Divine Beast Creator-Chapter 1232 - 1233: Facilities on the Lake

"Can you really keep helping her?"

In a corner of the pavilion, Dou Yanlan glanced at Feng Yuan, who was talking to Chen Xin, and whispered to Bai You, giving Qi Chen a look to signal him not to speak. Dou Yanlan just watched Bai You.

After looking at Dou Yanlan, Bai You chuckled softly and said,

"If even the friends you’ve known all your life can no longer be trusted, who else can one believe in, besides one’s parents?"

"But... the Bai Family..."

"It seems her luck isn’t too bad; having classmates who care about her. Maybe, I really can’t stand by her side forever, but, the Bai Family won’t do anything to me yet."

As she spoke, Bai You’s gaze intently fixed on Dou Yanlan, she solemnly added,

"Because, I have already joined the military, as an official trainee Commander."

"And with this war, I might join in as well."

"You... why did you choose this path?"

Hesitating for a moment, Dou Yanlan still asked, knowing full well what this choice meant because she had once strived towards this direction herself. Moreover...

"Because the Bai Family needs someone in the military with influence, and none of the others in the family have enough talent."

Sighing, Bai You said, why was she telling this to Dou Yanlan? Perhaps it was envy, after all, she knew her experiences; she understood that if it weren’t for Qi Chen, perhaps she would be working alongside her? But that was all right, after all, the Bai Family needed her to do this.

The Bai Family, unlike the massive clan backing Chen Xin, wasn’t as disorganized as the Chen Family. The decline of the Chen Family was perhaps caused by their disarray? When the family’s own descendants are unwilling to stay, losing their unity, even once-great power cannot escape a lonely end.

If it weren’t for her childhood friendship with Chen Xin, she might not have gotten involved in Chen Xin’s affairs. Among those she knows who are Chen Xin’s friends, perhaps only she still has reasons to help her, even Zhong Liuyan can only offer secret support.

"Family... an enviable existence that you yet cannot envy."

"You are right. There are no miracles; one can only rely on oneself, rely on the family. There might be reluctance, but strength earned through one’s own efforts is what brings the most peace of mind, isn’t it?"

Bai You revealed a faint smile, as if recalling something, and turned to look at Dou Yanlan,

"Was your original goal... to seek revenge on him?"

Without speaking, Dou Yanlan simply nodded silently. In truth, there was more than one path to take. Why did she choose this one? Was it not because of his original identity? That man, before his disappearance and given that identity, if she chose any other path, unless she reached the very top, she might not even be able to target him.

Qi Chen gently held Dou Yanlan’s hand in silence, Bai You glanced at Qi Chen and said,

"You want to help her? But even your father didn’t hold as high a position as he did before his downfall."

"You know where he is?!"

Surprised, Dou Yanlan raised her voice a bit; seeing that Feng Yuan and Chen Xin seemed not to notice, Dou Yanlan breathed a sigh of relief and continued to stare intently at Bai You.

She didn’t think Bai You was bluffing; after all, with Bai You’s family background, accessing such information wasn’t surprising. Shaking her head, Bai You said,

"I don’t know. His files have a very high security clearance, but..."

Looking at Dou Yanlan, Bai You hesitated, sighed, and Dou Yanlan asked,

"Is there something you can’t say?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"His file... is categorized among those of traitors."

"Traitor? Heh, abandoned his wife and daughter, and in the end even his own country?"

Dou Yanlan laughed mockingly at herself, unable to pinpoint exactly what she was feeling. Qi Chen, on the other hand, was quite astonished. After all, to betray one’s own country? He never imagined Dou Yanlan’s father could do such a thing.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t."

Noticing Dou Yanlan’s low spirits, Bai You did not say much. She simply shared what she knew—after all, her ability to investigate Dou Yanlan’s father was only due to her good relationship with Chen Xin. It’s not certain that the latter wouldn’t do anything. There could be issues with the ordinary archives, but with the military records...

Let alone Chen Family, even the family behind Zhong Liuyan would not dare to tamper with those records. If discovered, it would be no small matter. To do so for a mere bet would not be worth it.

"What’s wrong?"

Just as everyone finished eating and resting, ready for some water fun, Feng Yuan noticed something off about Dou Yanlan and approached to ask. Qi Chen shook his head and said,

"It’s nothing, just... caught off guard for a moment."

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan didn’t quite understand what had happened, but seeing Dou Yanlan like this, he did not pry. After all, it would be easy to make her recall painful memories with careless questions.

Veronia glanced at Dou Yanlan then no longer paid attention. Xiao Ji hesitated for a moment before standing next to Feng Yuan. It was just water play, far better than a water balloon battle. Xiao Ji had no strong reaction to it. Petting Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan smiled and said,

"Shall we take on the water attractions challenge together?"

Although those wooden structures were disguised as various decorations, in reality, they could be used as regular training equipment for spirit beasts in terms of durability and purpose. Of course, that’s not what they’re used for here. They were prepared for the visiting youngsters to compete in overcoming obstacles at speed.

Looking at those structures, Xiao Ji’s expression changed slightly. It was certain that if it went up, it would probably not pass many obstacles before falling into the water.

"Aren’t those for humans only?"

Giving Feng Yuan a speechless look, Qi Chen didn’t know how to respond. If Xiao Ji had the same ability as Veronia to transform into a human form, that would be a different story. Meanwhile, Long Boduo became interested and said,

"It’s just limited to human form, but it looks rather interesting."

Belusir stood elegantly on the side without any movement. Although it wanted to interact with others, it stayed by Feng Yuan instead, because it could not see Feng Yuan’s destiny clearly, which made it feel less distressed. Qi Chen and the others were also sheltered by Feng Yuan, and unless it deliberately peeped, it could not see through them.

Since it couldn’t see through, it naturally wouldn’t think of changing anything, and instead felt an inexplicable sense of relaxation.

"It’s not necessarily for humans only, they can use it too, right?"

Seeing Feng Yuan look towards the Flower Leaf Tree Three Spirit Beasts, Qi Chen rolled his eyes. This guy... While it’s true that small-sized spirit beasts could take on the challenge together, for obstacles like climbing wooden walls, they would likely fall straight off, and then someone would have to jump into the water to fish them out.

After all, even though there were attendants here, no one was specifically assigned to stay here unless the guests requested it. And Chen Xin certainly wouldn’t make such a request because with too many outsiders around, they wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy themselves.

Right now, on Shuijing Lake, it was just their classmates, and at most a few classmates’ invited friends. Everyone was relaxed and spontaneous in their fun, which would have been constrained in the presence of outsiders.

"Xiao Ji’s Eggshell Chicken form can also take the challenge."

Glancing at Feng Yuan, Veronia put forward a challenging idea. Feng Yuan, who had just wanted to tease Xiao Ji, scratched his head with a bright smile upon hearing Veronia’s suggestion,

"Better not, the Eggshell Chicken form really isn’t suitable."

After all, the Eggshell Chicken form had down rather than feathers, and Xiao Ji’s aversion to water stemmed from incidents associated with that form in the past. Now that it had gotten much better, it wouldn’t endure another setback.

After hesitating, Xiao Ji gave up on the idea of using the Eggshell Chicken form. There was no helping it; that form was indeed very uncomfortable when wet, although it wouldn’t get sick—it was just plain uncomfortable.

However, in its eagle form... Looking at the structures and then at its own claws and wings, Xiao Ji realized it probably wouldn’t work either, as many of them required the use of hands and feet. Unless Xiao Ji flew, which was impractical as its flight was more akin to ordinary birds rather than the floating style of Agunas, it simply couldn’t navigate the corridors.

Petting Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan said with a bit of laughter,

"How about we play with some sand by the shore instead?"

Next to Shuijing Lake, there was a large stretch of sand, obviously made on purpose. Xiao Ji looked at Feng Yuan, shook its head, and chirped a few times. Agunas translated,

"It says there’s no need; it will just rest on the side for a bit."