Bai Zemin expected to meet a baby with human features but with ant-like characteristics, and therefore, he expected that at the moment of her birth, his adopted daughter would be crying as if the world was collapsing before her eyes.
He could have imagined a thousand different scenarios, however, one thing he definitely did not expect was that when his daughter was born she would immediately be able to speak… and that her first words would be ‘father’ and ‘mother’!
No no no…. The ‘father’ thing was fine, as Bai Zemin was her father even though they didn’t share blood.
However, what about the ‘mother’ thing???? Bai Zemin really wanted to throw himself on the floor, wrap himself in a mop, and roll all over the place so that in the process of his wailing he could at least clean up the house a bit.
My God! Bai Zemin sucked in a breath of cold air as he looked at Shangguan Bing Xue. She was looking at him with wide eyes, clearly as shocked as he was if not more.
Could it be… Could it be that ants were similar to chickens? Did they identify the first creatures they saw as their parents and protective figures?
Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue seemed to have become a single entity because as if by prior arrangement they slowly turned their heads to look at the girl whose figure had finally been revealed once the faint multicolored light surrounding her completely disappeared.
Sitting on the couch, a little girl that looked 3 or 4 years old at most stared at them with her bright and innocent midnight black eyes. Her small body was not covered at all, but upon closer inspection one would notice that while her skin was completely white and smooth like that of a baby, what seemed to be black veins adorned her two small arms and legs. Her most notable feature, however, was undoubtedly her long, soft, silver-colored hair that cascaded down to just below her small shoulder blades.
Bai Zemin took a deep breath, and as he looked at that little doll face, he couldn’t help but feel his nerves calm slightly. First, he would try to clarify several things within his means, however, the fact that this little girl was his daughter did not change at all.
Bai Zemin slowly approached the couch, his movements closely followed by the little girl who stared at him as if she was worried that he would run off and leave her behind.
He stroked her hair gently, much to the little girl’s delight. She even obediently closed her eyes and leaned closer to him so that he had better access to her little head.
“Shilin, even though I am your father, she is not your mother.” Bai Zemin explained quietly.
“Shilin?” The little girl opened her eyes, and while still enjoying his patting, she used her big eyes to look up at him. She asked curiously, “Father, isn’t that my first mother’s name?”
“…”
“…”
Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue looked at each other, both seeing the confusion, as well as the surprise in the other’s eyes.
After a moment of silence, Bai Zemin resumed the caresses he had subconsciously stopped and said in a gentle voice: “The name I chose for you is Bai Shilin. Bai for our family’s surname, and Shilin is the union of the surname and the name of the former queen of the weaver ants.”
“I know that our family surname is Bai. Shilin also knows that the first mother’s name was Shi Lin.” The little girl nodded, her voice as sweet and pleasant to listen to as the singing of birds on a spring day.
“… Shilin, how do you know our family name is Bai?”
“That’s because Shilin knows that the father’s name is Bai Zemin. Shilin also knows that the grandfather’s name is Bai Delan while the grandmother’s name is Ye Linger.”
“… How do you know that?”
“That is, of course, because Shilin’s records say so.”
Bai Zemin sighed in his heart, feeling a little relieved that he doesn’t have to explain so many things but at the same time a little sad as he felt he missed several stages of his little girl’s growth.
“Em?” Bai Zemin suddenly blinked as he realized something. He looked at Bai Shilin and said in confusion, “Shilin, you know that I’m actually not an ant, don’t you?”
“Hehe, Shilin naturally knows. You are human just like the second mother.” Bai Shilin said while looking at Shangguan Bing Xue with joyful eyes.
Bai Zemin really wanted to ask more about this matter of first mother and second mother, but for now, there was another thing he needed to clarify in order to get deeper into the subject.
He lifted Bai Shilin and sat the girl on his lap, making her squirm with joy. She was as thin as a feather and her body so small and frail-looking that Bai Zemin was afraid of hurting her, therefore, he was very careful with his hand movements.
He was very confused at this moment, because although Bai Zemin knew that humans and ants could not have offspring at least in this stages, he could see that Bai Shilin’s eyes were exactly like his own. Even her hair was strangely similar to Shangguan Bing Xue’s except that instead of being silver-white, it was completely silver.
“Bing Xue, can you help me a little here?” Bai Zemin looked at who was the only person that could probably help him.
Shangguan Bing Xue sighed and sat down beside him. She looked at Bai Shilin with complicated eyes. Shangguan Bing Xue naturally noticed certain features on the girl’s face that were strangely similar to her own when she was younger.
“Little Shilin, why are you calling me mother?” she asked as she took the small hands of the little girl who despite appearing 3-4 years old had actually just been born.
“… Mother, I’m sorry… Shilin doesn’t understand your question.” Bai Shilin lowered her head in embarrassment and looked really sad for not being able to answer her parents’ questions.
“Oh, don’t worry about it…” Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t know why but she felt the maternal instinct that every woman had inside her begin to awaken. Seeing the sad expression on the girl’s face, she hurriedly snatched her from Bai Zemin and hugged her close to her chest while gently kissing the top of her head.
“Little Shilin, you can call me mother, mama, mommy, mom, or whatever way you like best.”
“Yes, mom!”
Bai Zemin watched the two beauties, one big and the other little, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry at all of what was going on. How the hell was he supposed to explain this situation to Lilith?
Just as Bai Zemin was wondering if he would have to sleep on the couch from today on, Bai Shilin looked at him with curious eyes and tilted her little head as she asked in a sweet voice, “By the way, father. Where is my third mother?”
Third mother…
Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin looked at each other, now feeling a little less surprised than they would have been if not for everything that had happened during the last few minutes.
Bai Zemin looked at his newborn daughter and asked in a low voice, “Shilin, can you tell dad how many mothers you really have?”
“Looks like you’ve been quite a gallant, Bai Zemin.” Shangguan Bing Xue raised an eyebrow and said with a faint sneer, “To think that you would actually be so popular that your first daughter really has so many mothers.”
Bai Zemin rolled his eyes at Shangguan Bing Xue’s words but instead of replying to her he simply waited for his daughter’s response.
“Mmmm…. There are three of them!” Bai Shilin stretched out three little fingers forward and looked at her father with sparkling eyes, she looked like a puppy waiting to be rewarded after doing a good job.
Bai Zemin gently stroked the left side of her face as he asked softly, “So, would you mind telling me who your mothers are and the reason why they are your mothers?”
“Shilin’s first mother is the one who previously led the weaver ants, it was she who gave me most of my current records and who gave me life. My second mother is Xuanyuan Bing Xue, who shared large amounts of her Mana with me and in the process shared part of her records.” Bai Shilin said as she put a finger to her mouth and began to suck on it like a pacifier.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Bai Zemin and a glint of understanding flashed in the eyes of both of them as they looked at each other. Now they finally understood what was going on here!
Bai Zemin said nothing for several seconds, and as he took her finger out of her daughter’s mouth and told her that that was not good, he asked, “So, who is your third mother?”
“That is, of course, the father’s wife!”
Father’s wife? Shangguan Bing Xue narrowed her eyes and before Bai Zemin could say anything she continued to stroke the soft hair of the daughter she had inadvertently gained as she asked in a soft voice, “Shilin, who is father’s wife?”
“Mother Lilith!” Bai Shilin answered immediately, there was not the slightest doubt in her voice, and this also made Shangguan Bing Xue let out a complicated sigh.
She believed that she had at least gotten a little ahead of that woman, but it didn’t seem to be that easy.
Besides, she said Lilith, not Lili.
“… Shilin, how do you know Lilith?” Bai Zemin asked in confusion.
“Hehe, father…” Bai Shilin’s eyes sparkled, she replied in a very low voice as if it was some sort of secret that needed to be taken care of from outsiders, “Actually, mother Lilith often hugged me when I was still in the egg. She spent many hours talking to me about all sorts of things while you and the others slept or fought goblins. Even though Lilith mommy has no records in common with Shilin, Shilin really loves her very much because she told me a lot of funny stories and she is the second most time I have spent with after father!”
Bai Zemin closed his eyes and sighed in relief when he heard his daughter’s words.
He was very nervous before, after all, Bai Shilin calling Shangguan Bing Xue ‘mother’ was something that shouldn’t have happened. In Bai Zemin’s mind, he planned to introduce the newborn to Lilith and gradually teach her that she was her mother, but not everything always went as one wanted or had planned.
The matter of mana was something Bai Zemin did not expect, and far from being a baby, Bai Shilin was very intelligent and wise despite her three-year-old appearance. This was the first time he was dealing with a life born after the apocalypse, a mutant life that was not fully human so it was to be expected that unexpected things would happen.
Fortunately, Lilith was also one of Bai Shilin’s mothers, and the fact that the former queen of the weaver ants was also one would serve as a kind of spring that would cushion the fall when she learned that Shangguan Bing Xue had also become the mother of the newborn little girl.
After a moment of silence, Bai Zemin smiled now clearly relieved and said happily, “My dear Shilin, welcome to the family!”
“Yes, daddy!”
“…”
Bai Zemin froze and the smile on his face was plastered there as the corner of his lips contracted fiercely. Fortunately and Shangguan Bing Xue was looking at him in confusion not knowing what was going on or else Bai Zemin feared he would have already been frozen to death right there and then.
Had Bai Shilin heard Lilith’s voice that night?
Or maybe he was overthinking things?
Whatever the case, Bai Zemin did not dare to ask the reason why Bai Shilin suddenly changed the way she addressed him… because he somehow feared that the answer would cause Shangguan Bing Xue to slap him to death.
Determined to change the subject quickly, Bai Zemin’s eyes sparkled as he realized something important.
“My dear Shilin, could you tell me your current level?”
He asked… because even with the purity of his Soul Power, he was unable to make any estimation of Bai Shilin’s level!
Bai Zemin’s level was only 50, but except for those beings whose Soul Power was tremendously pure or exceeded him by around 100 levels, he was always able to sense an approximation of the level of his enemies and allies.
For example, he could not sense Shangguan Bing Xue’s level not only because she had a level far higher than his but because her Soul Power was very pure as well.
Then… Was Bai Shilin’s level tremendously high, or was her Soul Power too pure?
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