Chapter 154 Return

Due to that damn summoning ritual, it was already one or two in the morning by the time Vivian had finished studying the blood sample. Lily, whose biological clock was sturdy, was already fast asleep on the sofa, smacking her lips in her sleep, probably dreaming of something delicious. In fact, it was an amazing improvement that she could stay awake until this time. Hao Ren still remembered the husky's heroic feat of standing on the street at four in the morning while sleeping during her first business trip abroad. Now that she was traveling with everyone to various worlds with messed-up time zones every day, Lily had actually made a lot of progress.

"Let her sleep here tonight," Hao Ren looked at Lily, who was curled up in a ball on the sofa. "She's already sound asleep. It's easy to get bitten if you move her at this time."

Nangong Sanba yawned. "Ha… I'm sleepy too. I'm going back to sleep first. We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."

Nangong Wuyue and Aier Sha nodded one after another. "Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty tired today…"

Hao Ren looked at these two aquatic creatures with a strange expression, thinking that these two had huddled together in the corner at the first sign of a fight, and they were just stage backgrounds when they went to Mars, so how could they have the nerve to say they were tired… Did the audience seats also have wear and tear fees?

After Izhaks also led his daughter back to the house, Hao Ren stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "Actually, there's a problem I'm very concerned about."

Vivian almost never slept at night, and she was still very energetic at this time, accompanying Hao Ren. "What's the problem?"

"Before that evil spirit was killed, she kept repeating some inexplicable words, saying 'come back', 'come back', but she didn't say anything else," Hao Ren thought it was getting stranger and stranger. "In the end, I wasn't even sure if that evil spirit had complete sanity… or was just a magical summon."

"'Come back'?" Vivian frowned. She also felt that this word was inexplicable. "What does it mean?"

Hao Ren shrugged. "From the lines alone, it's like a female ghost summoning a soul. You know, that evil spirit really looked exactly like you, but her temperament was like she'd taken drugs. Don't you really remember having a split personality other than Hespera back then? Maybe in addition to bats turning into spirits, your blood can also turn into spirits?"

Vivian immediately got goosebumps all over her body. "Don't mess around. Having one Hespera is already annoying me to death. If I have two brats, I'll never have peace in my life."

"Forget it, don't think so much. We'll talk about it after you confirm the origin of the magic book with Hespera," Hao Ren breathed out, stood up, and stretched a long, lazy stretch. "Hoo… I'm going back to sleep first. You should rest early too."

After Hao Ren returned to his room and lay on the bed, he heard a soft rustling sound from the small table next to him. Dou Dou quietly poked her little head out of the pot. "Daddy's back?"

Hao Ren was surprised that this little guy was still awake at this time. "You're not asleep yet? Did I wake you up?"

Recently, Dou Dou had been growing, and she was basically just eating and sleeping every day. She usually got sleepy after dinner in the evening, so the little guy had already fallen asleep when everyone went out to do the summoning ritual. He didn't expect her to wake up at this time. The little guy gently paddled the water, her voice rarely serious. "I had a dream! Daddy, do you think I'll be like you when I grow up?"

Hao Ren didn't react for a moment. "Like what?"

"Just like you," Dou Dou waved her little arms and hands, trying hard to express her meaning clearly. "Like Daddy, and Fish Sister and Dog Sister and them—as big as you, and able to run around!"

Hao Ren finally understood what the little guy was thinking. His first reaction was shock: he didn't expect Dou Dou's intelligence to develop so quickly. She was less than a year old and already started thinking about these things, and the little guy probably realized the difference between herself and other people. He quickly weighed his words, considering how to explain these things that were a bit ahead of her time to a fish. "Um… you will definitely grow up, and you might be as big as Daddy, but you'll still be a little different from everyone else…"

"Different?" Dou Dou's eyes shone brightly in the darkness. "Why?"

Hao Ren thought for a while. "Look, your Dog Sister has a fluffy tail, bats can fly, Fish Sister can turn into a snake, and Big Guy Uncle can breathe fire… Aren't everyone different? Our family has special ingredients, so everyone is a little different, so you will be very special too… Um, unique, that's the way it is."

"Is unique good?" Dou Dou asked curiously.

Hao Ren nodded vigorously. "It's good! Individuality is king these days! If your personality is so unique that even your art style is different from others, then you win directly. Look how awesome your Big Guy Uncle is—just because he looks like a landscape building…"

"Then am I different from Daddy too?" Dou Dou asked relentlessly. "Shouldn't Daddy and I be the same?"

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Hao Ren's forehead. He felt that he hadn't felt so much psychological pressure even when he was fighting monsters on Mars. Did this little guy suddenly have an epiphany or what? How could she suddenly come up with so many sharp questions? "Um… this question depends on how you analyze it. Theoretically, any father and daughter will definitely be different when they grow up, but I guess that's not what you're asking…"

Dou Dou stared at Hao Ren with her bright little eyes, her face full of the simplest and purest curiosity and expectation. Hao Ren suddenly surrendered when he saw this look. He simply spread his hands. "That's right, you'll be different from Daddy when you grow up. It's hard to say whether you'll grow legs, but Daddy probably won't grow a tail in this lifetime—but that's not important. I'm your dad, and the goddess has already filed it, so even if the universe is destroyed, I'm still your dad."

Dou Dou blinked her eyes. There were many things she didn't understand, but she seemed to have gotten the answer she wanted, so the little guy shook her body contentedly, splashing water with a swish before going back to the bottom of the pot to sleep, leaving Hao Ren to breathe a sigh of relief: the little guy's sharp questions were finally over.

But at the same time, he suddenly realized something more clearly: Dou Dou's accelerated development talent… seemed to be showing its power.

He had to start considering the problem of the little mermaid's increasingly mature mind.

Although he went to bed late last night, Hao Ren still woke up on time the next day: after his mental strength improved, his speed of recovery was much faster than before, and sleep was gradually becoming a controllable and customizable thing. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Dou Dou doing morning exercises energetically on the edge of the small table. The little guy was happily stretching her arms and pressing her tail by herself. After hearing Hao Ren get up, she jumped onto the bed with a thud, waving her tail vigorously to say hello. "Good morning, Daddy!"

Hao Ren was stunned for a moment, and found that Dou Dou was still the same happy and carefree as usual, and didn't seem to be confused by the questions from last night. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and gently tapped the little guy's head. "Good morning—also, when will you remember not to jump on the bed casually? Don't you know you have water on you?"

Dou Dou happily patted her tail. "I know!"

Hao Ren looked at the water stains on the mat, thinking that it was lucky that it was summer now, otherwise he would have to go outside to dry the quilt every day—if outsiders saw this, how would he explain the problem of a big man's quilt being covered with water stains every day!

It probably wouldn't be any easier than explaining to people why his pants were wet every day…

As soon as Hao Ren went out, he saw Vivian on the phone in the living room, and her emotions seemed a little agitated. "...Anyway, this mess is not small. You quickly find out who wrote that book and how it was spread… Okay, okay, I know what you mean. I'm not complaining about anything else… It would be the greatest help to me if you could investigate it clearly… Absolutely not, you stay at home obediently! Don't use this opportunity… I'm fine here. Just take care of yourself, you know? The landlord? The landlord is pretty good. I just went on a business trip with him a few days ago… If you have this energy, you might as well help me investigate the magic book!"

"Talking to Hespera?" Hao Ren asked casually after Vivian hung up the phone.

Vivian looked at her phone with heartache. "...International roaming… this life is too extravagant…"

"I'll pay your phone bill," Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "How's the magic book thing going?"

"She said she'd look into it, but she doesn't know who wrote the magic book either. It was offered by a minion under her, and it was an antique bought from a black market auction, so there's no way to find out the source," Vivian sighed, then suddenly changed the subject. "Compared to this, I have something to show you."