Chapter 28: Mother and daughter
—“Is there something I can’t hear?”
Yan Zhen looked at Yun Xiu, then at the Serpent Queen, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
Just then, a flame-like consciousness shot out from the Serpent Queen’s forehead, entering his, then disappearing.
None of them noticed this, their Soul Realms too low to perceive it.
“I’ll be back later then.”
He left the room, his expression puzzled, then, seeing the two Serpent Guards standing motionless outside the door, greeted them politely. “Hello, Sisters.”
They looked at him strangely. They had been present when the Serpent Queen had declared her intention to make him her consort.
He casually waved, then left, climbing onto the roof to bask in the sun.
He lay on the roof, his eyes half-closed, gazing at the clear sky, as if he had returned to Earth, a college student slacking off, no transmigration, no system, only uncertainty about the future.
He suddenly remembered the thought that had surfaced in his mind while refining the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Fire:
— He wasn’t just playing a role. He was Yan Zhen, both the real one and the one in the script.
“Sigh, am I getting too into character? Hey, System, are you there?”
[How may I assist you, Host?]
“Why did you choose me to be the protagonist? Is there something… special about me? There must be, right? Tell me! I want to hear it!”
[Nothing special.]
“…”
— Heh, I finally feel confident for once, and you crush me like this?!
He decided to ignore the system for the rest of the day.
“Father, what’s a ‘System’?”
“A System is a big dummy.”
He casually replied, then froze, realizing something was wrong. He sat up, his voice sharp with alarm.
“Who just spoke?”
“It’s me, Father!” Yan Yan’s playful voice echoed in his mind. “I’m in your sea of consciousness~”
“… Sea of consciousness?”
He was startled, quickly sitting cross-legged, closing his eyes, his Spiritual Power manifesting his consciousness within his sea of consciousness.
As expected, within his sea of consciousness, a red-haired girl in a fiery dress was curiously looking around. Seeing his consciousness manifest, her eyes lit up, and she floated towards him excitedly, then, in a move that felt strangely familiar, pounced!
“Father~~~”
Her speed wasn’t particularly fast, but he couldn’t dodge, falling to the ground as she landed on top of him.
The impact, like being hit by a horse, made his spiritual form flicker.
— Crap, not this again!
He had been tackled like this before, in the Sacred Spring chamber, but that had been the Serpent Queen. This time, it was this red-haired girl…
Wait, had she just called him “Father”? It seemed the Serpent Queen had also called him “Father” earlier.
He felt like he was getting close to the truth. He focused, asking, “Who are you? And how did you get into my sea of consciousness?”
The red-haired girl, who had been nuzzling his chest, looked up, revealing a beautiful face that resembled the Serpent Queen’s, though without the slitted pupils and pointed ears.
She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen, her aura innocent and carefree. She was incredibly cute.
He felt an urge to pat her head.
“Father, it’s me, Yan Yan~”
“Yan Yan… who?”
The name sounded familiar.
The red-haired girl—Yan Yan—said proudly, “Your precious daughter, of course!”
He was even more confused. Where did this daughter come from? And why was she almost the same age as him?
“Little Sister, are you… mistaken?”
“I would never mistake my own father! More accurately, I’m your future daughter. I haven’t been born yet~” She nuzzled his chest. “Father, I missed you so much! Mother wouldn’t go find you, so I had to wait and wait… for over a year! I finally get to see you!”
— That’s a lot of information to process!
His future daughter? Could she be the one he had with the Serpent Queen? Yan Yan… Yan Yan?!
— Holy shit! No way! Is this real? Don’t lie to me! I’m not that gullible!
He discreetly examined her, finding her features indeed similar to the Serpent Queen’s, and he could even see a bit of himself in her.
He asked again, needing confirmation.
“Wait a minute. You say I’m your father… then who’s your mother?”
“Mother is… Mother.”
“Her name!”
“Cai Lian.”
Cai Lian, the Serpent Queen’s maiden name, known only to the three Serpent God Priests!
Could this girl really be his and the Serpent Queen’s daughter? He hadn’t even… started anything with the Serpent Queen yet! Where did this daughter come from?
A thought struck him, and he asked incredulously, “Did you… travel from the future?”
“Yes! Somehow, my consciousness traveled back in time, into my past mother’s body. I’ve been trapped in her sea of consciousness for over a year! It’s been so boring~”
His mind reeled. He patted her back, urging her to get up.
Having had her fill of cuddling, she obediently sat up, like a well-behaved child.
He also sat up, still unable to accept that this beautiful girl, not much younger than him, was his future daughter.
This was ridiculous!
“Wait, you said your consciousness traveled into your mother’s body. Did you… tell her about me?”
Yan Yan tilted her head, puzzled, then nodded. Her mother had also been reborn. The word “tell” seemed strange in this context.
It was like a sudden epiphany. Everything made sense now.
The Serpent Queen must have learned about him, her future husband, from her daughter. That’s why she had offered to make him her consort and had been more lenient than expected.
But this wasn’t in the script at all! What was going on?
Why had his daughter’s consciousness traveled from the future into his wife’s body?
— System, care to explain?!
[Ding! Searching database. Please wait…]
“Father? Father?”
A small hand waved in front of his face, bringing him back to the present.
“Sorry, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just… unreal.”
“What’s unreal? I’m right here! Pinch me if you don’t believe me!”
“We’re both spiritual forms. There’s nothing to pinch.”
“Oh, right! I almost forgot~”
My future daughter is a bit… airheaded… He couldn’t help but worry about her.
“So… you don’t recognize me, Father?”
Her eyes were filled with a pitiful expression that tugged at his heartstrings.
“I recognize you, but–”
“Yay! I love you the most, Father!”
Before he could finish, she hugged him again, her arms around his neck.
He sighed, patting her head, his turbulent emotions calming.
Was this what it felt like to be a father? It wasn’t so bad.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, his expression changing. He leaned closer, whispering in her ear, “Um, my dear daughter, Yan Yan, do you know… how your mother… got pregnant with you?”
Surely the future Serpent Queen wouldn’t tell her daughter that he had… forced himself on her mother, right?
If Yan Yan knew, and told her mother, then he would be… in danger!
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