“Senior, can you please not look so surprised? Your gaze is making me extremely nervous inside.” Long Huayan naturally noticed the change in Bu Liuqing’s expression, and precisely because he noticed it, his heart skipped a heavy beat.
Could there really be some terrifyingly huge discovery? That was probably why his dry father hadn’t let him return directly to the Dragon Abyss, but instead seemed intent on taking him back to the Dustless Palace first.
Good heavens! Why was he feeling so panicked?
“I don’t want to either, but now that Old Su has mentioned it, I realize it too. Really, really…” There really is a resemblance! Bu Liuqing had seen Long Ze before, so the very first time he laid eyes on Long Huayan, he had noticed that Long Huayan and Long Ze were indeed worthy of being father and son, truly looking similar.
This was what you call bloodline inheritance.
It holds true anywhere you go.
Before Old Su brought it up, he hadn’t noticed; but once Old Su pointed it out, looking at Long Huayan again, he really did bear a strong resemblance to that… male protagonist, Mo Feixi.
If the resemblance between Long Huayan and Long Ze could be described as a resemblance in spirit, then the resemblance between Long Huayan and Mo Feixi was a physical likeness.
Oh my heavens! Could there be some super-sized piece of gossip hidden in all of this?!
Although Bu Liuqing lacked any burning drive to make himself stronger, it didn’t prevent him from thoroughly enjoying this otherworldly journey before his departure. For instance, right now, he had already prepared himself to act as a gossip-loving spectator.
“Please don’t say that, you’re making my skin crawl.” Long Huayan was able to converse so casually with Bu Liuqing because he realized this senior was very easygoing and truly approachable.
Naturally, he wasn’t lacking in tact; hadn’t he heard what this senior called his dry father? Old Su! With such a plain and rustic form of address, his dry father didn’t seem to mind it in the least. If there wasn’t something a little out of the ordinary between them, he simply wouldn’t believe it.
However, right now wasn’t the time to focus on that; the main point concerned himself…
Now that he thought about it, having interacted with Lan Muzui and his group for a period of time, his attention had seemingly been entirely focused on Lan Muzui, while he hadn’t even wanted to spare a single extra glance for the man who was supposed to have been his romantic rival.
Yet even so, he knew that man was no simple character.
It was rare to find a cultivator on the continent who could make him feel such deep apprehension. In fact, his apprehension was entirely justified, because he had been sealed by that very man using a special method, leaving him in a state where his cries to heaven went unanswered and his pleas to earth went ignored. If his dry father hadn’t found him in time, he would have…
“Huayan,” Su Cishang looked at his adopted son, his tone carrying a teasing note, but his gaze was extremely serious.
“Dry Father.” Hearing his dry father call him by his actual name instead of the usual “you brat,” his heart tightened. Usually, whenever his dry father used this tone, it meant he had something immensely important to assign to him.
“Don’t return to the Dragon Abyss for now; go stay at Firmament Academy for a while.” This was what Su Cishang wanted to tell Long Huayan.
“Ah?!” Dry Father, your arrangements always catch me off guard!
“Go to verify something.” If it really turned out to be true, the time he needed to spend helping Liuqing nourish his soul with spiritual essence could be reduced somewhat.
After all, the items possessed by that person would be of immense help to Liuqing’s soul-nourishment. Besides, they had to make a trip to Firmament Academy anyway, so he might as well let the brat go ahead first. If it really was that person, he would have the brat go help him recover, and when the time came, the brat could simply ask that person for that item.
That person would definitely give it.
You have to remember, the brat was…
“No, no, no, Dry Father, I absolutely refuse. It’s too absurd! It’s simply, simply impossible! Although the Old Man mentioned it to me before, it shouldn’t be like that… Really calculating the years, how long ago was that? For him to suddenly pop up like this, and in that manner… No, I refuse.” Long Huayan was rambling incoherently, having no idea how to properly express his feelings.
The main reason was simply because it was far too absurd.
“Huayan, you should know that I wouldn’t joke with you about something like this. If I hadn’t made a discovery, I wouldn’t have asked you to go.” Although he wanted to find good treasures for Liuqing to nourish his soul, Su Cishang was also genuinely looking out for Long Huayan’s best interests.
Since he called him Dry Father, Long Huayan was his adopted son, and their bond ran deep.
Therefore, he would never harm the brat.
“I won’t go! I absolutely refuse to go! If it’s truly such a ridiculous fact, then why is he like that right now? He even tried to extract my dragon spine—how could he bear to do it?…”
“The Old Man told me back then how difficult it was, how much he cherished me, and that he would have given his life for me. Now you’re telling me he might be… I don’t believe it, he’s not! He already has someone else—someone he cares for and treasures so deeply…”
“How could he possibly be… No, he won’t be! If he were, when he saw me—saw the living, breathing me—how much… how much… how much affection and value would he hold for me? That’s why he isn’t him… Absolutely, positively not!” Long Huayan stubbornly argued while awkwardly wiping away his tears.
Seeing him like this, Bu Liuqing decided that this piece of gossip wasn’t just huge—it was boundless.
When he looked at Su Cishang, he noticed that Old Su’s expression was also very grave; there was likely some misunderstanding or unexpected situation hidden within this mess.
“Could something have gone wrong with him?” Su Cishang rarely bothered to explain much to anyone, but his adopted son, Long Huayan, happened to enjoy this special treatment.
“Regardless of me—regardless of what went wrong, shouldn’t he still have basic instincts? But him…” Long Huayan was at his wits’ end.
“Don’t you lack instincts toward him as well?” It was precisely because of this that Su Cishang suggested something was wrong with that person.
“Anyway, I’m not going! I’m going back to the Dragon Abyss. From now on, I’ll help the Old Man scout for a new partner and forget about him! Neither the Old Man nor I want him anymore; we’re not going to wait for him!” Long Huayan was really stirring the pot without fear of chaos.
That aggrieved look, with his nose sniffling repeatedly, made him appear utterly pitiful and in desperate need of comforting.
“Old Su,” Bu Liuqing spoke up at this moment.
“Hmm.” Su Cishang looked at him.
“Can we accompany him there?” It wasn’t that Bu Liuqing was trying to elevate his seniority, but seeing Old Su’s adopted son like this, he couldn’t help but view the kid as a junior as well.
Given Long Huayan’s current state, he definitely needed company.
Such a massive matter…
If he went all by himself, his heart would undoubtedly feel uneasy.
Just as Bu Liuqing said this to Su Cishang, Long Huayan’s eyes lit up, and he cast an expectant gaze toward Su Cishang.
If his dry father went with him, he wouldn’t mind taking a look.
Su Cishang’s gaze rested on Bu Liuqing. He could tell that Liuqing wasn’t making this suggestion out of a soft heart or pure kindness.
Rather, it was entirely because Long Huayan was his adopted son.
If Long Huayan were just a random stranger, no matter how bizarre or terrible things happened to him, he could guarantee that Liuqing wouldn’t pay him a single ounce of attention.
Seeing Liuqing act this way now and realizing it was because of his own precondition, one could say Bu Liuqing’s suggestion deeply pleased Su Cishang.
“Alright.” Since Liuqing said so, making the trip posed no problem.
Why would the two of them go together? Because Liuqing constantly kept in mind what he carried within himself, never forgetting it for a single moment remembering it even better than he, the person directly involved, did.
“Dry Father, Senior, if you two go with me, then I’ll go!” With his dry father holding down the fort, what did he have to be afraid of?
“Call him Uncle Bu.” Even though Su Cishang clearly knew Bu Liuqing’s background and knew that Long Huayan’s age was certainly greater than Bu Liuqing’s, he still instructed Long Huayan to address him this way.
“Alright, alright, alright, Uncle Bu!” Long Huayan readily agreed; whether he was called a senior or an uncle, either was fine.
“Let’s return to the Dustless Palace first.” Returning meant needing to prepare some items. Liuqing’s soul-nourishment required a step-by-step approach; even if they couldn’t stay in Firmament Academy for long, Su Cishang still had to make thorough preparations.
And so, the trio first made a trip back to the Dustless Palace. During this time, Su Cishang even contacted Long Ze, telling him just to take good care of himself and that he would keep an eye on Long Huayan.
“Uncle Bu, tell me honestly do I really look a bit like that person?” On the way to Firmament Academy on the Misty Continent, riding atop a floating cloud, Long Huayan softly asked Bu Liuqing, whom he found very easy to get along with.
“You know what they say about bystanders seeing things clearly, right? It would be one thing if Old Su hadn’t brought it up, but now that he has, you really do look quite a bit like him.” Bu Liuqing was still somewhat in shock.
How on earth did Mo Feixi get entangled with the Dragon clan and Long Huayan, and in such a deeply intimate way?
Could it be that he had read a fake novel?! Why did he always feel things were so strange? Weren’t Mo Feixi and Lan Muzui the officially designated pairing? How did other relationships get dragged into this?
Could it be that novels and reality really differed this much? It was just that this difference was a bit too extreme.
It left Bu Liuqing completely dazed and bewildered.
“Uncle Bu, my heart feels so unsettled right now. Part of me hopes he is, but another part hopes he isn’t. How could he treat me like that? In my memories, based on what the Old Man told me and the unique inherited memories of the Dragon clan, he cherished and doted on me so, so much. I was his precious little darling; he truly laid his life on the line for my birth! Yet for the sake of another person, he actually treated me like that… How could he bear to do it?…” Exactly! How could he bear to destroy him?
That was a dragon spine, not just anything else.
It was the pride and soul essence of his Dragon clan. Just because he wanted to help that Lan Muzui, he had sealed him away and plotted to ruin him.
Thinking about it this way, he didn’t want to bother with him at all especially, especially not.
“It really is quite distressing, but I believe he didn’t do it on purpose.” If Long Huayan really was Mo Feixi’s spawn, yet he could still treat Long Huayan that way, then Mo Feixi must have had something severely wrong with him.
Otherwise, just as Long Huayan said, how could he possibly bear to?
“Really?” Long Huayan was talking to Bu Liuqing right now simply to soothe his emotions, because this matter was too massive and too important to him.
How many years had it been? How many years had he and the Old Man waited for him?
He, Long Huayan, the young master of Dragon Abyss and the crown prince of the Dragon clan, only had the Old Man. When facing the prodigies and young masters of other clans, he was often mocked and ridiculed for coming from an unknown background.
After all, the Lord of Dragon Abyss, Long Ze, had never given birth to any offspring.
Yet Long Huayan bore the identity of the young master and crown prince of Dragon Abyss.
How proud Long Huayan was! Because of those taunts and jeers, he had fought countless battles, but he never resented the Old Man, nor did he resent that person. That was because he possessed certain inherited memories, knowing that his birth had been anticipated, and knowing that his birth had cost that person a tremendous price.
His life was very precious.
“Of course it’s true. Didn’t you also mention the extent to which he cherished and doted on you? If he knew who you were, and knew what he had done to you, he would definitely feel extremely distressed as well. So, Huayan, don’t worry. I believe that once that person returns to normal, he will definitely treat you well.” Naturally, one had to treat their own child with the absolute best and care for them properly.
Mo Feixi! One of the male protagonists! Did he even know he still had a spawn like this?