Seeing that Xiang Qing was about to get hurt, I could no longer hold myself back and instantly rushed out. I seized the sword with my bare hands to stop Xiao Mao's attack, Xiao Mao only gave me a grin and then prepared to retreat.
Xiang Qing stared blankly at my actions, "That.....your hand.....how can you grab hold of a sharp sword like that?"
"I.....I....." I stuttered my words as I tried to search for an explanation, but I did not know what to say. Since it has come to this point, I could no longer hide anything. I immediately grabbed the sword with force so that I would bleed, and then said with a smile, "My reaction is slower than others, therefore my blood would also flow slower....."
"I'm not talking about that!" Xiang Qing became angry. He grabbed the palm of my hand, his face was distressed, "Are you stupid? To think you would grab hold of a sword with your bare hands."
Seeing that I was bleeding, the crafty smile Xiao Mao originally had no longer appeared on his face. He quickly dropped the sword, pushed Xiang Qing aside, and hurried towards me. He tightly held my hand, "Mother, how can you be so foolish?"
I used my uninjured hand to fiercely give his head a knock and then angrily scolded, "You brat, there are times when you can act spoiled, but how can you be so ruthless towards your father? You've disappointed me!"
Xiao Mao lowered his head and didn't dare look up at me, he murmured, "I didn't intend to hurt him, I just wanted to scare him a little."
"I don't believe you! I will never listen to your words again!" I angrily cried, "Normally when Yin Zi and the others say you are cunning and treacherous, I found it hard to believe. But by the looks of it today, it seems I was just deceived by you! Is it joyful for you to make fun of your mother?"
"I....." Xiao Mao did not cry and act spoiled like usual. He just stared at me with eyes wide open, like he wanted to cry, and seemed to want to explain, but he did not.
"You're a bad child!" Thinking of Xiang Qing's danger just then, my anger became even greater. My mind was a mess, and I blurted out, "I hate you!"
Before my words have fallen, tears began streaming down Xiao Mao's face. His tears falling caused my heart burning pain. Xiang Qing hurriedly stepped forward to stop me, he comforted, "How can you say that to a child? You will hurt his heart."
"Then does that mean he can casually hurt you?" I turned my head to look at his ardent eyes. There were waves of fear and anger in my heart.
Xiao Mao glanced at me and then towards Xiang Qing, his lips quivered, but in the end, he quietly left.
The ground was full of tears.
"Quickly go and bring him back!" Xiang Qing gave me a push from behind.
I stood and stubbornly refused to move. Jian Nan rushed forward wanting to grab a hold of him and say something, but Xiao Mao had easily flung his hands away. Xiao Mao quickly disappeared from our line of sight. Jian Nan hurried back to me and said, "Miao Miao, it's best if you give chase."
"No, it's his fault."
"You're an adult so how can fight with a child. And to use such severe words, he's your own flesh and blood!" Jian Nan continued to persuade.
"Because he is my child, how can I put up with him for treating his father like that?" I fight back my tears and heartache.
"His sword trick isn't anything lethal, he just wanted to give me a little scare, that's all. Perhaps it was to give me a taste of his ability," Xiang Qing hesitated a bit and explained, "Because he focused his strength at my waist and not at my head at the last moment, maybe he just wanted to see if I qualify to be his father."
"Are there qualifications for becoming a father?" I asked.
"Of course there are."
"What qualifications?" I became even more puzzled.
"Responsibility, love and patience, duty and obligations, and someone who can educate his character and give him unconditional love." Xiang Qing simply replied, "My father died when I was very young so I became envious of the children who had a father. Looking at them, even if I was scolded every day, I would be willing from the bottom of my heart."
"Then why did Xiao Mao act like that towards you?"
"Miao Miao, my mother was also a beautiful maiden when she was young. Many matchmakers had visited to see if my mother was interested in remarrying another. Since my brother and I were still young, we became nervous and afraid of that possibility, the fear that an unknown and strange man may become our father. And afraid that a stranger would take away our mother, who was our only remaining source of importance."
"But, you're so good to him.....his actions were really too much."
"Smart children will always have more ideas and desires, as well as methods to achieve them." Xiang Qing rubbed my head, and then wiped my tears, "What he wants to know is if I can love him like a real father would, and also who has a higher place in your heart, therefore he can only use these kinds of methods to make you angry."
"Miao Miao, even when Xiao Mao is extremely upset, he won't take initiative to be the first to relent." Jian Nan added, "Since you've made him upset, there are some things that must be taken slowly. He didn't have a father for so many years, and if you suddenly introduce a person into his life, you have to give him time to accept it."
The more I listened to their explanations, my heart felt even more sad and empty. I immediately turned to the direction Xiao Mao ran to and followed, Jian Nan had asked Xiang Qing, "You're not going?"
"It's not good if I go now." Xiang Qing shook his head, and only Jian Nan followed along.
I began to hastily leave Xiang Qing's line of sight, but after searching for a long time, I didn't see any signs of Xiao Mao. I became anxious as I didn't know where he went.
Jian Nan panted and wiped away his sweat as he caught up with me, he said, "How about we send some people from Hua Residence to search? If that little brat really wanted to hide, I'm afraid it won't be easy for us to find, let alone yourself. We can also check if he's taken the Hellhound with him."
"En....." I swiftly nodded, "We can also have some people from Xuan Qing Palace to search as well."
"Miao Miao," Jian Nan suddenly held onto me and said, "When you've found Xiao Mao, don't intervene between his and Xiang Qing's business, let the two figure it out themselves. I can see that Xiao Mao won't do anything to Xiang Qing, Given his character and personality, if he really hated a person, he certainly has other ways of making them disappear. So there isn't a need for him to do those things in front of you."
"How did he develop a character such as that?" I was very regretful, "Is it because I normally spoil him too much?"
Jian Nan sighed, "To speak in an unpleasant way, although Yin Zi's treats everyone at Hua Residence quite well, towards outsiders, he is very cold and indifferent. In addition to that, his character is quite selfish, the objects he has taken fancy to, he will use any means to obtain them. When it comes to myself, I'm too strict. I'm always thinking of everything, and how to take advantage of every situation. Your brother is crude and boorish, and Wawa and Luo Luo aren't very direct nor stern. Moreover, they've never had any children and so they would grant Xiao Mao with every one of his requests. Mo'lin and Jin Wen are busy and unavailable a lot of times, therefore the time they can spend with the child is limited. And although Ao Yun is quite diligent, the shortcomings of this person is also very clear. Xiao Mao's education is not complete. Now let's talk about yourself, although you love Xiao Mao dearly, by nature, you aren't very smart. Because of the poor education you've had and because he is Bi Qingshen Jun's child, everyone unconditionally loves him, which undenyingly created this character in him. Every one of us is responsible for this problem."
"Is it too late to change this? Has Xiao Mao truly become a bad child?" My heart was sorrowful, and I didn't know what was good for him.
"In these 500 years, you should know that he occasionally does a few bad things, but his heart is pure, he's not a bad child."
"Of course I know that!" I hastily ran in the direction of Hua Residence, "I want to bring him back.....and apologize."