Into the room stepped a man.

If Liu Haoyu described him in three words, he would first snort cooly and say, “How can you describe a person in three words? That’s far too limiting.” And then he would cough and say, “But fine. That man gave off powerful, sunny, and warm vibes all at once.”

Basically, Liu Haoyi’s father came off with a warm and friendly aura, but you could tell at first sight that he was not someone you wanted to mess with.

He wore a dark green robe embroidered with swirls of gold. His shoulders were mega-broad, and you could tell he had muscles that could squash you just by looking at him. He was tanned and had a stubbly black beard and above that two sparkling dark eyes with crows’ feet at the sides. He was grinning widely with his arms thrown open as he strode up to Liu Haoyu.

“Yi’er!” He bellowed, wrapping Liu Haoyu in a bear hug and nearly squeezing the living daylights out of him. “You nearly scared the soul out of this poor father, getting attacked like that!”

“It’s true,” Yinuo whispered into Liu Haoyu’s other ear while Liu Haoyu nearly had his soul scared out of him by this strangling, surprisingly warm hug. “He hasn’t slept for three whole days while you were recovering.”

Three days?! Liu Haoyi had gotten attacked and been in a coma for three days?! Just how lucky was he to have woken up in this body at all instead of just dying right off the bat when his soul was eaten by that mirror?

Liu Haoyi’s father seemed to notice something off. He drew back and took Liu Haoyu by the shoulders, studying him with great concern.

“Yi’er, are you all right? How come you aren’t hugging me back? Are your arms tired? Are you sleepy still?”

Dammit! Liu Haoyu had been so shocked by the hug that he’d forgotten to try and act like he actually belonged in this body! He laughed nervously, holding out his arms awkwardly for another hug.

“Ah, ha, ha…no, not at all. Yi’er was just kind of dazed after being asleep for so long. How is, um…ah die doing?”

Liu Haoyu breathed a silent sigh of relief as his—ahem, Liu Haoyi’s—father didn’t react weirdly to being called “ah die”. That must be what Liu Haoyi normally called him. He grinned widely and descended for another bear hug, and this time, Liu Haoyu hugged back, all while trying to maintain any air in his lungs that he could.

Suddenly, Liu Haoyi’s father drew back with a serious look on his face. “Yi’er, tell me. Are you truly doing all right? You were in a coma for days, and the wounds and drowning you suffered were no small thing. Are you truly feeling all right now?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Yes, ah die, I feel, um, great! Good as new, hehe…heh.”

“Good. Yi’er, tell ah die—do you remember anything about the attack you suffered? Anything at all that could help Zhengyi Liu Peak in tracking down whoever tried to hurt you?”

Liu Haoyu looked down guiltily. Maybe if he really was Yi’er, he might remember. The problem was, he wasn’t. He wasn’t this sunny man’s daughter. Yi’er was gone, and her father didn’t even know it.

But that was besides the point! No time to mourn and feel guilty now. Liu Haoyu shook his head.

“No…I don’t remember anything.”

“...I see.” Liu Haoyi’s father rubbed his chin, expression dark. “Well, that’s all right. You rest and heal up, don’t worry about such affairs for now. We’ve already posted guards around the Blue Wisteria Garden so the same thing won’t happen again. No cultivation tasks until Physician Zhuanjia says you’re ready. Got it, Yi’er? I don’t want to catch you running around with your sword and getting hurt again just to spend two more weeks in bed, heh!”

Shortly after, Liu Haoyi’s father left. As soon as he was gone, Liu Haoyu muttered to Yinuo,

“What’s his full name?”

“Huh?” Yinuo looked bewildered. “Sect Leader Liu’s full name? But—but my lady, do you not remember it?”

“Um…no I’m just testing you. What is it?”

“Ah, I see! My lady is so intelligent and mysterious. Sect Leader Liu’s full name is Liu Xinda!”

Hmmm. Xinda, as in Big Heart. The name fit him well.

Something flashed in the open window. The bushes rustled.

Liu Haoyu grabbed Yinuo’s arm in terror and shrieked. “Yinuo! Did you see that?!”

“What?!” Yinuo shrieked, grabbing onto Liu Haoyu even tighter that Liu Haoyu had grabbed her. “What?! My l-l-lady, what is it?!?!!?!”

Liu Haoyu’s heart was pounding in his ears. “There was just—I just saw—there was a person! In the window! I saw two eyes in the bush! They were watching me! Yinuo, go see if they’re still there!”

“M-M-My lady…” Yinuo trembled with terror. “H-H-How about you go check it out? Y-You are the cultivator a-a-after all…”

“Aren’t you supposed to do anything for me, or something?” Liu Haoyu scolded, his voice still high-pitched (more high-pitched than his feminine voice already was). “Get guards or something!”

“Yes, m-m-my lady! Right away!”

Soon enough, about five cultivators on watch came and scouted all around the Plum Blossom Pavilion, which was where Liu Haoyu’s room was. But even after half an hour of searching, they came up empty-handed.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Liu, but there wasn’t anyone found in the Blue Wisteria Gardens around the pavilion,” one of the guards, a handsome young man, reported. “It must be a mistake on our part. We will continue searching.”

Liu Haoyu waved his hand and sighed. “Whatever, it’s fine. Maybe I was seeing things. What’s your name, by the way?”

The young guard bowed, looking slightly confused. Great. He was probably someone Liu Haoyi already definitely knew the name of. “This one’s name is Fang Gaogui.”

“Okay, Fang Gaogui. Good, just checking you knew your name. You can leave now.”

Looking perplexed, Fang Gaogui left.

Liu Haoyu massaged his temples. Had he really just been seeing things? Ah…He could have sworn he saw two glittering, harsh dark eyes staring intently at him. So weird…maybe it was a side effect of transmigration? Hallucinations? That would be just great. Add that to the list of crazy experiences he was compiling.