The Huo Family's Troublesome Maid

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Who Is She?

By the time Xi Yunxui was about reaching her room, the little girl was already beginning to struggle against sleep, her small steps becoming slower as she held tightly onto Xi Yunxui’s hand and occasionally rubbed her eyes with her free hand.

Xi Yunxui noticed her condition and slowed her pace accordingly, making sure that the child would not stumble as they walked through the quiet corridor. The staff quarters were considerably quieter at this hour, with most of the lights already turned off and only a few dim lamps left glowing along the hallway, casting soft pools of light across the floor.

King C walked a few steps behind them, his short legs moving at a leisurely pace while Biyu followed from above, occasionally fluttering its unusual wings before settling back down on Xi Yunxui’s shoulder.

When they finally reached her room, Xi Yunxui opened the door and allowed the little girl to enter first.

The child immediately looked around.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about Xi Yunxui’s room, especially compared with the luxurious bedrooms in the main residence, but to the little girl, the modest space seemed comfortable enough. Her eyes moved curiously across the room before settling on the bed, and the moment she saw it, her sleepy expression became noticeably brighter.

Xi Yunxui noticed the change and could not help smiling.

”You want to sleep already?”

The little girl nodded.

Xi Yunxui chuckled softly before walking over to the bed and pulling back the blanket.

”All right, climb in.”

The little girl obediently climbed onto the bed, but instead of immediately lying down, she sat in the middle of it and looked at Xi Yunxui as though waiting for something.

Xi Yunxui stared back at her.

”What is it?”

The little girl said nothing.

She simply stretched out her arms.

Xi Yunxui blinked.

Then she understood.

”You want me to carry you?”

The little girl nodded again.

Xi Yunxui sighed helplessly, although the corners of her lips lifted in amusement as she bent down and picked the child up. The little girl immediately wrapped her arms around Xi Yunxui’s neck and rested her head against her shoulder with such familiarity that Xi Yunxui momentarily wondered whether she had somehow known the child for much longer than a few minutes.

She carried the little girl around the room for a while, gently patting her back as she tried to coax her into sleep, and before long, the child’s breathing gradually became slower and more even.

Xi Yunxui lowered her gaze.

The little girl was asleep.

”She fell asleep so quickly.”

Xi Yunxui carefully placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her small body.

For several moments, she simply stood there.

There was something strange about the child.

Xi Yunxui could not explain what it was, but from the moment she had opened that cabinet and found those large eyes staring back at her, she had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It was almost as though she had encountered that feeling somewhere before.

Yet no matter how carefully she searched through the memories belonging to the original Xi Yunxui, she could not find anything that explained it.

Xi Yunxui eventually shook the thought away.

”Maybe I’m just tired.”

She turned around and was about to walk toward the dressing table when the system’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

[Host.]

Xi Yunxui paused.

”What?”

There was a brief silence.

Then the system spoke again.

[The system recommends that the host exercise caution around the child.]

Xi Yunxui frowned.

She immediately turned her attention toward the sleeping girl.

”Why?”

The system remained silent for a moment longer than usual.

[The system has detected unusual energy fluctuations.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression became serious.

”Energy fluctuations?”

[Yes.]

She stared at the child.

”What kind?”

The system did not immediately answer, and that alone made Xi Yunxui more alert because the system rarely hesitated when responding to ordinary questions.

Finally, its voice sounded again.

[The system is unable to determine the exact source.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyebrows knitted together.

”You’re telling me you don’t know?”

[Correct.]

She stared at the child again.

The little girl was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the conversation happening around her.

Her small chest rose and fell gently beneath the blanket, and a few strands of dark hair rested against her cheek.

Xi Yunxui lowered her voice.

”Does she pose a danger to me?”

[The system cannot confirm.]

”Then what exactly can you confirm?”

There was another pause.

[The system can confirm that the child’s energy is not ordinary.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes narrowed.

She had already encountered enough strange things since arriving in this world to know that ”not ordinary” could mean almost anything.

She had a system that gave her strange missions, a goat-like creature that could speak, a chicken-like creature with unusual wings, and cultivation powers she had barely begun to understand.

Now there was a mysterious child hiding inside a kitchen cabinet in the middle of the night.

At this point, Xi Yunxui was beginning to suspect that normal was simply no longer an option for her.

”Can you determine whether she’s human?”

The system fell silent.

Xi Yunxui waited.

One second passed.

Then another.

Finally—

[The system cannot provide a definite answer.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression changed.

She looked at the little girl again.

For the first time, she examined her more carefully.

There was nothing visibly strange about her.

She looked completely human.

Her tiny fingers rested beneath the blanket, her cheeks were soft and slightly flushed from sleep, and her breathing remained steady.

Yet there was something about her presence that Xi Yunxui could not quite describe.

It was subtle.

Almost imperceptible.

If she had not asked the system, she probably would never have noticed it.

Xi Yunxui slowly walked closer.

The moment she approached the bed, the little girl’s eyelashes trembled.

Xi Yunxui stopped.

The child did not wake.

Instead, she turned slightly in her sleep and unconsciously reached toward Xi Yunxui’s side of the bed, her tiny fingers curling as though searching for something.

Xi Yunxui’s heart softened.

”She’s probably just looking for someone.”

She sat down beside her.

The system did not respond.

Xi Yunxui glanced upward.

”Don’t tell me you’re going to start being mysterious again.”

Still nothing.

She sighed.

”Fine.”

She carefully tucked the blanket around the little girl once more before standing.

At that moment, Biyu suddenly flew from Xi Yunxui’s shoulder and landed on the edge of the bed.

The chicken-like creature stared at the sleeping girl.

Its emerald eyes narrowed.

Xi Yunxui noticed.

”What is it?”

Biyu did not answer.

Instead, it leaned closer to the child.

The little girl, still asleep, suddenly frowned.

For the briefest moment, a faint golden shimmer seemed to pass beneath the skin of her wrist.

Xi Yunxui blinked.

The shimmer disappeared.

She stared at the girl’s wrist.

Nothing remained.

”Did I imagine that?”

Biyu slowly turned its head toward Xi Yunxui.

The creature’s expression was unusually serious.

Xi Yunxui stared at it.

”You saw that too?”

Biyu made a quiet sound.

”Kion...”

Its tone was so uncertain that Xi Yunxui became even more confused.

Before she could ask another question, the little girl suddenly shifted in her sleep.

The faint golden shimmer appeared again.

This time, it was even weaker, almost like moonlight reflected briefly across her skin.

Then it vanished.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

She immediately asked the system.

”Did you see that?”

[Yes.]

”What was it?”

[Unknown.]

Xi Yunxui rubbed her forehead.

”You’re really not being helpful tonight.”

[The system apologizes.]

She sighed.

”Whatever. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

Xi Yunxui decided not to wake the child, especially since there was clearly no immediate danger. Whatever strange secret surrounded the little girl could wait until morning.

She turned toward the bed and noticed King C sitting on the floor.

He had been unusually quiet throughout the entire conversation.

Xi Yunxui narrowed her eyes.

”Why are you so quiet?”

King C looked at her.

Then he looked at the little girl.

Then back at Xi Yunxui.

”She smells strange.”

Xi Yunxui froze.

”What?”

King C immediately climbed onto the bed and sat down beside Biyu.

”I said she smells strange.”

Xi Yunxui stared at him.

”What do you mean by strange?”

King C shrugged.

”I don’t know.”

For once, there was no teasing expression on his face.

”I’ve never smelled anything like it before.”

Xi Yunxui’s expression became thoughtful.

Even King C had noticed something unusual.

She looked at the little girl again.

The child was still sleeping peacefully.

Completely innocent.

Completely harmless-looking.

And yet both the system and King C had sensed something unusual about her.

Xi Yunxui slowly exhaled.

”All right. We’ll keep an eye on her.”

King C nodded.

Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something important, he pointed toward the bed.

”Where am I sleeping?”

Xi Yunxui stared at him.

”On the floor.”

King C’s eyes widened.

”Why?”

”Because the little girl is sleeping on my bed.”

”You have room.”

”You have your own bed.”

”I don’t like my bed.”

Xi Yunxui folded her arms.

”You were perfectly happy sleeping on it yesterday.”

”That was yesterday.”

Xi Yunxui looked at him suspiciously.

”You’re just trying to sleep on my bed because she’s here, aren’t you?”

King C immediately turned his head away.

”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Biyu made a soft sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

King C glared at it.

”Don’t laugh.”

Xi Yunxui shook her head.

”Both of you are troublesome.”

She eventually brought a small cushion and blanket from the cabinet and placed them on the floor beside the bed.

”There. That’s where you’re sleeping.”

King C looked at the arrangement with obvious dissatisfaction, but after glancing at Xi Yunxui’s expression, he wisely decided not to argue.

Xi Yunxui climbed onto the bed and carefully positioned herself beside the little girl.

She made sure not to disturb the child before pulling the blanket over herself.

Biyu settled near the foot of the bed, while King C reluctantly curled up on the cushion beside it.

For a while, the room became completely quiet.

Xi Yunxui stared at the ceiling.

She had intended to sleep immediately, but her mind was filled with too many questions.

Who was this little girl?

Why had she been hiding in the kitchen?

Why had she been so hungry?

And why had the system been unable to determine whether she was human?

Xi Yunxui eventually turned her head toward the sleeping child.

The little girl suddenly moved closer.

Without waking, she nestled against Xi Yunxui’s arm.

Xi Yunxui stiffened.

Then she slowly relaxed.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

”You’re really clingy.”

The child did not respond.

She merely continued sleeping.

Xi Yunxui gently pulled the blanket higher over her shoulder.

”Just sleep for tonight. We’ll find out everything tomorrow.”

What Xi Yunxui did not know was that beneath the blanket, the little girl’s fingers had slowly curled into a tiny fist.

For the briefest moment, a faint golden light flickered between them.

A delicate pattern, resembling an ancient symbol, appeared on her palm before disappearing almost immediately.

Neither Xi Yunxui nor King C noticed it.

Only Biyu’s emerald eyes opened slightly in the darkness.

The creature stared at the little girl for several seconds before quietly closing its eyes again.

Whatever secret the child carried, it was not something that could be uncovered in a single night.

~~~~~

A/N: I see the power stones, the comments, the votes, the golden tickets and I’m just so overwhelmed with gratitude.

Thank you for reading and supporting me •~•