“This story is just too moving…”
Bai Li murmured in a trance, a faint glint of tears appearing in her eyes.
“It is, isn’t it, my little baby?”
Long Jiu gently stroked her head with slow, pampering movements.
“Wait? That’s it? There’s no more?”
Bai Li’s eyes widened. She grabbed Long Jiu’s sleeve and shook it vigorously, her heart itching with impatience.
“Actually, there is.”
A faint, slightly mischievous smile played on Long Jiu’s lips.
“But before I continue, Mother has to ask you a question.”
“Ask away, Mother! Don’t keep me in suspense! I’ll definitely give you a good answer, I just want to hear what happens next!”
Bai Li stamped her feet, her little head nodding like a chick pecking at grain, her eyes filled with eager anticipation.
“Bai Li, suppose you discovered that you were once a human, and that you had even joined the Brave to crusade against the Dragon King. What would you think?”
The smile vanished from Long Jiu’s face.
Her expression turned solemn, and every word fell clearly into Bai Li’s ears.
Bai Li tilted her head and thought for a few seconds.
Suddenly, she clenched her fists and spoke with righteous indignation.
“Then I would immediately betray the humans and devotedly join the Dragon Race!”
“Oh? Tell me why.”
Long Jiu raised an eyebrow, waiting for more.
“Those humans are all just overconfident ants!”
Bai Li puffed out her cheeks, sounding furious.
“Our Dragon Race stays away from the world and rarely provokes others. Yet there they are, eyeing our treasures under the banner of a ‘crusade.’ How shameless! For Mother’s sake, I’m definitely standing with the dragons!”
Warmth surged in Long Jiu’s eyes.
She spoke softly, “My good baby, remember those words. You aren’t allowed to take them back. I’ll continue the story now.”
“Mhm! I love Mother the most! Hurry, tell me, tell me!”
Overjoyed, Bai Li immediately lunged into her arms and rubbed against her, acting incredibly clingy.
But Long Jiu didn’t start the story. Instead, she leaned in close, wanting her to experience the essence of the tale personally.
She pressed her forehead against Bai Li’s, her palm resting on the back of the girl’s neck.
A warm Dragon Qi slowly flowed into her.
The sealed memories instantly flooded back into place.
At first, Bai Li was dazed, her mind wandering.
‘Mother said she was going to tell a story, so why is she suddenly being so cuddly?’
Before she could finish the thought, the sealed fragments of her past rushed into her mind.
Every little detail of when he was Lü Erlu, taking care of his three monster girl daughters.
The effort he spent finding blood for the Vampire, the nights he spent guarding the Succubus during her demonic transformations, and the meticulous care he gave the dragon hatchling.
Then there was the time after his memory loss — jumping around every day, chasing Long Jiu while calling her Mother, and stubbornly pestering her for morning kisses…
All those childish, clingy, and foolish things!
“Crap! That hateful human… was actually me?!”
Bai Li’s pupils shook. She froze on the spot, her mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
Her face flushed from white to red, and finally, a deep crimson spread all the way to her ears.
Even her neck was burning hot.
She remembered calling her own daughter “Mother” every day in a sweet voice and shamelessly begging for kisses.
Every single one of those past childish actions made her want to crawl into a hole and die.
Overwhelmed with shame, she frantically grabbed the bedsheets, rolled herself into a tight bundle, and tumbled to the corner of the bed.
She had completely lost all dignity!
“Father, how did it feel to be a baby?”
Looking at the round bundle, the smile in Long Jiu’s eyes deepened.
However, she only curled her lips slightly, her tone calm and gentle, exuding the composed aura of a Dragon Queen.
“Ugh… you damn Mother — I mean! You rebellious daughter! This is mutiny! How dare you!”
A muffled protest came from inside the sheets.
It was a mix of shame and anger, and the voice wrapped in the fabric sounded soft, furious, and pitiful all at once.
“Argh! What did I do to deserve this? Why did I adopt such a little liar back then!”
Bai Li rolled around frantically inside the sheets, making the mattress shake.
“What kind of daughter tricks her own father into giving mouth-to-mouth morning and evening kisses? And you held me in your arms every day… It’s all just dark history now! This is so embarrassing!”
Long Jiu raised a hand to cover her mouth, suppressing a laugh.
Her voice remained calm and gentle, though laced with a hint of teasing.
“Is Father forgetful? You were the one who leaned in, saying that Mother’s kisses were the sweetest and that you couldn’t go a single day without them.”
“Don’t you dare mention that!”
The bundle in the sheets jolted violently.
Her voice rose an octave, fueled by shame and rage.
“You rebellious daughter! Quickly undo this state and change me back! Explain everything clearly from start to finish! No hiding anything!”
“Father, I’m afraid you can’t go back.”
“What? What? What?! You’re not joking, are you, Long Jiu? I’m begging you, tell me this is just you being willful. I can change back, right?”
“I’m sorry, Father. Your body has already been mixed with the Imperial Blood of the Demon Race. You really can’t go back. And… both of my sisters played a part in this.”
“What? Those two little girls were involved too?!”
“Yes, Father.”
“So, the reason I wanted to drink your blood before was because of Bai Li?”
“Exactly.”
“Then, the reason your saliva tasted sweet… was that Ziya’s doing?”
“Even more so, Father.”
“…Wait, those two girls have Imperial Blood too?”
Long Jiu nodded slightly.
Bai Li went completely silent.
“…”
A long sigh filled with despair drifted through the air.
The frantic thrashing from a moment ago stopped abruptly.
All the breakdown and fury vanished instantly.
Her limbs went stiff as she rolled herself even tighter into the sheets, forming an airtight bundle.
She huddled in the corner of the bed, motionless, like a little ball abandoned by the entire world.
It was a lonely sight that made one’s heart ache.
“?”
Long Jiu was waiting for the next explosion of temper, so this sudden, dead silence left her bewildered.
She hurried to lean over and check.
“…”
A sob as faint as a mosquito’s buzz drifted from inside the sheets.
At first, it was suppressed, as if she were afraid of being heard.
But in an instant, it turned into heart-wrenching wails, each one tugging at the heartstrings.
“Waaaah… This is a disaster… A complete disaster…”
Long Jiu panicked instantly.
Her composed, mature aura vanished as she hurriedly reached out to pull back the sheets.
The sight before her eyes made her heart squeeze painfully.
Bai Li had buried her face deep into the bedsheets.
Her shoulders were shaking violently, and hot tears were streaming down like a burst dam, soaking a large patch of the mattress in the blink of an eye.
She was biting the sheet hard to stifle her cries, but muffled sobs still escaped her throat.
Like a small animal that had suffered a great grievance, her entire body trembled like a withered leaf in the autumn wind.
She was utterly heartbroken.
The tear stains on the bedsheets gradually spread outward.
The despair and helplessness in her crying were truly painful to hear.
‘Shoot, I went too far this time.’
Long Jiu’s heart skipped a beat.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.