Chapter 63
Qian Xing: “…”
Finks: “…”
"No, who's playing—" Finks pressed his forehead, where the veins were throbbing, "Don't talk nonsense in front of the baby."
Perhaps because the situation was too awkward and needed something to break it, all the creatures present that could transform into human form tacitly and one after another.
...The result is predictable, of course it became even more embarrassing.
Mephistopheles looked down and saw the little baby still wrapped in bubbles, blinking his big eyes and looking at him innocently. Then he realized what was happening and made a zipper-like gesture to his mouth.
Succubus is one of his multiple devilish identities, and he can easily say some restricted words; he also likes to act like a spoiled child, especially to Qian Xing and Finks, and he is used to speaking without restraint, and almost forgets that adults should be tactful in front of real children.
For the first time, Mephistopheles felt a little worried: When the baby came to him, would he really be able to play with him - no, take good care of him?
Qian Xing's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He took the king's robe that had been prepared long ago from Feihua and put it on. The small wound on his chest quickly disappeared under the powerful self-healing power.
But not in terms of self-esteem.
He has always been aloof and proud, and a perfectionist with a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder. When patrolling the sea, he would even make sure that every curl of his long hair was carefully groomed, that the flowers in the laurel wreath on his head could not wilt, that the petals had to be arranged in a gradient of light and dark, and that even every pearl in the pearl necklace he wore had to be the same size and color.
Even if today was a private trip, he shouldn't have let down his guard; especially with Bao Baozi around—how could he possibly make a mistake in front of Bao Baozi? How could he be anything less than perfect in Li Jue's eyes?
Even if the cubs don't feel that this damages the dignity and beauty of their parents, the parents still can't tolerate it.
...Sure enough, nothing good ever happens when you meet that dragon!
He maintained a calm appearance, and calmly put his index and middle fingers together and gently stroked. The night pearl hanging on Finks' neck that was given (stolen) suddenly felt the spiritual power of its original owner, broke free from the necklace, and was washed away by the current.
Finks was completely unprepared. As a pure land creature, he was choked several times by the sudden loss of oxygen and the influx of seawater without his magic plug-in props. Not even the sound of a cough could be heard in the sea water, and he had to immediately reach out to grab the night pearl.
This time Qian Xing didn't try to make it fly away. She watched Finks awkwardly hold it in his hand and breathe again, and she felt that she had barely let out a sigh of relief.
He adjusted his mood and looked up at Mephistopheles, who was still looking at them suspiciously: "Why did you come here so suddenly?"
He glanced behind the young man. The latter came alone, and as he expected, he had no intention of returning the employee.
The Siren King sighed in his heart, it seemed that he had to recruit again.
Fortunately, if you lose a pirate leader, you can recruit a new one. Even if you lose a pirate ship, you can rebuild it or change to other mini-boss settings.
For him, one more of these people doesn't make much, one less doesn't make little, it's just a matter of whether he can use them or not, and whether he is satisfied or not.
Unlike the Golden Dragon, who values his family members on the starship, for the Sea Monster King, almost no one is irreplaceable. He is such a cold and indifferent person.
The only one who is different is probably the little guy in front of me, right?
"I don't know what happened, but since all the adults have turned into human forms, I might as well return to human form first," said the little kid Li Jue. He was pushing the enlarged bubble like a snowball, swimming around curiously, feeling the buoyancy that was completely different from when he was a jellyfish.
He is always happy, Qian Xing thought. No matter how cramped or dark the environment is, he can always find what he likes based on his childish intuition, just like picking up the most beautiful shells on the beach.
Even though he was surrounded by cruel and evil people like himself, Phinks, and Mephistopheles, the little guy's innocence never disappeared.
He is the purest white pear blossom, and no matter how dirty the sin is, it cannot tarnish it in the slightest.
A naked sea butterfly that strayed into this place attracted Li Jue's attention. He immediately turned around and followed it, fluttering around happily like a kitten chasing a butterfly.
The transparent ice sea angel with a fiery red heart was not frightened. Instead, it stopped and waited, looking at the little human cub it had never seen before with the same curiosity, and could not help but be attracted by the pure, almost holy and wonderful temperament in him.
Who are you? it wondered.
But Zaizai got there first.
"Who are you?" Li Jue blew out a small bubble from the big bubble. "When Zizi was a jellyfish, he was just like you!"
This was the first time he had seen a marine creature as transparent as himself.
It didn't answer. It flapped its soft wings and turned to swim away.
Sea angels have graceful bodies and swim like butterflies among flowers.
There's no way a kitten, like a kitten, can resist chasing butterflies.
Whenever Li Jue shortened the distance and was about to touch the naked sea butterfly with his hand, the latter always found a way to playfully and lightly twist its body to dodge, allowing the little cub to almost get a taste of the sweetness, which made the temptation even stronger.
The adults were originally watching this harmonious scene in a relaxed manner, but then they realized something was wrong. Why was the little guy swimming towards the crater?
Tongxin was still very perceptive at this time. Just as he was about to extend his tentacles to pull back the kid who had entered the restricted area, a black shadow shot out from the side like a cannonball.
Ling Xi transformed into a faster-swimming little seal and quickly caught up with Li Jue. Her round body lay across his front: "Jue Jue!"
It was rare for Li Jue to see Ayashi in seal form in his human form, so his attention was immediately interrupted. He happily reached out to hug him and rubbed his smooth fur: "Xixi!"
The isolation bubble set up by the Siren King for them is very flexible. They are separate when separated, but can merge into one when brought close together.
The little seal nudged him with its head: "Don't get too close to the volcano. Go back quickly."
Li Jue held his fin and hesitated: "But, that..."
He turned around and was about to introduce his new friend to his good friend when he saw the naked sea butterfly swimming towards the crater where the clouds were gathering thicker and thicker without looking back. Its speed was so fast that it didn't seem like plankton.
Li Jue shouted worriedly: "Don't go, it's dangerous!"
The naked sea butterfly ignored it, which made the cub anxious and wanted to follow it.
After all, a seal's flippers aren't as flexible as humans', so it couldn't grab Li Jue's hand. So, it had no choice but to transform back into human form and hug Li Jue around the waist: "You can't go!"
For the first time, Zizi didn't want to listen to him and struggled to chase the naked sea butterfly: "I want to save it——"
Ling Xi is three years older than him and is a spirit beast, so she is much stronger than him, but she doesn't dare to use too much strength to hurt Li Jue. The two children who have always loved each other started to wrestle with each other.
It is a self-protection instinct for organisms to escape from temperatures that exceed their normal living environment. No one knows why the sea angel swam towards Bokanger without looking back.
Even a giant with thick skin and flesh like the emperor squid would be burned by the recent abnormal crater clouds, not to mention a tiny mollusk like it, which would probably be dissolved by the high temperature before it even gets close.
If my eyesight were worse, I might be less sad.
Ling Xi grabbed Li Jue's arm and turned him to face her, then held the cub in her arms, preventing him from looking over there again.
They had already been immersed in the sea water, so even if they cried, the clothes on their chests would not get any wetter.
The baby grabbed his clothes with both hands, whimpered softly, and his body trembled.
Ling Xi didn't dare to look at the Ice Sea Angel that had been swallowed by the clouds. Her heart was also filled with sadness. She lowered her eyes and gently patted Li Jue's back.
Legend has it that mermaids' tears can turn into pearls. Unfortunately, no one has ever seen Qianxing, Liuying or Feihua sisters cry after abandoning their feelings.
However, at this moment, Ling Xi was surprised to see a string of tiny, round crystals as clear as ice floating before her eyes.
Like the score of a piece of music, the notes jump and gradually disappear into the dim and distant blue water.
That's not some floating ore, nor is it a broken necklace.
They are Li Jue's tears.
*
"pear."
"pear……?"
Zizi came back to his senses from his sadness and looked around blankly.
Everyone, including Ling Xi, stayed quietly in their own bubbles, lowered their heads in thought, as if mourning for the deceased ice sea angel.
No one spoke.
Did I hear it wrong?
"pear."
The voice appeared again.
Li Jue looked left and right again. The adults' postures and expressions were motionless, as if they were sealed in a bubble.
The little cub was unaware that time and space had been suspended.
Who is calling me?
"You're a pear, right?"
The voice was vague, but gentle.
Li Jue had never heard this voice before, but he felt inexplicably familiar with it, as if someone had called him so lovingly a long time ago.
"It's not a pear." Zizi corrected very seriously, "It's a pear-jue-"
The voice smiled. "Okay, Li Jue. But calling you 'Li' is cute, too, don't you think?"
The little guy thought about it and answered confidently: "Why shout? All the babies are cute!"
This time the laughter became much more hearty, and I was completely touched by cuteness.
After a while, the laughter died down and turned into a sigh: "You've grown so big..." It sounded a little hesitant to speak, "Sorry, I..."
The cub tilted his head.
Why apologize?
Do you feel sorry because you have grown up?
How strange.
Li Jue wrinkles his nose when he encounters a problem he doesn't understand. This is a habit he learned from his father.
The facial features of the father and son are carved out of the same mold, but the older one is elegant and light, while the younger one is soft and sweet; when they make this expression, they are even more similar, as if seeing Chen Yan in his childhood
"You really do look like him." The voice chuckled. "That's great."
"Who does it look like?"
"Your father."
Li Jue immediately became interested: "Do you know my father?"
"I know him." It paused, "Very familiar."
Are you dad’s good friend?
The baby asked in a baby voice: "Then who are you?"
"I am... someone who loves you very much," it said, "and I love your father too."
This answer is too ambiguous and cannot satisfy Zizi.
Li Jue wrinkled his nose again, and suddenly remembered something: "I know, you are the golden uncle!"
The person on the other side was visibly stunned. After a while, he stuttered and said, "Wha...what?"
"Zizi saw it. A golden-haired uncle kissed Daddy!" Li Jue whispered this little secret, "Dad said that people who love each other will be very affectionate. Are you that uncle?"
At such a young age, he can make connections and his logic is quite clear.
The voice was silent for a long time, without answering or pointing, "I really wish I could grow up with you."
The sensitive little cub heard endless sadness in the sigh, and for some reason, his mood also became depressed.
Dad, where are you now?
"pear."
"pear?"
Li Jue shuddered: "Zizi is here!"
"Baby, come find me." The voice said, "Let's go find your father together, okay? We've been delayed for too long, it's time to reunite. I will never leave you again..."
Li Jue opened his mouth, but before he could respond, the still sea water around him began to surge again, and the adults who had been silent all the time resumed their conversation.
The voice disappeared completely.
"Jiejue."
"Juejue?"
Ling Xi waved in front of him several times before the little cub came to his senses. He grabbed his hand and said hurriedly, "I heard it!"
Ling Xi was stunned: "What did you hear?"
"Uncle." Li Jue seemed to be answering, but also seemed to be muttering to himself, "Golden Uncle. Let me go find him, he will take me to find my father. He knows my father..."
The more you talk, the more confused it becomes.
Ling Xi's heart skipped a beat. He clearly didn't hear any sound except the sound of running water; but the "golden uncle" that Li Jue mentioned was only "that person".
Could it be that the God communicated with the baby in some way?
Or maybe, what Zizi heard... was not the voice of the Lord God at all?
——Could it be that he was actually the "third leader" who had previously tricked Li Jue into a coma and tortured Tang Bing and other creatures?
The adults came over one after another, and after understanding the situation, they made the same guess as Ling Xi: "That voice came again?"
Ling Xi nodded uneasily.
Li Jue tugged at Qian Xing's sleeve urgently: "Brother Yaoyao, I want to find my dad!"
Qian Xing was the one who knew that lewd voice best. She stroked the child's curly hair and sighed, "Baby, you're hallucinating. That's not your father's voice."
The cub shook his head like a rattle: "It's not Daddy. It's Uncle. Uncle knows Daddy and even kissed Daddy!"
Parents: “?”
It felt like I had heard a very important secret.
Seeing that Qian Xing was unmoved, Li Jue changed his target for help. He pounced in front of Finks, raised his little face and begged pitifully: "Mimi, I want to see daddy..."
Finks had long been annoyed by the voice of the one who "murdered" the baby cub. Unlike the Siren King, the Golden Dragon did not like to use cold and roundabout means. Violent confrontation and crushing were his style. This invisible "third leader" who secretly manipulated everything was exactly the type he hated the most.
He covered Zizi's ears and said, "That's a bad guy. You know? A bad guy worse than us."
No one supported his idea. The little boy's eyes turned red and he cried, "Is my brother a bad guy?"
Finks never hesitated on the question: "Yes."
Li Jue wiped his eyes: "But, but, brother is very good to Zizi..."
Finks glanced at Qian Xing and continued to coax her, "We treat you well because you're a good child, not because we're good people. The voice you hear now is neither a good person nor does it treat you as a good child. If it truly treated you well, it would come to you instead of asking you to go to it."
This long paragraph really confused the little cub. Its light golden eyes looked at him blankly: "I..."
He subconsciously looked at the last parent who hadn't expressed his opinion yet. His voice was much weaker than before. It seemed that he no longer expected to get his support, but he still wanted to make one last effort: "Brother Meimei..."
The little devil had been resting his chin on his hand, watching two hard-hearted old acquaintances transform into good fathers in infinite space and patiently coax their children. He was even planning to expose their true colors later. Suddenly, he became the focus of everyone's attention. He pointed at himself in surprise: "Me?"
Everyone nodded slowly and in unison.
The boy also became unsure. "Are you going to listen to my judgment...? Or my opinion or something?"
Qian Xing felt that it was unreliable for an older child to lead a younger child, but Mephisto was indeed an excellent behind-the-scenes mastermind in the field. He knew better than him and the Golden Tyrant how to make players unable to live or die, so his professional ability was still no problem.
He swam to Li Jue and patted the child on the shoulder: "Xiao Mei, tell your son what you think."
The little devil looked suspiciously back and forth between his two colleagues. Although the siren said it casually, if he really misled the baby, those two stupid fathers might unite against him.
"If you really want to hear my opinion," the young man said, gazing at the increasingly agitated Bokanger Volcano from afar. He stared intently at the thick white mist covering the crater for a moment before speaking firmly, "It's calling my sweetheart."
Everyone was stunned.
Including Li Jue himself, they clearly did not hear any unusual sounds, except for the gurgling of blue magma, which was about to erupt.
The little devil saw the confusion and distrust in their eyes and spread his hands. "Didn't you say that the voice that Xiaoyu, Xiaoxia, and Xiaotianxin heard in their heads was 'devil language'? Then it's normal that I can understand it, right? - I am the leader of all demons."
Qian Xing frowned: "But this is my place."
How could Mephistopheles… if even he didn’t hear it?
"Bokanger, it's from the Primordial Era, right? Perhaps it carries the will and divine power of 'That Person'. If so, we all have a chance of resonating with it. It's just random chance."
The little devil waved his hand, motioning Li Jue to come to him.
"The easiest way to verify its authenticity is to go to the crater and see: since Bokanger is calling for his cub, then as long as Sweetheart goes there, it should be quiet. What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"
Li Jue was held by Qian Xing and Finks on his left and right hands. He did not move immediately, but looked up to see what the two parents he trusted more wanted.
The adults subconsciously held the cubs' hands tightly.
The little devil is lively and changeable. He can be laughing and talking one second and grinding his teeth and sucking blood the next. Friends or foes are nothing but his playthings.
They had not, and never would, fully trust him.
Mephistopheles didn't get annoyed when they refused to release the cub. Instead, his smile grew even brighter. "Brother Qianxing, the cub's time here has already expired, hasn't it? I got the sweetheart's schedule from No.Bα3L82γk."
Qian Xing was stunned. She didn't expect him to bring this up suddenly.
The time the small system stays in each sub-world is limited. Just like he took Li Jue away from the Dragon World, Li Jue who stayed in the Ocean World will also have to leave.
The little guy was delayed for too long on the fishing boat the player had boarded, and because of Firefly Feihua's incompetent work, he was stranded on Turtleback Island for a while, causing the actual meeting with him to be repeatedly delayed. After finally bringing him back to the palace, Li Jue fell ill again...
No wonder I feel like the day of separation has come before I’ve even had much time to spend with my baby.
He tried his best not to think about it these days.
You can't escape but you can't stop the countdown from turning.
Upon hearing this, Finks' first reaction was to look at Li Jue.
He still remembered how heartbreaking his crying was when his son left him not long ago. If he cried the same way now...
Yet the cub's expression was calm.
Li Jue moved and pulled his hand out of the parents' hands; the two adults felt their hearts go empty at the same time, and subconsciously wanted to stop them, but they just froze in mid-air.
Li Jue looked at the boy standing on the other side of the clear divide, and even his baby voice sounded much more serious than usual: "Brother Meimei, is the baby going with you?"
The little devil held his face in his hands and smiled happily, with hearts appearing in his pupils; this meant that his mood had reached its peak: "Yes, baby, my world is much more interesting than this one."
Zizi didn't say anything, slowly blinked his long eyelashes, then turned around and hugged Qian Xing's waist.
His little face was buried in the soft woolen robe, and he didn't say a word for a long time.
I still can’t bear to leave.
But it doesn’t matter, the cub has grown up.
He gradually understood that the short separation was for the future reunion.
Qian Xing didn't expect the child to react like this. Her heart, which shouldn't have been beating so vigorously, suddenly fell into the cotton, but she only let out a light sigh.
"Brother Yaoyao." After a while, the little cub raised his head and said softly, "Will you come to see me?"
Qian Xing combed Li Jue's hair with her fingers: "I will."
He glanced back at Finks, who came over and put something in his left hand.
Then, Qian Xing also took something off his neck and put it in his right hand, clasping his hands together.
Li Jue watched without blinking as light seeped out from between the siren's webbed fingers.
At first it was a tiny bit, then it grew bigger and bigger, as if it was about to break through the shackles and bloom; in the end it returned to calm again.
When the light stabilized, Qian Xing spread out his hand, and a pearl, half of which was completely transparent and the other half covered with fine sparkles, lay in his palm.
It's not just pearls.
Its hazy interior contained a gleaming golden dragon scale, far more dazzling than any other scale Phinks normally displayed.
This is not an ordinary pearl, nor is it an ordinary scale. It is the treasure that the Siren King and the Golden Tyrant value most and have never thought of giving to others.
But today, they gave it to Li Jue.
Because babies are more precious than pearls and dragon scales.
Feihua handed over a thin rope made of seaweed, and Qianxing tied it on to make a necklace.
Finks put the half-gold, half-snow pendant on the cub. It perfectly matched Li Jue's blond hair and fair skin. The parent was very satisfied: "I've wanted to give it to you before, but never found the chance."
"We are not believers in gods, so we can't say anything like 'bless you'." Qian Xing looked at the little child, "But, when you need us, just use it to call us."
Li Jue opened his eyes wide and touched the beautiful new necklace: "Thank you, brother, it looks so beautiful..."
Mephistopheles, who was left aside, shook his arms exaggeratedly: "Oh my, you two are so affectionate, isn't this your token of love?"
The little cub asked, "What's a 'token of love'?"
The boy's eyes curved into a playful arc: "That's it——"
Unable to bear it any longer, Finks covered Mephistopheles' mouth to prevent him from talking nonsense in front of the baby; he really didn't want to fight the little devil in the crater of Bokanger, but his patience was limited.
"Xiaomei, take good care of him." Qian Xing said coldly, "We will keep an eye on you."
"Is it all 'you guys' now? Is this so exclusive or just ordinary camaraderie? I'm neglecting your lovely colleagues, aren't I?" The boy made a face. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll make sure your little darling gets to the next stop without losing a hair, so you two don't come arm in arm to my world and set off flash bombs..."
He originally thought that his teasing would make Qian Xing angry, but he didn't expect the always stern Sea Monster King to raise the corner of his lips and actually smile: "Maybe you don't believe it now, but you will like him all the same. I'm not talking about treating him as a toy, but true love."
The little devil raised his eyebrows: "Is that so?"
"Of course." Qian Xing smiled slightly, "——He is a baby."
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