They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Parenting

“Sweet candied haws on a stick, get your sweet candied haws—”

“Lords and ladies, those with money please spend, those without, please lend an ear!”

Yun Qingwu listlessly walked through the bustling mortal market, holding Xiao Dao.

It was the liveliest time of the day in the mortal realm. Xiao Dao was excited, wiggling her little body, looking left and right. In contrast, Yun Qingwu seemed distracted.

Why would Dan Mu look for Leng Lici so late?

What were they doing right now?

“What else could they be doing?” The sound of a storyteller’s clapper suddenly snapped, and his tone shifted: “It must be a beautiful couple, a wonderful night, the very night of the wedding chamber!”

“Dong!” Yun Qingwu lost his grip and slammed his teacup onto the table. The sudden, jarring sound drew the attention of those nearby.

Even the usually quiet Xiao Dao frowned at the noise and pouted.

Yun Qingwu looked down, and a knot in his heart immediately loosened: “Want to go back?”

Xiao Dao hummed softly.

Yun Qingwu immediately stood up, holding Xiao Dao: “Alright! We’re going back now.”

“Since the Demon Realm is so foul, why did you bring her back so early?”

In the Li Palace, Leng Lici lowered his gaze, emotionlessly wiping the bone sword in his hand.

Yun Qingwu held Xiao Dao a little tighter: “It’s not that I wanted to bring her back, but Xiao Dao wanted to come back. If I didn’t grant her wish, and something went wrong because of it, wouldn’t that be a greater loss?”

“So?” Leng Lici looked up at Yun Qingwu.

Yun Qingwu’s gaze drifted elsewhere: “So, I need to stay at your place for a few days to better spend time with Xiao Dao.”

This was his original purpose for the trip. He believed his request was perfectly legitimate. As for anything else, he instinctively overlooked it.

The Li Palace fell silent for a moment. After a while, Leng Lici spoke, but not to Yun Qingwu:

“Someone.”

Following the call, a minor demon hurried in.

Yun Qingwu couldn’t figure out what Leng Lici meant and became wary.

“This is the new wet nurse/nanny. Arrange a place for him to stay.”

Yun Qingwu looked at Leng Lici. The person on the high seat showed no change in expression, yet Yun Qingwu inexplicably felt that the coldness that had previously kept people away had dissipated somewhat.

This brightened his mood, which had been gloomy all day, rising up as if in a counter-reaction.

“Your Honor, what species is he? It would help this subordinate arrange a suitable room according to his habits,” the small demon asked.

Leng Lici glanced at Yun Qingwu and said flatly, “Pig.”

The small demon looked at Yun Qingwu: “Oh, a fellow Pig Demon!”

Yun Qingwu: “…”

That slight upward shift in mood quickly sank. Yun Qingwu’s brow twitched. He looked at Leng Lici, his gaze full of reproach.

However, the perpetrator didn’t seem to care, even showing a slight curve at the corner of his lips: “Go on, Pig Demon Nanny.”

Yun Qingwu glared at Leng Lici for a long time, finally let out a sigh, turned, and followed the small demon out.

…

“You know he might be after the Ancient Town Lamp, why are you keeping him here?” the bone sword asked with a probing tone.

Leng Lici stood up and slowly dragged his sword back into the inner chambers: “What do you know? Keeping him right under my nose is more useful than anything else.”

The bone sword bent its tip.

Heh, he certainly wouldn’t understand.

…

Yun Qingwu followed the small demon to his assigned residence.

He had expected a dwelling suited to a pig’s habits to be messy and chaotic, but after surveying the place, Yun Qingwu found it vastly different from his imagination.

It was a small house with a courtyard. The house was clean and tidy, with a comfortable temperature. Behind the courtyard was a stretch of mountain forest, and the faint scent of grass and wood permeated the air. The courtyard was also planted with various fruits and vegetables, making it quite abundant.

Most importantly, it wasn’t far from the Li Palace.

“Brother Pig, I hope you enjoy your stay,” the small demon politely bade farewell and closed the door.

Yun Qingwu carried Xiao Dao and walked around the house. Although he had decided to try and let go of his prejudice against demons, thinking about it was one thing, and being able to do it immediately was not easy.

After confirming there were no other anomalies in the small house, he was about to rest for a moment, but before he could sit down, there was a knock at the door.

Yun Qingwu’s brow furrowed. He held Xiao Dao and went to open the door. When he saw who was outside, a layer of ice instantly formed in his eyes again.

Dan Mu stood with crossed arms, squinting at Yun Qingwu: “You’re the new nanny, right?”

Yun Qingwu replied plainly: “Mm.”

Dan Mu puffed up her chest again to increase her presence. She pointed to Xiao Dao in Yun Qingwu’s arms: “Xiao Dao needs her lunch now. Go prepare it.”

Yun Qingwu’s fingers twitched, intending to use a spell.

Dan Mu: “No spells allowed! If spells could solve everything, why would we need you, the nanny?”

Yun Qingwu’s lips tightened into a straight line, his eyes dark. But bound by his current role, he couldn’t act out. After a long standoff, he finally asked coldly, “Where is the kitchen?”

Dan Mu pointed to the wooden shed outside: “Over there.”

Seeing Yun Qingwu walk over, Dan Mu let out the breath she was holding, patted her chest, and thought, “Dan Mu, good job! This one staying by His Honor’s side is a huge threat!”

Yun Qingwu placed Xiao Dao in a nearby cradle and, with practiced movements, rolled up his sleeves and started making rice paste.

This stance completely dumbfounded Dan Mu.

Was it reasonable for a Celestial Sovereign from the Heavenly Realm to be so skilled in the kitchen?

Yun Qingwu internally scoffed and raised an eyebrow. Not only had he learned a thing or two from his Shimu (Master’s wife) back in Zeguo, but in the realm of Nian, he had conquered Leng Lici’s stomach with his own ability!

Dan Mu walked around in a half circle, and another idea flashed in her mind.

She watched Yun Qingwu feed the rice paste, then found a pile of infant clothes and a basin from somewhere, placed them in front of Yun Qingwu, and pointed, saying: “These are Xiao Dao’s clothes. Wash them quickly today.”

Looking at the pile of dirty clothes, which faintly smelled of urine, the calm in his deep blue eyes finally wavered.

At the same time, Leng Lici sat on his high seat in the Li Palace, a trace of impatience in his eyes. Several old nine-tailed foxes of various colors stood below, scrambling to say something.

Leng Lici’s index finger, bound with a silver chain, tapped intermittently on the table.

His gaze, however, kept drifting towards the door.

Half a day had passed, and that White Marsh beast hadn’t shown even a single white hair.

“Your Honor, this is truly outrageous!” the black fox below exclaimed.

Yes, it is truly outrageous!

Leng Lici abruptly stood up, ignoring the emotional shift of the old foxes—from shock to apprehension to bewilderment—left the entire group in the main hall, and walked out on his own.

He reached the house arranged for Yun Qingwu but found it empty.

Just then, the giggling of small fox demons could be heard outside: “There’s a very handsome gentleman by the river taking care of the little highness. They say he’s the new nanny.”

“I saw him, I saw him! He is indeed handsome, but he doesn’t look like someone who knows how to care for a child.”

Leng Lici’s brow furrowed, and his inner impatience intensified, giving rise to a certain hard-to-explain anxiety.

When he reached the riverbank and saw Yun Qingwu solemnly and intently scrubbing clothes in his hands, the anxiety in his heart transformed into a touch of irritation.

Why was this white-haired beast so enthusiastic about childcare?

Leng Lici took a step forward, then stopped.

But Yun Qingwu, who was focused on scrubbing clothes, had already sensed Leng Lici’s presence. His mind raced.

He hadn’t stopped doing chores all morning because of this nanny status. His internal state was far from the calm and adept demeanor he displayed.

The child wasn’t his alone, so why was everything falling on him?

He was here taking care of the child, while Leng Lici was over there talking about love with someone else—was that reasonable?

Thinking of this, Yun Qingwu tossed the clean clothes into the basin, stood up, waved towards Leng Lici, and plastered a smile on his face: “Your Honor, since you’ve come all this way, why not join us?”

Leng Lici stared at Yun Qingwu for a moment, then walked over and asked coldly, “What do you want?”

Yun Qingwu pointed to Xiao Dao, who was playing happily in the cradle nearby: “I believe that parental companionship is an important part of a child’s development, so you should participate as well.”

Leng Lici averted his gaze, his tone rigid: “She is merely a vessel for a pill. Once the pill is formed, I will definitely take it.”

Yun Qingwu looked at Leng Lici meaningfully, a probing smile appearing in his blue eyes. If those words had been spoken a few days ago, he might have been angry, but after spending time with Xiao Dao these past two days, he noticed that she was actually being raised quite well.

A bit rough, yes, but certainly not the treatment a mere vessel should receive.

“If you are raising a pill, shouldn’t you be even more involved?”

Leng Lici’s peripheral vision caught Yun Qingwu, his brow slightly furrowed, as if contemplating the logic of the statement.

Yun Qingwu was unwilling to waste any more words. He simply lifted Xiao Dao out of the cradle and placed her into Leng Lici’s arms: “Dan Mu has a point. You need to experience parenting firsthand.”

“Dan Mu?” Leng Lici subconsciously held Xiao Dao.

Yun Qingwu glanced at Leng Lici, and thinking of their intimacy, his tone unconsciously carried a hint of sarcasm: “Yes, Dan Mu. She seems quite comfortable coming and going on your territory.”

“What? Is she the stepmother you found for Xiao Dao?” Yun Qingwu turned away, pouring the pre-prepared hot water into the bathtub.

Leng Lici frowned upon hearing this: “Stepmother? What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

The unknown melancholy in Yun Qingwu’s heart suddenly dissipated because of his own words.

“Come, let’s bathe Xiao Dao together.” Yun Qingwu turned back, smiling at Leng Lici.

“Did I agree to bathe her with you?” Leng Lici muttered, but obediently walked over anyway.

Yun Qingwu tested the water temperature: “You take off the child’s clothes.”

Leng Lici looked at the soft-bodied creature in his arms, whose hands were flailing. He hesitated, slowly reaching out, his gaze serious, as if he were disassembling a complex mechanism.

Xiao Dao opened her big eyes and smiled at her father, cooperating with him.

Even so, after untying the inner garment’s ribbon inside the swaddling cloth, Leng Lici’s already serious gaze became solemn.

He could either focus on the clothes or the child, but not both.

As he tried to pull out the sleeve, the smile on Xiao Dao’s face suddenly turned into a pout.

Seeing Leng Lici’s lack of progress, Yun Qingwu put down what he was doing and looked over. Seeing the two—one large, one small—in such a state, he found it a little amusing. He sighed and walked over.

He reached out to support Xiao Dao’s neck and body, then looked up at Leng Lici: “I’ve supported her. Pull out the sleeve.”

Leng Lici slowly withdrew his hand and proceeded to take off the child’s other sleeve.

The two were extremely close, their breaths almost mingling.