, Dongri’s test results came out. Other than malnutrition and mild anemia, there were no other abnormalities.

But the situation of suddenly vomiting blood that day was real, and it was to the extent that even Yin Tian and Dong Mian, taking turns casting spells, were ineffective.

It was really strange.

What was even stranger was that, despite being fine the day before, after waking up from a sleep, the little guy ate a hearty meal, and by evening, he could run and jump, looking full of energy.

But the next morning, he suddenly developed a high fever, reaching 39.5 degrees Celsius, which made his head feel dizzy and sluggish. He had to lie quietly in the hospital bed while receiving an IV drip.

“According to the current test results, there are no major problems with his body. It may just be malnutrition, so his immunity and resistance are relatively poor.”

“…But he was in good spirits yesterday, and he had a good appetite at dinner. Why did he suddenly have a fever today?”

The doctor asked: “What did he eat last night?”

“He ate a serving of minced meat rice, two small chicken legs, a fried egg, a vegetable salad… and half an apple, a box of blueberries… He said he was hungry again before going to bed, so he ate two packs of small biscuits and a small bread…”

They didn’t feel anything when they were feeding him. They had become somewhat accustomed to the little guy’s enormous appetite. They didn’t think he ate a lot last night, after all, he only ate one bowl of rice.

But after repeating it verbally like this, Dong Mian himself felt a little embarrassed… This wasn’t a little! Could a normal child eat this much?!

After listening, the doctor’s expression was even more incredulous: “Do you feed your child like this at home?”

Dong Mian nodded, his voice very soft: “…Yes.”

He didn’t dare to say that he ate even more at home.

“He eats about the same at home, but he’s always been fine…”

The doctor sighed: “He’s overeating. An adult can’t necessarily eat this much in one meal. If he eats like this every day, he’ll develop problems.”

“Indigestion can also cause children to have a fever. Please pay attention to feeding him less in the future, and also limit his intake of biscuits and bread snacks. They have no nutrition.”

“…”

Dong Mian nodded repeatedly, listening carefully to the doctor’s words.

If it was indigestion, it was indeed very possible.

It seemed that he had to feed him less in the future. The child’s health was the most important thing. Sometimes, feeding him too much could become a burden.

“The rest will have to wait for the other test results to come out. If there are no problems, I suggest you go to the psychiatric department.”

“…”

“It may be a somatization symptom caused by excessive mental stress. Don’t ignore this just because the child is young.”

“…”

Dong Mian nodded blankly, looking a little distracted, but he actually instantly agreed with the doctor’s statement and had already begun to recall in his mind.

Thinking carefully about the little guy’s usual introversion and timidity, and how he only looked most relaxed when eating…

Could it be that he had been suppressing his emotions and not daring to express them, and could only vent through food?

Very likely.

Such a small child had experienced cruel and profound wandering and hunger, and his inner trauma must be severe.

That little body must be enduring so much fear and pressure every day.

But they hadn’t noticed this until the child vomited blood and was hospitalized, and his body glowed with a red light… It was truly wrong of them!

No wonder it was useless for him and Yin Tian to take turns casting spells!

Because the problem wasn’t in the body, but in that young and fragile heart!

A qualified human parent would never let the situation deteriorate to this extent!

There were too many aspects that they, these imposters, needed to learn!

After a thorough understanding, Dong Mian decided to turn over a new leaf.

First, as soon as the little guy felt a little better, he would immediately take him to see a psychiatrist.

Second, he would shift the little guy’s interest away from food and break his dependence on food.

Third, he would strictly control his diet in the future and never feed the little guy so much again.