Chapter 919: Festival

Chapter 919: Festival

Hearing Yang Na call him Ji Zai, Li Huowang stood as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

Just then, Zhao Shuangdian walked over and whispered in Li Huowang’s ear: "Honestly, she finally found something she wants to do, so just let her do it."

"Look at her, her spirit is clearly much better now. Do you really insist on her becoming like she was before, huddled in the corner of the bed, doing nothing, her mind filled only with thoughts of suicide?"

"Besides, there is no need to worry about her safety. Since time will eventually reset, what are you afraid of her being hurt for?"

Meanwhile, Yang Na’s outpouring continued: "You are a Si Ming, and I am a Si Ming too. I am not your possession! I do not want your protection!"

"This concerns the fate of all the Si Mings in White Jade Capital! I cannot escape! Look at me! I am the Si Ming who governs death and mercy!"

As she spoke, Yang Na’s voice gradually deepened. "Huowang, I wronged you in the past. Let me be of some use; only then can I feel better in my heart."

"Otherwise, I will always feel that it was I who drove you to this state. If I hadn't called the police last time, you wouldn't have..." Yang Na’s voice choked with sobs as she reached this point.

Li Huowang pulled her into his arms, stroking the back of her head. After his trembling lips parted several times, he finally forced a smile and said: "Fine! Ji Zai congratulates the Wusheng Laomu on her return! With you joining us, the Si Mings on the other side will certainly be no match for us!"

Li Huowang held Yang Na and turned around, his gaze cold as he looked at Zhao Shuangdian and Qing Wanglai. He took out his phone and sent them a message.

"Fine, you win. You used Yang Na to achieve your goals, but you forgot that the initiative is no longer in your hands, but in mine—especially when the next time loop occurs and you know nothing."

"I am very curious: if next time I tell you I can reverse time, and I mix some indistinguishable false information into the true facts, will the two of you be able to tell the difference?"

—

"Here, does your father look like this? Made by Clay Figure Zhang."

Just as Li Sui was staring blankly at a nearby lantern, a lifelike clay figure wearing red robes, a copper coin mask, and a spine-sword on its back was presented to her.

"Mm! This is my dad!" Overjoyed, Li Sui grabbed the stick beneath the clay figure, unable to put it down. She missed her father so much that even a clay figure served as a temporary comfort.

Zuo Qiuyong smiled and shook his head. "My, you really are like a child. That boy named Li Huowang sure knows how to raise one."

"Remember, my name is Zuo Qiuyong. From now on, you can just call me Auntie."

"I’ll remember, Auntie. Didn't you say you were taking me to Da Qi?"

"Oh, you child..." Zuo Qiuyong reached out and playfully poked her forehead. "Didn't we hear you like festivals? I brought you here to relax so you wouldn't be cooped up in that house every day."

"What’s the rush to get to Da Qi? We have one hundred and eighty years to wait anyway; let’s enjoy the festival first."

Hearing this, Li Sui nodded and giggled foolishly. "Auntie, you're right. It’ll be so many years before I can see my dad again."

At this, Li Sui paused. She thought hard for a moment, then shook her head and said: "No, it won't take one hundred and eighty years. My dad looks like he's in his twenties. In over a hundred and fifty years, I can go find him when he’s just born."

"I advise you not to do that. If you interfere and your dad isn't caught by Danyangzi, and he doesn't eat you to suppress his hallucinations, the causality will be ruined, and you might never be born."

Li Sui was terrified by this and nodded repeatedly. "Mm-hmm! Then I won't go find him early! I won't cause any trouble."

"Aww, such a good girl. Today, don't think about all that; just have a good time."

Li Sui nodded, looking at the clay figure in her hand with intense longing. "Auntie, I have my dad now, can you make two more for my moms?"

"Sure, come with me. Clay Figure Zhang’s shop is over here. By the way, Sui Sui, you actually have two moms? Your dad is truly blessed."

"Is he? But my dad doesn't seem very blessed. He has lived a very hard life these past years."

Arriving at the clay shop, the old man known as Clay Figure Zhang listened to Li Sui’s description and quickly began to mold. Before long, a white-haired girl with two torsos was crafted.

Finally, Zuo Qiuyong had Clay Figure Zhang make a figure of Li Sui as well, allowing their family of four to be reunited.

Afterward, Zuo Qiuyong took Li Sui to the temple fair to guess lantern riddles, playing through the entire night market.

It was late at night when Li Sui, fully satisfied, took her hand to walk home.

Li Sui looked at the three lifelike clay figures again and again, finally burying them carefully in her pile of tentacles. "Auntie, you really are a good person."

"Oh, what are you saying, child? I am the Si Tian Jian; only good people who act on behalf of Heaven can hold this position."

As she spoke, Zuo Qiuyong patted Li Sui’s head. "Sigh, it’s been hard on you, ending up with such an unreliable father."

"He threw his own child so far away and hasn't come to find you."

"From now on, I am your family. If you run into any trouble, come find me. I’ll help you solve it."

"Mm! In one hundred and eighty years, I will definitely tell my dad how good you were to me! I’ll tell him Auntie is a great person!"

"Sure, I’d like to see what kind of genius it is who raises an evil spirit as his own daughter."

The two chatted as they walked, parting ways only when they returned to the Da Qi Directorate of Astronomy.

Li Sui was sent back to her room to eat meat and rest, while Zuo Qiuyong returned to his own quarters.

Although the Directorate was underground, as the Si Tian Jian, his residence was grand in both decor and size.

Walking through the corridor, Zuo Qiuyong entered his treasure room. Glancing at the treasures hanging from the beams, he knelt before a low table and tapped his index finger three times on a brush holder.

A monkey the size of an infant’s fist crawled out, knelt beside the inkstone, and used its front paws to hold the ink stick, grinding it rapidly.

Once the ink was ready, it lifted a brush from the rack, carefully coated it, and held it up to Zuo Qiuyong with both hands.

Zuo Qiuyong took it expressionlessly and recorded everything Li Sui had said that day in detail.

After finishing, he tossed the brush to the monkey, which was secretly licking the ink, and pulled out the papers he had recorded over the past few days to organize them.

Events occurring one hundred and eighty years later—any small detail could contain vital information. Perhaps he could gain some advantage from it; at the very least, the ability to foresee the future was an immense head start.