Chapter 89: Soderland Didn’t Leave Food for Zhu Qiu?

Zhu Qiu arrived home in the afternoon.

“Father, I’m back,” Zhu Qiu said as she pushed the door open and entered the house.

She pulled up a stool and sat down.

After waiting for a long while, Zhu Qiu received no response.

‘Where is Father?’

Usually, he would greet her the moment she returned.

At that moment, Soderland had locked himself in his room, acting quite mysterious.

“Father, are you in there?”

Zhu Qiu asked, knocking on the door.

Soderland hurriedly tidied up the items in his hands, put them away, and walked out of the room, pretending as if nothing had happened.

“It’s good that you’re back, it’s good you’re back…”

Zhu Qiu noticed that Soderland’s state seemed off.

She asked with concern, “Father, have you been feeling unwell lately? Do you want to go to the hospital for a checkup?”

Soderland waved his hand dismissively.

“No, my health is perfectly fine. I’m just a bit worried about where we’ll live after the house is demolished.”

“Don’t worry about that. I told you I can handle it. Just trust me, okay?”

Zhu Qiu replied calmly.

However, Soderland only sighed before walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s getting late. I’m going out early to buy groceries.”

“Oh.”

Zhu Qiu returned to her room, faintly feeling as though the house had lost its warmth.

A father who was deathly still and pessimistic, a younger brother who dared to try and kill her for the sake of a stinking Goblin, and then there was her… well… she was no longer a Sword Saint of the Human Race.

“Holy Sword, Jian Ge Yi!”

Zhu Qiu summoned the Holy Sword and its Sword Spirit, wanting someone to talk to for a change of pace.

“Sword Spirit, what do you think I should do from now on?”

“What do you mean ‘what should you do’? You’re a Sword Saint. Naturally, you should continue to uphold your mission.”

“But it feels like the Human Race no longer needs me. The King has a Magician named Dinksway helping him now, and he’s had him completely take over my duties. I feel really lost, and a little bit scared.”

Zhu Qiu lowered her head.

Hearing this, the Sword Spirit spoke candidly.

“If someone has taken over your work, it just means you can retire. Your mission is complete. Isn’t that simple?”

“But that Magician isn’t a good person. He always wants to keep Magic Creatures alive to use and breed them. I’m afraid that one day, he won’t be able to control them…”

The Sword Spirit patted Zhu Qiu’s shoulder.

“Oh, those worries are really unnecessary. Let that Magician do whatever he wants. If something actually goes wrong, you can just step in then, can’t you? In the end, the King will definitely value you again. You have to remember, you are the Sword Saint—the one and only. You will never be replaced by anyone.”

Zhu Qiu looked up.

“Really?”

“Of course!” The Sword Spirit was still full of smiles, looking very optimistic.

“Now that you have free time, it’s a perfect opportunity to train. Instead of spending this time being anxious, why not use it to strengthen yourself? Even if the King doesn’t want you anymore, I, your Sword Spirit, will stay by your side forever.”

The little Sword Spirit girl revealed a brilliant smile, slowly healing Zhu Qiu’s wounded heart.

After a moment, Zhu Qiu walked to the window and leaned against it.

“Sword Spirit, you’re right. I was being too anxious.”

“I told you so.”

“I’ve decided,” Zhu Qiu said, patting her modest chest.

“I’m going to be more disciplined. Starting tomorrow, I’ll wake up at 4:00 AM every morning to practice my Swordsmanship, and I’ll keep practicing until 10:00 PM.”

The Sword Spirit was stunned.

‘Did this girl take the wrong medicine? What is she losing her mind over?’

“Uh… why don’t you set a more realistic goal?”

“Is this not realistic?”

“It’s not realistic at all!”

Zhu Qiu paused for a moment before continuing meaningfully, “Sword Spirit, have you ever seen the Human City at 4:00 AM?”

“No. Have you?”

“I haven’t either.”

“…Then you’re setting a ridiculous goal.”

“That’s because I want to see it.”

“…What kind of decent person gets up at four in the morning! Can you even wake up yourself?”

The Sword Spirit was utterly speechless.

“I can’t wake up on my own, which is why I need you to supervise me.”

“Uh…”

Perhaps she needed to change her view of Zhu Qiu.

She might no longer be the Human Sword Saint of the past, but rather a Dragon Cub with a child’s imagination.

“Regardless, I can’t wake up at 4:00 AM. You’ll have to be the one to wake me.”

“Fine then. Tomorrow, I begin my Devil Training.”

Zhu Qiu cheered herself on.

“My mission is not yet over!”

As for right now, it was time to rest.

She lay down on the bed to meditate—or more accurately, to sleep.

Because she didn’t have Zhu Xiaxia’s wake-up service, she ended up sleeping straight through until 10:00 PM.

When she woke up again, the sky was completely dark.

Zhu Qiu scratched her head, feeling a bit lightheaded.

It felt as though the more she slept, the more tired she became.

“Mmm… how long was I out? How is it dark already…”

*Gurgle—*

“Right, I haven’t eaten dinner yet. I’ll eat dinner and take a bath before going back to sleep.”

Zhu Qiu opened her door with great anticipation.

‘What kind of dinner did Father prepare tonight?’

“Father!”

The moment she opened her door, she was met with the same darkness as her room.

‘How strange. It’s so dark, why hasn’t he turned on the lights?’

Zhu Qiu fumbled in the dark to find the light switch.

As the room instantly brightened, she looked toward the table where they usually ate.

It was completely empty.

“Where is my food?”

Even if she woke up late, they shouldn’t have left her nothing at all, right?

She knocked on her father’s door, wanting to ask him if there was anything left to eat.

It wouldn’t be good to go to sleep on an empty stomach.

However, even after a long wait, Soderland did not respond.

Zhu Qiu found it very strange.

Her father was quite a light sleeper.

No matter how deeply he was sleeping, he would always wake up if she called him a few times.

“Father.”

“Father?”

“Father!”

Zhu Qiu shouted three times in a row, but there was still no answer.

“What was going on today?”

She clenched her fist and began knocking like crazy, attempting to get a response from Soderland, but she gained nothing.

At that moment, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Out of necessity, she was forced to roughly dismantle the door.

“Father? Don’t scare me!”

After the door was taken down, Soderland’s bed was empty.

There were only neatly folded blankets and pillows.

This meant that Soderland hadn’t come to bed at all tonight.

‘He isn’t sleeping even though it’s this late? Where could he have gone? Honestly, there’s no doing anything with you.’

Zhu Qiu simply thought her father had gone out.

Left with no choice, she went to the kitchen to look for food herself.

A moment later, she walked out of the kitchen sighing.

“Sigh, there isn’t a single bite to eat. I’m really going to starve to death. Father is really something else, not leaving me any food at all…”

Just as she returned to her room to grab some clothes for a bath, she pulled two things out of her wardrobe that didn’t belong there.

It was a can of the same brand of milk powder she had drunk at the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, and a Custom Baby Bottle.

Printed on the bottle was a large photo of Zhu Xiaxia.