Memoir of Mu Qinghuai (Part 1)
"Ah Huai! Come with me, the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm isn't far from here." The boy pulled the hand of another slightly taller child.
Mu Qinghuai nervously tugged at him: "Really? What if Mom and Dad can't find me?"
"It's okay, let's go, let's go." The boy pulled him over.
Mu Qinghuai was 9 years old that year, and his best playmate was Yun Qing.
Yun Qing led him on a tour of the entire Heavenly Bird Secret Realm. At this time, the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm was more like a scenic spot; there were no monsters or demonic beasts to be found there.
"It's so beautiful here!" Mu Qinghuai stammered, her face flushed. "Thank you, thank you, Yunqing! My parents never let me go out alone, and you're my only friend... It's so great that you can play with me! I want to bring my parents to the maple forest!"
Yun Qing smiled meaningfully: "It's alright, as long as you're happy." He moved closer to Mu Qinghuai, "You keep calling them 'father' and 'mother,' so why don't you tell me something about them, like their cultivation levels?"
Mu Qinghuai was about to speak when he suddenly remembered his parents' words, so he kept quiet for a long time before finally saying, "I don't know."
"How could you not know?" Yun Qing frowned.
He sighed again, then smiled once more: "Ah Huai, let's keep playing. This maple forest is especially beautiful. What if it's gone in a few years?"
"Okay!" Mu Qinghuai said with a smile.
The two laughed and played in the maple forest, running around and bumping into tree trunks, causing many maple leaves to float in the air and eventually fall to the ground, making a rustling sound when stepped on.
Unbeknownst to them, a man in the distance was watching their movements.
Suddenly, Yun Qing's arm accidentally bumped into a hole in the wall, and a loud noise came from the ground. The two of them were then transported to the other side of the wall by some force.
"What is this?" Mu Qinghuai was so frightened that he took a step back and cautiously peeked out from behind Yun Qing.
Yun Qing looked around excitedly: "We've entered a hidden part of the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm! Don't worry, if we can get in, we can definitely get out! I think you're just too timid. You're even older than me."
"I'm sorry..." Mu Qinghuai said softly.
This place has beautiful scenery, similar to the hidden paradise outside, with several groves of trees.
"Look! This whole place is empty! I'm going to build a house here, with a yard, as our secret base! Hmm... I'll also get a cat!" Yun Qing described vividly.
"Great! How do we build it? But only adults can build it. What are we going to do with it?" Mu Qinghuai asked excitedly, her neck turning red.
Yun Qing patted his chest lightly: "Are you silly? We can't build it now, but we can build it when we grow up, right?" He added, "How about this, we can inject our spiritual power into this place, and then we can freely seal it off!"
Mu Qinghuai asked, puzzled, "How do you know so much? Why can injecting spiritual energy seal this place off? This place doesn't belong to us, it belongs to everyone."
Yun Qing's face stiffened for a moment, then she forced a smile and said, "Don't worry about it. You're just ignorant. This doesn't belong to us; it's just a secret base."
"Okay." Mu Qinghuai pursed his lips.
"You can use spiritual power, right?" Yun Qing asked tentatively.
"Sure," he answered readily.
Yun Qing took out a magical artifact and wedged it against the entrance wall, patting it with satisfaction: "Done! Ah Huai, come quick, we need to inject spiritual power now."
"Three! Two! One!" When the time was up, the two of them simultaneously injected spiritual power, the white light disappeared, and the spiritual power took effect.
“I’ll build a house here someday, you have to come!” Yun Qing’s smile deepened.
"Okay." Mu Qinghuai nodded seriously.
Yun Qing held his hand and said, "Ah Huai, I'm your best friend, right?"
"Of course," Mu Qinghuai said blankly.
"I've given you everything, so could you... let me know more about you too? After all, we're... best friends." Yun Qing's eyes widened as she spoke with heartfelt emotion.
Mu Qinghuai was stunned. Her mother's words still echoed in her ears: "Qinghuai, your father and mother only want to protect you. No matter who it is, don't mention anything about your cultivation to us, okay?"
He lowered his eyes and whispered, "Yunqing, I'm sorry."
"..."
"I know you're my good friend, but please wait for me. If I become stronger in the future, I will definitely tell you."
"..."
Yun Qing's face darkened, but she switched to a smile the moment Mu Qinghuai looked up: "Okay."
He turned around, his face grim, but his tone remained nonchalant: "Ah Huai, I should go back now. See you at the usual place later."
"Goodbye..." Mu Qinghuai hesitated, extending one hand and hovering it in mid-air before finally lowering it. He stood silently for a long time before finally leaving the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm.
When Murong saw him return, she hugged him tightly: "Ah Huai, where have you been? Are you alright?"
Mu Qinghuai said, "Mother, don't worry, I'm fine. I went to the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm with that friend I told you about last time. There's a very beautiful maple forest there, and I want to go with you and Father!"
"That's good, that's good." Murong rubbed his cheek. "Having friends is a good thing. You can start cultivating with your mother in a while, and in two more years, our little Qinghuai can go to a cultivation sect!"
"Mother, am I going to the Silver Bamboo Sect? The Silver Bamboo Sect is the number one sect!" His eyes were shining, and he was very much looking forward to the future.
Murong's expression changed: "No!" She realized what she meant and softened her voice, "Ah Huai, I won't stop you from going to any sect other than the Silver Bamboo Sect."
Mu Qinghuai wanted to ask, but wisely kept quiet.
"Didn't Qinghuai say there was a maple forest? Take us to see it," Mu Aogu said at the right moment.
"Great! There's a really thick old maple tree. How about we bring paper and pen, write something down, and bury it underneath?" Mu Qinghuai was so happy he didn't know what to do.
"Okay, whatever you say." Murong said indulgently.
The family of three arrived at the Heavenly Bird Secret Realm with paper, pens, red inkpad, and a wooden bottle. Mu Qinghuai ran ahead, leading the two to the old maple tree. The soil was not hard, making it easy to bury things.
He shouted, "Father and Mother must stay with me forever! We must quickly pinky swear, and once we pinky swear, we must keep our word!"
Murong and Mu Aogu exchanged a glance, then extended their little fingers and hooked them with Mu Qinghuai's.
Mu Qinghuai picked up his pen and began to write. After finishing, he passed the paper to Murong, who then passed it to Mu Aogu. Once all the papers were written, the paper returned to Mu Qinghuai's hands, and he stared wide-eyed at the three paragraphs.
The red maple tree bears witness: Dad, Mom, and I, the three of us, will live happily ever after! We've made a pinky promise, and neither of us can go back on it! —Mu Qinghuai
Okay, okay, whatever Ah Huai says is right. —Murong
How could we possibly live a life of mere happiness and joy? Your ambitions are too low! We will start from scratch, and in the future, there will be a cultivation family in the cultivation world called the Mu family! —Mu Aogu
"We need to leave our handprints!" Mu Qinghuai was the first to press his hand on the red clay, placing his finger next to the lines of text.
"Why is it so formal..." Although he muttered to himself, Mu Aogu slowly pressed his handprint.
Mu Qinghuai rolled up the paper, put it into the wooden bottle, sealed it with a stopper, and then excitedly dug up the soil to bury it. After burying it, he even stepped on it a few times.
"Look at you, digging with your hands, now your hands are covered in dirt." Murong used magic to wash away the dirt from his hands.
"Father, are we really going to establish the Mu family in the future? You've always been a proponent of keeping a low profile," Mu Qinghuai said.
Mu Aogu's face was ashen: "That's hard to say...! It's good to keep a low profile now, but after Father and Mother have dealt with everything, it's also possible to establish a family of cultivators."
"Great!" Mu Qinghuai said with a smile, "Then Father and Mother must take care of it quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Murong He's expression became complicated. She said softly, "Yes...yes."
From then on, Mu Qinghuai often went to the old place to visit Yun Qing.
But not long after, Murong suddenly became very nervous and demanded that he stay at home and not go anywhere.
Although Mu Qinghuai was unwilling, he obeyed and did not go out again, but his heart was still preoccupied with the outside world.
"Rong'er, Meng Yan and the others have moved to another location," Mu Aogu said seriously.
Murong's face darkened, and he asked urgently, "Xiao Yuan has already been targeted, and they're still so worried about us. Just tell them that we're all fine, and A Huai hasn't been discovered either."
"Okay," Mu Aogu said.
After some time, Mu Qinghuai couldn't sit still any longer: "Mother, when can I go out? My friend is still waiting for me."
"If you just get through these few years, your parents will never restrict your freedom again." Murong gently stroked his hair.
"Okay," he replied obediently.
Mu Aogu sat down: "Qinghuai, your timidity is partly my fault. You've had too little exposure to the outside world, so you think too simply. Actually, your parents hope you can do what you want, but for certain reasons, we have to keep you confined."
"I understand. I get it." Mu Qinghuai lowered his head, unconsciously clenching his fists.
"Mu Aogu, let's go help Bai Moyu and the others. They've already started preparing to leave this place," Murong said.
"But what about Qinghuai?" Mu Aogu hesitated.
“Ah Huai doesn’t go out often, and Ruan Yiyun doesn’t even know he exists. We…”
"boom--"
Before Murong could finish speaking, the house was suddenly blown apart, with floor tiles and walls shattering into many pieces, nearly hitting the three of them.
"What? You don't know he exists? Tell me then..." Ruan Yiyun's face darkened, and her smile became terrifying.
"Ruan Yiyun! How did you find this place!" Mu Aogu said angrily, protecting the two people behind him.
Only then did the three of them notice a short figure beside Ruan Yiyun.
"Yun Qing!" Mu Qinghuai exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes. It's me." Yun Qing chuckled lightly, her face filled with gloom despite being only a seven-year-old child.
"I had already found a candidate with a good spiritual root, but I didn't expect... there would be an even better one..." Ruan Yiyun's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Mu Aogu and Murong exchanged a knowing glance and simultaneously raised their swords to strike Ruan Yiyun: "We are also at the Mahayana stage!!"
"But unfortunately, Black City is in my hands." Ruan Yiyun controlled Black City to cut through Mu Aogu, and blood splattered high, hitting Mu Qinghuai.
Mu Qinghuai's pupils suddenly contracted, and he staggered back a step, unable to accept all of this.
"Mu Aogu!!" Murong's heart-wrenching scream pierced his ears, bringing him back to his senses. Trembling, he rushed at Ruan Yiyun and demanded, "Get out!"
His hand trembled as he held the sword, his eyes filled with fear, terror, and grief. Mu Qinghuai had just reached Ruan Yiyun when he was kicked to the ground and tightly bound by ropes formed of black energy.
Mu Qinghuai struggled frantically, but to no avail. He looked up and saw Murong's hands and feet cut off, and he gradually lost his breath.
"Mother!! Father!!" Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "Father!! Mother!!"
"Father! Mother!!" he kept shouting until his voice was hoarse.
"Now, it's your turn," Ruan Yiyun said with a smile.
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