âSister,â Di Ling Yan couldnât control her happiness as they strode through the winding corridors, âMother said children should be children. I always want to smile because that will make everyone else happy too, why donât you smile too?â
Smile?
Song hung her own head dejectedly. Ever since her parents died in the last civil strife of the Heavenly Domain, this poor child has never known what it meant to be happy or to smile, thatâs why laughter was something akin to a far-off emotion.
âSister,â the pipsqueak suddenly slows down to meet Songâs eyes, âcan you smile for me, pleassseeee?â
Ji Song gently pursed her lips, unsure what to do aside from giving it a try. Unfortunately, her effort ended up looking forced and awkward. Even so, thatâs enough to satiate the pipsqueakâs demand apparently.
âSisterâs smile is very beautiful,â Di Ling Yan cheers with arms waving up into the air, âI like it so much!â
Looking surprised by the praise of her own smile, Song sounded unsure, âAre you not afraid of me being a bad person?â
âOf course not, your eyes are clean so Iâm not afraid.â Di Ling Yan doesnât even need to think and instantly replied with her reasoning. But before the pipsqueak could say more, she noticed the important person theyâve been looking for, âMother!â
Without hesitation, she led Song over in a dash and threw herself into those welcoming arms, that little head buried in the womanâs body.
Looking at such a harmonious scene, Ji Song showed envy in her eyes since sheâs never experienced maternal love.
After their small reunion, Bai Yan gently caresses her own daughterâs hair before looking over to the extra child present. In a flash, the demon queenâs gaze narrowed into a slit due to what she discovered.
Di Ling Yan naturally didnât notice the strangeness in her own motherâs behavior: âMother, the big sister over there is sick, can you help treat her?â
Raising an arcing smile at the request: âSweetie, you go play by yourself first, mother here will give your friend there a diagnosis.â
âOkay.â Giggling with delight, the pipsqueak jumps off of those arms and ran back over to her newfound friendâs side, âSister, you can be assured, my mother will definitely find a treatment for you. Once you do, we can both go play in the sun.â That said, the pipsqueak went ahead to give the other side a big hearty hug as a mean to cheer her on before running off.
Originally Songâs heart felt very nervous at having someone diagnose herself, but that jiggling voice of Di Ling Yanâs vocal cord seems to have some sort of magic in there. Without know why, she felt at peace and got a boost of courage as well.
âMrs. Di.â She timidly addresses Bai Yan after they are left alone.
The child doesnât know the demon queenâs real name so calling her Mrs. Di wasnât wrong since the pipsqueakâs surname was indeed Di.
âYour illness, I can cure it.â Bai Yan lays down the bomb with that faint smile of hers.
Though itâs a small matter in the womanâs view, this news rocked the sick girl to the core due to the amount of hope it carried.
She said⦠my illness, can be cured?
Clenching that weak little hand, Song trembled all over due to the surging emotion coming out from within. Sheâs long suppressed her desire for a better life, and now the path was laid before herself with the chance for more!
Bai Yan knew her words were going to need a moment to settle down so she waited before continuing, âIâll save you, but on one condition.â
From excitement came nervousness for Song following that next sentence. Forcing her unstable heart to slow down so she could think properly: âThat is?
âI want you to follow my daughter from then on afterwards.â
That brought a brief period of silence to the courtyard due to the hesitation swirling inside the childâs brain. Gritting her teeth after coming to a decision: âCan you really cure me?â