Chapter 1821: Probably an Old Acquaintance
Qin Mu strolled through Yan Kang, approaching the Heavenly Court of Yan Kang, and gradually there were people who recognized him.
It wasn't that everyone had forgotten him, but those who did recognize him were all old acquaintances from the past.
Occasional greetings slowed his pace.
These friends had not achieved enlightenment; they remained in Yan Kang. Some had retired, others were still active in society. Seeing them stirred a myriad of emotions in Qin Mu.
His arrival caused no ripples in Yan Kang. No one knew the origin of this young man with graying temples walking through the bustling streets. People only saw renowned old predecessors coming to welcome him, and dust-covered swordsmen rushing to meet him.
Some of those people were famous throughout the world, ancient ancestors dwelling in the halls of power, while others were obscure and unknown.
Qin Mu did not linger long; he still had others to see.
The Upper and Lower Capitals of Yan Kang had also changed, dampening his interest.
As night fell, Yan Kang's night scenery was enchanting. Divine light shone from one divine city after another. The people here no longer needed to fear the invasion of darkness; the light of the divine cities even dimmed the bright moon in the sky.
Qin Mu looked up. The moon in the sky was still as pure and bright as ever, but it seemed distant, lofty, and desolate.
He arrived on the moon. In the Moon Palace, a goddess danced with a sword, her sword light like moonlight in a dream, spilling across the palace.
Qin Mu stood quietly to the side, watching. After a long time, the goddess in the Moon Palace sheathed her sword, and only then did she notice him.
The two stood in silence for a long while, then exchanged a smile.
Thirty-five billion years—it was too long. The feelings between them were no longer the love between a man and a woman, but more like a kind of sustenance, unrelated to spirit or flesh, unrelated to desire or possession, merely a spiritual anchor.
This sustenance transformed into a longing, and the longing gathered into a shallow harbor where they could temporarily moor, without wind or waves, without turmoil, peaceful and beautiful.
Qin Mu and Bai Qiu'er sat on the stone steps of the Moon Palace. Between them, there had once been emotions as fierce as blazing fire. Back then, they had ridden sword light, cutting through the night sky, roaming through the false heavens, stirring up brilliant stars, causing the galaxy to churn for them.
They had been moved by each other, a feeling that even the Yan Kang Firmament could not block.
At that time, they had the possibility of being together, but various matters had delayed it. Now, reunited, ancient divine consciousness surged, stirring up ripples. Love had sublimated, becoming sustenance, unrelated to lust, unrelated to the future, unrelated to feelings.
They talked, they laughed, enjoying the beauty of the tranquility.
After a long time, Qin Mu stood up. Bai Qiu'er smiled and asked, "Will we meet again?"
"Yes, as long as you wait for me."
Bai Qiu'er watched him walk away. The moonlight was hazy, carrying the accumulated weight of the years, heavy yet seeming light.
The sun rose, and Yan Kang's moon became thin, hiding behind the clouds.
Qin Mu saw Lang Wan on a ferry boat. After her reincarnation, Lang Wan no longer possessed her previous life's peerless beauty. Through the porthole, Qin Mu gazed at this woman who had once haunted his dreams.
He could see her soul, see the various experiences of her current life, see the various aspects of her past life.
Lang Wan seemed to sense his gaze. She turned her head and met his eyes through the porthole.
Lang Wan smiled, walked past the porthole, and said, "Sir, have we met? You give me a familiar feeling."
She was poised and graceful. Although she no longer had her previous life's appearance, she still possessed that extraordinary and refined bearing.
Qin Mu shook his head and smiled. "We have never met. It's just a feeling of familiarity. Probably we were old acquaintances in a past life."
Lang Wan pondered, "I also have this familiar feeling, as if I've seen you somewhere. You..."
She looked up, but the young man with graying temples had already disappeared.
Lang Wan felt a sense of loss and murmured softly, "Probably an old acquaintance, probably an old acquaintance... Who exactly are you..."
Qin Mu returned to his hometown but could no longer find the old site of the Village of the Disabled. In its place were towering buildings, bustling traffic, and a cacophony of noise.
"I think I know you!"
A chicken-dragon transformed deity spoke to him seriously.
Qin Mu smiled faintly. In his smile, the chicken-dragon involuntarily recalled his miserable past. By the time he came to his senses, Qin Mu had already vanished.
Qin Mu returned to his wife, Ling Yuxiu. When the Ancestral Court war broke out, Qin Mu had sent her back to Yan Kang. As one of Yan Kang's most ancient emperors, Ling Yuxiu did not go to the Upper Capital of Yan Kang. She seemed to know that Qin Mu would return to the old site of the Village of the Disabled, and also knew that he wouldn't find it, so she settled down beside the ruins of the Yong River.
She had not achieved enlightenment. Throughout the long ages, despite her desperate cultivation, she was always a hair's breadth away from enlightenment.
That hair's breadth was a chasm. Even her husband, who was the Celestial Venerable Mu, Seventh Young Master, could not help her cross it.
The couple lived a simple life by the Yong River. Dragon Lord Huan occasionally visited them, freeloading meals. Qin Mu entertained him a few times at first, but as Dragon Lord Huan's visits became more frequent, he drove him away.
"The Yong River is no more. The oath you swore to Lord Tu Bo has dissipated. You can leave the Yong River without facing your destined tribulation. Dragon Lord Huan, you can leave the Yong River now," Qin Mu said to him.
Dragon Lord Huan was dazed, his voice trembling. "I can leave the Yong River?"
Qin Mu said, "On the day the Yong River dried up, you were free to leave. From that day on, you were no longer the Dragon King of the Yong River."
Dragon Lord Huan was overjoyed, jumping and shouting, making a ruckus for a long time, before suddenly bursting into tears. "Where should I go? I've guarded this place for thirty-five billion years. Where should I go now..."
"The world is vast, and the future is even vaster. You can go anywhere." Qin Mu patted him on the shoulder and watched him walk away.
Dragon Lord Huan felt a sense of loss as he gradually walked into the distance.
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu's days quieted down again. Both knew the worries in each other's hearts, their souls tied to their bloodline, but they both tacitly avoided mentioning that matter.
Because when it was brought up, it would be time for Qin Mu to leave, and the couple would be separated.
They had been together for too long—thirty-five billion years. Separating would make them feel incomplete, as if a piece of their body and soul had been suddenly removed.
But they would have to separate eventually.
During these days, news kept coming from the Ancestral Court. Enlightened beings were injured, suffering severe Dao wounds, and had struggled back to Yan Kang from the Ancestral Court, bringing news that shook the entire universe.
The Jade Capital City had descended. The prehistoric flood of beasts was about to strike. The Ancestral Court had been shattered. Many of Yan Kang's enlightened beings had died in battle.
The uproar caused by this news was predictable. It swept through Yan Kang, swept through all the myriad realms of the entire universe.
"Isn't there someone guarding it?"
Some were bewildered, some were terrified. "Wasn't that person guarding it for thirty-five billion years? Why did he run away?"
"Did he die in battle?"
"Or did he escape?"
"Why didn't he hold the Ancestral Court?"
...
Qin Mu heard many unpleasant voices. Ling Yuxiu looked at him with concern, but Qin Mu was very calm. He smiled and said, "The clear stream, or the little bamboo horse of Celestial Venerable Ling that became a spirit—I stopped caring about them long ago."
"You gave people too much, and when you suddenly stopped, it invited resentment. That's human nature," Ling Yuxiu said.
"Human nature is like that, so there's no need to force it."
Qin Mu said, "What worries me are those deities. They gave mortals too much, and the mortals began to demand it, taking these gifts for granted. Some deities died of exhaustion in their posts, and it was considered that they should have done so, thus lacking gratitude."
Ling Yuxiu smiled. "Husband, have you forgotten? You are no longer the National Teacher of Yan Kang, and I am no longer the Emperor of Yan Kang. Leave these matters to others."
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily. "Yes, it should be left to others."
Many severely injured enlightened beings returned from the Ancestral Court battlefield, including people from the Village of the Disabled. Qin Mu went to see them upon hearing the news. Granny Si burst into tears when she saw him, wailing loudly. "We thought you were dead, which disturbed our Dao hearts, and we were crippled in battle..."
Qin Mu smiled as he listened to their scolding, treating their Dao wounds. Village Chief, Medicine Master, and the others took turns severely reprimanding him. Qin Mu listened with a smile, nodding continuously.
"If you're going back, go see Cripple."
Mute finally spoke, pouring out the murky water from his water pipe, tapping it, and said, "You said he went back to the past universe. Maybe it's true."
Deaf raised his head to look at Qin Mu, his eyes sparkling, his voice hoarse. "Maybe."
"Yes."
Village Chief's voice was somewhat weak. "We can't stop you from becoming the Seventh Young Master. Since that's the case, go and see. If he's alive, bring him back."
Qin Mu nodded solemnly.
He healed the injuries of the villagers from the Village of the Disabled and lived with them for a time. Then the village elders seemed to grow tired of him and urged him to leave.
"Get out of here, you freeloading little brat! No one's cooking or washing clothes for you! Go back to your wife!" They chased him away.
Qin Mu left, but stopped on the way, curiously staring at a girl in a school.
The girl was strangely born—one eye was pitch-black darkness, the other a brilliant starry sky.
The girl noticed his spying, was startled, and quickly lowered her head, her eyes darting around.
When class ended, the girl braced herself and walked out, lowering her head as she came to his side.
"No dating!" The headmaster poked his head out of the classroom and said fiercely.
"I know!" The girl turned her head and snapped back.
"Second Sister, is that your father?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
The girl lifted her foot and kicked a pebble hard, saying sullenly, "You saw through me? Are you here to kill me?"
Qin Mu smiled. "Second Sister, I said I would give you a chance. Why would I make a move against you?"
"Stop talking to that dyed-haired social delinquent!" The headmaster poked his head out again and shouted.
The girl was furious. "This is the Seventh Young Master! What do you mean, 'dyed-haired social delinquent'? Dad, this is none of your business! Go back!"
She turned around, grabbed her two braids hanging over her chest, and smiled slyly. "You're not going to kill me? Aren't you afraid I'll destroy the world you've worked so hard to protect?"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "You came to see me, which means you're about to go back, right? After you leave, who will be my opponent? Lan Yutian? Xu Shenghua? They're all little brothers, no match for me! When you come back, you'll see me sitting cross-legged on the Chaos Sea, waiting for you!"
"Girl!"
The headmaster poked his head out again and said, "You've been talking long enough. Are you sure this isn't a date?"
The girl skipped away, her two braids swinging behind her. She turned back and made a funny face, laughing, "I'm going to win!"
Qin Mu smiled and waved goodbye to her.
The headmaster glared at him fiercely and said in a low voice, "Stay away from my daughter! Dyeing your hair white at such a young age—you can't be a good person..."
The girl poked her head out from under his arm and stuck her tongue out at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu was speechless. Suddenly, a surge of inspiration struck him. He set off for the Beast Realm on the back side of the Yuan Realm. After searching for a long time, he finally found a towering tree.
That towering tree seemed to be able to "see" him, and suddenly began to tremble violently.