Chapter 12 Go Comfort Him

Chapter 12: Go Comfort Him

After revealing their identities, the group instantly became honored guests at the city lord's manor, and securing Cang Ling's cooperation in strengthening the city's defenses became much simpler.

As they had suspected, the plea for help was indeed not penned by Cang Ling. He had merely posted notices in the prefectures surrounding Canglan City, hoping to attract capable rogue cultivators to assist.

The news, it seemed, had likely not even reached Zhongzhou.

Cang Ling offered his explanation for this.

He admitted that he had underestimated the opponent's strength, primarily because the demon had not targeted ordinary citizens. It was only when the rogue cultivators who came to aid began to fall, one after another, that he grasped the true gravity of the situation.

"In this matter, I admit my negligence. However, inviting you all to stay and deliberate was entirely out of good faith, to prevent more innocent lives from being lost needlessly."

He spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that it was difficult to fault him.

Moreover, they were not the human emperors of Zhongzhou, and thus held no authority to punish Cang Ling for his dereliction of duty.

Yuan Qichen, however, cared little for Cang Ling's competence as a city lord. From the moment Cang Ling began his defense, Yuan Qichen had already drifted off, his eyes vacant.

"Finished?"

He considered it a great courtesy to have endured such meaningless chatter. Without another word, he rose and, ignoring everyone else, led Yuan Xiao back to their courtyard.

In a way, he had leveraged the prestige of Tianshu Palace to assert himself.

But—

"Stay out of Tianshu Palace's affairs. For these next few days, focus on learning how to circulate your spiritual energy."

Most importantly, "Don't get too close to those people from Tianshu Palace."

"But Tang Lin promised to teach me sword flight," Yuan Xiao pouted unhappily. "Senior Brother Ke, Shan Shan, and Sister Chen—they've all been really nice to me."

Listen to that—already so familiar after such a short time. A few more days, and his soul would likely be completely captivated by Tianshu Palace.

Yuan Qichen's face darkened. "You are my son, Yuan Qichen's son, the young master of the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss in the demon realm. Since when do you have a senior brother from Tianshu Palace?"

It was just that Senior Brother Ke seemed genuinely reliable.

Everyone else called him that, so he followed suit, and no one found anything amiss.

It wasn't until Yuan Qichen's reminder that he realized his identity destined him to never truly belong with these people.

Yuan Xiao wilted, muttering under his breath, "If that's the case, then how did I even get this spiritual energy?"

Unfortunately, Yuan Qichen's hearing was too keen. The words sent his anger soaring.

"Say that again?"

Yuan Xiao, emboldened, repeated, "You're close with Jade Mountain Immortal Lord too, so why can't I?"

He had actually wanted to mention his mother, whom he had never met but presumed was a cultivator from an immortal sect. But thinking it might touch upon his father's painful memories, he held back.

Though now, it seemed whether he said it or not made little difference.

Just the mention of Jade Mountain Immortal Lord was enough to infuriate Yuan Qichen.

"Which eye of yours saw me being close to him?" Yuan Qichen fumed, his temper flaring.

He had thought the little rascal had finally grown up and become sensible, but it seemed three days without a beating, and he was already plotting mischief.

Yuan Qichen snatched up Jinghong, preparing to strike, which sent Yuan Xiao leaping up and fleeing in terror.

Goodness, if that hit landed, he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for days.

Just then, Que Zizhen returned.

A flash of inspiration struck Yuan Xiao. He darted behind Que Zizhen, clutching his arm, and cried out, "Immortal Lord, save me!"

Only days ago, he had been cursing at Que Zizhen while being held aloft by him.

Now the tables had turned, and Que Zizhen was shielding him from his father.

"Why resort to violence?" Que Zizhen raised a hand to intervene.

Yuan Qichen certainly couldn't admit he was hitting the boy because the child thought the two of them seemed close.

It would make him appear to be throwing a tantrum out of embarrassment.

"Since when does a father need permission to discipline his child?"

Que Zizhen pondered for a moment. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

Yuan Xiao peeked out from behind him, nodding vigorously, only to be glared back into hiding by his father's fierce stare.

"Fine, so you've found yourself a protector, huh?" Yuan Qichen glared at both of them. "Just don't regret it later."

With that, he turned and strode into his room without a backward glance.

Oh no, he's truly angry.

Yuan Xiao stepped out from behind Que Zizhen, and their eyes met. Both of them had the same thought.

Yuan Xiao scratched his head in frustration, already regretting his words.

"Fine, I'll go comfort him."

"You go comfort him."

Yuan Xiao turned to look at Que Zizhen in disbelief, this time clearly seeing the subtle curve of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

He said, "Some things never change."

Yuan Xiao had many questions, but now wasn't the time to dwell on them. Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance back at Que Zizhen, but the smile had already faded.

-

Yuan Xiao was a master at coaxing his father. With a mix of wheedling, acting spoiled, and playing pitiful, he finally earned a merciful "Don't let it happen again" from Yuan Qichen.

The demon that had fled into Canglan City seemed to have vanished into thin air. Tang Lin and the others searched high and low every day, scouring the entire city without finding a single clue.

Yuan Qichen paid no mind to any of this. He stayed indoors, keeping a watchful eye on Yuan Xiao while coercing Que Zizhen into teaching his son in the courtyard.

There was no other way—no matter how high his own cultivation, he knew nothing of immortal sect techniques.

The afternoon sun was warm. Yuan Qichen had somehow acquired a recliner and placed it under a tree in the courtyard.

He had a popular storybook covering his face, supposedly supervising, but in reality, he barely glanced at it and got so bored he fell asleep.

The damned storybook was actually about powerful officials and military generals who attacked each other, only to end up entangled in bed.

Utterly absurd!

Yuan Xiao had been practicing sword flight for two days and had made some progress. Today he was supposed to begin learning a new technique.

Que Zizhen hadn't officially taken any disciples, but he taught Yuan Xiao with genuine dedication.

This was typical of him.

When he agreed to something, he committed fully.

Thus, Yuan Qichen, the supervisor, slept without a care.

Yuan Xiao was quite talented, but soon his mind began to wander, clearly not focused.

Que Zizhen gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Try to hit me."

Yuan Xiao snapped out of his thoughts: "Huh?"

Was this some kind of joke?

Que Zizhen added, "I'll use only one hand. If you can last three exchanges with me, I'll let you go find them."

Yuan Xiao's ulterior motives were clear to both Yuan Qichen and Que Zizhen.

After all, he was still a child. How could he not be thinking about his new friends of similar age?

Sure enough, when he heard he could go find Tang Lin and the others, Yuan Xiao instantly became motivated. Channeling all his spiritual energy, he attacked Que Zizhen.

Before his Golden Core was sealed, he'd only lasted three exchanges with Que Zizhen using his peak Golden Core-stage demonic energy.

Today was the same.

Though Que Zizhen never moved from his position and only used one hand, this didn't dampen Yuan Xiao's joy at successfully completing three exchanges.

"Can I really go now?" Yuan Xiao lowered his voice, repeatedly glancing toward Yuan Qichen.

Que Zizhen affirmed, "Go on."

Yuan Xiao's excitement was palpable: "Thank you, Immortal Lord!"

He dashed away without a backward glance, not noticing his father slowly opening his eyes under the dappled tree shade.

"You know this won't end well, so why let him go?"

"Because he wants to," Que Zizhen met his gaze. "And why are you so sure it won't end well?"

Yuan Qichen replied, "Because the lesson is right before our eyes."

"..." Que Zizhen fell silent.

Yuan Qichen seemed to have come to terms with it. After speaking, he smiled again and asked if they should give the kids some clues.

"No need. If we interfere, this training will lose its meaning." Que Zizhen seemed to have more to say. After hesitating for a moment, he tentatively added, "You seem to be overprotective of Yuan Xiao."

"So what?"

"...It's not like you."

Yuan Qichen smiled, but his eyes were cold: "He's my own son. How I raise him is my business."

He had no parents, no heart, no emotions. This child, connected to him by blood and capable of stirring his emotions, was everything he had left.

He couldn't afford to lose anything again.

Yuan Qichen hated the pain and humiliation he had once brought, yet he was also grateful for his arrival.

Author's note: