THIP Chapter 28

Mu Liuyin gently coaxed the awakened Mingli back to sleep, then carefully laid her back on the bed.

“Huh?” Qin Yu looked closely at the baby girl his senior brother had brought back and suddenly had a realization. “No wonder you want to take this little girl as your disciple—she has a natural Sword Heart. She’s practically born to be a sword cultivator.”

Mu Liuyin shot him a warning glance.

Noticing the look in his senior brother’s eyes, Qin Yu rubbed his nose and said with a grin, “Don’t worry, she’s so young. I won’t breathe a word about her potential.”

Mu Liuyin replied with a cold, indifferent “Mm.”

Qin Yu: “…Do I look like the kind of person who’d go blabbing secrets everywhere?! And seriously, what’s with the double standards?”

Thinking back to the way his usually aloof senior brother had just been doting on the little girl with such tenderness, he rolled his eyes. Wow, get a disciple and forget all about your junior brother, huh?

He glanced again at Mu Liuyin’s icy expression and sighed. Never mind, even before the disciple, this man never showed him a shred of warmth.

Since Mu Liuyin hadn’t bothered hiding the fact that he brought back a baby, by the next day, the entire Taiyan Sect knew: their cold and expressionless sect master had taken in a one-year-old girl as his one and only disciple.

Countless disciples who’d dreamed of being taught by the sect master had their hopes crushed.

“Aaaaaahhh!!!” After all, their sect master was the most powerful cultivator in the entire cultivation world’s tribulation-transcending realm! And he had never taken a disciple before!

Some even believed that with his frosty personality, he might go his whole life without accepting one.

And now, out of nowhere, he had taken in a literal baby—and announced she would be his only disciple.

It was hard to accept. QAQ

But what could they do? Mingli was the mission target, after all.

Normally, taking in a disciple—especially for a powerful cultivator—would involve a grand ceremony. But since Mingli was still a baby, Mu Liuyin skipped it. He also didn’t want to expose her talent too early.

But… how do you even raise a one-year-old?

Mu Liuyin, who had never taken care of a child before, was stumped.

She was so little—he couldn’t just feed her fasting pills. And she wasn’t even a cultivator yet!

As he was worrying, the well-rested baby blinked open her eyes and reached out to be held.

Mu Liuyin got up and carefully picked her up. The baby blinked her big watery eyes, squirmed in his arms, and then latched onto his chest.

Mu Liuyin: !!!

It was already nighttime, and he was only wearing an inner robe. When he had gotten up earlier, the loose collar had slipped open a bit, making it easy for the baby to latch onto the exposed skin.

She even sucked a couple times—but, of course, nothing came out.

Mu Liuyin stiffly pulled himself free from her little mouth, only for the baby to pout and let out a loud wail.

Mu Liuyin: “…”

His hand trembled—he nearly flung her across the room.

He silently chanted She’s just a baby three times to calm himself and suppress the urge to throw her.

The system, Xiao Jiu, who had seen the whole thing, stifled a laugh and gently reminded him:
[Host, the mission target is probably hungry. She’s trying to feed.]

[Shut up! You think I don’t know she’s hungry?!] Mu Liuyin fumed. [The real problem is that this body is a man’s! A man, got it?! A MAN! We don’t produce milk!]

[And she’s barely over a year old! How is she already instinctively trying to nurse?!] He snorted. [No wonder—she is the reincarnation of the Demon Lord, after all.]

The baby kept crying loudly. Luckily, the main hall was protected by soundproofing wards, so no noise escaped.

Still, they couldn’t just leave her crying like this. Mu Liuyin realized guiltily that she’d mostly been asleep since arriving, and even when she woke up once or twice, she never cried. And now it hit him—he hadn’t fed her anything since bringing her back.

No wonder she was crying from hunger.

Sighing, he softened and gently coaxed her, promising to get her something to eat. Strangely, the baby stopped crying and just stared at him with those big watery eyes, full of trust.

Mu Liuyin: “…”

[Xiao Jiu, what kind of spirit beast milk is safe for a baby this age to drink?]

Startled by the sudden flare of temper earlier, Xiao Jiu trembled and quickly replied:
[The sect raises many spirit beasts. There’s one species whose milk is perfectly suited for infants like the mission target.]

Mu Liuyin cast a sleep spell on the baby and rushed off to the spirit beast enclosure. As luck would have it, over a dozen of those exact spirit beasts were currently lactating. He used a spell to collect all their milk into a jade bottle.

He hurried back to his room.

The raw milk didn’t smell great, so after checking with Xiao Jiu, he added a few drops of spirit essence nectar from a bottle in his storage ring.

Then he gently woke the baby with a spell and spoon-fed her little by little.

The milk was rich in spiritual energy and now also delicious. The baby’s eyes sparkled with joy as she drank.

Like most babies, she quickly got sleepy again after eating and soon drifted off peacefully.

Mu Liuyin sighed in relief. There was still plenty of milk left in the jade bottle—enough to last a few months.

He couldn’t help but feel oddly humiliated, though. Here he was, posing as the aloof, cold-hearted tribulation-transcending powerhouse—and he’d just used that very same cultivation to milk spirit beasts.

After adjusting the baby’s sleeping position, Mu Liuyin also lay down to rest. Although technically, with the original body’s cultivation level, he didn’t need to sleep at all, he hadn’t yet adjusted to this new world and still kept his human habits.

The next day, Qin Yu, who never had anything better to do, showed up again, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey,” he said with a smirk, “You know how there were a dozen spirit beasts producing milk yesterday in the beast yard? Well, today the disciple in charge couldn’t get a single drop out of any of them. After checking everything, it turns out someone had already milked them all dry. Wonder who’s bold enough to steal our Taiyan Sect’s spirit beast milk?”

Mu Liuyin: “……”

She never expected Qin Yu to know about something like this.

Doing her best to keep a calm, indifferent expression, she thought to herself, No one can ever find out I was out there milking beasts last night!

Author’s Note:

“Crown Her as My Empress” (Extra Story)

When Si Yibing awoke, the battleship had already arrived at the Imperial Capital Star.

The very first thing she did upon waking was look for her little Xuyu.

But she wasn’t there.

Just like that morning six months ago, after the night they had been together, she couldn’t find her anywhere.

But unlike last time, this time, she would never find her little Xuyu again.

“Your Majesty, Major General Xuyu piloted a mech and returned to Hanhai Star on her own,” said the General who had been the last to see Mu Liuyin. “Hanhai Star… has been destroyed.”

Si Yibing’s amber eyes widened, a misty sheen clouding them like frost. Still, she asked with a voice filled with self-deception, “And… what about her? Has she come back?”

The General stared at the deep sorrow in her eyes, unsure how to break the news that Xuyu had sacrificed herself, but the crisis with the Zerg on Hanhai Star still needed to be dealt with.

“Major General Xuyu destroyed the newly born Zerg Queen at the cost of her own life. Hanhai Star was obliterated in the process.” The General’s voice carried admiration and reverence.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

The General witnessed two silent tears slip down the face of the Galactic Empire’s emperor—those beautiful amber eyes now glistening with heartbreak.

He was shocked. He had never imagined Si Yibing held such deep feelings for Xuyu. Silently, he stepped out of the room.

Only after he left did Si Yibing realize—her face was soaked with tears.

As the most powerful person in the Galactic Empire, Si Yibing had always believed that crying was something only the weak did.

But now, she simply couldn’t stop the torrent of tears flooding from her eyes.

A small, broken sob escaped her throat, the sound of true mourning.

Until now, Si Yibing had always believed that with her unmatched strength, she could protect her little Xuyu. But the truth was, it had been Xuyu who protected her—and the Empire.

Grief and regret overwhelmed her tear-filled gaze.

Why did I drink that water?

Back then, when Xuyu handed her that glass, it had been more than suspicious.

Si Yibing gave a bitter laugh. Her little Xuyu had known full well how deeply she trusted and loved her—and had taken advantage of it, knowing she wouldn’t refuse.

Xuyu, how could you be so cruel? How could you leave me like this?

Just because you didn’t want to be my Empress… you chose to leave this way?

Well, you succeeded.

I truly will never find you again.

Six months after the new emperor’s ascension, humanity’s centuries-old enemy—the Zerg—were annihilated on Hanhai Star.

Major General Xuyu, who sacrificed herself to eliminate the Zerg, became a legend and was hailed as a hero across the galaxy.

The new emperor, Si Yibing, posthumously promoted her to Imperial Marshal.

Under her reign, the Galactic Empire entered a golden age of peace and prosperity.

But the emperor never married. The imperial consort’s position remained vacant for life.

Across the galaxy, there lingered a story: that Emperor Si Yibing already had someone in her heart. And that person… was the fallen hero, Imperial Marshal Xuyu.

Legend says that back when Si Yibing was still a princess, she was once saved by a young Marshal Xuyu, and fell in love with her ever since.

Even after Marshal Xuyu gave her life to protect the Empire, the emperor’s love never wavered.

Though they were both Alphas, their story was told and retold for generations to come.