291: Chapter 291 Divine Assistance

Qing Yanjing had been staying in the Imperial City for several days, living a monotonous life between her guest room and the Martial Arena. Occasionally, she would accompany a few daughters to practice swordplay, sometimes get dragged by Yao Yao for drinks, and sometimes stand alone on Volcano Cliff for a while.

She did not take the initiative to seek out Hun Feng again, and Hun Feng was not in a hurry to press her for an answer. A subtle tacit understanding was maintained between the two—neither would speak first, but neither was willing to walk away.

Mu Chen and Luo Li returned to the Imperial City from the Mu Mansion. Nominally, they came to report the recent situation of the Mu Mansion to their Master. In reality, what Luo Li had said to Mu Chen before setting off was: "Your mother has been staying in the Imperial City for so long, don't you want to go see how she has considered things?" Mu Chen felt this made a lot of sense, so the two set off that very day.

After arriving at the Imperial City, the two did not go to find Qing Yanjing first, but went straight to Hun Feng's study. Hun Feng was reviewing documents submitted by various halls. Seeing his two disciples walk in side by side, he put down his pen and leaned back against the chair back: "How are things at the Mu Mansion?"

"Everything is normal. Mandala is presiding over daily affairs, and the Nine Sovereigns are also behaving themselves." Mu Chen sat down opposite the desk, took the teacup handed over by Hun Feng, and exchanged a glance with Luo Li. This look did not escape Hun Feng's eyes—he understood this disciple too well; every time he had a request, he would have this expression.

"Speak if you have something to say."

"Master, we didn't come here this time to report on the situation of the Mu Mansion." Mu Chen put down the teacup, his gaze at Hun Feng a bit more serious than usual, "Mother has been staying in the Imperial City for these days, and Master has taken great care of her; we have all seen it. We came today just to tell Master—we don't mind the matter between you and Mother."

Hun Feng's hand holding the tea paused in mid-air for a very brief moment, and he looked up at Mu Chen. When this kid said this, there was not a hint of reluctance on his face; he was as open and composed as if he had prepared his speech long ago.

"How did you know?"

"Master, I am your direct disciple and have been by your side for so many years. I can tell who you care about and who you don't. You have been different toward Mother—ever since the Futu Realm. Not to mention that you almost said in public in the Futu Realm that Mother was 'my woman,' I heard it all." As Mu Chen spoke, Luo Li slightly curled the corners of her lips on the side, lowered her head, and took a sip of tea.

Hun Feng was rarely choked up. Just as he put down the teacup and wanted to say something, Luo Li had already taken over the conversation, her blue eyes clear and composed: "Master, Mu Chen has told me about this, and we have discussed it for a long time. Aunt Qing was imprisoned for more than a decade and has finally regained her freedom; there is still a long road ahead for her. If she can be together with Master, we as the younger generation can only support it. You don't need to worry about the Mu Mansion; Mu Chen and I will handle everything."

Mu Chen nodded vigorously: "Master, my mother has suffered too much. The Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan imprisoned her for over a decade, and Father passed away early; she has carried it alone for too long. You can make her happy. Every time she mentions you, her tone is different. I can tell she also needs someone to accompany her through the rest of her life. As for my father—that is a thing of the past, and no one can replace him. But you are the person I respect the most; if you can become Mother's support, that is my, Mu Chen's, good fortune."

Hun Feng was silent for a long while. When he took Mu Chen as a disciple, this kid was still a stubborn youth, fighting for his life in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, his eyes full of unyielding ferocity. Now, the person standing in front of him is the Master of the Mu Mansion at the peak of the Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign, yet his mind is more transparent than before. He said nothing, only reached out and patted Mu Chen's shoulder. The bond between master and disciple was all in that pat, beyond words.

Mu Chen grinned, picked up the teacup, gulped down a large mouthful, and then stood up: "Master, we'll go see Mother first."

"Go." Hun Feng leaned against the back of the chair, watching the two figures walking out of the study side by side. After the door closed, he leaned back against the chair and let out a long sigh, a smile that he couldn't suppress slowly rising at the corners of his mouth. This kid, he truly hadn't doted on him in vain.

In the guest room, Qing Yanjing was sitting by the window, flipping through an ancient book on ancient spiritual arrays borrowed from the Scripture Pavilion. The candlelight cast a warm, jade-like glow on her profile, and her golden vine-shaped headpiece shimmered with a faint light in the firelight, making her look like a quiet, meticulous painting of a lady. Her gaze lingered on the page for a long time, yet she never turned a single page—her thoughts were not on the book at all. The words of Cai Lin and Yao Yao that day, Hun Feng's words "I will wait for you no matter how long it takes," and her own words "My heart is very confused," kept circling in her mind over and over again, unable to be dispersed.

The door was knocked.

"Mother, it's us." Mu Chen's voice came from outside the door.

Qing Yanjing put down the book and got up to open the door; Mu Chen and Luo Li were standing side by side outside. Mu Chen smiled as brilliantly as ever, and Luo Li bowed slightly in greeting. She pulled them inside, let them sit side by side by the tea table in the guest room, sat opposite them, picked up the teapot to pour tea for them, and scanned their faces: "You two came all the way from the Mu Mansion; is there something important?"

Mu Chen took the teacup, without beating around the bush: "Mother, Luo Li and I came here today specifically to tell you one thing."

"What is it?" Qing Yanjing picked up her own teacup.

"About you and Master." Mu Chen looked at her, "Mother, you don't need to hide it from me. Master's feelings for you, and your feelings for Master, I know them all."

Qing Yanjing's hand holding the tea paused in mid-air for a very brief moment, then she continued to bring the teacup to her lips and took a sip. She put down the teacup, her voice still as cold and composed as ever: "Chen'er, what nonsense are you spouting!"

"Mother, I am not spouting nonsense." Mu Chen's tone was very calm, "That time in the Futu Realm, when Master stood in front of you, I knew. Later, every time he came to the Mu Mansion to see you, the look in his eyes, and the tone of your voice every time you mentioned him—Luo Li and I have seen it all. You are my mother, Master is my teacher; I will not stand in the way of the two of you."

Qing Yanjing was silent. Her phoenix eyes lowered slightly, her fingers gently rubbing the edge of the teacup, and only after a long while did she speak in a low voice: "Chen'er, although your father is no longer here, he is after all your biological father. You are still so young, and your Master—"

"Mother." Mu Chen interrupted her, his voice steadier than usual, "It is precisely because Father is gone that you should think more of yourself. He has been gone for so many years, and you have carried it alone for so many years—from the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan to the Mu Mansion, from being imprisoned to regaining freedom, you have never lived for yourself. Now that you have finally met someone who can hold up the sky for you, are you still going to push him away because of concerns for me?"

He put down the teacup and looked into his mother's eyes, his voice becoming even softer: "If Father has a spirit in heaven, he would not want you to spend the rest of your life alone."

Qing Yanjing's fingers tightened slightly on the rim of the cup, her knuckles turning white. She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time, long enough for Luo Li to secretly kick Mu Chen under the table to signal him to stop, but Mu Chen did not stop; he just waited quietly.

Seeing that Qing Yanjing remained silent for a long time, Luo Li put down the teacup in her hand and gently placed her hand on the back of Qing Yanjing's hand. Her hand was very warm, and her touch was very light, as if she were soothing a frightened butterfly. Qing Yanjing looked up at her and saw a very faint tenderness in those blue eyes—an expression she rarely saw on her daughter-in-law's face.

"Aunt Qing, although Mu Chen spoke a bit bluntly, they are all heartfelt words. Before we came, we went to find Master first, and Mu Chen said the same thing to Master. You know better than us what kind of person Master is. He is serious about you." Luo Li slightly curled the corners of her lips when she said this, "He said he was moved the first time he saw you. I think he has held this sentence in for a long time, and it was finally forced out by us today."

When Qing Yanjing heard "the first time he saw you," her eyelashes trembled slightly. She remembered on the square of the Elder Hall in the Futu Realm, he descended from the sky to stand in front of her, then turned around, squatted down to look her in the eye, and said, "Chen'er's mother, I've kept you waiting." At that time, she hadn't recovered from the pressure of the Ancestral Tower; she only knew that this man was very strong and had come to save Chen'er. Now looking back, the look in his eyes seemed from the very beginning to be more than just concern for an ally. Her earlobes were tinged with a very faint crimson under the candlelight; she picked up the teacup to take a sip to hide her expression, only to find that the tea in the cup had already been drunk empty.

Mu Chen took the empty teacup from her hand, refilled it for her, and gave a light cough as he pushed it back in front of her: "Mother, you are blushing."

"No." Qing Yanjing raised her hand to tuck the stray hair at her temples, her voice still in that cold and composed tone, though the end of it was slightly raised. She looked up and saw Mu Chen's grinning face, and finally couldn't help but sigh, "You master and disciple teamed up to scheme against me."

"This is called filial piety. Master taught it well." Mu Chen said composedly.

Luo Li gently pulled him on the side, stood up, and walked to the window, leaving the space for this mother and son. Outside the window, the volcanic clusters were spewing dark red magma in the night; looking at that familiar firelight, she suddenly felt that the Imperial City, built on a volcano, felt warmer than ever before.

Qing Yanjing looked at the son in front of her who was already a head taller than her. There were shadows of Mu Feng between his eyebrows, but more of it was the steadiness and sharpness honed through years of blade and sword. He was no longer the stubborn youth who fought for his life for her in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. He was the Master of the Mu Mansion, at the peak of the Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign, and the greatest pride of her life. And at this moment, this son who made her proud was sitting here telling her—go pursue your own happiness, Father and I both support you.

She reached out and gently stroked Mu Chen's cheek, her thumb brushing over an old, faded scar on his brow bone. That was left when he was bullied in the Northern Spiritual Realm as a child; she was not by his side then. After more than a decade, she could finally touch this scar, and her son was no longer in pain.

"Chen'er, you—you really don't mind?" she asked softly.

"I really don't mind. If you are happy, I am happy." Mu Chen held her hand, smiling composedly, "Besides, Master is the person I respect the most. If he can make you happy, I will respect him double."

Qing Yanjing suddenly smiled—not that very faint, fleeting curve, but a genuine smile that reached from the corners of her lips to the corners of her eyes. She raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, and patted Mu Chen on the shoulder lightly: "Alright, go back quickly. Luo Li is still waiting for you."

Mu Chen stood up and walked to the door, looking back at his mother. She was still sitting there, dignified and noble like a goddess, but there was a glimmer of light in those phoenix eyes that had never been there before. He suddenly understood why Luo Li insisted on accompanying him to the Imperial City—some things, as long as they have a beginning, everything will be different.

The night was deep. Qing Yanjing sat alone by the window, turning the communication jade slip over and over in her palm for a long, long time, but in the end, she still did not input spiritual energy. But this time, she gently pressed it against her heart.