They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Thief

In the Heavenly Realm.

In the Clear Palace, the Celestial Emperor sat on a soft couch with a stern face. Yun Qingwu stood to the side, his chin slightly lowered.

Celestial Emperor: “You are the Sovereign of the Heavenly Realm, the future Celestial Emperor. Did I cultivate you for all these years so you could casually sacrifice yourself for others?”

Yun Qingwu knew he had failed his Grandfather God in this matter and did not want to offer many explanations. He simply said: “Grandfather God needs to punish the perpetrator responsible for the destruction of the Incense God Clan. In this matter, it is not unjust for your grandson to be punished.”

The Celestial Emperor slammed his teacup down on the tea table with a bang: “It is not unjust? Your behavior is extremely irresponsible, Qingwu. You are my only successor. You need to understand the responsibility behind this matter!”

“But Grandfather God, what is responsibility?”

Yun Qingwu looked up at the Celestial Emperor: “If one is unwilling to bear their own mistakes, how can they shoulder other responsibilities?”

He asked in a low voice: “Did you authorize the Incense God Sovereign to take people and wipe out the entire Deer Clan to seize the Ancient Azure Lamp?”

The Celestial Emperor’s face was indifferent: “The Ancient Azure Lamp inherently belongs to the God Clan. From the moment the Deer Clan ceased to belong to the Heavenly Realm, that object should not have been theirs. I merely wanted to retrieve what belonged to us, but they couldn’t recognize their place.”

“If that is the case, then Grandfather God, you should also share in this sin.”

Although he already knew the truth, getting confirmation from his Grandfather God now left Yun Qingwu with an unspeakable feeling. It was as if the edifice built throughout his life had suddenly collapsed at one corner. Through this crack, he discovered that all his past understanding was only a fragmented piece.

A trace of disappointment surfaced in his heart.

Upon hearing this, the veins on the back of the Celestial Emperor’s hand twitched a few times. He gave a small laugh: “Yun Qingwu, you are the Sovereign of the Heavenly Realm. Do you also fail to recognize your own position!”

Having said his piece, he closed his eyes, unwilling to argue further with his junior, and directly ordered: “I have announced to the outside world that you were coerced by the Fox Demon and were not acting voluntarily. I don’t care what relationship you have with that Demon Fox, but settle it quickly. I want you to always remember what you should and should not do.”

He waved his hand: “That’s enough. You may go. I am tired.”

Yun Qingwu’s lips moved, wanting to say something more, but seeing his Grandfather God’s expression, he knew it was not the time to provoke him. Yet, he couldn’t just agree casually, so he merely said: “Grandfather God, please rest well. Your grandson will visit you another day.”

…

After leaving the Clear Palace, Yun Qingwu initially planned to return to the Clear Cloud Palace, but before he could reach it, he saw his aunt, Yun Ya, waiting outside the palace with an anxious expression.

When he went to Mount Wanyang a few days ago, he only knew his aunt wasn’t there, but he hadn’t expected her to be in the Heavenly Realm.

“Qingwu!”

Yun Ya quickly came up to him and pulled Yun Qingwu toward another direction: “Qingwu, follow me to the Green Wood Residence. Your Father God is in trouble.”

Yun Qingwu was inwardly shocked and asked worriedly: “What happened to Father God?”

“Your Father God… has been unconscious since the day of the execution platform incident.”

Yun Ya paused, a struggle in her expression, and then simply said: “Come with me, and I will tell you the details, dear nephew.”

The two went straight to the Green Wood Residence. In the bedroom, Yun Chuan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his brow furrowed, and his Mother, Lin Yájun, was sitting by his side.

After exchanging greetings with his grandmother, Yun Qingwu immediately walked to the bedside.

Yun Ya deliberated: “The reason your Father God is unconscious is that his Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul, out of his three souls and seven spirits, have been damaged. I didn’t want to tell you, but there is no other way now.”

Yun Qingwu looked at Lin Yájun and then at Yun Ya: “Why are Father God’s Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul suddenly damaged?”

Yun Ya avoided Yun Qingwu’s gaze: “They were originally sealed, but the excessive stimulation Brother received at the execution platform that day caused the sealed parts to break through the confinement and fall into the mortal world. I searched using the Cosmos Mirror and can only confirm that they have now become four mortals, but I cannot find their specific location.”

“Already sealed?”

Yun Qingwu keenly sensed a problem: “Why were they sealed?”

Yun Ya fell silent.

Yun Qingwu felt a sudden unease, he didn’t know why. He looked at Lin Yájun again: “Grandmother?”

Lin Yájun sighed softly and beckoned Yun Qingwu over: “Qingwu, come here to Grandmother.”

Yun Qingwu walked over and knelt down on one knee. Lin Yájun held Yun Qingwu’s hand: “Grandmother intended to keep this secret forever, but Qingwu, Grandmother is ultimately selfish. You can choose not to forgive Grandmother.”

The feeling of unease within Yun Qingwu rapidly spread. He suddenly didn’t want to know the answer anymore, but he forced himself to listen.

“The reason part of your father’s Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul were sealed is because he had an existence in the past that should not have happened. To completely bury this past, your Grandfather God sealed it away.”

“An existence that should not have happened?”

Lin Yájun’s eyes showed guilt: “Yes. Your Father God once violated the Heavenly Rules and privately married the Fox Clan Princess, and they had a child.”

The Fox Clan Princess?

The desolate memorial tablet in the Mount You Su shrine flashed through Yun Qingwu’s mind. An absurd guess arose in his heart: “That child… is Leng Lici?”

Lin Yájun turned her head slightly: “Yes.”

Then…

Yun Qingwu blinked very slowly, suddenly unsure how to voice it: “Am I… am I his… biological brother?”

This joke was not funny at all.

“No.” Lin Yájun’s eyelashes trembled. She finally turned her head, forcing herself to look into Yun Qingwu’s eyes.

“Their private relationship was discovered by the Celestial Emperor. Afterward, to cover up this mistake, the Celestial Emperor announced… announced that you were the child born out of the private relationship between Yun Chuan and the White Marsh Goddess.”

“What?”

Yun Qingwu felt like he heard every word clearly, yet he couldn’t grasp the meaning. Everything around him suddenly became blurry. His ears buzzed, and all sounds seemed to vanish at that moment.

What did ‘announced to cover up the mistake’ mean?

Leng Lici was Father God’s child, but he and Leng Lici were not biological brothers.

He wasn’t Father God’s child?

Then who was he?

Yun Ya felt unable to bear seeing the nephew she watched grow up in such distress. She walked to Yun Qingwu’s side and put her arm around his shoulder: “Qingwu, I’m sorry, but to save my brother, your aunt had no choice. Even though you are not Brother’s biological child, in his eyes, you are his own son all these years, and you are to us as well.”

These words did nothing to comfort Yun Qingwu. He murmured: “Then what about Leng Lici? What is he to you all?”

Yun Ya lowered her eyes, her voice slightly hoarse: “He… is the child we wronged.”

“His birth itself violated the Heavenly Rules.”

Lin Yájun’s grip on Yun Qingwu’s hand unconsciously tightened. She whispered: “Back then, Yun Chuan, as the Sovereign, should have inherited the position of Celestial Emperor and propagated the divine lineage to the next generation. Instead, he privately had a child with the Fox Clan Princess, which caused him to prematurely transfer his divine lineage to that child.”

“Without this divine lineage, not only would he be unable to inherit the position of Celestial Emperor, but the incident would also be exposed immediately. A child mixed with demon blood would absolutely never be recognized as the next Celestial Emperor. At that time, the Heavenly Realm would surely fall into chaos!”

These words were like ice, sending a chill through Yun Qingwu. He had guessed, but he still refused to believe: “Since I am not Father God’s child, how did you replace me with him?”

Lin Yájun closed her eyes. The years of accumulated guilt and pain surged into her heart. Her breathing held a slight tremor. After a long moment, she finally answered the question: “Your constitution is special and can cultivate the divine lineage through nurture. The Celestial Emperor personally stripped the divine lineage from that child’s body and placed it inside yours.”

“So, all these years, we all believed that child had died,” Yun Ya added.

Stripped alive?

Yun Qingwu pulled away from the two of them and took a step back, looking at his familiar relatives with a strange alienation: “He was just a child then. How could you bring yourselves to do that?”

Lin Yájun withdrew her hand, her expression somewhat forlorn, but she didn’t deny it: “In this matter, we have no defense, but Qingwu, your Father God is innocent. He is also a victim.”

Yun Qingwu turned and looked at his father lying on the bed, pale and with closed eyes. The identical red hair, the preference for sweet tastes—he should have noticed long ago.

No wonder…

No wonder Leng Lici said some truths shouldn’t be sought out. He must have known all along!

“Then where are my parents?” Yun Qingwu asked softly.

The candlelight flickered, making Yun Qingwu’s figure seem helpless.

Yun Ya stepped forward, wanting to hug her nephew, but her hand stopped half-extended: “Your Father God brought you back that year and didn’t mention your origin, only saying that your constitution could accommodate the divine lineage.”

“Oh.”

Yun Qingwu lowered his eyes and gave a self-mocking smile: “So, I don’t even have an origin.”

Lin Yájun stood up and walked to the bedside, firmly grasping Yun Qingwu’s hand: “Your true origin is known only to the Celestial Emperor and your Father God. Once your father wakes up and recovers his memory, you will know everything you want to know.”

“Moreover,” she embraced her grandson tenderly: “No matter what, I am still your maternal grandmother, and Yun Ya will still be your aunt.”

Yun Qingwu felt a faint dependence on their warmth, but ultimately took a step back. He said calmly: “What do I need to do?”

“You possess the divine lineage. It will guide you to sense the location of those four mortals. You only need to bring them back, and we will be able to return them to your father’s body.”

Lin Yájun knew that some wounds could not be soothed by apologies. Since this matter was the most urgent task at hand, she did not say anything more.

“The Celestial Emperor will not agree to this matter, so Qingwu, you need to do this secretly. I will tell the Celestial Emperor that you are in seclusion,” she finally instructed.

Yun Qingwu nodded: “Your grandson—I take my leave.”

Lin Yájun and Yun Ya were both saddened but understood that Yun Qingwu also needed time, so they merely nodded: “May everything go smoothly.”

After Yun Qingwu’s figure disappeared, Yun Ya looked at Lin Yájun with worry: “Mother God, if Qingwu goes to search alone and does not alarm Leng Lici, what should we do?”

Lin Yájun sighed softly: “I know Qingwu. He will.”

…

Yun Qingwu returned to Mount You Su. It was already night. Under the cover of darkness, Mount You Su was brightly lit with lamps. Night markets set up by the nocturnal demons lined the route. The closer he got to Li Palace, the rarer this lively atmosphere became, eventually subsiding into silence.

Yun Qingwu stopped under the large tree opposite Li Palace.

The front door of Li Palace was not tightly closed. The dim oil light escaped through the crack in the door, casting a bright patch on the stone steps.

He looked at the streak of light, somewhat stunned.

Reflecting on their past confrontations, and his high-and-mighty demeanor when they first met, he suddenly didn’t know how to face Leng Lici.

What God and Demon? Even the identity of Yun Qingwu was stolen from Leng Lici.

How ridiculous.

He let out a laugh. All the privileges he had received since childhood should not have belonged to him.

While Leng Lici was being bullied and desperately fighting to survive, he was living the life that should have been Leng Lici’s, probably unaware of any suffering.

He was a thief.