Ning Xiu clung to Chu Jun and wouldn’t let go, while Ning Buwei enjoyed his peace and quiet, lying leisurely on the roof watching the stars.
He held the Lotus Flower Pearl against the moon, squinting to examine the crystal-clear flower vein patterns inside.
“Five hundred and one years and three months…” he clicked his tongue.
Though he had remembered everything, he never asked why Chu Jun broke his promise back then – perhaps he no longer cared.
If he truly didn’t care, why did he wait a year at Xiaoqiu Mountain? And why give him this pearl now, saying such ambiguous things?
Ning Buwei couldn’t quite figure him out.
Then again, Chu Jun was deep and thoughtful, and being an old…cough, senior who had lived over a thousand years, it was normal that he couldn’t understand him.
Ning Buwei used some spiritual power to wrap the pearl, swaying it back and forth before his eyes. No matter what, this was a precious item – he should find a worthy gift in return.
What did Chu Jun like?
The great demon frowned as he sat in the cold wind for almost half an hour, but couldn’t find an answer.
“Father…” a weak voice came from behind.
Ning Buwei put away the pearl and turned around to see Feng Zizhang’s hands gripping the roof ridge, his feet slipping as he struggled to climb up.
“…” Ning Buwei grabbed his collar and pulled him up.
Feng Zizhang dusted off his clothes and let out a long sigh, “Whew, this roof is really steep.”
Seeing his red eyes and muffled voice, Ning Buwei raised an eyebrow and said, “Copying texts made you cry?”
Feng Zizhang scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled sheepishly. “No, I wasn’t crying because of copying texts.”
Ning Buwei waited for him to continue.
As expected, this kid couldn’t hide things in his heart, and said dejectedly, “While I was copying texts, my token suddenly crumbled to dust. I must have been…expelled from the Yunzhong Sect.”
“Why would they suddenly—” Ning Buwei said halfway before realizing, frowning, “Because of me?”
It made sense that he was recognized after his identity was exposed at the Dao Discussion, when Feng Zizhang openly called him father.
Ning Buwei said, “If you want to return to the Yunzhong Sect, I can help you.”
Feng Zizhang shook his head vigorously, “I don’t want to go back. My senior and junior brothers are all dead, and my master was sent to the mortal realm. Even if I returned to the Yunzhong Sect, there would hardly be anyone I know… I just feel sad in my heart.”
It felt as if all those carefree days from before had finally completely disappeared from his life.
“Besides, I think being able to meet Father and the Venerable, along with Xiao Jiang, Huanhuan and Xiao Shan, is already incredible luck.” Feng Zizhang lowered his head bashfully, “I have average talent, no special abilities, and I’m quite timid, plus I’m too nice – yet none of you ever looked down on me.”
Ning Buwei: “Actually, we did look down on you quite a bit.”
Feng Zizhang: “…wuu.”
Ning Buwei pressed his hand on his head, “Do you know what kind of person lives longest in the cultivation world?”
Feng Zizhang’s neck shrunk from the pressure, and he answered uncertainly, “People with high cultivation?”
“It’s the lucky ones,” Ning Buwei said teasingly.
Feng Zizhang pointed at himself, seeming half-understanding. “Father, am I considered lucky then?”
Ning Buwei smacked the back of his head, “If you weren’t lucky, you’d have died eight hundred times already.”
Among Wen Heshen’s hundred and eight disciples, he was the only survivor. Even Chu Jun and Hao Zheng couldn’t escape those cyan parasitic gu, yet he was fine. He could fish out four heaven-grade treasures after falling into the sea… While ordinary cultivators might have moments of great fortune, Ning Buwei had lived long enough to finally witness what truly defying fate’s fortune meant.
Feng Zizhang rubbed his head and grinned foolishly at him, “Hehe.”
“Finished copying the texts?” Ning Buwei asked again.
The smile froze on Feng Zizhang’s face, “Not… not yet.”
Ning Buwei stared at him expressionlessly.
Feng Zizhang looked at him cautiously and probed: “Father, Xiao Jiang is crying because he can’t understand what he’s copying. Do we really have to finish today?”
Ning Buwei glanced at their room’s window and saw Jiang Yizheng lying on the table copying texts, tears dripping as she wrote. She wiped her tears forcefully with her sleeve before continuing.
Ning Buwei: “Latest by tomorrow afternoon.”
“Father, you’re the best! I’ll go tell Xiao Jiang right away!” Feng Zizhang hugged him excitedly before nimbly jumping down from the roof.
Ning Buwei: “……”
Why did he feel these two little fools were deliberately acting pitiful?
****
The moon reached its zenith, and Ning Xiu was still crawling around on the bed, too excited to sleep.
“Ah~” he crawled to Chu Jun’s hand and plopped down with a thump.
Three months ago, Ning Xiu could only roll over and nestle obediently in his arms. Now he had not only grown bigger but could crawl and sit. Chu Jun had thought three months would pass like the snap of a finger, but he’d forgotten how quickly children this age changed day by day.
He reached out to stroke his son’s fluffy little head.
“Ah~” Ning Xiu squinted contentedly, rubbing his soft little face hard against Chu Jun’s palm.
Mother pat face~
Then he eagerly pointed to his little mouth, “Ya~”
Look at my teeth~
Chu Jun laughed, “Yes, I see. Very impressive.”
Ning Xiu sat unsteadily and fell back onto the blanket with a “plop,” his short arms and legs flailing in the air.
Chu Jun reached out to tickle his little belly, making him laugh uncontrollably as he grabbed Chu Jun’s hand and wouldn’t let go.
Chu Jun took the opportunity to help him up.
Ning Xiu gripped his hand tightly and wobbled to his feet, looking at Chu Jun with bright eyes, “Ah! Yiya! Da!”
Mother look~ I can stand~
Chu Jun had never raised a child before and wasn’t sure at what age children could stand, but seeing Ning Xiu, who previously could only lie limply in his arms, now standing with his little belly stuck out, he felt surprised.
And happy.
He pinched Ning Xiu’s little cheeks, “Does your father know?”
“Dai~ dada! Mo~” Ning Xiu repeated his words unclearly, and probably tired from standing, flopped onto his stomach.
Chu Jun patted his little bottom.
Ning Xiu crawled on him, placing his little hands on his chest and raising his head to gaze at him dazedly, “Liang~”
Mother is beautiful~
Chu Jun’s eyebrows twitched, “Mother?”
“Ah!” Ning Xiu excitedly raised his hands, but without support, his forehead knocked against Chu Jun’s chin, and he immediately burst into tears with a “wa.”
(TL: 凉 ’liang’=cool, 娘 ‘niang’=mother)
Chu Jun quickly picked him up, using spiritual power to rub his head, “Be good, don’t cry.”
Though it no longer hurt, Ning Xiu still felt wronged. With tears in his eyes, he sniffled and touched his forehead, “Ah~”
Bumped it, it hurts~
Chu Jun didn’t mind wasting spiritual power. Even though there wasn’t even time for a red mark to appear, he continued applying spiritual power.
Ning Xiu immediately felt so comfortable he was practically bubbling with joy, giving Chu Jun a milky laugh.
If he had bumped into father instead, not only would there be no warm spiritual power, but he would be teased for a long time and get spanked.
Ning Xiu was very happy and decided to share his treasures with mother.
He took out a strangely shaped stone from his little lock bracelet, handed it to Chu Jun, while his little mouth babbled non-stop. “Ah~ yida~”
This is my precious stone~ It sparkles in the sunlight~
Chu Jun took it, thinking it looked exactly like a river pebble no matter how he looked at it.
Next, his son eagerly showed him dried leaves picked from the roadside, oddly-shaped dolls, a small snowman preserved with a freezing talisman, a small piece of floral fabric covered in his drool…
Ning Xiu stuffed a black spirit stone into Chu Jun’s hand, “Liang~ da~”
Mother~ this is for you~
Chu Jun looked at this low-grade spirit stone and smiled, “For me?”
“Ah!” Ning Xiu proudly nodded his little head and pushed it further into his arms. “Ya~”
It’s for you! Mother, put it away~
So Chu Jun “very happily” put this ordinary low-grade spirit stone into his storage ring.
Ning Xiu blinked, pointing at his little silver lock, then at the storage ring in his palm, tilting his little head in confusion, “Ah?”
Are they the same?
Seeing his curiosity, Chu Jun asked, “Want to take a look?”
Ning Xiu brought his little head close to his palm, and Chu Jun enlarged the storage ring a bit, letting him look.
Ning Xiu wiggled his little bottom back and forth, and after a while sat up with two small flowers clutched in his hands, showing them to Chu Jun, “Aya?”
Pretty flowers~
Chu Jun’s gaze paused slightly, his voice gentle. “Your father picked them.”
One was from the swamp wilderness five hundred years ago, the other from the Yumian Mountain secret realm recently.
Ning Xiu, probably inheriting Ning Buwei’s unique tastes, held out the two small flowers to him, “Ah!”
For Mother!
Chu Jun accepted them with mixed feelings, “Thank you.”
Ning Xiu proudly patted his little belly, “Haiya~”
“You should sleep now.” Chu Jun gathered up the scattered “treasures” on the bed, intending to put them back in the little silver lock.
But Ning Xiu wouldn’t let him, pointing at his treasures and then at the window outside, “Daidai~”
Let’s show them to Father~
As a good son, although he showed his treasures to mother first due to a bit of personal preference, he couldn’t leave father out~ Father and Mother were equal in his heart!
Chu Jun said, “It’s too late, how about tomorrow?”
“Ah!” Ning Xiu grabbed his hand and pulled outward with surprising strength.
Mother, let’s go show Father~
Chu Jun’s gaze held a hint of helplessness.
****
Six irregularly shaped fragments of the Suzaku blade and its handle lay on the table, arranged to show their approximate original form, with two pieces clearly still missing.
A cyan parasitic gu lay weakly in a teacup, with dozens of small formations falling upon it, instantly turning it black.
Ning Buwei had obtained a cyan gu from Wang Zizhuo earlier, nearly decoded its internal formations, and modified them during the battle. Combined with the one-way positioning talisman he learned from Chu Jun, with some adjustments, it became this little black worm.
During these months in Bangyuan Town, besides researching the Seven Killings Soul-Devouring Formation, he had been tinkering with this black worm.
When Ning Fan and Cui Ci escaped, he had secretly placed a black worm on each of them. Though slightly different, both could track locations – as long as they stayed within the seventeen states, he could monitor their movements at any time.
With Ning Fan’s intelligence, he couldn’t have created such intricate and profound formations. Simply killing Ning Fan would only satisfy vengeance but serve no other purpose – it would be better to use him to find the mastermind behind everything.
Wearing an outer robe, Ning Buwei stared at the black worm for a moment before throwing a yellow talisman into the air. The talisman instantly expanded, displaying the rough topography of the seventeen states.
He dripped a drop of blood onto the worm, which immediately took flight, flying back and forth across the yellow talisman before finally settling in one spot.
Ning Buwei looked at where the worm landed, his expression darkening, “Kun Prefecture, Zhenzhou?”
The mastermind really knew how to pick locations.
Knock knock.
Two gentle knocks at the door sounded.
Ning Buwei quickly cleared the items from the table and went to open the door.
In the moonlight, Chu Jun stood at the door holding Ning Xiu in one arm and a bulging floral bundle in the other.
As if coming to say goodbye.
Ning Buwei’s expression soured as he recalled some unpleasant memories, and he couldn’t hide it in time. Both the adult and child at the door were startled by his expression.
“Ah?” Ning Xiu let out a milky questioning sound, the excited smile on his little face mostly fading.
Father, what’s wrong?
Chu Jun said, “Are we disturbing you?”
Ning Buwei finally came to his senses, instantly softening his expression, then looked up at the moon, “No, come in.”
Chu Jun carried Ning Xiu inside.
Ning Buwei looked up at the sky again, rubbed his face hard, before closing the door.
What were Chu Jun and his son doing visiting him in the middle of the night?
