Qian Xunji and Leng Lingyuan came to stand behind Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong turned at the right moment and greeted Leng Lingyuan respectfully. "Mistress."
"Mm." Leng Lingyuan gave a slight nod, then spoke with a note of warning in her voice:
"Bibi Dong, come. I'll take you to meet Xiao Xue, Xiao Xia, and Xiao Hui."
"This chance didn't come easily. I hope you'll cherish it and not make any mistakes."
"Don't worry, Mistress. I know what to say."
"Dong'er, Ling Yuan, let's go to the Saintess Hall." Qian Xunji stepped in to smooth things over, then led Bibi Dong toward the Saintess Hall with Leng Lingyuan.
Spirit City, Saintess Hall.
The sun had just risen, and it wasn't time for school yet, but all nine of Qian Xunji's children were already up.
They were having breakfast in the Dining Hall.
The Dining Hall wasn't inside the Saintess Hall; it stood on its own.
It stood between the Saintess Hall and the Holy Son Palace, forming one connected complex with them.
The Holy Son Palace was on the left and the Saintess Hall on the right. The building nestled between them, only half as tall, was the Dining Hall.
The Dining Hall was where Qian Xunji's children ate, and it connected the Holy Son Palace to the Saintess Hall.
The Dining Hall.
It was quite lively at this moment. Besides Qian Xunji's nine children, the servants and maids who looked after them were there too.
"Qian Renchuan, get down here." Qian Renshuang lifted Qian Renchuan off her neck and glared at him through gritted teeth.
"Sister Renshuang, I want a pony ride." One-year-old Qian Renchuan could run and jump, but his words still had a childish lilt.
His childish voice and pitiful eyes instantly melted away most of Qian Renshuang's anger.
Of course, even though most of her anger had faded, there was no chance she'd let Qian Renchuan ride on her back. She brushed him off. "Go find your sister Renxue."
Qian Renchuan shook his head vigorously. Qian Renxue was always so fierce with him. He didn't dare ask her for a pony ride.
Qian Renxue quietly ate her breakfast, paying no mind to such childish antics—until Qian Xunji and Leng Lingyuan arrived with Bibi Dong.
"Xiao Chuan, if your sister won't do it, your dad will. I'll give you a pony ride."
"Yay, yay, Dad!" Qian Renchuan's eyes lit up, and he ran toward Qian Xunji.
Qian Xunji scooped him up and settled him on his neck.
"Pony ride! Pony ride!" Qian Renchuan clung to Qian Xunji's head, kicking his little feet as boundless joy filled his voice.
Children were always so easy to please.
Carrying Qian Renchuan, Qian Xunji went over to Qian Renhao and asked, "Xiao Hao, is there anything you want? Dad can get it for you."
Compared to Qian Renchuan, Qian Renhao was clearly much quieter.
But the seven older sisters preferred the quiet Qian Renhao. Qian Renchuan was simply too mischievous and gave them headaches.
Qian Renhao tilted his head and answered seriously, "Dad, I haven't decided what I want yet. When I figure it out, I'll tell you, okay?"
"Sure, Xiao Hao. Dad's promise still stands. Remember to tell me once you've decided."
"Mm, thank you, Dad." Qian Renhao turned his gaze back to his breakfast.
Qian Xunji then carried Qian Renchuan over to each of his seven daughters in turn, quietly listening as they told him how they had grown over the past year.
Throughout all this, Leng Lingyuan and Bibi Dong remained silent.
Bibi Dong had already recognized her three daughters and was studying them discreetly.
Qian Renxia seemed completely indifferent.
Qian Renhui was full of curiosity, wondering who this woman beside her father and mother might be.
As for Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong sensed what seemed to be resentment toward her.
That left Bibi Dong confused for a moment, even making her wonder if she'd imagined it.
After all, this was only the second time she and Qian Renxue had met.
The first had been when Qian Renxue was born.
Where, then, could this resentment have come from?
Perhaps it really was just her imagination.
I'm being too sensitive!
When Bibi Dong looked at Qian Renxue again, she couldn't sense the slightest trace of resentment.
It seemed she really had imagined it.
What's wrong with me?
Perhaps being cooped up in the Secret Chamber for so long has worn me down.
That damned Qian Xunji, locking me away for eleven years.
In truth, deep down, Bibi Dong didn't want to believe that Qian Renxue resented her.
After finishing his conversation with his seven daughters, Qian Xunji lifted Qian Renchuan off his neck and sent him, along with Qian Renhao, Qian Renshuang, Qian Renwei, Qian Renting, and Qian Renwu, out of the Dining Hall, leaving only Qian Renxue, Qian Renxia, and Qian Renhui behind.
Qian Renxue understood what was going on.
Qian Renxia and Qian Renhui, however, were puzzled.
Qian Renhui asked, "Dad, did you leave us here alone because there's something special you want to tell us?"
"Xiao Hui, you're so clever." Qian Xunji praised her, then looked at Leng Lingyuan and asked, "Ling Yuan, would you like to tell them, or should I?"
"Husband, I'll tell them."
Leng Lingyuan looked at Qian Renxue and the other two. "Xiao Xue, Xiao Xia, Xiao Hui, your father and I have something to tell you today."
"Actually, I'm not your birth mother. She is." Leng Lingyuan brought Bibi Dong forward.
Qian Xunji added, "Xiao Xue, Xiao Xia, Xiao Hui, your birth mother is Bibi Dong, the Saintess of Spirit Hall and my disciple."
"She made some mistakes in the past and betrayed Spirit Hall. But she was still my disciple, and I didn't want her to die because of it. So I punished her while sparing her the worst of it, and that's how you three came to be."
"At first, your birth mother didn't understand what she had done wrong. To keep her from leading you astray, I had your adoptive mother raise you as her own."
"After eleven years of reflection, your birth mother now understands the mistakes she made. That's why I brought her here to meet you."
"Whether you accept her is up to you. Ling Yuan and I will always be the father and mother who love you most."
Qian Xunji's three daughters each reacted differently.
Qian Renxue looked at Leng Lingyuan with a complicated expression, never once looking at Bibi Dong.
When she had been reborn, faced with a family situation so different from what she'd known, she had naively believed that Leng Lingyuan really was her birth mother.
Only after she received a drop of Leng Lingyuan's blood did she understand that Bibi Dong was still her birth mother.
She was deeply grateful to Leng Lingyuan.
Because she had received from Leng Lingyuan the motherly love she had longed for in her previous life.
Qian Renxue went to Leng Lingyuan and embraced her, murmuring, "Mother, you'll always be my mother. You're the only mother I have."
She then looked at Bibi Dong, her face expressionless. "Those who betray Spirit Hall don't deserve forgiveness!"
Qian Renxue had originally wanted Qian Xunji to kill Bibi Dong on the spot, but then she reconsidered. Killing her outright would be far too easy on her.
She wanted Bibi Dong to live forever in fear, under her father's control—even if Bibi Dong became the Rakshasa God someday.
She also wanted her father to see Bibi Dong's true nature and understand that she had never repented, not even once.
Although her father was already a Limit Douluo, she knew he couldn't become the Angel God.
Her father needed her protection.
As for why she hated Bibi Dong so much—
It was because Bibi Dong had been scheming against her from beginning to end.
Even when she finally took a knife meant for Bibi Dong, shattering her divine position and reducing her strength to that of a Soul Douluo—
Everything Bibi Dong had said was false and insincere. She had only wanted Qian Renxue to naively stay alive so she could suffer the cruelest torments.
She had even been willing to sacrifice her most beloved disciple, Hu Liena.
A princess of a fallen kingdom could expect no happy ending, especially when her Martial Soul was the Six-Winged Angel.
A Soul Douluo might have been powerful, but to the two empires at the height of their power then, she was no more than an ant they could crush with a casual flick.
As for Tang San and the so-called Shrek Six Monsters, they only cared about their own interests. Why would they care about what happened to her?
This time, she wouldn't make the same mistakes again!
Before you continue