Chapter 6: The Price of Freedom

“Hahahahaha! This young master is finally free!”

Hua Yan stretched, feeling the Hundred Blossom Valley already far behind them, and couldn’t help but laugh uproariously at the sky.

She reached up to remove the elaborate hair ornament from her head, but then she caught sight of the pink-haired girl beside her, gazing intently, her eyes filled with confusion.

In recent days, Hua Yan hadn’t interacted much with Hua Xiangrong. For one, the lower half of the girl’s face, so similar to Yun Xueshang’s, instantly irked her.

For another, her grandmother constantly praised Hua Xiangrong’s obedience, making Hua Yan seem all the more mischievous by comparison.

Not to mention Hua Xiangrong’s accusation of “heartless scoundrel,” which had cost Hua Yan a good beating for nothing.

Moreover, for the past half-month, Hua Yan had been forced daily by the Protector Elders to learn feminine manners, speech, and dress.

Meanwhile, Hua Xiangrong was always kept by Hua Yuheng’s side, nurturing her body and preparing for cultivation—the two of them simply didn’t have many chances to meet.

All these accumulated reasons meant Hua Yan held little affection for this daughter who had appeared out of nowhere.

“What are you looking at?” Hua Yan waved her hand dismissively. “Go on, go play by yourself.”

“Great-grandmother said you’re supposed to teach me cultivation.”

Hua Xiangrong’s big pink eyes stared directly at her, seemingly oblivious to Hua Yan’s perfunctory attitude.

“When do we start learning to cultivate?”

“Heh, little girl, you want to fly before your wings have even hardened?”

Hua Yan turned and walked into the flower boat, casually tossing an introductory cultivation manual into Hua Xiangrong’s arms.

“Read this first yourself. If there’s anything you don’t understand, then come ask me.”

‘Right now, this young master is going to change back into men’s clothes. How could I have time to teach you such rudimentary things? I’ve been a woman for half a month; whoever wants to wear these wretched skirts can wear them!’

As if her thoughts had been seen through, a tender, clear childish voice immediately rang out behind her:

“Are you going in to change clothes? To change back into men’s clothes?”

“So what if I am?”

Hua Yan curved her lips into a smile, completely unconcerned.

“Great-grandmother said that when you’re out, you must wear women’s clothes, cultivate your character, dress gently, and not cause trouble.”

The pink-haired loli, like a miniature adult, spoke with perfect logic.

“‘Great-grandmother’ this, ‘Great-grandmother’ that—you’re a terribly rigid child, just like those rigid fools from the righteous path.”

Hua Yan impatiently picked at her ear, not taking any of it to heart.

“I refuse to do that. What can you do about it?”

“Then I’ll tell Great-grandmother that you’re disobedient outside!”

As Hua Xiangrong spoke, she pulled out a cloth amulet from her person and held it high above her head.

But with a smack, that exquisitely stitched amulet was snatched away by a slender, jade-like hand.

“What, do you really think that with this so-called Voice Transmission Talisman, I’d be afraid of a child like you?”

Hua Yan held the amulet high with one hand, watching the pink-haired loli jump up and down before her. With her other hand on her hip, she burst into laughter.

“Hahahahahaha! Grandmother, that old woman, must be confused! Why should I listen to a little girl like you just because of this Voice Transmission Talisman? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just snatch it away?”

“As for your righteous mother, I can’t be bothered to go looking for her. When this young master gets tired of playing outside, I’ll just knock her out, package her up, and bring her back to the valley. Wouldn’t that be the end of it? Hahahahahahaha!”

“Hua Yan, do you dare to repeat what you just said?”

“Oh? If you didn’t hear clearly, then what’s the harm in me saying it again?”

Hua Yan’s triumphant smile didn’t falter in the slightest as she raised her chin and declared loudly.

“I said, I will defy Grandmother’s words and play outside for three to five years. What can you do to me?”

“Heh, what can I do to you?”

Hua Yuheng’s voice, chillingly cold like the frost of the twelfth lunar month, emanated sinisterly from the Voice Transmission Talisman in Hua Yan’s hand.

“You’ve certainly grown bold! Do you really think this old woman’s words are just wind in your ears, no longer counting for anything?”

“Uh…”

Hua Yan’s pretty face instantly froze, her triumphant expression locking as if she’d been struck by a Body Immobilization spell.

‘Impossible! I clearly used spiritual energy to seal off this amulet, and I didn’t give that girl Hua Xiangrong any chance to activate it before snatching it! How did it connect to Grandmother’s side?!’

“Are you very curious how this talisman connected to me?”

As if guessing the doubt in her heart, Hua Yuheng’s voice continued from the amulet:

“It’s very simple. I injected the power of my cultivation path’s laws into it, and I also set it so that—as long as this talisman is more than two feet away from little Rongrong, it will automatically activate.”

‘Wait? Laws?! Does that mean Grandmother has broken through again? When did that happen?!’

Before Hua Yan could ponder further, Hua Yuheng’s voice rang out again, still piercingly cold:

“Originally, I intended to add another layer of protection for Rongrong’s safety, fearing the amulet might be stolen. I never imagined that the first one to trigger it would be you, her mother.”

“Stealing your own daughter’s things, and then brazenly talking back to this old woman, Hua Yan, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

“Wait, Grandmother, I can explain…”

“Kneel!”

A roar brimming with anger came from the amulet, and Hua Yan immediately knelt to the ground as if by conditioned reflex.

At the same time, Hua Xiangrong, who had been silent for a long time, looked up, made a face at Hua Yan, and then—

“Waaahhhhh! Great-grandmother! Mother is bullying me! Woohoo waahhhhh!”

Listening to this full-throated wail, Hua Yan’s face instantly turned green.

“You wretched girl! You shut—”

“Hua Yan! You shut your mouth for this old woman!”

From inside the amulet, Hua Yuheng’s roar was deafening:

“Bullying your daughter! Stealing the life-preserving amulet I prepared for Rongrong! Disregarding your elders! And having not an ounce of maternal responsibility!”

“Do you truly intend to be a scoundrel who abandons his wife and child? Believe it or not, this old woman will beat you into a pig’s head when you return?!”

“Now go and comfort your daughter!”

“…Yes…”

After a long silence, Hua Yan could only crawl up from the ground, reluctantly shuffling over to Hua Xiangrong. She bent down and coaxed with a forced smile:

“Rongrong, what do you want so that you’ll forgive mo—Mother?”

The girl’s voice was sickeningly sweet. When she said the word “Mother,” she clearly paused, still unaccustomed to the address.

“I want to play horsey!”

“Don’t you dare push your—”

“Hua Yan!”

“Alright, come on, Rongrong, let’s play horsey! Mother will take you to play!”

Hua Yan immediately sprawled onto the ground, enduring the humiliation and resentment, and said through gritted teeth.

“Yay! Horsey! Giddy up! Giddy up!”

Hua Xiangrong showed no politeness at all. Her tears instantly turned to laughter as she clambered onto Hua Yan with both hands and feet.

“Um, Host, aren’t you worried that doing this will strain your relationship with the villain too much?”

099’s hesitant voice echoed in Hua Xiangrong’s mind.

“Oh, well, since my mother is the villain, she definitely won’t listen to me, her daughter, too much. So why should I be polite to her?”

“Besides, my whole thing is that I was raised solely by the female lead. If I got too close to my villain mother this quickly, it would seem very strange, wouldn’t it?”

After saying this, Hua Xiangrong stopped conversing with 099. Instead, she lay on Hua Yan’s shoulder and burst into laughter:

“Wow! So fast, so fast! Mother, you’re amazing! Go, go, go!”

The clear sky stretched above, as a single flower boat leisurely glided across the sea of clouds. On its deck, a pink-haired girl rode on the shoulders of a red-haired maiden, raising her hands high to cheer for her mother, her silvery laughter scattering throughout the heavens.