Free Web NovelChapter 27: 27. Papa, father or worse, patriach.
Lin Xuan carried the little girl in his arm as he arrived at the remains of the spear strike.
The moment he arrived, he noticed that the surrounding area was still rich with spiritual qi, and the faint aroma of the Soul Condensing Fruit lingered in the air.
On noticing that, there really was no fooling himself anymore.
What was the Soul Condensing Fruit?
It was an extremely precious fruit, something very few cultivators would ever have the fortune to encounter during their lives.
With this fruit, a cultivator would no longer need to painstakingly open their divine consciousness through their own effort.
Instead, one of the most difficult requirements for entering the Golden Core Realm would become significantly easier.
The next requirement after that was the complete opening of one’s meridians.
"Father, why have you gone so quiet?"
The little girl’s voice drifted into his ears, but Lin Xuan could not find the time to entertain her question.
His mind was completely occupied by a different matter.
How difficult was it to open one’s divine consciousness?
Very difficult.
At least, that was what he remembered from his own experience.
Yet if his memory served him correctly, Lin Zhaoyue had inspected the spatial ring he gave her before she had even officially begun cultivating.
Which meant...
"Father?"
The girl called out once more, her voice carrying a hint of confusion.
Lin Xuan drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
Then he drew in another and after several deep sighs, he finally lowered his head and looked at the little girl in his arm.
"I don’t know who you are."
Lin Zhaoyue froze immediately upon hearing those words.
Her body stiffened, and the confusion on her face became even more obvious.
"What do you mean, Father?"
Lin Xuan looked at her quietly before asking his question in a calm manner.
"Zhaoyue, tell me the truth. Are you a regressor?"
That was his first guess.
His second guess was that she was a transmigrator with a system.
The moment those words left his mouth, Lin Zhaoyue’s expression changed completely.
Her eyes widened.
"Father, how did you find out?"
It was neither a confirmation nor a denial, but it might as well have been a confirmation.
Lin Xuan immediately let out a sigh of relief.
At least this whole family isn’t full of imposters.
A light cough escaped his throat before he answered.
"Well, you said there was a Soul Condensing Fruit inside the box without ever seeing the box."
He glanced toward the shattered remains nearby.
"In fact, simply knowing there was a box was already a huge giveaway. And then there is also you appearing all the way out here."
The more he spoke, the more confident he became in his reasoning.
"With all that put together, I’d have to be the biggest dummy in the world if I couldn’t figure it out."
Lin Zhaoyue stared at him for a moment.
Then, without warning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"You’re still the biggest dummy, Papa."
Her voice sounded muffled against his shoulder.
"I hate you."
Lin Xuan froze.
"Huh?"
His mind immediately stopped working.
"What?"
The words came out in complete confusion.
He replayed the last few moments in his head several times and still couldn’t understand where he had gone wrong.
Despite being utterly lost, his hands instinctively patted her back in comfort.
"You’re right. Papa is the biggest dummy but please don’t hate me, alright?"
Lin Zhaoyue only hugged him tighter.
Lin Xuan remained completely confused, having no idea why she was suddenly upset.
Even so, a strange warmth spread through his chest.
Papa.
For some reason, being called Papa felt much warmer than being called Father.
It was such a small difference, yet hearing it made him feel inexplicably happy.
After ten minutes of tears and snots, Lin Zhaoyue finally calmed down and began leading Lin Xuan through the ruins.
Lin Xuan followed behind while gripping the spear tightly.
The spear might be ominous but it also happened to be his strongest lifeline at the moment.
As for why he was still using a flying sword instead of the spear?
The answer was simple.
The original Lin Xuan had never learned how to fly on a spear.
"Papa, look!"
Lin Zhaoyue suddenly pointed ahead.
"There’s a formation over there!"
The moment those words left her mouth, Lin Xuan reacted.
Shooom!
The spear vanished from his hand.
A silver streak shot across the cave at lightning speed before slamming directly into the formation.
BOOM!
The entire underground chamber shook violently.
Spiritual energy erupted outward as cracks spread across the formation before it exploded into countless fragments.
The shockwave swept through the area.
Without hesitation, Lin Xuan pulled Lin Zhaoyue into his arms, crouched down, and covered her completely with his body.
Dust and debris rained down around them. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Several seconds later, the cave finally fell silent.
Lin Xuan slowly stood up and dusted off his robes.
Then he looked down at the little girl in his arms with a proud expression.
"See that?"
He pointed toward the smoking crater.
"That could have been dangerous if I wasn’t here."
Lin Zhaoyue stared at the destroyed formation before turning back at him with a completely deadpan expression.
"Papa."
"Yes?"
"If you do that one more time..."
Lin Xuan blinked.
"...Then I’m calling you Patriarch from now on."
The proud smile on Lin Xuan’s face instantly disappeared.
"Wait. You can’t do that."
"Yes I can, patriach." freēwebnovel.com
"Zhaoyue, let’s discuss this properly."
"There is nothing to discuss."
