71. Little radish heads and big radish heads

While there was only one bed in Wen Zhihao’s room, he had more than enough bedding to layer so that sleeping on the floor was just as comfortable as the bed. The children familiarised themselves with Wen Zhihao’s room and learnt how to get to Sun Fuyu’s room right next door. Then, Wen Zhihao and Sun Fuyu accompanied them to the kitchens to eat, before going back. All that walking made the children extra tired, so Wen Zhihao let them go to bed first—bathing can happen tomorrow.

Wen Zhihao tucked them all in, blankets pulled up to their chins, little faces soft courtesy of a good diet. Unable to keep their eyes open, it didn’t take long for them to fall asleep.

Wen Zhihao sighed lightly. How could people be mean to them? How could people be cruel? He quietly left and closed the door.

In the next room, Sun Fuyu was tidying up. Not that there was much to tidy up, not that Wen-ge hadn’t seen his room before, but he was tidying up anyway. Upon the sound of the next room’s door, Sun Fuyu stopped and sat down at the edge of the bed. He was glad that Wen-ge’s aura was powerful enough to permeate into the other room, so the children would sleep through the night without coming to interrupt them.

He looked towards the door with anticipation.

Wen Zhihao stepped in quietly and closed the door behind him. The corner of his lips curled up. “Xiao Yu, why are you still fully dressed?” he asked as he took off his outer robes and spatial rings and hair accessories. He climbed into the inside of the bed and flopped down. “Come to bed, ah, Xiao Yu,” he said sleepily.

“Y-yes.” Sun Fuyu changed into his sleepwear. Seeing Wen Zhihao’s two spatial rings next to his own on the bedside table, Sun Fuyu’s brows creased slightly. They didn’t match… It reminded him of his plan that had been put on hold by the recent events.

“Looking after children really is tiring. A car would be really helpful—hm, like a carriage, but it doesn’t need a horse. They’re also old enough to start attending school.” Wen Zhihao mumbled to himself.

There was the free school in his usual mortal town, but he’ll have to get them stationery and more clothes and toys...He suddenly understood the feeling that children were really expensive. Thankfully, he still had a lot of leftover mortal money courtesy of Cheng Yahui. As for a flying vehicle...there had to be a talisman for that…

When Sun Fuyu climbed into bed, Wen Zhihao’s musings for the future faded away as he focused on the present.

“I’ve imposed on Xiao Yu, haven’t I? Making you help Zhou Sheng instead of letting you cultivate,” Wen Zhihao murmured softly.

“It was something I could do for ge,” Sun Fuyu said. He shuffled closer to Wen-ge, reaching and touching his chest, feeling Wen-ge’s heart beating. His eyes lowered for a moment, before lifting up to meet Wen-ge’s gaze. “Wen-ge helped me. It was good that I could help others. But tomorrow...I have training again. And I might take some small, quick missions,” he added hesitantly. “I should be back by the evening.”

“Okay. Xiao Yu is very good, I’m waiting for Xiao Yu to become a Senior Cultivator,” Wen Zhihao said, holding Sun Fuyu’s hand against his chest. “And then Xiao Yu can raise me,” he added half-jokingly.

But this young man, Sun Fuyu, said seriously, “Yes.” At the moment, Sun Fuyu wanted to get even closer to Wen-ge. His heart thudded as he slowly moved his legs until they touched Wen-ge’s.

Wen Zhihao noticed the touches and willingly tangled his leg with Sun Fuyu.

Sun Fuyu also wanted to reach out with his own aura and entangle it with Wen-ge’s, but the loud sound of his heart thudding in his ears at the thought of taking that initiative was too much. His heart gave a particularly loud thump! when Wen-ge reached out and tucked some strands of his long hair behind his ear.

“Go to sleep now…” Sun Fuyu said weakly.

Wen Zhihao didn’t need to be told twice. He closed his eyes, feeling as though he could sense Sun Fuyu, as though he could sense each of the sleeping children. With this reassurance, it was easy for him to fall asleep.

The moment Wen-ge fell asleep, his aura changed to the familiar slow rhythmic waves. Sun Fuyu’s chest tightened. He sneakily picked up Wen-ge’s hand and kissed it lightly. Pressing the hand against his cheek, Sun Fuyu also drifted off to sleep.

Having coordinated with some of the cultivators in the Sect to help with her own little disciple Sun Fuyu, Liu Zhongmin understood well that not everyone in the Golden Sun Sect cared about helping, and some in the Golden Sun Sect were even distasteful over the matters, arguing that they had no responsibility over the affairs of the mortal world.

So on deciding to let Sun Fuyu bring those remaining mortals back, Liu Zhongmin took the approach of doing it first and then informed the elders and other senior cultivators of what she had done. It was just a few more mortals: it wasn’t as though the Golden Sun Sect was too poor to hire a few more staff. Wasn’t the Sect growing bigger anyway? More staff would better support the disciples. Not to mention that some of them might turn out to have an ability to cultivate. 

Liu Zhongmin was ambivalent about the sect factions that opposed her. What mattered was that Elder Liu Ru would be on her side, and that, as expected, the Sect Leader Elder didn’t care either way.

The next morning, Sun Fuyu woke up earlier as usual for his morning training. He glanced at Wen-ge and got up, infused with the motivation to practice and grow stronger.

Later, the sunlight piercing through the window naturally woke Wen Zhihao up. He sat up in bed, reached over for one of his spatial rings, and pulled out talisman paper and brush pen and immediately wrote down his latest great idea: a talisman that would make something so light that it floated.

He chuckled to himself as he tested it out on increasingly heavy and large objects. He had skipped inventing the car and jumped straight to the hovercar!

He dressed, checked on the children—still asleep—and so went out to the courtyard to watch Sun Fuyu train. Today’s Sun Fuyu was very focused and his moves were very handsome. His long black hair flowed through the air as his sword sliced through the wind.

Not too long after, two children pitter-pattered out of the house, calling out, “Uncle! Little Uncle!”

Only then did Sun Fuyu notice the company.

“Continue your training,” Wen Zhihao said with a wave. “You kids need to wash up.”

“Bubbles?” one of them asked.

“Bubbles,” Wen Zhihao agreed.

“Yay!” The kids ran back to the room first.

By commandeering both his own bathroom and the bathroom in Sun Fuyu’s room, Wen Zhihao had all the children bathed and dressed. By the time that was done, Sun Fuyu had finished his morning training. Together, they went to the kitchens to eat breakfast.

Liu Zhongmin, who saw them walking out, suddenly had a feeling of, They’re growing up, ba. The children now have children!

At the kitchens, the children smartly greeted the people they already knew, and shyly greeted the people they didn’t know.

“Grandma, I’m hungry,” Ah-Yi said, raising his little face towards Liu Jing.

“Good, good, then sit down,” Aunty Liu Jing said. She just knew that Wen Zhihao had taught these impressionable kids weird things.

The children sat down in crooked rows on the mats placed on the ground in front of the row of tables.

“Grandma, really?” one of the other kitchen staff giggled. “What big son do you have?”

“Tch, it’s Xiao Fuyu of course. No, it’s the son-in-law that’s the problem,” Liu Jing retorted.

Sun Fuyu’s cheeks went red. He shifted closer and hugged Wen Zhihao’s arm. “What son, what son-in-law?” he mumbled.

Wen Zhihao, however, tilted his head innocently. “Ah, Aunty Liu, do you want me to call you Mother instead? Mama?”

“Stinky son-in-law,” Liu Jing rolled her eyes. She turned to Sun Fuyu. “Xiao Fuyu, you can call me mother. If you want. Aiya, perhaps you’re too old want a mother…”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes grew a bit red as his heart swelled with emotion. “I...um...mmm...Aunty Liu…” he finally said quietly, unable to say the word ‘mother’.

Both Wen Zhihao’s and Liu Jing’s eyes grew soft.

“Think about it,” Liu Jing finally said. “Xiao Fuyu can sit down. Xiao Wen, you can help me carry out the food.”

“Yes, Aunty!” Wen Zhihao said.

The children welcomed their ‘Little Uncle’ to the tables. While Sun Fuyu wasn’t as comfortable with the children as Wen-ge, he knew how to help serve the morning congee and baozi for each child as Wen Zhihao carried out the dishes.

Sun Fuyu’s head lifted when Wen Zhihao finally sat down beside him. Their arms rubbed together, their qi touching.

“Whatever is comfortable for Xiao Yu, okay?” Wen Zhihao said quietly.

Sun Fuyu nodded. “I know…”

Liu Jing, who came to the doorway, saw the little radish heads (kids) and big radish heads (Sun Fuyu and Wen Zhihao) eating. The scene was lively and warm.

Ah-Yi, who sat facing the kitchen, spotted her. “Grandma?” he called out. He stood up haphazardly. “Grandma, come eat, save this for you…”

Liu Jing sighed, her lips curling up. “No, no, sit down, baobei1,” she said warmly. “Grandma will eat later.”

“O-kay…” Ah-Yi shot her a concerned look, but he sat down again upon Wen Zhihao’s assurance that Grandma wasn’t hungry and could cook her own food.

Liu Jing turned back the kitchens and shot a stern look at the other staff who were grinning at each other and mouthing, grandma! She called herself grandma!

“We said nothing!”

“But you thought it!”

Ai, it was lively in the kitchens too.

71. Little radish heads and big radish heads

While there was only one bed in Wen Zhihao’s room, he had more than enough bedding to layer so that sleeping on the floor was just as comfortable as the bed. The children familiarised themselves with Wen Zhihao’s room and learnt how to get to Sun Fuyu’s room right next door. Then, Wen Zhihao and Sun Fuyu accompanied them to the kitchens to eat, before going back. All that walking made the children extra tired, so Wen Zhihao let them go to bed first—bathing can happen tomorrow.

Wen Zhihao tucked them all in, blankets pulled up to their chins, little faces soft courtesy of a good diet. Unable to keep their eyes open, it didn’t take long for them to fall asleep.

Wen Zhihao sighed lightly. How could people be mean to them? How could people be cruel? He quietly left and closed the door.

In the next room, Sun Fuyu was tidying up. Not that there was much to tidy up, not that Wen-ge hadn’t seen his room before, but he was tidying up anyway. Upon the sound of the next room’s door, Sun Fuyu stopped and sat down at the edge of the bed. He was glad that Wen-ge’s aura was powerful enough to permeate into the other room, so the children would sleep through the night without coming to interrupt them.

He looked towards the door with anticipation.

Wen Zhihao stepped in quietly and closed the door behind him. The corner of his lips curled up. “Xiao Yu, why are you still fully dressed?” he asked as he took off his outer robes and spatial rings and hair accessories. He climbed into the inside of the bed and flopped down. “Come to bed, ah, Xiao Yu,” he said sleepily.

“Y-yes.” Sun Fuyu changed into his sleepwear. Seeing Wen Zhihao’s two spatial rings next to his own on the bedside table, Sun Fuyu’s brows creased slightly. They didn’t match… It reminded him of his plan that had been put on hold by the recent events.

“Looking after children really is tiring. A car would be really helpful—hm, like a carriage, but it doesn’t need a horse. They’re also old enough to start attending school.” Wen Zhihao mumbled to himself.

There was the free school in his usual mortal town, but he’ll have to get them stationery and more clothes and toys...He suddenly understood the feeling that children were really expensive. Thankfully, he still had a lot of leftover mortal money courtesy of Cheng Yahui. As for a flying vehicle...there had to be a talisman for that…

When Sun Fuyu climbed into bed, Wen Zhihao’s musings for the future faded away as he focused on the present.

“I’ve imposed on Xiao Yu, haven’t I? Making you help Zhou Sheng instead of letting you cultivate,” Wen Zhihao murmured softly.

“It was something I could do for ge,” Sun Fuyu said. He shuffled closer to Wen-ge, reaching and touching his chest, feeling Wen-ge’s heart beating. His eyes lowered for a moment, before lifting up to meet Wen-ge’s gaze. “Wen-ge helped me. It was good that I could help others. But tomorrow...I have training again. And I might take some small, quick missions,” he added hesitantly. “I should be back by the evening.”

“Okay. Xiao Yu is very good, I’m waiting for Xiao Yu to become a Senior Cultivator,” Wen Zhihao said, holding Sun Fuyu’s hand against his chest. “And then Xiao Yu can raise me,” he added half-jokingly.

But this young man, Sun Fuyu, said seriously, “Yes.” At the moment, Sun Fuyu wanted to get even closer to Wen-ge. His heart thudded as he slowly moved his legs until they touched Wen-ge’s.

Wen Zhihao noticed the touches and willingly tangled his leg with Sun Fuyu.

Sun Fuyu also wanted to reach out with his own aura and entangle it with Wen-ge’s, but the loud sound of his heart thudding in his ears at the thought of taking that initiative was too much. His heart gave a particularly loud thump! when Wen-ge reached out and tucked some strands of his long hair behind his ear.

“Go to sleep now…” Sun Fuyu said weakly.

Wen Zhihao didn’t need to be told twice. He closed his eyes, feeling as though he could sense Sun Fuyu, as though he could sense each of the sleeping children. With this reassurance, it was easy for him to fall asleep.

The moment Wen-ge fell asleep, his aura changed to the familiar slow rhythmic waves. Sun Fuyu’s chest tightened. He sneakily picked up Wen-ge’s hand and kissed it lightly. Pressing the hand against his cheek, Sun Fuyu also drifted off to sleep.

Having coordinated with some of the cultivators in the Sect to help with her own little disciple Sun Fuyu, Liu Zhongmin understood well that not everyone in the Golden Sun Sect cared about helping, and some in the Golden Sun Sect were even distasteful over the matters, arguing that they had no responsibility over the affairs of the mortal world.

So on deciding to let Sun Fuyu bring those remaining mortals back, Liu Zhongmin took the approach of doing it first and then informed the elders and other senior cultivators of what she had done. It was just a few more mortals: it wasn’t as though the Golden Sun Sect was too poor to hire a few more staff. Wasn’t the Sect growing bigger anyway? More staff would better support the disciples. Not to mention that some of them might turn out to have an ability to cultivate. 

Liu Zhongmin was ambivalent about the sect factions that opposed her. What mattered was that Elder Liu Ru would be on her side, and that, as expected, the Sect Leader Elder didn’t care either way.

The next morning, Sun Fuyu woke up earlier as usual for his morning training. He glanced at Wen-ge and got up, infused with the motivation to practice and grow stronger.

Later, the sunlight piercing through the window naturally woke Wen Zhihao up. He sat up in bed, reached over for one of his spatial rings, and pulled out talisman paper and brush pen and immediately wrote down his latest great idea: a talisman that would make something so light that it floated.

He chuckled to himself as he tested it out on increasingly heavy and large objects. He had skipped inventing the car and jumped straight to the hovercar!

He dressed, checked on the children—still asleep—and so went out to the courtyard to watch Sun Fuyu train. Today’s Sun Fuyu was very focused and his moves were very handsome. His long black hair flowed through the air as his sword sliced through the wind.

Not too long after, two children pitter-pattered out of the house, calling out, “Uncle! Little Uncle!”

Only then did Sun Fuyu notice the company.

“Continue your training,” Wen Zhihao said with a wave. “You kids need to wash up.”

“Bubbles?” one of them asked.

“Bubbles,” Wen Zhihao agreed.

“Yay!” The kids ran back to the room first.

By commandeering both his own bathroom and the bathroom in Sun Fuyu’s room, Wen Zhihao had all the children bathed and dressed. By the time that was done, Sun Fuyu had finished his morning training. Together, they went to the kitchens to eat breakfast.

Liu Zhongmin, who saw them walking out, suddenly had a feeling of, They’re growing up, ba. The children now have children!

At the kitchens, the children smartly greeted the people they already knew, and shyly greeted the people they didn’t know.

“Grandma, I’m hungry,” Ah-Yi said, raising his little face towards Liu Jing.

“Good, good, then sit down,” Aunty Liu Jing said. She just knew that Wen Zhihao had taught these impressionable kids weird things.

The children sat down in crooked rows on the mats placed on the ground in front of the row of tables.

“Grandma, really?” one of the other kitchen staff giggled. “What big son do you have?”

“Tch, it’s Xiao Fuyu of course. No, it’s the son-in-law that’s the problem,” Liu Jing retorted.

Sun Fuyu’s cheeks went red. He shifted closer and hugged Wen Zhihao’s arm. “What son, what son-in-law?” he mumbled.

Wen Zhihao, however, tilted his head innocently. “Ah, Aunty Liu, do you want me to call you Mother instead? Mama?”

“Stinky son-in-law,” Liu Jing rolled her eyes. She turned to Sun Fuyu. “Xiao Fuyu, you can call me mother. If you want. Aiya, perhaps you’re too old want a mother…”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes grew a bit red as his heart swelled with emotion. “I...um...mmm...Aunty Liu…” he finally said quietly, unable to say the word ‘mother’.

Both Wen Zhihao’s and Liu Jing’s eyes grew soft.

“Think about it,” Liu Jing finally said. “Xiao Fuyu can sit down. Xiao Wen, you can help me carry out the food.”

“Yes, Aunty!” Wen Zhihao said.

The children welcomed their ‘Little Uncle’ to the tables. While Sun Fuyu wasn’t as comfortable with the children as Wen-ge, he knew how to help serve the morning congee and baozi for each child as Wen Zhihao carried out the dishes.

Sun Fuyu’s head lifted when Wen Zhihao finally sat down beside him. Their arms rubbed together, their qi touching.

“Whatever is comfortable for Xiao Yu, okay?” Wen Zhihao said quietly.

Sun Fuyu nodded. “I know…”

Liu Jing, who came to the doorway, saw the little radish heads (kids) and big radish heads (Sun Fuyu and Wen Zhihao) eating. The scene was lively and warm.

Ah-Yi, who sat facing the kitchen, spotted her. “Grandma?” he called out. He stood up haphazardly. “Grandma, come eat, save this for you…”

Liu Jing sighed, her lips curling up. “No, no, sit down, baobei1,” she said warmly. “Grandma will eat later.”

“O-kay…” Ah-Yi shot her a concerned look, but he sat down again upon Wen Zhihao’s assurance that Grandma wasn’t hungry and could cook her own food.

Liu Jing turned back the kitchens and shot a stern look at the other staff who were grinning at each other and mouthing, grandma! She called herself grandma!

“We said nothing!”

“But you thought it!”

Ai, it was lively in the kitchens too.