They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Visitation Rights

These days, Yun Qingwu intentionally kept himself busy with official duties to quickly detach himself from the Mind Realm. The effect was indeed good; those bothersome thoughts hadn’t resurfaced for a long time.

But a promise is a promise after all.

“Alright, I’ll exchange it with you.” Yun Qingwu took the twins to the Artisan Workshop and exchanged the Wind-Hearing Bell for the spiritual stone.

Kong Yun, having gotten what he wanted, skipped away happily. Yun Di politely bowed and bade farewell to Yun Qingwu before chasing after his brother.

After the two left, Yun Qingwu decided to start crafting the magical artifact—one that needed absolute lethality and defensive capabilities while being easy to carry.

“Bang!”

When the result was unsatisfactory for the third time due to a lack of concentration, Yun Qingwu angrily dropped the tools onto the table.

What is going on?

He raised his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, then suddenly froze.

Could it be because of Xiao Dao?

It must be that Cold Lici didn’t take good care of Xiao Dao!

He should go and check.

Yes, as her father, it’s definitely inappropriate for him to be absent for so long. He should go see her.

Yun Qingwu seemed to convince himself and decisively put down the crafting work, walking toward the South Heaven Gate.

The phoenix Hong Yuan was about to deliver materials when he saw the person who had just been talking about making something close the door and prepare to leave. He called out anxiously: “Your Highness, Your Highness, where are you going?”

Yun Qingwu coughed, but did not stop his pace. He replied: “I’m going to the mortal realm to handle some official business. You don’t need to follow.”

Hong Yuan stopped, hesitating, and asked in confusion: “Didn’t you just get back?”

Then, as if he understood, he nodded: “Truly worthy of the Sovereign Lord, so proactive! This is truly a blessing for the Three Realms.”

…

Yun Qingwu descended to the mortal realm and headed straight for Mount Yosu. But as he approached the destination, for reasons he couldn’t explain, he cast an invisibility spell on himself before entering the Yosu territory.

Last time he was here, he was too preoccupied to observe. This time, he walked and looked around. The atmosphere of Mount Yosu was very different from what he had imagined.

It was messy, lacking order, yet surprisingly harmonious.

It didn’t take much effort to find Cold Lici’s fox den. Yun Qingwu headed directly for the place that looked the most conspicuous and noble.

He quickly located the Li Palace. The front door of the Li Palace had no guards and was wide open.

Yun Qingwu frowned.

This half-demon is too confident in himself.

But he soon found out why.

Just as he was about to step into the hall, he saw a dirty little mochi-like bundle on the ground, babbling unintelligible sounds, crawling forward on all fours.

On the couch in the very front, Cold Lici was leisurely resting with his eyes closed, minding his own business.

Yun Qingwu: “…”

He remembered that when he handed Xiao Dao over, she was still a beautiful, clean little girl. It had only been half a month…

He, on the other hand, is quite meticulously groomed.

Yun Qingwu’s gaze settled on the person half-reclining on the couch, his scrutiny unconsciously pausing.

Xiao Dao, by her own effort, crawled all the way to the couch. Her small hands strained, trying to climb onto the bed. Just as she managed to get half her body onto the couch, the person on the bed seemed to sense it. A red tail swept across, intending to sweep the bothersome thing away.

Xiao Dao seized the opportunity and immediately hugged the tail.

The person on the bed finally opened his eyes. The initially calm expression stiffened completely upon seeing the “dirty thing” on his tail. Golden eyes rapidly gathered anger.

Thus, Yun Qingwu watched Cold Lici, his face rigid, furiously whipping his tail. But Xiao Dao was fearless, giggling even more happily.

Watching this scene, Yun Qingwu’s lips curved, and his eyes softened slightly.

“Die!” A new word suddenly appeared in Xiao Dao’s unintelligible babbling.

The whipping fox tail abruptly paused.

Yun Qingwu’s smile instantly froze.

Cold Lici stared at Xiao Dao, as if he had heard something bizarre. The large one and the small one stared at each other.

That almost-word was utterly foreign to him.

After a moment, he reached out, peeled Xiao Dao off his tail, and placed her in the cradle nearby.

“Tch. Who’s your ‘die’ (Dad)?”

He coldly tossed out the line and turned to the inner room.

Yun Qingwu waited a while, making sure Cold Lici wouldn’t come out anytime soon. Then, he walked to the cradle and dismissed the invisibility spell.

He bent down to look at Xiao Dao, straightening her clothes, which were messy from crawling, and coaxed her: “Xiao Dao, say ‘Dad’.”

Xiao Dao grinned: “Ah ya yi ya.”

“Dad. Say Dad.”

Yun Qingwu taught her again, refusing to give up.

“Giggle—”

Yun Qingwu: “…”

He frowned seriously at Xiao Dao, feeling that his daughter’s future was looking very grim. How could she only favor the one who gave her the cold shoulder?

Cold Lici leaned against the wall hidden by the central door, watching the scene with interest. The earlier panic was completely replaced by smugness.

He decided that tonight, he would allow the little brat to sleep wrapped around his tail.

On the other side, after several unsuccessful attempts, Yun Qingwu, feeling frustrated, did not stay longer. He returned to the Heavenly Realm, deciding to seek advice from a professional.

“How do you teach a baby to speak?” The Bed God’s rattle drum dong dong dong-ed, his face full of confusion: “At six months, they can only babble nonsense.”

“What if the child is exceptionally gifted?” Yun Qingwu said with a serious expression. He distinctly heard the pronunciation of “Dad.”

“Then you must have misinterpreted it. It’s likely just a meaningless syllable.”

The Bed God raised his wine cup. Just as he was about to drink, his gaze froze. He leaned closer and sniffed Yun Qingwu: “Why do you smell of lust?”

Yun Qingwu’s eyes narrowed. He steadied himself, suppressing the instinct to dodge. He had forgotten that besides being the patron god of infants, the Bed God was also in charge of marital harmony and was extremely sensitive to such matters.

“You… didn’t fall for a mortal, did you?” The Bed God widened his eyes, looking left and right to see if anyone was around: “Falling in love privately is against Heavenly Law!”

“How could that be? You must have drunk too much.” Yun Qingwu’s expression didn’t change, and his tone was steady.

The Bed God said, “Oh,” and nodded: “I thought so too. Anyone else might violate Heavenly Law, but certainly not you.”

Yun Qingwu looked away: “Of course, not me.”

“Alas, we have a sad fate. Our marriages are arranged, and we are forbidden to have emotions.” The Bed God sighed melancholically, draining his wine. His job was to protect the harmony of mortal families, but he couldn’t have that for himself.

“The Heavenly Law is established for its own reasons,” Yun Qingwu said calmly.

But even so, that trace of stagnation lingered in his heart.

Yun Qingwu picked up the wine bottle and drank it in one gulp. It must be a side effect of the Mind Realm.

…

Mount Yosu. Cold Lici lay on the couch, one tail coiling around the now-cleaned Xiao Dao, lifting her in front of him to look at her from the left and the right.

Xiao Dao rested one hand on the tail and put the other in her mouth, chewing happily.

Cold Lici stared at the small face, which had grown considerably with the passing months, and pursed his lips.

“Why does she look more and more like Yun Qingwu?”

A bird feather flew into the bedroom through a crack in the window. Dan Mu’s voice transmitted through it: “Sovereign Lord, Sovereign Lord, there’s news about the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp! The other party who obtained the opportunity besides the Phoenix Clan was the Deer Clan! I’ll tell you the details in person later!”

“The Deer Clan?”

Cold Lici stroked the silver chain on his right index finger. The Deer Clan belongs to the Demon Realm. They have kept to themselves for years. Even their routine tributes were submitted by the snake demon Qing Yuan on their behalf.

But regarding the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp, they mentioned nothing.

Hmph, how overconfident.

Cold Lici waved the feather away, then wrote a fire command and sent it to the Deer Clan.

Just as the fire command was issued, the outer door was suddenly knocked upon. At this hour, no one dared to disturb him without his summons.

Cold Lici impatiently flicked his sleeve, and the door opened by itself.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Outside the door was Yun Qingwu, who had just left earlier in the day.

Yun Qingwu had thought it over and decided it was extremely necessary to defend his position in Xiao Dao’s heart. Thus, following the childcare advice given by the Bed God, he had come to Mount Yosu with the various mortal toys he had prepared for Xiao Dao.

Cold Lici’s eyes were momentarily stunned. He lifted Xiao Dao, intending to jump off the bed, but the moment his feet landed, he frowned again.

News of the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp had just broken, and Yun Qingwu showed up immediately afterward.

Had Yun Qingwu come this time to stop him from getting the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp?

Thinking this, his tone cooled significantly as he reached the door: “Is it appropriate for the Heaven Sovereign Lord to come and go so freely in my Demon Realm?”

Having not been given the cold shoulder for a while, Yun Qingwu felt inexplicably uncomfortable. The words he originally wanted to say changed into: “I plan to take Xiao Dao to the mortal world for a few days. Staying in the chaotic Demon Realm for too long is not beneficial for Xiao Dao’s physical and mental health.”

Hearing this, Cold Lici’s aura grew even colder. He stared at Yun Qingwu for a long time, then shoved the lifting Xiao Dao into Yun Qingwu’s arms: “Take her. Bring her back in a week.”

Xiao Dao: “Wua ah.”

Yun Qingwu held Xiao Dao with one hand, looking down at her innocent big eyes, feeling even more put out.

Cold Lici handed Xiao Dao over so readily, yet he wasn’t even willing to keep him for a few days.

As his thoughts were in turmoil, a colorful crane flew into the room, transformed into a multi-colored maiden. Yun Qingwu recognized Dan Mu.

He recalled that in the Ze Kingdom, it was because of her that Cold Lici had put himself in a passive position repeatedly.

What is Dan Mu to Cold Lici, for a person who prioritizes survival above all else to act like that?

When Yun Qingwu left, Dan Mu circled Cold Lici, sizing him up: “Did you two… have a fight?”

Cold Lici looked sideways at Dan Mu with a glare.

Dan Mu ignored the warning in his eyes and continued to ask the question that had been bubbling in his heart for two months: “Sovereign Lord, did you and that Heaven Sovereign Lord really get together?”

“No!” Cold Lici turned away, his tone cold and hard.

Dan Mu exaggeratedly patted his chest: “That’s good. Otherwise, I would truly worry about the Heavenly Realm people teaming up to hunt you down.”

Cold Lici scoffed: “Do you think I fear them?”

“Right, right, right. What could you possibly fear?” Dan Mu complimented him in a timely manner, then straightened his expression: “Even if you’re not afraid, don’t be tempted by that Sovereign Lord’s beauty. Who knows what schemes those stinky gods are planning in their hearts!”

“Talk about the main issue,” Cold Lici said, pursing his lips with some displeasure.

Dan Mu took the hint and focused on the purpose of his visit: “We are not the only ones looking for the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp. Those stinky gods in the Divine Realm seem to be looking for it too.”

Cold Lici walked back to the high seat and sat down lazily, his left leg arbitrarily bent, his left elbow resting casually on his bent knee, his demeanor disdainful: “What if they find it first? I’ll just kill them and take it.”

Dan Mu let out a tsk: “Now I believe you and that Sovereign Lord are innocent.”

Cold Lici slightly lowered his gaze, saying nothing more.