The Puppet Master family’s courtyard was very beautiful, but they fenced off a chicken run in that lovely yard for Tao Fangyi, because hens would hatch chicks and the chickens would multiply.
Sometimes Tao Fangyi would squat inside the chicken run to observe. Those golden chicks would gather around him.
The humans in that courtyard always laughed when they saw this.
Tao Fangyi now understood that back then, he was curious about what life was, and he had a primitive possessive desire for those chicks.
Later, he learned that arbitrarily picking up others’ belongings was wrong.
But now, could he pick up Wang and take him home?
Wang had become a Fierce Ghost; his family must have been tragic. Rounding off, he was practically a child waiting to be adopted.
But Wang refused to call him Dad.
Tao Fangyi suddenly felt a little unhappy, and his rubbing of Wang became rougher.
Wang felt like he was about to be rubbed into sparks.
Suddenly, he hugged Tao Fangyi’s waist and nuzzled him with his head.
He truly didn’t know how else to express his excitement.
Tao Fangyi: …
Wang was like those golden chicks, inexplicably running to his side.
What should he do if he didn’t want to release Wang back into the wild?
Tao Fangyi was a bit troubled.
After he finished petting Wang, he gave him some time to recover.
Then they returned to reality, and Wang gleefully went to torment the group of fantasy creatures.
Others’ suffering was Wang’s spiritual nourishment; he especially loved watching the expressions of others breaking down from pain.
But now he had no time to appreciate that.
After his mind cooled down, Wang began to wonder if there was something wrong with him.
On the other side, Wenren Fu had found a deserted spot while Tao Fangyi was petting Wang.
Then he felt his own neuroticism had become incomprehensible even to himself.
He had been too excited just now; almost every cell in his body had been awakened.
Wenren Fu glanced down, then looked up nonchalantly.
When overly excited, it was normal for the body to have some special reactions; just adjusting the qi inside would fix it.
The body’s reaction didn’t matter. Wenren Fu now suspected that his feelings for Tao Fangyi might be off.
Logically, he should have admired Tao Fangyi’s strength, wanting to bring him down a peg and let him experience the joy of reckless abandon.
But now, Tao Fangyi’s situation hadn’t changed at all; instead, Wenren Fu himself had become very happy—happy from being petted on the head.
And after staying by Tao Fangyi’s side, his frequency of excitement kept increasing.
Tao Fangyi had perfect looks, perfect strength, personality…
Wenren Fu initially thought Tao Fangyi’s personality had major issues, but just as he thought that, he inexplicably found it rather interesting.
Even though Wenren Fu kept having his defenses broken, that is.
So had he always liked weirdos?
So was that earlier behavior just an exchange between two weirdos?
Wenren Fu wasn’t sure, so he messaged Wenren Huaishu: 【Mom, is it normal to feel excited after being petted on the head and chin?】
He waited a moment, and Wenren Huaishu replied: 【Normal, what’s the matter?】
【What about belly rubs?】 Wenren Fu continued asking.
【I can’t accept it, but your second uncle likes it.】 Wenren Huaishu said, 【Remember your second uncle?】
In their tiger clan, contact between members was scarce. Wenren Fu thought for a while and asked uncertainly: 【That uncle who isn’t great at cultivation, failed at real-world investments, and to dodge debts, deliberately got himself taken in by the zoo for free food and lodging?】
【That’s the one.】 Wenren Huaishu sent a smiling emoji with open eyes. 【He quite likes belly rubs, and when his belly is rubbed, he even kicks his legs.】
Wenren Fu opened his phone and searched for that zoo’s name. The very first video he found was of his second uncle.
The comments all praised this tiger for being so human-like.
Originally, a tiger’s “quarters” should have been concrete rooms with bars, but this “celebrity tiger,” with its human-like qualities, had managed to get a private room all by itself—a room like a human’s, complete with a small bed, an oversized scratching post, and even sky-blue painted walls.
Humans marveled that this tiger had become a spirit.
Wenren Fu’s mouth twitched.
These humans didn’t know: this was a tiger spirit all along, one that had attended private school, gone to university, failed at investments, sold his house, and shamelessly come to the zoo to freeload food and lodging.
Watching his second uncle pretend to be innocent and naive, he silently closed the video.
Fine. Getting excited when petted was just instinct. He wasn’t even like his second uncle, who kicked his legs during belly rubs.
Absolutely shameless.
He himself was still very graceful.
There was nothing wrong with him.
Meanwhile, after leaving the fantasy creatures to Wang, Tao Fangyi started chatting with the blade spirit again.
Tao Fangyi had heard that the blade spirit’s original soul had once been torn in two, reincarnating into two different people in the same era.
“Yes, and at that time, I even married myself,” the blade spirit nodded.
He had tormented himself, nagged himself, argued with himself, and even fought himself.
“Did it feel wondrous?” Tao Fangyi asked.
“I just felt it was meaningless,” the blade spirit said. “But I did come to understand that my feelings for you back then weren’t love. I just wanted to be your friend. I had no friends and wanted to bind you with deeper emotions.”
“After reincarnating, you experienced love, right?”
“I did. Bittersweet and wonderful.” The blade spirit nodded.
“Would you still love that person?” Tao Fangyi asked.
“I’ve loved many people, but they are no longer themselves, and I am no longer myself. Those fates ended long ago.” The blade spirit had no obsessions and was very open-minded.
“I also want to experience that kind of love,” Tao Fangyi said. “It must be very happy.”
The blade spirit silently looked at Tao Fangyi: “You don’t have it?”
Tao Fangyi shook his head.
The blade spirit pointed at Wang, who was tormenting the fantasy creatures: “What about him?”
Tao Fangyi stealthily glanced back at Wang, then lowered his voice, afraid Wang would hear: “He’s my kid-in-waiting.”
The blade spirit tilted his head, not quite understanding.
Tao Fangyi explained the background, then said his relationship with Wang was more like father and son, only Wang refused to admit it.
The blade spirit felt he had it figured out and also lowered his voice: “So this child, though he seems to have normal thinking, is actually…” He didn’t finish, but tapped his temple with an index finger.
“No! This child might be a bit strange sometimes, but he’s actually very smart!” Tao Fangyi hastily waved his dinosaur claws.
The blade spirit: “So he looks grown-up but is really only eight years old?”
“No! This child is over a hundred,” Tao Fangyi said.
The blade spirit: “Over a hundred?”
Tao Fangyi: “Over a hundred!”
The blade spirit: “When he was born, people were still writing with brushes?”
“Yes, yes, this child’s handwriting is quite good, especially unrestrained, which matches his appearance very well.” Tao Fangyi was a little proud; his kid was still excellent.
The blade spirit said nothing.
Back when he was a blade spirit, his mind had been muddled, and he’d always felt Tao Fangyi was clearer-headed and more stable than himself.
After countless cycles of reincarnation, having been human countless times, the blade spirit’s understanding of relationships had long surpassed Tao Fangyi’s. But due to habitual thinking, he subconsciously assumed Tao Fangyi was ahead of him.
So what father would pet an adult son like that?
If one really existed, there would definitely be big problems.
Who would think their relationship was father-son affection?
“What’s wrong?” Tao Fangyi didn’t know why the blade spirit had suddenly gone silent.
“Nothing.” The blade spirit said nothing. Having been human so many times, he’d long learned to remain silent on certain topics.
Anyway, Tao Fangyi would eventually notice something was off, and that child would also realize their relationship was inherently twisted.
Speaking of which, the two of them just casually groped and nuzzled each other with such ease. How did these two socially incomplete people end up together?
“Really nothing?” Tao Fangyi felt the blade spirit had something on his mind.
“I did a quick divination.” The blade spirit put his hands behind his back. “You’re about to fall in love.”
Tao Fangyi was shocked: “Really?”
The blade spirit nodded.
“But a cultivator’s fate is hard to divine accurately,” Tao Fangyi was amazed. “Can you learn such amazing fortune-telling just by being human many times?”
“Just use your eyes.”
“Divine with eyes?! Then can you divine what my future partner looks like?” Tao Fangyi was a bit excited; he was someone with strong emotions now.
“Quite tall, quite plump, but the mouth is a bit big.” The blade spirit described Wang right in front of him.
Tao Fangyi excitedly shook his front claws.
Having heard this, he couldn’t wait to run over to Wang and share the good news: “I think I’m about to fall in love!”
Wang, who had been enjoying the fantasy creatures’ suffering, suddenly dropped the corners of his mouth: “What did you say?”
“Fall in love, I’m going to fall in love!” Tao Fangyi said excitedly.
“No, you’re not.” Wang then told the fantasy creature nearby to practice that character ten times; the creature’s lips trembled.
“Really! That blade spirit divined it,” Tao Fangyi said.
Wang: “His divination is inaccurate.”
“He said after being human many times, you can see it with your eyes.” Tao Fangyi believed it was accurate, and he too would have his own romantic story. “He even told me the appearance.”
Wang clicked his tongue: “Is he trying to scam you out of money?”
“He didn’t charge!” Tao Fangyi raised his claws. “He said my future partner is tall.”
Wang: “So not cute then.”
“How can a tall person not be cute?” Tao Fangyi felt Wang’s attitude was terrible.
“Tall people are inherently not cute, and they die faster. More pressure on the heart. Be careful they die and leave you alone in the world,” Wang said venomously.
“It’s okay; happiness and suffering are twins,” Tao Fangyi wasn’t worried.
“And my future partner is plump!” Tao Fangyi liked plumpness.
“So fat,” Wang said again.
“Plump isn’t fat!”
“Oh, really? Then your taste is very niche,” Wang snorted. “What other flaws does that person have?”
“Not flaws!” Tao Fangyi corrected again. “That is a tall, plump person with a slightly big mouth. I will like them very much!”
“Oh, a big mouth too~” Wang pulled at the corner of his lips.
“Don’t tell me they have huge buck teeth, always baring them like showing off how clean they are. Kind of funny.” Wang laughed, the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears, revealing a mouthful of triangular shark teeth, gleaming white.
