Unexpected day with Yun'er.

Several days later.

Third disappeared slightly before he stepped into the territory of Shrek Academy.

Before he could move forward and fast shadow escaped the bushes on his left and nearly rammed into his stomach, but stopped in time.

Instead, a notepad slapped his chest with a loud sound.

Aiden smiled and looked down. She didn't change much. The same height, the same cute little kitten ears, and long white hair drifting in the air. If a person has to point out what differed in her, it will be her overall liveliness and health. That health one can see from a child brimming with life and curiosity.

She was still afraid of unknown people and couldn't talk, however, Aiden was sure that one day they will fix her problem. And in the slight chance they can't, it won't matter to him. The fundamental problem was to give the girl a proper upbringing and never make her feel inferior.

Yun'er was already an indispensable part of his life. She was just that type of girl. Every one from Shrek couldn't help but want to pamper her and hug her. She became something akin to a talisman of the Academy and a reverse scale of nearly every girl from Shrek Team.

There were only four people she permitted doing this up to now.

Yun'er raised her head with the notebook above it and looked at Aiden with slightly slanted ears and pouting face.

The page had a colorful sentence written on it.

"Welcome back, Big Brother!"

'This is just too high leveled. Who can survive such an attack? Yun'er, you are already invincible.'

Aiden sighed with a smile and took the cute bundle of sunshine in his arms. Despite her childhood, she was so innocent and lovely, that one just can't help but like Yun'er. She sat comfortably in his embrace and revealed satisfied expression. However, a moment later her cute face turned serious, and she tugged at his collar.

"What is it? Oh? The picture book? Did you draw something new? Is it a report for me, your big bro? Yes? Good! Come, come, let's find a seat and you will show your big bro what is making my Yun'er so serious." - Aiden said while patting her head. He tried to give her a work that sounded very serious but was something she can do. The fact that he did it mostly for her and never expected much remained unsaid. - "Yun'er, is there a place you want to go or something you want to do? Tell me, I'll bring you with me."

The girl grew excited in no time. She grabbed the pencils and started writing with commendable concentration.

Aiden looked at the rows of words. He noticed that her writing improved. She is learning calligraphy and seemed to be very good at it.

Her wishes were so simple that it made the heart of Aiden twitch a bit. She wanted to eat something tasty, drink something sweet, and walk wherever with him.

Aiden turned around and walked out with her in his arms, heading for the Heaven Dou Imperial City. The last time he visited a little restaurant there and met Qian Renxue. It was a comfortable place to dine and relax.

The moment they entered busy streets, Yun'er grew silent. She snuggled into his embrace and shyly looked from one thing to another from time to time. Aiden paid close attention to the girl and if she liked something, he would buy it for her.

After a while, she adapted enough to walk on her own. She surprisingly quickly drew a little picture with her and Aiden walking while holding hands. He put her down. Girl clumsily landed on the ground and stepped into the pool of water from recent rain.

She looked up, fearing reproach. After all, the clothes he gave her got dirtied but saw only a smile. All that was needed to clean it is a simple touch.

"Let's go. Grab my hand. This is one of the three streets leading to the central market of Imperial City. Usually, it is even more crowded." - Aiden said and walked with her unhurriedly.

Yun'er beamed with a resplendent smile while fixing the little bag she always had with her.

It was the one Aiden specifically synthesized for her needs. There she kept her pencils and chalks to write and draw.

The restaurant was just like he remembered, cozy, small, and wreathed in the captivating aroma of tea. It calmed nerves and helped to relax.

They went for the empty table in the corner.

Yun'er hid behind his leg all the time and avoided curious gazes of the customers and staff. She was a magnet for attention just with trembling cat ears alone.

"Come, sit here. Waiter, hot milk with honey for her and any strong tea for me. And bring some additional cushions, your chairs are not high enough for my little sister here." - Aiden wasn't a tea lover, but if he drank one, he preferred it strong. - "So, you wanted to drink something sweet, have you ever tried it?"

The girl shook her head with expectations shining in her eyes.

The order arrived, and Aiden could finally look at the picture book. Last time it was rather entertaining. The girl has talent. A talent to cause trouble to others through giving Aiden information.

He smirked with expectations and opened the first page.

It was a training field he and Erlong created. She drew it like an uneven line, with poles coming out of the ground here and there. Aiden nearly laughed, because the running track looked more like a mountain of blades from hell. Little did he know, every member of Shrek Academy who got there thought the same.

There were people running. They were suffering while climbing it. He also knew some new names from it.

"Why is that person with long blond hair named Handy Tiger Bro?"

Yun'er took a pencil, paper, and wrote a sentence.

"Oho... you... kitty cat. You just wait. Trying to touch ears, huh? Trying to pat the head, eh? You surely have guts, little kitty cat." - Aiden whispered under his breath and turned to the other picture. Yun'er finished drinking. Her eyes darted to the waiter from time to time.

The second picture was of them sitting around in relaxation. They were clearly meditating. The hand of Funny Food Bro was touching a shoulder of Popular Fairy Sister.

Aiden nodded and turned to the third page. His face turned dark.

"Another slacker detected. Good. You did well Yun'er." - he looked at her empty glass. She licked it clean where the tongue could reach. - "Don't lick, just order more. Waiter! If you see an empty glass, fill it again."

This picture portrayed a Fat Chicken Bro, who walked on the street. He looked wavy on the drawing, as if he can't properly stand. But he is very lucky at the same time. He is supported by two other human figures. Sisters with Painted Faces.

Aiden facepalmed. How can Hongjun let a little girl see that?

He looked at several other pages. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just simple pictures of daily life.

Leaving a couple of the last ones for later, Aiden stood up as he saw that Yun'er got groggy. After so many years of undernourishment, her body was yet to be ready for serious training and cultivation. She still got tired easily, like a regular person. Aiden let her take it slow, recuperating for as long as she needed.

But the most troubling matter was her growth that somehow halted completely. Perhaps cultivation will change it, but no amount of nourishing food and medical herbs seemed to help and the cause of it was a genuine mystery. The worst case – she will forever remain in the body of a tiny girl. Let alone her body now, even if it was the one fully portraying her actual age, a body of ten years old girl is not something one wants to stay in for a lifetime.

"Yun'er, let's go back, okay? Come, let me carry you. Look at that, you are so tired already. You should have told me."

The girl just hugged him and drifted to sleep. Aiden collected her things, fixed her bag, and after paying the bill, walked out. Nighttime descended on the streets but never deprived the city of light. Numerous spirit lamps and lighting crystals shone everywhere in different colors.

That was Capital City. A city that never sleeps.

Aiden didn't waste time sightseeing, he directly shifted through the crowd and after some time entered the territory of Shrek. He could relax here. That was his territory.

"Sovereign, you are back." - Third appeared near him like a ghost. She really can scare people to death like that. Good thing Aiden had great senses, that warned him she was near. Although he still wasn't able to find her directly without using the perception skill of the fifth ring.

That told much about her stealth abilities.

"Anything?"

"None. I greeted you. You are back." - she stated as a fact and dissolved inside the darkness that accepted her figure with an eerie silence.

"She really has a weird habit to greet my return every time. Why didn't I notice before?" - murmured Aiden, while walking to the girls' dorms. He saw a bench under the streetlight and sat down, taking out the notepad.

There were a couple of pages left.

Aiden placed Yun'er in his lap and opened it, quickly leafing through to the end. But when he saw the last picture, he froze with shock on his face. It was a picture of two people.

One of them was a girl with a crown and wavy hair. She was sitting in a restaurant they were in just now, judging by the detailed interior Yun'er tried to portray.

She was there with another person, and they seem to sit close to each other.

The other was a figure with long blond hair and a halo in bright colors.

Nickname stated: Regal Warm Sister.

Qian Renxue.