After Zhouzhou left, Ye Lingfeng returned to the Fourth Bureau. Zhao Xinghua, sitting nearby, overheard their conversation and leaned in, imdiately seeing Zhouzhou covered in blood. His heart ached instantly.
"Oh no, how did Zhouzhou end up like this? If she were with us, we would never have let her get hurt like this." His tone was filled with subtle sarcasm.
Xi Mo glanced at him and then turned back to Zhouzhou, his expression changing slightly. "How did your face get hurt too?"
Zhouzhou looked confused and tilted her head up, blinking. "Huh?"
She touched her face again but didn't feel any injury. Now, her face was sared with even more blood. Xi Mo felt her smooth face, realizing it was not hurt. Looking down, he figured out it was from her hands.
He deftly retrieved so ointnt from her bag and gently applied it to her wounds, his eyes filled with guilt. He had been too busy earlier and hadn't taken the ti to tend to Zhouzhou's injuries.
Zhouzhou glanced at her wounds, already scabbed over, and didn't mind. With excitent, she looked at Ye Lingfeng, her eyes sparkling, "Daddy, I missed you so much! Did you miss ?"
Hearing this, Ye Lingfeng's tense expression softened slightly, and he nodded. "I did."
His brows furrowed with concern as he looked at Zhouzhou. "How are things over there? If it's not good, I'll co get you."
His gaze shifted toward Xi Mo, filled with discontent. Xi Mo had promised to take good care of her, yet Zhouzhou had already suffered so many injuries in just a few days. He regretted letting her go in the first place.
But Zhouzhou shook her head enthusiastically. "No need, Daddy! I'm having so much fun here. Uncle Mo made a ga just for ! Before, I played with other uncles, but now it's just for !"
Her little face bead with pride. Ye Lingfeng and Zhao Xinghua exchanged glances, guessing what she ant by "ga"--it was likely training. Only Zhouzhou would treat training as play.
Watching his daughter's carefree joy, Ye Lingfeng sighed lightly. He had almost forgotten--this was Sanqing Temple's most notorious troublemaker, quite a handful indeed.
Realizing they had been too worried, Ye Lingfeng cald down, his expression becoming more composed. "Take it easy during training, okay? Progress gradually. It's important to have fun, but safety cos first. If you get hurt, make sure to use your dicine. Got it?"
Zhouzhou nodded obediently. "Got it!"
Suddenly rembering sothing, she fished out a jade piece from her pocket and proudly showed it off. "Look, Daddy! I won this jade after passing a test! Commander Uncle said if I can pass without getting a single hair hurt, he'll give a little Jade Mountain. It's super pretty!"
"It even has spiritual energy. When I get it, I'll give it to you and set up a spirit array for you. How about that?"
Hearing this, Ye Lingfeng's heart lted, and his expression grew even softer. That was his thoughtful little girl.
However, Zhao Xinghua tensed up imdiately. Knowing Commander as long as he had, he could tell the man was trying to win Zhouzhou over. No way that was happening!
"Zhouzhou," Zhao Xinghua interjected, "when training is over, co back to play with us. We'll make gas for you too. Oh, I just acquired a few new gold mines. When you visit, I'll take you to see them, and you can pick whichever one you like."
Zhouzhou's eyes lit up with glee, "Wow!"
Her little head bobbed enthusiastically, "Okay, okay!"
Gold mines! And she could pick any of them? Well, of course, she'd take all of them!
Seeing her reaction, Zhao Xinghua nodded in satisfaction. Hmph, a asly jade carving couldn't compare to an entire gold mine. Trying to steal Zhouzhou from him? Not a chance!
Xi Mo remained silent, knowing that when it ca to wealth or Zhouzhou's affections, they were simply outmatched. Commander was just stubborn, refusing to give up.
After chatting a while longer, Zhouzhou reluctantly ended the video call.
"Uncle Mo, let's play again!" Zhouzhou said excitedly, eager to return to her "gas."
She was determined to finish her training quickly and then bring the Jade Mountain back to show her dad--and claim those gold mines!
Watching her count on her fingers with glee, Xi Mo couldn't help but feel a bit bitter. "You're in such a rush to go back? Ah, I'm always second fiddle. How could I ever compare to Ye Lingfeng?"
Zhouzhou's eyes widened at that. How did he know?! Seeing him look so dejected, she panicked and quickly said, "No, no! Uncle Mo, you're my number one too!"
"Really?" Xi Mo glanced at her skeptically.
"Of course!" Zhouzhou nodded furiously. "You're both my favorite, no ranking!"
Liar. Little heartbreaker.
Xi Mo found it amusing but didn't press her further. He pinched her chubby cheek and stood up. "Alright, let's go."
Zhouzhou peeked at him nervously. "Uncle, are you still mad?"
"No, I'm not." He had never really been mad in the first place.
Zhouzhou relaxed, a big smile spreading across her face. She silently reminded herself to be more careful with her words from now on. She didn't want to hurt Uncle Mo's feelings again.
Seeing him calm and unbothered, Zhouzhou happily skipped toward the training room. Ti for more gas!
With Xi Mo's guidance, Zhouzhou's progress was swift. He observed her from the monitoring room, impressed by her sharp reactions and rapid improvent. She was learning quickly and applying new techniques even faster.
Over in his own monitoring room, Wei Fangyi was also watching Zhouzhou's training. Every training room had an adjacent monitoring room, and all the video feeds were connected. Knowing your opponent was key to victory, so Xi Mo was surely watching them as well.
Dou Qiang and the others stared at the screen in shock. "She passed in just forty minutes? How did she improve so fast?"
Shaving off just ten minutes each ti might not seem much, but given how little training she had done, it was astonishing. Not only was she faster, but she was also getting injured less frequently.
It wouldn't be long before she won that Jade Mountain from Commander.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. She was even more formidable than Xi Mo had been at her age.
Suddenly, they understood--Xi Mo's earlier remark about how adding any teammate to Zhouzhou's side would make the competition pointless wasn't an insult. He hadn't been boasting.
He had simply been stating the truth.
Watching her progress, Wei Fangyi's competitive fire burned brighter. He had to find a way to spar with Zhouzhou!
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