"My wife, how could she have anything to do with you? That demon was imprisoned in the dark room back then, while my wife accompanied me. This can be easily verified. You are merely guessing wildly based on some vague coincidences."
Xiao Chen Mu was not easily misled. While he appeared rough and fierce, his heart was steadfast and meticulous.
"At first, I naturally didn't believe it. But Mu Nan Xue said she had seen her on the newcomer list. Her sister looked identical to the Saint Lord's mortal wife. She was quite surprised at the time. Coupled with the fact that the Gu Jun Shi I saw was no mortal, possessing earth-shattering abilities, then all the unusual occurrences were not..."
As Xiao Chen Mu spoke, his reason told him that all these coincidences put together strongly suggested they were not coincidences.
However, his heart refused to believe it. If everything was indeed a "premeditated plan," how would he face "Ah Xue" and look back on that unforgettable past?
Seeing the emotion and excitement in Xiao Chen Mu's eyes, Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's gaze instantly turned as cold as ice. "Gu Jun Shi is my wife, she naturally has nothing to do with you."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen Mu felt a bone-chilling cold. After all, he had followed Liu Jiang Fu Sheng for seven years and naturally knew he was extremely displeased. Yet, he said, "I wish to see her."
"Xiao Chen Mu, do not test my patience, nor covet what does not belong to you," Liu Jiang Fu Sheng warned him.
Xiao Chen Mu remained silent for a moment, then hitched up his robes and knelt on the ground, pleading, "Saint Lord, I only wish to ask her one question in person. If I have misunderstood, I am willing to accept any punishment or penalty you deem fit, and I will not do anything else."
"Withdraw," Liu Jiang Fu Sheng said gravely.
As Xiao Chen Mu raised his face, about to say something more, Le Bao entered, pulling Gu Si Jun along with him.
"Dad—"
The children's joyful and excited cries made them both turn. Seeing the two children, the one in front smiled with a bent brow, while the one behind had a sullen face.
Le Bao and Gu Si Jun had thought that only Liu Jiang Fu Sheng was in the room, but upon entering, they saw Xiao Chen Mu kneeling before their father. The atmosphere between them was visibly stiff and frigid, like the onset of a cold tide.
"Dad..."
This "Dad" was spoken with some hesitation. Le Bao stood there, looking at them, worried that his rash entrance had interrupted their conversation.
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng did not respond to Le Bao. Instead, he cast his gaze down at Xiao Chen Mu, his expression impassive, revealing no emotion. "That demoness named Ah Xue died before your eyes. What you should be considering now is how to deal with the demon army, not these old matters. Xiao Chen Mu, do not court trouble; forgetting is your best choice."
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng walked past Xiao Chen Mu, who was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed, and went to the two children. He took one in each hand and led them away.
Xiao Chen Mu, left behind, clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
If he were someone who could let things go so easily and not be so persistent, he would not be Xiao Chen Mu.
"If it were that easy, I wouldn't have paid attention to Mu Nan Xue after hearing the head of the Mu family call out 'Ah Xue.' And for her single mad utterance, I would not have gone mad like her, reinvestigating everything just to prove one fact: she... is not dead."
What he had told Liu Jiang Fu Sheng was the truth; he simply wanted to see her again.
—
After walking a considerable distance from the room, Le Bao finally spoke, "Dad, what did Uncle Xiao want with you?"
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng did not wish to dwell on the matter. "What are you here to tell me?"
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's question made Le Bao recall the main purpose of his visit. He remembered he had dragged the reluctant Gu Si Jun to find their father to tell him something.
Le Bao's small face flushed pink with excitement. He said, "Dad, Mother has always been looking for us. Mother never thought of giving up on me and Jun Jun. Our Jun Jun is not a child without a mother, nor is he a child abandoned by his mother..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jiang Fu Sheng's heart ached with a bittersweet pang. He asked, "Le Bao, who told you these words?"
Le Bao pulled Gu Si Jun over to bear witness. "It was Si Jun. He asked Mother, and Mother told him herself..."
"Did she mention me?" Liu Jiang Fu Sheng looked at Gu Si Jun.
Gu Si Jun couldn't help but avoid his gaze.
"Dad, let's just explain everything to Mother. I think family members shouldn't have schemes or deception. I've thought about it. I can try hard to make Mother like me, but I don't want to make her like me through deception and lies. Because what is fake is fake, and those who deceive will eventually have the truth revealed. At that time, even if I had no ill intentions, it would still be considered wrong."
Although Gu Si Jun was young, he was not ignorant and could distinguish between right and wrong.
It was because of Hua Jie that he realized how serious the consequences of a single wrong action could be.
He seemed to have helped Hua Jie, yet he also seemed to have harmed him.
He used his father's face, but he was not his father after all. His fate seemed to have changed, but in the end, it remained beyond his control.
And Father's relationship with Mother had worsened and become more tense because of his one wrong decision...
Therefore, people should not always seek shortcuts. Once a wrong step is taken, it leads to a series of missteps. By the time one realizes they cannot turn back, it is too late.
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng, however, was stunned by these words.
He squatted down, caressing Gu Si Jun's small face, and looking into eyes that resembled those of the person he yearned for, he asked, "But what if sincerity cannot win her affection?"
Gu Si Jun thought for a moment with a troubled expression, unable to come up with a way to win his mother's favor. He only knew, "Then try harder."
Le Bao, standing nearby, was more decisive. "At least, sincerity won't make Mother dislike you. Moreover, Dad, you have me and Si Jun. The three of us, father and sons, together, are we not better than some other person?"
Liu Jiang Fu Sheng turned his head, looking at the beautiful child of Xue Zhi, and it was as if a sudden enlightenment struck him.
He smiled. He was actually less insightful than the two children.
As long as he could keep her by his side, and work harder and harder, one day he would be able to turn the tender sprout planted in her heart into a vibrant sea of flowers.
"Then let's go together, tell her everything, and go snatch your mother back."
At this moment, his gaze was no longer lost in the future, nor indulging in the past, but filled with the strength of a final gamble.
Le Bao and Gu Si Jun beamed with wide smiles and nodded heavily at him.
"Yes."
—
Fengdu
Gu Jun Shi looked at the Human Emperor clad in the blue sea battle armor. His robes fluttered, and the ice crystals falling around him were not snow nor hail, but like a vast number of large and small crystals, elaborately crafted. The usually dark and dim Fengdu seemed to have a beautiful, hazy radiance at this moment.
He approached her, surrounded by a group of ghost cultivators.
And those ghost cultivators, upon seeing her, simultaneously knelt before her, their voices as unified as if they had rehearsed.
"Welcome, Queen of Fengdu!"