Fire Finch glanced up, her gaze falling upon Aya Tone, who was meticulously counting magic crystals nearby, and she swallowed hard.
A certain thought lingered on her tongue, unsure if she should voice it to Huo Shenming.
The troubling news was that even her mother, it seemed, might not be a match for Aya Tone…
As this realization dawned upon her, Fire Finch’s eyes hardened with resolve.
“Grandpa, I want to become strong!”
While her previous desires had been born of reluctant necessity, Fire Finch now genuinely yearned to unearth the power of the Vermillion Bird, guided by Huo Shenming’s tutelage.
“There’s no rush for that, Little Finch,” Huo Shenming chuckled. “Let me tell you, Aya Jiu just called me great-grandpa. Her little mouth is truly sweet.”
Having said all he needed to, Huo Shenming cradled his aged face in his hands, a wide grin spreading across it as he savored the elation of being addressed as great-grandpa.
“…Oh, really?” Fire Finch responded, her tone flat and devoid of genuine interest.
Her hard-won resolve, so painstakingly formed, had been utterly crushed.
****
As time wore on, the fervor among the crowd not only failed to wane but instead surged, filling the venue with an even greater buzz of excitement.
It appeared as though a second round of the clan gathering was about to commence.
“Sis, how much longer are we going to be surrounded, serving as the main topic of conversation?”
Li Huaiming, sprawled on the makeshift sickbed, forced a strained smile as he murmured to Li Jia, who stood before him.
His body was swaddled like a zongzi, leaving only his mouth free to move.
To make matters worse, he was constantly fending off the inquiries of the uncles and aunties who swarmed around him.
He felt utterly drained, both in body and spirit.
“Don’t ask me!” Li Jia snapped, having been subjected to a barrage of questions herself. Explaining it once was bearable, but with every new arrival, she was forced to reiterate the entire story.
It was infuriating.
Her brother, Li Huaiming, had truly put himself in the line of fire.
Unsurprisingly, he received a thorough scolding.
Li Jia lowered her gaze to her ‘mummy-edition’ younger brother, and a surge of irritation welled within her.
Had she known they would be waylaid and interrogated, she would have simply heeded her brother’s advice and driven straight to the city hospital.
After a comprehensive examination, it was revealed that while her brother’s injuries appeared severe, they were merely superficial, primarily pain resulting from meridian dilation.
A month of rest would see him fully recovered, his constitution potentially even strengthened by the ordeal.
So, what was all this trouble for?
In stark contrast to the two siblings, Aya Tone, the ‘ordinary person,’ seemed to fade into insignificance.
Between an active A-rank adventurer and a quasi B-rank junior student, Aya Tone, a mere nobody, truly failed to capture anyone’s attention.
In everyone’s eyes, his sole role had been to carry Li Huaiming back.
And then…
There was nothing more to it.
“Could that witch have also attended the Huo clan gathering? Why didn’t we encounter her?”
Once someone voiced the question, it quickly spiraled into a flurry of speculation.
From Li Huaiming’s account, they had learned that his successful conquest of the rampaging dungeon was entirely due to the assistance of the white-haired witch.
Consequently, everyone eagerly scanned their surroundings for any sign of her, yet despite their fervent searches, their efforts proved futile.
It was as if the witch had merely passed through, never truly making an appearance at the clan gathering.
Resigned, the crowd had no choice but to abandon their search.
Indeed.
Given the distinctive features of that particular individual—her snow-white hair and youthful face—it would have been impossible not to recognize her if she had attended the clan gathering in Sparrow God Village.
A collective sigh of regret rippled through the onlookers.
After all, her movements were far more elusive than those of other S-rank powerhouses, particularly since the S-rank dungeon in Yan’an City had been successfully cleared.
She no longer even had a fixed respawn location.
This rare chance to forge a connection with her had slipped through their fingers, leaving everyone to beat their chests in vexation.
‘Witch?’
A cold sneer curled on Li Jia’s lips as her gaze subtly flickered towards Aya Tone, who was currently engrossed with his daughter in devising a strategy to feed the white egg.
Had she not witnessed it firsthand, she would never have believed that a man could transform into such a delicate and adorable figure.
With this thought in mind, Li Jia sidled closer to her mother.
“Mom, I’m leaving Huaiming in your care.”
Without waiting for Wang Simin to respond, Li Jia offered a conciliatory smile and slipped out of the crowd, abandoning a thoroughly despairing Li Huaiming.
[Sis! You’re just going to abandon your adorable little brother like that? Take me with you!]
“Sis…”
He tentatively used his feeble voice, hoping to stir any lingering sisterly affection in Li Jia.
Wang Simin had initially intended to hold her daughter back, but with her business partners standing nearby, she couldn’t afford to be impolite.
With a resigned sigh, she could only lament the adage that a grown daughter cannot be kept at home.
As Li Jia approached, she overheard the trio’s conversation.
“Wow, it actually ate it! That’s so amazing!” Aya Jiu exclaimed.
“How did it manage to swallow such a massive stone?” Huo Wushuang wondered aloud. “I really want to crack it open and study it!”
“I think it’s trying to say: ‘Spare my life…'” Aya Tone mused.
****
The blood-red magic crystal was swallowed whole.
As the magic crystal extended towards the white egg, the egg ceased its pretense, demonstrating right then and there that ‘if the eggshell is hard enough, it’s the stone that breaks.’
Upon contact with the eggshell’s surface, the mysterious patterns adorning the white egg began to glow faintly. Under the influence of an unseen force, the magic crystal liquefied, slowly seeping into the egg.
Ultimately, the white egg absorbed it entirely.
This sight utterly thrilled all three of them.
The father and daughter were simply overcome with excitement, while a certain cadre…
She genuinely wished to smash the egg open and thoroughly investigate its underlying principles.
The white egg, seemingly understanding their conversation, began to vibrate intensely as soon as Huo Wushuang declared her intention to smash it.
Forgetting even to eat, it immediately activated a level ten vibration mode, desperately attempting to escape from the perilous grasp of Huo Wushuang.
‘Boo hoo, the outside world is far too dangerous! I need to return to my little master’s embrace!’
Yet, being merely an egg, how could it possibly escape Huo Wushuang’s formidable grasp?
“Aya Tone~”
At that precise moment, Li Jia’s voice, tinged with a hint of resentment, echoed through the air.
Seizing the opportune moment, the white egg wriggled free from Huo Wushuang’s grasp and scurried back into Little Aya Jiu’s arms.
“Li Jia?”
Aya Tone’s body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head to look at her.
“Heh heh, you’re lucky,” she remarked, “You don’t have to endure endless questions from all those annoying uncles and aunties.”
Clearly, she harbored considerable resentment towards the industry’s prominent figures, particularly when presented with such a stark contrast.
They had all returned together, so why were she and her brother being detained, while Aya Tone was free to happily play with Aya Jiu?
‘It’s not fair!’
“Uh… I was just pulled aside by Old Master Huo for a chat too,” Aya Tone countered. “If you don’t believe me, ask Aya Jiu.”
“Mm-hmm,” Aya Jiu affirmed with a nod. “Great-grandpa is so kind; he even gave Aya Jiu lots of pretty stones.”
Little Aya Jiu nodded, her earnest expression radiating absolute honesty.
Daddy was holding the pretty stone; otherwise, Aya Jiu would surely have taken it out to show Sister Li Jia.
Clutching the white egg, Little Aya Jiu offered Li Jia a sweet smile.
“Of course, Sister believes Aya Jiu,” Li Jia responded, her voice laced with feigned sorrow. “It’s just that your daddy abandoned Sister, and now I’m very sad.”
Li Jia, having seemingly conjured a tissue from thin air, dabbed delicately at the corner of her eye.
“Sister, don’t cry~”
Little Aya Jiu, however, was at a loss for how to comfort her. The pretty stones had all been devoured by the egg, and she couldn’t bear to part with her precious pink one.
‘The egg…’
‘Sister Li Jia hugged it already.’
“How about Aya Jiu asks Daddy to buy Sister some delicious treats?”
“…?” Aya Tone murmured.
‘This daughter of mine, why does she use me as a shield every single day?’
“Aya Jiu, if Daddy buys Sister some delicious treats, then Aya Jiu’s own snacks will have to be reduced, you know.”
‘Hmph, my little cotton jacket can’t be letting the wind through!’
“Huh?” Little Aya Jiu gasped, her mouth agape and her eyes wide with shock.
Then, as if making a monumental decision, she pleaded, “Sister Li Jia, could you please pretend Aya Jiu didn’t just say that?”
Halving her snacks was far too severe a punishment…
Daddy didn’t buy her many snacks to begin with; they couldn’t possibly be reduced further!
‘Absolutely not!’
“…” Li Jia’s face was etched with exasperation.
‘This little girl is truly a chip off the old block, just like her father.’
‘Stingy!’