A week later, in a secluded corner of the Cloud Palace, golden-red flames continued to rise, casting a golden glass-like reflection on the entire palace, dazzling and radiant.
A woman dressed in red clothes and a black skirt sat cross-legged on a cushion, manipulating the golden-red flames.
At this moment, Ling Guang's eyes were tightly closed, her face slightly flushed. She seemed to be controlling the intensity of the flames. There was a hint of fatigue between her eyebrows, giving her a somewhat sickly beauty.
She constantly reminded herself to hold on. It was all worth it for her daughter to regain her sight.
At this moment, her golden eyes gradually turned into a golden-red color, almost indistinguishable from the color of the flames.
Under Ling Guang's control, the temperature of the flames continued to rise. The fire became more intense, as if it could engulf the magnificent palace at any moment.
Suddenly, Ling Guang waved her palm, and all the flames converged into a giant fire phoenix, hovering in the air.
Meng Zhang looked towards the southern horizon and smiled. "It seems like Ling Guang is about to refine Azathoth's eyes."
"The little one will soon regain her sight," Zhi Ming sipped the tea in his cup and said lightly.
"Since the little one can see now, why don't we make a bet?" Jia Min turned his head to look at Meng Zhang and asked with a smile.
"What do you want to bet?" Meng Zhang stared at Jia Min with a narrowed smile.
"Let's bet on how long it will take for the little one to call Ling Guang 'mother' after she gets her eyesight back. And the people who participate in the bet cannot divulge any information about the bet to anyone, how about that?" Jia Min said with a cunning smile, looking very mischievous.
Upon hearing Jia Min's words, Meng Zhang couldn't help but chuckle. "What's the bet?"
"I want your dragonwood jade pendant," Jia Min smiled.
"I want three jars of Qian Nian thousand-year-aged wine from you," Meng Zhang's face was filled with a smile, as if those three jars of wine were already in his hands.
"What about you, Zhi Ming? Do you want to join?" Jia Min looked towards Zhi Ming who was drinking tea. He whispered.
"No, thank you." Zhi Ming shook his head. He never did anything pointless, and he wasn't interested in gambling either.
"Then how about you become the witness, Zhi Ming?" Jia Min smiled and said, looking at Meng Zhang. "What do you think?"
"No problem." Meng Zhang nodded and agreed, "I bet that the little one will call Ling Guang 'mother' on the seventh day."
"Seven days is a bit too long. I think the little one will call Ling Guang 'mother' within two days at most," Jia Min said confidently.
"Then let's wait and see," Meng Zhang drank some tea and said with a smile. His tone was filled with confidence, as if everything was under control and he wasn't worried at all.
...
Ling Guang opened her eyes, watching the fire phoenix hovering in the air, and a brilliant smile appeared on her lips. "Descend!"
"Tweet~" The fire phoenix let out a loud and clear cry, then turned into a stream of light and entered her golden-red pupils.
"Phew~" After the fire phoenix disappeared, Ling Guang let out a long sigh of relief. Sweat droplets trickled down her forehead.
"Finally succeeded." She looked at the golden-red pupils in her hand, showing a satisfied expression.
These eyes were crystal clear, like a ruby, emitting a faint halo. They glittered and shone under the sunlight, as if they could capture people's gaze and make them indulge in it, unable to pull away.
"It's truly Azathoth's eyes. It still contains some controlling effects, although greatly weakened. It can still make people feel like they are being controlled." Ling Guang gently stroked the golden-red eyes, speaking in admiration.
Ling Guang had spent a whole 108 days refining these eyes. Just thinking about the little one calling her "mother" made her feel an indescribable satisfaction, like eating honey, sweet and blissful.
Meng Zhang, Jia Min, and Zhi Ming heard the cry of the fire phoenix and walked into the palace.
"Is the refinement successful?" Meng Zhang asked with a smile, looking at Ling Guang.
"Yes." Ling Guang nodded, her gaze shifted to Meng Zhang. "Meng Zhang, why do you look like a young lady today? You used to have a loli-like appearance."
"Yeah! Meng Zhang, you used to look like a little loli, how come you suddenly look like a grown woman?" Jia Min said with a curious and playful expression.
Meng Zhang rolled her eyes at their remarks and looked at Jia Min. "If you keep sticking your nose in my business, I'll pluck out all of your tiger fur!"
Jia Min shrank his neck, immediately becoming obedient. Although he knew Meng Zhang was joking with him, he was still a little scared because she actually had the audacity to pluck out fur!
Not to mention that Meng Zhang is unbeatable in martial arts, after all, she is the leader among the four, and her strength is unquestionable. It's better for him to obey and surrender.
Seeing that Jian Bing has obediently complied, Meng Zhang turned to Ling Guang and said, "Let's go find the little one."
"Okay." Ling Guang nodded and then looked at Zhi Ming at the side and asked, "Are you coming with us?"
Zhi Ming shook his head and replied, "I have something else to do, so I won't go."
"Well, then you go ahead." Ling Guang nodded and then turned to Meng Zhang and said, "Let's go."
Meng Zhang nodded and walked out of the palace with Ling Guang, heading towards Iris's bedroom.
Jian Bing quietly followed behind the two, fearing that Meng Zhang might be playing tricks and deliberately making Iris call Ling Guang "mother" on the seventh day.
The three of them arrived in front of the bedroom door, and Meng Zhang gently pushed open the door with her jade arm.
Inside the room, the little one was sleeping peacefully, breathing softly like the rustling leaves. A serene expression adorned his smooth face, as if he was having a beautiful dream.
Meng Zhang walked to the side of the bed and bent down to touch the little one's rosy cheek, saying softly, "Wake up, little one."
Iris was awakened and instinctively rubbed her eyes. She raised her head, a bit drowsy, and looked towards Meng Zhang. With a confused expression, she mumbled, "Aunt... Uncle..."
When Iris's eyes caught a red silhouette, she couldn't help but pause for a moment. In her mind, she thought, "A green silhouette is Aunt, a silver silhouette is Uncle, a blue silhouette is Second Uncle, and a red silhouette is..."
Iris didn't recognize him, so she simply ignored him.
At this moment, Ling Guang was a little unhappy and angrily said, "Why don't you call me? Only calling them?"
Listening to the voice coming from the red silhouette, Iris felt a strange familiarity, but couldn't recall who it was for a moment.
"Hello, Aunt..." Iris greeted a bit slowly.
Ling Guang was about to explode. She even wanted to grab Iris and force her to call her "mother".
But Meng Zhang stopped her and said, "It's normal for the little one not to recognize you. Show her your appearance, and she may remember."
Ling Guang thought Meng Zhang made sense and handed over her pair of golden-red eyes to Meng Zhang.
Meng Zhang took the golden-red eyes and examined them for a moment. In her heart, she thought, "These eyes are like a piece of artwork, emitting a faint golden-red glow. They look mysterious and alluring, tempting people to immerse themselves in them. Ling Guang is so concerned about the little one's eyes, it seems that she can't easily deceive the little one away from Ling Guang."
"It might hurt a little, bear with it." Meng Zhang said softly.
"Okay." Iris nodded.
Meng Zhang took a deep breath, then removed the bandage from Iris's eyes. Her eye sockets were empty, with only a scar, looking quite sinister.
She put the eyeball she had in her hand on Iris's eye sockets and gently pressed it.
"Umm!" Iris softly called out as she felt something entering her eyes and merging with her body.
Meng Zhang's palm emitted a green light, moving around in Iris's eyes.
The pain in her eyes instantly decreased, replaced by a cool sensation that seemed to be slowly repairing her eyes.
Under the repair of the green energy, the golden-red eyes merged with Iris's eye sockets.
Then Meng Zhang took out a piece of cloth and covered Iris's eyes to avoid exposure to sunlight and hinder the fusion process.
After all this, Meng Zhang said to Iris, "For the next month, you will stay in your room and not wander around. Once your eyes fully integrate with your body, your vision will be restored, and you will be able to see clearly in this world."
"Okay." Iris obediently nodded, with anticipation in her heart, hoping to see Aunt's appearance as soon as possible.
"By the way, Aunt will send energy to your eyes every day. That way, you won't feel any pain during the fusion." Meng Zhang continued to instruct.
"Okay, thank you, Aunt!" Iris said gratefully.
"Thank you, Aunt." Iris sweetly said.
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhang's face softened, and she gently patted the little one's head, saying warmly, "Little one, Aunt is leaving first."
As the conversation ended, Meng Zhang and the other two left Iris's bedroom and walked downstairs.
"Langguang, be patient with Iris. Don't push her too hard. After all, having multiple mothers suddenly appear, she will definitely have a hard time adapting," Meng Zhang reminded before leaving.
"Yeah, I understand," Langguang nodded, his gaze following Meng Zhang as he left.
The guardian beside him cursed inwardly, "This guy is using such indirect means again. I'm going to lose my bet on three altar wines..."
It seems that Meng Zhang will be trouble for some time, after all, among the four of them, only she possesses healing abilities.
