Ace Hyde was only four years old, and had no idea what it meant to take a master. He blinked his pale blue eyes at Zhao Nan, then adorably put his hand in his mouth without saying a word.
Vincent had already noticed Zhao Nan's actions, so he followed him over to Ace. Hearing Zhao Nan's question, he hurriedly said to Ace, "Ace, quickly pay your respects to your teacher!"
Hearing the anxious tone in Vincent's voice, Zhao Nan couldn't help glancing back at him.
Seeing the question in Zhao Nan's eyes, Vincent smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao Nan, this is my fifth son, and my youngest, Ace Hyde!"
Vincent was overjoyed, and at the same time, deeply grateful to the members of the branch families.
If those branch-family members hadn't insisted that all the children be brought to the square, he wouldn't have thought to bring Ace along.
Vincent had originally planned to bring his eldest and second sons. They were already old enough to take a master.
But to his surprise, neither his eldest nor his second son had caught Zhao Nan's eye. Instead, his fifth son, whom he hadn't had any hopes for, had become Zhao Nan's disciple.
To Vincent, it didn't matter which son took a master. What mattered was that one of his sons did.
Ace finally understood that his father wanted him to take a master. He took the hand he'd been sucking out of his mouth and, with a dazed, adorable expression, bowed to Zhao Nan. "Greetings, teacher!"
Seeing Ace's expression, Zhao Nan couldn't help smiling. He scooped him up into his arms.
At the same time, Zhao Nan began to wonder: Ace had the potential to become a Highgod, along with exceptional talent in both fire and earth. Why had nothing about him been mentioned in the original story?
Zhao Nan now had two theories. The first was that his arrival had caused a butterfly effect. But with Hongmeng watching over the Coiling Dragon World, something like that shouldn't happen.
The other possibility was that Ace Hyde had died as a child. How, he had no idea.
So Zhao Nan had just one thought: keep Ace Hyde by his side. The Hyde Clan was different from Linley's family, which consisted of just three people and had no complicated family politics.
The Hyde Clan had more than two hundred younger family members alone. Who knew what might happen?
Of course, he couldn't say that outright. He hid his feelings well and, holding Ace, said to Vincent, "Mr. Vincent, you can dismiss the children now. I'll take Ace back with me."
"Of course, Mr. Zhao Nan. Please go ahead!" Vincent naturally had no reason to object, and replied respectfully.
Zhao Nan didn't bother with the others. He carried Ace back to his guest room.
After they returned to his room, Zhao Nan set Ace on a nearby stool with a smile and asked, "Little Ace, would you like to travel around the continent with your teacher?"
Ace was only four; he didn't understand what traveling around the continent meant. In his innocent little mind, traveling just meant playing. He clapped his hands and said, "Yes! Let's go play with teacher!"
"Haha!"
Seeing Ace's expression, Zhao Nan couldn't help laughing aloud.
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