Seeing the Henggong fish carrying Xiong Xiaobao back toward them, everyone rushed forward at once. Xiong Xiaobao, for whatever reason, was still unconscious, lying limply on the Henggong fish’s back, the Cosmic Poison Pouch resting in his arms.
The moment the Henggong fish entered the barrier, Ziqing rushed forward and lifted Xiong Xiaobao down. Even seeing that he was perfectly unharmed, her heart still ached with worry — she wished she could keep her son forever cradled in her arms, sheltered from every wind and rain.
“Auntie Meng, he won’t have any lasting harm, will he? When will he wake up?” Ziqing asked anxiously. She’d heard everything Meng Wanyue had said earlier.
“No lasting harm, don’t worry,” Meng Wanyue answered with a smile.
“What exactly is this spiritual control business?” Ziqing needed a clear answer.
She didn’t understand the Cosmic Poison Pouch, but she understood the principle of backlash all too well — heaven-sent treasures went to the strong, but if the strong couldn’t overpower the treasure, they would be consumed by it in turn.
Just as with a gu-cultivator — if they couldn’t suppress the gu-creature within them, they too would be devoured by it.
“There are actually two ways to command the Cosmic Poison Pouch. One is through sheer physical strength, which Xiong Bao can’t yet manage. The other — which I’ve never mentioned before — is through spiritual power, using the mind to control the pouch. I never spoke of it because I was afraid that forcing him to cultivate it at such a young age might harm his mind and spirit. But who could have known…”
As she spoke, Meng Wanyue gently, lovingly stroked Xiong Xiaobao’s cheek, laughing helplessly. “This child — he really was never meant for an ordinary life. I never even taught him how to use spiritual power to control the pouch, and yet he figured it out entirely on his own!”
Hearing this, Ziqing’s brow only furrowed deeper. She didn’t want Xiong Xiaobao to be some prodigy at such a young age — she only wanted him to grow up happy.
Seeing Ziqing’s expression, a flicker of scorn crossed Meng Wanyue’s eyes, as though she disagreed entirely with that sentiment. Still, she put on a look of understanding and comforted her gently. “Ziqing, don’t worry, it’s fine — he’s just exhausted, that’s all! I guarantee he’ll wake up within a quarter hour!”
Smiling, Meng Wanyue reached out to take Xiong Bao into her own arms — but Ziqing showed no sign of letting go. Her heart still ached with worry; at this moment, she wouldn’t even let Jun Beiyue hold their son.
She cradled the back of her son’s small head, holding him tight, pressing his cool little face against her own cheek.
Meng Wanyue’s outstretched hand froze in midair. A flash of anger crossed her eyes, but she forced an awkward smile, finding herself an excuse. “Look at that — such is a parent’s love. When I left Beiyue all those years ago… ah, well, never mind that. Ziqing, dear…”
Just as she was about to continue, Xiong Xiaobao’s little hand twitched. His small fingers flexed a few times, then reached toward his chest — the moment he touched the Cosmic Poison Pouch, he gripped it tight and suddenly opened his eyes.
He looked around suspiciously at the circle of faces gathered around him — his father, his scholar-uncle, his grandmother, Baili Xiaosheng — before finally lifting his head to look at Ziqing, blinking his eyes, clear and bright as a highland lake, murmuring, “Mommy, where’s the monster?”
Only then did Ziqing snap out of it, immediately pressing Xiong Xiaobao’s little head to her chest, hugging him tight. Heaven only knew how terrified she’d been during that harrowing scene!
“The monster’s been sealed away by you, sweetheart — Grandma always said you were the strongest!” Meng Wanyue said happily. Even though she hadn’t gotten to hold him, she wasn’t giving up — her hand still reached for his small one, trying to draw him over.
But Ziqing still wouldn’t let go, holding Xiong Xiaobao tight in a standoff. Everyone around them — Jun Beiyue, Baili Weisheng — could all see it plainly.
Meng Wanyue found herself in an awkward position once again — yet she still wouldn’t release her grip, and Ziqing said nothing at all, too preoccupied to pay attention to such things. That terrifying scene from moments ago still made her shudder even now, just thinking of it.
If not for the Henggong fish, what would have happened?
Xiong Xiaobao could feel his grandmother tugging at him, but what concerned him more was his mother. Instinctively, he pulled his hand free of Meng Wanyue’s grasp and reached up with both small hands to cup Ziqing’s face.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing’s wrong now!” Ziqing nuzzled her nose lovingly against her son’s small cheek, and only then did a smile return to her face. “It’s fine now — Mommy was just scared to death a moment ago.”
Only then did Xiong Xiaobao realize how worried his mother had been. He immediately leaned in, wrapping both arms tightly around Ziqing’s neck, pressing close with the earnest solemnity of a grown man, saying, “Xiong Bao hugs you, Mommy, don’t be scared. Xiong Bao hugs you, Mommy, don’t be scared.”
Such words — heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
So many times, in the world of poisonous beasts, whenever he saw his mother looking forlorn and lonely, whenever he saw her gazing at the sunset until she nearly cried, he would wrap his little arms around her neck and say in his babyish voice, “Xiong Bao hugs you, Mommy, don’t cry.”
This tender, heartwarming scene was one even Jun Beiyue couldn’t bear to interrupt, while Madam Jinjiao, still trapped within the great stone pillar, had already burst into tears, scattering a trail of fine, delicate pearls across the ground.
Jiaoren weep pearls — only in their deepest sorrow can they cry them.
But it was precisely at this moment that Meng Wanyue abruptly tightened her grip and, in one swift motion, pulled Xiong Xiaobao into her own arms. “Sweetheart, it’s alright, it’s alright now! Come here, Grandma will tell you how to use spiritual power to control the Cosmic Poison Pouch!”
Ziqing’s arms suddenly went empty, and she froze for a moment, stunned. Xiong Xiaobao, now held in Meng Wanyue’s arms, looked equally startled, as if sensing something wasn’t quite right — but the instant he heard “spiritual control,” his excitement flared right back up.
“What, what, tell me quick! I was just trying so hard to open the Cosmic Poison Pouch, so angry at that moray eel, and suddenly I felt like I could just command it!”
“Exactly right! That’s spiritual power — it requires natural talent, not everyone can manage it! From now on, spend a little time each day focusing your attention on the Cosmic Poison Pouch, and over time, one day you’ll be able to control it however you like — shrink it when you want it small, grow it when you want it big!” Meng Wanyue said excitedly.
In this entire world, there was probably nothing that could excite her more than the Cosmic Poison Pouch.
“Really?” Xiong Xiaobao lit up with excitement.
“Really — as long as you practice diligently every day, you’ll be able to do it for sure!” Meng Wanyue said firmly.
“Grandma, why didn’t you tell me this before?” Xiong Xiaobao complained.
Meng Wanyue smiled fondly. “Grandma didn’t know you had this gift, silly. From now on, as long as you—”
“Rushing things will only harm his mind and spirit — besides, he just sealed away a moray eel and he’s exhausted. Until he’s recovered, he’s not allowed to do anything reckless!”
Jun Beiyue suddenly cut in, moving even more abruptly than Meng Wanyue had, immediately taking Xiong Xiaobao back into his own arms.
He and Ziqing had been waiting all along for Meng Wanyue to bring up the matter of the Cosmic Poison Pouch — but from South Zhao all the way to here, she had never once mentioned it.
It seemed she’d made up her mind to simply hand the Cosmic Poison Pouch over to Xiong Bao — which was, on the surface, a good sign, sparing them the trouble of having to navigate the issue themselves. And yet it was precisely this that they couldn’t quite understand.
They still couldn’t bring themselves to believe that Meng Wanyue would give up the Cosmic Poison Pouch so easily — this was the pursuit of her entire lifetime, the dying wish of the Dream Clan’s founding ancestor!
By now, the still-startled Ziqing had also come back to herself. Seeing Jun Beiyue forcibly take their son away, she quietly smiled to herself — but with Meng Wanyue’s excitement so evident, she only grew more confused.
Could it be that she and Jun Beiyue had both guessed wrong — that this old woman genuinely intended to hand the Cosmic Poison Pouch over to Xiong Bao?
Baili Weisheng, naturally, had noticed something was off too, raising an eyebrow as he watched. What he didn’t know was that his own disciple, standing behind him, had been staring fixedly at the Cosmic Poison Pouch this entire time, her face etched with a worry far beyond her years. It seemed she knew something.