When the man saw chubby kid's flushed cheeks, red eyelids, and the damp corners of his eyes, his hand jerked back as if shocked by an electric current.
The emotions in his eyes shifted from shock and astonishment to confusion and doubt.
This couldn’t be.
His wife and child were gone. This chubby little child, who had somehow entered his mental domain, might not necessarily be his own child.
The man repeatedly denied the possibility, yet he couldn’t help but waver and struggle with the thought.
His mental energy was different from others. Only his wife could soothe and heal him. Apart from her, only a child of his own blood could enter his mental domain without consequence.
Anyone else who tried would be mercilessly attacked by his mental energy, driven to madness.
The chubby kid lay on the bed, still looking dirty and disheveled.
The man stared at him for a long time before finally getting up.
He brought over a basin of warm water, dipped a towel into it, and gently wiped the little child’s chubby face.
"How... how did you grow up like this?" the man murmured softly as he cleaned the child. "You were such a delicate little child back then. How did you grow into someone I couldn’t even recognize?"
Of course, the chubby kid couldn’t hear his questions.
The man, who was usually quiet, continued to speak softly to the child, even though he knew there would be no response. "The person who found you took good care of you."
They fed you well, making you chubby and healthy.
But you just don’t like doing your homework.
The man’s lips twitched into a faint smile as he recalled the first time he saw this child, though his eyes reddened. "No wonder I got so angry when I saw your homework."
At the time, there were other children around, and one of them hadn’t done their homework either—a little child who wasn’t very diligent in their studies. Yet, he had only noticed this chubby little child.
"Ningning," the man murmured the name, his deep voice filled with emotion. "It’s a good name."
He cleaned the little child thoroughly from head to toe, even sprinkling the best medicinal powder on the scrapes on the child’s belly.
As he applied the medicine, the little child shed a few more tears.
This time, the man didn’t scold him. Instead, he gently wiped the tears from the corner of the child’s eyes.
Quietly, an unknown amount of time passed. The man had forcibly stabilized his mental energy, but he knew it was only temporary.
As long as he remained awake, his mental energy would continue to surge uncontrollably.
His child was too young to constantly provide him with treatment, and even such treatments were never truly effective.
"Ningning, it was you who found me."
Just a few days ago, the man had been complaining about how chubby and clumsy his child was, but now he was softly praising the little child: "I can't leave this place. Next time... could you help me find my wife?"
The little chubby child gave the man hope.
If such a fragile little child could survive back then, perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope for his wife.
The man spoke softly for a long time. He knew the little child might not be able to hear him right now, but he couldn't help himself.
The one lying before him was his child, his own child, now four years old.
The two of them, one big and one small, stayed in the cave for the entire night.
The next day.
Everything at the foot of the mountain had mostly returned to normal. The beastmen's construction abilities were incredibly strong. As long as they had a foundation, they could build houses in no time.
When the man came down the mountain holding the little child in his arms, the beastmen who were busy working all froze for a moment. The next second, they instinctively bent their knees, ready to kneel.
The man stopped them.
He didn’t accept their gesture of respect. Instead, he called over the tribe leader and the tribe leader’s older brother.
No one was around to eavesdrop.
Holding the child in his arms, the man swept his cold, dark eyes over the two before him: "Has Ningning's ability been concealed properly?"
"It’s all been taken care of. No one here will know that Ningning went up the mountain yesterday."
They didn’t beat around the bush; their conversation was straightforward.
The man still appeared cold and detached, but the way he held the child in his arms didn’t seem so indifferent.
"Contact his family for me."
"Ningning’s star device is here. It has his family’s contact information."
The older brother handed over the confiscated star device to the man. The device wasn’t password-protected, so it could be opened and used immediately.
The man took the star device, and the first thing that caught his eye was the photo on the screen.
The photo had been set by Zhan Xi. It was a picture of the chubby little child celebrating his first birthday, posing with his older brother. The little child was dressed in adorable clothes, being held by his brother. One child was cute and rosy-cheeked, while the other was cool and composed—both equally captivating.
The man stared at the screen for several seconds before opening the contact list.
He didn’t make the call in front of the two people standing before him. Instead, he put the star device away and carried the little child back with him.
The uncle watched his figure gradually disappear into the distance, then turned to ask his tribe leader brother, “What do you think our benefactor’s intentions are? And why has Ningning been sleeping so soundly in his arms?”
“I don’t know.”
How could they possibly guess the benefactor’s intentions?
The two exchanged glances, and the uncle’s expression grew worried. “Ningning is usually so full of energy. This time, he’s been sleeping far too deeply.”
“From what I can see, the benefactor’s attitude toward Ningning is… peculiar, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to harm him.”
Ningning was their little guest, and by all rights, they should have demanded him back.
But the harsh reality didn’t allow them to do so. The man holding Ningning was someone their entire tribe couldn’t hope to match in strength.
If the man wanted to wipe out their tribe, he could do so effortlessly.
In the face of such overwhelming power, all their beastmen tribe could do was continue to show respect to their benefactor.
After taking the star device, the man carried the little child back and immediately called the contact listed as “Dad” in the phone.
The little child was still unconscious, and he had no experience dealing with this kind of situation.
Perhaps the father would.
When the call connected, Zhan Xi saw the caller ID and immediately exclaimed, “Ningning, do you miss Daddy?”
“You’ve been staying at Savi’s place for quite a while now. Should Daddy come pick you up? If you don’t come back soon, you’ll miss the start of school.”
The Imperial Military Kindergarten started relatively late, but even so, it was about time. If the little child didn’t return soon, he’d miss the enrollment.
“I heard from Teacher Lily that there’s going to be an entrance test when school starts—”
Before Zhan Xi could finish, the man holding Ningning interrupted him, “I’m not Ningning.”
Zhan Xi paused. “Who are you?”
Zhan Xi instinctively asked, “Are you one of Savi’s tribesmen?”
His family’s little child’s star star device had been confiscated, and then the child was put through training and confined to do homework. Savi's uncle had already told him about all this.
So, Zhan Xi’s first reaction was that the person on the other end might have taken his little child’s star star device and wanted to discuss something with him.
Just after Zhan Xi asked the question, there was a pause on the other end for a few seconds. Then, a cool and calm voice spoke up.
“I am his father.”
Zhan Xi: “???”
Zhan Xi: “What are you talking about?”
