"Have Moyou go out of the valley and buy a milk goat. Let the little miss have fresh goat milk every day," Qingyao commanded. The matter was settled, and Mochou immediately went to instruct Moyou to leave the valley.
Now they could come and go from the valley as they pleased; who could stop them?
Inside the room, it was very quiet. Mu Qingyao gazed at the little figure on the bed, slowly withdrew her hand, stared fixedly at her, and spoke word by word.
"Qiao Nan, why are you following me? Can't you be reborn into another family? Must you come to mine? Don't you know it makes me uncomfortable to see you?"
The infant's eyes reddened, and tears rolled down. She wanted to tell her that her suffering was no less than hers.
A reborn infant, crying for three days straight and on the verge of death, was indeed painful. Yet, a single strand of determination in her heart prevented her from reincarnating peacefully, because she wanted to see her happy and joyful.
But now, it seemed she was not happy. Clearly, she had given birth, yet people called her "Miss." What did that imply?
Thinking of this, a blockage formed in Qiao Nan's heart. She only wanted her to be happy; it was what she owed her.
"Miss, I've instructed Moyou," Mochou walked in. Mu Qingyao withdrew her gaze and said faintly, "From now on, call her Little Fish. Mu Xiaoyu."
"Little Fish?" Mochou uttered the name. It did sound rather pleasant, but for a girl, such a name seemed inappropriate.
Mu Qingyao waved her hand, not looking at the infant's face, and closed her eyes wearily.
"I'm tired and want to rest for a while."
Little Fish, however, was filled with joy. It turned out Su Chen remembered her fondness for all sorts of fish.
In the past, she had mentioned more than once how she wished she could be a free and unrestrained fish, able to roam the ocean at will. Now, she had truly become a little fish.
Little Fish silently vowed, "From now on, if anyone bullies Su Chen, I will never let them off. Although I don't have great power, I am Qiao Nan. Making weapons and ammunition is still something I'm good at."
"If anyone dares to mess with Su Chen, I will blow them to smithereens!"
"Little Fish, let's go. Let Miss rest for a while."
Mochou carried Little Fish out. After she loudly announced her name, everyone in the valley soon knew her name was Little Fish. Everyone commented that the name was pleasant, evoking a feeling of comfort and happiness.
Little Fish, though her name was pleasant, had endured endless calamities since her mother had kindly named her one day.
First, her staple food of rice porridge was replaced with goat milk. She threw up, then drank, then threw up again. Meanwhile, her mother would cheer her on with a smile.
"Little Fish, drink more, so you can grow strong."
Everyone was moved by such a mother, realizing she still cared for her child.
Only Mochou knew her mistress's mischievous nature. After a few days of observation, she learned that Little Fish disliked goat milk; no, she was terrified of it, yet her mistress insisted she drink it endlessly.
The tiny infant's stomach and her entire little body now carried a faint smell of goat, which deterred anyone who liked to hold her from coming near.
But that wasn't all. Every morning, her mother would tease Little Fish with a fluffy, shifty-eyed creature called a mouse, causing screams to echo through the valley daily.
With their ears suffering, everyone deeply sympathized with the poor Little Fish. Not even a month old, she was already being tormented by her mother. When would it end?
Someone had also declared to the outside world that this was to train her lung capacity, so she would be healthy and have a great appetite in the future.
Although no one understood her words, what "lung capacity" or "great appetite" meant, Little Fish's face turned pale, and her expression was one of terror. That was true. While feeling sympathetic, everyone couldn't help but think.
Little Fish seemed a little different from other children. For instance, how could a newborn infant already know fear and scream so dramatically? Or when drinking goat milk, she'd wrinkle her nose and show disgust.
In any case, with Little Fish and Mu Qingyao, the entire Heartless Valley became much livelier, now exuding a vibrant atmosphere.
If a day passed without hearing a cry, they would find it unusual. They truly wondered how the valley inhabitants would cope if these two were no longer there.
Mu Qingyao had initially planned to devise various tricks for Little Fish. Because Little Fish was her good friend in her previous life, she knew all her fears and dislikes. She deliberately targeted her phobias to provoke her, as she was unable to speak or control her limbs now and could only endure her mischief.
However, Qingyao soon had no time to tease Little Fish, as an uninvited guest arrived in the valley.
Heartless Valley was surrounded by a peach blossom forest and a marsh pond, yet this uninvited guest led a group of people in. This indicated he was well-versed in the formations outside the marsh, a formidable individual.
However, even though they had passed through the marsh pond, they could not enter the peach blossom forest. The peach forest not only had formations but also poisonous smoke. Most importantly, Wuxing played his zither in the peach forest; as long as he was there, no one could break in. The formations were controlled by his music, and outsiders had no knowledge of the intricacies within.
Mu Qingyao was in her room, teasing Little Fish. In two days, she would be a month old, and Little Fish was becoming increasingly adorable.
Two days later, she would begin practicing the music score and hoped to learn martial arts as soon as possible so she would no longer be at anyone's mercy. Qingyao slowly smiled.
At that moment, the door rang, and Moyou rushed in, looking anxious.
"Miss, someone has trespassed into the valley."
"Oh, Wuxing wouldn't let anyone in casually," Qingyao said nonchalantly, lost in thought. She was contemplating that despite having the music score.
She didn't have a good zither, which was a troublesome matter. Ordinary zithers might not be able to unleash the power of the "Zither Demon."
"Young Master set up formations in the forest. Those people were all knocked unconscious after entering. Young Master ordered them to be sunk into the marsh pond. I barely managed to plead with him to spare those people."
"Spare them?" Mu Qingyao raised her eyebrows, her eyes holding a sharp glint. Moyou's actions indicated that the person was someone familiar to them. A sense of unease flashed through her mind. Who could it be?
"Who?"
"The Prince of Nan'an," Moyou's brow furrowed with a hint of disquiet. She hadn't expected the Prince of Nan'an to find Heartless Valley and break into the peach blossom forest. It happened that the Young Master was playing his zither in the forest; if he hadn't been playing inside, they might have broken through.
Qingyao looked on in disbelief. Based on her understanding of the Prince of Nan'an, he shouldn't have had the ability to cross the marsh pond.
Although the Prince of Nan'an was skilled in martial arts, he knew nothing of mystical formations. If it were that person from the palace, she would believe he had some ability.