Invincible Dad-Chapter 604 I Don’t Love Eating Fish_1

「East Sea City.」

At Haitang Court on Mount Haitang, Ruan Tang woke from her sleep and asked groggily, "Honey, what are you looking at?"

Xu Lai was leaning against the headboard, gazing at the bright, full moon through the window.

He chuckled. "Just looking at the moon."

"Oh," Ruan Tang replied. "What time is it? Are Yiyi and the others back yet?"

"It’s exactly one in the morning. They haven’t come back yet."

"That girl, Ruan Lan. Where on earth has she taken Yiyi to run wild?"

Becoming more awake, Ruan Tang reached for the phone on the bedside table. "I’m going to call and ask her."

Before she could touch it, Xu Lai chuckled softly. "Leave them be. The moonlight is lovely tonight. Let’s go out for a walk, just the two of us."

Ruan Tang shot him a look. "Who goes for a walk at one in the morning?"

"I suddenly feel like getting some exercise."

"Just do some at home."

"Hmm, alright."

Ruan Tang stared, completely bewildered. That scoundrel Xu Lai had actually wrapped his arms around her and...

A blush crept onto her cheeks as she scolded indignantly, "Xu Lai, I meant you should exercise at home! There’s a gym downstairs. You can do push-ups, run on the treadmill, whatever you want!"

"I don’t want to go downstairs."

"...Then I’ll go for a walk with you. The moonlight is really nice tonight."

"Nope, I don’t feel like going out anymore."

"..."

Ruan Tang fell silent for a moment, then suddenly pointed out the window. "Honey, look! Yiyi’s back!"

"Hm?"

Xu Lai was taken aback. That can’t be right. My daughter should be on the Moon with her troublemaking aunt-in-law and Kid Qian. They’ve already left Chang’an City.

The moment he turned his head, Ruan Tang wriggled free from his clutches and rolled herself up in the blanket like a spring roll, as if she could escape the ordeal that way.

Xu Lai was speechless.

Seeing his wife’s expression, like she was fending off the big bad wolf, he said helplessly, "I’m not going to eat you."

Ruan Tang’s lips curled, her gaze unwavering.

Xu Lai said gently, "Dear, it’s already mid-April. You must be hot wrapped up in that blanket."

"I’m not hot. I’m very cold."

"Actually, I’m quite cold myself. How about you let me have a corner of that blanket?"

"There are more blankets in the closet. You can get yourself another one."

"I don’t want to. I can’t sleep without being under your blanket."

"..."

A battle of wits began between Xu Lai and Ruan Tang.

After ten minutes, Ruan Tang suddenly declared, "I request a thirty-minute truce."

"Why?" Xu Lai was dumbfounded.

"I’m a bit hungry. I need a halftime break."

"Hahahaha," Xu Lai couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "Okay, you got it."

The April weather was indeed getting a bit muggy. In just ten short minutes, Ruan Tang had broken out in a sweat, causing her already thin nightgown to cling to her skin.

Xu Lai’s gaze grew intense.

Ruan Tang said warily, "Xu Lai, are you thinking of—"

Before his dear wife could finish, Xu Lai cut in earnestly, "Yes."

—

In the end, the little white rabbit couldn’t escape the big bad wolf’s hunt.

After their late-night snack, Ruan Tang felt drowsy again, mainly due to Xu Lai’s earlier antics. Yawning, she asked softly, "Should we go look for Ruan Lan and Yiyi?"

"No need." Xu Lai remarked with feeling, "Ruan Lan has grown up today. It’s a good thing."

"Hmm?"

The more Ruan Tang thought about it, the more suspicious it sounded. For a young woman, the phrase "grown up" could have... other implications.

Stroking Xu Lai’s cheek, Ruan Tang said gently, "Mr. Xu, if you did anything wicked to Ruan Lan, I’ll have you sent to the Imperial Palace to serve the emperor."

"Wake up, the Qing dynasty fell a long time ago."

"But the tombs are still there, aren’t they?"

"..."

A shiver went down Xu Lai’s spine. My wife is so cruel! She not only wants to have me castrated, but she also wants me dead... The heart of a woman is truly the most venomous.

"I, Xu Lai, swear to the heavens that I will never harbor any improper thoughts towards Ruan Lan!" he declared helplessly. "If I do, may lightning strike me down!"

CRACK!

For some unknown reason, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the night sky.

Xu Lai was speechless.

Ruan Tang gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Look at that. The lightning came the moment the words left your mouth."

"It’s that rascal Sikong Jiu breaking through," Xu Lai said, his face dark. "That little bastard is clearly trying to frame me!"

"Hahahaha—huh?"

Somewhere in the sky, the gleeful laughter of a three-year-old boy in a red bellyband, ecstatic about his Boundary breakthrough, came to an abrupt halt. Heavenly Dao Sikong Jiu sensed a faint but unmistakable killing intent.

Could it be... from The Supreme Emperor?!

Sikong Jiu trembled with fear. What did I do? I didn’t do anything... Why would The Supreme Emperor want to kill me?

While Sikong Jiu was left bewildered and aggrieved, back in Haitang Court, Xu Lai was trying to explain himself. "Dear, listen to me, that lightning bolt—"

SMOOCH.

Ruan Tang suppressed a laugh and kissed him on the cheek. "I know."

"But I haven’t said anything yet."

"Let’s get some sleep."

"Okay."

Xu Lai wrapped his arm around Ruan Tang, his eyes on the moon outside the window. Although he kept saying he wouldn’t help, he couldn’t just stand by and watch Yiyi, Ruan Lan, and Qian Xiao walk to their deaths.

There seems to be something incredible within the Sea of the Moon... Even I can’t see what’s hidden in those abysses.

"Fine. Follow them from the shadows. Only intervene if it’s a matter of life and death," Xu Lai transmitted with a wisp of his Divine Sense.

No one responded from the darkness. A moment later, however, Xiao Hai, the spirit of Mount Haitang’s Dragon Vein, transformed into a streak of light and shot away from Earth.

"Time for sleep."

Xu Lai closed his eyes. The world was full of troubles, but the comfort of his bed was the best place to be.

「...」

「The Moon.」

Ruan Lan clutched the flying Formation, skimming rapidly just above the lunar surface. The desperate resolve she felt when leaving the city was gone, replaced by an emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Was it pride? Was it being moved? Was it joy?

She couldn’t say for sure, nor did she want to try and figure it out. All she knew was that she now had two more companions, two people she had to protect and bring back to Earth safely.

*"The first line sings of a past life, a long road on the west wind’s ride,"* Ruan Lan hummed. *"The second sings to not look back, for ten years wandering left no one by my side. The third line sings of this chaotic world, swaying gently from dawn to eventide..."*

Qian Xiao muttered, "Auntie, you’ve always had family and friends. That song doesn’t suit you at all."

Ruan Lan gave Qian Xiao a wry smile. "When we get back to Earth, I’ll treat you to fish."

"I don’t like fish."

"Then why are you so good at nitpicking?"

"..." Qian Xiao was struck speechless.

Yiyi, on the other hand, was delighted. "Auntie, I love fish! I love Starfish the most! Can you catch a few for me? I’m hungry."

"Stinky brother-in-law, did you hear that?!" Ruan Lan yelled at the top of her lungs in the direction of Earth. "Send a couple of fish over! Yiyi and I are both hungry!"

Back in Haitang Court, Xu Lai simply turned over in bed, and the open window slid shut on its own. He hadn’t heard a thing.

"Shhh!" Qian Xiao panicked. "This is the Moon! Those Moon Clan people will kill us!"

"What’s there to be afraid of?" Ruan Lan said fiercely. "With me here, if gods block my path, I’ll slay them! If demons block my path, I’ll slaughter them!"

Qian Xiao said with genuine admiration, "Auntie, you should be singing the Hero Song."

Xu Yiyi sighed. "You’re so silly, Qian Xiao. Auntie is a girl!"

"A female hero is still a hero," Qian Xiao insisted earnestly.

"..."