Chapter 14

His words left Yu Youyou stunned for quite a long moment. Since her birth, he was the only one who had solemnly promised to raise her and ensure she never went hungry. She hurriedly looked up and met her father's serious gaze. This was no child's play, but a genuine promise—a true vow.

A promise… Nodding earnestly, she pointed to herself and solemnly promised her father, "I will be good." She trusted that her father would never let her starve, so she would obediently eat only what he allowed. Unlike when she lived in the Demon City, where no one cared for her and she had to scavenge for food herself, she would no longer be a helpless wild cub.

Now, she was Yu Youyou, nurtured by her father, her senior brother, and second senior sister—a home-raised child. “Although your father can stay with you, he is always very busy,” Master Yu said with a trace of guilt. Bearing the trust of the sect meant he had responsibilities he could not neglect to be by his daughter’s side all the time.

He spoke softly with some regret, “Later, Senior Sister Ruan will accompany you. Father will also set up swings and a small wooden house for you. If you like, we can raise some little beasts too. Youyou, this is your home. Whatever you want, don’t hesitate to tell your father. If I am not around, you can ask your senior brother or second senior sister.”

“No matter what the little junior sister wishes, just tell me and Senior Sister,” Chu Xingyun said generously with a smile. Yu Youyou obediently took note.

“That’s good. As for paying respects to the ancestors of the Gong clan, that’s not urgent. Once you regain your strength and can endure traveling, your father will take you there. You are of the Gong bloodline after all, and you should know the history of the Gong family.”

It was clear that Gong Miaohua had never told Yu Youyou much about the Gong legacy—perhaps because she thought her daughter was too young or, more likely, because she saw her as a little weakling unworthy of the Gong name. But Master Yu felt it necessary for Yu Youyou to at least know the origin and lineage of her blood.

Yu Youyou herself did not think much of her Gong heritage. The Yu Youyou in the book also bore the Gong bloodline; though not as weak and sickly as she was, her cultivation was mediocre at best. There was none of the legendary ancient immortal bloodline the Gong clan boasted of.

Of course, this might be because Yu Youyou was a bit of a weakling. Not all of Gong Miaohua’s children were useless. The one now growing in her womb—the offspring of the Crimson Flame Demon Lord—was extraordinary. That child was a source of envy for the book’s Yu Youyou: after three years of gestation, born with a demonic body of immense power, a daughter the mother could be proud of.

But that had nothing to do with the current little cub. She did not care about others’ powerful bloodlines; all she wanted was for her father and everyone she cared about to be safe and sound. Even if she was a little useless, she would be a happily content useless child.

It was only when Master Yu mentioned the Gong clan that Yu Youyou recalled it. But the matter held little significance to her. She dismissed it from her mind, munched on some more spirit pills, yawned, and fell asleep. Eating and sleeping, growing plump—that was the blissful life of a cub at ease.

Yu Youyou had no desire to awaken the fiery passion of the Gong clan or to strive harder. She simply lay back carefree.

Seeing her asleep, Chu Xingyun was about to transmit a message but paused, then lowered his voice, “Master, Elder Wen is visiting the Ancient Sect. Should the disciple prepare anything for the guest?”

“Elder Wen said it is a private visit, so there is no need to mobilize the whole sect. He will come in a few days and be received directly at the Patriarch’s Hall. You only need to prepare the proper etiquette for an elder,” came the calm reply.

Chu Xingyun, born of royal blood, was especially reliable in handling guests. Master Yu entrusted this matter to him. Seeing his daughter with her little fist resting on her cheek, sleeping soundly, he quietly placed her on a small bed he had prepared in the rear hall, gently covered her with a quilt, and watched her for a while before silently leaving.

He then told his two disciples, “I still have sect affairs to attend to and must prepare for the departure of the Great Elder. If Youyou wakes, I entrust you both to take care of her.”

Chu Xingyun smiled and said, “With me and Senior Sister here, Master need not worry about the little junior sister.” Zhu Changshu nodded slightly. Seeing this, Master Yu finally felt at ease and busied himself with various sect matters.

He was very busy. Although there were some clues regarding the former sect leader’s situation, many internal and external sect affairs required his attention. For example, the recent sect alliance meeting before his trip to the Demon City had concluded, but there were still gains and distributions that needed discussion with the elders.

He left in haste, while Chu Xingyun and Zhu Changshu remained in the front hall, each seated attentively to guard the rear hall where Yu Youyou rested. Of course, the cub had no idea she was being watched.

She slept in a haze, perhaps comforted by her father’s presence, and for once, she did not have nightmares. Yet, even in her dreams, a constant hunger gnawed at her. It was not the fierce hunger that made one want to burn their own flesh, but the emptiness of an unfilled stomach, making her subconsciously crave food.

Drowsily, she vaguely heard the wind whispering greetings, wrapped in a warm, tender aura that cared for and watched over her. Though the aura was tumultuous, Yu Youyou was not afraid. Since her feverish illness, this vague but warm presence had remained by her side, protecting her through the hardest days in the Demon City.

It guided her, teaching her how not to starve to death when hungry and unattended during sickness.

Her soul floated gently among the swirling auras, drowsy and hazy. Instinctively, she sniffed with her tiny nose, following the guidance of the aura, and suddenly sensed a stream that could satiate her hunger.

In her dream, she drifted toward that direction. Though unaware of where her soul was headed, she opened her eyes at the sight of a mighty torrent of thick, radiant light surging before her. The vast flood radiated an aroma that made Yu Youyou drool.

“Ah!” The cub’s soul tilted its little head and cried out. The many warm auras around her urged her to eat—eat freely.

Yet the little one hesitated. Why was it this color?

Back in the Demon City, when she was starving to death, the aura around her had also led her to a similar torrent filled with vast energy. But unlike the faintly golden and silver light before her now, that flood had been pitch black.

Though dark and unappealing in appearance, it had tasted wonderfully delicious. Just recalling it, the cub instinctively wiped the invisible drool at the corner of her mouth and puckered her lips, savoring the memory with longing.

It was so tasty she wanted more and more, unable to stop, even breaking the flow of the torrent as she consumed it.

How regretful!

Because that black torrent was insufficient. Though it barely kept her from starving during her high fever, when she recovered somewhat, she still felt perpetually hungry—so hungry she grew thin, which made her father’s heart ache when he came to see her.

Just as she was reminiscing about that delicious taste, the aura around her gently nudged her again.

This one is tasty too?

Hearing the gentle whispers close to her ear, the cub’s eyes widened. Though the color was different, perhaps the flavor was different as well.

The enticing taste made her little body leap instinctively. She darted forward, leapt to the edge of the flood, and instinctively grasped both sides with her tiny hands. Ignoring the aura’s caution to “eat in small bites” and “don’t let anyone notice”—like when she ate the black torrent in the Demon City—she was too tempted by the aroma to hold back. She tugged hard and bit into the torrent.

A tremendous roar exploded. The drowsy cub, driven by instinct and hunger, opened her eyes to see the flood beneath her crack loudly as she bit off a huge chunk.

The taste that entered her mouth was truly sublime, filling her entire appetite and lifting her soul.

But clutching the enormous golden-silver fragment in her mouth, the cub’s previously muddled thoughts suddenly cleared.

What flashed before her eyes was no longer the hateful, rejecting gaze of Gong Miaohua, who wished she would starve to death to avoid becoming a stain on the family.

Instead, it was her father’s tender gaze and the protective eyes of senior brother and second senior sister.

They looked at her lovingly and said something.

“With your father here, Youyou will never go hungry again.”

Now, she was Yu Youyou, cared for and nurtured—not a neglected child.

She had promised her father she would be good and let him take care of her.

They had exchanged a vow.

Father would raise her.

So she would not search for food on her own.

She would be obedient.

Though reluctant, the cub silently spat out the huge golden-silver shard in her mouth. The heavy, terrifying fragment transformed into a streak of light, merging back into the torrent, which roared and surged on into the distance.

The little one clenched her tiny fist and cried out, her eyes filled with determination.

The gentle aura beside her sighed softly but no longer urged her to eat, instead guiding her small soul back to where it belonged.

Her soul returned, and for resisting temptation, the cub was proud!

Even still asleep, she clenched her little fist, hummed twice, and peacefully turned over onto her belly.

She slept soundly, yet in the front hall, Chu Xingyun and Zhu Changshu, who had been resting with eyes closed, suddenly rose, looking toward the hall’s entrance with mixed surprise and suspicion.

“What was that just now?”

Only moments ago, the entire Ancient Sect shook as if the earth itself was breaking, the thunderous roar shaking the ground beneath their feet, as if the sect’s very mountains might collapse.

This was the sect’s sacred ground—strengthened for countless millennia by generations of powerful cultivators, the most stable place possible.

Yet that cataclysmic tremor nearly shattered it all.

But in the tense moments that followed, the terrifying upheaval ceased. If not for the countless flowers and trees fallen across the sect, it would seem as if nothing had happened.

Chu Xingyun and Zhu Changshu had no time to speculate or know if the tremors would return. They hurried swiftly to the rear hall to protect Yu Youyou.