Invincible Dad-Chapter 744 5 Self-operating_1

Xu Lai watched the conch maiden go.

He wondered how Yiyi would feel upon learning that her good friend Beibei had left in solitude, without so much as a goodbye.

Several hours passed.

His daughter, Yiyi, and Ruan Lan returned home.

To Xu Lai’s surprise, when Yiyi learned of Beibei’s departure, she did not cry. She merely gave a sad little nod to show she understood.

"Beibei left so our future meeting can be even better. I’m really looking forward to that day," she said, her words seeming far too mature for her age.

Xu Lai turned his gaze toward Ruan Lan.

His sister-in-law shook her head repeatedly. "I didn’t teach her that."

"The little bear in the cartoon said it."

"...Who’s the little bear?" Ruan Lan asked, bewildered.

Normally, Yiyi’s personality would have compelled her to spend the next half hour explaining it all to her aunt. But she didn’t today. Instead, she took small, quick steps into the backyard.

The plump Xiao Hei was lying at the edge of the Spiritual Spring, perhaps watching the sunset in the west or simply snoozing with his eyes half-closed.

Yiyi leaned against Xiao Hei’s back.

The setting sun cast its glow upon them. The girl and the bear sat there quietly.

It was only then that Yiyi realized Xiao Hei was watching the sea. He liked the salty scent of the sea breeze and the feeling of the damp sand on the beach at the foot of Mount Haitang.

Of course, he also liked that little conch monster who would always secretly take the Miniature Sword in the middle of the night to hack away at him until she was panting and breathless, only to scurry far away the moment he opened his eyes.

Unfortunately, Xiao Hei had not yet undergone the Spirit Awakening. He didn’t understand what this emotion was, only an inexplicable emptiness in his heart.

The wind today was not boisterous. Instead, the setting sun painted the surface of the sea with patches of golden scales, making it look like a roaming school of fish.

"This..." Ruan Lan started to say, then hesitated.

Xu Lai stopped her with a shake of his head.

All good things must come to an end. This applies not just to friends and family; even parents and children must eventually part. People must slowly learn to accept all kinds of farewells, both in life and in death.

"Brother-in-law, you should sleep alone tonight. Let my sister sleep with Yiyi," Ruan Lan sighed. "I won’t make her study tonight either. Let her rest and relax."

"Your niece isn’t that fragile. Her surname is Xu, and her name is Xu Yiyi," Xu Lai said calmly.

"Ha." Ruan Lan glanced at him disdainfully. "So what if her surname is Xu? Does that mean you can do whatever you want? You make it sound like that surname is something amazing."

"Sorry, but it is," he answered.

"..."

Ruan Lan suddenly had no desire to talk to Xu Lai anymore. She shot a fierce glare at him. It was this detestable man who had cost her an outstanding suitor.

How could Xu Lai be Venerable Qingfeng? How could he be! It’s simply infuriating!

Puffing her cheeks in a rage, Ruan Lan sat on the couch, pulled out the Formation Chessboard, and began studying the Zhoutian Star Fighting Formation.

Xu Qingfeng, the one who doesn’t understand formations... Hah!

Thinking of all the times she had mocked Xu Lai, embarrassment flooded Ruan Lan’s face. Fortunately, Xu Lai wasn’t paying any attention in her direction.

"One day, I will decipher your Zhoutian Star Fighting Formation and create an even more formidable array!" she muttered with fierce determination. "The number one Killing Formation in the Immortal Domain won’t be the Starlight Array or the Zhoutian Star Fighting Formation, but a new type of killing formation named by me, Ruan Lan! That day won’t be too far off."

Filled with a mysterious confidence, Ruan Lan immersed herself in her studies, forgetting to eat or sleep. She even completely ignored Bai Xue, who came to Haitang Court for an "all-night chat."

In her eyes, there were no fluffy white things, only the formations that brought her joy.

Xu Lai cast a curious glance at Ruan Lan.

For some reason, his usually lazy sister-in-law was strangely motivated today. Could Beibei’s departure have stimulated her?

"What’s wrong with her?" Bai Xue asked cautiously.

"Nothing, she’s just having one of her fits."

"She’s sick? Do you need a drop of my blood..."

"What she wants is something you can’t provide."

"I can!" Bai Xue insisted.

Xu Lai looked at her askance. "One more word and you’re going in the stew."

"..."

Bai Xue ran away whimpering.

Daoist Qingfeng was great in every way, except for the fact that he was always talking about eating her. Even though they were jokes, they still terrified her.

...

Time slipped away like sand through one’s fingers.

「Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.」

It was a Monday morning in mid-October. Dark clouds hung heavy over East Sea City. A heavy downpour had started late last night and was still going strong, casting an oppressive atmosphere over the entire city.

Ruan Tang pushed open the window. Rain mixed with a cold wind blew into the room, making her slender body shiver. She quickly closed the window again.

Xu Lai wrapped his arms around his wife from behind. "Why did you open the window?" he asked softly.

"I wanted to watch the sunrise," Ruan Tang said, taking Xu Lai’s hand. "Too bad it’s raining today."

"If you open the window again, there will be a sunrise."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Ruan Tang chided playfully. "Thunder and rain are all blessings from heaven."

Heaven? Did she mean that Sikong Jiu, the one in the red bellyband who pummels low-realm Foreign Cultivators but acts meek and subservient around high-realm ones? What heavenly grace could that brat possibly have? The kid always speaks in riddles. He clearly knows things but will never talk unless threatened. Maybe I should find a chance to knock some sense into Sikong Jiu, let that guy know what ’heavenly grace’ really is.

"By the way, Ruan Lan has been acting possessed these days," Ruan Tang said. "She attends classes by day and studies formations by night. You should guide her a little."

"I can’t guide her."

"I know you two don’t get along, but she is my sister, after all. Please help her out?" Ruan Tang wheedled, something she rarely did.

"Honey, it’s not a question of whether I want to help or not," Xu Lai said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I really can’t guide her. I learned orthodox formations, whereas her approach is completely heretical."

To call her approach ’heretical’ was actually a compliment. In truth, it was complete nonsense! Ruan Lan’s path in the study of formations was even wilder than that of the Star Origin Sect’s old Hierarch, who had briefly stepped into the Emperor Realm before his Dao Fruit was scattered. This was a true case of the student surpassing the master. Although Ruan Lan had not yet reached the old Hierarch’s former heights, if she continued on this path, she had a chance to become a legend of her generation. An old man who understood neither the Game of Go Path nor the Array Path had created two Starlight Arrays—one for offense and one for defense. What kind of miracle would a chuunibyou girl with no clue about formations or the Game of Go Path create?

The corners of Xu Lai’s mouth twitched. He felt as though he could already see the future shock and confusion on the faces of countless Array Path cultivators in the Immortal Domain.

"Hm? So there are things that even you can’t do."

"Let’s put it this way, men can’t have babies, right? Teaching Ruan Lan formations is harder for me than having a baby."

Ruan Tang exclaimed in surprise, "You can have a baby?"

"It’s just a metaphor."

"Xu Lai, tell me the truth. Have you been secretly having babies behind my back?"

"?"

A massive question mark practically appeared over Xu Lai’s head.

What a bizarre train of thought. If he could do that, the Immortal Domain would have descended into chaos long ago. Of course, in the Immortal Domain, many races were hermaphroditic or had males who gave birth, like the Wu Zi Tribe, ranked ninety-first. The Human Race, however, really couldn’t. But the Wu Zi Tribe could.