Volume One, Chapter Ninety-Three: A Wife for Dad

The child’s one remark made everyone feel like smashing their heads against a wall.

What sort of brat was this, to demand milk so brazenly in broad daylight?

Even more awkward was that the one being demanded from was now sniffling like a little girl. Well, of course, only her crying looked that way; as for the rest... well, you know.

But you could not exactly call the Gourd Child a lewd little rascal.

Not only him, even his father, Tu Zhe, had been born as an emperor. In truth, by the lifespan standards of the beings of this world, he was still at the age when he ought to be drinking milk.

The question was: did the child even understand what he was saying?

Trishna was not your mother.

Though Trishna was one of the demons of the Heavens of Bliss and Freedom, by Earth’s reckoning she could live for nine hundred and thirty-four million four hundred thousand years, already so close to immortality it was almost eternal life. But if one were to be precise, even if she had lived for tens of millions of Earth years, by the lifespan of the beings of the Heavens of Bliss and Freedom, she was still just a young girl.

Could Trishna even have milk?

Well... she had breasts, yes, but that sort of milk was, naturally, absent.

The issue was not whether she had breasts, but that a being like Trishna could not possibly produce milk at all.

Do not forget: for the people of the Heavens of Bliss and Freedom, sex was something that could be accomplished with a word. To bear children, a male would bear a son and a female a daughter, and the moment the child was born it would already be as tall as a door panel. What was all this talk of nursing? After Tu Zhe was born, was he supposed to hang from Golden Shepherd’s chest and nurse?

He could hang, sure, but did Golden Shepherd have a wet nurse? Did she have milk?

If this child were not so adorable, one would think he was up to no good, trying to take advantage of the situation.

But could a primordial spirit even be lustful?

That question, perhaps, only the Gourd Child himself knew.

Trishna’s face flushed scarlet at once. She stared straight at the Gourd Child with both eyes, trying to read exactly what sort of creature this child was.

Seeing everyone’s expression, and Trishna’s gaze, the Gourd Child gave a disdainful snort, turned on his heel, and started to leave, muttering as he went that if there was no milk, then so be it, as though anyone cared. Hmph, hmph, hmph.

How could the people present let him go?

Roti rushed forward and scooped up the Gourd Child, coaxing him with a bright smile. Oh, look at how festive our Gourd Child is! I have never seen a child more loving than ours. Come now, isn’t it just a bit of milk? Big Sis, be generous. At any rate, he is your nephew too, right? It is not such a big deal if he drinks a little, is it?

Damn you, Roti!

Trishna was on the verge of banging her head against a wall. As a demoness of desire, with her strange arts and her age, she had no shortage of men falling helplessly into her web of longing. But that had been nothing more than words, nothing more than battles of spirit and mind. That was war, all right?

As for a maiden’s skin, no one had ever so much as touched it, let alone her breasts.

Trishna shrieked, cursing Roti. Why are you not letting him drink? Are you not his elder too? Is he not your nephew too?

The demoness of pleasure froze on the spot, blushing as she said, Well, to be honest, mine are not as... substantial as yours, so I will pass, hehe.

She set the Gourd Child down and prepared to run.

At this moment, hearing this, the demoness of greed looked disdainful. She said, You two have a problem with your thinking. He is just a little sprout of a child; let him take one drink, what is the harm? Come now, Gourd Child, would Third Aunt let you have a little?

Tsk. Never seen a girl so generous. All for the sake of getting out, she was willing to go this far.

Who would have thought the Gourd Child did not appreciate it at all. His eyes were fixed greedily on Trishna’s full bosom as he swallowed and said, I am not interested in your milk. If anything, I want Great Demoness Auntie’s. Otherwise I am leaving. Uh... Great Demoness Auntie, can you hurry up? I am still in a rush to save my old man, you know?

Trishna would not agree, of course. She immediately hid behind Roti, curling up into herself, with none of her former majesty as the big sister in sight.

Everyone tried to persuade her for a while, but Trishna simply would not make a sound. Go ahead, do whatever you want; I am covering my ears and pretending not to hear you.

The Gourd Child blinked and grinned wickedly. Great Demoness Auntie, do not regret it later. If my old man wakes up and does not want you anymore, what will you do then, hehe?

This time Trishna heard him. She shot out from behind Roti at once, fidgeting as she said, Y-you... if you can make sure your old man does not drive me away, then you... can drink... if you want...

The Gourd Child giggled. Actually, to drink this milk, there has to be a reason, right?

Trishna said, A reason? You still need a reason for this? Then tell me what reason you want.

The Gourd Child grinned and said, Well, everyone knows I was born without a mother. I have always been lonely. Why not let me call you Mom? That way, drinking milk will be proper and justified, right?

Silence fell.

Everyone’s eyes nearly popped out again. There were conditions attached to this, and he even put on such a pitiful little face to win sympathy. Was this really a child?

Mother?

Trishna murmured that word, already distant to her. She remembered that when she was very small, her mother had already been gone. She could not even remember what her mother had looked like.

And yet, what a warm word mother was. How many memories did a single call of mother awaken?

The Gourd Child tiptoed up to Trishna with a sly look and raised his little face expectantly. In a soft voice, he called, Mother?

Trishna shuddered all over. She lowered her head to look at the Gourd Child, and though she was still shy, her eyes were full of affection and tenderness.

The Gourd Child, under her gaze, also went a little dazed. True love and kindness were like sunlight: warm and comforting.

Tears streaming down her face, Trishna said, Child, say it again?

Mother.

Trishna could no longer hold back the flood of maternal feeling. She gathered the Gourd Child into her arms and burst into loud tears.

Her crying did not matter much, but it left the demon guards staring blankly. You have a son now, so what are you crying for?

Only Roti and Roga understood how Trishna felt at the moment.

Ever since entering the Sumeru Ring, the big sister had been tormented by self-reproach and fear. If such emotions kept building without any outlet, they really might have driven her to madness.

Cry, cry, crying is not a sin.

By now the Gourd Child no longer mentioned milk. He used his little hands to wipe Trishna’s tears again and again, saying, Why are you crying, why are you crying? It is already flowing like a river. Do you want to drown your own son?

At once Trishna stopped crying. She wiped away her tears and said, Son, let us go save your old man.

The Gourd Child sprang out of her arms, laughed gleefully, and cheered, Hooray! I found my old man a wife! Ha ha ha ha!

Before the cloud of black lines over everyone’s heads had even dispersed, a flash of nine-colored light burst from the Gourd Child’s body, enveloping them all. In the blink of an eye, they had left the Sumeru Ring.

By then, Fox Matron had already ground the finest healing medicine available in the Wilderness Star of the Heavenly Stables into powder, and carefully applied it to the mangled flesh on Tu Zhe’s back and to Doggie’s wounds.

But because the resources on the barren star were so scarce and high-grade healing medicine so limited, whether the wounds would heal quickly after the medicine was applied was something Fox Matron had no confidence in.

Poor.

Just as Fox Matron was lamenting her own misfortune, a flash of light suddenly appeared before her eyes, and the surroundings were instantly filled with a child, three beautiful women, and a group of men.

Rubbing her eyes, Fox Matron shouted, Enemy attack! and jumped up, ready to fight at once.