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Chapters 561-570

Chapter 561: Midnight dreams of Little Qi (4)

What were they to do with a seemingly normal, if unconscious, Little Qi?

When Head Elder Ling first led Little Qi in studying medicine, everyone knew of the news. Now that two years had passed since his disappearance, everyone was asking when Little Qi would come out of "seclusion." After all, Little Qi's knowledge had created a whole slew of all-new medicine plants. He was a fiendish genius and well known throughout the entire academy, so many people were interested in his exploits.

If they killed Little Qi and spread word that the pestilence was to blame, they could protect themselves. But Academy Head Gu wasn't willing to take that choice. He still held out hope in his heart that Little Qi's body would return to its former state so he could use it in the service of their medical academy. Moreover, until he figured out why Little Qi's constitution had changed, he wouldn't kill him off easily.

But keeping Little Qi alive like this was no long-term solution. Suppose this child ended up in someone else's hands one day? Suppose he had heard everything he talked about last night and found out the truth about the past? While Academy Head Gu was still feeling conflicted, Little Qi's eyes abruptly flew open.

His gaze was clean and pure as he looked curiously at Academy Head Gu and Head Elder Ling without saying a word.

"Little Qi..." Academy Head Gu was pleasantly surprised.

"Little Qi, you... What happened to you?" Head Elder Ling pretended to feign concern.

Little Qi stared at them both for a long time before stuttering out, "You guys...just who are you?"

Both Academy Head Gu and Head Elder Ling were surprised by his words. But they quickly exchanged glances and calmed down. They erased Little Qi's six years at the Poison Sect's forbidden grounds and told him he was a foundling adopted by Head Elder Ling, an inherent genius with a unique constitution who ate large amounts of medicine and ended up discovering hundreds of new plant species for the medical world.

Little Qi nodded along as he listened docilely. In the end, he affectionately called out to Head Elder Ling, "Daddy!"

Head Elder Ling was stunned. After all, this child had refused to call him 'daddy' ever since entering the medical academy eight years ago. Academy Head Gu was surprised as well. 'Daddy' was his special moniker and Little Qi's entire world. But over the past two years, Little Qi had long stopped calling for him. Now this stubborn, unyielding boy had said the word so easily once again.

It doesn't seem like he's faking his amnesia.

Still, neither Academy Head Gu nor Head Elder Ling were ready to trust him just yet. They sent Little Qi outdoors so he could wander freely about the courtyard. The boy didn't run away, but came back to ask them for food instead.

"Daddy, I'm hungry..." he looked at Head Elder Ling while completely ignoring Academy Head Gu.

"Little Qi, you can only eat medicine," Head Elder Ling personally carried over a bowl for Little Qi, who took a sip before spitting it out.

"So bitter! I don't want to drink it."

Instead, he headed for a stack of pastries and started devouring that instead. He didn't spit any of it up. Now that he had no aversions to regular food, he seemed just like an ordinary person. Both Academy Head Gu and Head Elder Ling felt a jolt in their hearts at the sight, their expressions complicated. Little Qi savored the tasty sweets as he almost cried from happiness. He could finally, finally eat real food again.

Eight years!

He had spent eight entire years taking nothing but medicine because he was physically incapable of ingesting food. Nobody realized how many times he'd tried to snuck some in in secret, only to throw it all up again. He even thought he'd be barred from normal food for the rest of his life.