Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerables

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT (PART II)

Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerables Chapter 38 Part 2 – What are You Doing? (II)

Since that day, Lu Yaoyao had two more fun. One was to learn using the wooden sword with Father, and the other was to learn the whip with Daddy. Lu Yaoyao was extremely happy to have Father and Daddy playing with her every day, but after a few days, the novelty wore off, and she felt that the practices were no longer as fun as before. Thinking that her friends should have finished their punishment, Lu Yaoyao promptly abandoned her two old fathers and rushed out to find other cubs.

Song Xiaoqi and other cubs were indeed beaten miserably by their parents and elders, but they quickly recovered. Although their butts were still a bit swollen, as soon as they heard their friend calling outside, they immediately rushed out at the fastest speed and enjoyed a long-lost reunion.

The cubs hadn’t seen each other for just five or six days. But for them, it felt like five or six seasons. After hugging each other affectionately, they began to compare the tragic punishments they had just experienced.

Lu Yaoyao listened from the side, hugging her fluffy friends distressedly. Just listening to their story was enough to make her feel their pains. In contrast, she was only punished by standing and facing the wall in reflection. She didn’t even stand for long, which made her very fortunate compared with her little friends.

After exchanging sobs stories, the group of cubs began to jump up and down again. The entire Cangshan Mountain seemed to be turned upside down by them. Seeing the hyperactive cubs, adult demons scolded from the side, but there was a big smile on their faces. These few days, there were no cubs making noises in Cangshan, which made the place felt much less lively than usual.

Perhaps young cubs’ energy was indeed endless. After jumping around for a full day, they still had the energy to make noises at home. Lu Yaoyao had fun with her friends today. At night, she bounced around on her bed, sharing interesting stories about her friends with Father and Daddy.

“Xiaoqi is so pitiful. His butt was beaten red and swollen by his parents. It’s still swollen today! I shared the ointment Father gave me with Xiaoqi, and the swell disappeared all at once!” Lu Yaoyao narrated proudly.

Lu Qingyu didn’t know why the child could talk so much. She talked incessantly without stopping for a pause. He put Lu Yaoyao down with one hand, put his other hand on her belly, and let her lie down: “Kid, you should go to sleep now. Otherwise, your little butt will also get swollen.”

Lu Yaoyao was pressed on the bed, but it couldn’t stop her from twisting her body left and right. The little girl was fearless and still full of energy. She cocked her short legs up and down, laughing from time to time.

Lu Qingyu coaxed Lu Yaoyao for a while, but the girl refused to sleep. Finally, he backed away in frustration: “Yao Jiuxiao, put your daughter to sleep.” As he spoke, he walked away and lay on his usual recliner. Out of sight, out of mind.

Yao Jiuxiao silently stepped forward and lay beside Lu Yaoyao. He held her in his arms and patted her back lightly: “Be good. Go to sleep.”

Lu Yaoyao turned at Yao Jiuxiao and said coquettishly: “Father, sing me a lullaby~”

Yao Jiuxiao: “…”

“Xiaoqi said that although his mother would beat him, she would also sing a lullaby to coax him to sleep.” She had never heard a lullaby! Lu Yaoyao blinked cutely: “I want to hear a lullaby too~”

Yao Jiuxiao was helpless. Seeing that the child was refusing to go to sleep unless he sang her a lullaby, he fell silent for a moment before he began singing the only song he knew.

“Mountains have trees and trees have branches, my heart is for you, but you don’t know…”

When Lu Qingyu heard Lu Yaoyao clamoring Yao Jiuxiao to sing her a lullaby, he snickered, preparing to see his rival’s joke. The great Dao Venerable Hengwu clearly never had anything to do with singing, and Lu Qingyu even believed that Yao Jiuxiao didn’t know a single song. However, when a familiar tune began to be sung by an unskilled voice, Lu Qingyu abruptly stood up. His expression changed drastically.

Lu Qingyu turned his head and looked over. After a moment, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and walked out of the house.

Yao Jiuxiao’s eyes were fixed on his daughter, paying no heed to the other man. He was singing a romantic song with his cold voice, which added a special charm to it.

Accompanied by her Father’s song, Lu Yaoyao soon fell asleep. Yao Jiuxiao watched his daughter for a while. After making sure that the girl was indeed asleep, he quietly got out of bed and walked out of the wooden house.

Lu Qingyu was standing by the lake, staring into the tranquil water. A woman’s smiling face seemed to appear on the lake’s surface, accompanied by a familiar soft and sweet voice.

——’ The highest good is like that of water, pure and clean.’ The word ‘pure’ also appears in ‘the river is pure, and the sea is calm.’ I want to give you that pure and peaceful world…will you be called ‘Qingyu1‘ from now on? As for your surname…how about my surname Lu?

Lu Qingyu’s expression softened, and his gaze was extremely gentle, as if looking at a beloved woman.

Her beautiful face was gradually covered with blood. The woman was lying on the ground, soaked with blood, and her broken voice rang—

Humans and devils, we are different after all…

The smile on Lu Qingyu’s lips suddenly froze, and his face instantly turned extremely cold and indifferent.

The night breeze blew on his bright red robe, raising the hem of his clothes and his long black hair.

Yao Jiuxiao stood not far away with the same indifferent face. He gazed for a long time at the reflection of the stars and moon on the lake before finally asking: “Have you ever regretted it?”

Lu Qingyu sneered, “This Venerable never regrets what I did.”

Yao Jiuxiao’s face darkened, “Incurable.” He flicked his sleeve and walked away.

Lu Qingyu stood by the lake for a long time. It wasn’t until the middle of the night that he returned to the wooden house. Lu Qingyu walked into the house with a cold body and instantly appeared beside the bed. He stared at the child’s innocent sleeping face. The scarlet in his eyes gradually faded.

Lu Qingyu touched his daughter’s face. His voice was so soft and gentle that it was almost eerie: “Never betray me, otherwise…”

In her sleep, Lu Yaoyao seemed to feel the touch on her cheek. She rubbed it subconsciously and then reached out her little hand to grab the big hand and hold it. Hugging Lu Qingyu’s hand on her chest, the child slept deeper.

Lu Qingyu’s expression softened, and he watched the sleeping child for a long time.

…this world still has some meaning.

__________

This is the origin of Lu Qingyu’s name. Lu(陆) is a surname that means ‘land.’ Qingyu(清予) is a given name written with ‘Qing’ character that means ‘pure’ or ‘clean’ and ‘Yu’ that means ‘to give.’ The idioms (or maybe poems? I’m not sure) that appear in this paragraph are: (1) 一清如水 (yī qīng rú shuǐ) means ‘as clear as water or ‘honest and incorruptible.’ (2) 上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ) means ‘the highest good is like that of water.’ (3) 海晏清平(hǎi yàn qīngpíng) translates as ‘the Yellow River is pure, and the sea is calm’ which means ‘the world is peaceful.’ The phrase 予你(yǔ nǐ) is added on the beginning, and literally translates as ‘to give you.’