I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Lin Qingyue watched as Tianxing carried the half-dead man and disappeared at the end of the corridor, then clicked her tongue twice.

"It's really not easy to get four people together."

She spoke with deep emotion.

The positions of the four guardians of the Taiyuan Holy Land had been vacant for over a hundred years, and now the gaps have finally been filled.

Even if one of them was carried in bound hand and foot.

A golden phoenix and a dragon perched on Xu Yuan's shoulder, their three heads tilting at the same angle and nodding in unison.

"really."

Lin Qingyue had already turned to leave, but then paused.

She slowly turned her head back.

Xu Yuan tilts his head. Xu Nanyi tilts her head. Shen Xizhou tilts his head.

The direction was the same, the angle was the same, and even the frequency of their blinks matched.

Lin Qingyue's lips twitched.

"...No way, you three aren't really mother and children, are you?"

Xu Nanyi jumped off Xu Yuan's shoulder and transformed back into a little girl, tightly hugging Xu Yuan's thighs with both hands, tilting her head back, her red eyes shining like two light bulbs.

"This is my mother!"

Shen Xizhou slid down from Xu Yuan's arms, transformed into a little boy, and stood on the other side, nodding vigorously.

"Yes, Mother!"

Xu Yuan scooped up the two cubs, one in each hand, and held them around her waist, giving Lin Qingyue a loving smile.

"Yes, that's my son."

Lin Qingyue fell into a brief philosophical contemplation, wondering what it would mean to have the hobby of being a mother.

Forget it.

She couldn't understand it, but she respected it.

"Alright. You two—"

She crouched down, patted her knees, and waved to the two cubs.

"Call her godmother."

"I won't call!"

Two childlike voices exploded out at the same time.

Lin Qingyue's smile froze.

Xu Nanyi buried her face in Xu Yuan's neck, only one red eye peeking out as she warily stared at her, muttering, "I only have one mother."

Shen Xizhou was even more direct, with the little dragon's tail sticking out from behind him to protect him, giving off a "don't even think about taking advantage of me" vibe.

Lin Qingyue: ...I want to spank the bad child's bottom.

Xu Yuan laughed so hard her shoulders shook: "Don't mind them, Qingyue, they're just shy around strangers."

"...Alright then."

Lin Qingyue rubbed her temples and waved her hand, "Let's go, I'll take you to the back mountain to see where we'll stay first."

The four people walked up the stone steps towards the back of the mountain.

The back mountain of Taiyuan Sacred Land is a continuous forest of peaks. Each peak is not very high, but it is serene and independent. From a distance, it looks like a row of bamboo shoots emerging from the sea of ​​clouds.

As Lin Qingyue walked, she introduced the different peaks: "Each person gets a peak, and you can choose whichever one you like. I'm staying on the northernmost one, Tianxing is on the east side, and Shen Jiuyuan's peak was just assigned to the west side. Pick one you like."

Xu Yuan glanced around and his gaze fell on a peak halfway up a mountain covered in peach blossoms.

Before she could even speak—

"Mother!"

Xu Nanyi tugged at her sleeve, her little face filled with unease, "I don't want to live alone on a mountain! I want to live with Mommy!"

Xu Yuan looked down at her: "Hmm? Don't want to live alone?"

"No!" Xu Nanyi shook her head vigorously, her ahoge (cowlick) bobbing back and forth. "I want to sleep with Mommy!"

Shen Xizhou stood to the side, his little fists clenched, his cheeks slightly flushed, and after a long pause, he could only utter one sentence.

"I...I want to live with my older sister too!"

He raised an eyebrow as he made a wish.

Shen Xizhou, his face flushed, added, "We're twins! We can't be separated! This is... this is the rule of heaven!"

What kind of heavenly laws and rules are these?

Xu Yuan looked at the two little faces in front of her.

That's true. These two look like they were just born, she doesn't feel comfortable leaving them anywhere.

Moreover, the number of newborn offspring of the demon race has been small in the last few hundred years, and those with this bloodline are even rarer.

"Okay." Xu Yuan pinched Xu Nanyi's cheek with one hand and rubbed Shen Xizhou's head with the other, her tone light and cheerful.

"Then let's go home."

Lin Qingyue stood there, watching the three figures walk down the stone steps towards Peach Blossom Peak. The older one walked in front, while the two younger ones tugged at her clothes on either side, their short legs kicking fast.

She shook her head and chuckled, then cursed.

"I never expected that Ah-Yuan would have such a strong urge to be a mother at such a young age."

"Forget it, I need to get back to training. Otherwise, if that unlucky new guy really surpasses me, where will I put my boss's face?"

……

late at night.

The small courtyard on Peach Blossom Peak is quiet and peaceful.

Xu Yuan originally lived alone, but this afternoon she temporarily added two small bamboo houses on both sides of the main house, one for each person. The bedding was soft, and wind chimes she had casually woven were hanging on the windows.

Xu Nanyi transformed back into her little girl form, wearing a loose-fitting white nightgown and nestled in the blankets.

He rolled over.

She rolled the blanket into a roll, and she was wrapped in the middle like a little spring roll.

Can't sleep.

She stared at the ceiling of the bamboo house, where a sliver of moonlight peeked through the cracks in the window in the pitch-black night.

[Sister Tongzi, are you there?]

【What's wrong, Da Bao?】

Xu Nanyi turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

How's your energy level right now? Is it going to suddenly disappear again?

No, don't worry. Last time it was an accident, this time it's perfectly safe.

Xu Nanyi pursed her lips.

"Then... Sister Tongzi, were those five magical artifacts you had me collect also meant to bring me here?"

【……Um.】

Why? I miss my father and mother.

[...because they here also want to see you.]

Xu Nanyi blinked.

Want to see her?

What am I supposed to do here?

You don't need to do anything... Just grow up happily here. Don't worry about anything else. As long as I'm here, no living being in this world can harm you.

Xu Nanyi's eyelids were drooping completely.

Okay... I'll listen to you, Sister Tong... Goodnight, Sister Tong...

Before her consciousness sank into darkness, she seemed to hear the system say something.

But I couldn't hear it anymore.

……

"Yiyi—wake up—"

The sound of making a wish came from outside the door, carrying the crisp energy of the early morning.

Xu Nanyi huddled motionless inside the blanket, with only a tuft of hair and half an ear showing.

The door was pushed open.

"You silly goose, the sun's already high in the sky."

Xu Nanyi instinctively reached out and touched a leg, immediately wrapping it around like an octopus.

"Mother... good morning..."

She clung to Xu Yuan's leg like a koala.

He picked her up, carried her in his arms, and walked into the house. As he did so, he picked up a comb and gently pressed her onto a small stool.

"Come on, let's braid Yiyi's hair nicely today."

Xu Nanyi sat on the stool, her head swaying little by little with the force of the comb, her eyes still closed, and she mumbled "uh-huh" through her mouth.

"Knock knock!"

The door of the bamboo house was pounded on loudly.

Shen Xizhou rushed in with disheveled hair, which looked like a bird's nest. He pointed at the tangled mess of hair with a tragic expression.

"Mommy! I want one too!"

Xu Yuan glanced at the chicken coop.

"...Did you sleep with your head on the floor last night?"

"I only rolled over a few times!"

Xu Nanyi finally opened one eye, glanced at her younger brother's hairstyle, and then closed it again.

"My little brother is so ugly."

Xu Yuan held Xu Nanyi down with one hand to prevent her from running away, and with the other hand pressed Shen Xizhou down onto the stool next to him.

The two cubs sat side by side, one with a golden head and the other with a silver head, both obediently tilting their faces up as their mother fussed over their hair.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the bamboo window, falling on the three people.

Once both heads were tidied up, Xu Yuan clapped his hands.

"Come on, today I'll take you to learn about the Taiyuan Holy Land. Let's meet at the altar first."