While Yun Chuan was being held in his arms comfortably, enjoying the gentle nursing from the maternal female Pope, and was drifting off to sleep in contentment,
his twin brother, Tang San, was experiencing something completely different! In a small village, Holy Soul Village.
Inside the only blacksmith shop.
The environment of this blacksmith shop was messy, constantly filled with the smell of smoke, fire, and rust, along with the annoying sounds of hammering.
Inside, on a relatively clean bed.
An infant, still in its swaddling clothes, suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were bright and lively, not at all like those of an ordinary baby. They looked more like the eyes of an adult.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!..."
Listening to the sounds of hammering coming from outside, and feeling his stomach start to rumble, Tang San had no choice but to open his mouth and begin to wail, "Wah! Wah!!!"
He wasn't like Yun Chuan, who was gifted. At three months old, he couldn't even crawl, his voice hadn't fully developed, let alone speak.
"Clang…"
The blacksmithing sound outside stopped abruptly.
A moment later.
The door opened.
A weary middle-aged man, around thirty or forty years old, walked in, covered in sweat. In his rough hands, he held a small bowl of slightly yellowed white liquid. Judging from the faint milky scent, it should be some kind of animal's milk.
As the weary middle-aged man entered, the infant Tang San stopped crying at the right moment, opening his eyes wide and staring intently at the small bowl he held. For him, who was extremely hungry at that moment, that small bowl of milk was the source of life!
Tang Hao held a bowl of warmed-up goat's milk left over from the night before, walked slowly to the bedside, picked up the infant, and leaned him against his chest. A mixture of the sour smell of sweat, urine, and the smoky, rusty smell of iron, which hadn't been washed for days, enveloped Tang San! Ugh～ If Yun Chuan, who was currently enjoying the gentle embrace of the female Pope, came here, he would probably be nauseated! But Tang San was already used to this smell, although he was uncomfortable at first, he slowly got used to it.
After all, this was his own father, and he still needed him to survive. There was no choice but to endure it.
Tang Hao held the small bowl in one hand and the spoon in the other. Little Tang San was leaning against his embrace, staring longingly at the milk on the spoon…
Spoonful after spoonful, he fed the child in his arms. Tang Hao's expression remained unchanged throughout the entire process, looking both dispirited and downcast. Even feeding the child was just a task for him. There wasn't a trace of fatherly love. From the moment his wife sacrificed herself, his heart had already died.
Tang San ate the milk one small mouthful at a time, his empty stomach gradually warming up. Frankly, the taste of this overnight milk wasn't very good. Not only did it have the inherent goat smell, but it also had a subtle sourness from sitting overnight.
But there was no choice; if he didn't eat, he would be hungry. Plus, he had been raised on this milk since birth. After getting used to it, it was alright.
If Yun Chuan could see the treatment his brother Tang San received from childhood, he would definitely be very grateful that the Martial Soul Hall had taken him away.
Good people! Those who had taken him away weren't harming him at all; they were simply saving him from misery!
Martial Soul Hall.
Ever since he'd awakened Bibi Dong's maternal instincts with a mumbled "Mama," Cloudriver's already comfortable life became even more pleasant.
He moved out of the small nursery he'd occupied for over three months and into Bibi Dong's chambers. He now slept in the same bed as the Pope, personally enjoying her attentive care. The wet nurse who had previously looked after him was dismissed. Apparently, the Pope intended to take on the task of nursing him herself. This was both to release her overflowing maternal love and to alleviate the milk production issues that had plagued her for years.
Each day, after completing the Pope's necessary social engagements and official duties, Bibi Dong devoted the rest of her time to Cloudriver. She truly treated him as her own child.
Cloudriver, in turn, was enjoying the attention, working hard to endear himself to the woman who would be his protector in the Martial Soul Hall. He used every trick in the book, acting the part of a charming little child.
And so it went.
A month passed.
Cloudriver was four months old.
He could now stand with a little effort, walk with a wobble, and his speech had become clearer. That "Mama" he said was enough to melt Bibi Dong's heart!
Of course, he still couldn't speak in full sentences. Cloudriver didn't want to raise any suspicions. A four-month-old baby being able to speak a few words could still be considered a gift, but if he could communicate like a normal person, it would be too abnormal. It would be like shouting to the world, "There's something wrong with this baby!"
So, for a long time, Yun Chuan had maintained a level of talent that was pretty good, but not overly exaggerated. He was afraid that if he showed too much brilliance, he would be harmed by malicious people.
This day.
After Bibi Dong finished feeding him, she went out as usual to handle the affairs of the Martial Soul Hall, leaving Yun Chuan alone in the room to play. Many of the furniture that might hurt a child had already been removed, replaced by a large pile of toys.
After becoming a baby, Yun Chuan seemed to have his mind affected by his body, so when he was bored and playing with these toys, he actually found them quite interesting, acting no differently from a normal child. You could only say that he had become so accustomed to acting like a child that it was ingrained in his very being.
"Click!"
The door was gently opened.
Yun Chuan, who was sitting on a blanket spread on the floor and playing with a toy similar to a Rubik's Cube, thought it was Bibi Dong returning. He instinctively turned his head, and a "Mama" was about to blurt out. But it suddenly got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
He saw that the one who opened the door and appeared at the entrance wasn't Bibi Dong's mature and delicate figure. Instead, it was a small, tender, and thin figure.
This was a little girl, about ten years old.
Her long, golden hair seemed to shimmer, and her golden eyes were watery and bright. Her charming features were exquisite, as if she were the most perfect creation of the heavens. Coupled with her small frame and white dress, she was simply a perfect loli!
However, at this moment, this golden-haired loli was staring with hostility at the baby sitting on the carpet, who was still holding a Rubik's Cube toy. It was as if the baby had stolen her beloved toy; her fair little face gradually puffed up, and she glared at him angrily!
"Qian Renxue!"
Seeing the features of this golden-haired little loli, Yun Chuan immediately knew her identity. After all, with these physical characteristics, and the ability to push open the Pope's boudoir so fearlessly, it was clear that no one else but the Pope's own daughter would have this audacity.