That red-bottomed, golden-blessed bellyband, as if it had found a long-lost relative (?), clung tightly to the real baby's chest. Red light flowed across it, radiating an extremely satisfied and reassured mental fluctuation. It even rubbed against the baby's tender chin in an incredibly humanlike manner.
The real baby seemed to find the glowing, warm "red cloth" very interesting as well. He stopped crying, reached out with his little hands to curiously scratch at the bellyband's edges, and babbled.
For a moment, "a father's kindness and a son's filial piety" (?), the scene actually looked rather... heartwarming?
Ling Ye stared at this utterly absurd scene and felt a surge of blood rush straight to his head. His vision darkened, and his ears buzzed!
His "son"! The "Little Ye" designated by that Madam, whom he was supposed to carefully "serve"! He was actually... actually hugging a common mortal bastard, looking like they were having a wonderful time together?!
If that Madam saw this... Ling Ye already didn't dare imagine how horribly he would die! Being beaten to ashes would be getting off lightly!
"Come back! Get back here!" Furious, Ling Ye didn't even care about his weakness anymore. He lunged forward, trying to yank the bellyband out of the baby's arms!
However, the bellyband seemed determined to "betray" him. Red light flashed, and it somehow produced a resilient repulsive force that flung Ling Ye's fingers away! At the same time, it transmitted a clear, dissatisfied mental fluctuation: "No! Comfortable! Want this!"
Ling Ye: "???" Comfortable?! You're a Fragment of a Congenital Sacred Spirit, and you find the arms of a mortal baby comfortable?! Where's your refinement?! Where's your dignity?!
He tried again, even using a trace of Chaos Origin Qi, but the bellyband clung stubbornly to the baby's chest like taffy. Its red light became somewhat dazzling as it transmitted even firmer resistance, along with a trace of... grievance? It was as if Ling Ye were a bully trying to tear it away from its "good friend."
Ling Ye was caught between a rock and a hard place. He was afraid of using too much force and hurting the fragile real baby—then he would have even more trouble explaining himself. For a while, he was completely helpless against this rebellious piece of cloth!
Su Wanqing held the child and watched a big shot struggle with a bellyband, still in a daze and completely unable to figure out what kind of absurd development this was.
Just as Ling Ye was at his wits' end—
"Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock!"
The hotel room door was violently knocked on again! This time, it was no longer a polite doorbell, but carried an unmistakably official, commanding force!
At the same time, a stern male voice came through the door: "People inside, listen up! We're the police! We received a report from the public that there were unusual noises and an argument coming from this room, possibly involving child safety! Open the door immediately and cooperate with our inspection!"
The police?!
A report from the public?!
It had to be the neighbor's father who had been knocked unconscious earlier. He must have woken up and called the police! Or perhaps it was another hotel guest who had been disturbed!
Ling Ye's expression instantly became extremely ugly!
When it rains, it pours! One problem hadn't even ended before another had begun!
His condition was terrible, his strength was nearly exhausted, and he had a "rebellious" bellyband in his arms, Su Wanqing and the terrified real baby beside him... He simply had no strength left to deal with the mortal authorities! Besides, the room was a complete mess, and there was an unconscious man in the corridor—though he might have woken up by now. There was no way to explain any of it!
He absolutely couldn't let them in!
A vicious glint flashed through Ling Ye's eyes. He was just about to forcibly activate the last of his strength to create an illusion or simply knock out the people outside—
The bellyband in his arms—though it was stuck to the real baby, it still seemed to share some connection with him—seemed to sense his killing intent and tension. Once again, it transmitted an uneasy fluctuation.
This time, however, its unease actually... stirred the faint trace of... mortal bloodline within that real baby, which the bellyband was attempting to fuse with...
Bzzz...
An extremely faint but utterly real bloodline resonance fluctuation, carrying a milky scent and the baby's distinctive aura, slowly rippled outward from the real baby. It mixed with the bellyband's red light as it spread...
This fluctuation was not deliberately released. It was an unconscious resonance, so faint that it could almost be ignored.
However—
The instant this fluctuation appeared!
Ling Ye suddenly felt that the Chaos Origin Qi within his body, which had been nearly depleted from overexertion, had somehow... very slightly... begun to move in... an indescribable... synchronized rhythm with it?!
It was as if a tiny spring had been injected into a dried-up riverbed!
It was insignificant, but it truly existed!
Ling Ye was suddenly stunned! What... was going on?!
Could it be... that this mortal baby's bloodline could actually... passively nourish and draw out his origin?! The effect was so weak as to be negligible, but... how was this possible?!
Before he could figure it out—
"Crack."
A faint sound, as if ice crystals were forming and shattering beyond an extremely distant span of time and space, rang out with extreme vagueness... in the depths of his soul.
Immediately afterward, that cold female voice tinged with exhaustion and confusion abruptly rang directly in his mind again. It seemed much more distant and indistinct than before:
"Hmm...?"
"Little Ye's... aura...?"
"Why... has it suddenly... become a little more active... and gained some... strange... scent?"
"It smells like... the milky stink... of the mortal world?"
"What... did you feed him?"
Ling Ye's heart instantly leaped into his throat! Cold sweat broke out again!
That Madam had actually conducted another "spot check"?! And she had keenly detected the subtle change in his aura and the "milky stink"?!
Terrified out of his wits, Ling Ye's mind raced as he prepared to continue fabricating a tragic tale about being "persecuted by his stepmother and having no choice but to feed him mortal formula"—
However, that Madam didn't seem interested in investigating further. She merely expressed some confusion, then her tone softened instead, even carrying a trace of extremely imperceptible... satisfaction?
"Forget it..."
"Being more active... is good too..."
"At least... there's some... vitality..."
"Better than... that deathly stillness... before..."
Her voice gradually faded, as if she had once again fallen into silence. She showed no intention of descending.
Ling Ye slowly and cautiously let out half a sigh of relief. His back was already soaked through.
That was close... He had managed to muddle through again...
But immediately afterward, an even bolder and crazier thought began growing wildly in his heart like weeds!
Could it be...
Could it be that this mortal baby's bloodline not only had a weak nourishing effect on him... but could also... soothe that Madam?! Make her feel that "Little Ye" possessed more "vitality"?!
If that were true... would that mean... he temporarily... wouldn't need to find a real child?! This ready-made "Tool Infant"... could be used to... fool—no, to "nourish"—Little Ye?! It could even... help him complete that damned "assignment"?!
This thought was like a beacon in the darkness, instantly illuminating the desperate road ahead of him!
When Ling Ye looked at the real baby hugging the bellyband and babbling again, his gaze had completely changed.
His extreme disgust and irritation had transformed into... a fervent, "fatherly" affection (?) born from seeing a lifeline!
Outside the door, the police pounded on it with increasing urgency and impatience: "People inside! This is your final warning! If you don't open the door, we'll take forced measures!"
Ling Ye took a deep breath and quickly made his decision.
He no longer tried to pull the bellyband off. Instead, he turned to Su Wanqing and said in a tone of unprecedented "kindness," "Hold the child well... our 'son.'"
Su Wanqing was so startled by his sudden change in attitude and the phrase "our son" that she shuddered and almost dropped the child.
Ling Ye didn't bother explaining. He walked behind the door and adjusted his expression—though it remained stiff—then... abruptly pulled the door open!
Several stern-looking police officers stood outside, their hands resting on the equipment at their waists as if facing a formidable enemy. The neighbor's father, who had regained consciousness, stood behind them as well, his face filled with uncertainty and lingering fear.
The police saw that Ling Ye had opened the door, his face pale but forcing a smile. They also saw Su Wanqing inside, looking panicked as she held the child—the baby still had a glowing red cloth stuck to his chest?—along with the complete mess covering the floor, including the torn bedsheets...
The lead officer's brows drew tightly together as he demanded, "What happened?! What happened here just now?! Someone reported that a person had passed out here and that there had been a violent argument! This concerns the child's safety!"
Ling Ye put on an extremely "ashamed" and "exhausted" expression. His acting came back online as he said apologetically, "Officer, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. I'm the child's father. The baby choked on milk earlier and cried terribly. I got anxious and moved a little too forcefully, which may have frightened the neighbors. I'm really sorry."
As he spoke, he naturally released a trace of faint yet highly soothing Chaos Origin Qi—newly recovered in the slightest amount—mixed with a trace of the "fatherly love" fluctuation he had just comprehended from the bellyband.
The fluctuation was extremely faint and incapable of controlling anyone's thoughts, but it could subtly lower the other party's vigilance and hostility.
Sure enough, the tense expressions of the police eased slightly, but the suspicion in their eyes did not vanish completely. After all, Ling Ye looked nothing like an ordinary stay-at-home dad.
"Choked on milk? Should we call an ambulance? Is the baby all right?" the police officer asked routinely, his gaze trying to look at the child in Su Wanqing's arms.
Just then—
Perhaps sensing the unfamiliar people outside and the tense atmosphere, the real baby pursed his lips and seemed about to cry again.
The bellyband on his chest seemed extremely displeased by outsiders disturbing its closeness with its "new friend." Its red light flashed faintly.
An extremely faint yet exceptionally pure fluctuation spread out, carrying an innate nobility and the meaning of "How dare mortal insects approach?" It mixed with the baby's own aura.
At the same time, Ling Ye was struck by a flash of inspiration. He hurriedly shifted aside so that the police could see the child, then took the opportunity to inject a trace of Chaos Origin Qi into the baby's body. He temporarily soothed him, making his little face look rosy and healthy. The baby even... gave the police an innocent, toothless smile?
Seeing that the child was truly fine and even smiling adorably, while also sensing that inexplicable fluctuation that inspired goodwill—and a hint of inferiority—the police finally abandoned most of their remaining doubts.
"It's good that he's all right. Be more careful next time. Taking care of a child requires patience." The lead officer's tone softened, and even carried a hint of admonishment.
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. We'll definitely be more careful and learn from this." Ling Ye nodded and bowed, his attitude astonishingly agreeable.
The police then routinely recorded some information—much of which Ling Ye had casually made up—and left with the still somewhat bewildered neighbor's father.
After seeing the police off and closing the door,
Ling Ye leaned against the door panel, feeling that he had survived another disaster.
He looked at the baby in Su Wanqing's arms and the bellyband clinging tightly to him, his expression incredibly complicated.
Now, this "Tool Infant"... couldn't be thrown away for the time being... He might even... have to properly "provide for" it?
He sighed and resignedly stepped forward. Extremely awkwardly, he tried using the tiny bit of "technique" he had secretly learned earlier. He extended a finger and very lightly... poked the baby's chubby cheek.
The baby grabbed his finger and began laughing and babbling, while the bellyband on his chest radiated a joyful fluctuation.
Ling Ye looked at the big one and the little one (?) and felt the faint yet genuine origin within his body being drawn out and nourished. Then he thought of the three-day deadline and that Madam's "assignment"...
He took a deep breath, as if he had made some momentous decision.
Then he turned to Su Wanqing and said in an extremely solemn tone, like he was issuing a primordial edict:
"From today onward."
"He."
"Is Ling Xiaoye."
"My... son."
"You..."
"Are his... wet nurse."
"Be sure... to take good care of him."
"Especially... make sure he's well fed."
"Don't let him... cry again."
Before you continue