I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

Before she knew it, she had reached the end of the market. Bai Qingyu wanted to take another street, but then she saw Zhen Tian suddenly stop, seemingly looking at something.

"Zhentian, what's wrong?" Bai Qingyu followed Zhentian's gaze and found a little girl curled up in the corner.

In this era, beggars can be found everywhere. Bai Qingyu and Zhen Tian saw two or three of them along their journey, but they had never seen such a young child begging before. This was the first time they had encountered such a child in this town.

Bai Qingyu walked over and noticed that the child was not a beggar. Her mother was right next to her, or rather, her mother's body was right next to her, wrapped in a tattered straw mat. She had obviously been dead for three or four days.

People in this era suffered greatly. The bustling prosperity of the town did not mean that there were no poor families. For the poor, it was the same whether it was New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. They still had no food, and the weather was so cold that it was good enough to just survive.

The little girl was kneeling on the ground with a straw stuck in her hair, which meant she was going to sell herself.

Selling herself to pay for her mother's burial would also give her some hope. Her mother was dead, and at only eight years old, she couldn't possibly support herself. If a kind person bought her, took her home, and gave her some simple chores and food, she might be able to survive the winter.

Bai Qingyu knew that this must have been what the mother told her child before she died, and there was nothing she could do about it.

It's unclear whether her father moved the body here. If so, it's heartbreaking to see his daughter forced to sell herself in the snow to bury her mother, while he, as her father, has vanished without a trace.

Of course, it's also possible that the people in the town helped. Originally, the body was left at the entrance of the town, but since it was New Year's Eve, no one wanted to see this unlucky scene, so they simply moved the child and the body to the end of the town.

That's understandable. Everyone here is poor, and even if the people in the town wanted to help, they couldn't. Besides, they're used to seeing this kind of thing. Bringing such a little girl home is like adding another mouth to feed. What can you expect from such a young child?

"Little sister." Bai Qingyu squatted down in front of the little girl.

Her clothes were tattered and thin, and she shivered in the cold wind. There were many chilblains on her face and ears. She was already thin and skin and bones. If she continued like this, she would freeze to death before nightfall.

Upon hearing Bai Qingyu's voice, the little girl slowly opened her eyes.

It has to be said that it's a miracle she's managed to hold on this long. In Bai Qingyu's eyes, her vitality is like a faint candle flame in the wind, the kind that could be extinguished at any moment.

He transferred a little demonic power to her to maintain her body temperature and warm her internal organs so that they could regain their vitality. Otherwise, she might not be able to hold on until she saw her mother being buried.

"Do you need your sister to help you bury your mother?" Bai Qingyu asked softly.

It was the Lunar New Year, so she wasn't worried about bad luck. However, she knew she couldn't buy a coffin, so she could only dig a grave outside the town and bury her there.

Upon hearing Bai Qingyu's words, the little girl's eyes visibly brightened. "Really, really, sister?"

With a wisp of Bai Qingyu's demonic power, she at least recovered some strength and had the ability to speak.

"real."

Seeing the little girl trying to stand up, Bai Qingyu shook her head. "Don't rush. Do you have any family members at home? Where is your father?"

"My father, my father is dead. He was beaten to death."

"After I bury your mother, you can come with me," Bai Qingyu said softly.

However, she doesn't plan to raise this child for life. She has come to terms with it now. Her strength is ultimately limited. She can raise the child, but she won't do everything herself and raise the child until old age. Her current idea is simple: when the child is over ten years old and can live on his own, she will leave.

For example, with this child, we'll raise her for a few years until she's able to live independently, then bring her back. During this time, Bai Qingyu will teach her a skill, and she can walk her own path from then on.

"I... Waaah, thank you, sister, thank you, sister!"

Bai Qingyu felt conflicted. Of course she could raise the child, but she was filled with mixed emotions.

With a wave of her hand, Bai Qingyu used her demonic power to lift the corpse into the air. She held the little girl in her arms, only to find that the little girl was too light, not even as heavy as her umbrella.

They silently carried the corpse out of town, with Zhen Tian quickly following behind.

·

Burying a corpse was a simple matter for Bai Qingyu, but unfortunately there was no coffin, so he could only bury it and pile up a mound. There was no tombstone or paper money to burn. The little girl cried uncontrollably in Bai Qingyu's arms. Fortunately, she had demonic power to keep her afloat, otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on to such grief.

She even fainted from crying, and Bai Qingyu comforted her softly.

The grave mound wasn't too far from the town, but that didn't matter anymore. Bai Qingyu was only responsible for the burial and not for coming back to burn paper money during the Qingming Festival.

The sky was overcast with light snow falling. Bai Qingyu carried her child, who had fainted from crying, home. It was New Year's Eve, and she had promised Zhentian she would cook a delicious meal. She had even bought the ingredients two days ago and was just waiting for tonight.

“There are poor people everywhere, but it’s rare to see someone this pitiful.” On the way back, Bai Qingyu chatted softly with Zhen Tian.

I've been traveling the world for a while now, and I've seen all sorts of people, but I've rarely seen such a pitiful child. It's not that there aren't any, but that I haven't had the chance to see one. Like this girl named Xiaodie, if I had arrived a step later, she would have died. And if it weren't for Zhentian watching and drawing her attention, she would have left without noticing.

Bai Qingyu had seen many children being sold, and while it pained her, she didn't want to get involved. In these cases, the parents were usually struggling to raise the children. If Bai Qingyu had spare money, she would occasionally give them some money or food, but she wouldn't buy the child.

Xiaodie's situation is different; no one sold her, she sold herself.

"Yes, poor child," Zhen Tian sighed.

Bai Qingyu adopting this child was something she hadn't expected, but it seemed to be a normal situation, as it suited Bai Qingyu's personality and temperament.

This child is very lucky to have met Bai Qingyu, Zhen Tian thought to himself.

Back in town, it was still bustling. Bai Qingyu was still wearing the fox mask, but she had no interest in watching the excitement around her. She quickly went home and asked Zhen to boil a pot of water.

After preparing the bathwater, Bai Qingyu found some of Dongqing's clothes that she hadn't taken with her, quickly altered them with scissors and needle and thread, and then took off the child's clothes and put her into the bathtub.

Using his demonic power to awaken Xiaodie, Bai Qingyu bathed her while saying, "Your mother has been buried. Don't be so sad anymore. Think about happy things. I think your mother wouldn't want to see you so heartbroken. Life must go on. If you live a happier life, your mother will be comforted."

Bai Qingyu's words stopped the little girl from crying.

In a sense, it's a good thing that she has the strength to cry now. It means she has strength now, unlike before when she was as weak as a candle flame, and a wisp of cold wind could take her life.

"Yes, that's it."

Wiping away the little girl's tears, Bai Qingyu used her demonic power to treat the frostbite on her face, ears, and hands.

To be honest, this child wasn't very good-looking. He was thin, almost skin and bones, and his face was covered in dirt and dust, making him look very dark. His skin was cracked and chapped, which looked quite gruesome. His hair, in particular, was a messy clump infested with lice. It had been neglected and smelled terrible, and the quality of his hair was so poor that it looked like a tangled ball of yarn.

This is normal. After all, life is impoverished. Even the best foundation becomes Cinderella under such circumstances. How can a cute little girl be if she can't even afford to eat?

Apart from her clear eyes, there was nothing about this girl that could be associated with beauty or cuteness.

Take Dongqing, for example. She was adorable from a young age because she was born with good conditions. She was chubby and fair-skinned as a baby, and later on, she received meticulous care from Bai Qingyu. Changsheng was in a similar situation; she was well cared for from a young age, and her poverty had nothing to do with it.

However, Bai Qingyu didn't care that Xiaodie didn't look good. She treated her frostbite, gave her a good bath, cleaned the lice off her hair, and tidied it up.

Children grow very quickly and need more nutrition. If you give her a good boost, she'll catch up quickly. It should take about a year or two to recover.

"Sister, are you a fairy?" Sitting in the hot water, Xiaodie seemed a little uneasy.

Born into a lowly family, she always felt inferior. Seeing Bai Qingyu's appearance, she couldn't believe that there was such a beautiful person in the world, and that this beautiful woman was so kind to her. She felt flattered and overwhelmed.

She was so uneasy that if Bai Qingyu threw her into the cowshed and made her live there and eat leftovers, she would feel more at ease.

"I'm not a god, I'm actually a monster." Bai Qingyu smiled faintly.

"monster?"

"Yes, I am a monster. From now on, you can call me Auntie."

While washing Xiaodie's messy hair, Bai Qingyu first used his demonic power to clean the lice off her head. This would indeed damage her hair, but there was no other way. Hair can grow back, and the new hair would be much easier to manage than the current hair.

They cut off handfuls of the little girl's hair; it was beyond saving, it was truly horrifying.

Bai Qingyu doesn't believe in the concept of "our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents." Not to mention Xiaodie, even Dongqing and Changsheng's hair has to be cut.

"Yes, Auntie," Xiaodie said softly.

Bai Qingyu kept cutting off all the messy hair on top before carefully washing the hair below. After a while, the little girl finished her bath. Bai Qingyu used a bath towel to pick her up and dry her off, and then changed her into Dongqing's old clothes.

The clothes were a bit thin, so Xiaodie wore several layers inside and out to keep warm.

"Auntie, is there anything I need to do for these clothes...?"

"No need, these clothes belong to my daughter. She's no longer with me, so she can't wear them anymore."

It is said that children from poor families learn to be independent early. Xiao Die timidly wanted to help Bai Qingyu with some work. She had been instilled with the idea that if you don't work, you won't eat. Besides, Bai Qingyu was so good to her that she felt a little uneasy.

Everything comes at a price; there's no such thing as a free lunch. Xiaodie was worried that she wouldn't be able to do the work Bai Qingyu had assigned her well.

Seeing that Xiaodie didn't say anything, Bai Qingyu felt helpless. Why would an eight-year-old child be like this? It seems that she will have to teach her properly in the future. There's no rush now; change takes time.

It was still early, so Bai Qingyu had Xiaodie sit on her bed while she went to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

I also prepared some drinks, which I will have with Zhentian that evening.

Volume 1: Chapter 74 Bai Qingyu is Drunk (4K)

The ingredients were all bought from the small town. Of course, a tiny town doesn't have any precious ingredients; it's just ordinary chicken, fish, meat, and eggs. But ordinary ingredients don't necessarily mean they're not delicious. Before long, a rich aroma wafted through the yard.

With years of experience taking care of children, Bai Qingyu can say she knows a lot about everything, but she's not particularly proficient in anything, except cooking.

To raise her cubs well, and also for her own enjoyment, Bai Qingyu managed to create all sorts of delicious food in a mountain forest where there were no seasonings, not even salt. Back then, she not only prepared the ingredients, but also all the seasonings herself.

Now that we have all the ingredients, cooking meals is a breeze.

In the kitchen, Zhen Tian was helping Bai Qingyu with her pastries, which she had made yesterday. Since it was winter, she wasn't worried about them spoiling.

The aroma of food wafting from the courtyard was irresistible not only to passersby, but even to the neighbor's tabby cat, which jumped from the rooftop into Bai Qingyu's courtyard and stood at the kitchen door, meowing.

Inside the room, Xiaodie sat obediently with a plate of pastries beside her. Bai Qingyu had specially prepared these for her because she was worried that she would be hungry, and told her to remember to eat them and not to hold back. Unfortunately, just as Bai Qingyu had expected, half an hour passed and she hadn't touched the pastries in the bowl at all.

The aroma wafted into the room, making her mouth water and her stomach rumble. She hadn't eaten much for two days, so it would be a lie to say she wasn't hungry.

His gaze fell on the dessert in the bowl, and in the end, he couldn't resist taking a small bite.

Before leaving, Bai Qingyu watched her eat a piece, thinking that such delicious pastries were irresistible to children, and Xiao Die could only resist for a short while. With her hunger and the aroma of food in the courtyard, she was sure she would eat it.

She quickly finished the plate of pastries, and when she wanted more, there were none left. She almost dropped the plate, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly. She remembered the time she had stolen food from someone else; that family had hung her from a tree and beaten her with vines. If her mother hadn't brought over their chicken as compensation, she might have been beaten to death.

Unable to bear the hunger, and with a plate of delicious food beside her, and with her owner's permission, Xiaodie was able to endure until now, which was absolutely related to this memory.

Then Bai Qingyu saw Xiao Die, who was tearfully apologizing to her.

While cooking, he comforted her, and after Zhen Tian gave her another piece of steamed bun, he carried her back into the house.

After that little incident, Xiaodie didn't come over again.

·

At dinner time, Bai Qingyu looked at the table with a full eight dishes and two soups and nodded in satisfaction. In addition to the dishes, there were also dumplings that she had made herself in the pot.

"It's a pity that Dongqing isn't here, otherwise she would have jumped for joy, as these are all her favorite foods."

Bai Qingyu muttered to herself, "At this time, Dong Qing should also be celebrating New Year's Eve with her master. I just wonder how Chang Sheng is doing."

She had always been worried about Dongqing, but felt quite at ease with Changsheng. Now the situation had reversed. Since Dongqing had gone up Shenhua Mountain, she naturally didn't need to worry about her. As for Changsheng, Bai Qingyu suspected that he was probably sleeping in a tree or spending the night in a dilapidated house or temple.

For him, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are no different from any other day.

Zhen Tian brought Xiao Die over. Xiao Die was still keeping her head down, very shy. She liked Bai Qingyu, but at the same time, she was also full of fear of him. It was a very complicated feeling.

"Sister Bai."

"Okay, let's eat together. It's New Year's Eve today, let's have a good meal. Can you drink alcohol, Zhentian? How about having a drink with me later? I've already prepared the drinks for you."