When I woke up, I wanted to go home.

Chapter 127 Shui Rou, Xiao Rou

While sleeping, Zhouju suddenly twitched its nose and ears twice before opening its eyes and disappearing from its spot in an instant. Xiong Da, who was standing there in a daze, saw this and, as if he understood something, followed Zhouju's figure and flew out of the Ice Palace.

Hahaha…! Little Black, you've gained quite a bit of weight again. I heard you were having a good time with Prince Zhurong, enjoying all the good food and drink. I'm starting to wonder if you deliberately got caught?

A deafening roar echoed. Immediately following was Xiao Hei's voice, "You heartless Ninth Brother, I'll give you a good whack! To slow them down, I risked my life, even bleeding. Back with Young Master Zhu Rong, I planned to use food to reach the pinnacle of the Emperor level, then self-destruct and wipe out these bastards!"

Xiong Da, who arrived later, saw Xiao Hei puffed up with anger from Zhu Chongjiu and said to help him, "That's right, Brother Hei's energy is almost at its limit."

Blackie does nothing but sleep all day; he dares not do anything, not even breathing, for fear of letting any more spiritual energy enter his body.

Zhu Chongjiu's smile deepened as he looked at the teary-eyed old woman with her chubby cheeks, and he patted his own shoulder. "Come on up, your Ninth Brother is back!"

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, Xiao Hei reluctantly moved slowly toward Zhu Chongjiu. Seeing this, Xiong Da gave Xiao Hei a hard shove on the buttocks from behind. With Xiong Da's help, Xiao Hei flew and transformed, landing on Zhu Chongjiu's shoulder.

The little girl in his arms stared with her big, bright eyes, wondering how the monster, which had just been huge and ferocious, had suddenly become small and cute.

At that moment, the four little creatures of metal, wood, fire, and earth, which had been possessing Zhu Chongjiu's body, broke away and surrounded the little black creature kneeling on Zhu Chongjiu's shoulder, chattering incessantly.

Standing not far away, Xiong Da, upon witnessing this scene, hesitated and seemed to want to say something.

Looking at Xiong Da's expression, Zhu Chongjiu smiled and asked, "Xiong Da, is there something you want to tell me?"

Seeing Zhu Chongjiu ask him, Xiong Da asked hesitantly, "Brother Jiu, I... I've already followed you, and I don't want to stay here in this vast icy wilderness, is that alright?"

Zhu Chongjiu smiled without saying a word as he looked at Xiong Da's expression, then turned to the little ones and asked, "What do you guys think? Should we let Xiong Da join us?"

Seeing this, Xiao Jin touched his temples and said with a serious expression, "It's not impossible for you to follow us, but you're the youngest, and we're all your big brothers. Right, Ninth Brother?"

Xiao Jin, who almost blurted it out, shrank his neck and stole a glance at Zhu Chongjiu's expression. Seeing that the other party completely ignored him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was terrified of being flicked on the head twice by Zhu Chongjiu.

Upon hearing Xiao Jin's words, Xiong Da excitedly replied, "No problem, it doesn't matter who's older or younger, as long as I can follow Ninth Brother, that's fine!"

As soon as Xiong Da finished speaking, the four little ones—Gold, Wood, Fire, and Earth—along with Little Black who was originally on Zhu Chongjiu's shoulder, all came to Xiong Da's front, excitedly welcoming him to join them.

After everyone had been playing around for a while, the four little ones, along with Xiao Hei and Xiong Da, whispered something to each other. A little while later, they pushed Xiao Hei out.

Xiao Hei turned to look at the group of bears behind him, and Xiao Mu said, "Xiao Hei, since you were the first to follow Brother Jiu, and we've chosen you as our leader, then this important task should be yours."

"Yes, yes...!" the other kids echoed in unison.

After hearing Xiao Mu's words, Xiao Hei turned to look at Zhu Chongjiu, who was smiling at them, and asked, "Brother Jiu, everyone asked me to ask you, what's the story with the little girl in your arms?"

As soon as Xiao Hei finished speaking, Xiao Jin subconsciously covered his forehead with both hands.

Zhu Chongjiu looked at the little girl in his arms who remained silent but occasionally smiled, and said to everyone, "As you have probably already seen, this is a water spirit, an incarnation of the water element law. She was nurtured by a senior, just like you, Xiao Mu."

From now on, she will be your little sister. No one is allowed to bully her. You must love and protect her, understand?

"If I ever find out that you dared to lead her astray, hmph!" With that, Zhu Chongjiu slowly raised his large, powerful hand, assuming a gesture to flick her forehead. He first gently placed his hand near his mouth, then opened his mouth and breathed hot air onto his palm, as if this would increase the power of his strike. Immediately afterward, he exerted tremendous force, flicking the hand violently into the air before him.

In that instant, something astonishing happened. The thick, dark clouds that had covered the entire snowfield, seemingly poised to unleash a violent blizzard, were struck by this seemingly insignificant flick on the forehead! In a flash, a massive hole appeared in the clouds, as if smashed open by an invisible giant hammer. Moreover, this hole didn't stop growing; it spread at a visible rate. Within just a dozen seconds, the hole had become so enormous that the sky above Zhu Chongjiu and his group was completely exposed to the bright moonlight.

The astonishing sight left the four little ones completely stunned. They huddled together, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. The four little ones held onto Little Black tightly, while Little Black clung tightly to Big Bear's leg, refusing to let go; Big Bear wasn't much better off, his hands gripping his shoulders tightly, his eyes wide open, his face filled with terror.

All that could be heard was Xiong Da muttering in a low, halting voice, "Is it too late for me to quit now?"

Upon seeing this, the little girl in his arms giggled. Zhu Chongjiu gently stroked the girl's long hair twice, then said dangerously to the group of children, "Alright. Stop fooling around. First, let me correct you on one point: the one who was with me first wasn't Xiao Hei, but Xiong Da, whom you call 'little brother'."

Secondly, your little sister doesn't have a name yet. Let's all brainstorm and come up with a name for her!

Xiao Hei and the other little ones clearly ignored the first half of Zhu Chongjiu's words and instead started thinking of names for the girl.

Ultimately, the six of them unanimously decided to name her "Xiao Shui".

Since they are all elemental spirits, apart from Xiong Da, even Xiao Hei is addressed as "Xiao" by Zhu Chongjiu. The remaining water spirit should, in principle, also be called Xiao Shui.

Seeing that everyone was satisfied with the name, Zhu Chongjiu frowned and shook his head, "No, the name Xiaoshui is too rustic. How can it be worthy of your sister?"

Hmm...? Let's call her "Shui Rou"!

My younger sister is a girl, and girls are made of water. My younger sister is made of water, and water represents the gentlest thing. So calling her "Shuirou" (meaning "gentle and soft") best fits her meaning.

"Great, great, I really like it!"

As he finished speaking, Zhu Chongjiu's doting gaze slowly fell on the pretty face of the little girl in his arms. He gently said, "From now on, your name will be Shui Rou. Everyone will affectionately call you Xiao Rou. What do you think? Do you like this name?"

Upon hearing this, the little girl's face immediately blossomed into a radiant smile. She nodded happily and kept responding, "Great! I finally have a name! My name is Shui Rou, or Xiao Rou."

Before the words were even finished, Xiao Rou broke free from Zhu Chongjiu's warm embrace and flew up lightly. Like a black and beautiful butterfly, she danced gracefully around Zhu Chongjiu, her agile figure and joyful laughter seeming to light up the whole world.

Zhu Chongjiu stared intently at the scene before him, a complex emotion welling up within him. He saw the little girl who had once been silent and timidly hiding behind him now laughing and talking so happily, even soaring freely through the air. Thinking of this, his eyes gradually welled up with tears, blurring his vision, but a smile of contentment lingered on his lips, for he was once again thinking of his daughter, far away, whom he knew not where.