Chapter 7: Father and Daughter

Taking out the black box from his bag, he placed the Ancient Flowering Lotus inside before shoving it back into his bag.

Remembering Lanruo, Yu sent her a message through their connection. As to how he figured out how to do this, Yu felt that he just can, unable to explain why.

“Lanruo, we defeated the Rogue Water Spirit.” Yu said, letting Lanruo know.

“You found its actual body?” Lanruo replied in curiosity.

“Yeah… Something like that…” Yu explained in a dubious manner.

Sensing his tone, Lanruo asked: ”You got lucky?”

“Yeah…” Yu replied honestly, causing Lanruo to sigh.

“Be more careful next time and don’t charge in blindly!” Lanruo reprimanded Yu, but instead of feeling annoyed or angry, Yu felt a wave of warmth sweep his heart.

“Yes yes, your husband shall be more careful next time.” Yu jokingly said, although he did so, Lanruo was contented with his answer.

“Okay, though I need to go now, the Spirit Elves are causing trouble in the Ancient Fire Spirit’s territory. Take care now, I’ll talk to you later.” She hurriedly said.

“Aye, take care as well.” Yu replied as he shifted his attention to Yaya, who was wondering what he was doing.

“Yaya.” Yu called out as he glanced at her.

“Yes?” Yaya replied.

“Have you ever been to Nantian City?” Yu asked.

“Nope! But I do want to visit it, Mama told me that it’s the closest human city to the Ancient Forest!” Yaya replied as if she was expecting something out of Yu.

“Then do you want me to take you there?” Yu asked.

“Yes!” Yaya replied excitedly.

“Hmm, though you can’t go in the city in that form.” Yu exclaimed as he sized up Yaya’s appearance. A glowing sphere of greenish blue light that had a large set of butterfly wings, too conspicuous!

“Oh! I think I can do something about that!” Yaya exclaimed as her light drastically grew brighter!

Eventually, the figure of a small 6-7 year old girl appeared, with a beautiful pair of golden eyes, long pale blonde hair and a pair of long pointed ears, dressed in a clean white one piece dress.

She looks like a smaller version of Lanruo… Yu thought as those were the first words to enter his head. Nodding his head, before asking: “Since when can you turn into an elf?”

“Hmm, since I’ve absorbed Papa’s Spirit Qi!” She replied.

“Okay, then how long can you maintain this form?”

“For a long long time!” Yaya replied cutely as she waved her arms about.

Hearing her reply, Yu gave a slight smile as he placed his hand on her head, rubbing it gently.

“Hehehe” Yaya giggled, seemingly enjoying the warmth Yu gave her.

“Exactly how long is a long long time?” Yu further asked.

“As long as Yaya has Spirit Qi!” Yaya replied.

“I see, how do you recover Spirit Qi?” Yu asked yet again.

“Hmmm, mama told me that it can recover through time, but it looks like I can also absorb some from papa!” Yaya explained excitedly.

“Well, that’s good.” Yu sighed in relief before continuing: “We got the Ancient Flowering Lotus, so let’s head out.”

“Okay!” Yaya exclaimed as she followed after Yu, but since she’s not used to walking with a pair of legs, she ended up tripping a few times, falling clumsily face first, causing her adorable face to become dirty.

Chuckling for a bit, Yu used the edge of his robes to wipe the dirt away from Yaya’s teary eyed face. Realizing that she won’t make it to Nantian City at this rate, Yu asked Yaya to return back to her Spirit Elf form, but he was fiercely denied by her.

“No! I want to know what it feels like to be like Papa!” She exclaimed, determined to stay in this form.

Seeing this, Yu gave in, offering her a ride on his shoulders to which she happily accepted. Like that, the two made their way back to the city. Yu ran, unconsciously utilizing 7 Misty Ghost Steps, as he breezed through the terrain like a ghost.

Yaya who experienced this mystical feeling was greatly amazed, exclaiming “Whoa!” as she held Yu’s head tightly, trying her best not to fall off.

Following the map, Yu eventually sees Nantian City in the distance. As it was still in the afternoon, Yu’s figure was spotted by one of the guards.

As they arrived at the gate, the large doors opened, revealing the man in armor from before.

“Who’s the kid?” The man asked, stunned at the beautiful young girl on his shoulders.

“My daughter, Yaya, greet uncle!” Yu playfully replied as he asked Yaya to greet him.

“Yaya greets uncle!” Yaya exclaimed with a smile, enchanting some of the nearby guards.

“An elf? Also… I’m still young….” The man replied, seemingly depressed as he heard someone as young as Yaya call him uncle. Little did he and Yu know, the lifespan of a Spirit Elf is enormous! Someone like Yaya has already lived for more than a few dozen years! 

“Yeah, she said that she wanted to visit the city, so I brought her along when I visited my wife.” Yu replied vaguely, but his words were all true. Hearing him mention a wife, this bewildered the man in armor. He was shocked! How could this seemingly uninteresting and careless youth obtain such a presumably beautiful wife?!

“Are elves not allowed in the City?” Yu asked as he saw the man grow quiet.

“No… Does she have an identification stone?” The man asked.

“She’s lived with her mother all this time, so she doesn’t really visit the City much. Sadly no, she doesn’t have an identification stone.” Yu replied.

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“Identification stone? What’s that?” Yaya asked.

Seeing this, the corners of the man’s mouth twitched.

“I doubt a child that small can cause trouble… But please get her an identification stone…” The man pleaded Yu.

“Yeah… I will…” Yu replied, finally granted passage into the city.

As the two entered, Yaya waved at the man in armor as they left the gate, headed for the Mercenary Guild. But since it’s been a while, nearing a month since he’s left the city, Yu forgot where it is!

Asking a few of the people nearby for directions, the made his way for the guild, attracting gazes along the way as Yaya was just too lovable! Throughout the entire time she’s entered this city, Yaya’s worn a bright smile that could cause others to brighten up with just a glance as her gaze wandered all over the place!

Eventually, Yu realized that having a beautiful young girl on his shoulders is about as conspicuous as having a Spirit Elf! But thinking it’s better this way, he didn’t think too much about it.

A few of the girls who were passing by ended up waving their hands at Yaya who sat on Yu’s shoulders as she, being the playful spirit that she is, waved back happily.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” Yu asked her, feeling that it was the right choice to bring her along.

“Un! I’ve been having lots of fun! There’s so many nice humans!” Yaya exclaimed.

“That’s good then, are you hungry at the moment?” Yu asked.

Confused, Yaya replied: “Hungry?”

Only then did Yu remember that Yaya was originally a mass of light. Feeling a bit awkward, Yu continued as he explained it in a way that allowed her to understand: “Hmmm, it’s something we humans do to replenish our own Spirit Qi.”

“Oooh! Yaya wants to do it as well!” She replied, showing great interest in eating.

“Alright, after submitting the mission we’ll head for a place nearby to find something to eat.” Yu said, wanting Yaya to experience the joy of eating.

Deciding their plans for the afternoon, the two reached the guild. However, as having such an adorable child on your shoulders will make you stand out in public, let alone a mercenary guild, all eyes were on Yu and Yaya.

Finding the youth from before, he greeted him.

“Yo!” Yu greeted with a smile as he found this youth to be pleasing.

“Yo~!” Yaya, mimicking Yu, greeted as well.

Seeing this father and daughter duo, the corner of the youth’s mouth twitched.

“You returned.” The youth said with a hint of amazement in his voice.

“Of course, although it was a bit troublesome with the Rogue Water Spirit, I managed to pull through.” Yu explained.

“Un! The bad water spirit was beaten by papa!” Yaya continued.

Hearing her words, the surrounding mercenaries and a few other receptionists glanced at the two of them in shock! After all, a Rogue Water Spirit is considered as a threat even to a group of Rank A mercenaries! Hearing these two claim they’ve killed one greatly bewildered them!

But assuming that it was nothing more than empty words and them wanting to show off or cause a scene, the whole guild, excluding the youth as he feels that these two are extraordinary, ignored them. A few even cursed them in disdain!

As Yaya was a spirit who’s sensitive to ill intent, she heard their hateful words and felt their disdain, making her upset as she held onto Yu’s head more firmly, her eyes becoming moist as she was about to cry.

Realizing this, Yu immediately felt the need to beat the living hell out of these mercenaries for making his poor daughter upset! But as his rational side took over, he calmed down, grabbing Yaya’s hand to comfort her before asking the youth a question.

“Is it possible to submit the body of the Rogue Water Spirit?”

“Yes, even if it isn’t a part of the mission you took, hold on, I believe we have a mission that requires you to kill a Rogue Water Spirit, please give me a few seconds.” The youth respectfully said. As he was someone who was standing in front of Yu and Yaya, he could see the sudden change in Yaya’s expression. Sighing as seeing such a heartbreaking sight would truly make anyone’s blood boil!

How dare they make such an adorable child this sad! The youth thought in his heart.

Soon, the youth returned with another piece of paper. Handing it to Yu.

“Rank A Mission: Kill a Rogue Water Spirit and take back its body.” Yu read out, making a few mercenaries glance to take a look.

“Sounds about right, here’s the Ancient Flowering Lotus along with the Rogue Water Spirit’s body.” Yu said as he took out the black box along with the watermelon sized gem that’s been severed in half from his bag, greatly shocking the on looking mercenaries!

“Amazing! It must’ve been an Ancient variant as normal Rogue Water Spirits gems are nowhere near this large!” The Youth exclaimed before continuing: “Give me a moment, I need to consult the branch manager on how to handle this.”

The youth left his position with the Ancient Flowering Lotus and Rogue Water Spirit gem, leaving Yu and Yaya.

Thankfully, the disdainful impression he and Yaya got disappeared, replaced by reverence from the crowd! Although this made the upset Yaya feel better, she was still somewhat sad.

Helpless, Yu grabbed both her hands as he tried to comfort her.

“Hey, cheer up! We’re gonna eat some delicious sweets after this you know?” Yu exclaimed as he gave Yaya a wide grin.

“Delicious sweets?” She repeated, confused as to what it meant.

“Mhm, it’s something that even your mother likes, I’m sure you’ll like it as well!” Yu, enthusiastically said.

“Really?! Okay!” She excitedly said, her sadness swept away by a great tsunami of anticipation!

Eventually, the youth returned, bringing a man in his later 40s, who’s hair was swept back in an orderly fashion, donning a more intricate uniform compared to the youth.

“Are you mister Leng Yu?” The man asked.

“Yes.” Yu politely replied, making the man nod in approval.

“I’m Meng Fan, the Nantian Mercenary Guild Branch head. Please follow me inside as I wish to discuss a few things with you.” Meng Fan explained.

Meng Fan! The surrounding mercenaries exclaimed in their hearts. This Meng Fan was no ordinary figure! Being a member of the Meng family, one of the leading families in Nantian City, the authority he holds in the city is no joke!

Feeling no ill intent, Yu followed after. Thankfully, Meng Fan allowed Yaya to come along. Entering a room that Yu presumed to be Meng Fan’s office, Yu sat on the sofa that was in front of a table, placing Yaya down to sit on his lap, letting her gaze wander about.

Meng Fan went behind his table, sitting down his chair before speaking.

“Is she your younger sister? You don’t look alike.” Meng Fan asked, charmed by Yaya’s lovable appearance.

“No, she’s my daughter.” Yu explained.

“Un! Papa is papa!” Yaya continued, shocking Meng Fan as he secretly cursed Yu for his good luck in marrying what he presumed to be an absolute beauty. But his thoughts did not show in his face as he showed a calm smile.

“I see, mister Leng Yu must be blessed to have such a lovable child.” Meng Fan said.

“Indeed, I’m thankful to have her and her mother.” Yu honestly said as he wore a satisfied expression on his face, causing Meng Fan to fiercely curse him in his heart!

Coughing lightly, Meng Fan continued: “I brought you here to discuss the rewards you’ll receive for killing an Ancient Rogue Water Spirit, as well as obtaining the Ancient Blooming Lotus.”

Hearing this, Yu and Yaya nodded their heads at the same time, making the corners of Meng Fan’s mouth to slightly twitch.

Regaining his composure, he continued: “As the gem was much much larger than the usual variant, I’ve decided to increase the rewards by ten folds.”

““Oooh(~).”” Yu and Yaya unconsciously let out, causing the corners of Meng Fan’s mouth to twitch more violently!

 “As for the Ancient Flowering Lotus, its reward will be given along with the Ancient Rogue Water Spirit’s. I’ve already asked someone to fetch it from the guild’s treasury so it shouldn’t take long.” Meng Fan explained.

“That’s good to know. Many thanks.” Yu expressed his gratitude as she and Yaya gave a light bow.

“It’s rare to find someone complete two Rank A level missions for their first quest. In fact, I don’t think anyone’s done it before even.” Meng Fan said, expressing his surprise. 

“Ha hah… I just got lucky, that’s all.” Yu modestly explained.

“Mhm, mister Leng Yu truly is lucky. Actually, I’ve heard of your name before this.”

“Eh?” Confused, Yu let out a voice of disbelief.

“Indeed, the Ca Lang Empire’s Emperor’s been looking for you these last couple of weeks. Giving out a hefty reward for any information about your whereabouts.” Meng Fan explained.

“Eh?! Why? I don’t believe that I’ve done anything bad.” Yu explained himself.

“Un! Papa’s a good person!” Exclaimed Yaya as she defended her father.

Seeing the two so flustered, Meng Fan let out a warm laugh.

“Don’t be mistaken mister Leng Yu, you’re no criminal! The Ca Lang Empire’s Emperor was just looking for you.” Meng Fan explained, easing Yu’s worries.

“Why would he look for me?” Yu asked.

“I’m not so sure myself. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Meng Fan suggested.

“hmmm… I’ll think about it.” Yu said.

“To think that there would be someone out there who’d think whether they should meet the Ca Lang Emperor or not. Mister Leng Yu truly is an interesting figure.” Meng Fan chuckled as he found Yu to be very interesting.

Eventually, a knock came from the door.

“Come in.” Meng Fan called out.

Entering the door was the Youth from before and in his hands was a small bag.

“Please, accept your reward mister Leng Yu, I forgot to mention, but I’m using my authority to directly promote you to Rank B, as accomplishing two rank A missions is no light feat after all, and don't worry about the reward reduction. I've exempted you from those as the Mercenary Guild always welcomes wonderful talents such as yourself.” Meng Fan said.

Satisfied, Yu nodded, accepting his reward as his iron necklace was replaced with one made of silver. Expressing his gratitude once more, Yu gave his thanks as the father and daughter duo left the guild building.