Chapter 154: Mother and Daughter

The early morning light was faint, piercing the simulated sunrise of the Xianzhou Luofu dome and sprinkling onto the blue stone slabs of the quiet courtyard.

Bai Hang stood at the courtyard gate, watching the tiny figure with dragon horns and tail take three steps forward then turn back each time, disappearing around the corner of the long street, still holding the freshly baked beast‑milk bun she had forced onto it as breakfast.

Only when it vanished completely did she exhale a long breath, and her shoulders slumped.

(It's gone… all gone.)

Jing Liu left before dawn, silent and unnoticed, leaving only a cold empty guest room.

Bai Lu was sent away after she ate her fill, drank, and repeatedly promised "I'll come back to play next time," with Bai Hang half coaxing, half persuading her to leave.

Her nerves, strained for nearly twenty system cycles, finally relaxed for a moment.

She even felt the air in the courtyard was considerably fresher.

"Finally it's over…"

She muttered low, massaging her slightly swollen temples, then turned to go back inside for a nap.

"The modeling of this area will continue to run stably; it has been marked as your temporary safe haven and can be used long‑term."

The System's voice, in that calm, unruffled tone, sounded directly in her mind.

Bai Hang's steps halted, and she turned around.

The so‑called "landlord" Xi Tong had, at some unknown moment, silently appeared a few steps behind her, still wearing the modified attire, with little expression on his face.

"What that means is…"

Bai Hang's heart lurched, and she tentatively asked, "System Miss, are you… leaving?"

"Xi Tong" shook his head, his movement as precise as if measured with a ruler.

"No. I will leave a body here to maintain the identity of 'Xi Tong.' But my main self must attend to other higher‑priority matters and cannot remain on this single thread long‑term."

In short, it's leaving a Clone that functions like an automatic responder.

Bai Hang's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

(Did I really end up staying here permanently?)

She suddenly recalled the question she had pressed before Jing Liu's night raid interrupted her last night.

It was about Bai Lu, about that inexplicable sense of affection and resistance.

"By the way, System Miss, you didn't finish last night; what exactly is the relationship between me and Bai Lu…"

Before she could finish, Xi Tong stepped forward, raised his hand—its motion not swift—but Bai Hang inexplicably didn't dodge, and he bent a finger, giving her forehead a light tap.

"Ow!" Bai Hang covered her forehead, bewildered.

But the next second, a Memory, like a decompressed data packet, unfolded directly in her consciousness.

There was no image, no sound, only a clear statement of "facts":

Target: Bai Lu. The medicinal dragon maiden. Contemporary Dragon Sovereign heir of the Chi Ming Tribe.

Related event: the Moon‑Drinking Rebellion.

Involved parties: Dan Feng (former Moon‑Drinking Lord), Ying Xing (Blade), Jing Liu… and Bai Hang.

Key information: Dan Feng once tried to use the "Dragon‑Transforming Technique" combined with Bai Hang's blood to fuse and create life, aiming to resurrect Bai Hang. The creation, due to uncontrolled power and distorted form, was classified as a "Nefarious Dragon" and was ultimately slain by Jing Liu in the great battle.

Inference: The current individual "Bai Lu" is highly likely to be the core of the aforementioned creation (the Nefarious Dragon), reborn through the Chi Ming Tribe's special reincarnation mechanism "Molting Birth."

Its soul and life have an inseparable deep connection with "Bai Hang."

Probability assessment: mother‑daughter or sister relationship remains undetermined.

The information stream abruptly halted.

Bai Hang lowered her hand from her forehead, stood still, and remained motionless for a while.

The morning breeze fluttered her snow‑white hair and the edges of her clothing, yet she felt no chill, only an indescribable suffocating pressure blocking her chest.

So that's it.

No wonder there was that tremor from deep within the soul upon first meeting, no wonder she instinctively gravitated toward her yet instinctively feared getting too close.

The Nefarious Dragon… created by her…

And then slain by Jing Liu…

And after reincarnation, she became Bai Lu.

(Ha…)

Bai Hang tried to laugh, but only managed a short breath sound that turned into a long, heavy sigh, infused with centuries of unprocessed helplessness and absurdity.

"I never imagined… I never imagined it was like this."

She lifted her hand, covered her face, and a low, muffled sound slipped out between her fingers: "What is this… a sin, truly a self‑inflicted sin one cannot survive."

She had become the source of someone else's tragedy, circling back, only to "meet" again in this manner.

This bond cannot be cut, and the reasoning remains tangled.

"Xi Tong" stood quietly aside, watching Bai Hang's rare outward display of entanglement and helplessness.

She still had that neutral expression, but gave a slight nod, as if expressing empathy.

"The correlation is as described above."

She added, her tone as calm as a weather report, "As for the precise emotional and social relationship definition between you and her—'mother‑daughter' or 'sisters,' or otherwise—the logic cannot deduce it. It depends on your choice."

Bai Hang lowered her hand, revealing a face so complex it was almost twisted, her mouth twitching again: "Mother‑daughter?! Stop joking! This… no matter how you look at it, it seems more like a… 'sister' relationship, right?"

To make her, when looking at the lively, cute face of Bai Lu, develop the perception "she's my daughter"?

Just the thought made Bai Hang feel her fox ears would knot up from embarrassment.

The System did not rebut, merely nodded again, as if saying "Define it as you wish."

Meanwhile, beyond the long street, in the shadows of an inconspicuous corner,

a silhouette almost merged with the wall stood silently.

His gaze pierced the thin morning mist and the sparse flow of people, staying fixed on the courtyard entrance until he saw Bai Lu leave safely and confirmed no one was following; then his figure, like ink dropped into water, silently dissolved into the deep shadows.

Shen Ce Fu, Jing Yuan's quiet office.

Morning light filtered through the exquisite latticed window, casting mottled shadows on the polished floor.

Jing Yuan wore ordinary robes, no armor, leisurely reclining in a large chair, playing with a jade omen in his hand.

He listened to the low report from the Cloud Cavalry Valiant Guard below; his habitual lazy smile faded a bit, but his gaze remained peaceful.

"General, Miss Bai Lu has safely returned to the Alchemy Bureau; nothing unusual occurred along the way."

"Hmm."

Jing Yuan responded with a sound, his fingertip lightly tapping the jade omen, and a just-received encrypted file projected a pale blue light curtain in the air.

The file's header was a simple household investigation, accompanied by two images.

Head of household: Xi Tong. Race: Xianzhou person.

Age: over three hundred twenty years.

Beside it was attached a frontal photo.

The woman in the photo wore a beret, had purple long hair, delicate features with little expression, and a Calm gaze.

Jing Yuan's fingertip hovered over the photo for a moment, his brows slightly furrowed.

(This face…)