Chapter 220: Not so much anymore.

Chapter 220: 220: Not so much anymore.

While Zhaoxi made herself comfortable in Mu Qingya’s embrace, Mu Qingya’s thoughts began racing.

She’s already at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. What kind of sorcery is this? Is all her meridians opened? Is that even possible at such a young age?

Earlier, she had already been shocked to learn that a young man from a kingdom had reached the Nascent Soul Realm at only thirty-two years old.

Even within the Tianhe Empire, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm at such a young age was an exceptionally rare event.

She had never expected to encounter someone like that in what she considered a remote kingdom.

She had only managed to calm herself by reminding herself that Lin Xuan had even been acknowledged by the Whale People.

Perhaps someone capable of earning their recognition really could accomplish something so extraordinary.

With that matter settled in her mind, she had managed to convince herself that the real problem was how she had somehow ended up making him her Junior Brother simply because he had been taught by Nanny Liu.

But now...

Mu Qingya looked down at the little girl resting comfortably in her arms.

She looks like she only started cultivating recently, yet she’s already at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement.

Her curiosity grew stronger.

Just what kind of nursery does the Lin Family have? I have to learn the secrets...

Zhaoxi eventually noticed that Mu Qingya was no longer paying attention to her and tugged gently at her clothes.

"Pretty Sister, what are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"I’m waiting for your Uncle Xuan," Mu Qingya replied, adjusting Zhaoxi comfortably in her arms. "He and I have some things to discuss."

"Oohhhh..." Zhaoxi drew out the word before lowering her voice into an excited whisper. "Is it a secret?"

Mu Qingya laughed and gently pinched her nose. "Look at this little kid. What have you been learning all this time?"

"Ouch, ouch!" Zhaoxi protested as she tried to swat Mu Qingya’s hand away. "Pretty Sister shouldn’t bully small kids. That’s bad! If you’re bad I’ll call you aunty."

Mu Qingya could not help but giggle at her reaction as she settled down with Zhaoxi still resting comfortably in her arms.

"Do you want to hear a secret?" she asked, lowering her voice slightly.

Zhaoxi immediately glanced around the garden.

Her little eyes darted from one side to the other before she turned back toward Mu Qingya and nodded excitedly.

Mu Qingya raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "Were you just checking whether someone might be spying on us?"

The little girl was simply too cute.

And I was nervous earlier for no reason.

Mu Qingya smiled and threw out a few formation flags that land in circular shape.

Spiritual qi quietly spread through the surrounding area, forming a sound barrier around the two of them.

"There we go," she said with satisfaction. "Now no one will hear what we’re talking about."

Lin Zhaoxi looked around the garden once more before giving a serious little nod, as though she completely understood what the sound barrier was meant to do.

The more Mu Qingya looked at the child, the more tempted she became to simply kidnap her and raise her as her own.

"Who’s your granny?" Mu Qingya asked curiously.

Zhaoxi immediately puffed out her cheeks.

"Wah! You said you would tell me a secret. You’re a bad, bad aunty! I’m not going to call you Sister anymore, hmph!"

She turned her head away in protest, but unfortunately, she had nowhere to go because she was still sitting comfortably in Mu Qingya’s arms.

Besides, it was not as though she was actually trying to escape.

Mu Qingya could not hold back her laughter. She reached over and gently pinched Zhaoxi’s nose again.

"If I tell you then secret, you’ll tell me who your granny is, right?"

"Okay, let’s promise then!" Zhaoxi immediately replied as she raised her little pinky.

"Pinky swear?" Mu Qingya asked with a smile.

"Pinky swear!"

Laughing softly, Mu Qingya raised her own pinky and hooked it around Zhaoxi’s.

The two made their little pinky promise before finally letting go.

The moment their fingers separated, Zhaoxi turned toward Mu Qingya with wide, expectant eyes.

She was clearly waiting for the promised secret.

"There are lots of strong barbarians in the Northern Continent," Mu Qingya said excitedly. "What do you think? It’s worth it, right? If you grow up strong enough, I’ll take you there, and we can both fight to our hearts’ content!"

Her excitement, however, was entirely one-sided.

Zhaoxi looked at her with an expression that could not, under any interpretation, be described as anything other than disappointment.

"What?" Mu Qingya asked, clearly confused. "It is a secret that the Northern Continent has barbarians. No-one has ever returned alive from the northern continent. Ask your Uncle Xuan.

He probably doesn’t know about them either. This Big Sister was just lucky enough to encounter them and win in a fight, okay? It’s a huge secret!"

She clicked her tongue proudly.

Zhaoxi stared at her for another moment before sighing.

"Big Sister, you’re not fun at all. Sister Zhaoyue already told me stories about the barbarians in the north, the beasts in the Southern Kingdom, and the alliance with the Western Continent."

Mu Qingya’s expression immediately froze.

This time, she was the one who was shocked.

The Eastern Continent was something the Empire had only recently discovered. The distance between the two continents was so vast that crossing it took an entire year.

The two sides had only recently managed to establish some form of communication, and the existence of the Eastern Continent remained a closely guarded secret within the empire.

Not even the kingdoms under the Tianhe Empire’s rule had been given the opportunity to learn about the Western Continent.

Yet somehow, this supposedly remote kingdom had not only heard of the Eastern Continent, but its people were casually talking about an alliance between the two sides.

She probably just made a random guess and happened to get lucky.

That was the only explanation Mu Qingya could think of.

"Tell me more," Mu Qingya said, her curiosity now genuine.

Zhaoxi immediately shook her head.

"I’m not an idiot, Big Sister. Information costs a lot of money. So if you want to hear more, pay me."

Mu Qingya stared at her in exasperation.

"Then why were you trying to get a secret out of me for free?"

She clicked her tongue in disbelief.

"Hey!" Zhaoxi immediately protested. "It was a bargain! You promised me a secret in exchange for my grandma’s name. That’s your fault!"

Mu Qingya stared at Zhaoxi for a moment before thinking to herself, No wonder my instincts made me nervous earlier. It was because I’m sitting in front of someone like my husband.

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Playing with words gets you nowhere. Fists, fists are power, you know."

"Using your fists when you can’t win an argument just makes you an idiot, Big Sister. Let’s talk."

Mu Qingya nearly fell over.

What is with this child?

She had thought Zhaoxi was as innocent as a child could possibly be, but this little girl was practically a devil in disguise. She couldn’t help but simply stare at her in utter disbelief.

"Ahem, okay, okay, Big Sister," Zhaoxi said, shrinking slightly beneath her gaze. "Don’t look at me like that. You’re making me scared. I’ll tell you what you want to know."

She cleared her throat and continued, "Ahem, so... the thing is..."

She paused for a few seconds before innocently asking again, "Wait, what was it that you wanted to know?"

Mu Qingya simply stared at her.

Zhaoxi noticed that she was not getting any response and eventually gave up on her attempt to string together some random nonsense.

That isn’t going to work so she decided to get straight to the point.

"My granny is Tian Liuqi."

Mu Qingya, who had just been reaching over to pinch Zhaoxi’s nose again, suddenly stopped.

"She’s your grandmother?" she asked in disbelief. "Wait... she actually told you her name?"

"Yes," Zhaoxi replied innocently. "Granny’s name is nice, but it’s hard to say."

Mu Qingya was completely speechless.

The elder gave her name to this child? Does that mean she has already chosen her as her successor? I mean... I understand why but still, this is huge news!

Mu Qingya immediately lifted Zhaoxi into the air and stared at her with newfound excitement.

"Look at you, the chosen one!"

"Hey, hey! Stop it! Put me down!" Zhaoxi protested, kicking her little legs in the air. "Bad Aunty! Bad Aunty!"