Chapter 101: 115, 116: Chaos Prevents Heading South, Yun'e Swallows a Ghost, the Fur Beast Comes Alive (Big Chapter, Please Subscribe

After the New Year's Eve dinner, Song Cheng brought A Ting into Tong Niangzi's room.

Tong Niangzi became pregnant in March of last year; if things were normal, she should be going into labor in about a month.

And at this time last year, Young Miss An was having a life-threateningly difficult labor.

So Song Cheng was also very worried that the same thing would happen to Tong Niangzi.

At this moment, he sat on a wooden chair by the window, holding A Ting on his lap, while Tong Niangzi sat to the side tinkering with some strange incense, saying that this incense could warm the body and dispel cold, which was beneficial for pregnant women. Song Cheng leaned over slightly, letting A Ting touch Tong Niangzi's big belly, and said softly, "Inside is your younger sister, or it could be a younger brother."

A Ting curiously touched it here and there.

Tong Niangzi also smiled and said, "A Ting, in two years, you'll have a little tag-along."

A Ting seemed to understand, giggling with a milky voice, waving her two short little hands, and making indistinct, childish syllables with her little mouth.

Song Cheng pressed against Tong Niangzi's belly and felt it for a while, but he did not have that feeling of "a baby kicking your face through the belly."

Yet before, on Young Miss An's belly, he had been fiercely "punched and kicked" by A Ting.

He said, "Not as naughty as A Ting."

Tong Niangzi said, "Master, what would be a good name for this child?"

Song Cheng said, "I just hope this child is safe and sound now, so how about Song An?"

"That's good, Song An, Xiao An, whether it's a boy or a girl, this name works; peace every year, peace every age, peace for a lifetime." Tong Niangzi approved; deep down, she was also very afraid, worried that she would have a difficult labor with this child.

Song Cheng pulled A Ting back, grabbed her little hand, pointed at the belly, and said, "Xiao An."

A Ting laughed with "yi-ya" sounds, not knowing what she was so happy about, and after a while, she yawned and shouted, "Sleep, sleep-sleep."

Tong Niangzi said enviously, "A Ting is truly sensible, and she's only one year old."

Song Cheng held her and said, "I'll take her to An Jie's side and come back to keep you company in a while."

Tong Niangzi nodded gently.

As the days passed, Hanping Prefecture seemed like a huge isolated island.

This Prefecture City was less of a small city and more of a large region enclosed by mountain passes, mountains, and rivers.

This was also brought about by the unique environment of the North Land.

At Zhushan Temple, Tong Niangzi naturally could no longer do work, so Chen Ji, the master of the Medicine Person Studio, temporarily handled matters for her, though if there were important things, they still had to be reported.

During this period, Zhushan Temple had basically turned into a "farming temple."

The Prefecture City temporarily slowed down commerce and vigorously developed agriculture to cope with the disaster and become self-sufficient. As a force with research into herbs, Zhushan Temple naturally began to study new topics such as how to make farmland fertile, how to make rice grow, and how to ensure grains were plump rather than shriveled. This research actually yielded some results.

Zhushan Temple discovered a type of exotic grass; as long as that grass was planted on the edge of the farmland, not many insects would go to gnaw on the rice.

But besides this, how to improve soil fertility, how to improve the rice, and how to increase yields could not be solved.

Tong Niangzi stopped worrying about these things for the time being.

Song Cheng never cared about this anyway.

He accompanied Tong Niangzi day by day.

Fortunately, everything was normal. On a morning in the first month, Tong Niangzi suddenly gripped Song Cheng's hand tightly and said, "Master, Xiao An is coming out..."

Song Cheng's face showed surprise, and he hurriedly called for people.

Soon, a group of midwives swarmed in from outside.

And not long after, loud crying sounds came from the room.

Song Cheng was truly overcome with joy.

This time, unexpectedly, no accidents happened at all! Tong Niangzi did not get chills, did not have a difficult labor, the child came out right on time, and judging by the sound, it was a healthy child.

Ying'er ran out first and said excitedly, "Master, it's a boy!"

Song Cheng followed her into the delivery room.

A moment later, the child was washed, swaddled, and then slept obediently in Tong Niangzi's arms.

An Chenyu held A Ting and chatted casually for a while before leaving to let Tong Niangzi rest.

Song Cheng did not leave; he sat by the couch, and after a while, he rustled off his clothes and pants, got on the couch, and accompanied the mother and child; raising an infant was about the same as fighting a war.

Crying and making a fuss at night was a common occurrence; whether they were hungry or needed to pee, you had to guess.

However, A Ting was fine before; A Ting showed what a "repaying-kindness baby" was, being especially well-behaved at night, sleeping when it was time, sleeping until dawn, and eating and drinking during the day. It was precisely this well-behaved manner that attracted Tong Niangzi.

But clearly, Xiao An was not that well-behaved. After the initial "peace period," all sorts of things happened in the middle of the night... Song Cheng was also kept busy and flustered.

Perhaps because she thought he was clumsy, the frequency of Tong Niangzi "rolling her eyes" increased.

Young Miss An came to the rescue herself.

She dumped the well-behaved A Ting on Song Cheng, then brought Ying'er and Ling'er to help Tong Niangzi take care of Xiao An.

Song Cheng was also helpless; he found that he was indeed clumsy at being a stay-at-home dad, though he felt he could still manage with A Ting.

More than ten days later, good news also came from the Ouyang family; Zhao Hua's child was born, a girl, named Zhao Lingxue.

It was the name of a cute little girl.

Even though it was freezing cold, Ouyang Chuchu still carried the little baby girl to visit the An family, letting the two children who had been betrothed meet each other.

And the so-called meeting was just lying in swaddling clothes together, you sleep your sleep, I sleep my sleep.

The An family became lively.

That was a liveliness different from the mercenary and utilitarian kind, but a liveliness celebrating new life.

Everyone's mood became joyful because of these two children, so joyful that it seemed the chaotic world of men, the ghost servants outside the city, and the Ghost Tide that did not know when it would descend again were all insignificant.

Time flew by, and it was the beginning of the third month.

At night, the room next door was still bustling with activity, constantly hearing doors opening and closing, and shouts of things like "hot water" and "chamber pot."

And Song Cheng was in An Jie's room with his little cotton-padded jacket.

The stove fire was roaring, and the room was very warm.

A Ting was dressed like a little cotton ball, lying on the couch, drawing her "masterpiece" on the dry animal skin.

She likes to use animal hides to draw, then lets Song Cheng cut them out, and then sews them together with needle and thread.

At the beginning, it was just a shriveled little rabbit, but now, Song Cheng has already learned to stuff cotton inside.

The daughter's data has always been "0~0", and her affection is "100", the same as the son's.

Song Cheng sat patiently beside his little cotton-padded jacket, pondering matters of cultivation and training troops.

By now, he had finished practicing every technique in the entire Prefecture City that he was able to learn, and he had also practiced everything that the Big Hall Master had brought back from Zhoucheng until nothing was left.

He had accumulated a pile of points, yet his strength had not progressed for a long time.

But he was actually not in a hurry.

To an immortal, time is the cheapest thing.

But family affection is not cheap; it is even precious.

Therefore, while worrying about the external Ghost Tide and the chaotic times, Song Cheng also began to worry about the lifespan of his own wife and even his children.

He was not the kind of person who could "watch his wife and children grow old calmly, and then say a sentence of 'this is Heaven's mandate'."

To hell with Heaven's mandate.

He was just a mortal.

Heaven's mandate had nothing to do with him.

Suddenly, in the small room where the candlelight flickered, a childish "Snow" from his little cotton-padded jacket pulled his thoughts back.

The secluded and dim room, the candle flame crackled, and a "rustling" sound also came from outside the window.

That was the sound of snow falling.

Song Cheng opened the window, and the candlelight escaped through the window crack, extending outward into a gradually distant and darkening Domain of light.

The color tones were distinct, from warm to dark, until it was pitch black in the middle of the courtyard.

But Song Cheng knew that in the flower garden to the left of the darkness, very fragrant white plum blossoms were blooming at this moment; they had been moved over by Tong Niangzi because Tong Niangzi liked white plum blossoms.

And what An Jie liked were peonies, the national beauty and heavenly fragrance, the queen of flowers.

In the right corner of the wall, there was an ancient well, which was set up for the convenience of the Young Miss to fetch water.

Beside the well was placed an exquisite piece of stubborn stone, which had been fished out from the bottom of the Yunhe; it had been carved by the water flow and formed its own shape, resembling flowing clouds.

Above the well was a small pavilion covering it, and a fence surrounding it.

This well and small pavilion were connected to a tea shed.

Between the pavilion and the shed was a path paved with elegant pebbles, and small, exquisite plants were planted on both sides, green in all four seasons, which was very tasteful.

The well water tasted muddy and was originally not suitable for cooking, but this well here was connected to a cold spring, so even if one drank it without boiling, it felt sweet and fragrant.

"The window is closed, how did you know it was snowing?" Song Cheng looked at his little cotton-padded jacket curiously.

A Ting said: "Snow, snow."

Seeing her joy, Song Cheng picked her up, pushed the door open, and watched the snow just beginning to fall; the ground was not yet covered in much white. Song Cheng suddenly raised his hand, and a Ghost Soul emerged from his palm; with a slight suction, he pulled all the snowflakes in the surrounding area over.

Crack.

He clenched his five fingers, and the snowflakes condensed into an ice ball.

His fingers moved quickly, and in an instant, he carved the ice ball into a little white rabbit, then held it in his palm and placed it in front of his little cotton-padded jacket.

A Ting was delighted and began to laugh with "yi-ya" sounds.

"Wu, wu-wu," she called out again.

Song Cheng understood; A Ting was asking him to take the little white rabbit into the room.

He said: "It's warm inside, it will melt in a while. Shall we leave the little snow rabbit outside? We will be able to see it for the next few days."

A Ting nodded obediently.

Whatever Daddy says, goes.

Seeing that it was freezing cold outside, Song Cheng did not dare to stay long; he placed the little snow rabbit at the doorway, then carried his little cotton-padded jacket back into the room and let her sleep.

As soon as she was told to sleep, she slept, and in a little while, the little cotton-padded jacket was fast asleep obediently.

Early the next morning.

The little cotton-padded jacket got up excitedly to see the little snow rabbit, then pulled a piece out from the animal hide, handed it to Song Cheng, and said: "Daddy, crazy, Daddy crazy."

Song Cheng was already used to it, so he cut the animal hide along the strokes, began to sew it stitch by stitch, and after sewing half of it, he took some cotton batting, preparing to stuff it inside.

But as soon as he raised his hand, the little cotton-padded jacket pressed her hand onto his wrist.

A tiny bit of strength was pressing him down.

Her expectant eyes were wide open as she looked at him, her mouth calling: "Clothes, wear, bunny."

Song Cheng translated slightly in his heart and replied: "Got it, bunny clothes, you drew it, wear, little snow rabbit, right?"

The signal matched.

The little cotton-padded jacket understood completely and nodded heavily.

Song Cheng tucked the little cotton-padded jacket under his left arm, took the half-sewn animal hide rabbit in his right hand, and went outside. Then, he carefully stuffed the snow rabbit into the animal hide rabbit, sat under the eaves, and while holding the child, sewed the rabbit earnestly.

As he was sewing, An Daxiaojie walked over from the next room, yawning; she couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Song Cheng's appearance.

The couple looked at each other.

Song Cheng put down the little snow rabbit and handed A Ting over.

It was time to eat.

Although she was one year old and could drink some rice porridge, it was still mainly breast milk.

Mainly, he was afraid that the breast milk wouldn't last much longer.

Because Song Cheng knew that neither An Daxiaojie nor Tong Niangzi were the type of women who possessed a "mountain of snow" in their chests.

Among these two women and two maids in his own courtyard, the only one who could be called having a "canyon" in her chest was Ling'er.

"I want to hire a painter to paint you and your daughter," An Chenyu took A Ting and said with a smile, "Paint a 'North Land Blade King Carrying a Child' picture."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Alright."

An Chenyu said, "I'm taking A Ting inside to eat; you, don't spend all day looking after the children, you still have to go lead the troops."

Song Cheng nodded.

The room door opened, then closed.

Song Cheng lowered his head and continued sewing the little snow rabbit. Before long, Ying'er came to ask for guidance on cultivation again, and a moment later, the two little disciples also arrived, and Zhao Hua also led his wife and child over.

Song Cheng held up the snow rabbit and boasted to Zhao Hua, "Huazi, my daughter drew this, not bad, right?"

Zhao Hua smiled and praised it repeatedly.

He admired his big brother like this. His heart was darker than his own, yet he had nothing but good things to say to his family, and he was never anxious or flustered; even though he possessed great talent, he was still content to be an idle person. Song Cheng gave the few of them some pointers, and in the blink of an eye, the clear light shone on the snow, and it was nearing noon.

Zhao Hua said, "Big brother, for that spear and shield army, I'll find a general, perhaps we can give it a try."

Song Cheng waved his hand and said, "Then try it; as long as that general can integrate into it, anything is fine."

Zhao Hua was stunned for a moment.

In a certain sense, this could be considered him seizing his big brother's troops, although he didn't think of it that way, but from an outsider's perspective, it was highly likely to appear so.

Song Cheng looked at his "100" favorability rating, patted his shoulder, and said, "Do I not trust you? Let your general lead the men well."

With a light, airy sentence, he handed over the spear and shield soldiers he had trained.

"Many thanks, big brother."

Zhao Hua was incredibly moved and said solemnly, "In this life, if I, Zhao Hua, ever do anything to wrong big brother—"

Song Cheng interrupted, "Don't make vows."

Zhao Hua was speechless.

Song Cheng said softly, "Vows can be saved to deceive outsiders."

"If a vow could be verified, wouldn't that be 'words becoming law'?"

"It's not that mysterious."

"At most, it has a bad influence, making your subordinates learn from you; there's nothing else to it."

Zhao Hua:... He recalled his big brother's terrifying "flipping the table" maneuver from before, and suddenly it seemed he had learned something again.

He smiled and scratched his head, and then the two said their goodbyes.

Zhao Hua walked to the courtyard, suddenly paused his steps, and hesitated to speak.

Song Cheng said from behind, "Speak directly."

Zhao Hua sighed and walked back, saying, "Big brother, the situation in the North Land is getting worse and worse."

"Although many Ghost servants have been cleared out around Hanping Prefecture, if the next Ghost Tide intensifies and the Ghost servants become stronger again, there will eventually be a time when we cannot hold on."

"Right now, we have troops and grain, and we also have you, big brother."

"If Su Huxian returns, we will also have a noble family."

"We should perhaps head south, to that fertile and safe land."

"Big brother, with your talent, you can certainly carve out a piece of the world."

Song Cheng was silent.

Zhao Hua continued, "The Six Towns are bitterly cold, while Donghai Zhou and Fengzhou are two fertile provinces that can be called the granaries of the Great Shang."

"I don't know how stupid the Heavenly Son must be to scatter the people of the Six Towns and throw them into those two provinces."

"What is the difference between this and throwing mice into a rice jar or locking robbers in a mountain of gold? I know the Heavenly Son wants the people of the Six Towns because they are capable of fighting and can endure hardship."

"Sending the remnants of the Six Towns' armies and the commoners to Donghai Zhou and Fengzhou can, firstly, improve local city defenses, and secondly, allow those masters to have more servants."

"But big brother, I feel that disaster will surely arise, and if disaster arises, that will be the true chaos."

"And this is our chance to take advantage of the situation and enter the Central Plains, big brother!"

Zhao Hua spoke eloquently, his blood surging, and his eyes shone with a fervent luster. "Big brother, I learned the method of beast taming from the Ouyang family, and I am learning to control those demonic snakes; these can all become our strength."

Song Cheng looked at his sworn brother.

This was the first time he knew that his brother had such great ambition.

However, his own aspirations did not lie in the four seas, nor in hegemony, nor in pursuing the status of that short-lived yet brilliant firework, nor in struggling to leave his name in history so that he could be seen in the history books a thousand or a hundred years later.

He glanced at the leather snow rabbit on the windowsill.

Zhao Hua followed his gaze, his expression dimmed for a moment, then he said again, "Then let me go try, big brother; if I conquer a city, you can all move there to live."

Song Cheng said indifferently, "Not allowed."

Zhao Hua:... Song Cheng patted his shoulder and said, "The North Land is remote, and there are many Ghost servants in the surroundings, so others will happen not to covet it."

"As long as we develop Hanping Prefecture steadily, plant more fields, and raise more children, that will be a nation within a nation."

"The army must be kept to protect this nation, to protect our home."

"And you are my brother; I don't want to watch you charge into that meat grinder in the south."

"You only have one life; if you die, it's gone."

Zhao Hua sighed and said, "Yes, big brother."

In early spring, just as the ice and snow thawed, the rivers surged.

The Yunhe was still being dug.

Fortunately, the first two years in the North Land had already cleared most of it, so even if the Ghost servants ran rampant now, it had little impact.

At this time, it was Donghai Zhou and Fengzhou that were bustling with activity.

The Heavenly Son was full of enthusiasm for "promoting the Yunhe," and even in such times, he still added more manpower, hoping for north-south passage as soon as possible.

And many of the commoners from the Six Towns who had been scattered and sent to the two provinces were naturally sent to dig the Yunhe.

On both sides of the Yunhe, the sounds of work chants and shouting were endless.

And at the end of one extremely remote tributary, the river water was somewhat abnormal.

Deep, dark, as if light could not shine in, and revealing a strange, ink-like color.

If someone were to walk closer, they would discover that the ink color was not the color of the river water, but rather that there were many dense, twisted water weeds deep within the river.

But if that person were to walk to the riverbank and look down closely, they would discover that those were not water weeds at all, but hair.

Very long hair.

A woman's hair.

This hair came from the riverbed, rising up just like billowing black smoke, as if wanting to escape.

However, it could not escape.

If someone were to jump into the river and dive to the bottom, they would see a strange and ghastly scene: there were many corpses at the bottom of the river, these corpses were pale, and water flowed in and out of their eyes and noses.

They were moved by the current, as if alive, and were desperately and venomously clutching those black hairs.

And in the center of the corpses, a woman in green clothes sat quietly, grabbing those black hairs that wanted to escape, and inserting them into her own head one by one.

Every time she inserted one, an immense, bitter cold would erupt all around; if that person were still a normal human, even at the Qi Realm, they would likely die immediately after suffering the aftershocks of such bitter cold.

This was, quite simply, a forbidden Domain of the living.

A Ting had finished eating and came to find her father to play, but discovered her father was not there, so she anxiously babbled and called out: "Daddy."

Young Miss said: "Daddy went out to get busy."

To make Hanping Prefecture more secure, Song Cheng now trained more than just the Tiger Leopard Cavalry and those spear-and-shield soldiers; as long as they were soldiers of the Prefecture City, he trained them all, even the Militia who "farmed on ordinary days and could step up in an emergency," he trained them all together.

In short, he wanted to train them to the point where, the moment he appeared, any place would be an army.

With such impregnable defenses, if some terrifying monster really came later, they would have the strength to fight.

A Ting's little mouth pouted.

Young Miss smiled again and said: "Mother will keep you company."

A Ting became happy again, waving her little hands with a "hey-yo, hey-yo," wanting to go get the little leather snow rabbit on the windowsill.

An Chenyu picked it up, looked at the stitching, and smiled: "Your father's craftsmanship is actually quite good."

A Ting wanted to grab it.

An Chenyu said: "Cold."

A Ting waved her little hands like a windmill.

An Chenyu said helplessly: "Then let's have a hug."

A Ting continued to wave her little hands.

An Chenyu handed the leather snow rabbit to her.

A Ting held it with both hands, her pair of clear, black-and-white, adorable eyes staring with extreme focus at the leather snow rabbit, saying: "Bunny, bunny."

As she chanted, she gave it a "muah" kiss.

An Chenyu hurriedly pulled it away.

A child's skin is delicate; if something this cold is pressed against it, she will get sick.

Afterwards, she smiled and said: "Let's let the bunny watch the house, Mother will take you to see your little brother; maybe Zhao Hua's little sister is there too. A Ting is a big sister, after all."

"Big sister" A Ting, however, was still looking at the bunny with reluctance.

An Chenyu put the leather snow rabbit back on the windowsill, and only then carried A Ting to the room next door to look for Tong Niangzi.

Song Cheng had been busy all day and returned from the drill ground on the north side of the house.

The soldiers he trained today were city defense soldiers who had specifically rushed here from several city gates.

And because his training methods were eclectic, but once the army was trained it was commanded by other generals, so... whether they were soldiers or generals, they would all respectfully salute him when they saw him and call out: "Sir."

Ying'er drove the carriage, and Song Cheng took a detour, wanting to buy some snacks for his little darling at home to eat.

As a result, he pulled back the curtain and looked; on one street in the bustling market, at least one-third were under the An Family banner.

He sat in the carriage and let Ying'er go buy some candy.

Suddenly, he felt the earth shake, and the bamboo tiles on the shops along the street rustled.

The sound of horse hooves rang out urgently.

He lifted the curtain, looked into the distance, and identified them as the Tiger Leopard Cavalry.

Looking again, he saw that the leading general was Zhao Hua.

Behind Zhao Hua followed several unfamiliar deputy generals, yet those deputy generals' favorability toward him was not low, at least 85.

Besides that, there were some Martial Artists Song Cheng was quite familiar with; he figured they were from the martial arts school lineage that had followed all the way from Shanghe County, as well as the trusted aides Zhao Hua had recruited in the Prefecture City.

He was Zhao Hua's big brother.

And Zhao Hua was also a big brother to many people.

Suddenly, many people on the street began to discuss.

"General Zhao is out of the city to exterminate Ghost servants again."

"Thanks to General Zhao, the area around the Prefecture City is safe now."

"The Tiger Leopard Cavalry is truly amazing; now when they sweep away Ghost servants, there are almost no casualties. It's a pity the Tiger Leopard Cavalry isn't recruiting, otherwise my kid would want to go too."

Song Cheng lowered the carriage curtain again.

Huazi has fallen in love with the feeling of leading troops.

That's right, the Tiger Leopard Cavalry can already be called an "invincible army," and to "merge into one" with such an army, that feeling is very exhilarating, just as if one had become a "superman."

Although Huazi could not see the data, he could feel the power of that military momentum stacking up.

The more he controlled the Tiger Leopard Cavalry like his own limbs, the more significant that sense of power became.

At this time, Huazi wanted to go south but couldn't, so he was leading troops around the area to satisfy his craving.

At this time, Ying'er returned with the candy; she wanted to say, "Sir, General Zhao's prestige might be even greater than yours," but the words reached her lips and she didn't say them.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the upper class, Zhao Hua was far inferior to Song Cheng, and Zhao Hua himself felt the same way.

However, in the eyes of the common people, General Zhao, who cleared the way with three thousand iron cavalry to exterminate the Ghost servants outside the city, was the true pillar of stability in their hearts.

Song Cheng said, "Going home."

Ying'er responded, and drove the carriage away.

Back home, Song Cheng peeled a candy wrapper and was about to give it to his little cotton-padded jacket, but was glared at fiercely by Young Miss An. When he thought to give it to Xiao An instead, he was met with repeated eye-rolls from Tong Niangzi.

Helpless, Song Cheng shared the candy with Ling'er and Ying'er; the life of an immortal was just this leisurely.

Several days later, one evening, Lady Zhushan sent a message through the Skull Double Fish Pendant, saying she hoped to let Yuan Biye and Yuan Shouyu return to the Barbarian tribe.

The two hostages had been kept in the Prefecture City precisely to ensure the safety of Lady Zhushan.

Since Lady Zhushan said so, Hanping Prefecture naturally had no objections.

However, after learning they were to return to the Barbarian tribe, Yuan Biye and Yuan Shouyu visited Song Cheng more frequently, earnestly seeking his guidance.

And the weather began to officially turn warm.

The ice and snow melted, and the ice and snow inside the small leather bunny also melted along with it.

That water seeped out drop by drop from the stitched seams.

Yet no one paid it any mind.

A Ting liked this bunny, and having the bunny on the windowsill was also a special decoration.

And so, the ice and snow melted and melted and melted; one evening, it melted completely, and the seeped-out water formed a small puddle beneath the bunny.

The moonlight was ghastly pale, and under its radiance, the water seemed to possess a supernatural power, crawling up along the bunny's leather skin until it completely enveloped it.

The eyes drawn on the bunny's face jumped suddenly, and the pupils began to spin round and round.

It seemed to have come alive.

Inside the room, Song Cheng was sleeping soundly, accompanying his little cotton-padded jacket.

Suddenly, the little cotton-padded jacket's eyes snapped open.

As if they shared a telepathic connection, Song Cheng also woke up and met the little cotton-padded jacket's eyes.

Before he could speak, the little cotton-padded jacket spoke first: "Door, door, open."

Song Cheng was extremely puzzled, and when he looked toward the door, his gaze "pierced" through the door, and two lines of data actually appeared.

【Strength: 0~0】

【Favorability: 100】

Song Cheng was completely bewildered.

In this Neizhai courtyard, where would a common person with 100 favorability come from?

And how did the little cotton-padded jacket know there was someone outside the door?

Thus, he got up and opened the door.

There was nothing outside the door.

He looked down again and saw a small leather bunny looking up at him.

The bunny's eyes were still drawn in ink, and at this moment, they were spinning round and round, gazing at him.

The moonlight was ghastly bright; this scene was incomparably eerie, making one's body and mind turn cold.

The bunny's mouth made a "click-click-click" sound, suddenly tore open, and cried out strangely: "Dad-dad..."

Song Cheng:... He turned his head abruptly to look at the little cotton-padded jacket, only to find that the data color above the little cotton-padded jacket's head had not changed; it was the same black as a normal person's.

"Daddy," A Ting called out, her voice childish.

"Dad, dad," the leather bunny called out, its voice hoarse.

The two different voices intertwined; Song Cheng looked at the strange bunny again and only then discovered a trace of very faint red in the color above its head.

Song Cheng looked coldly at the bunny and said, "Who are you?"

It wasn't that he hadn't suspected that A Ting had created this.

But he could not confirm it.

In this situation, he preferred to be safe.

The bunny didn't speak, but behind him, A Ting called out in a milky voice: "Daddy, it's me, it's me."

The leather bunny also followed suit and shouted: "Daddy, it's me."

As the leather bunny spoke, it hopped about in the moonlight, and every time the leather hit the ground, it made a "splat-splat" sound.

Both cute and sinister... The next day.

Song Cheng accompanied the little cotton-padded jacket to draw again.

Only this time, his purpose in accompanying her to draw was no longer pure; it carried the intention of "verification."

The little cotton-padded jacket was very talented at drawing; after finishing the bunny, she seemed to feel the bunny was boring, so she started drawing something else... Today, she drew a little bird.

The little bird was a bird that had frozen to death in the snow; after Song Cheng dug it out, she saw it, and then stared at it for a long time.

This was when she started working.

A stroke to the left, a stroke to the right.

With some sketching and drawing, a "mirror-image little bird" was soon drawn.

"Dad."

The little cotton-padded jacket held the drawing skin up high.

Song Cheng skillfully cut it open and stitched it up.

Halfway through the stitching, the little cotton-padded jacket clamored: "Snow, snow."

Song Cheng said: "There is no more snow, how about... filling it with water instead?"

Immediately, he took water from the well, poured it into the leather, and then carefully stitched it shut.

The little cotton-padded jacket cradled the leather little bird and said happily: "Little bird, fly, fly."

Song Cheng clearly felt the leather bird "come alive," and two lines of data suddenly appeared: one was "【Strength: 0~0】", and the other was "【Affection: 100】". Its originally dull ink-stained eyes rolled around, and then it spread its wings to fly, but after flapping them twice, it "plop" fell from mid-air.

A Ting pursed her little lips and said sadly, "Little bird, no fly, no fly."

The little bird stomped its claws on the ground, strutting with a swaggering gait, and kept flapping its wings, but it just couldn't fly.

The little rabbit beside it also ran about anxiously.

Song Cheng watched this scene, dumbfounded.

He scooped up the bird and the rabbit, took A Ting back into the house, and then went next door to call An Chenyu.

An Chenyu was helping Tong Niangzi look after the baby and was puzzled to be called back for no reason; when she opened the door and looked inside, she saw the father and daughter sitting upright like statues.

Song Cheng had a serious expression, while A Ting looked aggrieved.

Song Cheng's left and right hands were tightly gripping two small leather animals: one rabbit and one bird.

An Chenyu couldn't help but laugh and said, "What is going on?"

She closed the door, walked over quickly, crouched down slightly, fiddled with A Ting's little hands, and smiled, "Did Daddy snatch your toys?"

Song Cheng said nothing.

He released his hands.

The rabbit "plop" jumped onto the floor, and so did the bird.

An Chenyu was stunned and said, "Little Song, are you really angry with the child? Why are you throwing the child's toys..."

Her voice dragged on longer and longer, her eyes widened in utter astonishment, reflecting the rabbit and bird running happily, calling out in hoarse, strange voices as they ran: "Mother, Mother."

(End of chapter)