Zi Yan, still dangling from Xiao Tian's grip, spotted the women gathered ahead and immediately covered her face. Not just strangers—familiar faces. Being held up like a toy in front of them was utterly mortifying.
Seeing this scene, Medusa couldn't resist a jab. "So this is the important matter you mentioned? Child abduction? Don't tell me your peculiar hobbies have flared up again."
Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, and the others all laughed at Medusa's words, their eyes dancing with mischief. Only Han Yue didn't laugh. She studied the figure in Xiao Tian's grasp with an odd sense of recognition, her expression searching, trying to confirm whether her eyes were playing tricks on her. Then she spotted the distinctive light purple hair and twin pigtails.
"Senior Sister Zi Yan?"
"I-it's me!" Zi Yan knew her cover was blown and answered with supreme awkwardness. Then she rounded on Xiao Tian. "Big bad guy, aren't you going to put me down? Don't I have any dignity left?"
"Hmm? What did you call me?"
Catching the warning edge in his tone, Zi Yan instantly swapped to fawning mode. "Big good guy! Please put me down. Even though being carried means I don't have to walk, I still prefer the feeling of walking on my own. I super love walking!"
Xiao Tian set her gently on the ground and smoothed out her rumpled dress. At his unexpectedly tender gesture, Zi Yan felt her earlier resentment dissolve and a surprising warmth bloom in its place. She shook her head violently. *This guy bullied me. How could I possibly feel that way? Absolutely impossible!* Watching her cycle between dreamy smiles and fierce denial, Xiao Tian touched her forehead. Had he broken her somehow?
"Junior Xiao Tian, why did you bring Senior Sister Zi Yan here?" Han Yue came to his side, glancing at Ya Fei who was practically draped over him. A flicker of envy crossed her eyes. Xiao Tian pulled Han Yue into his free arm without missing a beat. "I brought her to meet Cai Li."
Zi Yan observed Xiao Tian with a beauty nestled against each shoulder and felt a surge of disdain. She knew perfectly well he had a publicly acknowledged childhood-sweetheart girlfriend in the academy, and from the looks of it, the other women here also shared complicated entanglements with him. *Could this be Xiao Tian's secret hideout for his lovers? If so, I can definitely report him to Xun'er later.* The thought alone nearly made her burst out laughing.
"This little girl and Cai Li do share a similar aura. Could she be Medusa's long-lost sister? Or perhaps a cousin?" Xiao Yi Xian carefully sensed the energy around Zi Yan.
"I have no relatives. It's impossible for me to have any. But I do feel an inexplicable closeness to her." Medusa tilted her head, studying the petite Zi Yan. The little girl returned her gaze. Though undeniably cute, Medusa didn't recognize her—had never seen her before. And yet, the strange sense of kinship was unmistakable. She turned questioning eyes toward Xiao Tian, silently demanding an explanation.
Xiao Tian briefly outlined Zi Yan's identity as a Magical Beast.
"So the closeness I feel comes from our shared Magical Beast bloodlines?"
"Exactly. But it's more than that. Your races are quite similar, which deepens the connection." Xiao Tian clarified. The Void Ancient Dragon and the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python—even the Nine-Colored variant—shared striking similarities and a faint ancestral bloodline link. Like the Void Ancient Dragon and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, except in their case, the bond was one of innate antagonism—pure revulsion woven into their very being.
"Then Xiao Tian… do you know what I truly am?" Zi Yan, suddenly hopeful that he might hold the answer to her true form, asked with barely concealed anxiety.
"Your main task right now is to accumulate energy and cultivate. When you reach Dou Huang, I'll tell you everything."
"You'd better not be lying to me. I'll reach Dou Huang very soon." Zi Yan knew pressing further was useless, so she let the matter drop.
Xiao Tian nodded and promptly ignored her—he had his hands quite full at the moment. Zi Yan cast a disdainful look at him nestled between two women and slowly gravitated toward Medusa. The closer she drew, the stronger the feeling of kinship became. Medusa took Zi Yan's small hand and led her toward the lake. The two of them had much to discuss and investigate.
"Little Brother Xiao Tian, I know exactly what your little schemes are." Ya Fei poked his head, her expression one of complete knowing. She glanced toward Zi Yan skipping behind Medusa. "But she's still young. Don't you dare mess around."
"Her age—if you counted it up—all of yours combined wouldn't even be a fraction." He gave her a teasing pinch.
"Ah!" Ya Fei yelped and scrambled away. "Wasn't Qing Lin exactly the same back then?" She rubbed her smarting chest with an accusing look.
At her words, Xiao Yi Xian and Yun Yun both turned to look at Qing Lin, who was cradling Xiao Meng. Qing Lin's face bloomed with shyness under their collective gaze. Beside Xiao Tian, Han Yue was completely lost. *Was there something she didn't know?* To get back at Xiao Tian, Ya Fei yanked Han Yue away from him, then wrapped her own arm around Han Yue's waist in a perfect imitation of him. She leaned in and began whispering animatedly into Han Yue's ear.
"Giggle~" Han Yue burst out laughing when the story was done—whether from Xiao Tian's schemes or because Ya Fei had accidentally found a ticklish spot, no one could say. "So Qing Lin is the wife you raised from childhood."
"Oh, Big Sister Yue, you're teasing me again. Next time, I won't help you." Qing Lin pouted in mock anger. Her delicate, melon-seed face flushed with a faint blush like twin peach blossoms blooming.
Han Yue put on a pitiful expression and gazed at Qing Lin beseechingly. "No, we're good sisters. Sisters united—their strength cuts through metal. I'd die without your help."
"Hehe~"
Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng, who had woken at some unknown moment, suddenly burst into giggles at the conversation swirling between their parents and their various mothers. They stretched their tiny hands toward Xiao Tian, clearly demanding to be held. Yun Yun and Qing Lin watched helplessly. *Sure enough, daughters are always closer to their fathers.* Xiao Tian gathered them carefully into his arms, and their laughter grew even brighter. Yun Yun gazed at her daughter with a sigh. The baby was clearly far happier now than she had been in her own arms.
"Then do you think Xun'er might be his child bride?" Ya Fei, having stumbled onto a delicious thread, pressed on.
Her words lit up Xiao Yi Xian and the others' eyes. They pieced together Xun'er's past stories about Xiao Tian's childhood—even the tales of how he had stolen her heart when they were young. "I think it's highly likely. It fits his lecherous intentions perfectly."
Xiao Tian listened to their chatter and let a subtle smile surface. A wife raised from childhood was indeed the most reassuring kind. If only they weren't all older than him—and if only he hadn't been so young and incapable back then—he would have raised every last one of them himself.
Meanwhile, Medusa and Zi Yan, deep in conversation by the lake, had raised a Dou Qi barrier around themselves. Whatever they were discussing remained their secret, though they occasionally stole glances at Xiao Tian, as if hatching some private scheme.