Chapter 9 - Caught you!

"That's good. With a little benefactor around, I can feel at ease." Gu Xuesong's furrowed brow finally relaxed upon hearing this.

"So I'll have a sister now?" Gu Yu still found it hard to believe.

He was the youngest in the family. Compared to his other brothers, he actually wanted a sister more. However, Chen Hui had been injured during childbirth and couldn't have more children. Since the Gu family already had many male descendants, the idea of having a daughter was never brought up again.

Occasionally, only Chen Hui would mention it to herself.

"Master, please stay as well. We have empty guest rooms," Gu Xuesong said to Qing Yun.

"Thank you for your hospitality!"

YaoYao was staying, and Qing Yun was reluctant to leave. Mainly because he was afraid the Gu family might kidnap her. The way the lady of the house looked at YaoYao was too frightening - she seemed to treasure her more than her own eyes.

If he didn't know YaoYao was picked up by his junior brother, he would have thought she was their long-lost daughter.

As a sect disciple, the matter of inheritance was crucial. Qing Yun told himself that being vigilant could never be excessive.

After settling the overnight stay, everyone dispersed. YaoYao was taken to bathe by the family's maidservant.

The Gu family's bathroom was very large. Yaoyao immediately fell in love with the big bathtub, which was filled with bubbles and flower petals - a bathing experience she had never had before.

She took off her small Taoist robe and played happily in the tub.

After adding hot water twice, the servants, afraid her skin might get damaged, reminded her to come out. Yaoyao reluctantly ended her bath.

Then, she secretly added "bubble bath" to her list of interests.

After drying off, the servants helped Yaoyao change into a silk nightgown, which Chen Hui had specially sent over. The size was a bit small, but it would do for now.

As for a proper fit, Chen Hui had already arranged for a designer to come and take measurements the next day, with clothes to be made immediately.

The moment Yaoyao's soft body lay on the bed, Chen Hui reached out and embraced her.

"Was the bath comfortable?" Chen Hui asked softly, worried Yaoyao might not be used to the bathtub.

"Mm, very comfortable. Yaoyao likes it very much," Yaoyao nodded.

At this moment, she found being held by Chen Hui strange - this was the first time a woman had held her this way.

The old Taoist priest had often held her, but it felt completely different from now.

This mother who had accepted her was fragrant, soft, and spoke gently. She liked her!

She actually didn't know much about her own origins, only remembering being with the old Taoist priest since she could remember. If she did have biological parents, they probably couldn't have done better than Chen Hui.

So she treasured this suddenly appearing mother, softly hugging Chen Hui's arm with her small hand.

"Is the bed too soft? Are you sleeping comfortably?"

The baby-like movement warmed Chen Hui's heart, understanding the little girl was willing to be close to her. Her voice became even softer.

Because she liked soft beds, her husband had specially ordered the current bed when they married. Her younger son had complained more than once that it was too soft to sleep on.

Yaoyao shook her head. "I'm used to it!"

She wasn't picky about beds and could sleep anywhere when tired. Qing Yun had once said this child was easy to take care of, except for her big appetite.

Chen Hui casually cared for her, and mother and daughter got along quite harmoniously.

"Are you scared?" Yaoyao asked, noticing Chen Hui's exhausted, sleepless appearance after seeing a ghost.

Ghosts were evil entities. Those with weak hearts could easily be scared out of their wits.

Even the brave ones couldn't help but have trouble sleeping, which was a sign of an unstable soul.

"A little," Chen Hui didn't try to hide it.

She knew of Yaoyao's abilities and indeed didn't dare to sleep. She was afraid that once she closed her eyes, that thing would crawl into her dreams again. The feeling of almost suffocating made her scalp tingle.

Yaoyao saw her face full of lingering fear and hesitated. Then she suddenly wiggled out from under the covers.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Chen Hui let her move, looking puzzled.

Yaoyao's grape-like eyes sparkled. "Let me help you!"

She reached out and drew symbols in the air, reciting clearly:

"Supreme Celestial Star, responding endlessly. Wisdom bright and clear, mind and spirit at peace, swift as the decree!"

As the words fell, Yaoyao touched Chen Hui's forehead with her hand in a lotus flower gesture. A cool spiritual energy directly entered her forehead - this was a Taoist calming spell, mainly used to soothe and stabilize a disturbed soul.

The more powerful the spell-caster, the better the effect.

Clearly, Yaoyao was top-tier.

Chen Hui felt her previously tense nerves relax with this spiritual energy.

Along with it came an overwhelming drowsiness. This wasn't actually the spell's effect, but because her body was already extremely exhausted. Her subconscious had been keeping her alert, and now that suggestion was erased, she could no longer resist sleep.

She didn't even have time to say goodnight before falling into a deep sleep.

Yaoyao, seeing this, revealed a sweet smile and then dove back under the covers.

"Goodnight!" she softly kissed Chen Hui's cheek.

Her master had told her that to show affection to elders who loved her, she could kiss their cheek.

So many things had happened today - she'd found Qing Yun and gained a mother...

Going down the mountain was really interesting. Tomorrow she would burn this good news to her master, Yaoyao thought happily.

Her eyes slowly closed, preparing to sleep - she needed to grow taller.

The large room fell silent with both the big and small ones resting.

Near midnight, the Gu family was quiet.

Suddenly, the paulownia tree outside the big courtyard inexplicably shook. The room's temperature mysteriously dropped, and a distorted white shadow crawled out from the shadows.

The white shadow gradually approached the bed. Just as it was about to act, a chubby little hand suddenly stretched out, firmly grabbing what seemed to be the shadow's neck.

"..."

The white shadow clearly didn't expect anyone to catch it. Choked, it couldn't even screech, only struggling desperately.

However, it was futile. The hand was like a branding iron, firmly gripping it.

The white shadow was horrified, never expecting the Gu family to have such a strange creature.

The hand's owner was none other than Yaoyao, who was supposed to be sleeping soundly.

At this moment, her pupils were black as a bottomless cold pool, causing chills down one's spine.

She sniffed, the dense sweet ghostly energy making her face show an intoxicated expression.

She laughed softly: "Finally, I've caught you."

In this moment, the playful look in her eyes showed a maturity far beyond her years.

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