Of course, there was milk.
Su Linfeng really had been reborn at the right time.
If it had been a year or two later, after Qian Renxue was weaned, in this place of confinement, he might not even have had a way to survive.
"What a cursed fate."
Even though Bibi Dong was nursing him right now, in her eyes, he was still nothing more than a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring… and a spirit bone.
Su Linfeng drank while grumbling in his heart. This was truly "eating a sweet date while gambling with his life." But in his current form, he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
Rarely did Bibi Dong show such tenderness.
And he was fortunate enough to witness it.
Aside from three-year-old Qian Renxue, Su Linfeng was the first—and perhaps the last—person to ever see this side of her.
Bibi Dong looked down at him, a faint blush coloring her face. "A soul beast taking human form… other than being able to drink milk like Xiaoxue, you don't seem all that different from ordinary people."
"Yiya yiya"
Su Linfeng cooed back while drinking, as if to say, Of course I'm no different, I've already taken human form.
Bibi Dong chuckled softly. "This little one actually knows how to respond? Can you really understand me?"
Maternal instincts overflowed.
For all that she had suffered, at the end of the day, Bibi Dong was still a woman.
And more than that—a mother.
"Yiya~ yiya!"
He responded again, clutching tightly with his tiny hand as if afraid Qian Renxue would come fight him for it.
With nourishment entering his body, Su Linfeng could feel his soul power gradually recovering. Though he couldn't awaken a martial spirit yet, the foundation was being laid, waiting for the day to erupt.
After all, he wasn't some ordinary beast—he had crossed into this world as the Golden Crow of Emperor Jun, a being that could rival even the Dragon God. Otherwise, the higher powers wouldn't have moved against him so early, at the hundred-thousand-year mark.
Think of the Snow Emperor, Ice Emperor, and Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, each of whom endured multiple tribulations over hundreds of thousands of years. With his body tempered in Great Sun Golden Flames, he should have been able to overcome a tribulation with ease.
At his peak, he felt he could have stood alone against the great ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
But the reach of the Douluo God Realm was simply too long.
Now, living a second life, he not only had to avoid becoming someone's spirit ring, but also watch for the meddling of the God Realm itself. In just six years, the "heaven-sent son" Tang San would be born as well.
Time flowed like water, fleeting as a galloping horse.
Ten months passed in the blink of an eye.
Though Su Linfeng couldn't yet speak clearly, he could already crawl.
Wuhun Hall, restricted area.
Though called a secret chamber, in truth Bibi Dong's place of confinement was the forbidden back mountain of Wuhun Hall.
There, beside a vast natural lake thousands of meters wide, lay their dwelling. A stream ten meters across flowed from the lake toward Spirit City. Behind the lake towered a three-hundred-meter cliff, where a mighty waterfall thundered down. Under sunlight, a rainbow arched across the spray, dazzling and brilliant.
Qian Xunji had not set foot in this place for eight months. Luxurious though his cruelty was, he still made sure the future Angel God, Qian Renxue, never lacked for anything.
From observation over time, Su Linfeng grew more certain: there was no affection between Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong. To him, she was nothing more than a tool to breed the next generation. After all, the arrogant Pope considered himself the "Heavens" incarnate.
By the lakeside stood an ancient pavilion beside a rustic building.
Bibi Dong spent her days training with desperate intensity, rarely emerging. Other than when he was truly hungry, Su Linfeng was usually left in the care of Qian Renxue.
A child taking care of another child—needless to say, it was often a disaster.
This time was no different. After "taking care of business," Su Linfeng had been dunked in the lake and scrubbed by Qian Renxue, who now dragged him back and plopped him down on the stone table inside the pavilion.
Slap!
Catching him mid-roll, she swatted his little butt. "Stinky brat! You drank all of Mom's milk. I think she's even starting to favor you."
"Je… jie-jie (sister)…" Su Linfeng flailed his tiny hands as Qian Renxue changed his clothes, pinching her porcelain-doll cheeks in retaliation.
Qian Renxue burst into giggles, lowering her head to play-bite at his little belly. "Bite you! Bite you! Bite you!"
Children's innocence.
A rare moment of warmth.
Su Linfeng never thought little Qian Renxue could be so playful. And the more he saw her like this, the harder it was not to feel reluctant.
Because Qian Renxue herself was a child of tragedy.
This warmth would fade with time, replaced by the heavy burdens awaiting her: infiltrating the Heaven Dou imperial family, shouldering the rise and fall of Wuhun Hall, carrying the expectations of Qian Daoliu, and inheriting the Angel God's divine trial.
How cruel, that such a small body would one day carry such an impossible weight.
Even if Bibi Dong later became twisted, she was still Qian Renxue's mother. Truly, her suffering began the day her so-called "heaven-sent father", Tang San, was born.
That day shattered the years Qian Renxue had invested in the Heaven Dou Empire, and it denied her even the chance of a good ending.
She bore the hopes of her entire clan to ascend as a god—yet on that divine throne, she shed nothing but tears. If she could choose, wouldn't she rather remain the simple girl before him now? A girl with a mother's love and a pesky younger brother.
"Yiya yiya Jie… jie-jie, hungry…"
Su Linfeng's stomach growled again. His appetite was only getting bigger, no doubt because of his soul beast nature—he needed to eat seven or eight times a day just to be satisfied.
Still, he never forgot his circumstances. Every day, he quietly cultivated, trying to condense his soul power deeper into his dantian.
"Hold on."
Qian Renxue instinctively stuck her pinky into his mouth as a pacifier, while shouting toward the courtyard:
"Mom! Brother's hungry again!"
This had become her way of keeping him calm. To prevent him from disturbing Bibi Dong's cultivation, she let him suck her finger as if it were a pacifier. It usually worked—unless he was truly starving.
From the courtyard, a purple glow faded, and a graceful figure appeared, swooping toward them.
Bibi Dong habitually scooped Su Linfeng into her arms, her face full of resentment. "Little beast, your appetite is only growing. One of these days, I might just eat you instead."
"Jie… jie-jie!"
Su Linfeng wasn't shy. He started drinking at once, already used to it.
Though his body was still weak, this feeling was undeniably warm—almost like family.
"You little brat, so sly for your age. How many times have I told you—I'm not your sister."
But the way he called her "sister" in that sweet, milky voice made her heart blossom with joy. Her cheeks flushed pink. "Fine. Call me sister. At least this way, when the time comes to kill you, I won't soften."
Though she scolded him, in truth, she was happy.
At just over twenty, she was still a young woman herself. Su Linfeng's innocent reliance brought her moments of comfort she hadn't felt in years.
For Su Linfeng, it was a sliver of hope for survival.
Barely a year old, and he already had to walk on thin ice.