A child had arrived at the Fengshen Palace, and Du Fansheng was overjoyed to learn that it was his aunt and her child. He knew she was the one who doted on him the most, and with all his other relatives gone, this last remaining relative was even more precious.
Seeing his aunt, Du Fansheng was extremely happy. However, he was puzzled when he saw a strange child beside her. He had never seen this child before and had never heard that his aunt had a son. Upon asking the child's age, he learned that the child was three years old and named Lin Xiushen.
The reason for this name was quite simple. In ancient China, scholars had three aspirations, which were progressive: self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, and world peace.
Self-cultivation was the most basic requirement. If one could not even be an upright person, then that person would undoubtedly be a failure. After self-cultivation, one could govern the country, and then pacify the world. These requirements were all progressive.
"Aunt, who is your husband? I never heard you were married. Did you pick up this child?" Du Fansheng couldn't help but ask quietly.
Mu Ying was surprised by the question and directly replied, "Don't talk nonsense. This is my own child, your cousin. We will be staying here for a few days. You must not bully your cousin; he is too timid!"
Upon hearing this, Du Fansheng immediately said, "How could I bully my cousin? I have many toys in my room that I don't want anymore. I'm grown up now, so I'll give him these toys. Aunt, feel free to go anywhere, but if you want to visit my mother, you need to apply with my aunt!"
"You need to apply? That's so strict. I've met your aunt too, but I didn't expect her to become your family's housekeeper!" Hearing Du Fansheng's words, Mu Ying felt strange. Shen Feng had entrusted all his family matters to his sister. Hadn't she gotten married?
"There's no other way. The most core areas of my home have always been the areas beneath the castle. The people in the bunker are also very important. My mother and an aunt are in hibernation inside, my sister lives below, and my sister-in-law also lives below!" Du Fansheng explained.
"That sounds really lively. Speaking of which, you are already thirteen years old, and you already have a sister-in-law. Your father is truly biased. He found a wife for his own son, but he neglects his godson. Don't worry, I'll find you a partner during my stay here. I'll definitely find a suitable wife for you before I leave, okay?" Mu Ying said immediately after hearing the explanation.
Looking closely now, Xiao Long had grown a lot and was already a thirteen-year-old boy. In ancient times, he could already get married. In these chaotic times, people married much earlier, and by fourteen, they could get married.
But when Xiao Long heard this, he panicked and said, "Aunt, please don't meddle in my affairs. I'm fine as I am. If I find someone I like, I'll pursue her myself. Please don't arrange marriages for me!"
Seeing her nephew's attitude, Mu Ying curiously asked, "Why do you oppose this? You're already at a restless age, but you don't want to get married at all. Could it be that you already have cold feet about marriage at such a young age?"
"Of course not. I'm not afraid of marriage. I just don't like marrying someone I don't like! Aunt, you don't know, my eldest aunt arranged a marriage for my younger brother, Xiao Hu, but to this day, they still can't stand each other. Xiao Hu has to hide from this wife every day. It's only because she's taking care of my sister now that he's finally found some relief!" Xiao Long said earnestly.
So, it wasn't that he hated marriage. After all, it was natural for men to marry and women to marry. But if his entire life was arranged by his parents, then his life would be too tragic!
With this thought, Du Fansheng rejected his aunt's suggestion outright!
Mu Ying had wanted to look after her eldest nephew, but since Xiao Long had said this, she couldn't force things and had to give up.
"Then you take good care of your cousin. If you don't bully him, he won't cry. I'm going to see your mother, and I'll go find your aunt now!" Mu Ying said.
Xiao Long agreed immediately, as he was idle anyway. Taking care of a cousin was a simple matter.
"Aunt, you can rest assured. I can definitely take care of my cousin because I'm already an ability user now. Ordinary people are no match for me!" Xiao Long said confidently.
Xiao Long was no longer the frail infant of years past. After fighting for his life, he had become an ability user. His ability was to control lightning, which was quite powerful. After all, Jin Zijue, one of the Ten Great Heroes, used lightning. He was also guarding a region, and without sufficient strength, he couldn't have achieved this.
Then, Mu Ying immediately found Shen Yu, who was instructing her subordinates. Just as she was about to state her purpose, Shen Yu asked vigilantly, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
Upon hearing this question, Mu Ying felt speechless. She had met Shen Yu before. Even if it was just a brief encounter, she shouldn't have forgotten her so easily.
So, Mu Ying had to reintroduce herself, but Shen Yu was hesitant to believe her at first because the change was too great.
"I remember when I last saw you, you had many scars on your face, but now your face is so smooth. The change is too great, so I didn't recognize you at first!" Shen Yu quickly explained the reason.
Speaking of this, Mu Ying said with some emotion, "Back then, I suffered because of this face. If it weren't for this face, I wouldn't have been insulted. But now I've let go of everything. Besides, too many scars on the face would definitely scare the child!"
Shen Yu understood after hearing the explanation that the other party had overcome her psychological trauma and had a child.
So, Shen Yu personally led her to the bunker. Very few people could come here. Even the cleaning staff were trusted confidantes, and others had no opportunity to come here.
After passing through the study and entering underground, Shen Yu said to Mu Ying, "Not many people know what it's like in here because this area is too important. If anyone invades here, it's all over, so the defense here is very strong!"
This was Mu Ying's second time here. The last time she came was because Chang Jianyi had requested help, and she had entered through a secret passage. Now, returning to the bunker, she noticed a difference. The underground section seemed to have expanded considerably.
"Why are the rooms here different? There are many machines along the passage. Is this an important place?" Mu Ying suddenly noticed a strange room with large machines outside, similar to air conditioners. Besides these machines, there was also a huge password-protected door.
Shen Yu said with a wry smile, "The person in this room is Shen Feng's daughter, and also Shen Xingzhi's wife. This child has had a very hard life. She fell ill right after she was born due to the volcanic eruption, and now she can only survive in purified air. We don't know when her resistance will recover. If it doesn't recover, she will have to live here forever!"
Mu Ying understood the situation and could only shake her head helplessly. She hadn't expected this child to have such a difficult life, suffering from childhood. Fortunately, her own son was very healthy and wouldn't encounter such a situation.
Before long, the two arrived at their destination, where there was a large iron door with a password lock.
Shen Yu opened the room and said to Mu Ying, "I'll stay here with you. Don't worry, someone checks every day. Sister Du is still active, and when Wang Xiran's abilities evolve, Sister Du will be saved!"
"I want to have a private chat with my sister here. Can you give us some privacy? Don't worry, it won't take too long!" Mu Ying suddenly made this request.
Shen Yu didn't want to make things difficult for her, so she directly said, "No problem. Please be quick. I'll wait outside for you to finish talking!"
Mu Ying closed the heavy iron door and approached the cryogenic pod. Looking at a familiar face behind the glass, she finally spoke her heart, although her cousin could no longer hear her: "Sister, I'm actually very jealous of you..."