The room’s door was locked from the inside.
Yan Yu, also known as the Skin Demon, fixed her gaze on the two children in front of her. She licked her lips, a trace of amusement flickering across her beautiful face.
“You two… did you come here to deliver your skins to me?”
Feng Yuan wasted no words. He directly transformed into a little battle chick, his whole body covered in tender downy fluff. His chirps were childish yet clear and bright.
The Skin Demon dodged his attack, still laughing.
She wasn’t afraid of Feng Yuan.
After all, Feng Yuan was just too small.
Such a tiny, fluffy chick. It looked like someone could kill him just by sitting down.
Qin Xun didn’t just stand there dumbly on the side. He also rushed forward together with Feng Yuan.
He had learned some things from the Taoist priests on the forum.
Things like how to draw talismans and how to form hand seals.
And various little tricks for warding off evil.
Inside the room, there was a crackling crash as all sorts of things fell to the ground.
The decorations that had once been neatly hung and arranged were now swept down, leaving the floor a complete mess.
Feng Yuan’s plump little body was gradually starting to struggle.
The tiny flames he spat out had improved compared to before, but to burn the Skin Demon to death was still clearly a bit difficult.
Su Miao quickly rushed over.
He joined the fight in the room. With his presence, the Skin Demon’s movements were suddenly restricted.
“I’ll hold her down. Yuan Yuan, spit fire!”
Su Miao did his best to pin down the Skin Demon’s body so that Feng Yuan could burn the demon with his flames.
But the two of them tangled together, their figures thrashing about in a blur.
Feng Yuan was afraid of burning the wrong target!
If his flames touched Su Miao, Su Miao would be finished, too!
“Yuan Yuan, burn her!”
Qin Xun also coordinated with Su Miao. One big and one small worked together to keep the Skin Demon locked in place.
Feng Yuan, his fluffy feathers all ruffled and messy, had been spitting flames for quite a while already.
Most of the things in the room had been burned by him.
Even he himself was smoked black from the soot.
With Su Miao and Qin Xun’s joint support, the bedraggled little battle chick flapped his wings, mustering every ounce of strength he had, and began spitting fire again.
The once-trembling little flames had improved after that time he followed Su Miao to exorcise evil. At least they no longer flickered so weakly.
His advancement was closely tied to the flames he spat out.
The stronger he became, the more powerful his little flames grew.
“Chirp!”
The tense little chick, urged on, went all in.
Gritting his tiny heart, he spat out the last tuft of flame.
The flame, precise and lucky, licked across the Skin Demon’s body. In an instant, the outermost layer of her skin was burned completely away.
Burning off only that outer layer of skin wasn’t enough to kill her.
Feng Yuan still had to keep burning.
But after fighting until now, he no longer had any strength left.
His little claws were twitching, and his short, chubby wings couldn’t even flap straight anymore.
“Yuan Yuan, keep going. It’s almost done!”
Su Miao shouted, “Just a little more to finish it!”
To completely wipe out this Skin Demon, true phoenix fire was the most effective.
Feng Yuan looked at the Skin Demon, still not fully burned away.
Even his chirps wouldn’t come out anymore.
He wanted to say he couldn’t spit fire anymore, but seeing the Skin Demon raging and shouting, along with her threat—
“You think I’ll die that easily?!”
“You burned off one layer of my skin, I can still change into another one!”
“Next time, I’ll take the skin of a child!”
“I’ll kill you all. I will definitely kill you all!”
The Skin Demon’s eyes were venomous. She had seen through Feng Yuan’s exhaustion, which was why she dared to fling out threats and intimidation so recklessly.
As for Su Miao, that ghost—while he could harm her, he couldn’t completely eradicate her.
The only one present who could sever all of the Skin Demon’s chances of survival was Feng Yuan.
Exhausted, Feng Yuan’s plump little legs trembled as he stood on the floor.
He listened to every word the Skin Demon spat. In his mind, all he could see were scenes of her skinning people alive.
Just imagining it made Feng Yuan’s eyes turn red.
Phoenixes were born with a compassionate heart for all living beings.
And Feng Yuan, this little phoenix, was also very kind.
He loved to pick up scraps, but if he met an old man even poorer than himself doing the same, he would give his scraps away.
When he saw someone collapsed by the roadside, where others wouldn’t dare to lend a hand, he was the one who went to help.
Although he had been falsely accused afterward, fortunately, Officer Xiao Lin found the surveillance footage, proving his innocence and preventing him from being swindled out of money.
Even though he was still so young, he had already done many good deeds.
Dad said he was a wonderful little phoenix!
A truly, truly wonderful little phoenix who refused to yield to demons that harmed people.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
Yuan Yuan will burn you!
With an angry chirp, Feng Yuan’s round little body suddenly erupted with a surge of power.
He opened his tender beak wide and forced out a burst of flame unlike any before.
That flame instantly cut off the Skin Demon’s frenzied shouting. The demon finally felt fear.
But it was already too late.
She was completely engulfed by that flame.
Within the fire, she howled and struggled, trying to escape, trying to grasp even the slightest thread of life.
But unfortunately, all her struggles to survive failed.
The flames on the Skin Demon’s body spread to other things inside the room.
As the Skin Demon was almost completely burned away, the smoke in the room grew thicker and thicker.
Qin Xun picked up the utterly exhausted Feng Yuan, wanting to get out.
He twisted the doorknob, but it wouldn’t turn.
Su Miao floated beside him and reminded, “Wasn’t it locked from the inside just now? Unlock it.”
Qin Xun twisted it again. “I already unlocked it, but it still won’t open.”
“Someone locked it from the outside.”
As he spoke, Qin Xun lifted his eyes to look at Su Miao.
Su Miao’s eyelids twitched, and he went straight through the door.
Once outside, he saw Li Ting at the doorway.
And Li Ting’s forehead was beaded with sweat as he worked on the lock.
“What’s going on?”
Su Miao spoke out loud, only to remember right after that Li Ting couldn’t hear him.
So, he leaned in to take a closer look.
At that glance, his expression changed. Inside the keyhole, someone had stuffed something unknown.
The lock was jammed.
Now, there was no way to open this door through normal means.
Li Ting had clearly been struggling with the lock for quite some time.
There were even obvious footprints on the iron door, proof that it had been kicked.
This was the most luxurious hotel in the city. Even its doors were made from top-grade materials.
Trying to kick it open was absolutely impossible.
“Li Ting, how is it? Did you break it yet?”
Just as Li Ting was prying at the lock and kicking the door, Yu Yi, who was also attending the wedding banquet, hurried over.
Earlier, he had already gotten a call from Li Ting.
Now, his face looked just as grim.
He knew exactly who was trapped inside this room.
It was Li Sheng’s son.
And this room was on fire.
Besides Li Ting and Yu Yi, Chen Wen and his father also rushed over from another room.
The father and son pair had just been hiding in another room, watching this room’s surveillance feed.
The surveillance had been set up by Chen Wen, and it was the disposable kind.
In other words, once viewed, the footage would automatically burn.
The images they saw on the feed had nearly scared the two of them to death.
After they finally managed to calm down a little, they then heard that the room’s door was broken. Feng Yuan and Qin Xun inside couldn’t get out.
When President Chen received that news, he was once again so terrified he almost died on the spot.
Yu Yi saw that Li Ting couldn’t pry open the lock. The door had already been baked hot from the fire inside.
A jolt of shock ran through his heart. He couldn’t afford to question the problem with the lock anymore. Forcing himself to stay calm, he yanked a necklace from around his neck.
Hanging on the necklace was a delicate little ornament, which looked like a thin and finely crafted small box.
When the box was opened, inside lay a pitch-black object. It was unrecognizable, looking like the tip of a black claw.
Yu Yi told himself over and over to stay calm.
But his hand trembled slightly as he pulled out that black object and slashed it across the doorknob.
In the very next second, the lock was forcibly torn open.
The door finally gave way.
Li Ting rushed into the scorching, burning-hot room, scooping Qin Xun and Feng Yuan, who had collapsed by the doorway, into his arms.
Feng Yuan had already reverted from his little chick form back into his young cub form.
Qin Xun, being human, had been smoked unconscious before him.
As the flames drew closer, the completely drained Feng Yuan, with no strength left at all, weakly opened his black-bean eyes and turned back into a cub.
He stretched out his little hands and hugged Qin Xun tight.
He was a little phoenix. He wasn’t afraid of being burned.
But Qin Xun was.
So, he held Qin Xun close, using his own plump little body to shield him.
Only when Li Ting had scooped both children into his arms did his heart finally settle.
It was only then that he had the mind to speak to the people beside him.
“Check the surveillance! Find out who tampered with the lock!”
As he charged forward, Li Ting roared furiously.
When he had arrived earlier, Feng Yuan and Qin Xun had already gone into the room and locked the door from the inside.
He couldn’t get in, so he waited outside.
But then, further down the hallway, President Chen’s younger sister suddenly collapsed from low blood sugar.
He had candy in his pocket. Because Feng Yuan loved sweets, he had gotten into the habit of always keeping a piece or two with him.
He had only walked over to give Chen Yi two pieces of candy.
In less than three minutes, he had already returned to the room’s doorway.
But when he came back, he hadn’t seen anyone at the door at all.
Yet, when he tried to open it, the lock was already broken!
Yu Yi, seeing him carrying both children, forcibly took one into his own arms. “I’ll help you carry him. My car’s at the entrance. We’ll head to the hospital right now.”
Behind them, President Chen wanted to follow.
But Chen Wen grabbed him.
“Dad, the most important thing right now is to check the surveillance.”
“The child who was with Qin Xun is from Uncle Li’s family.”
President Chen: “…”
Thinking of the Li family, then thinking of that child just now, President Chen’s back went cold.
If anything happened to that child, no matter how close his ties with the Li family were, those ties would be severed!
“Right, you’re right. We’ll head to the monitoring room now.”
President Chen was seething with fury.
When he saw the jammed lock, he thought whoever did this must have had their conscience eaten by lard.
There were still people inside that room, yet they went and ruined the lock. Did they never consider that if something happened inside, those people would die?!
With a darkened face, President Chen went to investigate the matter of the door lock.
If he didn’t get to the bottom of this, he would have no way to explain to the Li family.
The car sped forward.
Inside, Li Ting was already on the phone with the hospital.
Not only the hospital, but he had also called Li Sheng.
Very soon.
Both little ones, Feng Yuan and Qin Xun, were wheeled off for examination.
Li Sheng and Feng Qi also rushed over. Behind them came an old man Li Ting hadn’t seen in a long time.
No, it was their father.
The father hadn’t appeared in a long time, yet the moment he did, his authority was completely undiminished.
After arriving, he walked straight up to Li Ting.
Li Ting lowered his head and called out hoarsely, “Dad.”
After calling him father, he closed his eyes, waiting for the lecture he knew was coming.
But unexpectedly, Feng Qi spoke up to stop it.
Feng Qi didn’t immediately rush in to condemn anyone. On the way here, he had already heard the entire sequence of events.
He had also seen Su Miao standing by Li Ting’s side.
Su Miao’s instinct was to avoid Feng Qi.
But right now, he didn’t hide.
His hand tightened around Li Ting’s sleeve, and his lips moved slightly: “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. If not for me, Yuan Yuan wouldn’t have taken the risk.”
He shifted all the responsibility for what happened onto himself.
Feng Qi looked at him calmly and said in a quiet voice, “Don’t blame yourself. This matter isn’t your fault.”
“What Yuan Yuan did this time, I don’t oppose.”
As a little phoenix, what Feng Yuan did now was precisely what he ought to do.
As for the real culprit behind Qin Xun and Feng Yuan being choked unconscious and sent to the hospital, it wasn’t Li Ting, nor was it Su Miao.
Feng Qi was clear-headed. He knew exactly whose grudge needed to be kept.
This time, Li Ting had only left the door unwatched for a few minutes. If the roles had been reversed, Feng Qi would have made the same choice.
Not blaming Li Ting didn’t mean he could calmly accept that his child had been harmed like this.
Looking at Li Ting, after saying he didn’t blame him, Feng Qi added, “When you find the one who ruined the lock, let me know.”
A phoenix was born with a compassionate heart.
But a phoenix was no saint!
Toward evildoers, a phoenix never showed mercy.
“Alright.”
Li Ting agreed, then stayed put to wait for the examination results.
The group didn’t have to wait long.
The doctor who finished the check-up came out and reported the situation to them.
Qin Xun’s condition was a bit serious. He needed to be hospitalized.
Feng Yuan was better off. His condition wasn’t as severe as Qin Xun’s. As long as he was kept under observation for another 24 hours without any abnormalities, he would be fine.
Both children were transferred to a ward.
Feng Qi also caught sight of his own little black cub.
His messy hair hadn’t been tidied, his dirty little face hadn’t been washed, and his small arms, hands, and the legs sticking out from under his shorts were all smudged with ash.
Just as Feng Qi was about to call for Li Sheng, Li Sheng had already brought over some water.
The two parents wiped down Feng Yuan and Qin Xun thoroughly.
While they stayed inside the ward, Li Ting was called outside by Li Heng and was harshly scolded without the slightest leniency.
Li Heng didn’t let his younger son off just because Feng Qi hadn’t pressed the matter.
Li Ting endured the scolding without making a single sound.
Time ticked by bit by bit.
By evening, Feng Yuan woke up. When he opened his eyes, his little face was still dazed and foggy. In his head, he only remembered two things.
“Where’s Qin Xun?”
“Did Dad’s cake get eaten already?”
Feng Yuan worried about Qin Xun, and he also worried about Dad’s cake.
The adults keeping watch at the bedside, seeing that he was still thinking about cake, knew right away that he was fine.
Even so, just to be safe, they still didn’t allow him to be discharged.
Li Sheng brought the cake to the hospital.
When it came time to cut the cake, Qin Xun also woke up once, and his condition was improving.
One child was fine, the other was getting better. The adults’ anxious hearts rose and fell in rhythm with the two of them.
When the children were well, only then could the adults finally be well, too.
“Qin Xun, I’ll save your cake for you, okay?”
Qin Xun still couldn’t eat cake. Feng Yuan lay on the hospital bed next to him, staring longingly at the cake while talking to him.
Qin Xun wasn’t very interested in cake.
He turned his face, gazing steadily at Feng Yuan. “Yuan Yuan, you eat it for me.”
Feng Yuan: “!”
The moment Feng Yuan heard that, his little face instantly lit up with delight.
“Alright, then I’ll help you eat it!”
As he spoke, he held up two chubby fingers toward his dad. “Dad, Yuan Yuan wants two pieces!”
Feng Qi: “…”
Feng Qi gave a quiet “mm” in response and casually handed Li Sheng two plates.
Li Sheng took one slice of cake and cut it in half.
Then, he put the divided slice onto two plates.
Feng Yuan: “?”
Something felt wrong.
Having already attended kindergarten, Feng Yuan narrowed his sharp little eyes at the plate and raised a protest.
“No, no, Yuan Yuan wants two pieces.”
“These are two pieces.”
With a perfectly straight face, Li Sheng coaxed him: “One piece per plate. Yuan Yuan, count for yourself. How many plates are there?”
Feng Yuan actually counted: “Two!”
“Then that’s right.”
After saying this, Li Sheng ignored him and went on dividing the cake for the others.
Li Heng also got a slice.
The old man looked at the cake in his hand, took two bites, and then stopped eating.
After a while.
The adults were ordered by the doctor not to stay crowded inside the ward.
Li Sheng and Feng Qi went home to fetch Feng Yuan’s clothes.
Li Ting also went to the Chen family’s place.
In the ward, only the old man remained to watch over the cub.
Feng Yuan had already finished eating his own cake.
He glanced at the one in Li Heng’s hand, his eyes rolling with thought, then sat up.
“Grandpa.”
He called out to Li Heng.
Li Heng lifted his gaze to him. “Hm?”
Feng Yuan beckoned with his little hand, asking him to sit closer.
When Li Heng leaned in, Feng Yuan’s soft, milky voice rang out gently.
The little one tilted his face up, smiling sweetly.
He asked, “Grandpa, do you love Yuan Yuan?”
Li Heng: “…”
Other than with his wife, Li Heng had never spoken that word to anyone else, especially not to the younger generation.
But the little one before him refused to let it go, insisting on making him say whether he loved him or not.
“Yuan Yuan loves Grandpa. Doesn’t Grandpa love Yuan Yuan?”
Seeing that Grandpa didn’t answer, the little one’s face, which had just been so happy, now looked a little heartbroken.
A child’s love was simple, direct, and pure.
Faced with such straightforward expression from the cub, Li Heng let his gaze wander around the room.
No one else was there.
Meeting the cub’s eyes, he gave a light nod.
Just that single nod was enough to satisfy the little one.
He leaned in, wrapping his two chubby, lotus-root-like arms around Li Heng, and pressed his soft little face close to Li Heng’s.
After laying the groundwork with the “Do you love Yuan Yuan” question, Yuan Yuan finally revealed his true goal:
“Grandpa loves Yuan Yuan, so can you give Yuan Yuan the cake to eat?”
Li Heng: “…”
Li Heng: “I already bit it.”
Yuan Yuan burst out laughing, puffing out his little chest proudly: “Yuan Yuan doesn’t mind Grandpa! Yuan Yuan even ate the leftover food from Da Huang!”
Li Heng: “?”
Li Heng suddenly grew curious: “Who is Da Huang?”
“The doggy on Huasheng Street! One time, it picked up a big loaf of bread still in the wrapper! It couldn’t finish it, so it shared it with Yuan Yuan!”
Li Heng fell silent.
The Li family had been wealthy for generations, yet never did he imagine that the youngest cub would end up eating bread together with a dog.
In that instant, the old master of the Li family, always called cold and heartless, felt a faint ache sweep across his chest.
Spending a rare Saturday and Sunday in the hospital, Yuan Yuan himself felt it was quite a pity.
He wanted to go out and play.
But when Sunday came, Li Sheng reminded him that his homework wasn’t done yet, and school was about to start. Feng Yuan, who had been eager to run wild outside, instantly wilted.
He sprawled out his little hands and feet, even sticking a piece of tissue paper on his forehead, pretending it was a fever patch.
“Aiyo.”
With the tissue on his forehead, the little cub let out a weak groan: “Yuan Yuan feels so terrible, my body hurts.”
