My enemies became my companions

Chapter 626 Mother (Two Chapters Combined)

Every time he parted ways with Min Ning, it was easy, but every time he couldn't bear to part with her.

Perhaps people are always afraid of parting, and feel they must cry their hearts out, so they let their unbearable pain flow like tears, but the deepest reluctance often remains in their hearts.

They met again on the road, but parted ways the next day. It was a fleeting encounter, a mere glimpse. Chen Yi exhaled. These chivalrous women of the martial world had no rules or regulations. They were like extremely nimble fish in the water, accurately biting the bait, but swimming away as soon as you reeled in the line.

Chen Yi had considered forcing her to stay, but he gave up on the idea long ago. She wanted to be a great hero, and he wanted her to be a great hero too, even if it meant waiting for her.

"Speaking of which, what was she doing in the southern border region?" Chen Yi muttered to himself.

I forgot to ask her why she wanted to go to southern Xinjiang.

Although Sichuan and Chongqing are separated from the southern border by only a wall, it is not easy to cross that wall. It always takes hundreds of miles and a lot of effort.

Chen Yi didn't know why she said she would go to the Southern Frontier later, but he didn't dwell on it. Min Ning had her own ideas. She was always a woman who did what she thought of, direct and decisive, unlike the young lady who hesitated, unlike Yin Weiying who added unnecessary details, and unlike the little fox who went with the flow.

"We need to deal with this carefully, so we don't get caught off guard."

Chen Yi was wary and slowly began to make preparations.

However, there's no need to rush any of this right now.

The most urgent task is to go back, back to the Qin family ancestral temple, back to the Prince of Annam's residence.

...............

Since the assassination at the ancestral temple, it was clear that another bloody storm was about to break out. The entire Dragon Tail City was shrouded in gloom and oppression. Even the maids and servants in the royal palace dared not be careless, for fear that they might be caught in the crossfire if they were not careful.

Prince Qin Qinglu of Annam set off that day and returned that night.

When the sound of horses' hooves echoed down the long street, almost all the servants of the Prince's mansion were awakened. They hurriedly opened the gates to welcome the Prince. They had served the Prince of Annam for a long time and knew how decisive the Prince was. Even so, he was still so swift and efficient that it made people feel apprehensive.

Upon entering the inner courtyard, she was still wearing her armor. The old servants hurriedly came to greet her, but she pushed them away with one hand. These were all old servants in the palace, and at times like this, only they could get close to this imposing prince. Tonight, they were all treated so coldly. When the remaining maids learned of this, they were all terrified. When they saw the Prince of Annam go straight into the warm room where the princess was staying, their faces turned pale.

Rumors had been circulating in the manor for some time that the infant named Qin Yue, the firstborn child of the Prince's household, was not the Prince's child.

Two years have passed, and such rumors have subsided somewhat, but the veterans in the Prince's Mansion have never completely forgotten them.

Inside the greenhouse, Qin Yue was playing with a ball. She walked around on the ground, sometimes pouncing on the ground and using her whole body to bounce the ball up, then chasing after it and pouncing on it again. Even though she fell several times along the way, she never cried. She was having a great time.

The nanny was happy to have some peace and quiet, just watching from the sidelines and occasionally offering a few comforting words. This little princess always had a way of making people feel warm and fuzzy just looking at her.
"You'll be in big trouble if you fall, Yue-jie, don't fall!"

"Hey, stop messing around! I've already mopped the floor clean for you."

Qin Yue wrinkled her nose when she heard this. She wasn't afraid of falling, and she wasn't just playing around. She was doing something very serious and impressive. But she wouldn't say anything more, because even if she did, the nanny wouldn't understand.

She thought strangely and kept hitting and patting the ball.

Click.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

A gust of cold wind swept in, carrying the tall, shadowy figure.

The wet nurse shivered, and before she could get up to greet him, Qin Yue put down the ball and ran over, babbling "Father, Father."

"go out."

The two words fell.

The wet nurse knew that the message wasn't meant for Qin Yue, but for herself. She panicked for a moment and tried to speak, but when those snake-like eyes glimpsed her from the shadows, she was immediately terrified.

After regaining his senses, he practically fled.

The door closed quietly, leaving only Qin Yue and Qin Qingluo in the room.

Qin Yue didn't know what her birth mother was thinking. She was very happy that her father could come, as she rarely saw him. She was a little hungry, so she tried to lift her little hand to pry open his clothes, but they were cold, hard armor and she couldn't pry them open.

She then stood on tiptoe to try and lift him up high.

But he was met with a chilling gaze from the female prince.

“...Father, Father King...I, oh, wow.”

Qin Yue was startled and fell to the ground. Shuo Ren reached out his hand, and she quickly shrank back.

However, her arm was still held in the tall woman's hand, and she couldn't break free no matter what she did.

Qin Yue burst into tears. She didn't know what had happened; she was just terrified.

The candlelight flickered violently, and the female prince's face was ashen.

Over the past three years, life has continued as usual. Apart from the addition of an illegitimate child in the royal palace, everything has returned to normal. She continues to build up power and strengthen the army in the southern border region, while Zhu E has been working hard for her cause, braving wind and rain and exhausting his energy. It's as if the past is just a passing cloud. Gradually, even this illegitimate child named Qin Yue has become endearing.

Qin Qingluo no longer mentioned the past. Even that name, after the initial complex thoughts, was like a mottled but powerless mark. She admitted that while she hated it, she did have a trace of nostalgia, just like how people, after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, would unintentionally miss their mortal enemies with whom they had deep hatred.

But he came again, and the fire was rekindled.

The three years of ostrich-like tranquility... have been shattered once again.

Everything gradually slipped out of her grasp.

Qin Qingluo stared silently at her. In the candlelight, the features of this piece of flesh that had fallen out of her belly looked so much like that person's.

So, he's been haunting us all these past three years?

It resembles a maggot clinging to the tartar.

The tall, beautiful woman suddenly felt a pain so intense it could tear her heart apart.

"Bastard child".

Qin Yue cried so hard she could barely breathe, her small body trembling like a leaf.

She didn't understand what hatred was, nor did she understand what an illegitimate child was. All she knew was how terrifying the "father" who was holding her was, with eyes like a tiger ready to devour her.

For some reason, perhaps frightened, she stopped her futile struggles and tilted her small, tear- and snot-covered face up toward the face shrouded in the flickering candlelight.

"...It hurts...it hurts, numb, Mom, it hurts so much..."

It was a faint, aggrieved sob.

Qin Qingluo was still holding onto the child, who was no more than two years old.

She crouched down, her tall figure drawing closer. Qin Yue was at a loss. Suddenly, her mother hugged her tightly, her shoulders trembling.

Mom cried...

Qin Yue stood frozen in place, unaware that her usually stern and imposing father would actually cry. She remained motionless for a long while, her mother's tears soaking her shoulders.

After an unknown amount of time, the tears subsided and dripped onto her shoulder. Only then did Qin Yue come back to her senses, thinking about things that only someone her age would think about, things that others wouldn't know.

Qin Qingluo silently released her, slowly stood up, and remained silent throughout.

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

As the female prince glanced down, Qin Yue picked up the ball and ran over, nudging forward like a clumsy little dog.

The ball rolled to Qin Qingluo's feet. "..." She lowered her eyes slightly and calmly asked, "You want me to play?"

"No, not playing, hitting, hitting." Qin Yue was hit and hit by the ball again and again, not knowing how to explain, and was a little anxious.

She threw herself onto the ball and pressed down hard. Her nanny hadn't understood what she was doing and said she was just playing around. But she wasn't playing around; she was doing something very impressive.

Qin Qingluo was silent for a moment, then grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her up, saying, "Stop fighting the tiger. You're not Wu Song, what are you fighting?"

"Tiger... fierce, bad!" Qin Yue tilted her head back and made a "whoosh" roaring gesture.

"Boring." Qin Qingluo let go of her hand, ignored her, and turned to leave.

"Father, I... I can't beat him." She had just gotten up to chase after him when she tripped over the ball. "I can't beat him! Waaah!"

"..." She was silent for a moment, "Why can't we beat them?"

"Tigers are powerful, terrifying, and the worst kind of creatures."

Qin Qingluo glanced at her daughter; she was still lying on the ground, with the ball beside her, looking like she was about to be eaten by a tiger.

She lowered her eyes slightly, but still leaned over, pressed her five fingers on the ball, and with a little force, the entire ball deflated instantly.

"Father is even more powerful!"

Qin Yue quickly got up on her own, rubbed her bottom, and cheered.

The tall woman glanced at her, suddenly unsure of what to do. Ever since she could speak, she had become increasingly cold towards her.

Qin Yue was already used to it and didn't make a fuss. She jogged over and kicked the deflated ball, asking, "What's the name of this tiger, tiger?"

"..." she said calmly, "Chen Yi."

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

"...It's night, go to sleep."

"Okay, time to sleep." Qin Yue replied happily and climbed into bed in a few steps.

Qin Qingluo pulled the blanket over her, sat down beside her, and didn't say a word.

Children always fall asleep very quickly, and soon there is a faint snoring sound.

Qin Qinglu remained in that position. She lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over her daughter's slightly furrowed brows and undried tear stains as she slept, finally settling on the corner of the greenhouse.

The ball lay there quietly. Deflated, its color faded, covered in dust from the floor. But not long ago, it wasn't a quiet ball. In Qin Yue's small world, it was a roaring tiger, one that needed to be chased and "tamed." She pounced on it again and again, slapping it with her whole body—not playing, but bravely fighting a ferocious beast.

Perhaps Aunt Zhu told her the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger when she was putting her to sleep? That's probably true, since Aunt Zhu had also told her that story before.

Those were dark and gloomy days; I could vaguely smell the stench of blood, and my heart was filled with nothing but fear.

At that time, he was almost deserted by everyone. His mother could barely protect herself, and his father... had long been erased from his memory.

The tall woman gazed serenely at her sleeping daughter.

She was having a sweet dream, muttering to herself.
"Waaah... Father, Father... Milk, milk, I want milk."

Father...

Whether it was Qin Yue's unclear speech or his own slight mental confusion after the day, he didn't know.

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

Father...

Father forgot...

.....................

Going is easy, coming back is hard.

The Demon Cave is located deep within the Underworld. Although it is extremely dark and the path is winding like a maze, Chen Yi left marks along the way, so he no longer needed to search for the way back as before. After eliminating many detours, the journey back was much faster.

It took four or five months to get in, but only two months to get out. In total, it took about six or seven months in the underworld, which is equivalent to most of a day in the human world.

The number of wandering spirits encountered along the way had decreased considerably. It was likely that King Wuliang had been injured and, having been bitten by a snake once, was now wary of ropes and dared not casually summon wandering spirits into the demon's lair.

The gate of the ancestral temple, separating the living and the dead, lies ahead.

Push the door open and enter.

"You came back alive?"

On the altar where the cold pork was offered, the Qin family ancestor glanced sideways and, seeing Chen Yi emerge unharmed, said with slight surprise:

“You’re really still alive. I thought you’d appear in my dream and someone would erect a statue of you to be worshipped alongside us.”

"You flatter me, Ancestor. Are you going to try and steal cold pork from me then?"

Chen Yi didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the offering table. He casually swallowed the cold pork. The meat that was offered daily turned into incense smoke that flowed through his body, and his cultivation level increased a little.

Qin Xuzhi was not offended by his behavior; instead, she said with interest, "This is beyond my expectations?"

"Beyond your expectations."

With a flick of his finger, Chen Yi took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the square. After casually grinding the ink, he dipped it into a large yellow sheet of paper and began to draw.

His brushstrokes were not particularly refined, but rather extremely rough. They were barely good for writing, and drawing them would be even more difficult than climbing to heaven. However, when the ink touched the paper, every rough line it traced would spread out, outlining delicate patterns inch by inch.

This is nothing magical. Chen Yi used Taoist magic to enhance his memory, firmly imprinting everything he saw and heard along the way into his heart, and then used his sword to manifest it into the world.

The ancestor of the Qin family examined it carefully. At first, his brows were furrowed, then he raised them, then frowned again, and finally he seemed to have a sudden realization. With a wave of his hand, the map of the Demon Cave that Chen Yi had been drawing all along fell into his hands.

Qin Xuzhi stared intently at her, then asked, "You've ventured deep into the royal palace?"

While his tone was full of praise, Chen Yi still detected a hint of distrust. He replied truthfully, "The Boundless King intended to trap us like a turtle in a jar. Although his cultivation is not to be underestimated, he has not fought anyone for too long. After I injured his throat, I broke through the wall and escaped."

Qin Xuzhi carefully examined the scene in the painting, and indeed, the closer to the palace, the more detailed and clear the outlines became.

"Great kindness."

The ancestor of the Qin family laughed out loud.

"I never expected that you, a junior, could be so capable."

"Our ancestor is too kind."

Chen Yi, unusually, bowed and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

The Qin family patriarch raised an eyebrow and said with amusement, "What, are you being polite with me here?"

"Of course I don't want to be polite with the ancestor. To be frank, the ancestor is just as good to me as I am to him. But no matter what, I am still an outsider to the Qin family, so I have to be polite."

"Outsider? Who treats you like an outsider? Who dares to treat you like an outsider?"

"Qin Qingluo".

(End of this chapter)