Why Don't You Become My Adopted Daughter?

Since Ran Zirou was Immortal Ziyang's daughter, they might as well send her back to her mother.

Mist veiled Ran Zirou's watery eyes in an instant.

She cautiously reached out with a delicate hand and caught the corner of Fu Chaoqing's robe.

"Uncle, are you sending me away? I won't cause you any trouble here."

"I don't even know that Immortal Ziyang."

How could this be happening?

It was nothing like her previous life!

In her previous life, that fool Fu Chaoqing hadn't even known about Immortal Ziyang.

Who had told him?

At the sight of the beauty's tears, Fu Chaoqing's throat moved. An unaccountable tenderness welled up in him.

But when he remembered Li Zi's thoughts, a bone-deep chill swept over him and doused that spark of tenderness at once.

"Immortal Ziyang came to our Sect today. You look exactly like her, so I thought you might be related."

Ran Zirou trembled.

Immortal Ziyang had come to the Sect?

That had never happened in her previous life.

How could it have happened now!

She knew what her face looked like. Anyone who had seen Immortal Ziyang would suspect a connection between them.

Yet in her previous life, not even the Second Elder had suspected she was Immortal Ziyang's daughter.

But now...

"No!"

For once, Ran Zirou panicked.

She snapped out a denial, fierce on the outside but trembling within.

Events had slipped beyond her control.

"I'm not her daughter! You're mistaken! I'm a princess of the mortal realm. I grew up in the imperial court. My father is an emperor, and my mother is an empress. I don't have another mother."

How could that filthy, shameless woman possibly be her mother!

Fu Chaoqing found her reaction strange.

"You seem awfully opposed to the idea. Immortal Ziyang is a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. If she might be your mother, wouldn't that be better than having mortals for parents?"

Tears streamed down Ran Zirou's face, leaving tracks across her lovely cheeks.

"Senior Brother, I really don't want to leave. I want to stay in the Sect. I love it here. Please don't send me away, all right?"

The system relayed what was happening outside Ji Zheng's home to Li Zi in real time.

Ji Zheng sat beside her, pretending to consult a medical text while listening with keen interest.

[From childhood, Ran Zirou was pampered and always got whatever she wanted. She can't bear to have a single blemish to her name. Poor cultivation talent and humble origins are blemishes in her eyes. That's why she covets your Divine Bone, Host, and Ji Zheng's Pure Yang spiritual energy. It's also why she hates having a mother like Immortal Ziyang.]

Li Zi thought of the woman in the Main Hall who had used her fiery temper as armor and felt indignant on her behalf.

[What's wrong with a woman like Immortal Ziyang? She came from a poor background. Her father beat and scolded her and even tried to sell her for money. She climbed up from the bottom, step by step, and now she's a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. If she were my mother, I'd be proud of her.]

[Besides, Immortal Ziyang treated Ran Zirou well. She even had her raised in the palace as a little princess.]

Listening beside her, Ji Zheng couldn't help nodding.

His junior sister had a sound Worldview.

His parents were both cultivators, so he knew how great an advantage it was to have an immortal for a parent.

Ran Zirou was simply too greedy, never satisfied with what she had.

He could hardly understand why his heart always softened whenever he saw her.

The system agreed. [Exactly. Being the child of an immortal comes with plenty of advantages. If Ran Zirou cultivated properly, Immortal Ziyang would surely give her a great many resources. But after experiencing her previous life and getting a taste of power bestowed directly upon her, Ran Zirou will never settle down and cultivate the honest way.]

Li Zi took a sip of medicine, and her little face scrunched up.

[So if she won't go back to her birth mother, is she still after my Divine Bone?]

The system added, [And your Eldest Senior Brother's Pure Yang Physique.]

A sudden shiver ran through Ji Zheng.

He was a Golden Core Stage cultivator, for heaven's sake. Did Ran Zirou not even see him as a person, only as a human cauldron?

Outrageous!

Li Zi grumbled inwardly. [When can I start cultivating? Having the heroine set her sights on me makes my skin crawl.]

The system replied, [Cultivating won't help. Your Eldest Senior Brother is a Golden Core Stage cultivator, and she's set her sights on him too.]

Li Zi glanced at Ji Zheng, who sat nearby looking perfectly solemn.

[That's different. She wants his body. She wants my bones.]

Ji Zheng put down his book, his expression stern. "Li Zi, have you finished your medicine? Keep practicing your punches."

Li Zi got to her feet, crestfallen.

"Coming, Senior Brother."

[Host! Things have blown up over there. Lots of disciples have gathered around, and the whole Sect knows Ran Zirou is Immortal Ziyang's daughter now!]

Li Zi pictured what might happen next. [If only Immortal Ziyang were here. She could take Ran Zirou away right now, and Eldest Senior Brother and I would both be safe.]

The system added, [The whole Sect would be safe.]

Ji Zheng frowned slightly. He took out a jade token, wrote a few strokes on it, and watched it turn into a jade bird that fluttered away.

He stood and beckoned to Li Zi.

"Someone just sent word. Your Fourth Senior Brother is being held up by someone. Let's go see what's happening."

Watching the drama in person was the only way to savor it.

He wanted to see Ran Zirou taken away with his own eyes. Otherwise, he could not rest easy.

Excitement brought a flush to Li Zi's oval face.

"Okay, Senior Brother!"

[Senior Brother is the best! I'll wave the banner for him!]

Ji Zheng's smile deepened.

A crowd of disciples had already gathered near the little courtyard.

Ran Zirou knelt before Fu Chaoqing, looking frail enough to collapse at any moment.