She pulled out two items that did not belong: baby bottles.
One of them even had a large headshot of Zhu Xiaxia printed on it.
“…”
Zhu Qiu stood frozen on the spot.
‘Did Zhu Xiaxia know I wouldn’t have anything to eat tonight and send these specifically?’
Although drinking milk didn’t fit her image as the Sword Saint at all, she rubbed her hungry, flat stomach.
‘Whatever. It’s not like I haven’t drunk from one before. It’s better than an empty stomach.’
Waggling her tail, Zhu Qiu trotted to the kitchen to boil water and prepare the milk.
Time always flew by quickly, and it was soon time for bed.
Zhu Qiu lay alone in the quiet room, gazing at the full moon outside the window.
A sense of loneliness surged in her heart for some reason.
At the same time, her subconscious seemed to be telling her to leave this place quickly, as if something bad might happen tomorrow.
‘Strange, why would I think that? Maybe I got too used to living with the Dragon Race and can’t adjust to being home.’
She simply called out the Sword Spirit to keep her company in the dark of night.
“So, you called me out in the middle of the night just to have me sleep with you?”
“Yes,” Zhu Qiu said bluntly.
“Fine. Since you are my Sword Saint User, I suppose I have no choice but to spoil you,” the Sword Spirit accepted readily.
“I knew you were the best, Sword Spirit.”
Zhu Qiu gave her a big hug.
The Sword Spirit felt a bit shy.
“Alright, alright, go to sleep. It’ll be dawn if you don’t.”
When the two little girls first lay down, they slept quite properly.
By midnight, however, Zhu Qiu became restless and began hugging the Sword Spirit tightly like a body pillow.
“Time to wake up and train.”
At 4:00 AM, the Sword Spirit woke up right on time.
“Hey! Wake up! You said it yourself—you’re supposed to wake up at 4:00 AM to train!”
The Sword Spirit’s head was filled with question marks.
‘Is she dreaming?’
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!”
She used both hands to rub and squish Zhu Qiu’s cheeks, attempting to wake her.
“Wake up, hey! It’s already 4:00 AM!”
“Hehe~”
Zhu Qiu was still immersed in a dream, giggling foolishly.
The Sword Spirit had enough and yanked the blanket off.
“Get up! Don’t blame me if you freeze!”
“Mmm… Mother, don’t take my lollipop… mmm…”
Sword Spirit: “…“
‘I knew I couldn’t wake her. Sigh.’
‘If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gotten up early to call her. She’s exactly the same as she was in the Dragon Race Imperial Palace; she hasn’t changed a bit.’
She was still that sleepy, silly, and childish brat.
At this rate, she would be sold off one day and wouldn’t even know enough to count the money for the person who sold her.
‘Instead of letting someone else sell her, I might as well do it myself.’
The Sword Spirit began to imagine a scene where she sold Zhu Qiu:
‘Is anyone buying dragon meat? Is your dragon meat fresh? Of course. It was just slaughtered with the Holy Sword. It’s very fresh. 10 coins per pound. What? You want to buy the Dragon Tail meat? That’s a bit more expensive. 11 coins per pound.’
‘Forget it. Since I can’t wake her, I won’t.’
The Sword Spirit gave up and lay back down to continue sleeping.
This second sleep lasted until noon.
Zhu Qiu woke up fully rested and stretched.
“That was a comfortable sleep. Time for lunch.”
Ignoring the little girl still curled up in the blankets, she got out of bed and walked out the door.
“Dad, I’m hungry. Is there food?” Zhu Qiu asked.
There was still no response.
The entire house was as empty and lifeless as it had been the night before.
Meanwhile, the Sword Spirit woke up.
Seeing no one in the room, she decided to boldly step out for a stroll.
“Where did Dad go? It’s the second day and he’s still not home?”
“Hey! Look at what time it is! Go practice your swordsmanship already!”
“It’s noon. Let’s eat first and then practice.”
“No! You clearly said we’d train at 4:00 AM, but you slept like a dead pig. Now is the perfect time to make up for the morning. Go practice. I’ll stay with you.”
Zhu Qiu pinched her chin, looking thoughtful.
“Sword Spirit, where do you think Dad went? Do you think he went to buy groceries to prepare lunch?”
The Sword Spirit was speechless.
‘She didn’t listen to a word I said, did she?’
“Don’t just think about eating! That’s not the focus right now!”
“Who’s only focused on eating?! Dad hasn’t come back since he went to buy groceries yesterday. I’m worried!”
“What?”
The Sword Spirit was surprised.
“He hasn’t come back yet? What else would he be doing besides buying groceries?”
“Exactly. I’m worried Dad might do something foolish because he’s been so depressed lately.”
“You’re thinking too much toward the negative. He’s an adult; his heart isn’t as fragile as yours. If it really won’t do, let’s go look for him. Look in the places he usually visits, or ask if anyone has seen him.”
The Sword Spirit offered a very good suggestion.
“Okay, let’s go look for him now.”
“Holy Sword!”
Zhu Qiu summoned the Holy Sword.
“Because of my appearance, you’ll have to bear with it for a bit, Sword Spirit.”
“Hmph! I’m not the one suffering; at least I don’t have to walk. You should hurry up and find a way to change back. A Dragon Loli doesn’t suit my image as a sword at all.”
Zhu Qiu walked out the door wearing her Little Dragon Pajamas.
However, because of the Magic Prop given to her by Zhu Xiaxia, others still saw her as the tall and upright Human Sword Saint.
She walked toward the area where Sodlan usually bought groceries, hoping to find him there.
The strange thing was that along the way, whenever anyone saw Zhu Qiu, they were so frightened that they fled without stopping.
“Sword Spirit, why is everyone running away like their lives depend on it the moment they see me?”
“Maybe they saw you’re a member of the Dragon Race and got scared off.”
“How is that possible? Don’t they see the Sword Saint?”
Zhu Qiu was so startled by the Sword Spirit’s explanation that she quickly dove into the roadside bushes.
Then, she attempted to communicate with Zhu Xiaxia, who was far away in the Dragon Race Imperial Palace.
The call went through.
“Does my precious daughter miss her Mother again? I miss you too. Come here, give me a hug.”
Zhu Xiaxia’s voice came from the other end.
“Zhu Xiaxia, this is no time for jokes. I’ve run into a big problem. It seems like the Magic Prop you gave me isn’t working anymore.”
“How is that possible? I guarantee it still works. I would never do something that would harm my daughter.”
“Huh? It’s not broken?”
This made Zhu Qiu even more confused.
She quickly ended the communication and crawled out from the bushes.
‘It shouldn’t be like this. I’m the Sword Saint. I should be loved by all. Why do people run away the moment they see me?’
Just then, a passerby happened to walk past the bushes.
When the Sword Saint suddenly jumped out with the Holy Sword in hand, the passerby’s face turned pale instantly.
“The… the Sword Saint! Run!”
The passerby vanished in a flash.
“?”
“What was going on? “
He had called her the Sword Saint, which meant the Magic Prop hadn’t failed.
“Argh!!!”
Zhu Qiu was getting anxious.
At that moment, a newspaper flying through the air slapped right onto her face.
“Where are their manners?! Don’t they know they shouldn’t litter?!”