Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chi Wen took a soul-binding jade bottle from the servant. Inside were several remnant souls. The old man among the remnant souls resisted giving information, but unfortunately, after becoming a remnant soul, he was powerless against various tortures.

As the remnant soul's obsession crumbles, the old man with the remnant soul inside the jade bottle occasionally reveals some information, indicating that he is not in control of his own destiny.

“These remnants are really ruthless to themselves. After being captured, they immediately destroyed their own memories. You guys hurry up and extract the remaining information from the remnant soul. His memories are not completely destroyed. We don’t have much time left. We must find the little princess’s whereabouts!” Chi Wen shook his head and handed the jade bottle back to the servant.

"You... promised... to release the little princess... but you broke your promise!" the old man with the remnant soul said painfully, the soul in the jade bottle twisting and contorting.

This was not a question posed under the control of consciousness, but rather the lingering obsession and rebuke of the old man's remnant soul before his death.

"Hmph! How can we let the tiger return to the mountain and leave future troubles? Why are we in this situation today? Do we need to ask you what you did back then! First ask yourselves about your own disloyalty, and then worry about why we are in this situation today!" The servant shouted angrily, using magic to torment the remnant soul in the jade bottle and dismantle its remaining mental defenses and obsessions.

Chi Wen glanced at his subordinates, looked at the devastation on the ground below, and sighed:

"It's a pity about Prince Jin. He was able to create a completely new way to become stronger in this era. He could have become a powerful ruler, even though the method was a bit bizarre... If Prince Jin were still here, this place wouldn't be so chaotic. It would be much easier for us to find people now, and we wouldn't have to come to such a faraway place on the eve of the approaching Day of Flourishing Yin."

Apart from a few who were questioning the remnant soul, the rest of the East Sea Dragon Clan on the thunderclouds were all focused on the reaction of the Night-Shining Mirage Pearl, trying to confirm the location of the missing East Sea Dragon Clan's aura on this foreign land.

---------

The sound of a child quietly sobbing drifted through the stillness of the night.

Fengying opened her eyes, slowly sat up, and her slender and graceful figure transformed into a sexy silhouette reflected on the wall.

Beside her, a little girl was crying silently, not loudly, but heartbreaking to hear.

"My dear, did you have a nightmare? Why did you cry in your sleep?" Fengying guessed that the Mirage Maiden might be missing her mother, but it didn't seem like it.

The fluctuations in her soul made Feng Ying feel... unease, and it was this unease emanating from the body of the Mirage Maiden that affected Jiao'er's sweet slumber.

What's going on? Is there something wrong with this mirage woman's body?

Crying is contagious among children. The cat, who was curled up sleeping next to Fengying, was awakened by Jiao'er's crying and started sniffling with red eyes.

The cat didn't shed tears, but it kept sniffling, as if it was about to cry: "Mother, why is my darling crying?"

This stumped Feng Ying, as she had never seen her beloved daughter cry for no reason before.

She picked up her daughter, gently patted her little body, and slowly tried to wake her from her sleep. She then hugged the cat to comfort her, so that the two little girls wouldn't catch each other's emotions and cry uncontrollably in the middle of the night.

"Jiao'er might be having a nightmare. Kitty, don't cry. If you cry, Jiao'er will cry nonstop too. Can you cry later?"

When Yueqi teaches children to control their emotions, she never makes it difficult for them to endure at such a young age. Instead, she delays the release of emotions. As the emotions are delayed, the children eventually get over the urge to cry and become too lazy to cry anymore.

This can also be seen as a way of teaching children to calm down before acting.

The cat nodded, hugged Fengying's waist, and looked at Jiao'er with concern. Although the cat was still sniffling and its eyelashes were a little wet, it did not cry.

Feng Ying had no choice but to take out the note and call Chu Mingkong over.

--------

Having shrunk for the first time in a long time, Chu Mingkong was caught between Zuo Qiuchi and Xiao Yunhan, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Xiao Yunhan was holding her younger brother, seemingly still enjoying the feeling of petting the cat's face. Her hand was now touching her brother's face, and she was having a great time.

"What are you doing in my room? Can you leave?" The woman with snow-white hair and an aura of power looked at Zuo Qiuchi.

Chu Mingkong looked at Zuo Qiuchi, wishing she could be firm and take him away from Yun Han's arms. It had been too long since he had shrunk, and the sense of shame he had developed back then had returned to normal.

"Not really, I've already gone to bed. I'll leave when I've had enough." As for what I'm here for, it's simply to see how you plan to play Mingkong, and whether you have any new ideas. Zuo Qiuchi's reply was exceptionally emotionless.

Seeing that Xiao Yunhan was just holding her younger brother and rubbing his face, she felt a little disappointed.

That's it?

You siblings haven't seen each other in ages, so you should at least... let Chu Mingkong do a split or show off some talent, right?

"Are you just going to keep touching my face?"

"Anything else? Do you have a problem with that?"

Xiao Yunhan moved her hand to her younger brother's belly. His well-defined abdominal muscles were nice, but his soft belly was definitely more comfortable.

"Fine, keep touching her," Zuo Qiuchi sighed.

Chu Mingkong suddenly sensed the fluctuations in the note and guessed that it was sent in the middle of the night, probably because it was urgent. He took the opportunity to sneak out of Yunhan's embrace and see what the message was.

"My daughter is crying, and I need to comfort her...?"

Chapter Fifty-Three Night Whispers

For a moment, Chu Mingkong suspected that Feng Ying was trying to suggest that he use his childhood body to tease the little girl, but then he thought that probably wouldn't be the case.

Jiao'er is shy around strangers, so using his tiny body wouldn't be very effective, as Jiao'er wouldn't recognize his infant form at all.

Chu Mingkong explained the situation to his sister Xiao Yunhan, and Xiao Yunhan readily agreed when she heard it was about the little ones.

Just now he was fighting so hard for him, not even letting Zuo Qiuchi touch him, but now he's letting go so easily.

"I thought you would refuse, or at least discuss the terms, Yunhan."

"Why refuse? Regardless of whether it's true or not, Cat and Jiao'er are crying and not sleeping at night, so we still need to check on them. Even if Feng Ying is lying, I'll bring you back."

That's a pretty clear line of thinking. Since it won't cost me anything, I'll let you make your move...

However, Chu Mingkong can now confirm that Xiao Yunhan does indeed have a certain degree of goodwill and affection towards his daughters. If it weren't for his daughters crying and making a fuss, Xiao Yunhan would most likely not have paid any attention to Feng Ying if he had simply been called over.

"Fortunately, I was able to break through that half-day restriction and turn back in time, otherwise I would really be using a child's body to coax a child now."

Chu Mingkong muttered as he got out of bed, walked to the wardrobe, and transformed back into his original body. Amidst the crackling sounds of his bones growing, Chu Mingkong's field of vision suddenly increased. With his sturdy body facing away from his sister and master, he quickly put on his clothes.

Zuo Qiuchi glanced at Xiao Yunhan.

This woman, cold inside and out, had just calmly watched her younger brother change clothes; although it was only his back, it wasn't much different from his front. Chu Mingkong stood with his legs straight, and a long, dark shadow swayed between them.

Xiao Yunhan's tolerant attitude towards Chu Mingkong seems a bit too much in a sense.

Even if it's really inconvenient to send him outside to change his clothes, it doesn't have to be taken lightly. At least say something to him, right?

The snow-haired woman ignored Zuo Qiuchi's thoughtful gaze, and seeing her younger brother had changed his clothes, she also got out of bed:

“I’ll go with you to see the little girls.”

"If you all go over there, I won't be able to stay alone."

With a creak, the door opened, and the three of them stepped out of the room.

Before even stepping into Fengying's courtyard, one could faintly hear a child's sobbing in the distance, a sound that evoked concern and heartbreak.

Chu Mingkong was afraid of startling the little girls, so he opened the door very quietly:

"What's going on?"

When the cat with red eyes saw Chu Mingkong, she instinctively raised her hands, wanting him to hold her. However, the little girl politely gave way to her younger sister and let Chu Mingkong hold Jiao'er instead.

"Good kitty, good baby too."

Chu Mingkong held both little girls in his arms. Jiao'er had already woken up, but unfortunately she was still unable to express her emotions in words, and tears kept flowing.

Although he was usually jovial and cheerful, his strong and sturdy body was a symbol of reliability and dependence for the little girls. After snuggling into his arms, they felt much calmer.

"The cat is fine; it's probably just affected by Jiao'er. As for Jiao'er, her Mirage Maiden form sensed some auras and stimuli that only she can perceive, causing her to show signs of unease." Xiao Yunhan's tone was indifferent, but her gaze towards the little girl still revealed concern.

She touched her neck with her delicate hand, and a hidden pendant appeared. Xiao Yunhan gently hooked it out and pulled the pendant out of the soft cleavage, then hung it on Jiao'er's neck.

After the rope was hung around the baby's neck, it automatically adjusted to the appropriate length.

"This is a pendant used to shield against the detection and perception of spiritual treasures. I don't know if it will work, but let's give it a try," she explained briefly.

It's hard to say whether it was Chu Mingkong's appearance that reassured Jiao'er, or Xiao Yunhan's pendant that had an effect. Jiao'er's sobs gradually stopped, and her little face was pressed against Chu Mingkong's chest.

"So what's going on? Jiao'er has been in Qingxin Mansion for so long, and she's never cried like this before." Chu Mingkong's tone was calm, but he was really angry inside. He felt that his daughter had been bullied, but he couldn't find anyone to vent his emotions on.

Xiao Yunhan gently touched Jiao'er's delicate horns, then touched the pendant. A chill emanated from her body, and the invisible barrier formed by the pendant appeared as a dome under the chill.

The chill occasionally dissipated, as if an unseen "foreign object" had struck the cover, creating ripples. These ripples indicated that the pendant was blocking some unseen sensory searches.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yunhan asserted:

"Someone is searching for this Mirage Maiden's body, using the connection between the East Sea Dragon Clan. Unlike ordinary perception, it's difficult for us humans to detect. And Jiao'er's Mirage Maiden body is instinctively resisting."

Among the many instincts, there is one that will never harm anyone: fear.

The fact that the child is crying indicates that her mirage form is afraid of this searching sensation.

"We don't know the origin of this mirage woman's body... Yunhan, Jiao'er has been crying for a while now. Does that mean Jiao'er has been discovered? Never mind, that's not important. Can you trace where that feeling just came from?"

There's no need to worry about whether Jiao'er has been discovered or not; what matters is finding out who's looking for her, which will get to the root of the problem.

"Okay, but you have to let Jiao'er cry a few more times."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yunhan "extinguished" the pendant's shielding effect, and the little girl, who had just calmed down, quickly started crying again with her little mouth pouting.

The cat had been holding back for a long time, but now it was suddenly attacked by the baby's crying, and the cat burst into tears.

"..." Feng Ying listened to the symphony of the two babies and was speechless for a moment.

Couldn't Xiao Yunhan have given her some mental preparation beforehand? Why did she remove the pendant's ability before she even finished speaking?

She now understood where Chu Mingkong's habit of barging into the room first and then greeting everyone with "I'm in" came from—it was a family tradition!

Not long after, Xiao Yunhan waved her hand, restoring the pendant's power.

The baby stopped crying, and the cat stopped crying too. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Chu Mingkong looked at the firefly-like chill in the room, which seemed to be flying in a certain direction.

"The Dragon Clan of the East Sea is searching for the Mirage Maiden... I'll take Jiao'er there to see what's going on."

----------

Jin region.

Chi Wen's group stopped, staring in disbelief at the Night-Shining Mirage Pearl.

This luminous mirage pearl is guiding the aura of the Mirage Dragon Clan back from within a hundred miles. The inland regions of the Heavenly Pole Empire rarely see any clans from the East Sea; once they've located them, they're basically the people they're looking for.

Although the aura collected by the Night-Shining Mirage Pearl was faint, it was still a worthwhile gain!

"Strange, it is indeed the little princess's aura, but why was it deathly at first, and then came back to life? This aura should have indicated that she has been dead for about half a year. Even feigning death cannot be done to this extent, right?"

Chapter Fifty-Four: Deception and Treachery