The Jester

Early that morning, a half-asleep Nightingale nudged Li Qinwu beside her.

"Go feed the baby."

Li Qinwu got out of bed, picked up the little one, and made him a bottle of formula.

The boy was almost a year old now. Li Qinwu had named him Li Dadan. Yes, a name that plain.

Names mattered. Give someone a lofty, old-fashioned name like Li Xuancheng, Li Shuxuan, or Li Zhiheng, and it sounded as if hardship awaited them.

But Li Dadan? That sounded like a good-natured blockhead who would surely live a happy, uneventful life.

He had already picked names for his other children too: Li Goudan, Li Ersheng, Li Danü, Li Zhongnü, and Li Xiaonü.

He planned to train them to pilot Knight Mechs from an early age, building up their mental strength until they could suppress the Machine Spirits inside the mechs and pilot them without suffering any harm.

He had plenty of resources at his disposal: injections to boost mental strength, healing injections, and more. One way or another, he would get his children into Knight Mechs safely.

By then, Li Qinwu had finished making the formula. He drank more than half the bottle to check the taste, then put the nipple in the baby's mouth.

At around a year old, the boy was mobile enough to hold the bottle and drink on his own.

Li Qinwu studied him. The little fellow had a thick head of hair, but the style lacked character.

After a moment's thought, Li Qinwu found some clippers and shaved the boy's head, leaving a small tuft at the crown. He tied it up with a bit of string, making a topknot that stuck straight up.

Li Qinwu held the boy as he finished the bottle. The child gave him a goofy smile.

Li