Chapter 45: Feeling Strange? Could This Be... A Father-Son Bond?
How could he have forgotten about Yun Qing?
Ji Hanguo had connections with other cultivator clans and sects, and now Li Muchen also had a master and a sect of his own.
“You three, stay in the palace for now.”
“I warn you three, don’t try any tricks. Behave obediently inside the palace.”
“If I need you, I will send someone to summon you.”
The three senior disciples of Qingmu Mountain hurriedly kowtowed and thanked him.
At last, they no longer had to live in exile.
Li Muchen ordered the imperial guards to take them to a courtyard and keep them under watch.
No one was allowed in or out without his decree.
After arranging everything, Li Muchen went to the palace where Yun Qing resided.
...
Less than fifteen minutes later,
Li Muchen arrived at Yun Qing’s palace and saw him cultivating.
He did not interrupt immediately but found a chair nearby and sat down quietly to wait.
About half an hour later, Yun Qing finished his cultivation, opened his eyes, and looked at Li Muchen.
Yun Qing had noticed Li Muchen’s arrival long ago but was at a critical moment in his practice and could not be distracted.
“At a time like this, instead of handling state affairs, you have the leisure to come to me?”
Yun Qing folded his legs down, walked to the table, picked up a cup of tea, and took a few sips.
After finishing the tea, he sat on the chair beside Li Muchen.
The two sat there, staring into each other’s eyes.
“People don’t visit the Three Treasures Hall without a reason…”
“You must have come to ask for help.”
“Speak plainly—what is it?”
Li Muchen smiled wryly, “I can’t hide anything from you, after all.”
“I have come today with a matter that requires your help, Master.”
Master?!
Yun Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Li Muchen thoughtfully.
This young man’s visit must be connected to the Immortal Seeking Sect.
Li Muchen hesitated a moment and then recounted everything that happened in the Xuanzheng Hall…
After hearing everything, Yun Qing’s expression darkened.
He slammed the table angrily and cursed, “That damned Ji Hanliang—!!”
“Shame on him for being a cultivator.”
“To have learned those evil cultivation methods and slaughtered so many of our Beiji Kingdom’s people.”
“He is even the Second Prince of Beiji Kingdom, yet he shows no mercy for his own countrymen.”
“If the next crown prince falls into such hands, the people of Beiji Kingdom will suffer greatly.”
“A beast like Ji Hanliang!!”
“He’s utterly unworthy of being a prince of Beiji Kingdom.”
“I must report this to the Crown Prince and expose Ji Hanliang’s true nature.”
“...”
“...”
This was the first time Yun Qing had ever lost his temper so completely in front of others, cursing someone fiercely.
Li Muchen saw how furious Yun Qing was and wished he could immediately rush back to Beiji Kingdom to personally eliminate the Second Prince Ji Hanliang.
He quickly poured a cup of tea and handed it to Yun Qing, “Have some water and calm down.”
Yun Qing, parched from cursing, grabbed the water and drank it all in one gulp.
Then he slammed the cup hard onto the table.
“Damn it—”
“I will return to the Immortal Seeking Sect and report this matter to the sect.”
“Ji Hanliang’s evil cultivation methods have incited all the orthodox sects of the cultivator world to come after him.”
“Killing human civilians is forbidden—this ironclad rule was established over a hundred years ago.”
“The bitter lessons learned over a century ago almost led to the destruction of both cultivator clans and humanity, yet these people still fail to remember.”
“Yet here is Ji Hanliang, secretly slaughtering humans behind everyone’s back.”
After finishing his tirade, Yun Qing was about to rise.
Li Muchen grabbed his arm anxiously, shouting, “Master, don’t forget about me!!”
At that moment, Yun Qing suddenly remembered: this newly accepted disciple had asked for help just now.
He had been so angry that he momentarily forgot about this disciple.
Yun Qing sat back down and glanced at Li Muchen, “Speak then, what do you want me to help you with?”
“Ah, Master, you know.”
“Although I have the four divine beasts—the Vermilion Birds—beside me, they cannot leave the Da Tang Kingdom.”
“Ji Hanliang has now set his sights on the people of the Great Zhao Kingdom.”
“That Li Jiahua is a fake; he is not truly of the royal Li bloodline of Great Zhao.”
“Just for that reason alone, Li Jiahua is unqualified to be emperor of Great Zhao.”
“Moreover, Li Jiahua colludes with the Second Prince of Beiji Kingdom, plotting to harm Great Zhao’s interests.”
“As the last male heir of the Li royal family, I absolutely cannot tolerate this.”
“That is my Li family’s nation, not Ji Hanliang’s.”
“Ji Hanliang’s adopted son has no right to be emperor of Great Zhao.”
“Great Zhao—I, Li Muchen, will reclaim it.”
“And I will save the people of Great Zhao.”
“This is a responsibility I must bear as a descendant of the Li royal bloodline.”
“But Master, I cannot take the Vermilion Birds away from Da Tang Kingdom.”
“They must remain here to protect Da Tang from invasion.”
“But without the Vermilion Birds, I, a low-level cultivator just stepping into the path, definitely cannot defeat the high-level cultivators under Ji Hanliang.”
“So Master, you have to help your disciple…”
Li Muchen’s face showed a pleading, ingratiating expression as he held tightly to Yun Qing’s arm, afraid that Yun Qing might refuse.
Though they were formally master and disciple, their relationship was formed later in life—not through the traditional master-disciple cultivation process—so their bond was not very deep.
Li Muchen feared being refused and spared no effort to flatter and persuade.
Yun Qing was thoroughly annoyed but sighed helplessly, “Sigh… very well, I will agree to help you.”
“Really?!!”
Li Muchen’s eyes widened, his smile impossible to conceal.
“Master, I love you so much!!”
“You are my father, my real father!!”
If Yun Qing were not male, Li Muchen would have been so excited he might have rushed over to blow him a flying kiss.
Instead, Li Muchen expressed his overwhelming joy with a big hug.
“Father!! Please accept your disciple’s respect.”
For many years at the Immortal Seeking Sect, Yun Qing had mostly cultivated alone.
Suddenly, he had a noisy disciple by his side.
Yun Qing’s usually cold heart seemed to feel something different.
Could this be the legendary bond between father and son?
Yun Qing recalled Li Muchen’s words...
That once a master, always a father—in Li Muchen’s habit, the master was also his father?
Being called “father” so often, Yun Qing had even grown accustomed to the title.
Yet he remembered, he never felt this strange connection with his own master.
Li Muchen suddenly leaned close to Yun Qing and asked, “Master Father, when shall we depart?”