They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Birthday

The next morning.

“Our Huang’er has grown another year older!”

Yun Qingwu bent over, allowing Meng Ping to place a black head wrap on his head. The wrap was inlaid with flecks of crushed silver, and silver tassels hung down on both sides, reaching his chest.

These silver ornaments were personally embroidered by Meng Ping and Liu Ya, representing the parents’ blessings for their child.

“I am grateful for the care of Father and Mother.”

Yun Qingwu took a step back, clasped his hands, and offered a solemn bow.

“That’s enough, that’s enough.” Meng Ping helped Yun Qingwu up and then said, “The carriage is already prepared outside. You should go now.”

Outside the palace gates, a dozen carriages were lined up. Each carriage was filled with various ingredients. Yun Qingwu walked to the leading horse in the front row and leaped onto it.

According to the custom of the Nanze Kingdom, he was required to tour the city today, going from house to house to present the citizens with ingredients carrying blessings, symbolizing shared joy with the people.

“Lord of the Nation, may the Great God Bai Ze bless you with good health!”

As each household received the basket of vegetables, they would personally place a silver ring they had prepared onto Yun Qingwu’s arm and offer their blessings.

These pure and clear eyes intertwined with the hysterics and numbness that were unforgettable in his memory.

Yun Qingwu gritted his teeth. Even if everything was an illusion and reality was irreversible, he had to try his best here to give his people an ending without regret.

When the city parade ceremony was over, the sun’s illumination was also drawing to a close. The sky was filled with colorful clouds, acting as the final flourish of the day.

Yun Qingwu, adorned with silver rings, returned to the palace and walked straight toward the Green Wood Hall.

Before he reached the hall entrance, he saw Meng Ping approaching him with a jar of wine in her arms, smiling merrily.

“Huang’er, this is the birthday gift Mother prepared for you—the Ten Great Tonic Wine! It contains centipedes, water snakes, deer antlers…”

Liu Ya, standing behind her, looked away, appearing unable to bear listening to the ingredients.

Yun Qingwu’s attention, however, was not on the ingredients. He remembered this gift…

This should have clearly been next year’s birthday gift. Why was it appearing this year?

“Huang’er? Huang’er! Don’t you like Mother’s gift?” Meng Ping held up the wine, her apricot eyes blinking somewhat aggrievedly as she watched Yun Qingwu in a daze.

Yun Qingwu snapped out of his thoughts, reached out to take the wine, and smiled: “How could I? I like all of Mother’s gifts. I also prepared a gift for Mother and Father.”

Perhaps he had misremembered? Or perhaps Meng Huang’s memory was confused—that was also possible.

He pushed the thought aside, beckoned, and had Ah Ge bring up the gifts that had been prepared long ago.

“Oh, what is this… a wooden puppet?”

Qu Ye walked out from the inner room, curiously examining the two wooden puppets Ah Ge was holding.

“Yes.” Ah Ge pressed the mechanism button on the neck of the two puppets. The next moment, the two puppets began to move in unison. One held a wooden basket in its left hand and took out seeds from the basket with its right, bending down to skillfully sow the seeds into the ground.

“Mother and Father, with this, you won’t have to work so hard in the fields anymore.”

The other puppet had its hands clenched into fists, wrapped in cotton. The fists rhythmically tapped back and forth.

“This one can provide a massage and back-pounding to loosen your muscles and bones.”

Meng Ping looked at the two puppet mechanisms with great novelty, unable to hide the smile on her lips: “Huang’er, when did you learn to make these?”

“Ah Ze and I prepared this gift together for Father and Mother.”

Yun Qingwu offered the explanation he had prepared long ago.

Meng Ping nodded and looked into the empty space: “Ah Ze, Auntie Meng really likes this gift. Thank you.”

You’re welcome.

Yun Qingwu said silently in his heart.

“The food is already on the table, come in quickly.”

Liu Dongxue peeked her head out and called to the crowd.

Everyone responded and walked towards the hall. Yun Qingwu took a step ahead, walked to Liu Dongxue, and bowed: “Shiniang (Mistress/Wife of my Master).”

Liu Dongxue smiled kindly and replied: “Happy birthday. May our Huang’er be healthy and all your wishes come true.”

The smile before him intertwined with the smile of Aunt Liu from the Ze Kingdom.

Yun Qingwu had to admit that, to some extent, Meng Huang had indeed fulfilled a part of his obsession.

Inside the hall, cups clinked and everyone was joyous. Outside the palace gates, it was also lively. Every household brought out long tables and placed the dishes they had prepared on them, forming a huge running banquet that ran through the entire Nanze Kingdom.

The servants and maids on duty in the palace had also returned home at this moment to participate in this birthday feast together.

“Happy birthday, Lord of the Nation!”

Everyone raised their wine cups, clinked them, and drank it all in one go.

A firework bang erupted in the sky, illuminating the smiling eyes and brows of everyone present.

Inside the Green Wood Hall, Qu Ping put down his wine cup, looked at his daughter, and then at his beloved disciple sitting next to him: “Huang’er has now reached the age to marry. He and Huanyu were childhood sweethearts and are a rare pair of twins that haven’t been seen in a hundred years. Their destiny is not shallow. If they could continue this fate, wouldn’t it be a good marriage?”

The smile hanging on Yun Qingwu’s lips stiffened.

He hadn’t known Meng Huang and Huan Yu had such a connection.

Meng Ping glanced at her son and twisted her handkerchief. This won’t do; her son is a cut-sleeve!

But she couldn’t actually say this out loud, so she changed the topic and asked, “Huang’er, why isn’t Xiao Ci here?”

Yun Qingwu understood Meng Ping’s intention. He glanced at his Master out of the corner of his eye, feeling inexplicably guilty: “He doesn’t like crowds, so he didn’t come.”

“On such an important day, how unsuitable for you to leave him alone. Huang’er, you haven’t handled this well.”

Yun Qingwu pursed his lips and didn’t speak. Although he sincerely believed that the demon Cold Lici would disdain such an occasion, for some reason, the more joyful and lively it became here, the more unwilling he was to think about Cold Lici’s current situation.

“You should take some food and wine to him.” Meng Ping made the decision.

“Who is Xiao Ci?” Qu Ping asked at the right time.

Meng Ping sighed, regret coloring her face: “It’s a pity, but Huang’er already has a romantic interest. He only brought him to see us a few days ago.”

She deliberately blurred the gender and looked at Qu Huanyu: “Huanyu is a good girl, but our Huang’er doesn’t have the fortune for her.”

“Oh, I see…”

“I will take my leave for now.” Before the conversation could go deeper, Yun Qingwu stood up, greeted everyone at the table, and left the Green Wood Hall first.

After Yun Qingwu left, Qu Huanyu looked at her father with some dissatisfaction: “Father, I don’t want to get married yet.”

“Father was only making a suggestion; I didn’t mean to force you to marry right now.”

The sounds of idle chatter in the hall gradually faded away.

Yun Qingwu carried the basket of food towards the Moon Bathing Palace, where Cold Lici was staying.

In the night sky, fireworks were blooming brightly. A silhouette in black sat on the windowsill, one leg slightly bent and propped on the window ledge, his posture unusually relaxed.

The vibrant colors of the fireworks fell upon the person, making the red hair even more dazzling.

Yun Qingwu’s footsteps unconsciously paused. Perhaps because the day had been too lively, when it suddenly became so quiet, he actually perceived a hint of loneliness in this scene.

His heart softened. He walked up and raised the food basket in his hand, calling out, “Hey, let’s eat.”

The person on the windowsill did not move, looking down to glance faintly at Yun Qingwu: “Not hungry.”

Yun Qingwu ignored the definite refusal, went inside on his own, and arranged the dishes one by one on the low table. Then he took out the wine and held it up towards Cold Lici: “You can skip the food, but you can’t skip the birthday wine of the birthday boy.”

“Do you really think of yourself as Meng Huang?” Cold Lici scoffed, his tone utterly sarcastic.

Yun Qingwu poured himself a drink and said calmly, “How do you know today isn’t my birthday?”

“How do you know… today is your birthday?” Cold Lici slightly curved the corners of his mouth. The colorful fireworks reflected in his golden eyes, alternating between bright and dark, seeming to hold a trace of playfulness.

“What do you mean?” Yun Qingwu frowned, his expression displeased.

That sense of loneliness he felt just now was indeed an unnecessary delusion on his part.

Cold Lici chuckled softly, flipped down from the window, and sat beside the low table. He picked up the poured wine cup and slightly tilted it toward Yun Qingwu: “Then I wish you… happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” Seeing that the other party wasn’t intentionally looking for trouble, Yun Qingwu didn’t want to start another conflict.

The fireworks high in the sky bloomed even more brilliantly, like a shower of meteors streaking across the firmament at this moment. The cheers of the crowd intertwined with the sounds of the bursts.

The charm of human life and its festivities was nothing less than this.

“Actually, compared to the elaborate birthday banquets in the Heavenly Realm, I prefer the fireworks and human warmth here,” Yun Qingwu said suddenly, looking out the window.

Cold Lici snorted: “Born in a golden palace, but your soul clings to a thatched cottage.”

Yun Qingwu was stunned, subconsciously wanting to retort, but the nightmare of Cold Lici he had witnessed suddenly flashed in his mind, making his retort sound somewhat shallow.

“The bone sword in your hand is the bone of a Taotie (gluttonous monster). As far as I know, the Taotie was trapped in the Suspended Mirror by the Nine-Tailed Fox clan a long time ago. Why were you there?”

Cold Lici looked at Yun Qingwu meaningfully, his tone casual and understated: “This Lord pulled out his son’s tail. Perhaps he thought this Lord was as ferocious as the Taotie, so he locked this Lord up too.”

Half-demons were long regarded as anomalies among the demon clans. Yun Qingwu had heard about it.

“Your… parents?” Yun Qingwu hesitated for a long time before finally voicing the question.

A strange expression appeared on Cold Lici’s face, followed by what seemed like amusement. He didn’t answer, simply drinking the refilled wine in one gulp.

Yun Qingwu watched Cold Lici’s reaction and had some guesses. He stared at the wine on the table, a struggle emerging in his heart.

He had no reason to feel any sympathy for a demon, especially Cold Lici.

But…

“Today is neither my birthday nor yours, but since Meng Huang brought us here, what’s wrong with us borrowing his birthday for a day?”

Yun Qingwu finally heard himself say.

“Happy birthday, Cold Lici.”

Cold Lici paused in his drinking, his eyes slightly stunned.

“Who wants to celebrate a birthday with you?”

After a long while, he shifted his gaze and helped himself to another sip of wine, his expression relaxing significantly.

The corners of Yun Qingwu’s mouth slightly curled. He didn’t mind and quietly enjoyed this moment of inner peace, no longer attempting to converse. Only the occasional sound of chopsticks and bowls colliding echoed the liveliness outside.

Until his neck was suddenly tickled by something fluffy.

Hmm?

Yun Qingwu averted his gaze and subconsciously looked down, only to see a red fox tail causing mischief around his neck.

“You’re doi—”

He suddenly looked up, ready to question, but the words of interrogation were abruptly swallowed when he saw the scene before him.

The person who was just normal now had a completely flushed face. His usually indifferent eyes had entirely lost their focus, and the hand holding the wine cup was shaking slightly.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Yun Qingwu pulled away the mischievous tail and probed, “Are you drunk?”

Cold Lici drank the wine in his hand and, hearing the question, tilted his head, frowning as he stared at Yun Qingwu, seeming to be trying hard to clear his mind. Before he could come up with any result, his other tails began to wrap themselves around the person in front of him.

Yun Qingwu reached out to wave them away, but the sheer number difference was too great. As soon as one was removed, another immediately followed. For a moment, he felt like he had become a piece of charcoal burning in a furnace, hot on the outside and even hotter on the inside.

The fluffy fox fur, as the tails swayed, intentionally or unintentionally brushed against his ear tips, neck, and wrists, like a feather passing over and yet impossible to catch. The subtle itchiness sent shivers down his spine.

“Cold Lici! Sober up!” Yun Qingwu’s face was flushed, somewhat angry and embarrassed. He leaned forward to push the drunken fox.

He had only drunk less than one pot of wine. How did he end up like this?

“Hmm…?”

Cold Lici unconsciously hummed and, following the force of the push, lunged forward.

Yun Qingwu was momentarily stunned, watching his hands grasp nothing, then was called back to consciousness by the sudden increase in weight in his arms. He looked down.

A giant red fox was curled up in his embrace.

Yun Qingwu: “…”