Chapter 715: Mom!

Heimu walks on the stone path around the outer tree courtyard, the laurel trees on both sides cast long shadows in Yongzhou's daylight.

This place is a bit cooler than Yunshi Tian Gong, the lavender scent in the air has faded, replaced by a moist vegetal aroma drifting from deep within the tree courtyard on the breeze.

The stone road beneath her feet is uneven where tree roots rise, and a few clumps of tiny white mushrooms grow in the cracks.

After only a few steps, that feeling returned.

A gaze fell on her back, faint yet deliberate, as if someone were intentionally watching her.

Heimu stopped, turned around.

Behind her was the stone path she had just passed, the laurels still stood quietly on both sides, golden daylight filtered through the foliage, sprinkling the ground with a carpet of tiny light spots.

No one.

She shook her head, probably because she had heard too much she shouldn't at the bathhouse earlier, her nerves were a bit hypersensitive.

She turned back and kept moving forward.

Her footsteps made a regular light tap on the stone road.

At the end of the stone path, two tiny red figures were poking their heads out from behind a column.

They were two children, more precisely two extremely small girls, their height reaching only to Heimu's waist.

They had identical fluffy red short hair, even the tuft of spiky hair on top was raised in perfect sync.

The only difference was that one had both eyes fully exposed, her gaze lively and bright, while the other's eyes were tightly covered by white petal‑shaped bangs, revealing only the lower half of her face and a quietly pursed mouth.

The two tiny figures tiptoed out from behind the column, edging along the shrubbery bordering the path, four little hands clutching leaves, four pointed ears trembling among the hair.

"Mom is leaving."

Ti Bao lowered her voice, her tone carrying genuine urgency, her large purple eyes blinking through the leaf gaps.

"We have to chase quickly."

Ti Ning nodded, also lowering her voice, her tone a half‑step softer than Ti Bao's, calm and resolute.

"But Mom just turned back a moment ago, almost spotted us."

"We need to be more careful."

"Ti Ning, where do you think Mom is going?"

"I don't know. But following is the right thing."

A cool voice, unhurried, fell from behind the two: "You... what is this?"

"Woo—!"

Both screamed simultaneously, their tiny red heads jolted up at almost the same instant, the spiky hair standing rigid with fright.

Ti Bao's reaction was a half‑beat faster; her body instinctively sprang back half a step, one hand reflexively grasped Ti Ning's sleeve, nearly knocking herself down.

Heimu stood behind the two, arms crossed over her chest, her violet‑black eyes lowered to look at the two little ones.

The Witch Hat's brim cast a shadow over her face, covering most of her expression.

Her gaze swept back and forth over the two almost identical red round faces twice, and for a moment she couldn't suppress the surprise in her voice.

Ti Bao? And Ti Ning?

She recognized that face, or rather another version of that face.

TirixiBiyosi, the form of Da Ti Bao.

The two before her had clearly shrunk more than a circle, their height cut by several inches, baby‑fat cheeks still present, their purple eyes holding clarity and innocence.

What is this?

Ti Bao mini version?

The two little ones exchanged an extremely subtle glance.

Those violet eyes met the petal‑covered eyes, a silent message exchanged within a fraction of a second, as fast as two seasoned thieves.

Then they simultaneously let go of each other's sleeves, stepped forward together, stretched out their arms—one left, one right—and precisely clasped Heimu's two legs.

The one on the left's red short hair brushed against the black silk on Heimu's left leg, her cheek pressed and nudged again, her large purple eyes looked up from the knee, the clover‑shaped pupils sparkling.

The one on the right wrapped her arm around Heimu's right knee bend, the petal‑covered eyes lifted, lips pursed tightly yet slightly upturned, the exposed lower half of her face showing a quiet, steadfast satisfaction.

"Mom!"

They shouted in unison, their voices baby‑like and not quiet.

Heimu froze in place.

Her violet‑black eyes widened under the brim, the arm that had been holding loosened one hand, not knowing where to place it; her fingers curled then straightened in the air, and her brain's processing routine simultaneously popped up three lines of Warning—what's happening?

Ah?

Mom?

Da Ti Bao had indeed called her "mom" before she was Persuaded, while still in a low‑intelligence state.

But that was before liberation, when her consciousness hadn't fully returned to normal; she had already gotten used to that title.

Yet now these two have clearly been Persuaded, clearly have already been liberated, clearly are marked as green normal on the System Panel.

Why is she being called that again?

And not just one—two together, each on a side, as if they had agreed.

Her brain was still crashing from overload, but her body first sensed the warmth transmitted through the silk stockings.

The left one's soft cheek pressed against the outer side of her thigh, the right one's arm tightly wrapped around her knee bend, warm breath seeping thread by thread through the stocking fibers.

The left one still wasn't satisfied, and rubbed her face against her thigh again, eyes squinting as she did; the red short hair brushed the black silk, producing a faint rustle, a light, soft feeling through the thin stocking layer, like a tiny cat nudging its head into her thigh crease.

A strange sensation surged from the rubbed spot along the nerve endings up to the tailbone, then along the spine, Heimu felt her face warming, a faint red flush spreading at the base of her ears.

She looked down at the two soft, tiny, defenseless little creatures clinging to her, who could endure this?

No, it's not about endurance now; if this continues her character image will collapse.

"Stop! Get down!"

Her voice was a half‑tone higher than usual, and her tone was stiffer than usual.

To stay calm and hide her panic, she deliberately pressed her voice down a few more degrees than usual.

Then, in the span of a few tenths of a second, she clearly felt the two little arms that were holding her legs go rigid at the same instant.

The little hands that had been holding her left leg slowly released, and the arm holding her right leg slipped down lightly; the two tiny red heads drooped at the same time, their short red hair covering most of their faces, leaving only a pair of slightly trembling pointed ears and two tufts of limp, drooping hair visible—Ti Bao's tuft was curved, Ti Ning's was straight, and now both hung dejectedly, like two little mushrooms frosted over.