Chapter 925: Important

Chapter 925: Importance

Xuan Pin nodded, and immediately she looked up toward the sky; her tall, crimson Taoist robes billowed as she ascended through layers of earth, finally emerging upon the surface.

"Mother, why have you come?" Li Sui asked, addressing Bai Lingmiao before the Overseer of the Heavens.

"I have already issued an order for all White Lotus believers to search for the Heart-Sustenance. The followers are scattered across the four corners of the world; I trust there will be news soon."

"Thank you, Mother." With the official channels of the Overseer and the common folk alike mobilized, if they truly existed, those Heart-Sustenance would have nowhere to hide for long.

"We are family, why speak of thanks? Has your father eaten? I brought him some food." Bai Lingmiao lifted the food box in her hand.

"He is in meditation, he has no time. Let us eat, Mother." Li Sui took the box, stroked Bai Lingmiao’s back, and embraced her as they walked away.

Li Sui led her to the roof of the Overseer’s office and opened the box, which was filled with dishes Li Huowang favored.

One of Li Sui’s hands emerged from the robes, picked up chopsticks, and popped a piece of winter melon into her mouth to chew. "Mother, did you come to see him so suddenly because there is something you need to discuss?"

Bai Lingmiao smiled faintly, reaching up to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "The matter of Tianchen must have your father worried sick, right? I know him; he always tries to shoulder everything alone."

"I came to tell him that the Unborn Mother seems to be showing signs of response, to ask him not to be so anxious; it only inflames his temper. If the Tianzhen Kingdom truly attacks, the Unborn Mother will surely not stand by and watch."

"Oh? Has the Unborn Mother sent down an oracle?"

Bai Lingmiao shook her head gently. "No, but it is much better than before. I believe it will not be long before the Unborn Mother intervenes to help."

"That is good, that is wonderful news. I will pass it on to my father." Li Sui picked up a piece of water chestnut stir-fried with meat and chewed it. "Mother, this food is truly delicious."

"Is it? Sui-Sui, if you like it so much, I will bring you a portion next time."

Bai Lingmiao reached out to pat Xuan Pin’s head, but seeing her towering stature, she ultimately withdrew her hand.

"Mother, do you really not intend to reconcile with Father?"

The smile on Bai Lingmiao’s face gradually faded. "Why bring this up out of the blue?"

"I just want to be clear. You cannot keep dragging this out forever."

"We shall speak of it later. With the Tianchen Kingdom invading, there is no time to attend to such things." Bai Lingmiao said, standing up to leave.

"You always evade when it comes to this point; it seems you still do not wish to let it go." The phantom of Shangguan Yuting rose from the rubble, blocking Bai Lingmiao’s path.

With a light flick of Shangguan Yuting’s hand, sheets of paper covered in writing spread out before Bai Lingmiao.

"This... what is this?" Seeing the familiar names upon them, Bai Lingmiao took a half-step back.

"These are the sins committed by the Bai Village, over and over, the lives they took. The disciples of the Moon Gate dug this up; it is absolutely reliable."

Xuan Pin set down her bowl and chopsticks and walked to Bai Lingmiao’s side, while the phantom of Shangguan Yuting smiled softly and slipped into the wide, crimson robes.

"Mother, you have the heart of a Bodhisattva. To protect the White Lotus believers from being bullied, you willingly suffer in that position. Do you not think the villains who committed these acts deserve to die?"

"By your own logic, do the people of the Bai family, having done these things, truly have the qualifications to enter the Unborn Mother’s Vacuum Hometown?"

Bai Lingmiao recoiled as if frightened, and after a pause, she asked with a trembling voice, "Sui-Sui, what are you trying to do?"

"I do not intend to do anything. Since I have urged both sides several times and you refuse to budge, as your child, what else can I do but try to untie your knots and see if I can mend this painful relationship?"

Looking at the red names representing human lives, Bai Lingmiao pressed her lips together, her expression turning into a struggle; the cold text and the memories of her once-dear family clashed in her mind.

"Mother, as the White Lotus Saintess, I believe you would not treat this differently just because the perpetrators are your own kin."

Seeing the white silk covering Bai Lingmiao’s eyes soaked with tears, her face flushed red as she shook her head, unable to speak.

Li Sui’s body appeared before her in an instant, spreading those massive crimson robes to wrap her in a warm embrace, like a cozy quilt. "Mother, let it go. Father did nothing wrong, and neither did you. It is this world that is wrong."

"If you truly want to do something for our family, perhaps the three of us can strive to change this world, so that such things might not happen again."

Feeling the warmth of the robes, the string in Bai Lingmiao’s heart finally snapped, and she clung to Sui-Sui, weeping in despair.

Li Sui’s six hands emerged from the robes, stroking Bai Lingmiao’s back over and over, whispering soft words of comfort into her ear.

Though Bai Lingmiao appeared much stronger, Li Sui understood that this was merely a facade forced upon her by her position; she had only just turned eighteen, and these burdens were never meant for her to bear.

Since her father was unreliable, she had no choice but to step up herself.

After a while of soft comfort, Bai Lingmiao pulled away from Li Sui’s embrace. "Sui-Sui, thank you, but in our current situation, we must keep our minds focused on dealing with Tianchen."

"Why not? We are not Father; our minds are not so small that they can only hold one thing. Can a person not do two things at once?"

Bai Lingmiao shook her head, removed the white silk from her eyes, and wiped away the tears from her sightless gaze. "Sui-Sui, you do not understand. In truth, this matter between your father and me is not really that important."

"It is just the feelings of two people. To reconcile or not, what does it matter? Even if it were a great matter, can it compare to the lives of all the people in the world?"

"I am not the only one who thinks this way, Sui-Sui. Your father actually thinks so too, but he always likes to keep everything bottled up inside, telling no one. But I know what he is thinking."

Xuan Pin stood frozen for a moment, her overlapping voice gradually shifting back to Li Sui’s original tone. "But this is important to me. I want you both to be as happy as possible."

Bai Lingmiao covered her eyes with the white silk once more, smiling as she reached into the darkness of the crimson robes to stroke her gently. "Sui-Sui, do not worry, we will be fine. We are all striving for the things we care about, and that is enough."

"Be a good girl and go back. You work hard on your end, and I will strive to make contact with the Unborn Mother, so that when the Tianchen Kingdom invades, she may reach out to help."

With that, Bai Lingmiao turned, leaning on the roof’s ridge beast as she descended.

Just as she was about to go down, the grotesque upper body of the Two Gods emerged from behind her.

With her many beastly eyes fixed on Xuan Pin, she said, "Sui-Sui, if you and Li Huowang cross paths with Zuo Qiu-yong, you must be careful. The people of the Bai Village in the past loved to create human pillars and sacrifice the living, which proves that the Heavenly Dao controlled by the Unborn Mother in the past was not limited to just 'growth.' The Heavenly Dao that Zuo Qiu-yong stole is not just one kind either; she must have left behind a contingency."