Chapter 0: 23. Little Hong Hong
“Chun’er, you’ve truly been scared.”
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Mu Tangchun couldn’t help but blush, her gaze evasive as she lowered her head.
Qin Gou let out a wry smile. Although Mu Tangchun had called him ‘Daddy’ for so long, her subconscious reaction indicated that the wench had never truly accepted him as her father in her heart. Otherwise, if it were A’Yuan, there was no way she would have discussed such an ‘ambiguous’ topic with him.
“Father, you definitely wouldn’t guess the biggest reason Chun’er is so agitated,” Qin Yuan glanced at Mu Tangchun and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Didn’t A’Yuan and she argue about ‘wanting to become slim’ before? This silly sister even cultivated a supportive cultivation technique specifically to slenderize her figure, all in order to become as thin as a willow branch. And what was the result? She ended up with the same physique as A’Yuan!”
“Oh?” Hearing this, Qin Gou couldn’t help but ponder. It was clear who held the dominant position in the mysterious connection between Qin Yuan and Mu Tangchun.
“Tang Nizi, do you understand now? The connection between you and A’Yuan, as well as your relationship with me.”
Mu Tangchun sat cross-legged on the bed, cradling her face. Her tone was peculiar as she said, “But no matter what, the idea that I and A’Yuan are two halves of one person is too bizarre…”
Her ability to say such a thing showed that Tang Nizi didn’t understand her unique talent well enough. Bizarre? She would be even more bewildered if she knew that she and A’Yuan weren’t even born in this world.
“Moreover, even if this is true, A’Yuan isn’t your biological daughter, is she?”
“What did you say?” Qin Yuan was incredulous, his scalp tingling.
Qin Gou was also full of bewilderment. “Why do you say that?”
“After all, from observing you and A’Yuan over these past few days, you’re often seen with your arms around each other, pushing and playing. There’s really nothing that resembles a father-daughter relationship. Instead, you seem more like… close friends? Or sworn siblings. You two are clearly equals,” Mu Tangchun said seriously.
Hearing this, Qin Gou and A’Yuan exchanged a knowing smile.
In the Cultivation World, the hierarchy between elders and juniors was indeed strictly observed. While not as severe as in the Mortal Realm, where “a glance at an elder brother could lead to eighty lashes,” the way Qin Gou and A’Yuan interacted was still a rare sight. For instance, Gu Feiyan always showed utmost respect when meeting her father, the Cult Master of the Seed Demon Sacred Cult, Gu Jinghong. If Xiao Yan were to be as casual with Gu Jinghong as A’Yuan was with her father, not only would Xiao Yan be unable to do it, but Gu Jinghong himself would likely fly into a rage.
“Tang Nizi, you’ve lived in Taiping Tower all these years, so it’s understandable that you can’t comprehend my and A’Yuan’s relationship for now. However… it’s very simple to prove our blood connection now.” Qin Gou smiled slightly and transmitted his voice to Wang Qisi in the main hall.
Soon, Wang Qisi entered the room and, as instructed by Qin Gou, activated the blood-testing artifact in her hand, the small celadon wine cup, using a special spirit art.
Qin Gou first drew a drop of his spirit blood and gestured to Mu Tangchun with his eyes.
Seeing this, Mu Tangchun understood tacitly, but still hesitated for a moment before slowly extending her small hand to add a drop of spirit blood to the wine cup.
Immediately, Wang Qisi formed a spirit seal with one hand. The two drops of vibrant spirit blood in the wine cup instantly merged, and ultimately, as expected, solidified into a small, irregularly shaped blood-colored crystal.
With the effect of Qin Gou’s ‘Myriad Spirit Blood,’ this was an entirely predictable outcome. Even if he were to grab a random person off the street, Old Qin could instantly become their blood relative, making it indistinguishable from the truth.
“It’s actually…” Mu Tangchun’s eyes widened in astonishment, completely stunned.
Qin Gou knew that to fully accept this fact, Chun’er would need some time, so he quietly stored the blood-colored crystal in his Nas.
Meanwhile, Wang Qisi couldn’t contain herself and transmitted her voice to Qin Gou, “Godfather, Qisi truly doesn’t understand. Why would you use Myriad Spirit Blood to deliberately play a joke on Madam Mu?”
“What joke? She is my daughter. Even without Myriad Spirit Blood, this is the truth,” Qin Gou explained earnestly.
Wang Qisi’s dark eyebrows furrowed slightly. She cut to the chase, “But I saw that you didn’t actively confirm the true blood-testing result through the blood-colored crystal just now. You directly stored it in your Nas. Why is that?”
Qin Gou’s twin pupils suddenly trembled. He thought to himself, how could this wench be so perceptive?
“I… I will definitely confirm it tomorrow!” Although he said this, Qin Gou’s true concern was…
To this day, he still hadn’t figured out what exactly happened to A’Yuan and Chun’er, and why such a division occurred. If Mu Tangchun’s body, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, truly had no blood relation to him, where would he even begin to explain it?
“Daddy, can you give Chun’er that blood-colored crystal from before?” Mu Tangchun suddenly asked.
“Uh, your father still has some use for that. How about I give it to you in a few days?” Qin Gou replied hesitantly.
Upon hearing this, a hint of suspicion flashed in Mu Tangchun’s eyes, but she still nodded. “Then let’s do this… If, and I’m just saying if, all of this is true and you are my biological father, then who is Chun’er’s mother? And where is she now?”
“Mother is currently in seclusion in the Secret Realm. You won’t be able to see her for a while,” Qin Yuan explained. “As for her identity, Father, you should tell her.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly. “Tang Nizi, do you know of the Seed Demon Sacred Cult? It’s a medium-sized sect in Chu Zhou. It’s normal if you haven’t heard of it, but…”
Before Qin Gou could finish, Mu Tangchun’s tone suddenly became surprised. “Seed Demon Sacred Cult? Chun’er certainly knows of it!”
“Has the Seed Demon Sacred Cult become so famous now?” Qin Gou was somewhat confused. Although the Seed Demon Sacred Cult had achieved considerable glory in the past, it was now a matter of hundreds of years ago.
Mu Tangchun smiled gently. “No, Chun’er knows of it because that’s Little Hong Hong’s sect!”
“Little Hong Hong?”
“Gu Jinghong!”
“Pfft…” Qin Yuan, who had just taken a sip of tea, immediately spat it out.
“He is the Cult Master of the Seed Demon Sacred Cult.”
“I know that, of course!” Qin Gou’s expression was incredibly complex, filled with bewilderment. “But how can you call him… Little Hong Hong?!”
“Why not? In the Cultivation World, the strong are respected. Little Hong Hong himself feels that it’s more intimate this way.”
Mu Tangchun shrugged her slender shoulders, not sparing any praise. “Little Hong Hong is very righteous and reasonable. Although Chun’er helped him years ago, he still calls Chun’er his ‘life-saving benefactor’ to this day. Every time we meet, he still performs the most solemn ritual of kowtowing and bowing to Chun’er. He is truly a person who knows how to repay kindness!”
