Chapter 79

Fang Yuan carried Long Ze on his shoulders and walked out of the villa. He looked around and deliberately avoided the surveillance cameras, running towards the edge of the neighborhood.

Long Ze's head hung down, drooling all the way, and his arms hung limply.

Soon, Fang Yuan arrived at the neighborhood fence. Despite carrying a person weighing over a hundred pounds, he still jumped over the fence with ease. After landing on the street, Fang Yuan put Long Ze's feet on the ground and draped his arms over his shoulders, then stood by the roadside and hailed a taxi.

A taxi stopped by the roadside in front of Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan opened the door, pushed Long Ze into the car, and then climbed into the back seat himself.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror. The gray-haired youth was drooling and leaning against the seat, asleep, while the slightly chubby youth was wide awake and energetic.

The driver had seen Fang Yuan supporting Long Ze from a distance and, with the strong smell of alcohol from the two, assumed they were friends who had drunk too much and were helping each other home. He didn't suspect anything and only hoped they wouldn't vomit in his car.

"Hum!"

After Fang Yuan gave the address, the taxi spewed out a puff of exhaust and drove off.

...

At the Sofitel Hotel, Lin Fan led Qiqi to the restaurant downstairs for dinner. Afterward, Qiqi insisted on watching two episodes of "Chibi Maruko-chan." After the cartoon, Qiqi pouted, saying she missed her mother. Lin Fan then used his phone to call Ling Xuefei.

Ling Xuefei had just finished a busy day of work and was returning home, tired and exhausted. When she received Qiqi's call, she immediately perked up, her fatigue vanishing. She became energetic, and even An An couldn't help but marvel at how crazy mothers could be.

On the phone, Qiqi chattered away, and Ling Xuefei patiently responded. Laughter and joy filled Qiqi's voice, showing how happy they were chatting.

After about half an hour, Ling Xuefei, noticing the time, gently said, "Qiqi, it's getting late. Shouldn't you go to sleep now?"

Hearing this, Qiqi pouted and shook her head, saying, "No, Qiqi wants to talk to Mama more."

Ling Xuefei smiled and said, "Mama also wants to talk to Qiqi, but it's really late now. Qiqi should go to bed early, that's a good girl."

Qiqi thought for a moment, turned to look at Lin Fan, and seeing him nod in agreement, she reluctantly agreed, "Okay... Qiqi is a good girl and will go to bed on time."

Ling Xuefei smiled and said, "Good girl, Qiqi. Count for me."

Qiqi said in a baby voice, "One! Two!"

Ling Xuefei replied, "Sleep!"

"Okay, Mama, bye-bye. Qiqi is going to sleep, snore snore."

"Good night, Qiqi, mua~"

"Mua~"

Qiqi then hung up the phone, placed it aside, and stretched out her chubby little arms to Lin Fan, saying, "Daddy, Qiqi wants to sleep."

"Okay, Daddy will put Qiqi to bed."

Lin Fan smiled, picked up Qiqi, and carried her to the bedroom.

"Qiqi, what did you say to Mama at the end? Was it a secret code between you two?"

"Daddy is so silly. It's numbers. I count one, two, and Mama counts three. Then Qiqi goes to sleep. It's a promise between Qiqi and Mama."

"Ha ha, so it's one, two, three..."

"Yes, yes."

As they talked, they walked into the bedroom, with Xiao Sha wagging his tail behind them.

After entering the bedroom, Lin Fan placed Qiqi on the bed, covered her with a blanket, set the air conditioner to turn off at a certain time, and was about to leave. But Qiqi looked at him with big eyes and said pitifully, "Daddy, Qiqi wants to hear a bedtime story."

Lin Fan turned around, looked at Qiqi's expectant face, and sat back down.

Lin Fan could never refuse Qiqi's requests, so he searched his memory and said softly, "Okay, Daddy will tell you a story about a mermaid. Legend has it that in the ocean, there lived a group of mermaids. They..."

But before he could finish, Qiqi interrupted, "Qiqi doesn't want to hear the mermaid story. Mama has already told Qiqi this story. Qiqi wants to hear a new one."

Lin Fan paused, suddenly realizing that Qiqi, at four years old, had probably heard many fairy tales from Ling Xuefei. In his memory, there were only a few well-known stories like "The Little Mermaid," "Snow White," and "The Ugly Duckling." Qiqi had likely heard all of these, so he needed to tell her a completely new story.

While providing top-tier cultivation techniques was easy for him, telling a story was a real challenge for this reincarnated Xuan Yang Immortal.

Lin Fan scratched his head, "Uh... this..."

Qiqi yawned cutely and said, "Does Daddy not know how to tell stories?"

Lin Fan's mouth twitched, and he gently poked Qiqi's little nose, saying, "There's nothing your daddy can't do."

Despite his words, Lin Fan was at a loss. Qiqi had heard all the popular fairy tales, and she probably knew more than he did. Suddenly, he had an idea and said, "Sweetie, Daddy will tell you a story you've never heard before."

Qiqi clapped her hands happily, "Okay, okay, Qiqi wants to hear it."

Lin Fan smiled, gently patted Qiqi's blanket, and began his story in a soft voice:

"Besides our Earth, there is a more wondrous world called the Cultivation Realm. The story begins with an orphan abandoned in this world."

"It was winter, and heavy snow was falling. The poor baby was left in the snow, shivering and nearly frozen to death. Later, a kind old farmer found the baby and took him home, raising him as his own child with great hardship."

"When the child grew up, he accidentally learned that he was not the old farmer's biological son. Despite the old farmer's pleas, he left home to search for his birth parents. But the world is vast, and he had no idea where to look. After wandering for three years without finding his parents, he gave up and returned home. However, when he got back, he found that his adoptive father had passed away six months earlier."

Hearing this, Qiqi said softly, "He's so pitiful. He doesn't have a daddy or a mommy to love him."

Lin Fan sighed, his thoughts drifting back to his own days before he started cultivation. He, the great Xuan Yang Immortal, had roamed for three thousand years, acting as he pleased without regard for others, yet he felt no guilt towards the heavens. If there was anyone he felt he owed, it was his adoptive father.

Lin Fan composed himself and continued, "He knelt by his adoptive father's grave for three days and three nights, repenting. Then he left again, becoming a homeless orphan, wandering the world, enduring hardships and humiliation. Later, by chance, he stumbled upon a cave and obtained the legacy of the Five Elements Immortal, gaining the Five Elements Emperor's Technique. From then on, he officially entered the world of cultivation."

"Qiqi, do you know..."

As Lin Fan spoke, his enthusiasm grew, but when he looked down, he saw that Qiqi had already fallen asleep. He smiled helplessly, leaned down, and kissed Qiqi's little cheek, saying, "Good night." He then quietly left the room, leaving Xiao Sha to stay with Qiqi.