Daughter?

In the attic of Dormitory Number 18, Du Chen's sky-blue thieving eyes met the blue-green gaze of the Shieb. Both wore expressions of utter helplessness. Between them, nestled in Du Chen's arms, was a pair of bright, black eyes, blinking incessantly.

The tiny one was gnawing on Du Chen's chest, giggling a 'he-he' with a mischievous glint, yet her rows of silvery teeth refused to let go. Du Chen dared not forcibly pull her away. The little girl's cries earlier had been truly potent; Du Chen feared they might summon even the divine beasts of Battle God Isle.

"Master? You claim you found an infant at the docks and intend to adopt her!?" Harry fought to suppress his laughter, his plump face contorting into a comical grimace.

"You dare meddle in my affairs? Are you so eager to laugh?" Du Chen glared menacingly at Harry. But just then, the little one suddenly released his chest, clambered up to his shoulder with an "Eek!", and playfully inserted two jade-like index fingers into 'Papa's' mouth, then tugged, stretching Du Chen's lips into a wide, unnatural grin.

"Papa, smile!"

*Schlick*, the tiny one slid back into Du Chen's embrace, once again sinking her teeth into the spot that most intrigued her, and which, coincidentally, was Du Chen's most sensitive.

Du Chen slumped his head, truly at a loss for what to do with this adorable little creature.

"Uh, esteemed and benevolent Master, how could one as humble as I dare question your affairs? It's just, forgive my extreme presumption, but do you... possess any experience raising a child?" Harry quickly bowed his head, asking Du Chen timidly. After his Master shook his head in confusion, Harry whispered, "In our Shieb experience, we simply cast newborn infants into the snow, letting them dig their own snow blocks..."

"Damn it, that's *your* Shieb way! This little one is human... isn't she?" Du Chen pondered deeply. In his previous life, he too had been a child, but he'd spent his first five years in an orphanage. After a devastating fire when he was five, he'd roamed the streets, barely surviving through begging and thievery. His own experiences offered no useful precedent. Yet, precisely because of this, Du Chen felt a particular fondness for orphans without parents. And this little girl was such a darling, with her black hair and sparkling black eyes!

"Never mind! Go find a wet nurse, quickly!" Du Chen waved his hand, adding as the Shieb reached the door, "If you can't find one, then buy things suitable for a girl her age! Spare no expense! You scoundrel, you still dare to laugh! Do you wish to die!?" He glanced down at the little one in his arms, practically roaring, "Especially, don't forget to buy a pacifier!"

Harry scurried out, practically tumbling, and upon reaching the courtyard gate, he called back, "Master, Professor Jemison and Mister Bovin have arrived!"

No sooner had he spoken than two eccentric figures stormed up to the attic. *BANG!* They kicked the door open, immediately encircling Du Chen, who sat on the sofa tending to the little girl.

Jamis stared intently at the little one in Du Chen's arms, smacking his lips repeatedly in awe. Bovin, meanwhile, licked his yellowed teeth, his tiny eyes glinting with an almost predatory light, as if he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure.

"Francis, where did you procure this adorable little creature?" Jamis reached out to take the tiny one, but unexpectedly, the girl glared fiercely at him, clinging to Du Chen and refusing to let go. "Bad man, no! Papa, huggies!" she babbled from her tiny mouth.

"She called you Papa!?"

Both men stood frozen, mouths agape. After a long moment, Jamis asked hesitantly, "Francis, whose young lady did you... impregnate?"

Du Chen rolled his eyes, casting a frigid glance at Jamis. "This child was found by me, an adopted daughter! If you utter one more word of nonsense..."

"Adopted daughter, tsk-tsk. Come, let me play with her for a while! This little one is truly a work of art!" Jamis ignored Du Chen's threat, snatching the little girl without preamble and planting a hearty kiss on her before cradling her. His rough handling made Du Chen frown deeply, fearing he might harm the child.

Jamis glanced at Bovin, giving a slight nod. "This little one is quite interesting, wouldn't you agree?"

Bovin gazed strangely at Jamis. "Indeed, most interesting. Watch your tail!"

"My tail? Away with you, Old Charlatan, what jest is this? Where would I have a tail... Heavens! My meticulously braided ponytail!" Jamis instantly 'flung' the little girl back to Du Chen, then snatched a drink from the table and splashed it onto his head. It turned out his braid had somehow caught fire.

Heh, when did the little darling set the fire? Well done! Judging by the flames, it was at most the strength of a Level One battle qi, incapable of harming anyone, but more than sufficient for a prank. And what a splendid prank it was! Truly magnificent!

Du Chen adjusted his hold on the little girl, cradling her securely, and spoke with extreme displeasure. "Professor Jemison, please do not toss her around carelessly; she is not a toy! Furthermore, she is my daughter, and I'll have no more of your antics here!" As he spoke, Du Chen secretly marveled, *Indeed, this little one from Philip's laboratory is remarkably adept; I still can't fathom how she 'incited' that fire.*

"Pah!"

The little one spat at Jamis, then pouted her lips, disgruntled. "Hooligan! Bad man, rogue, no kisses for you!" She then straightened her tiny back with effort and planted a kiss on Du Chen's chin. "Papa, good man, kissy-kissy, hee-hee!"

"Heh-heh, setting fires at such a tender age! She's nothing short of a child prodigy! A perfect work of art, I tell you!" Jamis suddenly grew serious. From a pouch at his waist, he produced paintbrushes and oils. From the sack on Bovin's back, he retrieved a canvas, then, using Bovin's back as an easel, he declared solemnly, "As a great artist, it is both my responsibility and my duty to capture this masterpiece! Francis, sit still!"

"No! No! No!"

The little one shook her head like a rattle drum, then lifted Du Chen's long robe and burrowed inside. Through the fabric, two tiny handprints could be seen waving frantically. "Annoying! Hooligan! Bad man, rogue, no drawing!"

Du Chen let out a helpless chuckle, affectionately patting the tiny form nestled within his robes. "Professor Jemison, my daughter dislikes Portraits, and she particularly dislikes... hooligans! Bad men, rogues. Perhaps we should just forgo it." The little one in his arms chimed in cooperatively, "Draw me, and I'll burn your bum-bum!"

Suddenly, a genuine flame indeed erupted on Jamis's backside.

"Demoness! This little girl is nothing short of a little Demoness!" he howled, leaping down the stairs to find water to extinguish the flames—the table's drinks having already been expended in the rescue of his ponytail.

Bovin, meanwhile, paid Jamis no heed. From the large burlap sack on his back, he produced a fist-sized crystal ball. He leaned in close to Du Chen, revealing a mouth full of yellowed teeth. "Little baby, would Grandfather like to tell your fortune with astrology? Just a single drop of your blood is all I need!"

"Bad man, don't believe!" The little one burrowed further into Du Chen's embrace.

Bovin's expression shifted. He pointed at the child in Du Chen's arms and began to rant, "You dare call me a bad man, and disbelieve my astrology!? You naughty brat, my old man's astrology is the absolute truth, you—"

"Enough, Mister Bovin! My daughter requires her rest!" Du Chen was thoroughly displeased, annoyed that Bovin dared to scold the little girl. He immediately issued a stern dismissal.

"Hmph, you disbelieve? What I say *is* the truth!" Bovin continued his tirade, then abruptly clamped his mouth shut, his tiny eyes wide with astonishment as he stared blankly at Du Chen. Du Chen looked, realizing that the little girl, who had been burrowing into his arms, had now crawled out from his robes. At some point, she had unearthed the small black stone from his pocket—the very one given to him by Ted.

"Papa, what's this?" the little girl asked, shaking the stone.

Du Chen smiled at the little girl. "Sweetheart, I don't know either!"

"Egg!"

Bovin suddenly uttered a single word, cold and sharp.

"Egg?" Du Chen looked at him in surprise.

"Egg!" Bovin repeated. Just then, the little girl shook the 'egg,' giggling, "Egg! Eat! Hungry!"

*GULP!* She popped the small, pitch-black 'egg' into her mouth and swallowed it whole with a single gulp.

*CRASH!* The crystal ball in Bovin's hand clattered to the floor. After a moment of stunned silence, he snatched up the orb and bolted. "My stomach's churning, I need to find a latrine! Old Gambler, never mind your hair, come with me, quickly!"

"Hey, isn't there a lavatory in the dormitory!?" Jamis's words hadn't even fully left his lips before Bovin had dragged him away, vanishing without a trace in an instant!

Wait!

A chill gripped Du Chen's heart. Though Bovin and Jamis appeared utterly mad, if one were to assume they were truly powerful cultivators, then they must have discovered something utterly terrifying to flee in such a panic! And if Bovin recognized this stone as an egg, then he must know what horrific consequences awaited the little girl for consuming it! If this assumption held true...

At this thought, Du Chen whirled his head to look at the little one. But she was merely smiling impishly at him, one hand lifting her red jacket, the other patting her tender white belly, as if proudly displaying her 'feat.' He quickly manifested his Lotus Shield and waited for a moment, but no anomaly occurred. Du Chen hurriedly dismissed his shield, placed his 'daughter' on the table, and anxiously patted her back. "That thing wasn't tasty, quickly, spit it out!"

"No, ate it already!" The little one shook her head.

"It could be dangerous, sweetheart. Be a good girl, won't you spit it out?" Du Chen pleaded anxiously.

"Won't spit!" The little one covered her mouth, gazing mischievously at Du Chen, as if having eaten 'Papa's' precious possession was a most amusing endeavor.

Du Chen grew frantic. "Oh, that thing was absolutely disgusting! It was... vomited from the belly of a non-human brute!"

"M-meep!?"

The little one's eyes suddenly widened a full circle, her bright black pupils growing vacant. "Oh no!"

*THUD!* The little one tipped straight backward onto the table, her tiny feet, still in their cross-legged sitting posture, pointed rigidly at the ceiling beam.

"Battle God above, raising a child is truly no simple feat!" Du Chen was utterly flustered. Just then, boisterous laughter echoed from outside the door. "Francis! I just ran into Harry, and he said you adopted a little girl! Quickly, open the door and let your elder brother take a look at his niece!"

*What trouble is my elder brother coming to stir up now!?* Du Chen hastily placed the little girl on a chair, found several soft cushions to bundle her securely, and only then ran downstairs to open the door.

Steve was his usual self: lecherous eyes, and a dramatically sweeping cloak. "Heh, I have a niece now, eh? Pretty, isn't she?"

"She's only two or three, what 'pretty'? Elder brother, what should I do? The child ate something unclean! Now she seems to have passed out!" Du Chen pulled Steve along, heading towards the attic.

"Unclean thing? What thing?"

"They say it was an egg!" Du Chen gestured with his thumb, "An egg about the size of my thumbnail!"

...

Behind a large tree by the Water River in the distance, Jamis asked in terror, "You didn't misidentify it, did you? It was truly *His* egg?"

"Nonsense! What I say *is* the truth! Damn it, His egg actually fell into Francis's hands! Tell me, is our little brother fortunate, or cursed?"

"Poor Francis, to actually feed *His* egg to that little Demoness! If *He* were to learn His progeny was treated as a snack for his adopted daughter... I must prepare my brushes! I shall paint the scene of Francis being torn limb from limb, quartered by *Him*!"

Bovin smacked his lips. "Old Gambler, you've forgotten something: that little Demoness's... lineage is not to be trifled with either! Did you forget what I just said? Francis and the little Demoness's destinies are now intertwined. Do you believe the little Demoness's... ancestors would fear *Him*?"

"Heh, they likely fear no one! It would be quite a spectacle if they truly came to blows!" Jamis adjusted his clothes with an air of composure, then smoothed down what remained of his half-burnt ponytail braid. He spoke gravely, "My dear Mister Bovin, I propose... we should swiftly seek refuge elsewhere. Battle God Isle is no longer amusing... A grand chaos could erupt at any moment!"

"No! We shall remain!" Bovin declared firmly. "My dear Mister Jamis, the fact that the little Demoness consumed the egg without an immediate cataclysmic shift in the heavens and earth suggests that some peculiar transformation has occurred. I must witness this change with my own eyes! And besides..." He chuckled slyly. "How many years has it been since we encountered such a benevolent little creature, willing to provide free lodging, food, and clothes—and for months on end! Would you truly abandon such an excellent free meal ticket?"

Jamis nodded in agreement. It seemed *that* was the true reason these two old rascals chose to stay, wasn't it?

...

"My 'daughter' is inside!"

In the attic, Steve, eager to meet his niece, rushed impatiently to the second floor. But upon seeing the little one on the sofa, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk. "Francis, are you so starved for affection, so lacking an outlet for your impulses, that your eyes are playing tricks on you? That's no niece, that's clearly a nephew!"

Nephew? Du Chen entered behind Steve, only for his vision to momentarily darken. Indeed, a small boy sat upon the sofa!