Oh no, it’s a public tribunal!! Wasting no time, Lu Yaoyao immediately ran forward. She hugged her master’s leg and looked up imploringly, “Master, please allow me to explain!”
The imposing atmosphere was instantly broken. Under his most beloved young disciple’s pitiful plea, Mo Liuying struggled to maintain a serious expression, “Speak properly, no acting cute.” He was determined to remain stern for at least… the duration of an incense stick; after all, how could he uphold his dignity as a master if his favorite disciple kept such a huge secret from him?
Lu Yaoyao let out a pitiful sound but couldn’t bear to let go of her master, so she hastily explained, “I didn’t know my father’s identity at first. I got separated from him by accident and have been looking for him ever since. Later, based on some clues, I guessed Father might be from the Guiyuan Sect, so I traveled a long distance to participate in the entrance trial…”
Lu Yaoyao narrated her arduous journey to find her father, adding a touch of heart-wrenching tone and ending it with a look of grievance, “Father had seen me during the sect’s entry trials but did not come to me. It was only after I found the opportunity to approach him that I finally confirmed his identity.”
“…” Mo Liuying and his disciples were left speechless by her story. How could His Venerable be so unreliable? His daughter was so small; why hadn’t he looked for her after she was lost, leaving her with no choice but to find her way back to her? If Yaoyao hadn’t been smart enough to seek him out, what would happen to her?
They refused to believe that the mighty Dao Venerable Hengwu couldn’t find his own child, he must have done it on purpose!
His Venerable’s educational method was too harsh and cold. How could he be so severe toward a young child?!
Mo Liuying could no longer bear to be upset. His youngest disciple was so pitiful! He picked up Lu Yaoyao and spoke softly, “Don’t cry, our Yaoyao is so smart to have found her way back home. If your father doesn’t cherish you, your master and senior brothers will.”
“Yes, we all love you. No one can bully you anymore,” Ziwen and the others couldn’t bring themselves to pursue the matter further, but they couldn’t help feeling dissatisfied toward His Venerable, thinking that he had acted inappropriately. However, they were not in the position to openly criticize His Venerable, so they could only keep their discontent in their hearts.
Seeing their reaction, Lu Yaoyao hurriedly defended, “No, no, Father does care about me. He loves me so much.”
“Of course, His Venerable cares for Yaoyao,” Ziwang and his junior brothers assured her. However, none of them actually believed it. They couldn’t even fathom His Venerable showing affection to anyone, even to his own child. They naturally assumed that the father and daughter were not close, and Yaoyao probably was just defending her father out of a child’s instinctive admiration toward her parent. Still, they couldn’t bear destroying her expectations.
Suddenly remembering something important, Lu Yaoyao blushed and gingerly climbed down from her master’s lap. She sheepishly admitted, “Actually, I’m not five years old; I’m already eighteen. I accidentally achieved the Foundation Establishment stage not long after I turned four and have stayed this small ever since.”
Lu Yaoyao felt very guilty. She confessed only this part of her secret and didn’t dare to reveal that she was a half-devil. Master and senior brothers definitely wouldn’t love her anymore if they found out… this thought deeply saddened Lu Yaoyao, who started sobbing, “I didn’t mean to lie…”
Ziwen stepped forward, gently patting Yaoyao’s head, “Yaoyao didn’t lie. You’ve always said you were eighteen, but we didn’t believe you.”
Indeed, when Lu Yaoyao signed up for the entrance trial, there was a moment when she was almost rejected because of her age. She had insisted she was eighteen, but the testing stone failed to confirm it. After joining the Guiyuan Sect, she also mentioned she wasn’t a child, but they never took her seriously. This wasn’t her fault.
“Eighteen is still a child.” Even the youngest among them, Ziting, was around one hundred years old, not to mention their master, who was seven hundred years old. At eighteen, Yaoyao indeed was still a baby to them.
“Yaoyao is truly amazing. You’ve reached the Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age.” Her innate talent was a testament to her lineage, truly worthy of being His Venerable’s daughter.
Lu Yaoyao proudly declared, “Just so you know, I’m currently at the Golden Core stage!”
“It’s just that Daddy thought I was advancing too quickly, so he sealed my cultivation to let me focus on my foundation,” Lu Yaoyao said, showing her wrist aggrievedly.
“…” Mo Liuying and his disciples were taken aback, assuming the ‘Daddy’ she referred to was His Venerable. Well, this kind of harsh discipline indeed fits His Venerable’s personality.
“A solid foundation is crucial,” Mo Liuying cleared his throat, “otherwise it could hinder your future progress.” He might have some complaints with His Venerable’s method of education, but with the vast gap in their cultivation level, he could do nothing to undo the seal.
“That’s right, Yaoyao, the more solid your foundation is, the higher and further you can go. It’s not a good thing to advance too fast.”
“Yes, we all do the same. At each breakthrough, we always slow down to stabilize our cultivation before continuing further.”
Lu Yaoyao wasn’t bothered by her Father and Daddy’s decision; she had absolute trust in them and knew that they had her best interests at heart. But hearing her senior brothers’ reassurances made her happy, “Don’t worry, Master and senior brothers, I’ll take it step by step and won’t rush.”
Mo Liuying gently patted Lu Yaoyao’s head, “Good.”
Lu Yaoyao touched her head and sighed inwardly. Recently, everyone seemed to be fond of patting her head. She’d already stopped growing in height; what if all this head-patting made it permanent?
All of a sudden, something crossed Mo Liuying’s mind. He cleared his throat and lightly probed the subject, “Yaoyao, is your mother here in the sect?” Hearing their master’s words, Ziwen and the others looked on eagerly, their eyes shining with curiosity. This was a question the entire Yuanqi Continent wanted to know: which female cultivator had captured the heart of the lofty Dao Venerable Hengwu and even bore the crystallization of their love?
Lu Yaoyao hesitated for a while, but finally, all she could say was: “My mother isn’t from Guiyuan…” If she mentioned not having a mother but another daddy instead, would that lead to misunderstandings? She didn’t want her Father and Daddy to become gossip fodder. She had already learned that cultivators had a different set of moral restraints than that of the mortals. For example, relationships between individuals of the same sex weren’t uncommon here. However, her Father and Daddy weren’t a couple, and the situation of her family was complicated; clarifying one thing could lead to endless questions, touching their private family matter.
…
After a day of handling the affairs of the sect alongside his master, Lu Junyang finally returned to his residence. Standing by a table, he poured himself a cup of spiritual tea to relax.
Just as he took a sip, a sudden realization hit him, causing him to spit out his tea.
Wait, if His Venerable is Yaoyao’s father, then who was that person in Tianyang City?
Yaoyao clearly called that person ‘Daddy.’ At the time, he was simply puzzled because the person looked extraordinary, clearly somebody, and yet he had no impression of him. Furthermore, he also remembered how much Yaoyao resembled this ‘Daddy’…
Suddenly choked by the tea, Lu Junyang began to cough violently.
…
Achoo—
In a pavilion in the mansion on the outskirts of Tianyang City, Lu Qingyu, who was comfortably enjoying his tea, suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he wondered why he, a great Devil Venerable, would suddenly sneeze like a human.
Was the kid thinking of him?
Lu Qingyu pondered; the memorial ceremony at Guiyuan Sect should be over now. It was time to visit his daughter; it had been days since they last saw each other.
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