Invincible Dad

Seemingly aware of The Supreme Emperor's puzzled gaze, Taotie hemmed and hawed, unable to say a single word. This made Xu Lai even more suspicious.

Taotie whispered, "Reporting to The Supreme Emperor, I need to see Liu Wan…"

"!!!"

Xu Lai was shocked.

To be honest, he hadn't held out much hope. Had Taotie suddenly seen the light?

"Her heart is weak. I returned to the Immortal Domain yesterday to ask the Pill Emperor for an Elixir."

Taotie scratched his head. "She bought the movie tickets, and we of the Taotie Clan never owe favors."

"..."

Xu Lai wasn't surprised at all. The brute was still the same old brute.

Patting the First Divine General's shoulder, Xu Lai said, "When you have time, you should chat more with the Seventh Divine General. He's a real pro at charming the ladies."

Taotie wore a strange expression. The Seventh Divine General used to be such a simple chef, focused only on battle and cooking. Why had he suddenly learned how to charm girls?

There was a saying in the Immortal Domain: "Emperor Qingfeng of the thirty thousand harems." So, Your Majesty, do you really not know?

Of course, this was something Taotie dared not say. Although he was a brute, he knew that if he uttered those words, he would be hammered so hard by The Supreme Emperor that he'd be sent straight to the Samsara Sea for reincarnation.

"By the way, Your Majesty, I inquired with Divine General Baize," Taotie said gravely. "She has searched through ancient texts these past two days but hasn't found any instances of the Heavenly Dao possessing consciousness. Earth's Heavenly Dao… is problematic."

As a Quasi-Emperor Realm expert himself, he had also sensed something amiss with Earth's Heavenly Dao.

"I know," Xu Lai smiled. "And it's not just the Heavenly Dao. Earth itself has problems."

Taotie nodded in deep agreement. Even a star system with a level-ten immortal civilization might not have a single Quasi-Emperor's Tomb, yet Earth actually had one. To Taotie, this was simply unbelievable. This fact alone proved things were far from normal!

"The Supreme Emperor, this subordinate suggests capturing the Heavenly Dao for a harsh interrogation!" Taotie stated solemnly. "If such a dangerous existence continues to remain on Earth, it could pose a threat to the Mistress and Princess Yiyi."

"No need to be so dramatic. Everyone has secrets," Xu Lai said, looking at Taotie with a sigh. "Even you have secrets. It's best not to dig too deep into these things."

Taotie cautiously asked, "The Supreme Emperor, did you find out that the Mistress asked me about your ex-girlfriends?"

Xu Lai: "???"

His mind filled with question marks. "When did she ask, and what did you tell her!"

"..."

Taotie fell silent. Bracing himself, he knelt on one knee. "The Mistress told me not to tell you, Your Majesty. Please, punish me!"

Xu Lai said irritably, "Taotie, you've got some nerve. Ruan Tang hasn't even married into the family yet, and you're already betraying me?"

"Your Majesty, I'm not betraying you. I've simply come to realize who's really in charge at the Haitang Court," Taotie declared seriously. "The Mistress is right. Behind every successful man is a successful woman, and for you, Your Majesty, that woman is the Mistress. Listening to her is never wrong!"

"Very good." Xu Lai nodded, approving of Taotie's astuteness. He then proceeded to dock his salary for the next ten thousand years. After a moment's thought, still not satisfied, he decided to dock another ten thousand years.

Taotie: "..."

What was he going to do? He would have nothing but air to live on for the next twenty thousand years.

But even so, the First Divine General didn't relent in the slightest. For the Taotie Clan, a promise was more important than life itself, and their word was their bond.

Moreover, Taotie was immensely grateful to Ruan Tang. If not for her, Xu Lai, who had lost all desire for life, likely would have already passed away in silent meditation within the Heavenly Court.

This... She was no longer just the successful woman behind The Supreme Emperor; she was the guardian deity of the Heavenly Court and the entire Immortal Domain!

Although Ruan Tang had no Boundary and was an ordinary person, she had no idea how vast her contribution to the Immortal Domain was. It transcended simply benefiting the masses, extending to blessing all living beings across hundreds of trillions of Star Systems!

Otherwise, should The Supreme Emperor fall, the numerous Quasi-Emperors in the Immortal Domain would not miss the chance to become an Emperor. Chaos would inevitably descend, resulting in the deaths of many and the shedding of countless drops of blood. The era under Emperor Qingfeng's rule was a rare age of peace and prosperity.

Though Taotie was a military general, a brute who craved bloodshed and war, he also wished for peace in the world and for the people to live and work in contentment. After all, this world didn't belong to The Supreme Emperor or the Heavenly Court. It belonged to the countless billions of living beings of different races and skin colors.

「Back at Haitang Court.」

Xu Lai picked up Yiyi, who was sitting on the living room couch and leaning against Xiao Hei while watching anime, and planted a big kiss on her cheek.

"Daddy, Yiyi missed you so much," the little girl said, her watery eyes blinking pitifully. "Don't leave Yiyi for so long next time."

Xu Lai chuckled. "I only left this morning and came back this evening. It's been less than twelve hours."

"Really?" Yiyi whined in Xu Lai's arms. "But it felt like a long, long time. Like a year… no, three years."

Xu Lai beamed. "What kind of feast do you want tonight? Daddy will make whatever you like!"

"Meat."

"Besides meat, how about some vegetables?"

"Meat."

"..."

Xu Lai rubbed his forehead. His daughter wasn't a picky eater, but she was particularly fond of meat, especially gnawing on ribs.

Thinking of this, Xu Lai gently tweaked Yiyi's little nose. "Be careful or you'll get fat, and no one will want to marry you when you grow up."

"Daddy, whether a woman is beautiful or not isn't decided by her looks, but by what's on the inside," Yiyi said seriously. "Without an interesting soul, even the most beautiful body is just a body."

Xu Lai was taken aback, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Who told you that?"

"It was Qian Xiao," Beibei huffed, jumping down from the second floor. Seemingly trying to escape the Gold Swallowing Beast, Xiao Hei, he leaped onto the table in front of Xu Lai and said indignantly, "That jerk also said it this morning! He said Yiyi is a rare gem, a perfect woman with both a beautiful shell and an interesting soul!"

Taotie: "..."

Xu Lai: "..."

That brat has gotten bold, hasn't he? Seeing that I didn't take Yiyi to school, he's gotten this full of himself.

"Daddy, am I really that amazing?" Yiyi looked up, her eyes bright with expectation.

"Of course." Suppressing the urge to give Qian Xiao a good beating, Xu Lai said earnestly, "'Outstanding' isn't enough to describe you. You're the little angel heaven sent to me. You are—perfect!"

"I love you the most, Daddy!" Yiyi chirped happily.

Suddenly remembering something, the little girl asked with concern, "Oh, Daddy, Mommy went to the gym with a friend and still hasn't come out. I hope nothing's wrong."

"Alright, I'll go check on her."

Xu Lai put Yiyi down and headed for the gym. He tried to turn the doorknob, only to find it locked from the inside.

He knocked on the door. "Honey, are you in there? Open the door, I'm coming in."

"Don't come in! Wait a minute!" Ruan Tang's voice was laced with anxiety. "I'll be right out. It's not a good time right now."

"Not a good time... Wait, what are you doing in there?" Xu Lai's expression darkened.

"Right, we're running."

"..."

A vein throbbed on Xu Lai's forehead.

Running... As if! My wife couldn't be cheating on me, could she?!