They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Investigation

Dan Mu scratched his bird feathers and whispered: “This… we don’t have specific details yet, only that the Phoenix Clan wasn’t the only one who managed to refine the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp back then. But the identity of the other party is still unknown.”

“Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, this Lord will find it.”

With that, Cold Lici waved his left hand, and several flames shot out in various directions. These flames would carry the command to search for the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp and fly to every demon clan leader.

Just then, there was a knock on the main hall door.

“Sovereign Lord, this old woman has something to discuss with you.” It was Su Ke’s voice.

Dan Mu glanced at his Sovereign Lord and wisely prepared to withdraw. Yu Su Ke was considered his Sovereign Lord’s step-grandmother by seniority, so this was somewhat a family matter.

Cold Lici handed Xiao Dao to Dan Mu: “Take this too.”

Dan Mu smoothly took Xiao Dao and left the main hall, glancing at Yu Su Ke as he went. Although she was of the grandmother generation, Yu Su Ke was actually only middle-aged, still very charming.

Yu Su Ke entered the room and immediately stated her intention without beating around the bush: “It seems the Sovereign Lord already knows about the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp. Coincidentally, this old woman has some clues regarding this matter. If this old woman can help the Sovereign Lord find the whereabouts of this lamp, would the Sovereign Lord pardon my son’s transgression and release him?”

Cold Lici sat lazily on the high seat. Upon hearing this, he raised his eyes slightly: “It’s considerable.”

Yu Su Ke sighed in relief, bowing respectfully: “Good. The Sovereign Lord can await this old woman’s good news.”

…

Heavenly Realm.

In an elegantly decorated teahouse, which nonetheless exhibited an air of nobility in its details, the Heavenly Emperor sat on a soft couch, unhurriedly pouring the brewed tea into a cup.

Yun Qingwu sat upright on the other side of the tea table, briefly recounting his recent experience, omitting the parts concerning Cold Lici.

“That Cold Lici is too cunning. Your grandson is ashamed that I failed to capture him. Please punish me, Grandfather God.”

The Heavenly Emperor put down his teacup and patted Yun Qingwu’s hand reassuringly: “It’s nothing. That fox demon must have his own capabilities to succeed. Your safe return is what matters most.”

A warmth surged in Yun Qingwu’s heart. He looked up at the Heavenly Emperor and deliberated: “Grandfather God, why did the Nanze Kingdom suddenly suffer a great drought back then? And why did the time of the change deviate from my memory?”

The Heavenly Emperor frowned upon hearing this. His previously gentle tone became somewhat stern: “Qingwu, what is past is past. It is meaningless for you to keep dwelling on the truth. I have told you this many times.”

“But—”

The Heavenly Emperor interrupted: “This incident can be considered a resolution of regret for you. Since that is the case, you should bid farewell to it and look forward. As a Sovereign Lord, you must avoid indecisiveness in handling matters.”

Yun Qingwu’s eyelashes trembled, but he finally offered no further rebuttal.

Leaving the teahouse, Yun Qingwu changed direction and walked towards the Archives Tower.

He skillfully retrieved the scroll recording the history of the Nanze Kingdom from the packed shelves. The scroll recorded the time of the great drought in the Nanze Kingdom as the Xinyou Year, Jiawu Month, which was identical to his memory. So why…

“Qingwu?” Footsteps sounded in the quiet Archives Tower.

Yun Qingwu turned around and looked at the newcomer, his eyes filled with surprise: “Aunt.”

The newcomer was the Mountain Cloud Sovereign Lord, Yun Ya. Yun Ya approached Yun Qingwu with a smile: “At the last blessing ceremony, you left without saying a word and were gone for over a month. Do you still remember your Aunt?”

Yun Qingwu closed the scroll: “The last time… there was a slight accident. Aunt, why do you have time to visit the Heavenly Realm today?”

“I specially came to see you! As soon as I heard that you, the busy man, had returned, I rushed over without stopping,” Yun Ya teased.

“Then I must treat Aunt well,” Yun Qingwu smoothly replied.

Yun Ya’s gaze fell on the scroll in Yun Qingwu’s hand: “You still can’t let go of the Nanze Kingdom matter?”

Yun Qingwu lowered his eyes: “During this descent to the mortal realm, I unexpectedly learned some clues about the kingdom’s demise back then, but the information I learned deviates somewhat from what is recorded in this scroll.”

Yun Ya took the scroll from Yun Qingwu and walked a few steps toward the window: “The time recorded here is indeed false.”

Yun Qingwu was stunned. Even though he had already guessed the answer, hearing it confirmed still brought a complex mix of feelings.

“This was the destiny of the Nanze Kingdom. You know that the Nanze clansmen were not ordinary mortals, but they were still mortals after all. Once they possessed abilities that didn’t belong to the Heavenly Dao’s rules, their calamity was inevitable.”

Yun Ya sighed: “We did our best back then, but in the face of the Heavenly Dao, even we gods are not omnipotent.”

“As for the time recorded in this scroll,” Yun Ya turned around to face Yun Qingwu: “Your secluded cultivation went wrong that year, lasting much longer than the original schedule. Father God and your elder brother didn’t want you to blame yourself too much.”

Yun Qingwu looked despondent: “Was that truly the case?”

Yun Ya affectionately patted her nephew’s shoulder: “Qingwu, look forward.”

Yun Qingwu remained silent for a moment, then nodded: “I understand.”

Yun Ya, as the god who manages all the mountains and lands, resides permanently on Mount Wanyang. Although she claimed Yun Qingwu should treat her well, she didn’t actually stay long at the Qingyun Palace.

After Yun Ya left, Yun Qingwu returned alone to his study in Qingyun Palace. After driving away the noisy phoenixes, he finally found some peace.

He took out a quite thick volume—the Record of Ten Thousand Demons he had compiled over the years.

The latest page of the book was titled “Half-Demon Cold Lici.” Only half of the information was filled in; the rest was blank. Yun Qingwu picked up his brush, intending to continue updating the file.

The memories of two years in the Mind Realm flooded in the moment he raised his brush.

The file read that this demon was malicious and ruthless in his methods. He added a sentence beneath it: “But also soft-hearted.”

His Mother protected him, and he was not unmoved.

Including the end, he clearly could have extricated himself and opportunistically eliminated him, the great threat in his heart, but he did not do so.

However…

Yun Qingwu recalled Cold Lici’s finicky behavior, and he added: “Poor at household chores, but a neat freak; can’t cook, but extremely picky about food.”

Finally, he added: “Loves sweets, loves chicken soup, dislikes fish, spice, ginger, garlic, spring onions, and eggs…”

Hmm…

“Extremely poor alcohol tolerance; a bit clingy when drunk…”

Knock knock knock—

A knock suddenly sounded outside the door, followed by Li Qingyang’s voice: “Your Highness, may I come in?”

Yun Qingwu abruptly snapped out of his thoughts, instinctively shutting the Record of Ten Thousand Demons closed.

He felt inexplicably guilty and annoyed.

What was he even writing!

“You seem… quite happy?” Li Qingyang frowned slightly, looking Yun Qingwu up and down. He had expected Yun Qingwu to be depressed for a while because of the Nanze Kingdom incident.

Yun Qingwu cleared his throat, evading the question, and asked instead: “Senior Brother, what do you need me for?”

Li Qingyang’s expression turned more serious: “What exactly happened in the Mind Realm? How was Cold Lici able to escape so silently? I think we need to review and summarize this again.”

Yun Qingwu pursed his lips, his thoughts rapidly spinning.

After a moment, he calmly recounted a selective version of the events in the Mind Realm, concluding: “My mind was unstable at the time, and Cold Lici is inherently intelligent and astute, skilled at seizing every opportunity to survive. That’s why he managed to escape this time.”

Li Qingyang nodded. He felt that something sounded off about the statement, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, so he had to temporarily let it go: “We must learn from this lesson and not make this mistake again next time.”

Yun Qingwu nodded solemnly.

After Li Qingyang left, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His Senior Brother was not an easy person to fool.

Yun Qingwu reopened the Record of Ten Thousand Demons and looked at the content he had unconsciously written down. He suddenly felt a heat in his eyes and instinctively quickly flipped the page, wanting to dispel this inexplicable agitation.

The Mind Realm was broken. He shouldn’t be dwelling on it.

On the new page, he wrote the name “Qu Huanyu,” but then found he couldn’t easily write another stroke.

In the past, he hated demons to the extreme, compiling this Record of Ten Thousand Demons with stories of cruel torture and slaughter. But now, he could no longer simply categorize good and evil in such a way.

After a while, he closed the Record of Ten Thousand Demons again and left the study.

…

Meanwhile, in the teahouse.

The Heavenly Emperor was still in his original seat. Yun Ya sat where Yun Qingwu had been, and Yun Chuan sat on a chair nearby.

“Father God, is there truly a Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp left outside in the world?” Yun Ya unconsciously tapped the table with her fingers. She added: “Mother God and I sensed its aura, but how is that possible? The Phoenix Clan’s lamp was clearly destroyed.”

The Heavenly Emperor thoughtfully closed the lid of his teacup: “Perhaps this lamp was never exclusive to the Phoenix Clan.”

Yun Ya frowned: “This lamp is related to the faith and offerings from the mortal world. If it falls into the hands of a demon, I fear the chaos of challenging the divine order will be repeated.”

The Heavenly Emperor looked at the silent Yun Chuan: “Yun Chuan, what are your thoughts?”

Yun Chuan’s expression was composed: “Yun Ya speaks rightly. If Father God requires my assistance, I will certainly exert myself.”

The Heavenly Emperor nodded and considered: “The Scent God Lord’s clan has managed the Suppressing Ancient Green Lamp for many years. They can assist you. You must retrieve the lamp as quickly as possible.”

Yun Chuan: “Yes, Father God.”

“Handle this discreetly. Do not publicize it for now,” the Heavenly Emperor reminded after a moment of contemplation.

“Yes, Father God.”

Yun Ya, looking at her elder brother, had an indescribable emotion flash quickly in her eyes, then disappear without a trace.

…

“Cousin, Cousin, I found a curious object!!”

“Can you be a little quieter!”

Accompanied by two voices of the same pitch but completely different tones, the previously quiet study instantly became a bit noisy. Yun Qingwu, who was handling official business, looked at the study door that was forcefully pushed open.

He saw two twin-star children of similar height enter one after the other.

The younger one inherited his father, the Star Lord of Deliverance from Misery’s, divine connection and was named Kong Yun.

The older one inherited his mother, Yun Ya’s, divine connection and was named Yun Di.

“Mind your own business!” Kong Yun retorted to his brother, running straight into Yun Qingwu’s arms: “Cousin, can I trade it for the Wind-Hearing Bell you made? My eyes can see but I can’t hear. It’s terribly frustrating.”

“What use is that broken stone you picked up, apart from looking good?” Yun Di stood in front of the desk, looking disdainfully at his younger brother.

Yun Qingwu found the brothers’ argument amusing and smiled: “What kind of curious object is it? Let Cousin take a look.”

Kong Yun released his embrace and pulled out a gold-colored stone, about the size of two palms, from his Qiankun pouch, presenting it to Yun Qingwu like a treasure: “Cousin, look! I’ve never seen such a beautiful stone!”

Yun Qingwu took the stone and held it up. The stone looked gold, but under the sunlight, it shimmered with iridescent colors.

This stone was indeed no ordinary object. It was a spiritual stone formed by a Dragon Clan’s heart-protecting scale, shed after death, which had absorbed the essence of heaven and earth for a long time. The Dragon Clan rarely allows the heart-protecting scales of the deceased to be left behind, so in some sense, this was indeed a rare find.

Yun Qingwu looked at the golden spiritual stone, but Cold Lici’s pair of golden eyes involuntarily appeared in his mind.

He remembered he still owed the other party a magical artifact…