"Explain this to me clearly!"

"Father, Mother, I went out to play today, didn't I? I met Qin An in a village outside. He was being chased by bandits, so I rescued him." Qin An nodded in agreement.

"Mom, let me tell you, Qin An is very pitiful." Shu Lan took He Rou's hand and walked to a place a little away from Qin An to talk.

"Qin An's father disappeared when he was very young. His mother raised him all by herself. Just recently, he and his mother were captured by bandits. The bandits killed his mother, and he escaped in the chaos. I happened to see it and saved him."

"So, he's an orphan now." Shu Pengfei had somehow gotten close to them.

“Yes, Dad, look how pitiful Qin An is. Let’s adopt him. Besides, I’m an only child, I’m so lonely, I really want a playmate.”

“Husband, this child is too pitiful. Our family doesn’t need him to eat, so let’s adopt him.” Before Shu Pengfei could speak, He Rou spoke first.

She was overjoyed the moment she saw the child, and when she heard about his tragic past and saw his pleading little eyes, her heart softened instantly.

"Well... alright, then let's adopt him." Looking at the expectant eyes of the mother and son, Shu Pengfei couldn't bear to refuse.

"Great! I have a little brother!" Shu Lan was overjoyed and quickly pulled Qin An over. "Little An, quickly call out to your parents."

"Father, Mother," Qin An called out in a clear voice.

"Yes!" He Rou happily agreed. Shu Pengfei also nodded, which was considered an agreement.

"Dad, Mom, I took Xiao An to eat. He hasn't eaten yet."

"Hurry up and go, don't let the child go hungry." He Rou quickly instructed the maid to prepare food.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Shu Lan took Qin An to take a bath. Shu Lan had already noticed the injuries on Qin An's body when they were changing clothes at the clothing store.

Shu Lan filled the bathtub with hot water and then helped Qin An undress. His thin body was covered in a crisscross of whip marks and welts. Some were scratches, some were cuts, some were burns…

Shu Lan touched a whip mark on Qin An's body and asked softly, "Does it hurt?" Qin An saw the heartache in Shu Lan's eyes and knew that his brother cared about him. "It doesn't hurt. I'm used to it now."

Hearing Qin An's words, Shu Lan's eyes reddened slightly. He gently hugged Qin An, "No one will hit you anymore. Your brother will protect you." Qin An lay quietly in Shu Lan's arms and nodded gently.

Shu Lan, wearing only an undergarment, carried the naked Qin An into the bathtub. He carefully washed Qin An's body. The hot water dampened the undergarment, outlining his handsome figure. His forehead was slightly damp from the steam, revealing the blue-green magnolia blossom pattern, which made his face even more handsome and captivating.

Qin An stared intently at the mark between Shu Lan's eyebrows, looking completely dazed.

As Shu Lan was helping Qin An wash, she noticed his dazed expression and found it strange. "Xiao An, what's wrong?"

"Brother's magnolia flower mark is so beautiful." Qin An blurted out these words without realizing it. When he realized what he'd said, he heard Shu Lan's soft laughter. Qin An's face instantly turned bright red.

"Oh, you're looking at this. I've had this since I was born," Shu Lan said, touching her forehead.

That bluish-green magnolia flower mark is actually a personal space. It was bound to his soul by the Book God. That space contains vast spiritual fields and plants, as well as spiritual springs and waterfalls, and a cave dwelling. The spiritual energy inside is abundant, suitable for cultivation. One can both take things out of it and enter it.

However, Shu Lan didn't tell any of this yet; he hadn't even told his parents.

After helping Qin An bathe, Shu Lan took out the healing medicine she had prepared beforehand and carefully applied it to Qin An's wounds.

Shu Lan's movements were very gentle, like a feather lightly brushing against something. Qin An felt a similar sensation in his heart, a ticklish, warm feeling.

As Shu Lan applied the medicine to Qin An, she kept asking him if it hurt and if he wanted her to be gentler. Qin An happily replied again and again that it didn't hurt and he didn't need it.

After administering the medicine, Shu Lan was about to help Qin An arrange a room.

Upon hearing that he would be sleeping in a separate room from his brother, Qin An tugged at Shu Lan's sleeve anxiously and asked softly, "Brother, can I stay with you?"

"Well... okay." Thinking of Qin An's painful past experiences, Shu Lan felt that he needed comfort and time to adjust to his new life. So she agreed to share a room with Qin An.

Hearing his brother's answer, Qin An finally felt relieved. He squinted his eyes happily, and his whole body perked up, like a spirited little animal. If you gave him a tail, it would probably wag like a blur by now.

The day passed quickly, and night fell once again.

Shu Lan brought a pile of books in the afternoon and started teaching Qin An to read. Qin An's previous life had been too difficult, and he had never had the opportunity to attend a private school, so he didn't know a single word.

After learning about this, Shu Lan volunteered to teach Qin An to read.

The oil lamp on the table burned quietly. Shu Lan held Qin An on her lap and guided him to recognize the words in the book one by one.

After an afternoon of learning, Qin An successfully learned ten characters. Qin An was not actually stupid, and his comprehension ability was quite good. After being taught ten characters for a while, he could read and write them all, and he could also understand their general meanings.

This gave Teacher Shu a great sense of accomplishment, and she taught even more enthusiastically.

"Haaah~~ Hoo~~" Qin An yawned, feeling a little sleepy.

"Are you sleepy?" Shu Lan could tell it was getting late from the fact that it was pitch black outside. "Let's go to sleep."

"But I still want to learn more." Qin An fought off his sleepiness, wanting to learn more.

"We can learn tomorrow, there's still plenty of time." Shu Lan ruffled Qin An's hair. "Shall we go to sleep now?"

"Okay, sure." Qin An nodded groggily.

"Good boy!" Shu Lan carried Qin An to her bed, gently placed him on it, helped him take off his outer clothes, and covered him with the blanket. Then she also took off her shoes and outer robe and got into bed.

Shu Lan flicked her finger and released a wisp of spiritual energy, extinguishing the oil lamp's flame. The entire room instantly went dark.

Qin An shuddered when he saw the room suddenly go dark.

"Don't be afraid." Shu Lan hugged Qin An into her arms and gently patted his back.

Qin An reached out and hugged Shu Lan tightly around the waist, burying his head in her arms. He smelled a delicate fragrance, like magnolia blossoms, emanating from Shu Lan, and his mind relaxed. His grip loosened, and he soon drifted off to sleep.

As Shulan patted him, her movements slowed down. After a while, she also drifted off to sleep.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the two figures nestled together on the bedside table—a scene of serene beauty.