The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 574
Chapter 574: A Slap
In the dead of night, Lu Chao Chao once again made her way to the Netherworld.
But before she left… she looked down at her feet.
“Why are you clinging to my leg? Weren’t you afraid of me? Why… aren’t you afraid anymore?” Lu Chao Chao nudged her chin downward.
Shan Shan sat cross-legged on the ground, his small arms, plump like lotus roots, tightly wrapped around her leg.
His large eyes blinked, pointing first at the moon, then at his head.
Then, his small face twisted into a grimace, making a terrifying and fierce expression.
Baring his two tiny milk teeth, he furrowed his brows fiercely, looking every bit like a fearsome little fiend.
“What’s he saying? How can anyone understand his chattering?” Xie Yu Zhou squatted down, pulling an egg from his sleeve and gently knocking it against his head.
The egg cracked, and he began peeling the shell as he crouched by her feet.
Lu Chao Chao hesitated as she watched him. “He means… probably…”
“That it’s dark, and he has nightmares? His dreams are filled with terrifying things? Things that make him uneasy and fearful.”
“But when he’s by my side, he can sleep peacefully? Without being tormented by nightmares?”
Shan Shan clung to her leg, letting out excited cries.
His eyes shone with exhilaration as he nodded his little head vigorously.
“Chirp chirp… woo woo, chirp chirp…”
Xie Yu Zhou was dumbfounded, eyes wide in disbelief. “You two really are siblings. Only you can understand him.”
“Don’t you have a younger brother too? If I recall, he should be even older than Shan Shan…” When she left Northern Zhao, the princess consort had been close to giving birth.
Xie Yu Zhou pursed his lips.
“My father told me to stay far away from my brother.”
“He even gave me a slap.”
Lu Chao Chao’s face tensed, looking at him seriously. “Prince Jing Xi favors the younger one? He even struck you? If that’s the case, I will have to ask my emperor father to reprimand him.”
Xie Yu Zhou quickly shook his head, nervous. “Forget it, forget it! No need to trouble Emperor Uncle with family matters.”
“Honestly, the slap didn’t hurt much. Really…” His expression was guilty, not at all aggrieved.
Lu Chao Chao narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What did you do to your brother?”
Xie Yu Zhou looked up at the sky.
But under Lu Chao Chao’s intense gaze, he finally caved.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he confessed, “I shaved his head bald and was in the middle of burning incense to give him monk scars when my father caught me. He slapped me so hard, I nearly lost a tooth.”
“I even invited two little monks to chant scriptures for him every day, to guide his enlightenment.”
“Hey, guess what my little brother’s first words were? He didn’t call for our father or mother.” Xie Yu Zhou lifted his chin proudly, looking at Lu Chao Chao with a smug grin.
She hadn’t expected the story to take this turn. Curious, she asked, “Brother?”
Xie Yu Zhou’s face lit up with mischief.
“I wouldn’t be this happy if he had called me brother.”
“His first words were ‘Amitabha.’ With my careful nurturing, he surely has the roots of wisdom!” Ah, Prince Jing Xi had been eagerly awaiting his youngest son’s first words.
When he heard ‘Amitabha,’ he turned and gave Xie Yu Zhou another slap.
“If he replaces me as the Buddha’s child, I won’t have to go.”
“Then I can stay home and marry eight wives.”
He raised his hand, making a gesture for eight.
Lu Chao Chao’s eyes widened in shock, even Shan Shan gaped, drooling in surprise without noticing.
“You deserved every slap you got. Every single one.”
Prince Jing Xi was truly suffering.
Xie Yu Zhou touched his face, guilt-ridden, unable to meet Lu Chao Chao’s eyes.
“Alright, alright, don’t delay me. I need to go to the Netherworld to check on Xian Ting.” Lu Chao Chao went there daily to keep Xian Ting’s soul sealed. The Nether Heart seemed beneficial for nourishing souls. When the Buddhist Grand Gathering of the Brahma Kingdom arrived next month, she planned to seek the blessings of the Bodhisattvas.
Xie Yu Zhou nodded, and since she didn’t refuse, he simply picked up Shan Shan and followed behind her.
The Netherworld’s skies were always dim, as spirits could not endure sunlight, making it an ideal place for them to rest.
“Your brother is quite brave, looking around so curiously without a hint of fear,” Xie Yu Zhou remarked in surprise as Shan Shan eagerly took in his surroundings.
“He’s just fearless.”
As soon as Lu Chao Chao appeared, the spirits instinctively moved aside.
“How are Xian Ting and Sheng He today?” she asked.
A-Man yawned. “Thankfully, the Nether Heart is stabilizing their souls, or else they would have already scattered.”
“They cannot leave the Nether Heart for now. Another month of nourishment, and they should improve.”
Lu Chao Chao nodded. She dared not move her disciples recklessly.
After reinforcing the Nether Heart, she noticed A-Man looking exhausted.
“Are you too tired? Should I make a few clay figurines to assist you?”
The disciples were still wanted by the Celestial Realm, so she couldn’t allow outsiders near them.
A-Man sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not tired.”
“It’s just that my annoying father keeps disturbing me, making it impossible for me to sleep.” Every time he visited, he came to complain to his daughter.
He never tired of cursing Gan Tang, acting as though they were sworn enemies.
“But, he seems to have endless patience with me.”
“I’ve played tricks on him several times, but he never gets angry.” In fact, he even seemed a bit obsequious. After spending time together in dreams, Celestial Sovereign Yan Qing’s affection for her had deepened.
“My mother once told me that when a woman bears a child, she shares a heart with them, making her naturally affectionate, even willing to die for them.”
“But a man’s love develops only through daily interactions, when he sees a face resembling both himself and his beloved. That’s when his feelings deepen.”
“Celestial Sovereign Yan Qing must be the latter,” Xie Yu Zhou reasoned.
“And since your mother died tragically, he must also feel guilt. Put those together, and of course, he grants your every wish.”
A-Man’s eyes lit up. “Then can I ask him for a few Celestial Sovereign’s godhood fragments?”
Lu Chao Chao quickly stopped her. “No!”
“Once stripped, the fragments will be sent into the Heavenly River to be cleansed, losing all divinity. Asking him would be pointless and might even expose us.” Lu Chao Chao had already shielded A-Man from detection. Celestial Sovereign Yan Qing could only see her in dreams.
A-Man nodded reluctantly, feeling strangely sorrowful as she looked at the Celestial Sovereigns.
A pain like a knife twisting in her heart, as if she had known them for a long time.
And a growing dislike for her scumbag father.
After ensuring her disciples were stable, Lu Chao Chao approached the Nether Heart.
It radiated a faint glow, turning an ordinary underground river into a spiritual spring.
“What exactly is the Nether Heart?” Its energy felt connected to the Heavenly Dao itself.
It harmonized perfectly with all three realms.
Lu Chao Chao even felt a strange familiarity.
Windchaser bared his teeth behind her. “Stay away from that thing. It should only be observed from afar, never touched.”
“It’s been in the Netherworld for tens of thousands of years. Even the Great Emperor Feng Du never dared to touch it.”
Windchaser had assumed it was similar to the spirit wells of the Demon Realm, powerful yet absorbable.
The moment he reached out, his soul was nearly incinerated.
This thing was utterly terrifying.
Shan Shan peeked out from Xie Yu Zhou’s arms, his eyes gleaming with curiosity yet filled with deep apprehension.
Though he didn’t understand what it was, his instincts screamed in fear.
When Xie Yu Zhou moved closer, Shan Shan instinctively shrank back, retreating into his embrace.
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