Chapter 84 Being a Parent is Hard
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Fear gripped her heart, not of the person, but of the intense and powerful emotion she felt.
She was clearly ruthless, capable of severing twelve celestial couples' marriages, yet she hesitated only with him.
She was afraid of this feeling, terrified of her uncontrollable self. She reminded Di Jiang: "After you become emperor, I will be the eleventh divine official of the Heavenly Realm."
"And then?" Di Jiang's eyes were icy. "You want to talk about the difference between ruler and subject? As the ruler, I can decide whether you are a subject or not. Even if you are, so what?"
His gaze slowly moved downwards, landing on Duan Jiuyou's chest.
"I'm not here? Who are you kidding!"
Duan Jiuyou's mind was in turmoil, as if a great battle was being fought inside her body. She wanted to escape his grasp, but he pulled her even closer—their breaths mingled, the familiar scents and the familiar pulls were there, and his deep eyes reflected her panicked face.
"Di Jiang! Our entanglement only began because of the treatment of illness. I will die sooner or later, so why bother... Ugh!"
He kissed her, ignoring her resistance, and pulled her neck towards him. Startled, she bit his lip, but he ignored her.
Does it hurt?
Then we'll both feel the pain!
Di Jiang's mouth was filled with a metallic taste as he held her hand to his heart.
It hurts here too!
After an unknown amount of time, he released her. She collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up, and looked at Duan Jiuyou, who was lying on the ground, with a complicated expression.
She always refused what he offered her. Was it really that hard to be with him?
...
Di Jiang left without saying a word. Duan Jiuyou stared at his retreating figure, swallowing a mouthful of blood.
"You bastard! Can't we talk this out properly?!"
She bit his mouth, but he bit her tongue!
She sat on the ground, sighing, looking troubled.
How are they going to live together now that things have escalated to this point?
Pretending to be stupid won't work anymore, but she still can't make a choice.
He was too young to understand the endless sorrows of life. Day after day, everything was the same. Before him, she found life dull and wanted to die. Now that he was there, their days were happy, but how long could he stay with her?
Immortals have a lifespan, but she is immortal. She dared to make choices in the past because she could live without anyone. Now she dares not make choices because she knows that once she falls in love, it will be hard to let go.
If he were gone, how would she face the long, dark days of life alone?
The gods do not even have reincarnation. Once a god falls, he or she will completely disappear into the Three Realms.
If he were gone, would she hate her initial decision? Would she regret missing the chance to end her life as a god?
The opportunity of the chosen one will only be opened once, and she must decide whether to live or die on the day he becomes emperor.
...
Duan Jiuyou was somewhat dejected and was about to get up when the palace door suddenly opened.
The person who stormed out in a huff half a cup of tea's time inexplicably returned.
"How could you..." Duan Jiuyou was about to ask Di Jiang the reason when a cry deafened him.
"Mom! Why are you sitting on the ground? Did Dad hit you?"
A bright white flash of lightning ripped through the uneventful night sky, and Duan Jiuyou finally saw that Di Jiang was holding a child in his arms. The little guy let out a heart-wrenching scream, which made Duan Jiuyou's head tilt to the side.
He faced me with a sullen face, clearly having been stopped and brought back by the Four Seasons Demon on his way out.
The night, which was clear and peaceful just a moment ago, suddenly turned into a stormy night due to the changing moods of the four seasons!
The Four Seasons Demon left him helpless, utterly frustrated! As the second bolt of lightning flashed behind him, Duan Jiuyou saw Di Jiang's expression change, transforming into a gentle, smiling one.
"Siji said she heard a teacup fall to the ground here and thought we had a fight. I explained to her that we hadn't, that I had just accidentally broken a cup, but Siji didn't believe me and insisted on coming over to see for herself."
After saying that, he seemed a little surprised and asked Jiuyou, "Why are you sitting on the ground? Did you fall?"
He acted as if he truly knew nothing, and as he put the child down, he subtly raised his eyes to meet hers.
He was letting Duan Jiuyou make his own choice: whether to play along with him or let the weather get worse.
Duan Jiuyou really wanted to expose the hypocrisy of the Dijiang regime and tell Siji directly that her father was angry with her mother and that her father had just pushed her.
But this approach would hurt the enemy 800 and himself 1000. The reason why Dijiang was willing to coax Siji was because he was going out to hunt beasts that night, and Siji was crying incessantly, so he had to go out in the rain.
If Duan Jiuyou doesn't join him in appeasing them, then countless people in the Ten Realms will suffer.
"The skirt was too long, and I tripped and fell because I stepped on the hem." Duan Jiuyou smiled gently. As he spoke, Di Jiang reached out to help her up. The two of them smiled at each other through gritted teeth.
Duan Jiuyou bent down and said to Siji, "How could your father bear to push me? Your father even felt guilty for a long time after accidentally breaking a cup in front of your mother, and he went outside to get a broom to clean it up himself."
"But Father can conjure up whatever he wants with a simple spell, so why did he go outside to get a broom? Did he really leave in a huff after the argument, leaving Mother alone in the palace to grieve?"
Siji looked incredulous. Based on her understanding of her father, was he really the kind of person who would do such a thing? He even needed someone to help him get dressed.
Di Jiang remained unfazed: "Some things can be solved with illusions, but others require personal action to show sincerity. If your father accidentally broke a cup, then naturally your father should fetch a broom to sweep it up. The same applies to you when you make mistakes in the future; don't rely on illusions for everything."
He does have a way of elevating things, and he even shared a principle of life with the four seasons.
Duan Jiuyou couldn't hide the disdain in her eyes, and Di Jiang retorted with a look: What? You can't stand it, so you make it up yourself?
Siji didn't notice their secret eye contact.
Di Jiang pushed the child to Duan Jiuyou: "You stay with Siji for a while, I'll go get the broom."
The palace doors opened and closed; the Lord of the Wilderness was truly busy tonight, going out and coming in, coming in and going out again.
The anger she wanted to unleash was suppressed by her newly adopted daughter.
Duan Jiuyou found it both funny and helpless. After the man left, he took the child into his arms.
There were some tea snacks on the table. She chose a chestnut cake, Siji's favorite, for Siji and gently comforted her, "Don't always be so tense. Even if Father and Mother really quarrel, they won't easily separate. In this world, whether they are immortal couples or married couples, there will always be times when they bump into each other. Sometimes they are sweet and loving, and sometimes they hate each other. Whether it is hate or love, it is because they care about each other."
Siji was puzzled and, biting into a chestnut cake, said, "Mother, if we love each other, why do we hate and loathe each other?"
Duan Jiuyou said, "That's how it is when I'm angry. When emotions run high, I inevitably blame the other person for not understanding me enough. And sometimes I can't express myself well, so I end up getting angry and throwing a tantrum."
"Isn't that just like children? When things are good, they want to be together every day, but when things are bad, they pretend they don't see each other."
"I guess so. When adults are being immature, they're not as good as children."
"Dad has the temper of a child."
Duan Jiuyou smiled and said, "Yes. He has a childish temper, but your father also has many good points, such as..."
For example, what?
Duan Jiuyou racked his brains trying to find the best qualities in this person, but he couldn't summarize his strengths. He had a whole host of weaknesses, though. When he tried to think of the good qualities, all that came to mind was his "difficult and capricious" temper.
The barbarian soldiers, having lost their souls, could not think. If they were made to go out in thin brocade on a freezing day, they would just stand there frozen, seemingly angry with someone.
If the food is not good, he will curse in his heart, eat a couple of bites and then put it down. No one will coax him; they will just assume that he has a bad appetite.
Sometimes, if the person serving him got up late, he would dress himself, tying his clothes from right to left, without feeling anything was wrong with it...
To outsiders, the overlord of the Heavenly Realm and the strongest magic cultivator is just a boy who can't take care of himself and likes to sulk.
He does good deeds but doesn't talk about them, and he's too lazy to explain when he's misunderstood. He hunts beasts in the Ten Realms to support his family of soldiers. When faced with non-human beings, he says he doesn't care about their lives, but he will still save them when necessary.
Duan Jiuyou shook his head and chuckled.
"Your dad's problem is his mouth. He either doesn't say anything at all, or he's infuriating people to death."
"But Father is very good to Mother, no, he is only good to Mother."
"Father was good to Siji too." Duan Jiuyou affectionately stroked Siji's head. "He just wasn't good at expressing himself. The pinky ring he gave you was a gift from his mother. He was as small as you then, so he could only wear it on his thumb. He only changed it to his little finger when he grew up. And the chestnut cake on your hand, you said it was delicious once, so he always had people prepare it for you..."
"Father even replaced the plain water he usually drank with the sweet drink that Mother loved."
"Yes."
"besides……"
As the seasons gradually stabilize, the rain clouds that had gathered in the sky become clear again with the reappearance of the moon.
Di Jiang stood outside the door listening to Duan Jiuyou and Xiao Siji's conversation. For a moment, his expression softened and a smile appeared in his eyes. But then he remembered that she was just coaxing the child, and his expression turned indifferent again as he walked out of the courtyard.
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