"By the way, Nana, I heard you have an older brother named Xie Yue. Is that right?" Bibi Dong seemed to remember something and hurriedly asked Hu Liena.
"My brother?"
Hu Liena froze for a moment, then her expression suddenly grew a little forlorn.
"My brother... my brother was eaten by a Soul Beast."
As she spoke, Hu Liena's eyes gradually filled with tears, making Bibi Dong's heart ache a little.
"Don't cry."
"You still have your teacher."
Bibi Dong instinctively hugged Nana, wanting to comfort her.
Beside them, Xu Feng sank into thought.
That bastard Xie Yue died?!
This...
That makes no sense!
If Xie Yue was eaten, then there shouldn't be any later incident where Xie Yue, Nana, and Yan perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill together.
Hearing his thoughts, Bibi Dong's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked, "Nana, tell your teacher what happened. Perhaps I can help you find your brother."
"R-really?"
"Of course."
Hu Liena blinked, then began to explain.
It turned out that Xie Yue and a companion named Yan had run off to a Soul Beast forest to play and never come out again. Their clan had sent people to search, but after more than a year without finding them, they had declared that the boys had been eaten by Soul Beasts.
"Don't be sad. Your senior brother will take good care of you from now on, too."
At Bibi Dong's words, Hu Liena turned an aggrieved gaze toward Xu Feng. "Big senior brother, really?"
"!@#￥%..." The corner of Xu Feng's mouth twitched.
I fucking...
I was fucking raising you so you could serve me.
How did it end up the other way around?
Xu Feng had already planned everything out.
Once he found Xie Yue and Yan, he would properly carry out a little "lackey training" plan.
Then Xie Yue would pound his legs and loosen his shoulders, Yan would serve him tea and water, and Nana would fan him from the side and feed him on schedule. That way, he could truly lie back and do nothing. Now that would be enjoyment.
"All right, all right. Your senior brother will protect you."
But when Xu Feng saw Hu Liena's slightly aggrieved, utterly dependent gaze, his heart softened, and he gave her a warm hug.
"Big senior brother..." Hu Liena nestled completely into Xu Feng's arms, unwilling to let go. Perhaps, after being alone for so long, she missed having family a little, too.
"Ahem..."
At that moment, Bibi Dong had something of a headache. She had intended to forcibly take little Xu Feng back to the Saintess's bedchamber tonight, but seeing Nana like this, she found it a little hard to bring herself to do it.
But what if Nana spends too much time with little Xu Feng and grows more and more dependent on him?
Wouldn't that make it even harder for me, as his teacher, to bring little Xu Feng back to the Saintess's bedchamber?
This suddenly occurred to Bibi Dong.
Most importantly, she had spent just one night away from little Xu Feng last night, yet she had actually suffered insomnia, her heart feeling empty.
If she still couldn't hold little Xu Feng as she slept tonight, couldn't squeeze his soft little arms or kiss his delicate cheeks that looked as though a breath could break their skin, she felt she would probably lose another whole night's sleep.
No, absolutely not.
Hardening her heart, Bibi Dong reached out and lifted Nana straight out of little Xu Feng's arms, putting on a very stern expression.
"Nana..."
"I see that you've already learned to release your Soul Power. At a time like this, you should practice independently all the more and consolidate this ability. So I'll be taking your senior brother away tonight, to keep him from disturbing you. Understand?"
Hearing this, Nana immediately grew anxious, and tears even began to glimmer in her eyes as she looked at Xu Feng. "B-but I don't want big senior brother to go."
You don't want him to go?
Do you think your teacher does?
You unfilial little disciple, actually competing with your teacher for Bao'er.
Bibi Dong's expression grew a little sterner. "Nana, you must understand that you're already a grown-up of almost three. You need to learn independence and strength, understand?"
"I..." Nana lowered her head.
"If you want to become strong, you must first learn independence. Do you understand?"
"I-I understand, Teacher."
Seeing how stern Bibi Dong was, Hu Liena no longer dared to be petulant, but her gaze still held reluctance as she looked at Xu Feng.
Then Hu Liena watched Bibi Dong carry her big senior brother away. Finally unable to hold back, she squatted on the floor and burst into tears, still murmuring, "Nana is already a grown-up of almost three. Nana will become strong. Sob, sob, sob..."
Inside the Saintess's bedchamber.
"Teacher, may I ask, since Nana counts as a grown-up, doesn't that mean I count as one too and should live independently in my own room?"
"Pfft-"
Faced with little Xu Feng's utterly earnest question, Bibi Dong chuckled. "What would a little brat in his teens like you know?"
"I..." Xu Feng's face stiffened, and the corners of his eyes twitched repeatedly.
Teacher...
I'm begging you, have some human decency!
Could you stop having such double standards?
Pleasure darts?
What kind of darts are those?
Bibi Dong was puzzled, but she did not dwell on it. Instead, she asked little Xu Feng the question that concerned her most. "My good disciple, tell me, if Nana's brother and that Yan are both alive, where would they be now?"
This sounded hypothetical, but it was actually full of calculation.
After all, Bibi Dong had already learned from Xu Feng's thoughts that Xie Yue and Yan were not dead, but she could not let on that she knew.
"Well... about that."
"If they're still alive, they might be in a village outside the forest where he disappeared. Of course, I'm just guessing. Hehe..."
Xu Feng explained with a deliberately simple-minded look, while inwardly beginning to grumble.
Sigh...
This is too painful. I clearly know those two fools, Xie Yue and Yan, are in the village closest to the forest where they disappeared, but I can't explain in detail, or Teacher will ask how I know.
Am I supposed to tell Teacher I have a talent called "Knowledge of Past and Present" that can... ugh, forget it. Can't be bothered to think.
You...
You little rascal.
Why won't you keep thinking?
Xu Feng stopped thinking right at the crucial point, leaving Bibi Dong's curiosity dangling and making her feel thoroughly out of sorts.
Still, now that she knew where Xie Yue and Yan were, Bibi Dong felt she needed to send a few reliable subordinates to search for them.
As for now...
"Hm?"
"Teacher, why are you looking at me like that?"
Noticing Bibi Dong's wolfish, tigerish gaze, Xu Feng's hair stood on end. With a whoosh, he shrank back into a corner of the bed, not forgetting to tug the blanket over his entire body in search of that elusive sense of security.
"Bao'er~"
"I'm going to change. Turn your head away first, and no peeking."
"..." Xu Feng said nothing and simply burrowed under the blanket.
You think I'm like you?
Stopping at nothing to take advantage, with no bottom line whatsoever.
Dragging me back here tonight-you must have bad intentions, too.
As Xu Feng thought this, before long, the other end of the blanket was lifted. Bibi Dong could be seen already dressed in a light purple gauze nightdress, and she soon slipped beneath the covers.
It's over, it's over. The nightmare is about to begin.
I'm going to be sullied again.
Xu Feng's heart sank. He had already braced himself to be touched all over and kissed across his entire face, even preparing to be smothered until he couldn't breathe. After all, that demon of a teacher... had held herself back for an entire day.
"Bao'er~"
"Let's sleep."
Somewhat to Xu Feng's surprise, Bibi Dong was exceptionally well-behaved tonight. She merely held him in her arms, not even particularly tightly, then really did settle down to sleep.
Hiss...
What the hell?
Has Teacher changed her nature?
Forget it. Staying like this is fine, too. Then I won't have to take refuge with my junior sister anymore.
Hearing Xu Feng's thoughts, a smile curved Bibi Dong's lips, and she seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Bibi Dong understood why Xu Feng would rather stay overnight with Nana than remain with her in the Saintess's bedchamber. Most likely, her Bao'er couldn't endure her ravaging... ahem, couldn't endure her affection.
So Bibi Dong felt she needed to restrain herself for a while and know when to stop, rather than scare Bao'er away again. Otherwise, she would suffer insomnia again.
At that moment, neither Bibi Dong nor Xu Feng knew that outside the Saintess's bedchamber, a man wreathed entirely in black mist was secretly watching the place.
This man was none other than Gui Mei, the Titled Douluo assigned to watch Her Holiness the Saintess, and the one most skilled at concealment.
"Putting this together with what Yue Guan uncovered..."
"It looks like Her Holiness the Saintess's disciple, Xu Feng, should be that little child."
"To think Her Holiness the Saintess actually turned her own disciple into a child and is even living with him. If His Holiness the Pope learned of such conduct, he would probably be furious."
Gui Mei murmured a few words. Seeing the lights go out in the Saintess's bedchamber, he waited a long while, then headed back toward the Pope's Great Hall, ready to report.
I suddenly discovered this got a featured recommendation. So happy, so happy.
Thank you to all my dear readers for your support. No more words-just a bow of thanks.
Finally, let me ask for another round of recommendation votes. After all, it's been featured, so let's not make the numbers look too ugly. Many thanks to all you esteemed readers.
(End of chapter)
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