"Miss? Could you please return this to me?" The gentle woman looked a bit embarrassed. She smiled helplessly as she looked at the paper in Zhaozhao's hand.
Su Yuan noticed something was off about Zhaozhao. He frowned and immediately walked over to her side. His eyes were heavy as he stared at the woman in front of him.
Su Yuan's gaze fell on the paper Zhaozhao was holding. There was a strange totem on it. Did Zhaozhao recognize this?
Before Su Yuan could say anything, Zhaozhao reached out and grabbed the woman's wrist. Her tone was a bit urgent. "Where... where did you get this pattern?"
Looking at the woman blessed by the Chongming Bird, Zhaozhao had some absurd thoughts in her mind.
"This?" The woman smiled and explained, "This is the family totem passed down in my husband's family. Is there something wrong?"
Family totem...
Zhaozhao shook her head, looking a bit dazed.
Taking advantage of Zhaozhao's momentary distraction, the woman snatched back the paper. She smiled apologetically and then ran away.
"Zhaozhao? What's wrong?" Su Yuan was worried seeing Zhaozhao in such a daze. He held her shoulders, bent down, and asked in a low voice.
Zhaozhao shook her head. She looked in the direction the woman had left and said softly, "It's nothing. I'm just curious about that totem."
Su Yuan recalled the appearance of the totem just now and secretly memorized it.
"Su Yuan, let's go." Zhaozhao patted her face and returned to normal. She took Su Yuan's hand and headed to the apartment Song Yao had found.
As for the blessing seal of the Chongming on that person, she'd find a time to ask her master about it.
And that totem...
Su Yuan didn't say anything. He followed Zhaozhao, but he remembered Zhaozhao's abnormal behavior just now.
When they arrived at the door of the house, Zhaozhao took out the key Song Yao had given her and opened the door.
She thought it would be pitch - black inside when she opened the door, but the house was brightly lit. Song Yao, whom they hadn't seen for many days, was sitting on the sofa.
"Cousin! You're here!" Zhaozhao was very happy to see Song Yao. She actually missed Song Yao after not seeing her for a few days.
However, Song Yao's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. She glanced at Zhaozhao and then shifted her gaze to Su Yuan behind her.
"It's so late. Where have you been?" Song Yao's tone sounded quite calm, but her smile was a bit scary.
Zhaozhao honestly gave a brief account of what had happened in the past few days. Now she obediently waited for her punishment on the spot. She could tell that her cousin was unhappy.
However, Song Yao didn't do anything. Instead, she stood up and walked in front of Su Yuan. She politely thanked Su Yuan, "Thank you for helping our Zhaozhao this time. Since you've already brought her here and it's getting late, I won't see you off. Take care."
Su Yuan's eyes were cold. He ignored Song Yao, reached out, and stroked Zhaozhao's hair. He said gently, "I'll come pick you up and take you to the Monster Administration Bureau tomorrow morning." He deliberately showed this kind of intimacy with Zhaozhao in front of Song Yao, with a meaning he couldn't even explain himself.
Taotie was lying in Zhaozhao's arms, secretly observing the situation. Catching a glimpse of Song Yao with a death - like smile on her face, it had a bad feeling. It quickly jumped out of Zhaozhao's arms and found a place to lie down and watch the show.
Zhaozhao obediently nodded when she heard Su Yuan's words. Su Yuan smiled in satisfaction and then left the apartment.
Song Yao stood in front of the apartment door, suppressing a fire in her heart. But she knew in her heart that for an old monster like Su Yuan, their inexperienced Zhaozhao was no match for him. So she couldn't rush things. Song Yao simply gave up on lecturing Zhaozhao for the time being.
Anyway, if she said too much, the child wouldn't understand and would still be just as careless next time!
"Cousin, why did you come to see me today?" Zhaozhao hugged Song Yao's arm and acted coquettishly. She wanted Song Yao to forget what had just happened and be happy. She also didn't want to hear Song Yao tell her to stay away from Su Yuan.
Zhaozhao didn't want that. She really liked Su Yuan. She thought she probably couldn't live without him.
Song Yao could see through Zhaozhao's little thoughts clearly. She sighed helplessly.
What could she do when she had such a coquettish younger sister? Of course, she'd just let her be.
As Zhaozhao wished, Song Yao didn't mention anything related to Su Yuan. She just tapped Zhaozhao's forehead and said in frustration, "I'll sign you up for a driving school in a few days. You must learn!"
Zhaozhao covered her forehead. She was a bit reluctant in her heart, but she thought it was always good to learn more human things, so she agreed.
Well, who let her be a tree eager to learn?
Song Yao asked Zhaozhao about the details of her time in the Wuhuang Valley again with concern. Her eyes were full of pity, and at the same time, she was even more dissatisfied with Su Yuan.
What test? How come she had never heard that the Monster Administration Bureau had such a thing? Maybe Su Yuan had tricked their Zhaozhao.
When Zhaozhao mentioned her spiritual pet, Song Yao pointed casually at Taotie, which was lying lazily on the soft sofa licking its paws, and asked, "Is it this one?"
Zhaozhao nodded. "Yes, it is. It's Taotie!"
"What?!" Song Yao was suddenly hit with such shocking news. She asked Zhaozhao in disbelief, "You said it's Taotie? One of the four ancient evil beasts, Taotie? This one?!"
Taotie was offended by the doubt. It immediately growled unhappily, "How dare a mere human doubt this one?"
Without Su Yuan around, Taotie perked up. But before it could hold its head high for two seconds, the next moment it was slapped back to its original state by Zhaozhao.
"Don't be rude to my cousin!" Zhaozhao glared at Taotie, looking unhappy.
Taotie covered its head with its paws and whined. It was extremely aggrieved. With teary eyes, it accused, "It was clearly her who doubted this one first. Little girl, you're being biased..."
Song Yao watched the scene in front of her and felt a bit disillusioned.
The aura of the evil beast that Taotie had emitted when it growled was real, but in front of Zhaozhao, this Taotie was like a little kitten.
Song Yao had many questions she wanted to ask, but looking at the girl and the beast in front of her, she suddenly couldn't bring herself to ask.
Maybe in the past, she would have been a bit jealous of Zhaozhao. But now, she only felt scared.
Zhaozhao's strength exceeded her imagination. But the more powerful a person was, the more they were destined to bear.
Song Yao remembered what her father had said. He said that Zhaozhao's future path was destined to be difficult, whether it was her amazing talent in magic or her simple and harmless personality.
It wasn't a bad thing for a person to be extremely talented and brilliant, but the fear was that this person was too soft - hearted and kind. Such people were easy to be deceived and used.
Because of these words, Song Yao had rushed over in a hurry. She was in a hurry to arrange many learning plans for Zhaozhao. She desperately wanted Zhaozhao to understand the unknown rules of this world. She wanted her to grow up a bit faster, a bit more, so that she could protect herself.
Over there, Zhaozhao and Taotie were still arguing fiercely. Zhaozhao was holding Taotie's ears, trying to teach this evil beast to be polite. Taotie accused her of being biased and not being a qualified master.
Song Yao sighed. She walked up to Zhaozhao, took off the jade pendant she had worn for twenty years, and placed it in Zhaozhao's hand.
This jade pendant was found by her father for her the year she was born. There was a seal of the Chongming Divine Bird carved on it.