Chapter 313: Father and Son
The light from the eye pattern on the fleshy membrane behind Zhen Xingjun’s head suppressed the wood transformation of the man in the tree, constantly restraining the wood nature within him, allowing his eyes to see.
The face of the man in the tree gradually emerged from the trunk, and the wood nature on his tongue slowly receded.
*Shua.*
The eye pattern on the fleshy membrane behind Zhen Xingjun’s head closed. “Qin Hanzhen, you should be able to see your son now, shouldn’t you?”
She was cautious, knowing that the man in the tree was extremely powerful, no less formidable than herself in his prime. Thus, she did not fully lift the forbidden technique on him, only allowing him to see what was before him.
However, the man in the tree closed his eyes, opened his mouth, but still no sound came out.
Qin Mu listened intently, nodding repeatedly. After a moment, he said, “He means that Zhen Xingjun guessed one thing wrong.”
Zhen Xingjun tilted her head, sneering. “What did I guess wrong?”
The man in the tree opened his eyes, but they still could not see. The skin on his face was rapidly turning to wood, yet the roots of the divine tree were vibrating!
Qin Mu said calmly, “What you guessed wrong, Star Lord, is that he does not wish to see me fulfill the Earth Lord’s pact. He would rather never see me for his entire life. His purpose was always to have you help suppress his wood nature and restore some mobility to his physical body.”
Zhen Xingjun sneered, the fleshy membrane behind her head rustling. “Is that what Qin Hanzhen wants to say, or what you want to say? Feng Qing, you brat, aren’t you being too arrogant, too overconfident, too presumptuous? Even if Qin Hanzhen recovers a trace of mobility, what then? His divine sword is already shattered. With only half a body, he is no match for me!”
Qin Mu shook his head. “This is what I want to say, and also what he wants to say. Even gods, buddhas, demons, and devils cannot control everything. There are always unwilling lives that try to break free. He is not without the power to resist. Because…”
“Because I have brought his sword!”
Behind Qin Mu, a dazzling sword light shot into the sky!
Wuyou Sword shattered the wooden scabbard and suddenly fell into a massive wooden hand that had grown rapidly from the divine tree. In an instant, sword light filled the hall. Qin Mu saw nothing but a blinding white expanse before him, blocking out everything else!
It was a sword technique approaching the Dao, surpassing his understanding, surpassing his vision.
A single sword erupted with earth-shattering power and radiance. Divine light surged, sword light flowed like liquid mercury, scattering across the sky. In that moment, Qin Mu saw not a sword, but the joys and sorrows of a person, a lifetime of pursuit and unwavering will!
Sword and Dao merged into one!
The Sword Diagram of the Village Chief and the Dao Sword of the Dao Sect paled in comparison to this mythical sword technique.
Amid the sword light came Zhen Xingjun’s startled cry. Qin Mu felt an overwhelming divine might, followed by a wave of intense fire, then boundless pressure, as if a vast, heavy earth was pressing down!
He saw an enormous orange-yellow star within the sword light, containing a mighty power that seemed ready to crush everything. Zhen Xingjun stood before that massive star, her presence awe-inspiring.
Then his eyes stung sharply. He quickly shut them, and immediately felt the overwhelming divine might weaken sharply, then rapidly recede, followed by the sound of a door slamming.
“Qin Hanzhen, Qin Fengqing, I will return to find you, father and son!” Zhen Xingjun’s strange, hoarse voice grew fainter. With a loud *bang*, the treasure ship shook violently, indicating that Zhen Xingjun had already fled the vessel.
*Zheng.*
A buzzing tremor sounded. Qin Mu cautiously opened his eyes. The sword light that had filled heaven and earth was gone. Wuyou Sword was thrust into the ground before him, its hilt still trembling.
Beneath the sword was a pool of divine blood, emitting a misty divine light, quite astonishing.
Qin Mu turned around. The face of the man in the tree emerged from the trunk, the wood transformation gradually receding, but he still kept his eyes tightly shut, unwilling to open them.
If he opened his eyes and saw him, it would trigger the Earth Lord’s pact. The Earth Lord would take his soul, and then Wuyou Village would be exposed, dooming all his loved ones.
Qin Mu was stunned. Would he never be able to open his eyes and look at him?
“My name is Qin Fengqing?”
Qin Mu looked at the man in the tree and said softly, “The Village Chief gave me a name, Mu, Qin Mu. It means a cowherd boy surnamed Qin.”
He leaned against the tree, beside the man in the tree, and said quietly, “From then on, I have always been called Qin Mu. Only now do I learn the name my parents gave me, Fengqing… It feels a bit unfamiliar. You… are my father?”
The man in the tree still kept his eyes tightly shut, but a branch grew from the tree trunk. The branch sprouted tender leaves and gently stroked Qin Mu’s hair.
Qin Mu leaned there quietly, a myriad of emotions surging within him.
No one had ever touched him like that. The Medicine Master wouldn’t; he didn’t like children. When brewing medicine, he would just shove the young Qin Mu into the medicine vat or grab him by the leg and toss him in.
The Blind Man wouldn’t either. Even when Qin Mu performed his best staff technique, the Blind Man would just nod with his bamboo staff, showing approval, but never indulging him.
Granny Si had never raised a child. She spent her days washing and changing diapers. When Qin Mu grew a bit older and helped her with chores, like cutting and sewing clothes, Granny Si would only offer a word or two of praise.
The most serious one, Ma Ye, never praised anyone. Whenever he saw Qin Mu, he would always think of his own dead children, his face heavy, so he almost never smiled.
The Deaf Man found him annoying, in various ways. When painting, he would always chase Qin Mu out. Even when teaching Qin Mu to read, write, and paint, he was more likely to slap his hand than offer praise.
The Mute Man was always mischievous, playing tricks on him for fun.
The Lame Man would often take him to steal things or steal from him. The Lame Man had a childlike heart and treated him as a companion.
As for the Village Chief, he had no hands or feet and was also a gloomy old man. Though he often smiled, he always seemed burdened with worries.
No one had ever touched his head like that, not even a cold branch or leaf.
It was a feeling he had never experienced.
Qin Mu tilted his head, looking askance at the sky, trying to keep the tears in his eyes from blurring his vision. He had always wanted to act like an adult, taking the adults in the village as his role models, learning their conduct, learning their ways. But at this moment, he felt he was still a child, used to nestling by his parents’ side.
The divine tree he leaned against was hard, the rough bark of the Linxun tree a bit prickly, but his heart was filled with peace, an unprecedented tranquility, as if he had returned to the harbor of home.
The old man from the painting ran out from somewhere, looked around, then slipped under the tree, looking up, wondering why it was so quiet here.
“You are good…”
A hoarse voice came from the divine tree, like a wooden figure speaking. Every word was spoken with great difficulty, devoid of any emotion, yet Qin Mu’s body trembled slightly.
“You are good.”
The voice of the man in the tree came again, as if he only knew how to say this one sentence. He probably had never praised a child before and couldn’t think of more words.
The reason he said this was that Qin Mu had understood his intentions.
Qin Mu had just said that father and son shared a connection and could understand his words, but at that time, he couldn’t make a sound. How could he speak?
Yet Qin Mu had guessed his thoughts, luring Zhen Xingjun into acting, forcing her to suppress part of the man’s wood nature, allowing him to use his magical power.
Then Qin Mu leaned against him, giving him the chance to retrieve his sword, while using words to disturb Zhen Xingjun’s mind, creating an opportunity for him to strike.
Qin Mu smiled and said softly, “We are father and son. Though we have never met before, there are always some similarities. I have also made an Earth Lord’s pact with someone. I know the tricks involved.”
The man in the tree hummed in acknowledgment.
Qin Mu leaned there, enjoying the rare peace. After a long while, a flower bloomed on the branch, and a fruit formed. The fruit fell, landing in his hand, fragrant and tempting. Probably all parents are like this, always worried that their children won’t have enough to eat or wear.
Qin Mu held the fruit and suddenly asked, “Where did Mother go? Is she still alive?”
“I will go find her.”
The man in the tree said hoarsely, “She took you and the clan to the Netherworld.”
Qin Mu was taken aback, but Granny Si had found him by the Yong River outside the Remnant Old Village in the Great Ruins, not in the Netherworld.
So how did Qin Mu end up in the Great Ruins?
What happened during that time?
“How do I return to Wuyou Village?” Qin Mu continued to ask.
The man in the tree did not answer. With his eyes closed, he said hoarsely, “Painting Old Man will take you to the study. There are things I left for you. You go. We shall not meet.” Every word he spoke was extremely difficult, each one like a knife cutting his throat.
Qin Mu’s heart tightened, clenching together.
Father and son shall not meet?
The old man from the painting beckoned to him, signaling him to pull out Wuyou Sword.
Qin Mu steadied himself, stepped forward, and pulled Wuyou Sword from the ground. The old man from the painting beckoned again, signaling him to follow.
Qin Mu looked back. The man in the tree still had his eyes closed, not opening them. He looked at the painting old man. Painting Old Man should be able to communicate with the man in the tree. How exactly, he didn’t know, but perhaps the man in the tree had given life to Painting Old Man.
“Father and son cannot meet?” Qin Mu asked loudly.
The man in the tree’s eyes were tightly shut, seeming somewhat heartless. “No.”
“I will save you!”
Qin Mu turned and followed the painting old man, shouting loudly, “Isn’t it just the Earth Lord? I’ll knock him down! Wait for me!”
The divine tree stood unmoving. The man in the tree slowly opened his eyes, tears falling from them.
He heard Qin Mu’s footsteps coming from outside the room. The youth was speaking softly to the painting old man: “Painting Old Man, after I leave, take care of him for me.”
In the study of the treasure ship, Painting Old Man swam over to the bookshelf. The books on the shelf had been cleared away, all taken.
“That Bengongcuo bastard, did he rob my house?” Qin Mu fumed.
Suddenly, Painting Old Man dove into a painting, then beckoned to him from within the painting. Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then stepped toward the painting. A miraculous thing happened: he found himself walking into the painting, becoming a figure within it!
In the painting, a man in white stood there, quietly waiting, as if waiting for his arrival.
— This is the second update today.
Reading URL: