Chapter 751: Gift and Return Gift

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… Miss Ai Ma, where's the water?"

"I'll do it."

After giving Li Ang a slightly reproachful glance, Ai Ma—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 portion to wipe his face again.

With the enhanced bodily control of a Cleaner, Ai Ma'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 enduring her "punishment" nearby, couldn't help protesting again:

"Anna, you don't have to be so rough—maybe I should go first…"

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

"O…."

As Anna brutally crushed Mei Lan Ni's rebellion, little Ai Li—now reverted to her porcelain doll form—curiously drifted closer to Li Ang, studying this strangely comforting big… uncle.

"What is it?"

Though Li Ang knew little Ai Li wasn't truly a child, but an anomaly born from Ai Ma'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 Ai Li's, and smiled as he asked:

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

"Mm…"

Still uncomfortable speaking with someone older, Ai Li blinked hesitantly, glanced back at Ai Ma, 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 Ai Li's words, Li Ang was momentarily stunned, then warmly nodded with a smile:

"Thank you… where's the drawing?"

"In my room…"

Seeing Li Ang didn't refuse, Ai Li exhaled in relief, then nervously tugged at her skirt hem, shyly asking:

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

"Of course I will."

Looking at Ai Li—so well-behaved, her art so unlike the chaotic chaos of his own two demons—Li Ang couldn't resist gently patting the top of her head through her wide-brimmed hat, then stood and took her gloved hand, gesturing with a smile:

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

"Yes!"

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

At the center of this childish drawing was a large square resembling a tipped-over coffin, with a dark hole opening atop it. Before the square, colors spilled like factory waste dumped into a river—every hue imaginable.

Three long, tentacle-like creatures, linked by lines, floated above the dizzying 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 forced himself to point to the only element he recognized and praised:

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

"Candles!"

Candles?

With that clue, Li Ang quietly exhaled in relief and began piecing it together.

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

Were the garish patches beneath their feet a garden? Was the tipped-over coffin a little wooden house? So the true meaning of this picture was: people holding hands, dancing around a birthday cake in the garden to celebrate her?

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

Looking up at Li Ang, then down at the tentacle creatures in the drawing, Ai Li's cheeks flushed. She snatched the picture back, drew a black coat on one tentacle creature, 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: she drew a tree in the garden, added a small tentacle creature reaching into a bird's nest, and beneath it, a large tentacle creature with hands on hips, glaring upward. On the other side, 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's figure—hinting at the precious treasure she'd found in the secret passage—Ai Li finally sighed in relief, her face flushed, and handed the wildly abstract drawing to Li Ang.

"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 Creatures' Pollution River Rampage," 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, Ai Li'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:

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

Shake hands?

At Li Ang's request, Ai Li hesitated slightly, then timidly nodded, 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 exposure to sunlight 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, Ai Ma 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 broke his promise and personally drowned one-year-old Ai Li Alman in the lake…】

【…】

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

【To preserve her last family member, Ai Ma Alman's desperate 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" Ai Ma Alman, this entity should have gained the ability to regenerate its body six hundred and sixty-six times after physical death—but due to the absence of its original body, this trait remains inactive.】

【Corruption Level: 0. 】

Just as I suspected—but somehow even better.

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

Immediately, the 【Dream Invader】, crafted by three generations of Bureau Directors, activated. A dreamlike flame appeared, igniting the tiny petal-like paper at the firework's tip—and a small 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 Ai Li'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 Ai Li helps me out—when you blow out the birthday candles tonight, wish that Miss Ai Ma spends the whole day with you tomorrow—I'll give you an even better gift. What do you say?"

(End of Chapter)