Chapter 366: When the Past Comes Back
With a happy smile, he stretched out his tiny arms and hugged him.
No matter how many children joined the family, Qiong Xing’s love would never diminish.
His precious, precious child.
"Mya... mamya."
"Yes, yes, I’m right here. Come on, let Mama see that cute face properly."
He had never expected Lingxiao to achieve a human form this quickly.
But seeing the same appearance he had glimpsed when they first met filled him with even greater affection.
"You worked very hard. Papa will be happy too."
When Qiong Xing told him to go surprise everyone, Lingxiao immediately returned to his dragon form with a small pop.
Letting out a cheerful cry as if to say I’m off!, he shot high into the sky.
"Raon is probably going to be surprised again. As for Iseul... he might cry."
Lingxiao seemed to have no memory of what had happened in the dream.
But neither Qiong Xing nor Iseul could ever forget the first time they had seen their child in human form.
Seeing it again would surely bring tears of joy.
"Now then, before Iseul comes running over to call me, I should make Yue and Rui’s snack..."
"Meow~"
"Oh my, did you come to help?"
The kitten had become something close to a member of the family by now.
Thanks to proper meals and plenty of affection, it was growing healthy and energetic.
Its body had become much larger than before, to the point where calling it a kitten might no longer be accurate.
Yet it still followed Qiong Xing everywhere he went, and he continued to spoil it.
There had been a time when Fenrisúlfr, Joa, and the others had frightened it with their growls and barks.
Now, unlike before, it no longer hissed at anyone except in rare moments of surprise.
Little by little, it was growing accustomed to the family.
"Then perhaps I should prepare a snack for you too. I think there was one apple left ov..."
The moment Qiong Xing picked up the cat and tried to stand, his vision swayed again.
His knees buckled.
This time, the dizziness did not pass.
The world darkened before his eyes.
Unable to stay upright, he collapsed.
"Meow~! Meow~! Meow~!"
The cat immediately jumped from his arms and cried out desperately as if begging him to wake him up.
But Qiong Xing could not answer.
His consciousness sank into darkness.
By the time it became aware of itself, it was already alone.
It did not know why it was there or why it had no one.
Still, it searched for food to survive, sometimes digging through garbage, managing to stay alive by the narrowest of margins.
That day had been no different.
While searching for something to eat, it was spotted by humans.
It tried to run, but was eventually getting caugh by themt.
They punched it, kicked it, and threw stones at it.
Even when it cried out in pain, they did not stop.
Instead, they laughed and became even more violent.
Why did it have to suffer like this?
Had it really come to the point where all it could do was die?
Just as it was beginning to give up, someone suddenly grabbed it.
Taking it as a final chance to resist, it bit down hard on the hand.
You deserve to hurt too.
It slashed with its claws as well, but the hand refused to let go.
Desperate to escape, it struggled wildly.
"Ow! Hey, you little brat! I just saved you! Why are you biting me? Hey, wait! Stop running away!"
Of course.
It was certain this human would start hurting it too.
There was no way it would ever trust humans.
"I’m sorry. It’s alright now. We won’t hurt you."
And yet...
The hand that touched it was warm.
The pain that had filled its body until moments ago suddenly vanished.
The shock left it speechless.
Not only that, but water was offered to it.
Then an apple.
The taste of that apple, given with the words go ahead and eat, was something it would never forget for the rest of its life.
It had no idea why it could understand their language.
But it could tell from the way he spoke and the smile on his face that he was different from every other human it had ever met.
When it rubbed itself against the hand gently stroking its fur, he smiled as though praising a good child.
This person would never hurt it.
This person would surely protect it.
Believing that, it followed him wherever he went.
Then a child came running over, calling him Mama.
The moment it saw the child, it remembered the humans who had hurt it earlier and instinctively hissed and growled in warning.
In the end, it was stopped from doing so.
But when the warm hand gently stroked its fur and reassured it that nobody was angry, it felt relieved.
After that, various things happened.
His family scolded it more than once, but in the end, they seemed willing to let it stay.
And yet...
"Meow~! Meow~! Meow~! Meow~!"
Qiong Xing collapsed before its eyes, his face pale.
It cried out for him to wake up, but his closed eyes showed no sign of opening.
It tried to move him, but its small body was far too weak.
It grabbed the hem of his clothing with its teeth and pulled with all its strength, but he did not move at all.
What should I do? What should I do?
Desperate, it ran off to find help.
The first person it found was a man.
Without hesitation, it bit down on his leg.
"Ow!"
"Meow~! Meow~!"
Help him!
It looked up desperately, but instead of understanding, the man grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and lifted it into the air.
"You little... knock it off already! I’m only letting you stay because Qiong Xing asked us to. Everyone else was against it in the first place... and stop biting me!"
