Chapter 348: 348 Gifts and Reciprocation

The handkerchief smells a bit stinky?

After hearing his younger brother's muffled reminder from beneath the cloth, Li Ang suddenly remembered—he'd just used that handkerchief to wipe the "treasure" Mei Lan Ni had found—and quickly tucked it away, vigorously rubbing William's face with his sleeve as he laughed nervously:

"Maybe it wasn't damp enough—I'll go wash it first… Auntie Emma, where's the water?"

"Let me."

After giving Li Ang a slightly reproachful glance, Emma, who had just wiped her daughter's face, chose not to expose the secret of his handkerchief; instead, she beckoned to William and used the clean part of the cloth to wipe his face again.

With the enhanced bodily control of a Cleaner, Emma's movements were gentle and slow, seemingly effortless, yet the dirt on William's face visibly vanished before their eyes.

Watching this, Mei Lan Ni, who was suffering through her "punishment" nearby, couldn't help protesting again:

"Anna, look—you didn't need to use so much force. Maybe I should go first…"

"Either shut up and sit still, or I'll take away next week's allowance too—choose!"

"O…."

While Anna brutally crushed Mei Lan Ni 's rebellion, little Ali, now transformed back into a porcelain doll, curiously drifted closer to Li Ang, studying this strangely comforting big… uncle.

"What's wrong?"

Though Li Ang knew little Ali wasn't truly a child, but an anomaly born from Emma's longing for her daughter, seeing this timid little girl reaching out to him, his heart swelled with tenderness.

He crouched slightly, bringing his gaze level with Ali's, and smiled as he asked:

"Do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Mmm…"

Still uncomfortable speaking with someone older, Ali blinked hesitantly, glanced back at Emma, then, encouraged by her gaze, gathered courage to say:

"I… I drew a picture a few days ago—it's… it's of you. I wanted to give it to you…"

A picture of me?

Hearing Ali's words, Li Ang paused slightly, then warmly nodded with a smile:

"Thank you… Where's the drawing?"

"In my room…"

Seeing Li Ang didn't refuse, Ali sighed in relief, then instinctively tugged at her skirt hem, blushing shyly:

"If it's not very pretty… will you still take it?"

"Of course I will."

Looking at Ali—so well-behaved, her art style utterly unlike the two demons at his home—Li Ang couldn't help gently patting the top of her head through her wide-brimmed hat, then stood and took her gloved hand, gesturing politely with a smile:

"The most adorable Miss Ali, would you be kind enough to show me your artwork?"

"Yes!"

At Li Ang's enthusiastic response, Ali's face lit up with a big smile. Under Emma's gentle gaze, she pulled him into the inner room and handed him a slightly crumpled sheet of paper.

At the center of this childlike drawing was a large rectangular box resembling a laid-down coffin, with a dark, gaping hole on top. Before the box, colors spilled like factory waste dumped into a river—every hue imaginable.

Three long, tentacle-like creatures, linked by lines, floated above the dazzling patches of color, dancing wildly around a round object emitting flames, performing some kind of sinister ritual.

So… where am I in this?

Too embarrassed to admit he didn't understand, Li Ang gritted his teeth and pointed to the only element he recognized:

"Nice—bold use of color, very avant-garde… um, these flames—are they?"

"Candles!"

So they were candles!

With this clue, Li Ang cautiously pieced together the rest.

That round object below, like a fuel drum with a horizontal bar inside—was it… a birthday cake? And those tentacle creatures… were they people holding hands?

Were those garish splashes beneath their feet the garden? Was the laid-down coffin a little wooden house? So the true meaning of this picture was… people celebrating her birthday, holding hands, dancing around a cake in the garden?

"It doesn't… look quite right… I'll fix it!"

Looking up at Li Ang, then down at the tentacle creatures, Ali's face flushed. She snatched the drawing back, drew a black coat over one tentacle, added two dots for eyes and a curved line for a mouth.

Once she'd finished revising Li Ang's image, she went all out: with crayon, she drew a tree in the garden, added a tentacle creature reaching into a bird's nest, and beneath it, a larger tentacle creature with hands on hips, glaring upward in anger.

On the other side of the tree, near what looked like bushes, she drew a tiny tentacle creature half-buried in the shrubs, frantically wriggling its rear end—she'd drawn the whole tentacle family… Li Ang's family.

"This time… it looks a bit better…"

After scribbling a few tiny black dots beside Mei Lan Ni, implying the precious treasure she'd found in the secret passage, Ali finally exhaled, her cheeks flushed, and handed Li Ang the wildly abstract drawing.

"For you—thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday."

"N-no problem…"

With a slight twitch of his lips, Li Ang solemnly accepted the avant-garde masterpiece, "The Tentacle Monster's Pollution River," tucked it away, then crouched and smiled:

"I love your gift. And I have a birthday present for you too."

"Really?"

Hearing Li Ang's words, Ali's eyes sparkled with delight:

"What's the gift?"

"It's not time yet~"

With a mysterious smile, Li Ang didn't pull out the fireworks he'd ordered overnight; instead, he asked:

"Ali, before I give you the gift—could you take off your gloves and shake my hand?"

Shake hands?

Hearing Li Ang, Ali hesitated slightly, then nodded timidly, removed her sun-blocking gloves, and placed her tiny palm into his.

【Name: Sorrow of the Treasure Bloom (Soul, Life and Death, Reflection）】

【Appearance: A well-behaved girl who grows normally but can manifest only near Treasure Bloom Manor; prolonged sunlight exposure causes temporary transparency】

【Abilities: Soul Constancy (Limited), Resurrection (Limited), Wish Reflection (Area-Limited）】

【Cost: None】

【File: As the execution of the Treasure Bloom family became unavoidable, Emma Alman traded the location of the Treasure Bloom family's secret vault to Renard Kuko in exchange for protection of her daughter.】

【To obtain the Treasure Bloom family's accumulated wealth, Renard Kuko agreed to the deal—but after verifying the vault's location, fearing the Emperor's displeasure over sheltering Treasure Bloom remnants, he tore up his promise and personally drowned one-year-old Ali Alman in the lake…】

【…】

【When the confused soul returned to the mortal world with her mother, Ali Alman, lacking a physical body, could not be resurrected and was about to vanish entirely under sunlight.】

【To preserve her last family member, Emma Alman's overwhelming wish forcibly split off a portion of the "Treasure Bloom Sin" power, fused with the scattered souls of numerous blood-related clan members who had died, creating this unique anomaly—usable only within Treasure Bloom Manor…】

【Evaluation: When in the presence of "Treasure Bloom Sin" Emma Alman, this entity should gain six hundred and sixty-six instances of automatic bodily regeneration after death—but due to the absence of its original body, this trait remains inactive.】

【Contamination Level: 0. 】

About what I guessed—but somehow even better.

After reading Ali's "description," Li Ang smiled. The shiny button on his sleeve flickered faintly, and a small child's firework appeared in Ali's palm.

Immediately, the 【Dream Invader】, crafted by the third-generation Director, activated—a dreamlike flame appeared, igniting the tiny petal-like paper at the firework's tip, and a burst of brilliant sparks erupted from between the petal-shaped papers.

"Waaa!!!"

"The real gift won't arrive today—so here's this for now."

Holding Ali's tiny hand, he taught her to trace circles in the air with the firework's glowing tip. Watching her eyes sparkle with wonder, Li Ang extended his right pinky finger and grinned:

"If Ali helps me with a favor—when you blow out the birthday candles tonight, wish that Auntie Emma spends tomorrow with you all day—I'll give you an even better gift. What do you say?"