Hearing that familiar voice, Shi Batian froze in place and quickly turned around.
A chubby little baby stood right before him—just a few months old, dressed in bright crimson clothes with his chest and belly bare, wearing a green leaf skirt around his waist.
"Daddy… Daddy," the baby called sweetly.
Shi Batian was stunned.
"Are you… Big Gourd?"
The baby nodded firmly. "Daddy… I'm Big Gourd."
Tears of joy welled up uncontrollably in Shi Batian's eyes as he scooped up the infant. The feeling of finding something lost was overwhelming—too much happiness to contain.
"Hehe… Daddy's crying, Daddy's crying. Daddy's not a man."
The little one giggled, playfully teasing.
Watching this, the other little gourds burst out laughing.
Shi Batian's face flushed red. "You're all mistaken! How could Daddy cry? It's just… there's sand in my eyes, that's all!"
He quickly changed the subject and started scrutinizing the baby in his arms. What he saw startled him.
Feeling the weight of the child, Shi Batian frowned. If it weren't for all the muscle he'd gained from watering and fertilizing the gourds these days, he might not even be able to hold this little guy.
"And you can't eat the broken gourd shell, it's too hard for a baby to chew," he warned as Big Bro tried nibbling on the cracked shell.
"Daddy… I'm hungry," the baby's face scrunched up in distress.
"Hungry, huh… What can a baby like you eat?" Shi Batian scratched his head. The kid looked human now, definitely not a plant-eater. But what do babies eat? He wasn't an expert—he only knew how to raise plants.
The baby started pulling at Shi Batian's clothes, trying to get closer.
"This… wants milk," Shi Batian realized. He reached to pull off his shirt, but then remembered—he didn't have any.
Shi Batian smiled bitterly. Asking another woman for milk? No way—that'd be crossing a line.
So, what could he do?
Then his eyes lit up as he glanced at the few soul beasts nearby—the White Tiger, the Fiery Phoenix, and the Turtle.
"Meow…"
"Chirp chirp."
"Woof!"
The three soul beasts all took a step back, scared by Shi Batian's suddenly mischievous expression. What was he thinking?
"Hehe, I remember you're all female beasts, right? So… you've got milk too, huh? Well then, the honorable task of wet nurse goes to you!"
Shi Batian gently handed the baby toward them.
The soul beasts, who still remembered the last time the red gourd almost crushed them, were terrified and started making loud noises.
Shi Batian chuckled. "Hey, hey, don't get too excited! I know you've all got milk, don't rush, one at a time."
The beasts' thoughts were: Please don't come closer, please don't come closer.
But the baby's strength was overwhelming—just one move had injured several of them badly.
The little guy latched onto the mother white tiger, sucking with all his might. The poor beast winced in pain—it really hurt.
"Daddy… it's delicious! I love drinking beast milk!"
Shi Batian smiled in satisfaction. Turns out, this accidental idea worked out perfectly.
Thinking about how much the kid loved beast milk, Shi Batian's eyes gleamed. Wait—he still hadn't named him!
"Well then! Since you love drinking beast milk, your name will be Shi Hao, okay?"
He pinched the chubby cheeks, enjoying the soft touch.
"Shi Hao… good! From now on, I'm Shi Hao!" the baby giggled in his baby voice. Though he didn't understand the meaning, he eagerly agreed.
In the following days, the few remaining soul beasts took turns doing chores—fetching water, fertilizing, feeding milk—all to lighten Shi Batian's load. This was the little gourds' way of saying they didn't want their dad to be too tired.
Shi Batian sat beneath the gourd vines, holding Shi Hao and telling stories to the little gourds.
Day by day, Shi Hao grew rapidly, looking bigger and stronger by the hour. Shi Batian was stunned by the boy's speed of growth.
But since Shi Hao wasn't an ordinary child, Shi Batian accepted it without question.
Six days later, Shi Batian stared blankly at the boy before him, who now looked like a strong six-year-old, still with a trace of childlike innocence.
"Good heavens, a whole year of growth per day? That's insane."
Though Shi Batian had noticed the pattern, he was still overwhelmed.
"Shi Hao, maybe you're drinking too much beast milk, growing so fast."
Shi Batian placed both hands on Shi Hao's shoulders, utterly amazed.
"Shi Hao wants to grow fast and protect Daddy, bring Mommy back."
The boy proudly patted his still-childish but strong chest.
"You're still young. Daddy will protect you, and Mommy will come back. Daddy will make sure of it," Shi Batian said gently, stroking Shi Hao's hair.
He felt his own soul power increasing rapidly recently. Maybe he really had a chance to save Qian Renxue and reunite their family.
Suddenly, Shi Batian remembered—Shi Hao was already six years old by now. It was time to awaken his Martial Soul. Let's see what kind of soul he had.
He took out the crystal ball that Qian Renxue had left him and began testing Shi Hao.
Shi Batian arranged six black stones on the ground in a hexagon and placed a yellow crystal ball in the center.
"Let's test your Martial Soul, Shi Hao."
The boy looked confused.
"Martial Soul… what's that, Daddy?"
"On Douluo Continent, every child awakens a Martial Soul when they turn six. Some are strong, some weak. A powerful Martial Soul brings great strength. A weak one means almost no chance to cultivate."
Shi Batian patiently explained.
Hearing that Martial Souls meant power, Shi Hao immediately got excited.
"Power… I want power! Daddy, hurry and help me awaken a strong Martial Soul so I can save Mommy!"
Shi Hao never forgot his mission to rescue his mother. Shi Batian thought it was just childish talk for now.
_
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