Ye Chen

Chapter 3: Ye Chen

Though it seemed somewhat unbelievable, Mu En guessed that this was the "thing" they had been looking for.

Only, this "thing" was not an object, but a living, breathing baby.

And upon seeing this strange infant, Mu En became even more certain of his earlier guess.

Otherwise, how could a baby have appeared so strangely in the Star Dou Forest, where countless soul beasts roamed, without being eaten by one?

When they had investigated earlier, the two of them had found it odd. Within several miles of the baby, there had not been a single soul beast.

Even more bizarrely, after the baby discovered Mu En and Xuan Zi, he stopped crying and instead revealed an incredibly adorable smile.

"Th-this..." Xuan Zi stared at the scene in astonishment. Yet faced with the baby's adorable appearance, even his old bachelor heart melted.

"Let's return to the academy first. This is still Di Tian's territory, after all." Although Mu En was also full of doubts, it was safer to return to the academy first, regardless of what this child was.

To them, there was no place safer than the academy.

Xuan Zi nodded, picked up the baby from the ground, and the two quickly flew toward the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

Not long after they left, a man in a black robe, who appeared to be in his forties, arrived there.

After looking around the area, the man raised a foot to leave, only to stop for some reason.

In an instant, a terrifying pressure erupted from him, while two beams of tangible golden light shot from his eyes.

That horrifying aura made every soul beast in the Star Dou Forest tremble in fear. The weaker ones even crawled directly onto the ground, as though welcoming the arrival of their emperor.

After probing the area with his aura and confirming that there was indeed nothing suspicious, the man transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the depths of the Star Dou Forest.

However, neither Mu En and the others nor the black-robed man noticed it.

At the spot where the baby had lain, an emerald-green sprout quietly emerged from the soil. Its two tiny leaves bore mysterious golden patterns and emitted a faint, holy aura.

Six years later, Inner Court of Shrek Academy.

"Mm, Sister Xiao Tao, don't run!"

A tiny little boy chased after a voluptuous red figure, speaking in a childish voice.

Because he was chewing something in his mouth, his already immature voice sounded somewhat muffled.

"Xiao Chen, stop pestering me. Can't you go find Senior Sister instead?" The red figure sighed helplessly and turned around.

Her name was Ma Xiaotao. She was an Inner Court student of Shrek Academy and also the personal disciple of Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.

With her strength, she could have left, but the academy was only so big. Where could she possibly run to?

Over the years, she had flown away with her martial soul more than once. Yet in the end, this little ancestor had always found her, and would not stop until she agreed to his conditions.

"Sister Lexuan is too fierce. I still like you better, Sister Xiao Tao. Please help me." Xiao Chen spoke pitifully, tears beginning to well in his eyes, as though they would fall the moment Ma Xiaotao said no.

"No! I still need to cultivate. How could I possibly have time to help you find beast milk?" Ma Xiaotao said with a dark expression, her tone utterly resolute. After saying that, she turned to leave.

Xiao Chen had used this pitiful act on her countless times already. She had fallen for it at first, but after seeing it so often, she had become immune.

She truly could not understand it. This little fellow was already six years old, yet he still clamored for beast milk every day. Other children had long since been weaned at his age.

"Hmph, I won't be friends with you anymore! You won't even help me find beast milk, so I'll just drink yours!" Xiao Chen stomped on the spot, his puffed-up little face impossibly cute.

Ma Xiaotao, who had already walked some distance away, staggered the moment she heard that and nearly lost her footing.

No longer wanting to stay around this little ancestor, Ma Xiaotao directly released her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul and flew toward the Outer Court.

She was still an Outer Court student, but as the personal disciple of the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, she regularly went to the Inner Court to study under her teacher.

"Sigh, I'd better go find Grandpa Gong at the Great Spirit Arena. I remember an Earth Tyrant Bear there just gave birth. She definitely won't be short on beast milk!" Xiao Chen muttered, a trace of cunning far beyond his age flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Chen's name was Ye Chen. He was the child Mu En and Xuan Zi had picked up in the Star Dou Forest that night six years ago.

The mysterious layer of energy that Spiritual Power had been unable to penetrate in the Star Dou Forest had strangely disappeared after they left. Once Mu En confirmed that he was a genuine human infant, he brought him back to Sea God's Pavilion.

When Mu En first saw him that day, he had seemed like a star that had fallen from the night sky, so he gave him the name Ye Chen.

Qian Duoduo, one of the members of Sea God's Pavilion, and Xian Lin'er, another member, had been married in name only for many years and had no children. Thus, when Mu En had just brought Ye Chen back, Xian Lin'er's maternal instincts surged forth, and she decisively adopted him.

Qian Duoduo had not said anything about it. Watching Xian Lin'er become happy as though in an instant, a trace of happiness welled up in his heart.

Because Ye Chen had been cheerful, lively, and adorable since childhood, he was dearly loved by the old members of Sea God's Pavilion. With such a little ray of sunshine around to liven the mood, the usual atmosphere in Sea God's Pavilion became much more joyful.

Over six years, under the care of the elders, he had grown into the adorable child he was now.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten the strange phenomenon from six years ago and never mentioned it again. Mu En and Xuan Zi had also concealed Ye Chen's true origins, saying only that he had been found at the gates of Shrek City.

In truth, Ye Chen had hidden a secret in his heart throughout these six years.

He had originally been an ordinary college student on Earth in the twenty-first century. Although he had grown up in an orphanage, he had always been cheerful and easygoing.

Coincidentally, his original name had been Ye Chen, which happened to be a homophone of the name Mu En had given him.

At the time, he had been hanging clothes on the balcony of his dormitory when he saw a leaf strike his body at an incredibly slow speed, then vanish.

That's right, a leaf.

The leaf had strange golden patterns on it. Though it moved incredibly slowly, when he tried to dodge it, he discovered that his body could not move in the slightest. He could only watch helplessly as the leaf entered his body.

The entire process had seemed as long as a century, yet it had happened in an instant.

Afterward, he felt the world spin around him and lost consciousness. When he woke up, he found himself in a dense forest—and had become a baby.

Everyone, don't be fooled by the protagonist's appearance. He actually isn't promiscuous; he just occasionally has a dirty mouth. And the beast milk thing was only a little early-stage mischief and appeared just a few times.

Of course, you can criticize me too. Like all of you, I'm a reader and a Douluo fan.

I hope to improve through everyone's feedback, and I hope my writing and thinking will become more mature in the future.

Thank you!