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“Five years ago? Exceptionally gifted? And then she turned into a useless cripple overnight?” Lilith’s eyelid twitched. This sounded exactly like the template of some overpowered protagonist from a wish-fulfillment novel. “And then? What exactly happened that made that once-admired young lady turn into this?”

“It was because of her mother’s death.” Landon sighed. “Five years ago, her mother died in an accident. The shock was too much for Liana to bear. She fell into a high fever that simply would not break. I searched through every physician in the city before we finally managed to bring the fever down and save her life. But after she woke up… she became like this.”

So Liana’s mother had already passed away. Landon’s words confirmed part of Lilith’s earlier suspicions, yet something still felt off.¹　

“A high fever?” Lilith frowned, sensing something strange. “I can understand collapsing from grief and illness. But how does that turn someone into a cripple? I’ve never heard of a fever burning away a person’s talent.”

“Because Liana was never truly a cripple.” Landon sighed again. At that moment, Lilith could see boundless bitterness and helplessness in his eyes. “Liana’s inability to absorb spiritual energy is a matter of the heart.”

“A matter of the heart?”

“Yes. She believes she cannot absorb spiritual energy. So even if she gathers spiritual energy during the first half of the night, she will subconsciously disperse it herself during the second half. Even the cultivation she once possessed… she scattered it with her own hands.”

“She scattered it herself?” Lilith fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words. “Why?”

“That is precisely what we cannot understand.” Landon shook his head. “Seeing a puppet as her mother can be explained as longing for her mother. But deliberately dispersing her own cultivation, convincing herself that she is worthless, and believing that I despise her because of it… I have never been able to understand those actions.”

“Is that so… Incomprehensible abnormal behavior…” Lilith stroked her chin and sank into thought.

Mental illnesses like this, aside from congenital ones, always had some kind of trigger when they developed later in life. Her longing for her mother explaining why she treated the puppet as her mother was easy enough to understand.

But why would she be so terrified of the father who had always treated her well? Could it be… Lilith raised her head, her gaze sweeping over the refined man before her.

“I know you suspect that I may have harmed Liana.” As if seeing straight through Lilith’s thoughts, Landon gave a helpless smile. “In other matters, I may owe Liana many things. But when it comes to sincerely caring for her, I believe no one in this world could surpass me.”

As he spoke, Lilith stared directly into his eyes, searching for any trace of deception. Yet she found none. Either he was telling the truth, or his disguise had become so flawless that no one could ever see through it. But the most likely explanation was still… Liana had simply gone mad. That was why she feared her own biological father so deeply.

“Alright, enough of that. After saying all this, what exactly do you want me to do?” Lilith suddenly asked.

Landon froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Lilith to be so direct. “Perhaps I was overthinking things.” He shook his head and smiled faintly. “My request is very simple. I hope you can cure Liana.”

“That’s not simple at all.” Lilith frowned. “And treating mental illness isn’t exactly my specialty.”

The only method Lilith could think of was devouring the painful memories in Liana’s mind. After all, so-called mental illness and memory loss often served as the brain’s way of protecting itself after experiencing severe trauma.

But there was no guarantee that removing certain important memories, such as those of her mother, wouldn’t make Liana’s condition even worse.

“And more importantly… why me?” Lilith narrowed her eyes, her expression turning serious. “To you, Mr. Ye, I should be nothing more than a stranger visiting your home for the first time. Are you really comfortable entrusting your beloved daughter to someone like me?”

“It may not seem wise, but I trust Liana.” Landon replied calmly. “Although she has occasional episodes, her logical thinking remains intact most of the time. In fact, her intuition is often sharper than that of ordinary people. And since you are someone she trusted enough to be coaxed around by nothing more than a single strand of hair… I believe I can afford to place at least a little trust in you. And besides, why not give it a try? There’s nothing to lose.”

“The way you say that honestly makes me a little nervous. It sounds like you might take revenge on me at any moment.”

“Miss Jasmine, you must be joking. How could I possibly take revenge on the benefactor who is helping my daughter?” Landon replied with a gentle smile. Only at this moment did the traces of weary hardship in his eyes seem to fade slightly.

“A benefactor… is it?” In other words, if there was no favor involved, he could take revenge however he pleased.

She had only stepped outside to get some fresh air. How had she ended up entangling herself in something that might embarrass her for the rest of her life? Lilith let out a helpless sigh.

“Alright. I’ll do my best to try. But if it doesn’t work, don’t blame me.”
“Thank you. Regardless of success or failure, I will still pay the treatment fee.” Landon paused briefly before adding, “Ten times the usual amount.”

Ten times the fee. Quite generous. Though to Lilith, that little bit of money meant nothing at all. Still, why did she even want to help Liana in the first place? Perhaps it was simply because the girl seemed so foolishly pitiful.

“Since everything has been settled, I shall take my leave. The responsibilities of a family head are truly overwhelming.” Landon waved his hand. Out of nowhere, a one-eyed, hunchbacked old man appeared and walked up to stand before Lilith.

“This is Old Huang. For the time being, he will be responsible for your protection. If you have any needs, you may speak to him directly. As long as the request is not excessive, we will do our best to accommodate it,” Landon explained.

Lilith frowned as she looked at the one-eyed old man whose expressionless face gave off an eerie feeling. “I don’t need anyone protecting me.”

“Don’t worry. He is truly only here to protect you, not to monitor you.” Before leaving, Landon patted Lilith on the shoulder like an elder addressing a junior and said with a faint chuckle, “Our Ye family is large and well-established. We’re not so fearful that we would worry about a little girl without a trace of spiritual power causing any trouble. Just go ahead and do what you need to do.”

‘Heh.’ Lilith sneered inwardly. ‘If I really did cause trouble, I’m afraid your Ye family wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences.’

“And most importantly, things around Liana have been somewhat… unsettled recently.”

“Hm?” Lilith froze for a moment, immediately recalling the pack of wolves that had attacked Liana in the forest. It seemed Landon was still hiding quite a few things.

“Alright then.” Lilith agreed. It was just a small tail tagging along. Hardly any trouble.

“Then I’ll leave Liana in your care.” Landon repeated his request before hurrying off. It was clear that, as the head of the household, he was truly burdened with endless responsibilities.

And yet, even with such a busy life, he still had to spare time and energy worrying about his mentally ill daughter. No wonder that although he was only in his early forties, both his temples had already turned white with frost.

“Being a father like that… really isn’t easy.”