Chapter 282: A Huge Stir (Part 2)
For someone like Granny Jiumu, having her doubted on something so simple that it couldn’t be simpler was a grave insult to her medical skills and personal integrity. She couldn’t be bothered to say anything more, propped herself up with her cane, and walked out, leaving behind a completely dumbfounded Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng.
“Impossible… absolutely impossible, how could older sister… ah? Older sister, you… you’re awake!”
In the midst of Chu Yueli’s panic, she suddenly saw that Chu Yuechan on the bed had opened her eyes at some unknown time. She quickly moved to the bedside: “Older sister, are you alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere… Just now, Granny Jiumu said… said you’re pregnant…”
Faced with Chu Yueli’s words, Chu Yuechan stared blankly, showing no reaction. She had already woken up when Granny Jiumu was taking her pulse, and had heard every word that followed. In a daze, she slowly extended her hand and gently pressed it against her lower abdomen.
This was almost every woman’s subconscious reaction upon hearing she was pregnant.
Her gaze, along with this action, was a clear and unmistakable confirmation. Chu Yueli felt as if struck by lightning, her mind buzzing. Ling Yuefeng, on the other hand, staggered back a step, his whole body trembling as if hearing a thunderclap from a clear sky.
“Older sister… you…” Chu Yueli had completely stopped breathing. Staring at Chu Yuechan’s hand resting on her abdomen, her heart almost leaped out of her chest.
“Don’t ask anything!” Chu Yuechan took a deep breath, her voice incredibly cold and hard: “Leave here immediately and return to the Bing Yun Fairy Palace!”
“Alright… alright!” Chu Yueli, her mind in turmoil, could only nod.
“Ice Chan Immortal… that child in your belly… whose child are you carrying?” Ling Yuefeng panted heavily. He repeated the same question twice, clearly his mind was in upheaval. With Granny Jiumu’s seniority, there was absolutely no way she could be wrong on this matter, and combined with Chu Yuechan’s reaction, he no longer needed to ask to confirm whether she was truly pregnant. What he now frantically wanted to know was who the child belonged to! Who in the world had actually managed to…
He had once pined for Chu Yuechan, lowering himself and losing all dignity in pursuit, only to not even see her face even once in the decades that followed. Although he had eventually returned to the villa and married the exceptionally well-born Xuanyuan Yufeng, he had never been able to erase Chu Yuechan’s image from his heart.
Chu Yuechan had become an incredibly beautiful, yet unattainable dream in his heart.
And that dream remained unattainable yet infinitely beautiful because he had always believed that it could never be realized by anyone. Thus, the dream of Chu Yuechan would forever exist flawlessly in the depths of his heart.
But now, that dream was utterly shattered.
In his youth, he had been the recognized most outstanding talent of the younger generation, unrivaled. Now, he was the overlord of the Cang Feng Empire’s number one force, the undisputed top figure of Cang Feng! In the eyes of countless profound practitioners, he was an unattainable, god-like existence, to whom even an emperor would bow respectfully! The endeavor that had consumed the most effort and emotion in his life was pursuing Chu Yuechan—and it had ended in crushing defeat. Originally, he felt infinite regret over this outcome, but not too much heartache, because the disciples of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had never married, and the woman even he couldn’t pursue was one that no one in the entire Cang Feng Empire could ever hope to win… But now, he had heard with his own ears and seen with his own eyes confirmation that she was pregnant!
The blow at that moment was like a heavenly thunderbolt striking his heart, shattering all his fantasies, hopes, pride, and arrogance into pieces.
Chu Yuechan didn’t look at him, her voice as cold as snow as always: “This is my own affair, Lord Ling has no need to inquire! This is my residence, and it’s not a place where you should be… Get out!”
Chu Yuechan’s rejection, icy and devoid of any emotion, was all too familiar to Ling Yuefeng. He thought about her abnormal reaction at the Sword Control Platform, and a possibility so absurd it seemed impossible surfaced in his mind. He blurted out: “Could it be… could it be that you and Yun Che… no! Impossible! Absolutely impossible… It absolutely couldn’t be like this…”
The name “Yun Che” deeply stabbed Chu Yuechan’s heart, causing a burst of bone-chilling coldness to erupt from her body: “Whose child I carry is none of your business! Get the hell out right now!”
Ling Yuefeng’s heart trembled, filled with sorrow and coldness. His mind was in chaos, almost losing the ability to think. He let out a long sigh, turned around, and walked away in profound desolation. Just as he was about to step out of the room, Chu Yueli urgently said: “Lord Ling, regarding today’s matter, it concerns my older sister’s and the Bing Yun Fairy Palace’s reputation. Please, you must keep silent! I beg you.”
Ling Yuefeng paused in his steps, then slowly nodded and walked out.
After leaving the courtyard, Ling Yuefeng wandered absentmindedly for a good while before his mind finally calmed a little. He stopped, looked up at the sky, and silently sighed. He knew very well that this incident might be the heaviest blow of his life. It had shattered the most beautiful fantasy in his heart, giving birth to an unprecedented and profound sense of defeat, and even an indescribable humiliation.
“Hahahaha! How ridiculous! You pestered Chu Yuechan for over ten years, yet you couldn’t even get a single glimpse of her face. Decades have passed, and you’re still holding on to her, but she never gave you a single proper look. Instead, she willingly stoops to be with a junior and even gets pregnant! What a huge joke! Ling Yuefeng, don’t you feel pathetic!?”
A harsh voice came from behind him. Ling Yuefeng turned around, looking at his wife Xuanyuan Yufeng with shock and anger. He was shocked that his usually gentle wife would say such caustic and unpleasant words. The anger he had been barely suppressing in his heart surged several times over because of her remarks.
“Shut up!” Ling Yuefeng roared angrily. “You were eavesdropping on our conversation! This matter… this matter has nothing to do with me, with us! Her being pregnant might not be true, and as for the talk about Yun Che… that’s utterly baseless! Forget everything you heard, and don’t tell a single soul!!”
After yelling, Ling Yuefeng felt he might have been too harsh, but anger filled his heart and he didn’t want to say anything more. He snorted coldly, shook his sleeves, and left.
Xuanyuan Yufeng’s face turned purple, her whole body trembling with rage. “Ling Yuefeng… even at this point, you’re still defending her!! You really… have such ~deep~ ~feelings~ for her!! You really… let me down!!”
“You don’t want this matter to be known… then I’ll make sure everyone knows! I’ll make the whole world know!!”
In the midst of her fury and resentment, Xuanyuan Yufeng suddenly saw Ling Yun walking toward her, his steps slow and his demeanor distracted.
She furrowed her brows, suppressed her anger, walked over, and said: “Yun’er, what’s wrong? Why do you look so out of sorts?”
“Mother…” Ling Yun called out, then gave a desolate smile. “Your son has been obsessed with the sword since childhood, focusing solely on that, and thought he would never develop feelings for a woman. But recently, I’ve fallen for a girl, thinking of her day and night, unable to extricate myself.”
A mother knows her son; Xuanyuan Yufeng had already clearly seen Ling Yun’s strange state. She sighed inwardly and comforted him: “The one you’ve fallen for… should be Xia Qingyue, right? If you truly like her and won’t marry anyone else, in a few days, I’ll go to the Bing Yun Fairy Palace to propose marriage on your behalf! To hell with that rule about Bing Yun Fairy Palace disciples not marrying! My Yun’er is worthy of any woman! If the Bing Yun Fairy Palace doesn’t agree, I’ll snatch her for you if I have to. I refuse to let you end up… hmph, as pathetic as your father!”
Ling Yun shook his head bitterly: “It’s too late. She’s already… married.”
“What?” Xuanyuan Yufeng was astonished. “How is that possible? Women from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace never marry—how could she be married!”
“Mother, do you remember about a year ago, when the Xiao Sect spread news that a new female disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had married in Liu Yun City? At the time, since it was just an ordinary new disciple, no one paid it any mind… But your son only recently learned that the disciple was Xia Qingyue… the man she married is the recently fallen Yun Che… She wears mourning for him, has cut her hair and severed her emotions, and there’s no room in her heart for anyone else.”
As Ling Yun spoke, he closed his eyes in pain. If he were a frivolous person, he might only feel a brief ache that would fade with time. But for a sword fanatic, falling in love even once is incredibly difficult, and often in a lifetime, true feelings only come once…
“So… that’s how it is…” Looking at Ling Yun’s state, Xuanyuan Yufeng felt deep heartache. “Yun Che… again Yun Che. This Yun Che truly has methods that reach the heavens… And that Bing Yun Fairy Palace! It wasn’t enough for them to harm my husband, now they’ve harmed my son too…”
——————————————————
After the incident at the Sword Control Platform, Ling Kun left Tian Jian Villa that very evening. The Bing Yun Fairy Palace also departed soon after, without greeting anyone. The next morning, the Cang Feng Imperial Clan also left early, likewise without saying goodbye. It wasn’t that they had lost their manners, but they simply had no heart to bid farewell to Tian Jian Villa… The four had arrived full of hope. Thanks to Yun Che’s efforts alone, the name of the Cang Feng Imperial Clan had rung out time and again on the battlefield of the ranking battles. But when they returned, only two remained, bringing back honors stained with endless sorrow.
By the time they left, Cang Yue had stopped crying. There was no sadness, no tears—just a terrifying calmness, as if her entire heart had left with Yun Che, leaving only a hollow shell devoid of emotion. What comforted Qin Wushang was that she didn’t do anything extreme or say anything radical, because she still had to go back and look after her dying father.
If her father were to finally pass away, then she would truly have nothing left to hold on to in this world.
However, no one expected that, as the ranking battles ended, the sensation caused by the names Yun Che and Xia Qingyue across the Cang Feng Empire had not yet subsided when an even greater uproar descended like a storm, triggering an unprecedented storm of controversy that made the name “Yun Che” known to every household.
“…After leaving the Heavenly Lake Secret Realm, Xia Qingyue’s profound strength had actually reached the King Xuan Realm! That’s right… it really is the King Xuan Realm. This is information confirmed by the Ten Great Sects! My god… I’ve heard that she now not only holds the title of the number one beauty but is also the undeniable, unrivaled number one powerhouse of the future in the Cang Feng Empire.”
“I’m starting to wonder if she’s an incarnation of a fairy. Her beauty is unbelievable, and her talent and fortune are beyond description!”
“Have you heard? On the very day Yun Che left the Heavenly Lake Secret Realm, he fell on the Sword Discussion Platform of Tian Jian Villa.”
“Sigh! Who doesn’t know about that? He threw himself away for a waste who was supposedly only at the Initial Xuan Realm. Ah, it’s truly jealous of genius. A super genius with no backing from any sect finally appeared, making us proud, and now he’s fallen. It’ll be who knows how many years before the next one appears.”
“What!? Bing Yun Fairy Palace’s Ice Chan Immortal is pregnant?! This this this…”
“That’s right, the news is spreading everywhere. It’s said to have come from Tian Jian Villa, so it shouldn’t be false. I’ve also heard that the child is Yun Che’s!! It’s said that after Yun Che’s accident at the Sword Control Platform, the Ice Chan Immortal went mad and even spat blood on the spot… If not for everyone saying so, I wouldn’t dare to believe it!”
“And there’s even more explosive news! The Ice Moon Immortal Xia Qingyue was already married at the age of sixteen, and the man she married is none other than Yun Che! The final match of the ranking battles was actually a duel between this husband and wife… This news is absolutely true!”
“Last year, there were rumors that a female disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace had broken the rule to marry. Now the Xiao Sect has fully confirmed that the female disciple who married back then was named Xia Qingyue, and the man she married was Yun Che… It’s said that in Tian Jian Villa, someone saw her wearing mourning for him…”
“The number one beauty of the past and the number one beauty of the present—one got pregnant by Yun Che, and the other is practically his wife… Oh my god!”
“Back in the day, how many people pined for the Ice Chan Immortal Chu Yuechan, including Tian Jian Villa’s Lord Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Sect’s Sect Master Xiao Jue Tian, but not one could get so much as a glance from her. And now Yun Che got her pregnant! As for the Ice Moon Immortal, she’s even more beautiful than a fairy from the Moon Palace… Ahhh! I wish I could die in Yun Che’s place!”
“And that’s not all! Even our Cang Feng Imperial Clan’s only princess, Princess Cang Yue, has been taken by him! In Tian Jian Villa, unless you were blind, everyone saw it clearly. It’s said that because of this, Fen Juecheng tried to assassinate Yun Che in the Heavenly Lake Secret Realm but failed.”
“This Yun Che is ridiculously overpowered! I guess even the heavens couldn’t stand to watch and wiped him out!”
“He’s a complete monster in the human world, a scourge to all living things! Ahhh… why aren’t I Yun Che!!”
The name Yun Che triggered an explosive sensation throughout the Cang Feng Empire. In almost every street of any city, within ten steps, one would hear the name “Yun Che” at least seven or eight times. If it were just his death, people would feel deep regret, sorrow, and even some young profound practitioners would wail in boundless admiration. But coupled with the rumors about Princess Cang Yue, the Ice Chan Immortal, and the Ice Moon Immortal, the nature of the talk was completely different. People, especially men, when speaking of him, had tones of worship, envy, jealousy, shock, and indignation—all beyond measure.
At that moment, in a dark space beneath the Sword Control Platform of Tian Jian Villa, the focus of the Cang Feng Empire’s public opinion, who had lain silent as a dead man for several days, finally opened his eyes with great difficulty.
————————————
The following is Ling Yuefeng’s inner monologue:
Holy shit! The only woman I ever set my sights on in my entire life, pursued for a lifetime but never got, got knocked up by a junior! My son finally takes a liking to a woman, gets deeply invested, and she turns out to be that brat’s wife. The number one father-son duo of the Cang Feng Empire, both screwed over in the women department by this kid… I really am royally screwed!
————————————
A hundred chapters today! I never lie!
————————————
… …
… …