**Chapter 8: Which Child of Destiny is Messing with Me?**
“I’m going to see Dad; do you… want to join?”
Back at the Bai Family, Bai Yu Mo glanced at Bai Feng with a bit of an awkward tone.
After all, it had been ages since they had walked home side by side like today, actually conversing face-to-face.
“No, I had a fight and am a bit tired. I’m going to my room to rest,” Bai Feng waved his hand. He could sense that Bai Yu Mo was still a little distant from him, so he figured he wouldn’t embarrass himself by getting too close.
As long as Bai Yu Mo still recognized him as her brother, even if their relationship was a bit cold, he could live with that.
Not being vilified as the villain in his sister’s story? He’d call that a win!
Watching Bai Feng’s retreating figure, Bai Yu Mo let out a quiet sigh. Over the years, aside from nightmares, she also often dreamt of their childhood.
Though nostalgic, she knew they could never go back to those days.
Shoving the cluttered thoughts out of her head, she turned and quickly made her way to her father’s study.
“Back already?”
Bai Tian You stood in front of his desk, wielding a brush like a wand and scribbling on paper.
When he saw Bai Yu Mo knock and enter, he set down the brush, and a hint of a smile graced his otherwise stern face.
“Um, I… my brother had a little conflict with a disciple from the Heavenly Sword Sect, but it’s all sorted out now,” Bai Yu Mo said, clearly struggling with mentioning Bai Feng’s name, yet she explained everything that had happened.
“Well handled; I guess I don’t need to step in then,” Bai Tian You nodded slightly, “Seems we owe Lin Family a favor now. I don’t even know how that brat got acquainted with their genius.”
Bai Yu Mo inexplicably thought of that fan. She instinctively felt it had something to do with it, though she had no clue what that fan symbolized.
“Oh, and Dad, when you have time, please talk to my brother a little,” Bai Yu Mo suddenly remembered something. “His foundation is really solid; encourage him to cultivate more and avoid those kinds of places.”
Bai Tian You didn’t immediately respond but eyed Bai Yu Mo with curiosity for a few seconds, as if to say, “Since when did you start caring about him?”
Bai Yu Mo quickly noticed her father’s expression, and her face turned a bit red. “He is my brother after all, and that incident doesn’t concern him, so when I see him, I naturally want to give him some advice…”
Bai Tian You sighed, fully aware of how painful that incident had been for her. He knew that whenever she faced Bai Feng, she couldn’t get over it. Who told his ‘good wife’ to dig up Celestial Bones for Feng’er, huh?
“Alright, no need to overthink. I’ll keep an eye on that brat to make sure he’s cultivating.”
“By the way, Dad, I want to look into what happened back then.”
Bai Yu Mo raised her head, determination written on her face—this was one of the reasons she came back. The incident with the bone had greatly affected her and had almost become her heart demon; otherwise, she wouldn’t be plagued by nightmares.
She was now at the peak of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from Core Formation; it was time to shatter her inner fears.
“Looks like you finally plan to face it,” Bai Tian You said, not surprised at all. He had kept the failures of the Third Elder’s internal strife for a large part due to Bai Yu Mo.
Otherwise, given his temper, he would’ve wiped out that bunch of narrow-minded, frequently bickering idiots long ago.
Seeing Bai Feng and Bai Yu Mo’s estranged relationship made him angrier by the second. If he couldn’t handle it, he’d just march up to the back mountain and give the Third Elder a good thrashing in the name of ‘sparring.’
He stood up and walked over to the bookshelf, pulling out a thick book. “I’ve organized the details of that incident. Feel free to ask me anything.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Bai Yu Mo took the book, but instead of leaving, she began to flip through its pages in the study.
As she furrowed her brows and pondered, a letter suddenly tumbled out from the book.
She hurriedly caught it; the childish script on it seemed hilariously out of place given the seriousness of the event, and it looked like it had been there for ages, the paper already yellowing.
“Dad, who wrote this letter?”
Bai Yu Mo inquired, holding the letter and glancing at Bai Tian You, who was practicing calligraphy nearby.
“Oh, that was written by Feng’er. A few years ago, I nearly lost it, but I just found it again. Back then, he was the one who noticed someone harboring ill intentions toward you, which allowed me to react in time,” Bai Tian You said, looking at the childish writing with nostalgia.
What a great kid! He really treated Bai Yu Mo like a sister. It’s all that rotten Third Elder and his wife’s fault!
Ugh, it’s angering! I’ll definitely go find the Third Elder to spar later!
“It was written by my brother?”
Bai Yu Mo was instantly stunned. She lowered her head to read the contents of the letter closely. Although it was addressed to her father, it was filled with concern for her.
Especially when he alluded to their mother’s poor attitude towards her, only to question it again when their mother’s recent kindness seemed suspicious, which left her bemused and conflicted.
But in the end, the facts proved he was correct; their mother indeed had ulterior motives.
As she finished reading the last line, she sniffed hard. She could feel that Bai Feng really viewed her as a sister.
But what had she done all these years…
She felt something lodged in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Clearly, Bai Feng had been good to her, so why did she doubt him? Even if Bai Feng cleared his name, deep down, she still felt he had ulterior motives…
She felt lost and confused.
It was like a poor person who finds gold—they clutch the gold so tightly, they start seeing thieves everywhere, especially when their relatives nearly snatched it away, which only intensifies that mentality, leading them to doubt even their closest relationships.
At this moment, Bai Tian You had no idea about Bai Yu Mo’s chaotic and complicated inner feelings. Seeing her lost in thought over the letter, he seized the moment to ease the rift between her and Bai Feng:
“Don’t be too hard on him; he’s actually been quite concerned about you over the years. Those pastries he sent you every month before you reached Foundation Establishment? He was the one who informed us to get them for you.”
Bai Yu Mo nodded. She remembered that after the bone incident, Bai Feng had approached her as usual, wanting to take her out to play, but she had rejected him.
He seemed to have noticed her coldness since then, and he rarely came to seek her out afterward. But it didn’t feel like childish pouting; he didn’t cling or retaliate but respected her feelings and kept his distance, even moving out of the room next door.
In her heart, the thick wall built out of insecurity seemed to have cracked open a seam.
“Dad, I want to wait a bit before looking at it.”
She lifted her head, appearing to have made a decision.
Bai Tian You waved his hand. “No problem. You can come back to this book anytime if you want to read it.”
At the same time, Bai Feng was hunched over with a novel but seemed unable to focus, his eyelids fluttering as if he might collapse onto the table and sleep at any moment.
Just then, a message suddenly popped up from the system:
[Beep, detected that a Child of Destiny has generated feelings of regret toward the host, Luck Points +30, cultivation breakthrough to mid Foundation Establishment.]
Bai Feng: “Huh?”
Which Child of Destiny is messing with me here?!
