They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Three-Person Journey

Yun Qingwu released his hand and patted Leng Lici. The man regained control of his body and stuffed Xiao Dao into Yun Qingwu’s arms: “You are the child’s father?”

He patted his own clothes, straightening the wrinkles, and complained: “How do you two look after a child? Letting the little one wander the streets alone? If I hadn’t been kind, this little girl would be in a human trafficker’s den!”

Leng Lici frowned, sizing up the man for a long time. He reached out, intending to grab the man: “Come with us.”

“Who exactly are you? You want me to go with you when we’ve never met? Are you the trafficker?” The man took a step back, looking at the two of them with alert suspicion.

Yun Qingwu snapped out of his daze, immediately stepped between them, and bowed with cupped hands: “A misunderstanding. How should I address you, brother?”

The man’s temper flared and faded quickly. He opened his fan: “My humble name is Liu, Liu Yu.”

Yun Qingwu looked at this man, who had the same face as his father but a completely different manner. He felt extremely strange. Do these memory fragments, when they become mortals, also develop different personalities?

He suppressed these doubts. Gaining this man’s trust was the most important thing right now: “Brother Liu, this was our negligence. We’d like to invite you for a light drink to express our gratitude. Are you willing to join us?”

Liu Yu waved his fan and readily agreed: “Of course, no problem. The Autumn Wind Wine at the Autumn Wind Restaurant across the street is superb. Why don’t we go there?”

With that, Liu Yu walked ahead, seemingly leading the way.

Leng Lici stared at Liu Yu’s back, somewhat displeased: “Why did you stop me just now?”

Yun Qingwu held Xiao Dao more securely, his gaze also fixed on the back ahead: “This requires his willingness. Forcibly dragging him away is useless. It’s better if we proceed slowly and gain his trust first.”

“What a nuisance.”

Leng Lici complained, but his gaze didn’t shift. He had only met Yun Chuan twice, but he could tell that this person in front of him was nothing like the high-and-mighty Crimson Flame God Sovereign.

He didn’t care about his biological father, but now that the person was right in front of him, a little curiosity was inevitable.

…

The group arrived at the restaurant. After three cups of wine, Liu Yu already treated the two of them as friends. He candidly revealed his background: “To be honest with you brothers, I ran away from a wedding.”

“Ran away from a wedding?” This was an answer Yun Qingwu hadn’t expected.

Leng Lici was indifferent, drinking his tea on his own.

“Yes, ran away from a wedding. I’ve been running away for… ah, I can’t remember how many years I’ve been away from home.” Liu Yu said, drinking another cup of wine, gazing wistfully out at the lively market outside the window.

Yun Qingwu instinctively felt that these experiences might be the key to the breakthrough. He wanted to ask for more details, but before he could speak, Liu Yu continued on his own: “I just feel bad about my brother. I promised to look after his parents and take care of them until their passing. But I absolutely cannot marry my brother’s wife.”

“The person you were running away from marrying… was your brother’s wife?” Yun Qingwu tentatively untangled the relationship.

Leng Lici also subtly perked up his ears.

“Ah, she was his fiancée!”

Liu Yu held his wine cup, shaking his head: “It’s a long story. Anyway, looking after his parents is my duty, but I definitely cannot go through with that marriage!”

Having finished talking about his own affairs, Liu Yu shifted the topic to Leng Lici and Yun Qingwu. He tilted his chin toward Xiao Dao, who was eating snacks on the side: “You two aren’t her daddies, are you? You look more like three siblings.”

Yun Qingwu subconsciously wanted to deny it, but Liu Yu continued: “Otherwise, how could two men bring up a child together? It should be with the child’s mother.”

“Brother Liu truly has an insightful eye,” Yun Qingwu readily changed his story. Otherwise, explaining the truth would easily lead to complications.

Leng Lici looked at Yun Qingwu with a sneer, but didn’t immediately contradict him.

Liu Yu was quite pleased with his own judgment. He finished another cup of wine and enthusiastically invited: “This is your first time in Jingcheng, right? I’m so familiar with this place that I’m practically half a local. Why don’t I take you guys around to enjoy Jingcheng these next few days?”

This was exactly what Yun Qingwu wanted: “Then we’ll trouble you, Brother Liu.”

Liu Yu: “Which inn are you staying at?”

Yun Qingwu: “Cloud Come Inn.”

Liu Yu picked up the wine jug and refilled their cups, excited: “It seems we are truly fated! I also live at the Cloud Come Inn!”

Yun Qingwu’s eyes brightened. This trip was surprisingly smooth. He smiled, picked up his wine cup to clink it with Liu Yu’s, and drank it all in one gulp.

However, three hours later, Yun Qingwu wanted to take back every single word, but that would be for later.

…

The group returned to the Cloud Come Inn. The innkeeper, Old Yu, saw Liu Yu and peeked over the counter: “Are these two your friends?”

Liu Yu put an arm around each of them: “Yes. Old Yu, you must treat them well for me.”

“No problem at all! You two will get twenty percent off your room rates,” Old Yu said straightforwardly.

“As expected of Old Yu! Generous.” Liu Yu smiled, cupped his hands in thanks, and Old Yu waved his hand.

“Don’t mention it.”

“Brother Liu, you are very familiar with this innkeeper?” Yun Qingwu asked curiously.

“Of course! I’ve been staying here for half a year. I didn’t have much money left when I ran away, and Old Yu was willing to take me in. He’s practically my benefactor,” Liu Yu said, turning back as he walked up the stairs, his face quite proud.

Yun Qingwu nodded: “He’s a kind person.”

Leng Lici, however, was unimpressed, giving a soft grunt.

It’s clearly a profitable business where he gets labor without spending a penny, only having to give up what he already owns.

Liu Yu followed them into the room without treating himself as an outsider. He looked around the room’s environment and sat down at the table: “You guys are quite frugal, three siblings sharing one room.”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Leng Lici glared at him.

Liu Yu was startled by the inexplicable hostility: “No problem. I was thinking that if you need it, I could help you negotiate a lower room rate, and wouldn’t it be better to add an extra room?”

Seeing this, Yun Qingwu immediately said: “Please don’t mind him, Brother Liu. My brother means no offense.”

Liu Yu waved his fan: “I don’t mind, I don’t mind.”

Yun Qingwu poured Liu Yu a cup of tea: “Brother Liu, you just mentioned that you wanted to look after your friend’s parents. What was the reason for that?”

Liu Yu: “I owe my brother a life. Before he died, his greatest worry was his parents. They are old and their eyesight is failing, so I took it upon myself to look after them constantly. But I never thought…”

He sounded worried: “I wonder how they are doing now.”

Yun Qingwu took note of these details in his heart.

Afterward, Liu Yu brought up some other topics.

Yun Qingwu had thought Liu Yu would leave after chatting for a few moments, but he didn’t expect the conversation to continue for two full hours.

Leng Lici stood on the side, arms crossed, watching the person who still showed no sign of leaving with cold eyes. Yun Qingwu sat opposite Liu Yu. Facing a man who looked exactly like his father, the situation was manageable in a crowded place, but spending so long in this private space uncontrollably aroused a sense of shame in him.

He wanted to change the situation and subtly prompted: “Brother Liu, it’s getting late. You need to save your energy for tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Liu Yu nodded and finally stood up: “You’re right. I need to sleep early tonight. You two as well. Tsk, I don’t know why, but I just really want to stay with you guys.”

He opened the door, unfurled his fan, and smiled: “See you tomorrow, friends.”

“Alright, Brother Liu, rest early.” Yun Qingwu smiled goodbye, and the moment Liu Yu walked out, he immediately closed the door.

“This memory fragment’s personality is truly like night and day compared to Father God,” Yun Qingwu walked up to Leng Lici, leaned in, rested his head on Leng Lici’s shoulder, and took a deep breath.

Leng Lici gave a soft snort: “Maybe this is his true nature. You gods are all experts at putting on a facade.”

Yun Qingwu knew he still held prejudice against his father and didn’t want to engage. He switched to another speculation: “Since they are memory fragments, do you think his experiences have anything to do with your mother?”

“So what if they do? What does it have to do with me?” Leng Lici turned his head away, his expression indifferent.

Yun Qingwu lifted his head, turned Leng Lici’s face back, and looked earnestly into the golden eyes: “I think this might be a chance for you to understand your parents. Maybe things aren’t as terrible as you think.”

Leng Lici’s eyes flickered, but the next moment, he looked away: “If personality can change, why would the story remain the same?”

“But who can say which is true and which is false.”

Yun Qingwu sighed softly, suppressing his feelings, and pulled Leng Lici’s hand: “Let’s rest.”

…

Yun Qingwu had thought Liu Yu’s enthusiasm was just the hospitality of a new acquaintance, but over the next few days, even though Yun Qingwu was mentally prepared for a long-term plan, he found it somewhat overwhelming.

During the day, Liu Yu took them eating, drinking, and sightseeing, not missing a single spot—it was practically a forced march itinerary.

In the evening, he would insist on dragging them out for late-night snacks.

This three-person routine continued until the third day. Leng Lici’s expression grew gloomier and gloomier, and Yun Qingwu was also growing tired of seeing his father’s face.

That night, Yun Qingwu tucked Xiao Dao into bed, added an extra layer of barrier around her, and motioned for Leng Lici to follow him.

“Where are we going?”

Leng Lici’s face was frosty, his tone hard.

Yun Qingwu lowered his voice: “I booked a room next door. If Liu Yu knocks and no one answers, he will naturally go back to his own room.”

Leng Lici’s expression slightly improved upon hearing this: “When do you plan to tell him the truth?”

Yun Qingwu pushed the door open: “In three more days. I’ll test the waters with him today.”

“Test the waters for what?” As soon as the door was pushed open to a man-wide gap, Liu Yu’s curious voice immediately sounded like a piercing noise.

Yun Qingwu: “…”

Leng Lici’s expression, which had just softened, darkened again. He stared menacingly at Liu Yu, who looked incredibly curious.

“What’s… what’s wrong with you two?” Liu Yu snapped his fan shut, pointing his finger at the two people whose faces were etched with resentment and unhappiness.

After a moment, he suddenly widened his fan and fanned himself, realizing something: “I get it! You two are… ah, I understand, I understand.”

Understands what?

Did he figure it out?