"Yo, you three fellow Daoists are up early."
Nuwa's voice drifted over lightly, carrying a touch of laziness and amusement.
She held the snow-white little kitten in her arms as she slowly emerged from the side hall. The kitten was still rolling around in her embrace, letting out contented purrs.
Looking at the Three Pure Ones by the stone table—one holding a bizarre rainbow porridge, one carrying an exquisite figurine dish, and one with his hand frozen in midair—the smile in her eyes, which held the intent of creation, deepened.
"Looks like none of you slept very well last night."
The moment those words fell, the Three Pure Ones' expressions became wonderfully varied.
Tongtian Jiaozhu was the first to bristle. He slammed the "Seven-Colored Glazed Hundred-Fruit Soup" in his hand onto the table with a muffled bang.
"You woman, stop being so sarcastic here!" He glared at Nuwa and said indignantly, "Who didn't sleep well? I slept perfectly! I even dreamed that my disciple was chasing after me, calling me Master!"
Even he felt guilty saying that. Last night, he had tossed and turned all night, his mind filled with the image of Lin Shen throwing himself into Nuwa's arms and calling in his soft baby voice, "Big sister... pretty..."
That image hurt even more than Luohu's Immortal Slaying Sword Formation!
Though Yuanshi Tianzun said nothing, his face, colder than ten-thousand-year black ice, said it all. He silently withdrew his plate of "Kirin Treading Clouds Painting" and began reviewing everything in his mind.
Where had the problem been? Was the carving not exquisite enough? Were the ingredients not paired carefully enough? Or perhaps... had his tone when introducing the dish not been gentle enough?
He secretly glanced at Nuwa, then looked at himself. He felt that he truly seemed somewhat lacking in the quality of "gentleness."
Taiqing Laozi let out a long sigh. He withdrew the hand he had extended toward Lin Shen, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.
He had thought he had grasped the core principle of competing for affection—returning to simplicity and moving others with emotion. Yet he had never expected that before the overwhelming assault of an adorable pet, everything would prove illusory.
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, you jest." Taiqing Laozi forcibly maintained the bearing expected of the eldest brother. "We were merely preparing breakfast for our little disciple and discussing the Dao of cooking."
"Oh? The Dao of cooking?" Holding the cat, Nuwa looked at the two "masterpieces" on the table with great interest.
She first looked at Tongtian's bowl of brightly colored porridge, whose appearance was downright horrifying, and her lovely brows furrowed slightly.
"This dish of Fellow Daoist Tongtian's carries quite the feeling of Chaos before creation, with Yin and Yang undivided. I imagine its taste must be beyond description as well?"
Tongtian Jiaozhu's face instantly flushed the color of pig liver.
Nuwa then looked at Yuanshi Tianzun's incomparably exquisite artistic dish and nodded lightly. "Fellow Daoist Yuanshi's dish is certainly ingenious and masterfully crafted. It's just... this can probably only be admired, not eaten, right? What would a child understand about the mysteries of laws? He only wants to fill his stomach."
Yuanshi Tianzun's face darkened as well.
This woman's tongue was far too sharp! With a single sentence, she had dismissed all the efforts of the two brothers!
"Eeya!"
Just as the atmosphere became awkward, Lin Shen, who was being held in Taiqing Laozi's arms, suddenly made a sound.
Taiqing Laozi had just carried him out of bed, and he was still half-asleep and groggy. But when he saw the little kitten in Nuwa's arms licking its paw, his eyes instantly lit up.
A cat! It was the cat that pretty big sister had given him yesterday!
All of Lin Shen's sleepiness vanished in an instant. He struggled to poke his little head out from Taiqing Laozi's arms, stretched out his chubby little hand, and reached toward Nuwa.
"Cat... cat... hug..."
He cried out unclearly, his little face filled with longing.
This scene once again became three sharp arrows that ruthlessly pierced the hearts of the Three Pure Ones.
Tongtian Jiaozhu felt as if his heart had been stabbed again.
Yuanshi Tianzun's face was darker than the Chaos Rock beneath Buzhou Mountain.
The bitter smile on Taiqing Laozi's face deepened further.
It was over.
Completely over.
The three brothers seemed to have lost so thoroughly on the path of competing for affection that they did not even have their underwear left.
Seeing Lin Shen's eager and adorable appearance, Nuwa was immensely pleased. She knew it—no baby could resist the temptation of fluffy little animals.
Holding the kitten, she deliberately waved it around before the Three Pure Ones, then slowly walked over to Lin Shen and handed the kitten to him.
"Here, Little Lin Shen. Your kitty."
The moment Lin Shen received his "beloved pet," he beamed with joy. He hugged the little kitten tightly in his arms and rubbed his little face back and forth against its soft fur, bubbling over with happiness.
That satisfied look made it seem as though he possessed the entire world.
Watching this scene, the Three Pure Ones felt so sour inside that they could have brewed three vats of aged vinegar.
What they had given him were either Innate Spiritual Treasures or top-tier immortal fruits. Which of those was not hundreds of millions of times more precious than a lousy cat?
But what about their disciple? He either treated those treasures like marbles or wrapped himself in them like bedsheets.
Yet he could not bear to part with this cat Nuwa had casually molded, treating it as a priceless treasure.
This... this was unfair!
Ahem!
Taiqing Laozi felt that this could not continue. If Nuwa were allowed to remain so smug, even Kunlun Mountain's "sovereignty" would be violated.
He decided to take the initiative and regain some ground.
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa." Taiqing Laozi wore a gentle smile. "You did not come here merely to visit our little disciple, did you?"
The meaning behind his words was obvious: you had come, you had seen him, so should you not discuss your business and hurry along now?
Nuwa was extremely clever, so naturally she heard the implication that he was sending her away.
But she had not come today merely to watch the spectacle.
She looked at the Three Pure Ones, and her expression became serious as well.
"To be honest with you three fellow Daoists," Nuwa said slowly, "I truly came to ask for something."
"Oh?" The Three Pure Ones' attention was instantly drawn in.
She had something to ask of them?
What could she possibly need from them?
Could it be that she wished to ask how to attain the Dao of the Primordial Unity?
The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances, and a sense of superiority rose in all their hearts.
See? So what if you were better than us at coaxing children? When it came to serious matters on the path of cultivation, did you not still have to come seek our help?
"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, please speak freely." Yuanshi Tianzun assumed the manner of an elder and said calmly, "If it is within our abilities, we shall naturally offer you some guidance."
He was already prepared. Once Nuwa asked for instruction, he would properly teach her a lesson and let her understand what Pangu's True Lineage truly was, and what the orthodox Great Dao truly was.
However, Nuwa's next words left the Three Pure Ones dumbfounded once more.
Nuwa looked at them, then at Lin Shen, who was intently petting the cat, and an embarrassed expression appeared on her face.
She took a deep breath and spoke in a negotiating tone, one that even carried a hint of pleading.
"Three fellow Daoists, I boldly wish to..."
"...invite Little Lin Shen to stay with me at Wa Huang Palace for a few days. Would that be all right?"
The moment those words came out.
The entire Kunlun Mountain Peak fell deathly silent.
Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes widened.
Yuanshi Tianzun's mouth fell open.
Taiqing Laozi nearly failed to hold onto the whisk in his hand.
This woman... what had she just said?
She wanted to abduct our precious baby and take him back to her home?!
Before you continue