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Translator: Silavin
The pool was about five metres in size and its water jade-green in colour, seem to be full of vibrant life. Waves of astonishingly pure energy emanated continuously from the pool, spreading to the surroundings.
Just breathing in a mouthful of air made one feel as if their entire body had become lighter, with countless cells seeming to rejoice in this baptism.
[I didn’t expect there to be a Spirit Spring here. Hehe… Now I don’t need to go deep into the Spirit Vein. Who knows if that old geezer from the Lu Family would be guarding it.] Qin Yichen was overjoyed.
“Hey, who are you? Why are you here?”
Just as Qin Yichen was about to step forward, a pleasant child-like voice came from behind him.
“Who’s there?!” Hearing someone speak, Qin Yichen could not help but get startled and quickly turned around.
To be able to approach without him noticing, meant this must not be an ordinary person.
However, after his eyes alertly scanned the area, he did not find anyone. Just as he was about to give up searching and turn back, an ache came from his foot.
“That’s for ignoring me, you meanie!” The childish voice came again.
Because of the pain, Qin Yichen bent down and finally saw a small figure.
In front of him stood a little girl about three or four years old. The little girl wore an ethereal dress, her features exquisitely delicate and rosy. A pair of lively big round eyes were now glaring at him with a hint of anger.
Upon seeing this little girl, Qin Yichen was first stunned, his heart inexplicably skipping a beat.
For some reason, this little girl he had never met before gave him a familiar, warm feeling…
“Little girl, why are you out alone so late at night? Where are your parents?” At first glance of this little girl, Qin Yichen had an extremely good impression of her. He could not help wanting to care for her, even worry about her.
“I asked you first. Why don’t you answer me? You’re even asking me instead!” The little girl pouted, looking quite angry.
“Me?” Qin Yichen was stunned.
This little girl was quite clever. Moreover, even after seeing a stranger here, she was not afraid at all.
“My name is Qin Yichen, I came here to play. What about you?” For some reason, with this little girl, although he could have just made up a name to fool her, in the end, Qin Yichen could not help but give his real name.
“My Mother calls me Little Ling’er…”
The little girl conversed with him as if she were an adult.
“Ling’er, that’s a nice name. Why are you out here alone at night? Aren’t you afraid your parents will worry about you?” The more he looked at her adorable appearance, the more Qin Yichen liked her. He scanned the surroundings with his Spiritual Energy, and after confirming no one had followed, he simply sat down cross-legged, intending to chat with this little girl.
“My Mother told me not to talk to strangers…” However, before Qin Yichen could speak again, the little girl’s words made him swallow what he was about to say.
[You say you can’t talk to strangers, but you were the first one to ask me a question…] The corner of Qin Yichen’s mouth twitched slightly as he could not help but think to himself.
“Little one, you should hurry back then. Uncle still has some things to do.” Qin Yichen patted the little girl’s head, ruffling her soft hair, gently advising.
Surprisingly, the little girl did not resist Qin Yichen’s touch, though she did not answer him either.
If Lu Heze had seen this scene, he would have been astonished. After all, even he, as the little girl’s Grandfather, had never touched her. Every time he wanted to hug her or pat her head, the little girl would run away, or even throw a tantrum.
That tantrum… Just thinking about it made Lu Heze’s scalp tingle.
Every time she was upset, his residence would definitely be crawling with insects and ants. Over time, Lu Heze had to give up on trying to show affection to Little Ling’er.
Qin Yichen, of course, knew nothing of this, and the little girl herself did not know why, but she also felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this stranger before her, as if she was naturally inclined to rely on him, making her want to get closer to him.
This was the feeling she had only experienced with her Mother…
After ruffling her hair a few times, Qin Yichen noticed she was puffing out her cheeks, her beautiful big eyes looking at him, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction.
“Ahem, well, little one, don’t wander around. After Uncle finishes his business, I’ll take you to find your Mother.” Qin Yichen coughed dryly, sheepishly withdrawing his hand.
Without thinking too much, he walked to the edge of the pool. With a thought, the Spirit Sword appeared in his hand.
*Hum…* As soon as the Spirit Sword appeared, as if sensing the pure energy coming from the Spirit Vein, it emitted a humming sound. The body of the sword trembled as if wanting to break free and dash to get its fill.
“Alright. Go and eat your fill.” Qin Yichen chuckled, placing the Spirit Sword in the pool.
*Hmmmm…* As soon as it touched the jade-green water, the Spirit Sword emitted excited humming sounds. After wandering around in a circle, a suction force emanated from the sword. In an instant, streams of pure energy visibly converged towards the sword.
“Eat up… This Spirit Spring should be enough to let you reach the limit I can bear.” Qin Yichen felt inwardly pleased.
“Oh, this sword is so strange…” Just then, a childish voice sounded, and Qin Yichen was horrified to find that the little girl had somehow come to the edge of the pool without him noticing. Now, she was reaching out to grab the Spirit Sword.
“Stop!” Seeing this, Qin Yichen hurriedly shouted, at the same time willing the Spirit Sword to return.
But it was all too late. The little girl’s delicate hand had already grasped the sword hilt…
*Whoosh!* As soon as the little girl’s hand gripped the sword hilt, under Qin Yichen’s mental control, the Spirit Sword flew back to Qin Yichen’s side, hovering in the air.
“Are you alright? Let me see your hand.”
Qin Yichen stepped forward, grabbing the little girl’s hand to examine it.
However, he was amazed to find that the Spirit Sword, which could cut a hair with a mere breath of strength, had not left even the slightest injury on the little girl’s hand.
This left him standing there in shock.
As for the little girl, whether frightened by Qin Yichen’s shout earlier or upset at losing her beloved ‘toy’, her lively eyes were brimming with tears. Her adorable little mouth turned down in a pitiful frown.
