Chapter 172: It’s Not Easy Raising a Kid
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Upon hearing Hao Ren’s words, Lily immediately tucked her tail between her legs warily and asked, "...Landlord, are you going to play tricks on me again?"
Looking at the husky girl’s cautious face, Hao Ren was not sure how to respond and asked, "When did I play tricks on you?"
"Because people often fool me," Lily said and pulled back. "And the last time you gave me a bottle, you lied that there was jam inside. Turns out, it was chili oil when I bit off the lid. You kept tricking me into opening the bottle. One time, you asked me to bite off a bottle of mustard and there was another time you let me bite off the beer bottle and the last time... You always take me for a bottle opener. This time you're asking me about dentures. This must mean that you want me to open a bottle again!"
The rest of them immediately turned to Hao Ren with a fierce look but, he stared at Vivian and said, "Why are you looking at me?! You’re the one who suggested that Lily open the bottle of chili oil. You said the pupper has good teeth and it was too wasteful for her to just watch the door and we should let her work as a bottle opener in the kitchen..."
Lily immediately bared her teeth and glared at Vivian. Hao Ren hurriedly stood in the middle of them and explained, "Ehem, let’s stop talking about old things. I’ll go buy a can opener tomorrow, okay?Lily, I’m serious. Can you implant dentures on dogs? In fact..."
He told them how he met the wolves and accidentally broke their teeth. After listening to Hao Ren, Lily covered her mouth and gasped. "Ouch ... Sounds like it really hurt! You’re so cruel, Landlord."
"I was almost bitten as well, okay," Hao Ren said, staring at Lily. "So honestly, do you have the skills for dog dentures?"
"Even if I have the relevant skills, there aren't any materials to do it," said Lily as she spread out her hands. "Have you ever seen a pet hospital that provides denture services? Normally, dogs don't like the weird feeling of having a foreign body in their mouth. This doesn't include how difficult it is to make one. No matter how exquisite the porcelain teeth are, they're still fake. For canines that frequently use their claws and fangs to hunt, that thing will affect their judgment."
Watching Lily explain everything logically, Hao Ren could not help but ask, "How do you know about this so clearly?"
"I lost my tooth once before." Lily opened her mouth to show a row of white fangs which were neat and sharp like small knives. "I lost a tooth, fighting with a tiger when I was young but, I could regenerate my tooth. The tiger was so delicious by the way..."
Imagining the scene of such a seemingly harmless and beautiful girl squatting in the forest glade, tearing the tiger's corpse with her claws and blood all around, Hao Ren had goose bumps at the back of his neck. It was better not to delve into the past of these aliens.
It appeared that Lily was unable to help him. However, while Hao Ren imagined those unlucky, black wolves having to eat porridge for the rest of their lives, Nangong Wuyue suddenly spoke, "Talking about treating injuries... maybe I could give it a try."
Everybody looked at her. Nangong Wuyue smiled and said, "Sirens have the ability to heal wounds. Although it’s not as fast as a werewolf’s healing power, the key thing is that it can be used on other people. It should be able to help them grow a few teeth. But, I don’t know if the creatures in The Plane of Dreams and those of the real world are the same so, I’m not too sure if my healing power will work on them."
Everyone unanimously decided: Forget about whether it works or not, just give it a try! From now on Nangong Wuyue was not just a humidifier, she had another role, as first aid kit…
With nothing else left, the last step was to enter The Plane of Dreams together. Hao Ren, assisted by the MDT, quickly adjusted the settings of several dormant cabins and registered everyone's mental frequencies into the devices. With the input being the last parameter, the upper lids of the 'coffins' slid open quietly, exposing the empty, crystalline inner tanks. Faint fluorescence twinkled from inside the crystalline tanks, as if summoning the users to lie down in the 'coffin'.
Hao Ren was unwilling to enter the 'coffin' but, Vivian already made the first move excitedly. She held a large pile of blankets and bedding, approached a dormant cabin and spread them out in the cabin smoothly. Soon, she made it a soft and comfy coffin bed. After she had finished, she looked at the MDT awkwardly and asked, "Ah, I forgot to ask, is it okay to put these things inside?"
"It’s okay. All of the cabin's functions involve non-physical contact. It’s good to make it comfortable. You’re quite creative. Usually people never think of putting blankets into a dormant cabin."
"I’ll take this as a bed." Vivian happily lay into it and felt the touch. She then jumped out and called Lily, "Doggie, come with me. Let’s go upstairs and take those spare blankets. I’ll make the beds for you guys."
The vampire girl was immersed in helping them prepare the dormancy cabins. Those metal boxes would have been able to look less like coffins with the touch of technology. However, they looked more like coffins after they were covered in quilts. Vivian came down to the basement holding a bunch of white candles. She wanted to light them up around the coffins according to a vampire’s sense of aesthetic. After Hao Ren threatened Vivian with his life, he finally crumbled the vampire’s excitement. However, when everybody was ready to enter the cabin, Hao Ren suddenly realised one more thing and asked, "We're going to stay inside for a few days. What about Lil Pea?"
Lil Pea, together with her mother (the pot) were also brought to the basement and placed on Vivian’s low table. The little one peeped out from the pot and curiously looked at the bunch of grown-ups. Upon hearing someone calling her name, she happily swished her tail, making a big splash. She kept waving at Hao Ren.
"Bring her in too?" Nangong Wuyue thought about it and decided to suggest.
Hao Ren looked at the MDT and asked, "Will it be okay?"
"There’s no problem theoretically but, you have to think about it. There may not be mermaids in The Plane of Dreams. And even if there are, they’re not necessarily a common species. If you hold such a mysterious creature in front of the local people, it’ll very easily be surrounded by the people there. Also, Lil Pea is so small. What if you lose her or she gets eaten? If one dies in The Plane of Dreams, one dies in real life."
Hao Ren looked at everyone awkwardly and asked, "Or can someone stay behind to take care of the kid?"
Everyone looked at each other. Nobody wanted to miss the opportunity to enter The Plane of Dreams. Also, everybody had their own task in this trip: Vivian was a rune expert, Nangong Wuyue was the chaplain and Y’zaks was the essential golden fighter regardless of any situation. He was the fighting power they absolutely could not lack in The Plane of Dreams, where the risks and dangers were unknown. As for Lily... she did not seem to have a unique role but, the girl was a husky. Do you think she would have been able to stay at home obediently? In this case, she was even stickier than a plaster.
In the end, the MDT finally came up with an idea after it pondered for quite some time. "How about we put her in the fridge first?"
Hao Ren glared at the stupid PDA and said, "Can you not be a fool for once?"
"I mean, let her hibernate!" the MDT shouted. "She has the habit of hibernating anyway. Can’t we just throw her into the fridge to let her sleep for a few days?"
Hao Ren paused for a moment and thought that it made sense as well. But when he saw those big, bright eyes staring right at him, he shook his head and said, "No, I feel sorry for her, I can’t do it."
"You're expressing a bit of your fatherly consciousness now," the MDT mumbled. "Then, you carry her in since you don’t find it troublesome. But, you have to find something to keep her. This pot won't work for sure. It’s too inconvenient. You need to find a container that's easy to carry and has a lid on. It must have a lid to prevent the little kid from popping out or being seen in the wrong place."
Hao Ren brainstormed for a while and ran to the kitchen. He took the kettle. "It should be okay to put her inside this."
"But what if Lil Pea becomes afraid after the lid's closed?" Nangong Wuyue looked at the big kettle and said, "It’s dark in there and she's so small."
Hao Ren then looked at the MDT for more than 10 seconds. The MDT finally could not stand it and floated into the kettle despondently saying, "Fine, I’ll be the trotting horse lamp for the little one... You guys are really demanding! Not only do I have to serve the adults but also the kid!"
Nangong Wuyue filled the kettle with water and put the small mermaid in carefully. Lil Pea was quite afraid of the strange-looking iron kettle in the beginning but, when she saw a glowing, metal discus inside, she was happy. She began to amuse herself by turning the MDT over and over in the water. Nangong Wuyue reminded the little kid not to go out as far as possible via mental connection and explained that the adults had something serious to do. Lil Pea nodded. She was very clever and could now understand these things.
"I want to tell you something by the way," Nangong Wuyue looked at Hao Ren and spoke after she explained things to Lil Pea. "Now Lil Pea thinks that this pot is her aunt, hang in there..."
"… What the! I’ve given up on how I used to perceive the world, okay? I can calmly face whatever happens now!"
"Oh, Lil Pea asked me why dad has no lid on his head."
"..."