They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Escalation of Conflict

Yun Qingwu left the prison, feeling somewhat annoyed by his impulsiveness, yet also a sense of satisfaction. In the end, he simply stopped dwelling on whether his actions were right or wrong.

Meanwhile, in the treasure vault, Leng Lici casually picked up a colored glass fire orb and played with it in his hand.

“Reporting to Your Honor, the nanny hasn’t done anything these past few days and has been extremely diligent in his childcare duties,” said a female fox demon who was responsible for Xiao Dao’s daily care.

“Understood. You may withdraw.”

Leng Lici stared at the fire orb in his hand, his irritation only growing. He hadn’t seen a single strand of Yun Qingwu’s white hair these past few days.

He hasn’t done anything?

Hmph, impossible.

He fell into thought, meticulously reviewing his strategy to ensure it was foolproof.

“Your Honor, the Young Lord of the Deer Clan and the Young Lord of the Snake Clan have arrived,” a minor demon announced from outside the door.

Leng Lici raised his chin: “Let them in.”

Lu You and Qing Yuan walked into the treasure vault. Qing Yuan couldn’t help but let his gaze sweep over the dazzling array of magical artifacts. Lu You, however, looked directly at Leng Lici, his demeanor calm but with a hint of obstinacy.

“Your Honor, when will we set off?”

Leng Lici raised his chin: “Pick a few useful items. Don’t end up losing your own lives before getting your revenge.”

“Then I want this one!” Qing Yuan exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the Nine-Yuan Long Whip nearby.

Lu You discreetly elbowed Qing Yuan hard with his arm.

Qing Yuan looked a bit wronged: “What’s wrong? I think His Honor made a lot of sense.”

Leng Lici watched their minor actions, and the ambiguous sounds he had heard in the woods that day echoed in his mind again. He immediately found the two of them utterly irritating.

“Hurry up and choose. Choose and scram.”

Leng Lici’s sudden change of demeanor was confusing even to Lu You. He exchanged a look with Qing Yuan, wisely swallowed his words of protest, quickly chose an item, and they both left swiftly.

…

At the appointed time, Yun Qingwu sneaked back into the prison, where You Suqian had long been waiting.

This time, he lacked the manic energy of their last meeting, sitting calmly on the bedding, looking more like the Director he was.

“Speak,” Yun Qingwu didn’t intend to beat around the bush.

You Suqian clearly thought otherwise. He looked at Yun Qingwu: “The Ancient Town Lamp is such an important item. Isn’t the Sovereign’s condition a bit too simple?”

Yun Qingwu’s expression remained unchanged. He looked at You Suqian coldly: “It seems you believe your freedom is very cheap.”

With that, Yun Qingwu made to leave.

“Wait!” A crack appeared in You Suqian’s composure.

Yun Qingwu stopped, his back to You Suqian.

You Suqian was unwilling. He looked at Yun Qingwu’s back, gritted his teeth, and finally said: “The Ancient Town Lamp is in the ancestral hall, in front of You Su Xiaozhu’s memorial tablet.”

Having obtained the desired information, Yun Qingwu threw the paper detailing the lock-picking mechanism to You Suqian without another word.

You Suqian clenched the paper, saying bitterly: “Sovereign, you may not know who You Su Xiaozhu is, but she was the former Princess of our Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, and the biological mother of that bastard Leng Lici.

You see, even his own mother is nothing more than a tool to him. On the matter of wanting Leng Lici to completely disappear, our Nine-Tailed Fox Clan has no conflict with you. If you need it, we are very willing to cooperate.”

Yun Qingwu paused, turned to look at You Suqian, his expression disdainful: “Just you?”

He turned and walked straight out of the prison.

“Are you worthy?”

You Suqian’s smile froze, his expression gradually twisting: “What good thing are you gods anyway?”

“Director?”

You Sumei was awakened by the commotion just now, his voice still weak.

You Suqian collected his expression and turned to look at You Sumei gently: “Sumei, I’ll take you out immediately.”

…

Yun Qingwu didn’t take long to find the ancestral hall. Compared to the heavy guarding of the other fake Ancient Town Lamps, this place was almost completely unguarded, which, in a way, created a “darkness under the lamp” form of protection.

Outside the ancestral hall was only a single barrier, preventing intrusion.

Yun Qingwu tentatively touched the barrier, trying to find a way to break through, but as soon as he touched it, his finger passed directly through.

The barrier was not set to guard against him.

After a moment of confusion, Yun Qingwu realized that this must be because he and Leng Lici still shared the temporary partner contract.

He walked into the ancestral hall and surveyed the interior. It was called an ancestral hall, but there were few memorial tablets. You Su Xiaozhu’s tablet was centrally located, but the space in front of it was desolate, with almost no offerings.

He walked closer and saw the tablet read: “Spiritual Tablet of the Late Fox Princess You Su Xiaozhu.”

Yun Qingwu was somewhat surprised.

Leng Lici’s fox demon bloodline was actually from the Princess lineage.

He thought of Leng Lici’s past remarks and You Suqian’s hatred, and felt a pang of discomfort.

They were of the same origin, yet because he was not “pure,” this half-bloodline became a sin.

This was probably the reason why You Su Xiaozhu’s offering was so sparse.

Yun Qingwu took three sticks of incense from the side, lit them, bowed three times respectfully, and inserted the incense into the censer in front of the tablet. After completing this, he began to look for the Ancient Town Lamp.

He didn’t need to look hard, because the Ancient Town Lamp was openly placed above You Su Xiaozhu’s tablet, like an utterly ordinary offering lamp.

Yun Qingwu took the lamp down and examined it for a long time. This one was indeed the Ancient Town Lamp.

He looked up. The empty space where the lamp had been made the sparse tablet look even more desolate.

Yun Qingwu thought for a moment, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and an ice blade materialized in the air. The ice blade then unhesitatingly rushed towards the wick, destroying it completely.

With the wick destroyed, this Ancient Town Lamp was just an ordinary lamp, unable to absorb incense power anymore.

He put the Ancient Town Lamp back in its original place. A commotion sounded outside the ancestral hall. He guessed that the barrier’s disturbance had likely caught Leng Lici’s attention.

Yun Qingwu hesitated no more and immediately left Mount You Su.

…

Inside the Li Palace, Leng Lici stared at the destroyed Ancient Town Lamp in his hand, his face grim. The atmosphere in the hall was freezing.

“How can the wick be repaired?”

Leng Lici asked gravely.

The victory had not been decided yet; he would not concede defeat!

Lu You: “Reporting to Your Honor, the wick cannot be repaired, only replaced.”

“Don’t you have a ready-made Ancient Town Lamp? Why not use that one on your baby?” the bone sword gloated.

Leng Lici remained silent. The bone sword continued: “What? Can’t bear to?”

“Nonsense!”

Leng Lici drew the bone sword and tossed it upwards. He concentrated his power, and bursts of malevolent energy surrounded the bone sword.

Even Lu You, standing below, was startled.

Malevolent energy enveloped the entire Li Palace. The person at the center, due to excessive rage, now had vertical pupils:

“If that’s the case, I will just take the Ancient Town Lamp from his Heavenly Realm!”

…

Heavenly Realm.

The Bed God brought wine to the Clear Cloud Palace, only to find Hong Yuan alone, idly looking in a mirror.

“Where is your Sovereign?”

He had heard Yun Qingwu returned two days ago but hadn’t seen a sign of him.

Hong Yuan sighed, gesturing toward the Artisan’s Workshop: “The Sovereign has locked himself in there for the past two days. I don’t know what he’s busy with.”

The Bed God said “Oh” and walked toward the Artisan’s Workshop: “Then I’ll go take a look.”

“What are you doing in closed-door cultivation?” The Bed God pushed the door open directly, speaking as he walked into the workshop. He saw his drinking buddy busy working with his sleeves rolled up.

Yun Qingwu heard the voice but didn’t look up: “As you see.”

The Bed God walked closer and examined the item Yun Qingwu was making: a golden bracelet.

He looked at Yun Qingwu suspiciously: “You… truly haven’t given in to mortal feelings?”

Yun Qingwu glared at the Bed God, annoyed, and denied: “I said no.”

He looked down at the golden bracelet, which was already taking shape. The image of the pair of golden eyes appeared in his mind, and he said softly: “This is just a promise I haven’t fulfilled yet.”

The Bed God also noticed some scattered small items on the table and asked: “And what are these?”

Yun Qingwu glanced at them and said vaguely: “Those are gifts for a friend’s child. They can cushion any impact received, making it easier for the child to learn to walk.”

“That’s quite practical.”

The Bed God nodded, then remembered his main purpose. He raised the wine pot in his hand: “Stop working for now. Shall we go for a drink?”

Yun Qingwu was unmoved, still focusing on the task at hand: “I’m in a bit of a rush with this gift. I’ll find you for a drink another day.”

The Bed God pouted: “Alright, alright.”

After the Bed God left, Yun Qingwu’s movements finally slowed. He stared at the half-finished artifact, lost in thought.

I wonder how that person is doing now?

Probably throwing a tantrum.

But since it was an agreed-upon competition, he should honor the bet, right?

“Sovereign! Sovereign! The Celestial Emperor urgently summons you to the Grand Hall.” Hong Yuan’s footsteps and voice sounded outside the house.

Yun Qingwu’s heart sank. Grandfather God rarely called an impromptu assembly unless it was a major event. He had a bad feeling.

When he walked into the Grand Hall and saw the heavy atmosphere inside, he knew his bad feeling was likely accurate.

“Truly audacious! That fox demon utterly disregards us!” The martial god, Yang Duan, who was already present, couldn’t hide his fury, his voice slightly trembling.

“It’s all my negligence last time, for failing to capture that fox demon!” Li Qingyang’s usually calm eyes also showed anger, his tone full of regret.

“Too terrible, too terrible! If we don’t make that demon pay this time, where will our dignity be?” The other God Lords present chimed in.

Yun Qingwu only heard fragments, but still held onto a sliver of hope. He unconsciously clenched his fist, walked up to his master, Yang Duan, and asked steadily: “Master, what happened?”

Yang Duan’s eyes were red with rage. Even speaking the truth was difficult: “The Incense Division God Lord… the Incense Division God Lord’s entire clan was annihilated by that fox demon!”

“Blood flowed like a river—” another God Lord lamented: “They say not a single complete body could be found among the whole clan.”

More discussions poured into Yun Qingwu’s ears, but he couldn’t hear a single word. All he heard was a high-pitched buzzing.

Leng Lici wiped out the Incense Division God Lord’s clan?

How could that be?

Why wouldn’t it be?

Another, more rational voice drilled into Yun Qingwu’s mind.

Yes, hasn’t that person always been like this?

Self-serving, when has the lives of others ever been an obstacle to him…

He had just been holding onto a wishful thought.

“They’re here, they’re here. The Celestial Emperor and Celestial Mother have arrived.” Someone announced, and the noisy hall immediately quieted down.

After the Celestial Emperor and Celestial Mother took their seats, the bell chimed.

The White Emperor Yun Ye, Azure Emperor Yun Mian, Black Emperor Hua Yi, and Scarlet Emperor Bai Yue appeared.

“The severity of this incident requires discussion with all the Emperors. Thank you for appearing in spirit form amidst your busy schedules,” the Celestial Emperor stated.

“I have already heard about it. The Ancient Town Lamp is vital to our clan and must never fall into the hands of the demon race. I believe the execution of the fox demon is imperative,”

Black Emperor Hua Yi said sternly.

“That fox demon has committed numerous evil acts. Why was he indulged to this extent?” Azure Emperor Yun Mian asked, slightly confused.

This question struck Yun Qingwu like a heavy blow. While not accusatory, it felt like an accusation in every regard. He bit his lower lip, wanting to step forward and admit his lapse in duty.

But the Celestial Emperor interrupted first: “Killing is not as good as utilizing. The Demon Realm has always been chaotic. Rather than letting them develop wildly, it’s better to establish a target. Based on this consideration, we have always held back regarding that fox demon.”

“Nephew understands Uncle God’s concern, but given the circumstances, we must prioritize the greater good. If that fox demon commits further evil acts using the Ancient Town Lamp, the consequences will be irreversible.”

The Black Emperor’s attitude was respectful but carried a hint of forcefulness.

“That fox demon had been peaceful with us for decades after the last war. Why the sudden attack this time?” The Celestial Mother, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“The fox demon is inherently ferocious. Years ago, he tormented and killed countless of our immortal friends. Did he ever need a reason?” Yang Duan said angrily.

The Scarlet Emperor’s voice was gentle and unhurried: “What the Celestial Mother says is not unreasonable. It is well-known that the Incense Division Clan managed the Ancient Town Lamp. Since he didn’t choose to seize it this way before, why the change in attitude this time?”

The stone in Yun Qingwu’s heart grew heavier and heavier, making his breathing difficult.

He had destroyed the Ancient Town Lamp, yet failed to destroy it completely, thus inviting this disaster upon the Incense Division God Lord.

To assign blame, perhaps he should share the guilt with Leng Lici!