Walking to the riverbank, looking across the river surface, there didn't seem to be anything unusual, yet the sound of crying persisted.

Then, Su Mu looked upstream; the crying sound was coming from there.

He walked along the riverbank, heading upstream. The further he went, the clearer the crying became. Finally, he stopped, looked across the river, and saw a wooden basin floating downstream.

The crying sound was coming from the wooden basin.

Seeing this, Su Mu waved his hand, making the water beneath the basin static, preventing it from drifting away. He then stepped onto the surface of the river, heading towards the wooden basin.

As he got closer, he looked down into the basin, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Inside the basin lay a baby girl.

Her features were like carved jade, with arms as white as porcelain, and her little face as delicate as a porcelain doll. Sensing someone had arrived, the baby stopped crying, opened her eyes, and stared at Su Mu with big, curious and slightly fearful eyes.

With this sight, Su Mu examined the surroundings, spread out his divine sense, and found no trace of other people within a few kilometers.

Whose child is this?

How could they leave her like this in the river?

....

Su Mu hated more than anything those who abandoned their children after giving birth. If you have no ability to raise a child, don't have one; if you do, you should take responsibility.

What does it mean to give birth and then abandon?

....

Leaving the baby girl like this on the water, what if the basin flipped over, or if it caught the attention of a big fish or fierce beast? She'd almost have no chance of survival.

Even if luck was on her side and there was no danger, she would still starve to death from drifting endlessly downstream.

...

At this moment, the baby girl who had stopped crying, clutched her tiny hands tightly together, her eyes timidly looking at Su Mu.

Su Mu could feel her fear and anxiety.

At this moment, Su Mu realized that his face was somewhat stern, and then he managed to force a rather awkward smile.

Seeing the smile, the baby girl seemed less afraid. She couldn't tell if the smile was ugly or not; she just knew this person smiled at her.

Seeing her gaze, Su Mu was also taken aback.

What a clever little girl, so finely crafted, clean, rosy, with bright eyes. Such a beautiful girl, how could anyone be so cruel?

Feeling some indignation, Su Mu picked up the wooden basin and quickly headed upstream.

However, after searching for an entire day, he found no one. Moreover, the river was now shrouded in thick fog, which didn't affect him but might not be so harmless for the little girl.

She seemed pale and unwell, clearly not adapting well.

Seeing this, Su Mu had no choice but to abandon the search and head downstream, leaving the foggy area.

.....

Staring at the baby girl in the wooden basin, Su Mu let out a heavy sigh, his emotions complex. Now what? Having failed to find the person who abandoned her, should he raise her himself?

But... he had no experience and wasn't keen on raising a child.

The most crucial part was that he was stuck on this river and couldn't leave. Su Mu thought he couldn't properly care for her.

Maybe let her float downstream in the wooden basin. Such a beautiful, cute girl would surely find a family willing to adopt her.

Su Mu gently placed the wooden basin on the water, leaving a few treasures and a note inside the basin.

The next moment, the baby girl might have sensed something, and she extended her porcelain-like small hand towards Su Mu, wanting him to hold her, not to abandon her.

Seeing this, Su Mu froze for a moment, his heart wavering.

He hesitated for a second, then instinctively opened his arms and picked up the little girl, also retrieving the wooden basin, and started to step away from the water.

Su Mu, who hadn't married before crossing and naturally had no children, was not familiar with holding a child, so he could only support her with both hands, looking very much like a first-time father.

The little girl, perhaps tired from crying, now felt a sense of safety and quickly fell asleep, nestled in Su Mu's arms.

Watching the sleeping girl, Su Mu sighed as well.

Let's adopt her for now, he thought. As she grows older, should he encounter a kind-hearted person willing to adopt her while crossing the river, he would pass her on.

After all, letting her drift downstream in a wooden basin, aside from the danger of fierce beasts, what if she encountered a malicious person who took the treasure and abandoned her again?

Su Mu's circumstances were special, and his primary goal was to become stronger, then refine the river to leave, so he couldn't raise her indefinitely; he could only take care of her for the time being.

.....

Back at the stone hut, Su Mu was at a bit of a loss; what to do next?

Perhaps find a small bed to lay her down?

At this point, Su Mu began rummaging through his Space Ring, and although it contained high-grade treasures, he couldn't find a single soft, small bed.

This was also why Su Mu felt he couldn't raise her well, since he couldn't leave here, relying on robbing cross river men, fishing, or lotteries for all his living supplies, food, clothing, shelter, and transport.

The lottery was such a random element; who knew what it would yield?

Sometimes it even produced corpses that had been dead for hundreds of years, and Su Mu didn't expect to draw a small bed from it.

.....

At this moment, the willow tree nearby seemed to sense Su Mu's predicament and lowered hundreds of its twigs, weaving them into a semi-suspended wicker cradle.

Seeing this, Su Mu was delighted; the place wouldn't be right without the willow tree.

Carefully, he placed the baby girl onto the wicker cradle, and the willow tree began gently rocking the cradle, lulling her to sleep.

Su Mu sat down, picked up a water cup from the table, and took a hearty sip.

Watching her, his emotions were complex.

In truth, he was deeply conflicted, constantly sipping and pouring more water.

Although Su Mu wasn't exactly a kind-hearted person, he couldn't bear to watch her drift aimlessly down the cold river, where she'd eventually succumb to hypothermia and cry herself to death, even if the basin didn't capsize.

Whoosh—

Su Mu let out a deep breath.

Enough of this, he thought; things can be dealt with later.

Then, Su Mu's gaze settled on the peacefully sleeping baby girl.

Her sleeping posture was adorable, with her hands clasped at her chest and her body curled up slightly. From a psychological stance, this indicated a lack of security. Her long lashes fluttered faintly, and her exquisite face had a rosy tint, resembling a masterpiece crafted by the heavens.

Yet, as Su Mu continued to observe, he had a nagging feeling that there was something extraordinary about her, different from ordinary baby girls, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Suddenly, Su Mu made a startling discovery and stood up abruptly, taking steps towards the baby girl.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.