Chapter 173: Miss Yukong Is Actually a Married Woman?!

After dealing with Kafka's affairs, Xing planned to wander around Returning Star Port alone, but not long after arriving, he received several messages from Xikui.

The matter isn't complicated: a clerk of the Heavenly Vessel Bureau lost control of their star raft and made an emergency landing at Returning Star Port; because the clerk's identity is special, Xing and nearby Mr. Walter are urgently needed to go rescue.

After finding Mr. Walter, the two used a mechanical bird to quickly locate the girl besieged by monsters.

A few monsters aren't troublesome, but because the girl had been trapped for a long time, many monsters had gathered around her, and Xing couldn't deal with them all at once. Just as he was at a loss, an arrow shot through the air and pierced the head of one monster.

Following the direction of the arrow, they saw Yukong leading a batch of Cloud Cavalry rushing to aid, but... when she saw the besieged girl's face clearly, Yukong's expression instantly darkened.

With the Cloud Cavalry formation, these monsters were quickly cleared. But what puzzled Xing was that, after the girl was successfully rescued, standing beside Yukong, her face didn't show the relief of danger turned to safety; instead, it grew even paler.

Her fingers clenched the hem of her dress, she bit her lip tightly, trembling, unable to utter a word.

Walter sighed, 'I never expected the helmsman of the Heavenly Vessel Bureau to personally come to the scene to handle such a dangerous matter.'

'I should have been stationed at the Hall of the Minister of Astronomy, reviewing documents. But Qingni risked her life, greedy for merit and reckless, even wanting to disturb the honored guest to protect her…' Yukong's voice grew icy, glancing sideways at the girl beside her: '…How can I, as a mother, still sit still?'

Demon Slayer World—

'Wah, Miss Yukong is actually a married woman?! She's not only married, but her child is already this big?! Damn it! I just fell in love, and my romance is already over?!'

Inside the Butterfly Mansion, Shan Yi's voice was practically a wail.

'Shut up, it's noisy. If you want to wail, go outside, don't disturb the other patients' rest.' Kui beside him wore a look of disgust, her pupils filled with the thought 'Why hasn't this person been struck by lightning yet?' and cold indifference.

'Besides, didn't you say you liked Miss Tingyun last time? You're such a fickle person.' Walking to the bedside, Kui placed Shan Yi's steamed bun and porridge on his pillow.

'Um… this isn't Miss Tingyun already……'

In the midst of speaking, Shan Yi tried to sneakily hide another bun, but Kui promptly slapped his hand away with a 'smack': 'One each, no taking more! And you really dare to like the long-lived species? They might be old enough to be your great-great-great-grandmother.'

'Hehe, in the face of true love, age is no problem!'

'Tsk, you guy…' Kui quickly walked away holding a plate, like dodging a buzzing fly, 'If you put your thoughts about liking girls into training, you might have already become a pillar.'

Thinking that because of her daughter, two heroes of the Celestial Vessel had risked their lives, Yukong felt full of guilt. Besides expressing thanks, she warmly invited the two to the Hall of the Minister of Astronomy for tea and a chat, to further show gratitude.

Before taking leave, Qingni beside him snorted with slight displeasure: 'You're like this again, not asking the ins and outs, just scolding me outright… The situation was urgent back then! Only I had that technique…'

'But you promised me, Qingni!' Yukong seemed to be suppressing anger, taking a deep breath before barely calming down: '…Let's talk about this at home.'

After Yukong walked away, Walter couldn't help but feel: 'Only when facing relatives like Miss Qingni does Yukong's worry and care make people realize she is also someone's mother.'

'I feel Uncle Yang can really relate to this feeling…'

Walter sighed: 'Yeah, after all, I too once was a father who worried about his child's homework and what dish to make for him tomorrow.'

Honkai 3—

Inside the Anti-Entropy Headquarters' laboratory.

'Old father?! Hmm? Did I already have a child back then?'

This piece of news was so explosive it stunned Walter for four or five seconds before he muttered back to himself: 'So my future wife is…'

'Yeah, who is it? I'm curious too.' Tesla, adjusting the mechanical arm beside him with a fake smile, said, 'So… as the leader of Anti-Entropy, what's your standard for a spouse?'

Walter pushed his glasses: 'I'm not sure either… probably just needs to be able to tolerate my all‑night work.'

'Huh? With your old‑fashioned personality…'

Tesla gave a slight contemptuous smile, and the next second the mechanical arm in front of her suddenly went out of control, spraying fire‑extinguishing foam straight at Walter.

'Uh…! Dr. Tesla, did you just hack the lab's system?' Walter, hurriedly dodging, instinctively glanced at the girl not far away, whose face was showing a teasing, mischievous smile.

'Some people can't even handle the fire‑extinguishing procedure, yet they have the nerve to look for a wife?'

In order not to keep Yukong waiting, the two hurried to the Hall of the Minister of Astronomy, but unfortunately, before they even got close, they heard Yukong's angry voice.

'Why won't you just listen to me?'

Qingni retorted, not willing to back down: 'Because this is my own life!'

'……Are you arguing?'

Indeed, 'better lucky than early,' Xing hurriedly crept closer.

'……You clearly know I have this talent! I can become Luo Fu's finest pilot, just like you!'

'Talent?' Yukong said coldly, 'If it weren't for those two foreigners, you'd already be dead. Was it fun stealing the star raft and flying up to the sky? What about when you were surrounded by monsters?'

'At that moment, did you ever think, if you weren't here, what my feelings would be?'

'How many people want a cushy clerical job at the Heavenly Vessel Bureau? You promised me you'd see it through from start to finish. Now you not only violate the Bureau's regulations, but also break our mother‑daughter agreement.'

Qingni cried out, tears streaming: 'When taking the battleship pilot exam, my score was the highest. They praised me as being no less talented than you, but they don't know I took the exam secretly—if you found out, you'd never allow it!'

'Taking the exam secretly? If I had said "no" back then, you'd think you could walk into the exam hall and sit in the battleship?' Yukong drew a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: 'As for talent… don't mention those two words in front of me.'