Huo Yun'er

Even after Ye Tianming had walked a long way, he could still feel the spot on the back of his hand where he had rubbed it tingling with warmth.

The corners of Ye Tianming's mouth lifted slightly. Then he gave a cold laugh.

"Dai Huabin, if you want to play games with me, I'll play along."

Sure enough, early the next morning...

Word that Young Master Ye had subdued Dai Huabin, the legitimate son, in a single move spread through half the Duke's Mansion.

The servants gathered to gossip. The newly arrived adopted son might be young, they said, but he was no pushover.

Innate Full Soul Power was no empty boast. Even Dai Huabin was no match for him.

More importantly, Dai Huabin hadn't dared make a fuss. He couldn't afford the humiliation, so he could only grit his teeth and swallow it.

The Duchess looked displeased when she heard, but in the end she said nothing.

Ye Tianming was an adopted son with Innate Full Soul Power, taken in by Dai Hao himself. She had no reason to quarrel with Dai Hao over such a small matter.

From then on, though, there was a little more hostility in her eyes whenever she looked at Ye Tianming.

Dai Hao, on the other hand, was quite pleased. He had adopted Ye Tianming for his talent in the first place. Seeing him overpower the eight- or nine-year-old Dai Huabin at only six left him more satisfied than ever.

On the spot, he rewarded Ye Tianming with a complete set of introductory Soul Tool books and instructed the mansion's Soul Tool Department teachers to give him regular lessons.

Ye Tianming's standing in the mansion naturally rose like a boat on a rising tide.

Life in the Side Courtyard improved too. The kitchen no longer dared skimp on their meals, the servants who swept the grounds took it upon themselves to leave the path outside spotless, and the women who delivered water became much more diligent.

When the servants saw Dai Yutong, they weren't exactly friendly, but at least they no longer called her a bastard to her face.

Dai Yutong could feel the change herself.

Sitting on a stone stool in the Side Courtyard, Dai Yutong swung her legs with a sugar-roasted chestnut in her mouth and said indistinctly,

"Brother Tianming, guess what? They don't call me names anymore."

Ye Tianming sat beside her, peeling chestnuts for her.

"Of course not. If they dare wag their tongues again, I'll knock their heads clean off."

"Mm!"

Dai Yutong nodded hard, then held a peeled chestnut up to his mouth.

"Brother Tianming, have one!"

Ye Tianming didn't stand on ceremony. He bit straight into it. The chestnut was sweet, with the toasted aroma of freshly roasted nuts.

Dai Yutong spoke again, but her voice was much softer this time.

"Brother Tianming, if... if you aren't at the mansion someday, will they start bullying me again?"

Ye Tianming's hands paused over the chestnut he was peeling. He turned and found Dai Yutong watching him, a trace of unease hidden in her eyes.

He set the chestnut down, turned toward her, and looked at her seriously.

"Yutong, I won't leave you. Even if I leave the mansion someday, I'll take you with me. Do you believe me?"

Dai Yutong gazed into Ye Tianming's eyes for a long, long time. Then she nodded firmly.

"I do!"

Her eyes shone then, as though they were filled with starlight.

Ye Tianming smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Then stop worrying and eat your chestnuts. They'll get cold if you don't."

"Mm!"

The sunlight was beautiful that afternoon. A bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts sat on the Side Courtyard's stone table. The two children sat side by side, one peeling and the other eating, occasionally passing a chestnut back and forth.

The Osmanthus Tree in the courtyard had not yet bloomed, but whenever the wind blew, its leaves rustled softly.

Huo Yun'er leaned against the doorway, watching the two children in the courtyard with a faint smile on her lips.

Her complexion was still poor, but her gaze was gentler than before.

She knew her daughter had met a good person.

But she also knew her body might not hold out much longer.

After autumn arrived, Huo Yun'er's illness suddenly worsened.

First came the coughing. She coughed from morning until night and couldn't sleep for nights on end.

Then she lost her appetite. Even a sip of water made her want to vomit, and her complexion grew worse by the day.

Eventually, she no longer had the strength to get out of bed.

Dai Yutong was beside herself with worry. Every day she stayed by her mother's bed, bringing her water and feeding her medicine, wiping her forehead with a damp cloth. At night she slept slumped against the bedside, waking whenever her mother coughed.

She didn't dare cry, afraid it would upset her mother. Only when her mother was asleep would she slip into the courtyard, crouch in a corner, bury her face in her knees, and shed silent tears.

Ye Tianming arrived early that morning. He pushed open the gate and stepped into the courtyard, but Dai Yutong didn't run out to greet him as she usually did. His heart sank.

He hurried to the main room and saw Dai Yutong leaning over Huo Yun'er's bedside. Her little face had grown thinner, her eyes were swollen, and she was patting her mother's back with one small hand.

"Yutong." Ye Tianming called softly from the doorway.

Dai Yutong jerked her head up. The moment she saw him, her eyes reddened. She bit her lip hard, struggling not to cry.

Then she got up, ran into Ye Tianming's arms, and buried her face against his chest, her shoulders shaking.

Her voice trembled with tears when she spoke.

"Brother Tianming..."

"Mother... Mother is so sick... I'm scared..."

Ye Tianming gently wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her trembling against him.

Something seemed to wrench hard at his heart, leaving him struggling to breathe.

"Don't be afraid."

Ye Tianming patted her back gently, his voice low.

"I'm here. I'll go get the best physician in the city right now. He'll cure your mother."

"Really?"

Dai Yutong looked up at him through tear-filled eyes, as though she had caught hold of her last lifeline.

Ye Tianming wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then said slowly,

"Really. Stay here with your mother. I'll be right back."

Ye Tianming ran out of the mansion and headed straight for the largest pharmacy in the city, the one where he often bought medicine.

He went straight to Physician Sun, who was seeing patients there, described Huo Yun'er's symptoms in detail, then pressed a Gold Soul Coin into his hand.

"Physician Sun, please come to the mansion and see my aunt. Your fee won't be a problem. If you can cure her, I'll pay whatever it takes."

Seeing a six-year-old child pleading with him like this, Physician Sun didn't dare delay. He picked up his medicine case and followed him.

When they reached the Side Courtyard, Physician Sun checked Huo Yun'er's pulse, examined her tongue, and asked a few questions about her symptoms. His brow furrowed more deeply with each answer.

"How is she, Physician Sun?"

Ye Tianming asked anxiously from beside him.

Physician Sun pondered for a moment, then let out a long sigh.