At that time, the child in question was just waking up. Contrary to Xin Lan, he had been able to sleep at least a few hours every day before this night and hadn't actually been tired yesterday.
Today, he had only woken up late because he had been trying to stay up for as long as yesterday. After all, he had to make sure that his uncle Xin Lan wouldn't just carry him outside again after he fell asleep like he had done it in the beginning. Thus Hua Lin Yu had made sure that Xin Lan fell asleep before him.
Now that he woke up and found out that he was still in the very same spot where he had fallen asleep yesterday, he was happy that his plan had worked. From now on, he should just do the same. If he clung to him, there was nothing Xin Lan could do, was there? He just needed to make sure that he was holding onto him very, very tightly and didn't fall asleep earlier.
Hua Lin Yu smiled brightly and very happily stared at Xin Lan's face, watching him sleep. It was rare for them to have a moment like this so he didn't want to waste it by sleeping any longer. He didn't try to wake Xin Lan either. After all, it was nice to just watch him, wasn't it?
Another few hours went by until Xin Lan's eyelids trembled slightly. After staying up for several days and then sleeping for so long, he felt a bit disoriented but his instincts kicked in before he opened his eyes. He felt somebody staring at him and immediately pretended to still be asleep.
He hadn't lived this long just thanks to the fact that he hadn't been cursed by Tian. No, that had only been the cause for the way he picked his direction in life. He had wanted to prove his worth so he had forced himself to become the best of the dragon race. He had hoped to gain acknowledgment for his hard work and the results he got. Who could have known …
Anyway, he had also made some enemies with time and not every one of them was honorable. He had learned that the hard way. After one too many attempts on his life, he had started to become more vigilant, to trust nobody, and never let down his guard.
He could pretend to be asleep or to be unguarded. He could act as if he didn't have a care in the world and was completely absorbed in whatever he was doing at the time. But in actual fact, he was reading his magic or extending his claws, finally lashing out before the other side could.
Even though those people had now long been dead and there was nobody other than Tian that was a threat to him, these actions had already become a part of him. Thus, when Xin Lan found himself in this situation, he could not help but turn vigilant.
Listening for the sounds around him, inconspicuously trying to find any familiar or unfamiliar smell in the air, sensing the spiritual energy around him …
His brows twitched and he opened his eyes, finding the same brat in front of his face that had shamelessly clung to him yesterday night. "What are you doing here?"
The child's smile got even bigger. "Uncle Xin Lan woke up!" He tilted his head and grabbed tighter onto his robe, making sure to clasp some of that silvery hair as well.
Xin Lan's brows twitched once again. This brat! He was obviously doing that on purpose. "Yeah, I'm awake. So let go now." He wanted to pry those hands off but the child clung to him tightly.
Xin Lan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This child was still too small to do anything harsher than telling him off and lightly tugging at his hands. It was a pity. If he was already grown up and a cultivator, he wouldn't need to hold back.
Hua Lin Yu had no idea what Xin Lan was thinking and was still basking in his happiness. He curled one of the silvery strands around his fingers and looked at him with big eyes. "If uncle is tired, you can still sleep some more."
"No need." And why was this fucking brat suddenly trying to be nice? Had he done anything bad?
He pondered what exactly the child could have done and glanced around to see if anything was different than yesterday but he couldn't see anything. Finally, he raised a hand, conjured up a water mirror and checked his face and mask. Hm, nothing there either. It was as if the little devil hadn't done anything.
He glanced at him again and raised a brow. "Did you pull any tricks while I was asleep?"
Hua Lin Yu shook his head widely. "I wouldn't!"
"Sure, you wouldn't." Xin Lan dispersed his magic and sat up.
A certain child was pulled along with his movement, now hanging off his neck. Xin Lan stared at this unusual accessory and raised his brows.
"Still haven't had enough?"
Once again, he got an eager shaking of the little head as his response.
"Well, you should better. You're going to the Jian Yi Sect soon. Don't think you'll be able to cling to people there like this." Xin Lan got up and tried to put the little devil down but the child's face scrunched up and tears gathered in his eyes.
Xin Lan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Great, just great. If there was one thing he hated more than children, then that was definitely crying children. The more fussy they were, the worse it was.
"You stop already. I'm not going to comfort you."
Unfortunately, his words made it even worse. Xin Lan gritted his teeth, straightened out his robes and then marched out of the room. Time to find that useless older brother. He could do the comforting. There was no way in hell he'd sink to that level himself!