Chapter 174: Fan Ma Yongjirou: Let Me Show You Real Parent‑Child Interaction!

"I don't understand, why do you have to become a flight officer?!"

"I also can't figure it out, why you just don't understand..." Qingni almost shouted, tears of anger flashing in her eyes, "Anyone in this world can become a battleship flight officer, except the Steersman's daughter! How can something so absurd exist! You yourself don't want to fly anymore, yet you shouldn't bind me! I'm not the bird you keep in a cage!"

Having said that, the sorrowful Qingni bolted out of Si Chen Gong without looking back.

Liyue—

In my view as the hall master, Miss Yu Kong is just too rigid.

In the "Yunlai Pavilion" private room by the window on the second floor of Xin Yue Xuan, Hu Tao was poking at a carved honeyed fruit platter with the tip of her chopsticks. She had intended this meal to discuss business cooperation on the organization with Miss Xian Yun, but the mother‑daughter argument on the light screen interrupted their conversation.

Xian Yun's chopsticks paused mid‑air: "Hu Hall Master, your words are off. As parents, one is always a bit stubborn when it comes to the safety of one's children."

"Oh? Does Miss Xian Yun have children?"

"No, but in the art of mechanisms I… *cough* I do have a few disciples I've raised since childhood." Xian Yun shook her head, let out two sighs meaningfully: "Miss Yu Kong's mindset... now I can somewhat understand it."

"As the Steersman, I doubt anyone on the Celestial Ship knows flight officers better than Yu Kong, nor anyone who understands how dangerous a flight officer is." Beside them, Zhongli lowered his gaze, lightly blowing at his tea noodles; a fleeting regret passed through his eyes beneath the swirling steam.

"But we in Liyue also have an old proverb—'The fledgling eagle must eventually leave the nest.' Over‑restriction ends up losing its essence."

Hu Tao finally speared a small crane‑shaped winter melon candy with her chopsticks, a satisfied smile curling her lips: "Hmm! So the guest official understands the Hall Master's meaning! Though Yu Kong's protective intent is good, she can't bind Miss Qingni for a lifetime, can she?"

"Hehe, indeed… Hu Hall Master, what you say is reasonable."

Watching Yu Kong's furrowed, wistful brows, Xian Yun lowered her head pensively, her fingertip unconsciously tracing the cracked pattern on the cup's body: "... perhaps her reluctance to trust and let go stems from having suffered great hurt before."

Yu Kong inhaled deeply, and after forcing the knot of melancholy down, she slowly approached Xing and Walter: "Please excuse my rudeness, both of you."

"Qingni this child is determined to become a battleship flight officer, but I didn't permit it; I let her be a clerk. It may seem authoritarian, but when I think of the scene where she was trapped by a monster, I get a lingering dread..."

Yu Kong chuckled self‑deprecatingly: "It's laughable to say. Whether the Bountiful Allied Forces or the revived planets, I've witnessed every kind of dire situation, and I thought I was someone who didn't know what fear was."

"When I fought alongside you, I finally understood that there truly are things in this world that can frighten me..."

Walter said: "I've heard from the Celestial Ship Office that Madam Yu Kong is one of the top two flight officers of Luofu, the ace of the Cloud Cavalry. The last time I saw you drawing a bow, I knew the rumors were true; I hope to have the honor of witnessing your divine skill of piloting the Star Chariot again in the future."

Walter also realized the timing was off, so he gave a reason to leave first: "The Steersman's official duties are busy; we shouldn't disturb. Hope there will be future opportunities for more exchanges with you."

"Then that will probably disappoint Mr. Walter."

Yu Kong kept smiling, but the smile she strained to maintain was as fragile as a water‑soaked paper: "... the sky no longer suits me."

After ending the talk with Yu Kong, the two had just taken a step away from Si Chen Gong when Qingni, hiding nearby, called out and stopped them.

Having this argument with her mother in public, Qingni felt deeply guilty and apologized to the two, but the moment Yu Kong was mentioned, a shadow seemed to fall over Qingni's face.

"I've already passed the coming‑of‑age ceremony; I'm an adult, I should have the freedom to pursue my dreams! Yet mother still treats me like a child, cages me under her wings. It's as if without her I couldn't live a single moment."

Ren Ya World—

Inside Dechuan's manor.

"Heh... family affection? Just a primitive desire to dominate." Beside him, Fan Ma Yongjirou let out a cold laugh, "If that girl truly wants freedom, she should beat her mother Yu Kong until she kneels and admits defeat!"

Dechuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "So your son Fan Ma Ren Ya at fourteen..."

"So now he can break my arm!" Yongjirou bared his fanged grin, "This is the proper parent‑child interaction!"

"..."

Faced with Yongjirou's extreme argument, everyone fell silent for a moment.

"... What kind of parent‑child interaction is this? You two must be aliens, right? Does such interaction really exist on Earth?"

Lie Haiwang could no longer bear it, furrowing his brow: "Yongjirou, you're too extreme..."

"Extreme?" Yongjirou's tea cup suddenly exploded, a shard whizzed out with a 'whoosh', instantly piercing Lie Haiwang's prosthetic limb.

"Parent‑child relations are the most primitive arena; true interaction is to tear each other apart until flesh and blood blur! And Yu Kong treats her daughter like a pet... the purity is far too low!"

After speaking, Yongjirou let out another burst of wild laughter, shaking dust down from Dechuan's manor.

Lie Haiwang suddenly spoke: "... so you actually envy that mother‑daughter pair, Yongjirou?"

The air instantly solidified.

Yongjirou's smile cracked for the first time, but the fissure vanished instantly: "Idiot! I'm teaching you the truth—if you want to change someone's will, you must beat them constantly! Once that girl can beat her mother flat on the ground, her wish will be fulfilled."

——

"Ahem, being a parent makes one stubborn. To change a rock, you probably need water droplets, day after day, patiently grinding it," Walter said.

"So, Miss Qingni, instead of exploding like today, why not patiently prove with actions that you can take care of yourself?"

Walter's words softened Qingni's attitude: "Actually my mother is a reasonable person. But once the topic of flight comes up, she becomes irrational."

Qingni furrowed her brows, sighing: "She hid my Star Oar toy, pulled me away from idly counting ships at the harbor, forced me to study at a desk. Though I worked hard and finally entered the Celestial Ship Office, she arranged for me to take a clerical position instead."

"Sigh, every day looking up at the aircraft streaking across the sky leaves my heart empty..."

Halfway through speaking, Qingni realized venting to the two wasn't appropriate, so she proactively invited them to stroll around Luofu. Along the way, she casually spoke of her mother's past legends, her eyes full of admiration.

She hopes to become a legend like her mother in the future, yet is puzzled by her mother's later change. Everything seems to have started after the third Bountiful Civil War.