"Daddy, did you steal this? Stealing from others is wrong!" Elysia hugged Ryn's leg, looking up at him with teary eyes.
"The matron said that people who steal money get arrested... Elysia doesn't want to lose Daddy..."
Ryn's face turned ashen. Are kids these days all this smart?
He had just told Little Elysia that they had money, and she immediately guessed he had robbed someone while she wasn't looking.
Damn it, how is her IQ not at all like Kiana's!
Oh, right, she inherited it from me. Never mind then~
Ryn nodded in satisfaction, then said with righteous conviction,
"Ahem... Elysia, how can you call what adults do 'stealing'! This was me being a good Samaritan, saving victims from the hands of those hooligans. The victims were so grateful they voluntarily gave it to me!"
Elysia's eyes went wide. She clutched her hands to her chest and reluctantly took a few steps back.
Finally, as if having made a monumental decision, Elysia's eyes reddened, and she looked at Ryn with tears welling up.
"I'm sorry, Daddy. Even though I love you very much, I can't let you commit a crime..."
Then, she silently picked up the phone Ryn had gotten for her through a zero-yuan shopping spree and dialed the police.
"Hello, is this Mister Policeman? Elysia wants to report a crime!"
"Hello, this is the Canghai City Public Security Bureau, may I ask..."
My unfilial daughter! Ryn instantly scooped up Elysia, snatched her phone, and crushed it to prevent them from being located. Then, he fled the commercial street with her at the speed of light.
Thankfully, Ryn wasn't a normal person. Otherwise, he might have gone down in history as the first pathetic Herrscher to be arrested by humans because his daughter called the cops.
If that happened, the Herrscher of Thunder who was taken down by a baseball bat and Hiyokumaru who can only breathe fire would both have to respectfully give up their top spots on the pillar of shame to Ryn.
"You silly girl, Elysia, what are you doing? I'm your real dad!"
"Even my real dad can't do that! Elysia must stand on the side of justice!" Elysia waved her little fists, looking at Ryn with utmost seriousness.
"Don't talk. Let me think..."
Ryn squatted by the roadside, speechless, picking up a twig and slowly drawing circles.
In novels, don't all the protagonists just rob hooligans when they're out of money? How come it doesn't work for me?
Was I wrong? No, no, no, it's just that Little Elysia is too honest.
No, wait. Whatever my daughter says, goes. I was wrong.
Ugh... I'm going to become a shut-in.
Ryn tilted his head and noticed Elysia was also drawing circles beside him.
Except Elysia's circles were rather special: an 'o' sandwiched between two 's's.
Great. No phone, no way to call the police, so now we're using the international distress signal, is that it?
Ryn's face darkened, and he asked gloomily.
"Do you want your dad to go to jail that badly?"
"I don't! But Daddy, you broke the law! Instead of being a wanted man every day, it's better to go in early and turn over a new leaf. Don't worry, Daddy, Elysia will always wait for you to get out!" Elysia puffed out her chest and promised Ryn with her head held high.
Ryn looked at the twig in his hand, then at the one in Little Elysia's, and then silently stared at Elysia without a word.
Seemingly realizing her bottom was in danger, Elysia immediately covered her little butt, threw down the twig, and turned to run.
"A disobedient child is probably just in need of a good spanking. Elysia, get back here! See if I don't spank your bottom raw!"
"Bleh— I don't wanna!"
Elysia stuck her tongue out and made a face at Ryn before turning to run again.
In the next second, Ryn waved his hand at Elysia. Thinking she had escaped his clutches and feeling rather smug, Elysia's face instantly turned ashen. She floated back into Ryn's hands, on the verge of tears.
She looked at Ryn with pleading eyes and respectfully raised her hands.
"Daddy... don't spank my bottom. How about my hands instead?"
Ryn raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
"Then... spank me lightly?"
*Smack—*
"Ow, I was wrong! Next time, I definitely won't call the police on Daddy in front of him!"
"!?"
*Smack, smack, smack—*
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In the evening, Ryn returned to the commercial street, carrying Elysia who didn't want to walk because her bottom hurt.
Although Elysia wore a sour face and kept saying things like, "This is wrong, we can't do illegal things," her mood was written all over her face.
When Ryn bought her all those pretty little dresses, clothes, and shoes and handed them to her, she couldn't stop smiling. She was so happy she even forgot her bottom was still sore.
Hugging a big pile of bags, Little Elysia trotted happily behind Ryn, completely forgetting who the "lawbreaker" she had been talking about was.
Later, on a simple and unadorned little street, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of a big city, Ryn found a martial arts dojo.
Ryn wasn't sure if this was the dojo run by Class President Fu Hua's family, but there was no harm in checking it out.
So, Ryn knocked on the gate of the ancient dojo, which was laid out like a siheyuan.
A moment later, a spirited and very robust man opened the door.
As soon as the man opened the door, his gaze fell upon Ryn.
A martial artist cultivates a breath of qi, which is profound, mysterious, and ineffable. Although no one can describe it in concrete terms, qi manifests in all aspects of a person.
Just as the powerful mental energy of Stand Users creates an invisible gravitational pull that causes them to collide, the powerful qi of martial artists also draws their attention to one another.
The man in the dojo sensed Ryn's qi and kept his eyes fixed on him.
It was as deep and bottomless as an abyss, yet as grand and magnificent as the sun... This man was very strong...
But unfortunately, Ryn wasn't thinking as deeply as the martial artist. Ryn just thought the man before him looked very cool, was physically strong, had a powerful presence, and looked like he could really fight.
Elysia watched the two men staring at each other intently, tilting her head in confusion.
Then she started bouncing between them, one moment jumping up to make a face at Ryn, the next jumping up to wave her hand in front of the dojo man.
"Elysia is so cute, please look at Elysia too, okay?"