"How could Aunt Penny have died?"
His mother still hadn’t come to her senses, lost in grief over Aunt Penny’s death, and didn’t really hear what Quinn was saying.
Quinn had no idea what had happened during the time Aunt Penny carried him from Youdu to the Great Ruins. Granny Sue and the others didn’t know either—only that, by the time the woman delivered Quinn to the riverbank, she’d already been dead for a long while, her obsession alone keeping her moving until she could leave him somewhere safe.
Quinn saw her again at Mizu Pass, where she’d become a drowned woman in the river. Only when she heard Quinn say, ‘I grew up. I survived,’ did her obsession finally disperse and she sank beneath the water, freed at last.
From Youdu to the Great Ruins, Quinn had been just a two- or three-month-old baby with no memory of the journey. The distance wasn’t far, but there must have been secret battles along the way—someone probably tried to snatch or kill him where Earth Sovereign couldn’t see.
Sadly, Aunt Penny could never tell them what she’d been through herself.
"Mother, I’ll find Aunt Penny’s soul myself. No matter where she’s gone, I’ll bring her back."
Quinn smiled to comfort his mother. "I’ve got some skill now, and I know a lot of people. Even if Aunt Penny’s soul is scattered or suppressed, I can still save her. Mother, my elder brother is here too—he really wants to see you."
"Elder brother?"
Princess Consort Hansen looked confused and worried at Quinn. Quinn smiled, "Yes, elder brother. When I was born, he protected you in Youdu. I’ll call him out."
Quinn suddenly went still, standing motionless where he was.
"Fenix?"
Princess Consort Hansen panicked, calling out again and again: "Fenix! What’s wrong with you?"
Inside the Keane-Sigil Continent, the big-headed baby sat cross-legged, arms folded, face turned away. "I’m not going! Mother is afraid of me!"
Quinn circled around to face him, smiling. "You’re supposed to be the elder brother, but you’re still acting like a kid. Don’t be difficult—you’ve wanted to see Mother again for ages. This is a rare chance."
"Not going!"
The big-headed baby turned his face the other way. "Mother likes you, not me. I’m just a stray—she only gave birth to you! I’m not going!"
Crimson Emperor grumbled, "Hey, chubby, if you’re not going, at least get off me! You’ve been squashing me long enough!"
He was pinned beneath the big-headed baby’s bottom, face to the ground and unable to move.
Far away, Heaven Duke’s white-browed, white-bearded avatar peeked out from behind the Keane-Sigil Mountains, watching.
Quinn laughed, "We're one and the same—why am I the real son and you're the picked-up child? Enough nonsense, go see our mother. She's been waiting. If you don't go, I'll go myself."
The big-headed baby scrambled up and shot out toward the sky, shouting, "Fine, I'll go!"
The Crimson Emperor, seeing him leave, hurriedly climbed to his feet and dusted off his robes—though there was no dust, it was just habit.
On the other side, Heaven Duke's ray-avatar rushed out, glanced at Quinn, and shook his head, "You're doomed, you're doomed. You've let the big-headed brat out, you'll never get your body back! You're finished, kid!"
Quinn chuckled, "Heaven Duke, that's my elder brother. We're two branches of the same tree..."
The white-bearded old man huffed and glared, "That big-headed brat's already gone bad, you know? Who taught him? You did! Now that he's out, he'll definitely seal you away and trap all three of us in here!"
Quinn's expression changed slightly. "My brother wouldn't do that..."
Outside, Princess Consort Hansen felt a surge of anxiety. Suddenly, Quinn exhaled a deep breath, and she watched as her son's body crackled and swelled, growing taller and larger by the second—yet his age reversed, and before her eyes he became a chubby, pale-cheeked toddler.
Quinn's clothes, treasures crafted by Ariel Skyfeather, expanded with his growing body, but on this big chubby kid they looked comically puffy and oversized.
Princess Consort Hansen stood in a daze, utterly bewildered by her son's transformation, unable to come to her senses.
"Mother, wait just a moment!"
The chubby kid excitedly unhooked his two Glutton Dragon Pouches, rummaged around, and suddenly his three eyes lit up—he pulled out a golden willow leaf and slapped it onto his own forehead with a grin. "Naughty little brother, you can't get out now!"
Inside the Keane-Sigil Continent, Quinn was trying to fly out and reclaim his body when suddenly patterns of the willow leaf appeared in the sky. The Buddha radiated dazzling light, its aura linked to the willow, sealing the entire world.
Quinn stared, stunned. "I... brother..."
"You're finished!"
The white-bearded old man fumed, "You taught him all the bad habits! You're doomed, and so are we!"
Quinn blinked, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
The Crimson Emperor muttered, "Honestly, I think it's not so bad. At least Quinn won't beat us up every other minute."
"Mother! I'm back!"
The big-headed baby excitedly patted his chubby little hands at Princess Consort Hansen, begging for a hug, but realized his body was too big to hold her—so he quickly shrank himself down.