CHAPTER 566
Seeking the Sword
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The little boy could eat quite a lot, so much so that Li Shiyao felt a pang of pity for her own steamed buns…
Just as Li Shiyao was about to ask about other matters, Ye Qinghan turned around. She had remembered there was another junior sister here and came to check on her.
The moment Ye Qinghan turned, he spotted a child standing right next to Li Shiyu!
Seeing Ye Qinghan glance back at her, Li Shiyao spoke with a serious expression.
"Senior Sister! Is this your child? How come he eats even more than Shiyu?"
"Bullshit! I don't have a kid!"
"Senior Sister, you said it yourself! You said you ate a child! So you must have a child!"
"Stop spouting nonsense! What's a child doing here? What are you two doing?" Ye Qinghan couldn't help but feel a bit flustered. After all, this area might harbor beings no less formidable than a Valkyrie!
The sudden appearance of a child was strange enough in itself!
But Shiyu seemed utterly righteous. This wasn't her child—wasn't Senior Sister just turning the tables?
If it wasn't her senior sister's child, then was it Xu Zhanfeng's? That seemed impossible no matter how she thought about it!
That said, the child wasn't exactly what you'd call good-looking. If it were Shiyu, she probably wouldn't have taken to him at first glance either.
So it made sense that Senior Sister didn't want to acknowledge this child!
"How would Shiyu know it's Senior Sister's child?" Li Shiyu crossed her arms, pouted her little mouth, and turned her head away with a snort, clearly displeased with Ye Qinghan's refusal to acknowledge her own flesh and blood!
Ye Qinghan had been chatting for a while when she suddenly realized the situation might be more complicated than she'd thought. Then Li Shiyu abruptly presented her with a child.
From the implication in Li Shiyu's words, it was clear Ye Qinghan didn't recognize this child either.
Under Li Shiyao's watchful gaze, Ye Qinghan reached out beside her with an expressionless face, as if probing into empty space.
A long sword clad in white slowly materialized in her grasp. Holding it firmly, she began to advance step by step toward the boy.
The boy, sensing danger, instantly retreated behind Li Shiyao, his initial shyness forgotten.
On any other day, Li Shiyao would likely be the one hiding behind the child. But!
Today was different. Whatever Li Shiyao was thinking, the more her senior sister denied it, the more she felt this child was the blood of their master…
If it were for herself, she would have run away!
But this was the Master's flesh and blood! The child of her senior sister and the Master!
"Does the Master know of your actions, Senior Sister?"
Ye Qinghan was utterly dumbfounded upon hearing this. Could this little brat have cast some illusion spell on her junior sister?
As long as this brat wasn't from the Manor or Lingxian Hall, did she need anyone's permission to kill him?
Seeing this, Ye Qinghan advanced instead of retreating. Even as Li Shiyao stood her ground, seemingly determined to protect that child at all costs, Ye Qinghan didn't hesitate for a moment!
"Our master won't intervene!"
Facing her was the eldest senior sister—Ye Yanwang herself. Even without the Ling Frost Sword, it wouldn't prevent her from deploying the Ling Frost Sword Formation; it would merely diminish its power slightly!
Ye Qinghan's presence radiated imperial might, like a great demon lord descending. She advanced slowly, sword raised.
Each step she took, though not loud, sounded like the tolling of a death knell, sending chills down the spine!
"Then Master truly knew nothing of this! Shiyao did not deliberately oppose Senior Sister, but this is ultimately Master's own flesh and blood. Without Master's consent, how could Shiyao stand idly by?"
……
"Hahahahahaha! My dear little sister, my dear junior sister! How is it that your head… always… just…"
Ye Qinghan covered her face and laughed wildly. She was truly amazed by this adorably clueless junior sister!
However, she too felt a twinge of hesitation now.
Ye Qinghan began to ponder: Could it be that Li Shiyu felt this child was truly worthy of her protection?
But how could a good child just happen to appear in a place like this?
Moreover, neither she nor Xu Zhanfeng had detected the slightest disturbance!
"Shiyao, if you're willing to take care of him, I have no objection."
"But I'll say it again—this isn't Master's child, and it certainly isn't mine."
Li Shiyu stared at her senior sister with a skeptical look. Her senior sister seemed utterly serious. Though Li Shiyu felt her words might be truthful, she dared not fully believe them.
Foxes were cunning creatures. How could a simple fool like her possibly outsmart a fox spirit?
What if her senior sister took advantage of her lowered guard and suddenly stabbed the Master's child to death with a sword?
"Fine, Shiyu will take care of him!"
While dealing with the senior sister, Li Shiyao turned around, crouched down, and addressed the boy.
"Senior Sister is very scary. You must stay close to Shiyu, understand?"
The boy's skin was rough, as if he'd been doing farm work since he was just a few years old.
Yet his eyes were clear and pure. Now, he stared blankly at Li Shiyu, tilting his little head as if completely baffled by her words.
Ye Qinghan looked at this bewildered pair and couldn't help but sigh, then shook her head.
"What do you think, Steward Xu?"
Xu Zhanfeng, who followed closely beside Ye Qinghan, had long since ceased considering other options. He simply let the Grand Lady handle matters as she saw fit. As her steward, his duty now was to assist her.
As for the mysterious powerful figure this time, Xu Zhanfeng paid it no mind whatsoever.
"Madam, have you sensed this child's presence? Even now, as I turn away, I cannot detect his existence through my divine sense."
Ye Qinghan nodded. This child was like a non-entity—visible and tangible, yet as elusive as a ghost, impossible to detect!
Yet in reality, under Ye Qinghan's dual divine senses, even ghosts could find no hiding place.
This only made the boy's identity all the more baffling…
Ye Qinghan and Xu Zhanfeng continued scanning their surroundings while discussing the boy's peculiarities.
Meanwhile, Li Shiyu had already begun contacting her master!
However, Su Cheng was occupied at the moment and had no time to attend to Li Shiyao's message. He glanced at it, saw the word "child," and dismissed it.
The Iron Cauldron Project entered its next phase. Su Cheng retrieved the Void Blueprint that Xiao Ai had diverted and activated it at full power within an isolated chamber.
The scene shifted to Su Cheng's location—a space resembling a studio, shrouded in complete darkness except for a faint glow emanating from his vicinity.
The light emanated from a starry river resembling a luminous screen, where countless points of light appeared before Su Cheng.
Yet Su Cheng sat cross-legged opposite the light screen, his eyes tightly shut. His hands moved constantly—sometimes tracing intricate hand seals and chanting incantations, other times as if manipulating something invisible.
Beads of sweat the size of soybeans slowly trickled down his forehead. Su Cheng had maintained this state for a full day and night.
"Master, shall we rest?"
"No, I'll rest after scanning this entire area."
A pink figure glided through the pale blue starry river, like a wave of fireflies—beautiful, yet Xiao Ai seemed oblivious.
Xiao Ai's gaze remained fixed on Su Cheng, her one and only master.
"Master, please rest. There's no rush. Authority isn't going anywhere."
But Su Cheng frowned slightly, a rare expression: "I have this uneasy feeling… like I'm about to lose something important…"
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