Chapter 10: Is it the Heavenly Dao, or the Heavenly Emperor?

She, she, she—God’s own darling daughter—she couldn't be coming to take revenge for the meal delivery at noon, could she?!

She stiffened her little face, gripped the shoulder straps of her small wicker basket, and silently shuffled her feet backward, ready to bolt the moment a command was given.

Pei Fuzhu: "..."

Her bright, beautiful face twisted as she rolled her eyes.

Pei Fuzhu was annoyed, but remembering something, she forced a warm, affectionate smile.

"I called you twice just now, but you acted like you didn't hear a thing. You didn't even make a sound." As she said this, she subconsciously glanced behind Lingxi. "What were you looking at just now? You were so entranced."

Lingxi had been on high alert, but hearing this, her heart relaxed. God’s darling daughter wasn't planning to settle scores with her?

She subconsciously looked back, ah ha...

The opposite bank of the river was completely empty.

She breathed a secret sigh of relief. Not wanting anyone to know she had been scared into running all the way back, Lingxi blinked her clear, limpid eyes—pure as a mountain spring—and curled them into crescents, her small, tender white hand pointing toward the sunset painting the horizon.

"I was looking at that. It's pretty."

She said it as if it were true.

Pei Fuzhu: "..."

Pei Fuzhu rolled her eyes. Only she would have the leisure to look at such things.

She didn't want to get tangled up with Lingxi over this, so she grabbed her arm and turned to head back.

"I only asked you to dig some wild vegetables, and you've been at it until now. Grandma was even worried you’d gotten lost..."

She had insisted on coming to check on her.

As she spoke, her gaze fell into the basket. It was a tiny basket, and inside sat a pathetic little pile of wild vegetables—not even a third of the basket was full. Her face darkened.

"You only dug this much all afternoon?"

She herself had nearly been scorched to a crisp delivering lunch at noon, and what about Pei Lingxi?

She had been lolling about at home until mid-afternoon, and after being out for so long, she had only managed to dig these few leaves.

Lingxi felt the other girl's irritability, shrank her little neck, and quietly shuffled a step to the side, though her expression remained perfectly innocent, as if she didn't understand the dissatisfaction in her words at all.

Pei Fuzhu couldn't suppress her temper again.

She gave a stiff, insincere smile: "You really worked hard, didn't you? Busy all afternoon!"

Even four-year-old Minghui at home could have dug a whole basketful in an afternoon.

Lingxi simply pretended not to understand the sarcasm. Her slightly chubby face beamed, her eyes curved, and her shallow dimples appeared as she smiled with shy, adorable sweetness.

"It's okay, it's okay! We're all family! It’s only right."

She looked as if she were truly happy to have done this for the family.

Pei Fuzhu: "..."

*That was sarcasm, sarcasm! Who the hell was actually praising you?!*

Pei Fuzhu took a deep breath, stuttering "you, you, you" for a long time, but couldn't manage to spit out anything else.

Who the hell was actually praising her?

She couldn't understand it. How could a girl who couldn't read the room or understand human speech be so favored by God in her past life?

Hmph!

Pei Fuzhu was unhappy, and as she was unhappy, she suddenly thought of something. Her eyes flickered.

"Lingxi-er, we agreed you’d deliver the lunch, didn't we? You didn't go, so I had to. My God-Father certainly wasn't happy about that. Whenever he's unhappy, he likes to make trouble for the culprit."

Lingxi’s small body stiffened instantly.

Seeing this, Pei Fuzhu felt a sense of total satisfaction. Sure enough, as long as Pei Lingxi was unhappy, she was happy. She pulled back her tone.

"But don't worry, we're good sisters. If his old self wants to strike you down with lightning, I'll definitely stop him. After all, you're my sister!" In truth, she couldn't actually summon heavenly lightning, otherwise, she wouldn't mind seeing Pei Lingxi get struck at all.

She smiled brightly, playing the part of a good sister perfectly.

Lingxi: "..."

"Then... thank you." *To your whole family!*

She felt a bit sour.

Other people had their fathers protecting them when they descended to the mortal realm, so why had her own foster father lost contact with her?

Speaking of which, she was genuinely curious: Pei Fuzhu’s "God-Father"...

Was he the Heavenly Dao, or the Heavenly Emperor?

Weren't they all ten-thousand-year-old bachelors just like her foster father?

When did they have Pei Fuzhu? Not a single whisper of news had leaked out.

Could she be an illegitimate daughter, born from some unspeakable background?

Lingxi muttered to herself, listening to Pei Fuzhu prattle on about how good her God-Father was to her, which only made her miss her foster father more!

Wait!

Foster father!

Huh, with her foster father’s combat power, whether it was the Heavenly Dao or the Heavenly Emperor, if they really dared to strike her with lightning, her foster father would surely beat them until even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.

So...

She didn't seem to have anything to fear!

Lingxi instantly perked up.

Pei Fuzhu noticed Lingxi hanging her head, a flash of disdain and triumph crossing her eyes.

Pei Fuzhu spent the whole way showing off how good her God-Father was to her, only stopping once they reached a crowded area.

Lingxi breathed a silent sigh of relief. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pei Fuzhu walking with her head held high and chest puffed out, strutting like a peacock, and she quietly moved further away.

She didn't want to be seen with her.

Acting so...

Shameless, is that really okay?

Cousins marrying cousins leads to deformities, and everyone in the village is surnamed Pei; go back a few generations and they all share the same ancestor. God’s illegitimate daughter is really too indiscriminate.

Lingxi complained internally, then saw Old Madam Pei in the distance. Her eyes lit up—her grandma had come looking for her!

No matter how many times Old Madam Pei saw Pei Fuzhu acting like this, it made her eyes ache. She simply ignored her, turning instead to Lingxi to fuss over her, asking if she was hungry, thirsty, or tired, and reaching out to take the basket from her.

Lingxi quickly blocked her; how could she let her grandma carry the basket?

Seeing Lingxi act this way, Old Madam Pei immediately praised her for being sensible, thoughtful, and filial.

Lingxi was dizzy from the barrage of beautiful words, smiling sweetly.

Pei Fuzhu had been a little relieved that Lingxi was attracting the old lady's attention.

But now, after watching several rounds of grandmother-granddaughter affection, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She curled her lip: "With that little bit of stuff, you're proud of yourself?"

Lingxi blinked, feigning innocence and ignorance.

The old lady was instantly displeased. She twisted her mouth.

"I, an old woman, want to eat some fresh, tender wild vegetables. What of it? If you have an opinion, keep it to yourself!"

After snapping at her, Old Madam Pei was also curious about how much Lingxi had actually dug. She took a look and was stunned, but only for a moment. She immediately began to praise her with a straight, satisfied face.

"Truly worthy of being my Lingxi-er. These wild vegetables are so fresh. Look, every leaf and root is perfect; they must be absolutely delicious."

Lingxi: "..."

Why did Grandma's praise feel so strange?

Pei Fuzhu: "..."

She stomped her foot and ran home in a rage.

Lingxi didn't intend to pay her any mind. Seeing that no one was around, she rummaged through the basket, revealing four palm-sized, plump sparrows hidden beneath the vegetables.

She curled her eyes and smiled very sweetly.

"For Grandma to eat, roasted."

The old lady hadn't thought Lingxi’s harvest was small to begin with, but now, seeing that Lingxi had actually brought back sparrows and wanted to give them to her to eat, the old lady’s face instantly bloomed into a smile.