Chapter 1127: Chapter 625: Mother (Double-Length, Part 2)

So, he has been haunting for the past three years?

Like maggots that cling to the bones.

The tall woman suddenly felt a pain sharp enough to rend the heart.

"Bastard."

Qin Yue sobbed almost to the point of breathlessness, her small body trembling as if threshing grain.

She didn’t understand what hatred was, didn’t know what a bastard was, only knew that the "Father King" who held her now was terrifying, with eyes like a man-eating tiger.

Somehow, perhaps from fright, she stopped her futile struggle, and her small face, smeared with tears and snot, tilted upwards toward that flickering face in the candlelight.

"...Hurts... hurts, ma, mama, it hurts so much..."

Those were faint, aggrieved whimpers.

Qin Qingluo still clutched the child who was just two years old.

She crouched down, her tall figure leaning closer, Qin Yue felt at a loss, then suddenly, her mother hugged her tightly, her shoulders trembling.

Mother cried...

Qin Yue stayed rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend that the always stern and severe Father King would cry, she remained there motionless for quite a while, the tears of her mother soaking her shoulders.

After an unknown duration, the tears subsided a bit, dripping onto her shoulders, and only then did Qin Yue return to her senses, thinking about things only a child at her age would think, things unknown to others.

Qin Qingluo silently let her go, slowly rose, and remained silent throughout.

"Fa, Father King..." Qin Yue timidly called out.

The woman Prince glanced down as Qin Yue picked up the ball and ran over, nudging it forward like a careless puppy.

The ball rolled to Qin Qingluo’s feet.

"..." She lowered her gaze slightly and said calmly, "Do you want me to play?"

"No, not play, fight, fight." Qin Yue bumped the ball again and again, feeling anxious for reasons unknown.

She threw herself onto the ball, pressing it down hard. Earlier, her wet nurse couldn’t understand what she was doing, thinking she was messing around, but she wasn’t messing around, she was doing something very impressive.

Qin Qingluo was silent for a moment, then pinched her by the collar and lifted her up, saying, "Stop fighting the tiger, you’re not Wu Song, what are you doing fighting a tiger?"

"Tiger... fierce, bad!" Qin Yue lifted her face, making a "wow" roaring gesture.

"Boring." Qin Qingluo released her hand, ignoring her, and turned to leave.

"Father King, I can’t... beat it alone." She just got up to chase after but stumbled over the ball, "I can’t beat it! Wah!"

"..." She was silent for a while, "Why can’t you beat it?"

"The tiger is powerful, scary, the worst is the tiger."

Qin Qingluo glanced at her daughter sideways, who was still lying on the ground, the ball beside her, in a posture like being ready to be eaten by a tiger.

Her eyes lowered slightly, and she moved closer, pressing her fingers on the ball, and with a little force, the whole ball deflated instantly.

"Father King is stronger!"

Qin Yue scrambled up, rubbing her butt, and cheered.

The tall woman glanced at her, suddenly not knowing what to do, as since she started speaking, she’d become increasingly indifferent before her.

Qin Yue was long accustomed to it, didn’t cause a fuss, ran over and kicked the deflated ball, "This tiger, tiger, what’s its name?"

"..." She said blandly, "Chen Yi."

"Oh, Chen Yi, fierce, bad! Father King beats it really well!" Qin Yue kicked again, baring her teeth at the deflated ball, "You beat me, but you can’t beat Father King."

"...It’s late, go to sleep."

"Mm, sleep." Qin Yue responded happily and climbed onto the bed in a couple of steps.

Qin Qingluo pulled the quilt over her and sat by her side, saying nothing.

Children always fall asleep quickly, and before long there were faint murmurs.

Qin Qingluo remained in that position, lowering her gaze over her daughter’s sleeping face with furrowed brows and dried tear marks, eventually looking toward the corner of the warm room.

The ball lay there quietly. Deflated, its colors somewhat faded, dust clinging from the floor. But not long before, it wasn’t a silent round ball; in Qin Yue’s small world, it was a roaring tiger in need of being chased and "tamed." She pounced at it repeatedly, using her whole body to beat it, not as play, but bravely battling a fierce beast.

Perhaps Aunt Zhu had told her the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger to coax her to sleep? Probably quite likely, as Aunt Zhu had coaxed her the same way.

Those were days of dark confusion, faintly smelling of blood, with nothing but fear in her heart.

At that time, nearly deserted by all, her mother struggled to protect herself, and Father King... was erased early from her memory.

The tall woman’s face remained serene as she watched her sleeping daughter intently.

She seemed to have a good dream, muttering in her sleep,

"Wuwu... Father King, Father King... milk, milk, want milk."

Father King...

Unsure whether it was Qin Yue’s unclear words, or if she herself was slightly disoriented after the day,

Qin Qingluo leaned over the bed, silently tracing those words with her fingers.

Father King...

Father forget...

.........

Going out is easy, coming back is hard.

The Demon Cave lies deep within the Underworld. Though profoundly deep and the pathways twisted like a maze, Chen Yi left markers along the way, so he didn’t have to struggle to find the way out like before. Eliminating many detours accelerated the journey back.

It took him four or five months to enter, only two months to exit. In total, he spent about six to seven months in the Underworld, equivalent to half a day in the human world.

There were noticeably fewer wandering souls along the way, likely because the Infinite King was once bitten by a snake, so now twice shy, daring not to easily invite wandering souls into the Demon Cave.

The door of the Ancestral Temple separating yin from yang lay ahead.

He pushed the door open and entered.

"Returned alive?"

On the altar of cold pork tribute, the Qin Family Ancestor squinted, slightly surprised at seeing Chen Yi exit perfectly well through the door,

"Truly alive, I thought I would need to find someone through a dream to set up a statue for your tribute."

"Ancestor, don’t laugh, otherwise you’d have to compete with me for cold pork."

Chen Yi unabashedly walked to the altar, casually devouring the cold pork. The daily offered meat transformed into incense, flowing around his body, slightly enhancing his cultivation.

Qin Xuzhi didn’t mind his actions, rather found them amusingly intriguing, "Didn’t expect this?"

"Unexpected by you."

Chen Yi lifted a finger, casually drawing pen and paper from the Square Land, leisurely grinding ink, then started drawing on a large yellow paper.

His strokes weren’t refined, rather crude, barely passable for writing, attempting a drawing was much harder. Yet, as the ink touched paper, every rough stroke surprisingly blended into intricate patterns.

It wasn’t magic; Chen Yi used Taoist skills to enhance his memory, imprinting everything seen and heard firmly in his Heart Lake, then manifesting it with Sword Creation of Heaven and Earth.

The Qin Family Ancestor scrutinized closely, initially frowning, then raising his eyebrows, furrowing them again, and finally comprehending with clarity, as he waved his hand with delight, taking the completed Demon Cave Map from Chen Yi’s hand.

Qin Xuzhi examined the drawing intently, then remarked, "You ventured deep into the Royal Palace?"

Though the tone held admiration, Chen Yi still detected a hint of skepticism, he truthfully replied, "The Infinite King intended to trap me; though its skill couldn’t be underestimated, it hadn’t battled humans in too long. After injuring its throat, I broke through the wall and fled."

Qin Xuzhi carefully analyzed the map, indeed finding the closer to the Royal Palace, the more detailed and clear it was.

"Remarkable."

The Qin Family Ancestor laughed heartily,

"You, the youngster, being so capable is beyond my expectations."

"You’re too kind, Ancestor."

Chen Yi rarely bowed, clasping his hands respectfully.

The Qin Family Ancestor, amused, raised an eyebrow and said, "Why, being courteous with me here?"

"I naturally don’t wish to be formal with Ancestor. Honestly speaking, Ancestor fits my temperament well, and I also suit Ancestor’s temperament, but no matter how, I’m still an outsider to the Qin Family, thus I must be courteous."

"An outsider, who dares to treat you as an outsider?"

"Qin Qingluo."