The Ethereal Domains

Chapter 796: Be My Daughter!

Be My Daughter! . . .

"I don't remember… I don't remember anything… I don't know my name..." The girl appeared profoundly sad as tears welled up in her eyes. "The only thing I can remember is that I was begging on the street. After that, I was in the valley. They said my name was Rongrong... I don't know my real name."

Tears flowed as she sobbed.

Cha Eun Xiao pressed further, undeterred, "You lived there for so many years. Do you have a title that distinguishes you from other girls? A title that only represents you?"

Puzzled, the girl eventually nodded, saying, "Yes, I do. I have a number. It is... Seventy-nine thousand five hundred ninety-six!"

Seventy-nine thousand five hundred ninety-six!

The enormity of that number shocked Zhan Yunfei, his pupils contracting in disbelief.

Cha Eun Xiao's conjectures of the organization had led him to expect a large number, yet the reality was staggering.

"Then, among those people you knew at that place, is there anybody that looks like him?" Cha Eun Xiao pointed to Zhan Yunfei.

Taken aback, Zhan Yunfei interjected, "I don't have kids!"

The girl shook her head and replied, "No, there isn't."

Cha Eun Xiao acknowledged with a simple "hmm" and inquired, "I am done. Elder, do you have any other questions?"

He turned to Zhan Yunfei for further inquiries.

Zhan Yunfei, deeply impressed, sighed and admitted, "You have asked over twenty important questions that I didn't think of. That's enough."

However, he remained perturbed by the shocking revelations.

He glanced at Cha Eun Xiao and couldn't help but utter, "The younger generation will surpass the older indeed."

Stepping forward, Zhan Yunfei confronted the girl with a stern demeanor. "Girl, do you have any other place to go?"

The girl trembled, her fear of Zhan Yunfei palpable. His imposing presence exuded a chilling aura.

"Do you have any relatives?" Zhan Yunfei questioned sharply.

"No," the girl stammered.

"Are you afraid?" Zhan Yunfei inquired.

"I..." The girl's tremors intensified.

"Are you scared?" Zhan Yunfei's voice grew even more intense.

"I..." Her teeth chattered.

With a disconcerting smile, Zhan Yunfei offered, "I can arrange somewhere for you to stay. You can lead a peaceful life, far from any danger. How does that sound?"

To the girl, his smile was more akin to the grin of a demon. His hawk-like features struck terror into her heart.

Cha Eun Xiao couldn't help but wonder, "Does he know how to smile? It's fine if he doesn't know how, or if his smile is unsettling, but this... it's not just frightening; it's wrong to scare people."

"I... Where... Where can I go..." The girl's voice was barely coherent as fear overwhelmed her. Her face, already pale due to her injuries, grew even paler because of Zhan Yunfei's imposing presence.

"You came to kill him. He nearly died because of you," Zhan Yunfei accused, pointing to Xiao Mufei. "You owe him. He's been a wanderer since childhood, with a wife who was tragically killed just a few years after their marriage, leaving behind a five-year-old daughter who was also taken away at the age of eighteen."

The girl was taken aback, her gaze shifting to Xiao Mufei with a newfound sense of regret and sympathy. She hadn't known about the tragic life he had endured or that she had nearly ended it with her poison.

"Now that you have nowhere else to go, as you mentioned earlier, they will find you no matter where you go. Perhaps they'll kill you immediately upon finding you," Zhan Yunfei declared, his tone confident. "I believe you understand why he is being so kind to you now. Fate has brought you two together because of your resemblance to his daughter. From this moment on, stay with him, become his daughter. Your name will remain Rongrong. An elderly man with his solitary daughter; it's a perfect arrangement."

The girl, taken aback by this sudden turn of events, raised her head to look at Zhan Yunfei, astonishment etched on her face.

In a terrifying voice, Zhan Yunfei demanded, "What? Don't you want to?"

The idea seemed like a wonderful prospect for both Xiao Mufei and the girl. However, Zhan Yunfei had managed to inject an unsettling undercurrent into the situation, making it sound as if they were forcing a young girl into a dire predicament.

With a slow and uncertain turn of her head, the girl fixed her gaze on Xiao Mufei. A blend of shyness and anxiety played across her countenance, revealing a complex array of emotions. There was an unmistakable yearning in her eyes, an unspoken question lingering within: "Am I... Am I going to have a home? A father?"

...

Xiao Mufei found it difficult to grasp the reality of the unfolding situation. He remained uncertain about his own desires, caught up in a whirlwind of emotions. He yearned to express his feelings but found himself choking on words.

His coughing fit was turbulent, reflecting the inner turmoil he was experiencing. Eventually, he gathered the strength to speak, though his voice quivered with emotion. "Well... Girl, do you... want to be my daughter? Do you want me to be your father?"

The girl trembled, her eyes welling up with tears of joy. Her happiness seemed boundless as she spoke with a voice full of tremors. "Do... Do you truly forgive me... Do you..."

Tears brimming in Xiao Mufei's eyes, he offered a clumsy yet heartfelt smile and nodded emphatically.

Overcoming her inner turmoil, the girl struggled to her feet and then knelt before Xiao Mufei. She kowtowed with sincerity and solemnity, her actions imbued with a profound sense of reverence. Her body shook with emotion, but she fought to maintain her composure. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she uttered, "Father!"

Xiao Mufei's laughter rang out, tears of joy adorning his face. He lifted Rongrong to her feet and exclaimed, "Good girl... Come on, get up... You and I... We will stay together in the Qing-Yun Realm from now on!"

"Your family name is Xiao. Your full name is Xiao Rongrong... Rongrong," Xiao Mufei's voice quivered with emotion. "My good kid..."

The girl, overwhelmed by the genuine care and affection she felt from Xiao Mufei, couldn't restrain herself any longer. She embraced him tightly, her tears flowing freely.

From this moment onward, she had a family.

A place she could call home.

A father who cared for her.

It was an overwhelming and beautiful feeling.

For the first time in her life, she had the opportunity to call someone "father." Throughout her difficult existence, she had dreamt countless times of her long-lost parents, uttering the words "father" and "mother" in the quiet of the night. But there had never been any response.

Now, she had a family. She had found a father. It was happiness beyond measure.

Xiao Mufei, too, was deeply moved. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke with unwavering determination, "You might live in danger for your entire life. From now on, I won't let you get hurt!"

"I will never... let anybody hurt you!"

This was a solemn vow, spoken with a fierce determination that made it seem as if Xiao Mufei was not only making a promise to the girl at that moment but also to his departed daughter, as if he were saying, "I couldn't protect her, but I will protect you with all my strength."