Divine Family Patriarch’s Office

  A pair of melodic laughs rang out, filling the Patriarch’s office within the Divine Family estate.

  The laughter belonged to the two wives of the current family head, Chen Zhenlong.

  On any other day, Chen Zhenlong would have loved listening to the peals of their laughter.

  With all the misfortune that had struck their family over the past few years, finding a reason to laugh had become extremely rare.

  So watching both of his wives cackle as if there were no tomorrow was something that warmed Chen Zhenlong’s soul.

  If only the reason for their laughter wasn’t giving him a mountain-sized headache.

  As the Patriarch of a major family, Chen Zhenlong had prepared for many different situations, Both as the Divine Family’s leader and as one of Glory City’s top experts.

  But he had never prepared himself for the possibility that his youngest daughter might be developing feelings for a boy.

  Chen Zhenlong let out a low grunt just thinking about it.

  “Oh, come on, don’t be like that. It’s not that big of a deal. She’s just going through some normal girl stuff. Don’t take it too seriously,” Chen Wenrou said when she noticed her husband’s reaction.

  “Exactly. And it’s not like we’re even sure that’s the real reason Lin’er has been acting so differently today. Maybe she’s just starting to get self-conscious. I mean, having a boy attend to you during a bath is quite embarrassing,” Chen Yinying added.

  Chen Zhenlong sighed.

  His two wives were right.

  He was probably reading too much into it.

  They were only speculating, nothing had been confirmed yet.

  Instead of overthinking things, he should focus on the fact that his daughter had been more proactive since this morning.

  It had started when Xue Hui approached him early in the day and informed him that Linlin wished for someone else to assist her during her bath.

  Chen Zhenlong had needed a few breaths before he could respond.

  Eventually, he told the boy that he would send someone to attend to her.

  The reason for his reaction was simple, this was Chen Linlin they were talking about.

  Back then, he and Linlin had discussed how it might be inappropriate to let Xue Hui assist her with bathing.

  Yet Chen Linlin had insisted that she didn’t want anyone else but Xue Hui to attend to her needs. In the end, he and his wives had no choice but to reluctantly allow it.

  Fortunately, Xue Hui had proven himself to be a trustworthy person.

  During the first few weeks after he became Chen Linlin’s sole attendant, the two children were closely monitored.

  Throughout that time, the boy showed nothing but care and diligence in carrying out his duties.

  There was never any inappropriate behavior of any kind.

  Because of this, her parents were eventually able to come to terms with the arrangement.

  So it felt rather strange to Chen Zhenlong when he heard that his daughter had suddenly changed her mind and asked for someone else to assist her during her bath.

  After sending the boy away to continue his tasks, Chen Zhenlong asked his wife, Chen Yinying, to help their daughter and subtly probe what was going on.

  Only after Chen Yinying finished assisting Linlin did Chen Zhenlong learn the reason.

  Honestly, he didn’t know whether his worries had lessened or increased after hearing it.

  It certainly didn’t help that when Chen Yinying returned to their room after helping their daughter, she was giggling like a young maiden.

  When he asked her why, Chen Yinying told him there was nothing to worry about.

  Apparently, their youngest daughter had suddenly grown embarrassed about being undressed in front of a boy.

  Chen Yinying even added that Chen Linlin would stammer and turn as red as a tomato whenever she was asked why she no longer wanted Xue Hui to see her undressed.

  While the two mothers became excited over the sudden development and the possibility of their daughter experiencing her first crush.

  Chen Zhenlong, on the other hand, was far too busy suffering what felt like a minor heart attack, his brain practically frying at the thought that his beloved daughter might actually be developing feelings for a boy.

  And the changes in his daughter’s behavior didn’t stop there.

  Later that morning, during breakfast

  In the private dining hall reserved, exclusively for Chen Zhenlong and his immediate family,

  The trio was slightly shocked when a servant placed an additional plate on the table.

  When they asked who it was for, the servant replied that Xue Hui had informed the kitchen staff that Chen Linlin wished to have breakfast with her parents today.

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  Right after the message was delivered, Xue Hui entered the dining hall, pushing Chen Linlin in her wheelchair.

  Gone was her usual gloomy aura.

  Instead, she greeted her parents cheerfully.

  Chen Zhenlong and his wives immediately rushed over, showering the young girl with kisses and hugs.

  Of course, the three of them were overjoyed to see their daughter acting so lively and full of spirit.

  Not to mention, it had been quite a while since they had all shared a meal at the same table.

  Everyone in the family knew that Chen Linlin disliked leaving her residence, so she usually had her meals delivered to her room.

  Because of that, it was rare for them to have meals together.

  It was so rare that when Chen Shi xin, Chen Linlin’s grandfather, heard that his granddaughter was eating in the family’s dining hall, he immediately rushed to Chen Zhenlong’s residence to join her.

  Unfortunately, Chen Lijian, Chen Linlin’s older brother, was not in the mansion that day.

  He had been dragged off by his uncle, Chen Fei, to the forest outside Glory City for training.

  Aside from that, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast with Chen Linlin.

  More changes occurred later that afternoon.

  Chen Zhenlong had taken a short break from handling paperwork and decided to take a small stroll around the estate.

  As he walked past the courtyard, he saw both of his wives there with their daughter,

  The said daughter was currently struggling to lift a weight with her small arms.

  The “weight” in question was a watermelon nearly as large as her head.

  Beside her, her two mothers cheered and encouraged her to push herself a little harder.

  With a determined little grunt, the girl finally managed to lift the fruit above her head.

  The moment she succeeded, both mothers jumped in joy, clapping proudly at her achievement.

  When Chen Zhenlong finally walked over and asked what they were doing, the two women happily explained.

  Apparently, just like him, they had simply stumbled upon their daughter and her attendant in the courtyard, where she had been doing some light weight training under Xue Hui’s supervision.

  Confused yet intrigued, the two mothers decided to stay and watch.

  Before long, they began encouraging her and even assisting with her training.

  Understanding the situation, Chen Zhenlong nodded.

  His heart filled with joy as he watched his daughter seemingly break free from her depression and begin living her life again.

  He remained to the side, quietly observing the heartwarming atmosphere between his wives and daughter.

  At some point, Chen Zhenlong’s eyes unconsciously landed on the boy standing not far from them.

  For some reason, his gut told him that something was amiss.

  All these changes, though undeniably good, seemed to have something to do with that boy.

  If there was one thing in this world Chen Zhenlong trusted the most, it was his instincts.

  Slightly narrowing his eyes, he allowed his gaze to linger on Xue Hui for a short while, as if trying to discern any subtle changes in the boy.

  But he found nothing.

  Eventually, Chen Zhenlong turned his attention back to his wives and daughter, choosing to simply enjoy the moment.

  Unaware that, at that very moment, Xue Hui was silently cursing in his heart.

  As expected of a Black Gold rank Demon Spiritualist, Chen Zhenlong’s perception was frighteningly sharp.

  Even after closing all his pores and meridians to prevent any leakage of spiritual energy, Chen Zhenlong still managed to sense something unusual.

  Xue Hui’s heart sank slightly.

  It seemed he truly needed to have that talk soon, before Chen Zhenlong began to grow suspicious and wary of him.

  ‘I guess it can’t wait. I need to talk tonight,’ Xue Hui thought.

  Back in the present, at the Patriarch’s office.

  After Chen Yinying and Chen Wenrou finished laughing, they noticed how late it had become.

  The two women soon decided to call it a night and returned to their residence, leaving Chen Zhenlong alone to continue his date with paperwork.

  Now alone with his thoughts, Chen Zhenlong finally had the time to properly contemplate all the unusual changes that had occurred with his daughter.

  He was genuinely glad to see that she seemed to have cast aside the shadow of death lingering in her heart and was trying to better herself.

  But despite that, Chen Zhenlong couldn’t stop himself from feeling skeptical about the entire situation.

  Not to mention the strange sense of unease he felt whenever his thoughts drifted toward Xue Hui.

  He could tell that Xue Hui had done something to cause his daughter to act differently from her usual self.

  He didn’t like how his thoughts kept trying to accuse the boy of doing something suspicious toward his daughter.

  But his instincts were firm, the Xue Hui of today felt like a completely different person from before.

  Releasing a shaky breath, Chen Zhenlong finally made up his mind.

  He would confront the boy directly and see for himself whether his suspicions held any merit.

  Rising from his chair, he released a thin wisp of spiritual energy toward his daughter’s residence to sense what they were doing.

  Usually, the two children were still awake at this hour, doing something to pass the time.

  He gently enveloped his daughter’s entire room with his spiritual aura.

  The moment his senses touched the scene inside, his expression darkened.

  His aura detected that his daughter was in severe emotional distress.

  She was sitting on her bed, both hands clasped tightly in front of her chest as if praying.

  A tear trembled at the corner of her delicate eye, threatening to fall at any moment.

  This was far from the cheerful mood she had displayed earlier.

  Chen Zhenlong could practically feel the anxiety radiating from her small body, thick and suffocating even through the veil of his spiritual sense.

  The instant he realized something was wrong, his heart tightened violently in his chest.

  Worry crept over him like icy fingers, followed by a surge of fear he hadn’t felt in years.

  His mind raced through countless dreadful possibilities, had her illness suddenly worsened? Had something triggered her condition? Or worse… had someone hurt her?

  Without hesitation, Chen Zhenlong moved to leave his office, ready to rush to his daughter’s room to see what had caused her distress.

  Just as he was about to step out, Chen Zhenlong suddenly halted.

  In the same instant, he released a strand of spiritual energy toward the direction of his office door and forced it open.

  A figure stood at the entrance.

  Without hesitation, Chen Zhenlong made a grabbing motion.

  His spiritual energy surged forward, enveloping the boy and locking him firmly in place.

  Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been strange for Xue Hui to appear in his office.

  After all, the boy was his younger daughter’s attendant.

  It was only natural for him to seek the Patriarch from time to time whenever he needed something for his young miss.

  But this time was different.

  Chen Zhenlong had clearly sensed a faint wisp of a Demon Spiritualist’s aura coming from the boy,

  Something that should have been impossible given Xue Hui’s frail physique and lack of cultivation talent.

  His first logical conclusion was simple:

  This was not Xue Hui.

  Someone else must be disguising themselves as the boy.

  Feeling his spiritual energy fully latch onto the figure, Chen Zhenlong made a pulling motion with his arm.

  “Get over here!”

  With a violent tug, Xue Hui’s body was dragged forward, nearly within his grasp.

  But just as Chen Zhenlong reached out

  He felt it.

  A single strand of condensed spiritual energy shot forward like a needle, striking a precise point within his own aura.

  It rotated rapidly, like a drill boring through steel.

  As his spiritual energy pressed against Chen Zhenlong’s overwhelming aura, Xue Hui silently began reciting the [Creation Origin Ancestral Canon].

  Guiding his energy with extreme precision, he focused on a single point of contact.

  Instead of clashing head-on, he refined a minute fragment of Chen Zhenlong’s spiritual aura stripping it down into raw, ownerless spiritual energy.

  In that instant, the connection between the Patriarch and that strand of aura was severed.

  And with it, the restraint binding him collapsed.

  In an instant, the strand tore through the portion of spiritual energy restraining the boy,

  Severing it completely.

  Freed from the hold, Xue Hui twisted his body midair, barely dodging Chen Zhenlong’s grasp by a mere inch before landing lightly on his feet.

  Chen Zhenlong’s pupils shrank.

  He had never seen such fine and precise control over spiritual energy in his life.

  Chen Zhenlong could clearly sense that the boy in front of him was merely a One-Star Bronze Rank Demon Spiritualist.

  Yet somehow, he had managed to pierce through spiritual energy that was thousands of times stronger than his own.

  The impossibility of it stunned Chen Zhenlong for a brief second.

  And in that fleeting moment of shock, he inadvertently lowered his guard.

  That tiny pause was more than enough.

  Xue Hui swiftly retrieved a scroll from his interspatial ring and unfurled it without hesitation.

  The scroll ignited with light as a concealment array activated instantly, spreading across the entire office.

  A sealing barrier formed from within, trapping every strand of spiritual energy released by both of them and preventing any fluctuation from leaking outside.

  With Chen Zhenlong’s status and cultivation, even the slightest trace of offensive spiritual aura escaping this room would be enough to alert the experts of the Divine Family.

  They would immediately rush to his office to investigate the disturbance.

  If that were to happen, anyone rushing in from outside would completely thwart his plan to speak with Chen Zhenlong alone.

  The moment Chen Zhenlong sensed that he had been enclosed within some kind of array formation, his expression darkened.

  He was just about to unleash his strength and forcibly break it,

  When Xue Hui suddenly raised both hands in surrender.

  “Lord Patriarch, Please! hold your aura for a moment. Calm down,” the boy said urgently but steadily. “This is really me. Xue Hui. I have a proposition to help Linlin heal her illness. Just give me a little time to explain.”

  Caught off guard by the boy’s reaction, Chen Zhenlong forcefully restrained the surge of aura that was about to erupt from his body.

  He allowed the boy to speak.

  He was curious to hear the explanation.

  More importantly,

  He was interested in what the boy had said about healing his daughter.

  “Speak!” Chen Zhenlong’s voice boomed, his gaze sharp as a blade. “I want to know who you really are. Why are you hiding yourself? And how dare you use my daughter’s illness as a bargaining chip?”

  His aura trembled faintly despite being suppressed.

  “Everyone in Glory City knows that my Lin’er’s illness is incurable. Every medical expert has long since given up on finding a solution.”

  Though Chen Zhenlong intended only to probe the boy,

  He hadn’t expected his emotions to flare up so violently.

  Th

  e mere mention of his daughter’s condition was enough to disturb his composure.

  Xue Hui slowly lowered his arms.

  He placed his right hand over his chest, as if making an oath.

  His expression was calm.

  His eyes were steady.

  And with complete sincerity in his voice, he replied,

  “Because I can.”

  End of chapter 11