After an unknown amount of time, Dai Yuhao's consciousness slowly rose from the chaotic darkness.
He first felt a dull pain in his shoulder, but his body, which he was about to move, froze instantly, and a gasp escaped his lips uncontrollably: "Hiss..."
He opened his eyes, but was slightly startled by the bright light in front of him.
Did I sleep through the night and it's already dawn?
But then, the pain coming from all over his body brought him back to full consciousness.
He endured the discomfort and struggled to sit up, then froze in shock.
This is not his home.
The room wasn't large, but it felt both unfamiliar and clean.
The four walls were spotless white, with glowing spheres embedded in them, illuminating the entire room like little suns.
The bed beneath him was incredibly soft, covered with clean, white sheets. The warm, soft touch was something he had never experienced before.
What ultimately captured his attention was the person sitting quietly in the chair by the bed.
An aunt with fiery red hair, so beautiful it seemed unreal.
She was looking at him, her gaze calm and unreadable.
Dai Yuhao subconsciously pursed his lips, his small hands unconsciously clutching the bed sheet beneath him.
After a few seconds of silence, he finally mustered his weak courage and whispered, "Hello, Auntie... Excuse me, where is this place?"
Faced with Dai Yuhao's timid and wounded appearance, Leng Yaozhu was ultimately unable to maintain her usual indifference.
Her expression softened, a gentle smile curved her lips, and her voice became soft: "Little friend, this is the Spirit Transmission Tower of the old Star Luo City."
"Spirit Pagoda…" Dai Yuhao repeated in a low voice, but his eyes suddenly lit up at the words "Star Luo City".
He remembered his mother mentioning that their home was not far from Xingluo City.
He leaned forward slightly, and said with a hint of urgency, "My home... my home is just outside Xingluo City!"
Leng Yaozhu's eyes flickered slightly as she quietly noted down this information. Following his words, she gently asked, "So what's your name? How did you end up here alone?"
Dai Yuhao was eager to get home, so he honestly replied, "My name is Dai Yuhao. I remember... I fell asleep at home and woke up here."
"Dai... Yuhao."
Leng Yaozhu uttered the name softly, a deep shock flashing across her eyes.
As the deputy tower master of the Spirit Pagoda, she was extremely sensitive to the name "Yuhao".
The first tower master who founded the Spirit Pagoda, the legendary figure who eventually became a god, was named Huo Yuhao.
As far as she knew, Huo Yuhao came from the Xingluo Dai family, so his real name was... Dai Yuhao.
A child with the same name as a legend from ten thousand years ago appeared before her in such a bizarre way; to her, this could not possibly be just a coincidence.
Could this Dai Yuhao be from the Star Luo Continent? Is he a member of the Star Luo royal family?
Judging from his clothes and the obvious scars on his body, he should come from an ordinary background, right?
Countless questions and speculations raced through her mind, but she showed no sign of them on her face.
She hadn't yet figured out the intricacies of the matter, but she was absolutely certain that there was a very complicated entanglement behind it.
At this moment, Dai Yuhao's voice interrupted her thoughts.
He clutched the pristine white sheet beneath him, his eyes slightly reddening, his voice filled with anxiety: "Pretty auntie... I want to go home... I miss my mom..."
Looking into those clear, tear-filled eyes, Leng Yaozhu frowned slightly.
With her cultivation level, she could naturally tell that the child himself posed no threat whatsoever; he was simply a wounded child who missed his mother.
But that's precisely why everything seems even more peculiar.
Who exactly is pulling the strings behind all this?
What was the purpose of sending this child to her?
As she pondered, she reached out and gently brushed her fingertips across the child's soft hair, her voice still gentle.
"Don't be afraid... Auntie will help you."
Leng Yaozhu then used all her skills to subtly probe Dai Yuhao's background.
However, the child in front of them was only three years old, and he was confused about many words and had no clear understanding of his own identity.
He could only describe fragmented pieces based on his limited memory and vocabulary.
My mother works in a "very big house" and comes home very late every day.
They lived in a small yard next to the house, and he never went anywhere outside the yard.
As for his father, the child's clear eyes were filled with confusion... He had never met him, but his mother always smiled when she talked about him.
As she finished asking the questions, Leng Yaozhu looked at Dai Yuhao's slightly furrowed face as he tried to recall, and couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
Ultimately, the useful information she obtained was very limited.
The only certainty is that the child and his mother depend on each other for survival, living in an annex of a large mansion, where he is of lowly status and is often oppressed and bullied.
As for the child's father, it seems he's dead; otherwise, it's impossible for him to have not seen his wife and children for three years.
...
It's natural for children to miss home and their mothers, but children are also the easiest to fool.
Leng Yaozhu herself had never expected that she would have such patience and ingenuity to coax a child.
She always managed to attract Dai Yuhao's attention with all sorts of novel things, gradually making him stop shouting that he wanted to go home to find his mother.
On the second day after arriving in this world, Leng Yaozhu took Dai Yuhao's little hand and walked out of the Spirit Pagoda.
Outside the gate, the three tower masters and deputy tower masters of the old Xingluo City branch tower were already waiting to see them off.
Before leaving, Leng Yaozhu stopped and glanced at the three smiling faces in front of her.
"What happened yesterday is all buried in my heart."
The three of them tensed up, naturally understanding that she was referring to Dai Yuhao's sudden appearance yesterday.
Faced with this powerful and formidable deputy tower master, the three naturally dared not have the slightest objection. They immediately bowed their heads and replied in unison, "Yes, your subordinates understand."
Leng Yaozhu said no more, took Dai Yuhao's hand, who was still looking around in confusion, and walked straight to the soul-guided car that was waiting on the side.
The car door closed silently, shutting out all outside sights and speculations.
Since he could remember, Dai Yuhao had never even stepped out of his own small courtyard.
Sitting in the soft back seat of the Soul Guided Car, the world outside the window seemed to him like a series of rapidly unfolding fantasy paintings.
Towering buildings, bustling crowds, and dazzlingly colorful soul guide signs...
Unfamiliar sights flooded his clear eyes like a tide, prompting him to occasionally let out short, surprised gasps.
Everything was pushing the boundaries of his naive understanding, bringing a dizzying sense of novelty and shock.
Leng Yaozhu watched all this silently from the side. The series of childish exclamations that rang in her ears made a trace of gentleness unconsciously flash across her usually cold eyes, a tenderness that she herself did not even notice.
However, a three-year-old child is at the age where he can fall asleep at any time. When the soul-guided car drove into Shrek City and finally stopped under the Spirit Pagoda,
Dai Yuhao had already slumped down beside her, his little head resting on her long, slender legs, his breathing light and even, fast asleep.
Leng Yaozhu looked down at the little face on her lap, but did not wake him up immediately. Instead, she gently adjusted her position and hugged him tightly.
Leng Yaozhu carried Dai Yuhao out of the car, ignoring the stares from those around them, and walked straight into the Spirit Pagoda.
She quickly walked through the spacious lobby, ignoring the undisguised astonishment on the faces of the staff along the way, and went straight into the private elevator.
The numbers jumped silently, finally settling on the 121st floor, Leng Yaozhu's private space.
However, her journey had already stirred up silent waves within the Spirit Pagoda.
She, the most beautiful woman in the Spirit Pagoda and the usually aloof and cold deputy tower master, actually returned carrying a young child.
The witnesses exchanged incredulous glances, and whispers of suppressed excitement and curiosity spread rapidly like ripples on water.
The message spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda!