Chapter 52: The Hearts of Parents

The young man gave a faint, enigmatic smile, an unreadable look in his eyes. "I will leave now. Take care of yourself." With those words, he put down the huffy little kitten in his arms and vanished in a flash.

Lingwei muttered, watching the direction in which he had departed, "Go on, leave, and never come back! I don't want you anyway!"

Hiding in the shadows, Xuanyuan Hongyu watched the babbling little fool. There was amusement in his heart, but far more helplessness. Ever since he met this little creature, he had broken too many of his own precepts. Could it really be as his master had said—that eventually, a woman would come along and make him complete?

Having finished managing the affairs of the General's Manor, Mama Wang hurried anxiously toward the kitchen. It was well past mealtime, and her little mistress must surely be starving. After thoroughly washing the rice, vegetables, and pots, she set about starting the fire to cook.

Only after the fire was burning did Mama Wang remember that the Heavenly Deity had taken her little mistress and left ahead of them. Was the little mistress still in the manor? She called over a young maid to give her some instructions, then hurried off toward the small courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard gates, she saw her little mistress once again squatting by the corner of the wall, playing with ants. From time to time, she could hear crisp, childlike utterances of phrases like "stinky sack," "bad guy," and "I hate you."

Mama Wang looked around and, failing to find any trace of the Heavenly Deity, boldly walked over to the little girl. "Little Princess, what are you doing?"

Zhantai Lingwei was so startled that she threw away the small wooden stick in her hand. "Oh! Mama Wang, you walk without making a sound! You scared me to death." Phew, that gave her a fright; she thought she had been caught red-handed by that stinky sack. If she had known, she wouldn't have cursed him behind his back.

The little one's guilty reaction immediately aroused Mama Wang's suspicion. "Little Princess, did you offend the Heavenly Deity?"

Lingwei instantly bristled. "I did not! He's just a stinky sack, not any Heavenly Deity!"

Mama Wang immediately covered her tiny mouth. Disrespecting a heavenly deity would invite divine retribution by lightning. She certainly did not want to see her cute and spirited little mistress struck by lightning into a lump of charred coal.

Furthermore, she realized that she now had to impart some basic common knowledge about the continent to her ignorant little mistress. She began to chatter away, introducing the real world outside the General's Manor piece by piece.

"My young miss, the Heavenly Deity is truly a deity descended from the heavens! Because the Heavenly Deity wears a golden mask and bears a ring on his hand that signifies his identity, mortals like us must not show disrespect toward them, or we will be struck by lightning. Little mistress, the continent we inhabit is the Xuanxuan Continent, and the Nanbao Kingdom is merely a small nation within it. Our General's Manor is an utterly obscure power in the Xuanxuan Continent. With a single wave of the Heavenly Deity's hand, countless followers would gather to encircle and annihilate us, so you must not be willful anymore..." She rambled on, explaining the fundamental geography and lore of the continent to the bewildered little thing.

At the end of it all, Lingwei blurted out, "Mama Wang, I'm hungry." Self-consciously rubbing her sunken little belly, Mama Wang was left in an awkward silence, realizing that everything she had said was in vain. With a wry smile, she picked up the little one and carried her toward the kitchen.

Along the way, the little girl nestled obediently in Mama Wang's arms. Her usually darting, lively eyes now held a hint of bewilderment. Was the outside world really like what was written in the books? Why did everything Mama Wang said sound completely different from the books?

Little Lingwei did not know that, in order to ensure she lived a happily joyful life, the General and the Princess had taken painstaking efforts with her education. Most of the books compiled for her contained content that was positive, beautiful, uplifting, and full of sunshine.

Pity the hearts of parents everywhere. They had originally planned to find a secluded haven away from the world and live in seclusion with their little girl once this final mission was completed. Out of deep, tender affection for their daughter, they had been willing to forge a utopian paradise just for her.