Xi Ju Hai froze up but then closed her eyes and finally raised her arms to hug him back. She had also waited for this moment. Even if she wanted to tell herself something different, even though she had often felt conflicted, she had indeed always hoped to see him again. And that meeting working out this way … what more could she ask for?
Liu Bao Ru watched this scene and finally walked out of the room, standing watch in front of the door. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to forgive Mu Qing if he had been her fiance and she wasn’t completely sure if Xi Ju Hai would either but … it seemed like at the least at this moment, it seemed like she needed to treat him as if she would. As her friend, she naturally wouldn’t let anything come between that.
Back inside, the couple hugged, tears streaming down their cheeks. At first, Xi Ju Hai had still been able to keep her bearing but being so close to Mu Qing and hearing him cry beside her ear, her tears finally started to fall as well. This was her fiance and they finally reunited after many years. To say that she wasn’t moved would be a blatant lie.
Mu Qing only cried harder when Xi Ju Hai joined in as well. He could hardly breathe at this moment but he forced himself to try and calm down. As much as he would have liked to just reunite and be happy that Xi Ju Hai didn’t immediately try to kill him for being a traitor, he knew that there was more to do.
He pulled back, reaching up to carefully wipe away her tears. “I love you.”
Xi Ju Hai just looked at him, new tears still falling. What was the use of such words now? Where had he been all these years? There were a lot of such questions but she didn’t say a single one of them out loud. Right now wasn’t the moment for that. Maybe that moment would never come. It depended on how the conflict with the demonic practitioners would escalate in the upcoming days.
Mu Qing lowered his head and took back his hands, finally wiping his own eyes. Taking a deep breath, he somewhat calmed down again. He cleared his throat to try and find his voice back. “I know you don’t want to hear it and I have no right to say it. I won’t make things difficult for you and insist either. You’re not here for me but for the information you need.”
Xi Ju Hai nodded with a heavy heart. In fact, she had hoped to see him again but that was also something that shouldn’t be examined at this time. “So are you willing to give it?”
Mu Qing nodded. “I might not know everything though. My Master …” He shook his head, feeling unwilling to even think about it. “Well, he hasn’t trusted me too much for a long time. What I do know is that the whole plan hinges on the constitution of the Lin family.”
“Something both you and Mei Chao Bing share.”
Mu Qing’s eyes widened. “You knew?”
Xi Ju Hai smiled faintly. “We have been investigating this. So far, we believe your constitution wasn’t strong enough to be of use.”
Mu Qing nodded. “Yes. Not just mine though. In fact, all of my Master’s direct disciples had this constitution. That is what he chose us for. It was only Mei Chao Bing in whom it was strong enough to be used for what our Master wants.”
Xi Ju Hai nodded as well. This was precisely what they had thought. “What exactly does he want to do?” She didn’t say what they had guessed, afraid that it might influence what he would tell her. Mu Qing might seem open but as he said, some things might have been kept from him, and thinking of everything he knew could be difficult in such an emotional situation. She needed him to focus and tell her clearly himself.
“If you already know about the constitution, you should know what it can do: Take in all types of energy, converge them, and release them again.” He fell silent and his brows furrowed. “He wants Ah Bing to take in the energy and use it to help the elites of the demonic sects to reach a higher level.
“Of course, such things never come without downsides: The energy has to come from somewhere. You’ve probably noticed it in the border region but it is mostly devoid of energy thanks to the experiments he has run so far. What is missing is not just the spiritual energy but even the vital energy of any plants or animals. He has basically turned this into a dead region.”
Xi Ju Hai hummed. Something like this wasn’t too unexpected for a demonic practitioner. Their reputation was so bad because many of their techniques relied on something that would cause harm to others, after all. Not caring about what his actions would do to their surroundings was par for the course for someone like Feng Bai Xiao.
Still, she couldn’t believe that this was all. They had guessed he wanted to take the energy from the chasm which … was actually the superior idea from the standpoint of a demonic practitioner if she may say so herself. If they were able to think that up in a few days, she doubted that Feng Bai Xiao was unable to come up with that when he had prepared this plan for decades at the very least.
“Is that all?”
The doubt was obvious in her voice and Mu Qing could only smile wryly. “As far as the direct plan goes, this is it. Unfortunately, what it will entail …” He shook his head. “If his plan works, I don’t think any of the righteous sects have a chance of surviving. In fact, maybe most of the demonic sects don’t have it either.”
Xi Ju Hai froze up but then closed her eyes and finally raised her arms to hug him back. She had also waited for this moment. Even if she wanted to tell herself something different, even though she had often felt conflicted, she had indeed always hoped to see him again. And that meeting working out this way … what more could she ask for?
Liu Bao Ru watched this scene and finally walked out of the room, standing watch in front of the door. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to forgive Mu Qing if he had been her fiance and she wasn’t completely sure if Xi Ju Hai would either but … it seemed like at the least at this moment, it seemed like she needed to treat him as if she would. As her friend, she naturally wouldn’t let anything come between that.
Back inside, the couple hugged, tears streaming down their cheeks. At first, Xi Ju Hai had still been able to keep her bearing but being so close to Mu Qing and hearing him cry beside her ear, her tears finally started to fall as well. This was her fiance and they finally reunited after many years. To say that she wasn’t moved would be a blatant lie.
Mu Qing only cried harder when Xi Ju Hai joined in as well. He could hardly breathe at this moment but he forced himself to try and calm down. As much as he would have liked to just reunite and be happy that Xi Ju Hai didn’t immediately try to kill him for being a traitor, he knew that there was more to do.
He pulled back, reaching up to carefully wipe away her tears. “I love you.”
Xi Ju Hai just looked at him, new tears still falling. What was the use of such words now? Where had he been all these years? There were a lot of such questions but she didn’t say a single one of them out loud. Right now wasn’t the moment for that. Maybe that moment would never come. It depended on how the conflict with the demonic practitioners would escalate in the upcoming days.
Mu Qing lowered his head and took back his hands, finally wiping his own eyes. Taking a deep breath, he somewhat calmed down again. He cleared his throat to try and find his voice back. “I know you don’t want to hear it and I have no right to say it. I won’t make things difficult for you and insist either. You’re not here for me but for the information you need.”
Xi Ju Hai nodded with a heavy heart. In fact, she had hoped to see him again but that was also something that shouldn’t be examined at this time. “So are you willing to give it?”
Mu Qing nodded. “I might not know everything though. My Master …” He shook his head, feeling unwilling to even think about it. “Well, he hasn’t trusted me too much for a long time. What I do know is that the whole plan hinges on the constitution of the Lin family.”
“Something both you and Mei Chao Bing share.”
Mu Qing’s eyes widened. “You knew?”
Xi Ju Hai smiled faintly. “We have been investigating this. So far, we believe your constitution wasn’t strong enough to be of use.”
Mu Qing nodded. “Yes. Not just mine though. In fact, all of my Master’s direct disciples had this constitution. That is what he chose us for. It was only Mei Chao Bing in whom it was strong enough to be used for what our Master wants.”
Xi Ju Hai nodded as well. This was precisely what they had thought. “What exactly does he want to do?” She didn’t say what they had guessed, afraid that it might influence what he would tell her. Mu Qing might seem open but as he said, some things might have been kept from him, and thinking of everything he knew could be difficult in such an emotional situation. She needed him to focus and tell her clearly himself.
“If you already know about the constitution, you should know what it can do: Take in all types of energy, converge them, and release them again.” He fell silent and his brows furrowed. “He wants Ah Bing to take in the energy and use it to help the elites of the demonic sects to reach a higher level.
“Of course, such things never come without downsides: The energy has to come from somewhere. You’ve probably noticed it in the border region but it is mostly devoid of energy thanks to the experiments he has run so far. What is missing is not just the spiritual energy but even the vital energy of any plants or animals. He has basically turned this into a dead region.”
Xi Ju Hai hummed. Something like this wasn’t too unexpected for a demonic practitioner. Their reputation was so bad because many of their techniques relied on something that would cause harm to others, after all. Not caring about what his actions would do to their surroundings was par for the course for someone like Feng Bai Xiao.
Still, she couldn’t believe that this was all. They had guessed he wanted to take the energy from the chasm which … was actually the superior idea from the standpoint of a demonic practitioner if she may say so herself. If they were able to think that up in a few days, she doubted that Feng Bai Xiao was unable to come up with that when he had prepared this plan for decades at the very least.
“Is that all?”
The doubt was obvious in her voice and Mu Qing could only smile wryly. “As far as the direct plan goes, this is it. Unfortunately, what it will entail …” He shook his head. “If his plan works, I don’t think any of the righteous sects have a chance of surviving. In fact, maybe most of the demonic sects don’t have it either.”
