Marshal Long left the Spring and Autumn world before Mo Chuan could fully process these matters. By the time Mo Chuan regained his senses, it was already deep into the night in the real world.
Standing in the courtyard, seeing that the lights in the rooms of Mo Fei, Tang Jingjing, and Luo Ni had been extinguished, his heart was filled with a thousand thoughts.
He had to admit that when the cliché plotlines from television dramas happened to him, "cliché" was no longer a sufficient descriptor.
Thinking back to Mo Fei's behavior earlier…
As Mo Chuan pondered this, an indescribable feeling swept over him. He shook his head, intending to find a place to be alone.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Mo Chuan stepped out of his courtyard, he found Confucius standing silently at the entrance, waiting for him.
"Fuzi…" Mo Chuan was about to bow when Confucius smiled and waved his hand, "Did Long Wan Jun, that old brute, tell you everything?"
"He did…" Mo Chuan shook his head and asked, "Fuzi, are these things true?"
"I'm afraid they are, child." Confucius gently waved his hand, and a bronze four-wheeled chariot pulled by four bronze horses appeared beside them. "Shall we go for a drive?"
Mo Chuan thought for a moment and agreed.
…
The stars were like fireflies, and the cold night was like water.
Confucius lightly flicked the reins, and the chariot actually lifted off the ground, gradually leaving the earth. kuAiδugg
Mo Chuan breathed in the icy air of the sky, trying to calm himself.
"Look, down there, that's the village." Confucius smiled and said, "Actually, I wanted to tell you this myself from the beginning."
"Why didn't you?"
"Telling you directly would have served no purpose." Confucius shook his head. "In fact, I still disagree with Long Wan Jun telling you all this, but he believes you are the one most profoundly affected by this matter… You should, and must, know."
"Why did my mother marry my father?" Mo Chuan asked for no particular reason. "From Marshal Long's account and my memories, I feel like King Yama truly fell in love with my father."
"Hmm… The word 'love,' even sages find it hard to explain." Confucius did not provide an answer. "Ask anything else you wish to ask, and I will tell you everything I know."
"How many people know about this?"
"Those who know, and are still alive, are no more than a handful."
"Are you aware of the actions of King Yama, no, the Yan Luo Hall, in these past few years?"
"The Yan Luo Hall's activities only began to resurge this year. I have a premonition that they are about to do something big, and it won't be more than three years before it happens."
Upon hearing this, Mo Chuan thought for a moment and recounted everything he had seen and heard while pursuing the Yan Luo Hall to Confucius.
Confucius looked at the bright moon in the sky, pondered for a moment, and said, "Don't worry about this matter. If I have any leads, I will find you."
Mo Chuan nodded and asked his final question, "My sister and I, who is King Yama's biological child?"
"This…" Confucius remained silent for a long time, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"Fuzi, it's me, isn't it?"
Mo Chuan thought Confucius was hesitating because he found it difficult to speak about Mo Chuan being the orphan. However, Confucius's words made Mo Chuan freeze:
"Strictly speaking, both you and Mo Fei are King Yama's bloodline."
"Why is that?"
"Look." Confucius took out a slightly cracked crystal ball from his embrace. The crystal ball emitted a deep azure glow, interspersed with scattered white lights.
As the crystal ball flashed, Mo Chuan felt his consciousness being pulled into a vortex. When he regained his senses, he found himself standing in an unfamiliar place.
It was drizzling all around, and floods surged beneath his feet.
If nothing was out of the ordinary, he should be on the banks of the Yellow River, and the Yellow River was flooding that year.
Mo Chuan gazed into the distance. Apart from the floodwaters and mud, he could vaguely see some mountain peaks and forests in the distance.
There were no villages, no human settlements.
As Mo Chuan contemplated what he should do next, the heavens and earth shook. The surging river water suddenly calmed considerably, and everywhere seemed to have a significant drop in water level, as if a large section had been cut off.
Mo Chuan looked closely and saw that among the distant hills stood the figure of King Yama in a military uniform. In front of King Yama, on a dirt slope, a massive cave had appeared.
All the river water poured into it, causing the water level to drop.
As King Yama recited a passage of obscure ancient language, the river water flowing into the cave gradually subsided.
The river water, mixed with soil, churned and gradually transformed into human forms – sixteen soldiers clad in armor, with their hair tied up and beards. They looked so lifelike; perhaps the only difference between these soldiers and living people was that everything about them was earth-yellow, be it their attire, skin, hair, or eyes.
The soldiers raised their long halberds and stood on either side of the cave, as if preparing for something to arrive.
Suddenly, Mo Chuan felt his breathing become difficult, as if something was about to appear, and its arrival would constantly suppress his soul.
King Yama bowed towards the darkness within the cave and then began to converse with the entity within.
Although Mo Chuan saw nothing, his trembling soul told him without a doubt: something had arrived, and it was right there.
King Yama said something to the being in the darkness, and then one of the terracotta soldier attendants took out a blood-red crystal from the darkness and gently offered it to King Yama with both hands.
King Yama did not take it immediately. Instead, she first pricked her finger and dripped her blood onto the crystal.
The moment the blood soaked into the crystal, Mo Chuan felt as if it had suddenly become alive, beginning to pulse faintly like a heart.
Only then did King Yama take the crystal and, to Mo Chuan's astonished gaze, slowly push it into her abdomen.
King Yama's abdomen immediately expanded greatly, like that of a woman in her tenth month of pregnancy.
All the terracotta soldier attendants surrounded the fallen King Yama, seeming to protect her as much as to imprison her.
Finally, after a long wait, with a clear cry, a child was born.
King Yama tore a piece of her clothing to wrap the infant. She then looked towards the darkness in the cave, not moving, just staring intently.
The terracotta soldiers suddenly parted, and a withered black arm reached out, gently tapping the forehead of the infant in King Yama's arms.
Just as Mo Chuan wanted to get a clearer look at the actions of King Yama and the entity in the darkness, the surroundings suddenly began to spin again, pulling Mo Chuan's consciousness back to reality.
Mo Chuan opened his eyes and found himself still sitting in the chariot. The cracks on the crystal ball in his hand had become larger.
Confucius glanced back and asked, "Did you see?"
Mo Chuan pressed his forehead and replied, "I saw."