Chapter 8: Qian Daoliu—Could There Be Another Heir to the Qian Clan?

Smack!

Bing Di slapped Xue Tianyu on the head.

"You little brat, we haven't seen each other in months, and you've already learned to tease me?"

Xue Tianyu chuckled. "It's only been four or five months."

Bing Di blinked. "Four or five months? I thought it had been four or five years!"

"Nope, not at all." Xue Tianyu shook his head with a smile.

"Hmph, whatever! Let's go, let's go! Since it's summer break, we're heading back to the Extreme North to cool off!"

Bing Di had lived in the Extreme North for countless years, and she absolutely hated the human world's summers.

If not for waiting to pick up Xue Tianyu for his break, she wouldn't have stayed here a second longer.

Xue Tianyu also missed Aunt Xue and was eager to return.

...

Extreme North

At the entrance of the Ice and Snow Palace, Xue Di stood, eagerly waiting.

Before long, Xue Tianyu and Bing Di appeared in her sight.

"Aunt Xue!"

Xue Tianyu immediately pounced into Xue Di's arms.

Without hesitation, Xue Di pushed his head down into her embrace.

"Ugh… Aunt Xue… I… can't… breathe…"

Xue Tianyu was dumbfounded.

The first thing she did upon seeing him was smother him in another of her intoxicating, air-depriving hugs.

'As expected of Aunt Xue…'

It took him a long time to finally break free from Xue Di's grasp, gasping for air.

Though, he was still trapped in her embrace.

Xue Di looked at Xue Tianyu with a gentle smile and kissed his forehead.

Xue Tianyu looked up at her seriously and said, "Aunt Xue, after all these years, I still haven't met anyone more beautiful than you and Aunt Bing."

Xue Di flicked his forehead lightly with a smile.

"Your skills don't seem to have improved much, but your sweet talk certainly has."

Despite her teasing, she was actually quite happy inside.

"It's true, though!" Xue Tianyu pouted.

Xue Di's heart softened at his words.

After all these years, she had truly come to see Xue Tianyu as her own son.

And now, her son had grown up.

"Alright, alright! Have you two hugged enough? It's my turn now!"

Bing Di pulled Xue Tianyu away from Xue Di and hugged him tightly herself.

"Mm, this is the feeling I missed." Bing Di sighed nostalgically.

Xue Tianyu was helpless.

Every time he came home for break, he had to go through this exact same scene.

But he understood that this was how Xue Di and Bing Di expressed their affection.

So, he never rejected them.

To him, as someone abandoned by Bibi Dong, it was Xue Di and Bing Di who had given him a second life.

If he had any family in this world, it was them.

…

"By the way, Tianyu is twelve now. Should we start thinking about his future?" Xue Di changed the topic after letting Bing Di have her fill of hugs.

"My future?"

Bing Di released Xue Tianyu and grinned. "Simple—just inherit our rule over the Extreme North!"

"That does make sense."

Xue Di pondered for a moment. Both she and Bing Di had walked this path, so it was only natural that Xue Tianyu would take over as the ruler of the Extreme North.

However, Xue Tianyu shook his head.

He took both Xue Di and Bing Di's hands and placed them together. "Aunt Xue, Aunt Bing, my goal is simple."

"I want to help you break through your bottlenecks and achieve immortality!"

Bing Di and Xue Di were stunned.

They had always been thinking about Xue Tianyu's future, yet here he was, thinking about how to help them.

"He really has grown up…"

"You little rascal, you really know how to win a girl's heart."

Tears welled up in their eyes.

Without another word, the two of them embraced Xue Tianyu together.

The three of them held each other tightly in front of the Ice and Snow Palace.

Bing Di and Xue Di were deeply touched.

Xue Tianyu, on the other hand, dared not move.

Because… he couldn't breathe again!

…

Spirit Hall

Qian Renxue had returned.

As she passed through the great hall, she encountered Bibi Dong.

"You actually have the nerve to come back?"

Bibi Dong's voice was filled with cold contempt. "You wretched spawn, you didn't even complete the task I gave you, and you still have the face to return?"

Qian Renxue flinched, biting her lip in frustration. "I… I've been trying my best!"

"Trying your best?" Bibi Dong sneered. Her gaze was sharp as a blade. "If you were truly trying, you wouldn't have dared show your face here!"

"A failure is just a failure."

"Mother… I…" Qian Renxue's voice wavered. She wanted to argue, but Bibi Dong's icy stare froze her in place.

But Bibi Dong didn't care for her words at all.

"Don't call me 'mother'! I am not your mother!"

Her sharp voice was filled with hostility, as if she had heard something forbidden.

Qian Renxue felt a deep pain in her heart.

"But… you're the only mother I have."

"I don't have a daughter like you! You are nothing but a disgrace! You are not worthy to call me your mother!"

She was in Spirit City, yet Bibi Dong's gaze made her feel as if she had been abandoned in the freezing Extreme North.

And her words were like countless sharp knives, stabbing into Qian Renxue's heart.

She couldn't hold it in anymore.

Tears welled up and spilled over as she covered her face and ran away.

Only when she was alone in her room did she dare to cry freely.

"Why…?"

She had worked so hard, enduring countless hardships, all for a sliver of Bibi Dong's love.

No matter how much she suffered, she endured it all—just for her mother to acknowledge her.

'I'm your daughter… Why do you treat me like this…?'

'What did I do wrong?'

'Was I never supposed to be born…? Was I never meant to live…?'

The more Qian Renxue cried, the more her heart ached.

Her pillow was soon soaked with tears.

She just couldn't understand—if Bibi Dong didn't want her, why did she give birth to her in the first place?

At that moment, the only person who had ever shown her true care surfaced in her mind.

Her grandfather—Qian Daoliu…

Perhaps… he was the only family she had left.

…

Spirit City—Worship Hall

Inside the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu furrowed his brows, his fingers constantly making calculations.

For years, he had been searching for an answer.

Yet no matter how he sought guidance, the Angelic Statue always gave him a denial.

"Strange…"

Ending his divination, Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes.

"The Angelic God's successor… isn't Xue'er?"

Ever since the divine anomaly twelve years ago, the Angelic Statue had fallen silent.

But he could feel his connection with the Angelic God weakening.

This meant the Angelic God had already chosen a successor.

However…

He had investigated for years, confirming that the Angelic bloodline only existed within the Qian family!

Qian Daoliu felt a headache coming on.

The Angelic Power absolutely could not fall into another's hands.

But no matter how he looked at it, the situation made no sense.

By all logic, Qian Renxue should have been the chosen one.

Unless…

Someone in the Qian family had awakened their martial soul before her.

And had already been acknowledged by the Angelic God as the successor!

This thought sent a jolt through Qian Daoliu.

After all these years…

Could it be that there was another heir to the Qian Clan?