txolops Chapter 44: A Foundation Establishment Stage Student at Age 6
Chapter 44: A Foundation Establishment Stage Student at Age 6
"noob,……"
In her hazy state, Dong Xuan'er felt a tightness in her chest, as if a huge rock was pressing down on her, making it difficult to breathe. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, her vision still blurry, but she could clearly see a small figure lying on top of her.
It was a child dressed like a village girl, wearing a faded white cloth dress and a slightly oversized cloth hat on her head. Two thin braids hung down her shoulders. Her little face was flushed with a healthy blush from deep sleep, her mouth slightly open, sleeping peacefully. A faint scent of wine lingered around her nose, mixed with the familiar, childlike smell of milk.
Dong Xuan'er's heart skipped a beat. In disbelief, she raised her hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, and gently stroked the little girl's head.
"noob?"
The little girl was awakened by the gentle caress. She smacked her lips, unconsciously rubbed her palm against her hand, shifted to a more comfortable position, and fell into a deep sleep again.
That familiar touch, that completely unguarded look...
The art style has suddenly changed!
The originally warm scene was instantly shattered. The worries, fears, and lingering anxieties that had been building up in Dong Xuan'er's heart poured out like a storm, all turning into slaps that landed on Han Baibai's bottom.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
The crisp sound echoed in the quiet space.
"You scared your mother!" Dong Xuan'er gritted her teeth, her voice filled with suppressed sobs and anger. "You heartless little brat, I'll make you disappear!"
She cursed and then slapped him. It seemed like she was venting her anger, but the force was as light as brushing dust off clothes. When it landed on Han Baibai, it felt more like a gentle pat out of tenderness.
Han Baibai was awakened by this sudden "lesson". Opening her sleepy eyes, she saw her mother's face so close to hers. Instead of being afraid, she was stunned for a moment. Then, a huge surprise exploded on her little face like fireworks.
"Mother!"
The little girl's eyes lit up instantly, like two twinkling stars, and her voice was filled with excitement and grievance at their long-awaited reunion.
She happily jumped into Dong Xuan'er's arms, clinging to her with her arms and legs, and kissed her cheeks several times with her little head. The warm, milky kisses instantly melted away all of Dong Xuan'er's feigned strength.
"Little White misses you so much! I miss Mommy so much!"
At this moment, Dong Xuan'er's heart completely softened like spring water.
She could no longer hold back and hugged her daughter tightly, as if she wanted to meld her into her very bones.
Hot tears uncontrollably slid down from the corners of her eyes, dripping onto Han Baibai's collar and leaving a small wet patch.
"You scared your mother to death..." Dong Xuan'er's voice choked with sobs, thick with emotion. "Where did you run off to? Do you know how hard your mother searched for you..."
She held her daughter, her shoulders trembling slightly, and it took her a long time to calm down.
She gently wiped away her daughter's tears with her fingertips, then lovingly scratched her little nose, her eyes filled with the joy and tenderness of having regained what she had lost.
"Alright, alright, Mother misses Xiaobai too." She took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound calm, and looked at her daughter with a questioning gaze. "Tell Mother, what did you experience today?"
The little girl suddenly raised her head, her face still streaked with tears, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness. She cried out excitedly, "Mother, I've seen Father!"
Dong Xuan'er felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly, and she subconsciously clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
A deep sadness welled up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth, but didn't know how to speak to her daughter.
Her father is dead; what she's seeing is probably just a hallucination born from her longing.
The little girl, oblivious to her mother's sudden pallor and furrowed brows, was lost in the joy of their reunion. Her voice was clear and bright: "Daddy's so good! He even caught summoning spirits for me and made me delicious food!" As she spoke, a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes, then her little mouth pouted, looking pitiful: "But…Daddy hit me! It hurt so much! He spanked me until my bottom is all swollen! Mommy, can you hit Daddy for me?"
Dong Xuan'er felt a pang in her heart. She sighed helplessly, gently stroking her daughter's soft hair with her fingertips, her voice choked with barely concealed sobs: "Xiao Bai... your father... has... passed away."
Han Baibai recalled what her younger brother had vaguely mentioned before, and a wave of sadness washed over her. She raised her tear-filled eyes and asked Dong Xuan'er, "Father said that Grandfather beat Father to death, is that true?"
Dong Xuan'er's pupils suddenly contracted, and her body shook violently as if she had been hit by an earthquake.
She never told her daughter the cause of her father's death. How did the child know?
Seeing her mother's shocked and flustered expression, the little girl's heart skipped a beat, and the expectant light in her eyes instantly dimmed.
She buried her head deep in her mother's warm chest, her voice muffled, filled with suppressed anger: "Grandpa is wicked! Xiaobai is ignoring him from now on!"
Dong Xuan'er remained silent, only hugging her daughter tighter, as if she wanted to convey all her comfort through this embrace.
Han Baibai hesitated for a moment, then raised her head, her eyes shining with determination, and said, "Mother, why don't we go find Father? Forget Grandfather, let's go find Father!"
"Cough cough cough—"
Before Dong Xuan'er could respond to her daughter's childish words, a suppressed cough came from the side, interrupting Han Baibai's words.
Turning his head, he saw Ancestor Yunlu sitting behind the tea table, a teacup in his hand steaming. He squinted, but his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, staring at Han Baibai with ill intent.
Upon seeing this, the little girl immediately became like a frightened rabbit, raising her voice a few decibels: "Grandpa is the best! Xiaobai loves Grandpa the most! Xiaobai won't go anywhere!" After saying that, she buried her head in Dong Xuan'er's arms, only revealing half of her hair, like an ostrich burying its head in danger.
The family's sudden reunion left them somewhat bewildered.
The three remained silent for a long time, the air seemingly frozen.
Finally, Ancestor Yunlu sighed and broke the silence: "Tell me, where did you go?"
Han Baibai was about to answer when Dong Xuan'er quickly covered her mouth.
Dong Xuan'er shook her head slightly, her eyes full of warning.
The little girl wisely lowered her head and stopped talking.
Yunlu's eyes darkened. She didn't intend to dwell on the issue any longer. She had come all this way and didn't want to argue with her daughter again.
Ancestor Yunlu tapped rhythmically on the tea table with his long, slender fingers, making a "tap, tap, tap" sound. He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, and uttered a single sentence: "The father you saw was a fake!"
The little girl immediately exploded, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on. Hands on her hips, she angrily shouted, "You're lying! My daddy is real!"
Ancestor Yunlu frowned, an unbelievable guess forming in his mind. He took a deep breath, his voice low and firm: "It's fake. I killed the person, and the body was burned."
The little girl's tears streamed down her face. She wasn't crying because her maternal grandfather said her father was fake, but because her maternal grandfather had really beaten her father to death.
"Father has a treasure!" she sobbed, her voice defiant. "It can bring the dead back to life with a single drop of blood! It's no joke!"
The little girl's rebuttal startled Dong Xuan'er and Ancestor Yunlu, causing them to swallow hard. Rebirth from a drop of blood? What kind of treasure could possibly do something so miraculous?
Even Ancestor Yunlu showed a shocked expression. Looking at the little girl in front of him, who was crying her eyes out but was still stubborn, his guess about the significance of the opportunity that Han Baibai was involved in became even stronger.
His fingers tapped the table faster and faster, making a rapid, rhythmic sound as he repeatedly considered the meaning behind his granddaughter's words and his next steps.
The tapping motion of Ancestor Yunlu on the table abruptly stopped, and a glint of light flashed in his narrow phoenix eyes.
As a seasoned veteran in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he possessed immense experience and instantly grasped the key to understanding the matter.
The granddaughter disappeared for only a day, but when she returned, she had directly entered the Foundation Establishment stage. Such progress was simply against common sense, and even those peerless geniuses with heavenly spiritual roots had never achieved it.
Not to mention she also claimed to have seen Han Xiaoliu, who had long since turned to ashes.
"Rebirth through a drop of blood..." Ancestor Yunlu murmured softly, her voice trembling slightly.
If Han Xiaoliu truly possesses such a heaven-defying artifact, then all these absurd events would have a reasonable explanation.
He quickly conjured up a picture in his mind: a highly hidden, advanced secret realm, where spiritual herbs were everywhere, and there were even peerless pills that could make people travel a thousand miles in a day.
"An opportunity... an incredible opportunity." Ancestor Yunlu thought to himself, a fleeting look of greed quickly turning into deep calculation.
He wanted to go in and find out what was going on, but he knew that the other party had a grudge against him and would never let him easily step into the forbidden area.
The only key is on this little girl.
Ancestor Yunlu's gaze passed over her daughter and landed on Han Baibai, who was chattering incessantly. Then she looked at Dong Xuan'er, who was beaming with joy and asking her daughter all sorts of questions.
Those were people he owed a great deal to.
"Very well," Ancestor Yunlu sighed, the calculation and indifference in her eyes gradually melting away, replaced by a sense of relief. "It's all cause and effect. I will no longer interfere with your affair with that person."