The heavy footsteps drew everyone's attention, prompting them to look up.
A giant figure, like a small mountain, was slowly approaching from not far away.
This giant appeared to be a girl, wearing a very simple dress, her skin the color of stone.
She sat on the ground, oblivious to her surroundings, collecting something.
Small animals were all over her body, her back, and her head.
As Si Qing pondered what kind of demon this colossal figure was, Yan Hua, standing beside him, spoke, "This is the Mountain God Maiden."
Shao Feng asked in confusion, "What is a Mountain God Maiden? Is she the god of this mountain?"
"That's right," Chen Xi nodded. "The Mountain God Maiden is the only true deity within these mortal mountains, which is why small animals are often found on her back."
"Mountain God Maidens rarely show themselves. Most of the time, they appear as small peaks in secluded corners, making them difficult to detect. We are quite lucky this time to have stumbled upon the Mountain God Maiden gathering flowers."
Chen Xi, as if remembering something amusing, touched his nose and lowered his voice, "The Mountain God Maiden gathers flowers to adorn herself, which is different from how we do it. The flowers she picks grow beautifully when she places them on her head and body."
"If you look closely, you'll notice that the flowers on the land are quite willing to be picked by the Mountain God Maiden."
Listening to Chen Xi, Shao Feng couldn't help but lean forward to observe the flowers and plants on the ground. Indeed, wherever the Mountain God Maiden passed, the flora seemed to deliberately twine their branches around her hands.
Humming a tune, the Mountain God Maiden gathered a bunch of fresh flowers and wild fruits. After adorning herself, she was about to leave when Yan Hua blocked her path.
Shao Feng, An Nuo, Si Qing, and most of the others were merely watching the Mountain God Maiden with curiosity, having never seen her before.
Now, seeing Yan Hua actively intercept her, they grew puzzled and gathered closer.
"Forgive my intrusion," Yan Hua said, a chicken that had been gnawing on beef jerky appearing in his hand. "Great Mountain God, I have a disciple whose three souls and seven spirits were scattered across this mountain due to various reasons. They were swallowed by some creature and their whereabouts are now unknown. Might you be able to help me find my disciple's soul and guide it back to its rightful place?"
As he spoke, he placed the chicken, still chewing on beef jerky, before the Mountain God Maiden.
Si Qing initially found the situation quite absurd.
However, when he saw the Mountain God Maiden actually lower her head, gently brush her hand over the chicken, and retrieve a transparent white soul orb from several faint pink soul spheres, handing it to Yan Hua, his face registered shock.
That must have been one of his elder sister's three souls and seven spirits.
Yan Hua bowed in gratitude.
The Mountain God Maiden smiled slightly, then turned to leave with a group of small animals.
Yan Hua, holding Qi Yu's soul in his hands, let out a long sigh. As he turned to speak about collecting this soul, he looked up and saw the infant Qi Yu, sucking on his finger, in Shao Feng's arms.
"This is?" Yan Hua blinked, clearly having not noticed her earlier.
Infant Qi Yu blinked her large eyes at Yan Hua and Chen Xi, giggling at them.
The next moment, the soul orb in Yan Hua's hand, as if drawn by something, floated gently towards infant Qi Yu. The infant Qi Yu grabbed it and absorbed it.
After absorption, infant Qi Yu visibly grew a little. A spiritual light flickered around her, and her baby clothes transformed into a small robe.
Infant Qi Yu also transformed from a baby into a three-year-old child.
Chen Xi, standing nearby, looked surprised. He reached out and gently touched the chubby cheek of the three-year-old Qi Yu, exclaiming in astonishment, "This is one soul and one spirit! You've found the main soul!?"
"Yes, we found it," Si Qing nodded. "We found it when we arrived earlier. I wanted to tell you, but you were all busy with other things, so I didn't get a chance to."
Chen Xi reached out and took the adorable three-year-old Qi Yu from Shao Feng's arms.
The three-year-old Qi Yu looked up at Chen Xi. Due to her incomplete memories, she smiled sweetly and called out, "Pretty brother" to Chen Xi.
"Oh my," Chen Xi was utterly charmed. He bent down, picked up the three-year-old Qi Yu, and lifted her high.
"You're so cute," Chen Xi said, holding the three-year-old Qi Yu and nuzzling her cheek.
The three-year-old Qi Yu curiously reached out her hand to touch Chen Xi's dragon horns.
Yan Hua had been watching from the side. After Chen Xi had doted on the three-year-old Qi Yu enough, he reached out and took her from Chen Xi, then looked down at her.
"Do you remember who I am?"
Qi Yu reached out to tug Yan Hua's hair, her expression a confused "Abba abba."
Yan Hua pinched the three-year-old Qi Yu's chubby cheek. "Come on, call me 'Daddy'."
Shao Feng's face showed shock. "Lord Yan Hua, this is unacceptable! How can you just claim to be a father?"
Chen Xi nodded and chimed in beside Shao Feng, "Exactly, Yan Hua. Because you're so unreasonable and like raising cubs, why don't you find a dragon and have one yourself?"
"Haven't you heard that a master is also a parent? So what's the big deal if she calls me 'Daddy' again?" Yan Hua retorted righteously.
Shao Feng snatched the cub from Yan Hua's arms. "No, you can have anything else, but not this. This title can only belong to me."
Yan Hua pouted.
The three-year-old Qi Yu, held in Shao Feng's arms, still blinked her large eyes at Yan Hua, reaching out her hand towards him.
Shao Feng immediately covered Qi Yu's small hand.
Seeing this, Yan Hua deliberately used his magic and nearby branches to create a simple rattle toy to tease the three-year-old Qi Yu.
The three-year-old Qi Yu's eyes lit up, attracted by the sound of the toy in Yan Hua's hand, and she flapped her little hands more enthusiastically.
Shao Feng looked at Yan Hua with jealousy. "Lord, can you please stop? Even if you tease her like this, the title 'Daddy' can only be mine."
"Look at how petty you are. Anyone would think I was trying to steal your wife," Yan Hua protested to Shao Feng. "Putting aside the soul-finding matter, haven't I helped you with many things before? A master for a day is a father for life. It's not like this saying doesn't exist. What's so difficult about calling me 'Daddy'?"
"I think that saying refers to a situation where the biological father has passed away," Shao Feng reasoned with Yan Hua.
Yan Hua looked disgusted.
The two argued fiercely over the title of "Daddy."
An Nuo snatched the three-year-old Qi Yu from their hands, held her, and sat down with Si Qing and Chen Xi.
Chen Xi sighed and shook his head. "How childish."
"However, it's a good thing," An Nuo said, holding the three-year-old Qi Yu and sighing.
Si Qing asked, "Mother, what are you sighing about?"
"A master for a day is a father for life," An Nuo said solemnly to Si Qing. "Actually, I think Lord Yan Hua is right. There has always been such a saying."
"Then what do you mean by 'it's a good thing'?" Si Qing didn't understand.
"It's a good thing that Lord Yan Hua is male and not female," An Nuo said earnestly to Si Qing. "Otherwise, that saying would become 'a master for a day is a mother for life'!"