Chapter 313: Father and Son
The light emitted from the eye pattern on the fleshy membrane at the back of Zhenxing Jun's head suppressed the woody nature of the man in the tree, continuously suppressing the wood attribute in his body, allowing his eyes to see.
The face of the man in the tree gradually detached from the tree, and the wood attribute on his tongue also began to fade.
Swoosh.
The eye pattern on the fleshy membrane at the back of Zhenxing Jun's head closed, and she said: "Qin Hanzhen, you should be able to see your son now, right?"
She was very cautious, knowing that the man in the tree was extremely powerful, at his peak not inferior to herself, so she did not completely lift the forbidden technique on him, only allowing him to see clearly.
However, the man in the tree closed his eyes, opened his mouth, but still no sound came out.
Qin Mu listened attentively, nodding repeatedly. After a moment, he said: "His meaning is that Zhenxing Jun has guessed one thing wrong."
Zhenxing Jun tilted her head and sneered: "What have I guessed wrong?"
The man in the tree opened his eyes, but still could not see. The skin on his face was rapidly turning to wood, but the roots of the divine tree were trembling!
Qin Mu said calmly: "What Zhenxing Jun guessed wrong is that he does not want to see me fulfill the Tubo agreement. He is willing to never see me for his entire life. His original purpose was to have Zhenxing Jun help him suppress the wood attribute and restore some mobility of his flesh body."
Zhenxing Jun sneered, the fleshy membrane behind her head rustling: "Is this what Qin Hanzhen wants to say, or what you want to say, little Fengqing? You are too arrogant, too overestimating yourself, too self-righteous! Even if Qin Hanzhen regains a bit of mobility, so what? His divine sword is already shattered, with only half a body he is no match for me at all!"
Qin Mu shook his head: "This is what I want to say, and also what he wants to say. Even gods, buddhas, and demons cannot control everything. There are always unwilling lives trying to break free. He is not without the power to resist. Because..."
"Because, I have brought his sword!"
Behind Qin Mu, a brilliant sword light shot up to the sky!
The Wuyou Sword shattered its wooden scabbard and suddenly fell into a wooden hand that grew rapidly from the divine tree. In an instant, the sword light filled the hall, and before Qin Mu's eyes everything was bright white, unable to see anything else!
That was a sword technique that approached the Dao, transcending his understanding, transcending his vision.
A single sword erupted with earth-shaking power and brilliance, divine light surging, sword light pouring like mercury across the ground and also sprinkling across the sky. In that instant, Qin Mu did not see a sword, but a person's joys and sorrows, a person's lifelong pursuit and unregretful will!
Sword and Dao merged into one!
The Village Chief's Sword Diagram, the Dao Gate's Dao Sword, all lost their color before this mythical sword technique.
In the sword light, Zhenxing Jun's cry of alarm came. Qin Mu felt a monstrous divine might, then an intensely fierce wave of fire attacked, followed by boundless pressure, as if the vast and heavy earth was pressing down!
He saw within the sword light a huge orange-yellow star, containing tremendous power, seeming to crush everything, and Zhenxing Jun was standing before that enormous star, her majestic might surging to the heavens.
Then his eyes felt intense pain, and he quickly closed them. Then he felt that monstrous divine might suddenly weaken, then rapidly retreat, followed by the sound of a door slamming shut.
"Qin Hanzhen, Qin Fengqing, I will come back for you father and son!" Zhenxing Jun's strange and obscure voice grew more distant, and with a loud boom, the treasure ship shook violently. Presumably Zhenxing Jun had already fled this treasure ship.
Clang.
A humming vibration came. Qin Mu quietly opened his eyes. The sword light that had filled heaven and earth just now had disappeared. The Wuyou Sword was planted before him, its hilt still trembling.
Below the sword was a pool of divine blood, emitting a rosy divine light, quite astonishing.
Qin Mu turned around. The man in the tree's face emerged from the tree, the wood attribute gradually fading, but he still kept his eyes tightly closed, unwilling to open them.
Opening his eyes and seeing him would trigger the Tubo agreement, and Tubo would take away his soul. Then the Land of Carefree would be exposed, and all his relatives would be doomed.
Qin Mu was stunned. Could it be that he could never open his eyes to look at himself?
"Is my name Qin Fengqing?"
Qin Mu looked at the man in the tree and said softly: "The Village Chief gave me a name, called Mu, Qin Mu, meaning the cowherd boy with the surname Qin."
He leaned against the tree, beside the man in the tree, and said softly: "From then on, I have always been called Qin Mu. Only now do I know the name my parents gave me, Fengqing... it feels a bit unfamiliar. Are you my father?"
The man in the tree still kept his eyes tightly closed, but a branch grew from the tree trunk, sprouting tender leaves, gently stroking Qin Mu's hair.
Qin Mu leaned quietly, a hundred flavors surging in his heart.
No one had ever touched him like this. The Herbalist would not; he did not like children. When brewing medicine, he would always push the young Qin Mu into the medicine vat, or pick him up by the legs and throw him in.
The Blind One would not either. Even when Qin Mu displayed his best staff techniques, the Blind One would only nod his bamboo staff with an approving look, but not dote on him.
Grandma Si had never raised a child. Washing diapers and changing diapers every day, when Qin Mu grew older and understood things and helped her work, cutting and tailoring clothes, Grandma Si would usually only praise him a sentence or two.
The most serious Old Ma never praised anyone. When he saw Qin Mu, he would always think of his own dead children, his expression very somber, so he almost never showed a smiling face.
The Deaf found him rather annoying, all kinds of annoying. When painting, he would always drive Qin Mu out. Even when teaching Qin Mu to read, write, and paint, there were more instances of smacking his palm than praising him.
The Mute was always mischievous, playing all kinds of tricks on him for fun.
The Cripple would often take him stealing or steal his things. The Cripple was very childlike and playful, treating him as a companion.
As for the Village Chief, the Village Chief had no hands or feet, and was also a gloomy old man. Although he often smiled, he always seemed burdened with worries.
No one had ever touched his head like this, not even a cold tree branch or leaf.
This was a feeling he had never experienced.
Qin Mu tilted his head, looking sideways at the sky, trying to keep the tears in his eyes from obstructing his vision. He had always wanted to be like an adult, the adults in the village were his examples, learning their conduct, learning their ways of handling things. But at this moment he felt he was still a child, accustomed to nestling beside his parents.
The divine tree he leaned against was very hard, the tree trunk behind him somewhat uncomfortable against his back, but his heart was a peaceful calm, an unprecedented tranquility, as if returning to the harbor of home.
That old man in the painting ran out from somewhere, looking around, then slipped under the tree, looking up, wondering why it was so quiet here.
"You are very good..."
A hoarse voice came from the divine tree, like a wooden person speaking. Every word was spoken with great difficulty, without a trace of emotion, yet Qin Mu's body trembled slightly.
"You are very good."
The voice of the man in the tree came, seeming to only know how to say this one sentence. He probably had never praised a child before, unable to think of more words.
The reason he said this was because Qin Mu had understood his intentions.
Qin Mu had just said that father and son's hearts were connected, able to understand his words, but at that time he could not make a sound, how could he speak?
Yet Qin Mu had guessed his thoughts, luring Zhenxing Jun to take the initiative to attack, suppressing part of the man in the tree's wood attribute, allowing him to unleash his magical power.
Then Qin Mu leaned his back against the man in the tree, giving him the opportunity to retrieve the sword, while simultaneously using words to confuse Zhenxing Jun's mind, creating an opportunity for him to strike.
Qin Mu revealed a smile and said softly: "We are father and son. Although we have never met before, there are always some similarities. I have also made a Tubo agreement with others. I know the tricks within it."
The man in the tree made an "mm" sound.
Qin Mu leaned here, enjoying the rare tranquility. After a long while, a flower bloomed on the branch, bearing a fruit. The fruit fell, dropping into his hand, its fragrance filling his nostrils. Probably all parents are like this, always worrying that their children are not fed enough or clothed warmly.
Qin Mu held this fruit, and suddenly asked: "Where did Mother go? Is she still alive?"
"I will go find her."
The man in the tree's voice was obscure: "She took you and the clansmen to the Netherworld."
Qin Mu was stunned, but Grandma Si had found him outside the Yong River in the Great Ruins Broken Elders Village, not in the Netherworld.
Then how had Qin Mu ended up in the Great Ruins?
What had happened during that time?
"How do I return to the Land of Carefree?" Qin Mu continued to ask.
The man in the tree did not answer, keeping his eyes closed and speaking hoarsely: "Old Paint will take you to the study. There is something I left for you inside. You go. We shall not meet." Every word he spoke was extremely difficult, each word like a knife cutting his throat.
Qin Mu's heart tightened, contracting together.
Father and son shall not meet?
The old man in the painting beckoned to him, indicating for him to pull out the Wuyou Sword.
Qin Mu composed himself, walked forward and pulled out the Wuyou Sword planted in the ground. The old man in the painting beckoned to him again, indicating for him to follow.
Qin Mu looked back. The man in the tree's eyes were still closed, not opening them. He looked at the old man in the painting. Old Paint should be able to communicate with the man in the tree. How exactly they communicated, he did not know. Perhaps the man in the tree had given Old Paint life.
"Father and son cannot meet?" Qin Mu asked loudly.
The man in the tree's eyes were tightly shut, seemingly somewhat heartless: "Cannot."
"I will come to rescue you!"
Qin Mu turned around and followed the old man in the painting, calling out loudly: "Isn't it just Tubo? I will take him down. Wait for me!"
The divine tree stood immovable. The man in the tree slowly opened his eyes, tears falling from them.
He heard Qin Mu's footsteps coming from outside the room. This young man was saying to the old man in the painting in a low voice: "Old Paint, after I leave, take care of him for me."
In the treasure ship's study, Old Paint swam about, arriving before the bookshelf. The books on the shelf had been swept clean, all taken away.
"This fellow Ban Gongcuo, coming to my house to rob?" Qin Mu was furious.
Suddenly, Old Paint dove into a painting and then beckoned to him from within the painting. Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the painting. Then something wonderful happened—he found that he had actually walked into the painting, becoming a person in the painting!
In the painting, a man in white stood there, quietly waiting, as if waiting for his arrival.
————Today's second update.