Chapter 321 Extra Chapter 2: Raising a Child
The young man in front of him looked strangely familiar, but Wei Feng couldn't recall anything about him. The feeling that welled up in his heart was like a fleeting shadow, gone in an instant.
He instinctively reached out, but his hand slipped through the other person's sleeve, and he couldn't grasp anything.
Tears fell to the ground. He raised his hand in confusion and touched his face.
It was late at night when they found him.
The little child was asleep by the desk, with a phantom image left by Yao Yan beside him. He was curled up next to Yao Yan's shadow, clutching the image stone imbued with Yao Yan's spirit in his hand, his eyes and nose red from crying.
“No wonder we couldn’t find the young prince anywhere. The aura of Immortal Yaoyan’s image stone was too strong, and he was covered in the immortal spirit of an immortal…” Lin Feng sighed, “So he was missing Immortal Yaoyan.”
Ling Yin picked up the child, put away Yao Yan's illusion, and dismissed the crowd.
"He actually managed to run all the way to the sixteenth heaven all by himself. Who says he's a coward?" Yao Shuo checked Wei Feng's spirit. "The little guy has eaten quite a lot."
Ling Yin whispered, "Could it be... that he's already remembered?"
"You want to seal his memories?" Yao Shuo asked.
“He’s so young, it’s too cruel for him to think about the past.” Ling Yin looked at Wei Feng’s little hand, which was tightly gripping the recording stone. “Back then, he jumped into the Divine Gate with Yao Yan without hesitation. You know Yao Yan, he’s incredibly intelligent and ruthless, rarely close to anyone. For Yao Yan to take him to heart is probably harder than climbing to heaven. Yet now Yao Yan is willing to give up his cultivation and descend to the mortal realm for him… Now that he thinks about it, Yao Yan isn’t by his side. With Wei Feng’s stubborn nature of going down this path to the end, who knows what he might do.”
“Ah Ling, he’ll remember sooner or later,” Yao Shuo said. “Perhaps we should let Wei Feng decide for himself.”
Ling Yin held the child in his arms, his expression indifferent: "He's just a little filth. Don't you know Yao Yan's temperament? Don't you know how to bully him?"
"Ah Ling, did you go to Yuan Yao Palace to see what happened to them in the lower realm?" Yao Shuo asked helplessly.
“I only read the first part.” Ling Yin looked at him. “I wonder who Yao Yan got his cold-hearted nature from.”
Yao Shuo: "..."
He felt that the God of Lingyin should perhaps recall his glorious achievement of beating up all the generals of the Upper Heaven back then—the immortals of the Nine Heavens were not always obedient to Lingyin Immortal Palace.
Ever since he obtained the image-recording stone, Wei Feng would often stare blankly at the figure inside it.
Although his father and mother told him that this was his brother Yaoyan, he still felt that the other party should be his master.
"Mother, why can't my brother be my master?" he asked Ling Yin, puzzled.
Ling Yin was playing chess with Yao Shuo when he heard this and said, "Ask him when he gets back."
Wei Feng then said, "Mother, when I grow up, I want Brother Yaoyan to be my Daoist partner, to eat immortal spirits with me every day. But he is my own brother, wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?"
Ling Yin nearly made a mistake in her move, looking at him with a complicated expression: "Do you know what a Daoist partner is?"
Yao Shuo tried hard to suppress his laughter.
“I know.” Wei Feng nodded. “Just like you and your father, the Daoist couple can be together forever, and they can also have spiritual communion, cultivate together, and have children.”
“That old man Yuan Yao is so irresponsible, saying all sorts of things to a little kid.” Ling Yin’s face turned cold.
"Please calm down, Your Majesty." Yao Shuo pressed her down. "I think this brat overheard it himself. He's been sneaking around Yuan Yao Palace these past few days. Tell me, Wei Feng, what have you been doing?"
Wei Feng sat on the couch, holding his precious memory stone, and said confidently, "Go and matchmake for me and Brother Yao Yan. When he ascends to heaven, I will first become his disciple and then marry him as my Daoist partner! But Ruyi said that brothers cannot be Daoist partners and even scolded me, so I fought with him again."
Ling Yin: "..."
Yao Shuo laughed and said, "You and Yao Yan are not blood brothers."
Wei Feng breathed a sigh of relief and jumped off the couch: "Then I'm relieved."
"Where are you going?" Yao Shuo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back.
Wei Feng said fiercely, "I'll go tell Ruyi."
"Wei Feng." Ling Yin patted the seat next to her. "Come sit down. Your mother has something to tell you."
Wei Feng obediently walked over, but he refused to sit still. He climbed into Ling Yin's arms, grabbed her hair and braided it into small braids: "Mother, what do you want to tell me?"
Ling Yin hesitated for a long time before saying, "You are actually not my biological child with your father."
As Wei Feng braided her hair, he said, "I know."
Ling Yin and Yao Shuo were both taken aback. Ling Yin asked, "You know?"
“My mother is a descendant of an ancient god, and my father is a war god. It’s impossible for them to have given birth to a little filthy creature.” Wei Feng said nonchalantly, “Only someone as powerful as Brother Yaoyan could become my father and mother’s biological child. Sometimes I can’t even beat Ruyi. Pian’an took me to the Sixth Heaven to see the Demon-Revealing Mirror. My true form is a dark little filthy creature with tentacles.”
Ling Yin was stunned: "When did this happen?"
“It was just a while ago.” Wei Feng raised his head and smiled. “Mom, it’s okay. Although I wasn’t born to you and Dad, you’ve both been very good to me. In my heart, you are my parents.”
Yao Shuo frowned: "How exactly does Pian Huai raise his children? The Demon-Revealing Mirror isn't something you can just casually look into. I—"
"Father, this is perfect! Now I can become your Daoist partner, Brother Yaoyan!" Wei Feng said happily.
Yao Shuo breathed a sigh of relief, but Ling Yin felt something was wrong. She patted Wei Feng's head and said gently, "Is that really what you think?"
Wei Feng paused for a moment before nodding and lowering his head to braid her hair.
"Wei Feng, watch over your mother." Ling Yin patted him.
Wei Feng slowly raised his head, his eyes already red-rimmed. Ling Yin sighed and hugged him. The child finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears: "I don't want to be a little filth! I want to be my father and mother's child! I don't want Yao Yan to be my older brother!"
Ling Yin coaxed him gently and finally understood why Wei Feng, despite not having regained his memory, still stared blankly at Yao Yan's phantom every day. It turned out that he not only missed Yao Yan, but was also afraid that Yao Yan would take away his parents.
Yao Shuo was both amused and exasperated: "No wonder he's suddenly become so magnanimous."
Wei Feng cried himself to sleep. Ling Yin was about to seal away his unstable memories when Yao Shuo stopped him.
"I think Yao Yan's ability to bury his head in the sand is something he learned from you," Yao Shuo said helplessly. "He already knows, so why bother?"
"It's not too late to talk about it after Yaoyan comes back," Ling Yin said.
“When Yao Yan returns and finds out that his disciple has become his ‘brother,’ he’ll probably turn this place upside down,” Yao Shuo said. “This seal of yours is not something that can be easily broken.”
Ling Yin remained silent for a long time before saying, "I wonder if he will still acknowledge me as his mother once he regains his memories."
"Don't worry, even if he doesn't acknowledge it, when Yao Yan comes back, he'll still call you 'mother' again, won't he?" Yao Shuo teased.
Ling Yin glanced at him indifferently.
Yao Shuo said seriously, "Wei Feng is a good boy who values loyalty and righteousness, don't worry."
Although he learned that he was not Ling Yin and Yao Shuo's biological son, Wei Feng let it go after crying for a while. He was busy running to Yuan Yao Palace to matchmake himself and Yao Yan, and busy fighting with Ru Yi and Pian An. Before he knew it, another two years had passed.
For the past two years, Yao Yan's phantom stood by his bedside day and night, watching over him as he fell asleep. He always dreamed of the other person, and dreamed that the other person's name was Jiang Gu. He dreamed of many fragmented little things, until one morning when he opened his eyes, he was caught off guard and remembered everything that had happened.
At that moment, embarrassment and complexity were hard to describe his feelings—the night before, he had angered Yao Shuo so much that he had scolded him, pestered Ling Yin to call her "Mother" and ask for immortal spirits to eat, and boasted in front of them about his plans to marry Yao Yan as his Daoist partner and become the most powerful filth in the Nine Heavens.
Wei Feng clutched his head and let out a silent roar.
Why didn't Master take him with him when he went down to the mortal realm?
He thought about it all day, and finally, when Ling Yin and Yao Shuo came to find him, he had no choice but to step out of the room.
"You brat, still arguing with your father." Yao Shuo slapped his head and took out a small longsword from behind his back. "Look, this is a new magic weapon that your father forged for you."
“…Thank you.” Wei Feng took it.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Ling Yin squatted down and touched his forehead.
Wei Feng hesitated for a moment, but finally made up his mind, put down the magic weapon, took a step back, and respectfully bowed to the two of them: "I am very grateful to God Ling Yin and Prince Yao Shuo for raising and caring for me over the years. I will never forget your kindness."
Ling Yin's hand froze in mid-air, and Yao Shuo was also taken aback: "You remembered?"
"Yes," Wei Feng said respectfully. "I apologize for any offense I may have caused you two before."
Ling Yin withdrew his hand and stood up. Yao Shuo smiled somewhat reluctantly: "It's alright, it's good that you remembered. Are you feeling unwell?"
Wei Feng shook his head.
"Then you should get some rest," Ling Yin said calmly.
Wei Feng hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Seeing this, Ling Yin asked, "What's wrong? Is something troubling you?"
Wei Feng said, "I want to... move back to Yaoyan Immortal Palace."
Ling Yin and Yao Shuo ultimately didn't stop him. On the day of the move, Wei Feng's belongings alone filled over a thousand carriages. Ling Yin didn't come out to see him off, but Yao Shuo patted his shoulder and said, "Your mother is feeling bad. Come back and visit more often when you have time."
“Yes,” Wei Feng replied.
Yao Shuo slapped him: "Call me Dad."
"Yes, Father." Wei Feng's vision blurred from the slap, and he remained silent for a while before finally speaking, "I'm sorry."
"So what? Even if you don't remember, we'll build you a palace and you'll move out in a few years anyway. We can't let Yao Yan lose to you," Yao Shuo laughed. "Your mother and I won't be biased."
Wei Feng smiled, bowed to him, turned and got into the car. Lin Feng, Ping Ming and Feng Wuyou bowed to him from afar, and the three of them flew straight to the sixteenth heaven with the car.
Yao Shuo turned around and saw Ling Yin.
“Even when Yao Yan moved out of the palace, I never saw you like this,” Yao Shuo said.
“When Yao Yan was eight years old, I could no longer out-argue him in Daoist discussions. He was practically a carbon copy of Hong Chen.” Ling Yin paused. “Yesterday, Wei Feng was crying and begging me for immortal spirits to eat.”
Yao Shuo smiled and patted her shoulder: "A Ling, this bond between mother and son may be short, but it is hard-won. Yao Yan probably wanted Wei Feng to spend more time with you to make up for his regrets back then."
"You brat." It was unclear whether she was referring to Yao Yan or Wei Feng.
Yao Shuo said, "Now the palace will be much quieter, no one will come knocking on the door with a pillow in the middle of the night."
Ling Yin said in a low voice, "If I had known... I would have given him that piece of immortal spirit yesterday."
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