Chapter 887: A Family of Three

Chapter 887: A Family of Three

The atmosphere had grown particularly strange. Ye Wuming had no idea why, when nothing had ever truly happened between her and Zhao Changhe, they had inexplicably fallen into this family-of-three dynamic—and one of estranged spouses, tangled in grudges and grievances at that.

One could only say that Piaomiao and Jiuyou’s method of conjuring up a child was truly vicious.

If one insisted that nothing had ever happened between them, that wasn’t entirely clean either. At the very least, the “face wash” had been applied more than once or twice; she had seen every part of Zhao Changhe’s body, knew where every mole was, and was perfectly aware of his usual postures.

That had nothing to do with anyone else—it was entirely because Zhao Changhe was a madman unlike any other. At least Xia Longyuan and the others, when they got their hands on the Heavenly Book, wouldn’t think of smearing that sort of thing on it… Drawing her eye was also Zhao Changhe’s own luck; she, Ye Wuming, wouldn’t have bothered to keep tabs on any other transmigrator. How could there be so much nonsense?

And as for what Zhao Changhe secretly schemed in his heart toward her, Ye Wuming knew it all too well.

With such a past, now sitting face to face, the atmosphere was extraordinarily awkward.

After a long while, Ye Wuming finally said stiffly, “To deal with the Heavenly Dao, I think Xinghe is still the key point. Ruoyu needs a rapid improvement. The sword techniques Yue Hongling taught before are very suitable for laying Ruoyu’s foundation—more suitable than even I am, after all, Ruoyu is essentially a sword… But for subsequent advancement, Yue Hongling’s methods aren’t quite right. Ruoyu is ultimately the Star River, and the Star River has its own meaning. No one is more suited to teach her than I am.”

Zhao Changhe said with a straight face, “You mean to have Ruoyu study with you for a while?”

Ye Wuming avoided looking at Ling Ruoyu and said stiffly, “Of course.”

Zhao Changhe tapped the table with his finger: “The meaning of the Star River was completed by me; your unfinished meaning was perfected by me. What you can teach, I can teach too, and what we can teach here is far broader than yours. Do you know Piaomiao’s methods? Do you have that primordial chaos of Jiuyou’s? Why must she learn from you?”

“You?” Ye Wuming sneered. “Just because you’re still not as strong as me right now. For starters, you can’t even solve the trivial matter of bringing clothes into the sword. With that level of skill, don’t ruin my… don’t ruin Ruoyu.”

Zhao Changhe felt this was really like those female-centric stories where the woman runs off with the child, and when she returns, the domineering CEO says, “What can you give the kid? Cramped in a rented apartment?” If he were the female lead, he’d probably say, “The kid is my life; if you try to take her, I’ll fight you to the death.”

But he wasn’t a weak female lead; he had plenty of bargaining chips: “That’s because I haven’t asked Jiuyou yet. She can probably solve it.”

Ye Wuming knew Jiuyou could definitely solve it. What Zhao Changhe said was also quite true—she alone might be stronger than anyone, but the people on Zhao Changhe’s side combined were inevitably broader than her. One could only say that Zhao Changhe’s method of “whipping all three realms with one lash” was too shameless. When she summoned people from Earth, she never imagined such a development.

But she couldn’t just give up because of that. Ye Wuming persisted: “Ye Jiuyou isn’t as strong as me either. Let her come fight me if she dares.”

“Teaching ability and raw strength aren’t the same thing.”

“My teaching has also been proven.”

“Proven where?”

“You.”

Zhao Changhe was almost amused into anger: “How can you say that with a straight face? Everything you taught me adds up to less than three sentences. I’ve never seen such a useless old man living in my head.”

Ye Wuming immediately retorted, “Look, with just three sentences, I taught a third-tier Imperial Realm expert. Who’s ever seen such a sharp teacher?”

Ling Ruoyu sat obediently to the side, listening to her parents argue, covering her face.

She knew Zhao Changhe was shameless, but she hadn’t expected this mother she barely knew to be just as shameless.

Like father, like daughter—or rather, like mother, like daughter.

Zhao Changhe was both exasperated and amused: “Alright, alright, stop quibbling with me. If you want to spend time with Ruoyu, you can go down to the mortal world. Why must you bring Ruoyu here?”

Ye Wuming was momentarily stunned by the question. It seemed she had never considered it.

Yes, why not go down? Was she afraid of being ganged up on?

“Afraid of being ganged up on?” Zhao Changhe asked with a cold laugh. “The ancient Night Emperor, the current Heavenly Dao, and this is all you’ve got?”

Ye Wuming stared at him expressionlessly.

“What’s the point of looking at me?” Zhao Changhe said flatly. “Do you know the situation of my visit to Night Palace this time?”

“What?”

“I came abruptly without telling them, just to talk to you alone. I reckon I’ll get beaten when I go back.” Zhao Changhe sneered. “I could have gathered everyone and stormed up here, but I didn’t. Coming here alone puts my safety in your hands. If I dare to come up like this, why don’t you dare to go down?”

Ye Wuming said coldly, “What safety do you have? Would I kill you for no reason?”

“That’s hard to say… If you wouldn’t kill me, it’s not because you have any feelings for me, but because you weigh the pros and cons and think it’s not wise to fall out with us before external matters are settled. But you could control me, or take me hostage to subdue my forces.”

As Ye Wuming listened, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

This was a judgment of her style of conduct, and indeed not entirely wrong… But she really hadn’t thought of it that way! In the years Zhao Changhe had been asleep, she hadn’t struck at those women one by one, let alone now that Zhao Changhe was awake.

But how could she say that? Could she say, “It’s because I do have some feelings, so I didn’t think that way”?

Zhao Changhe continued, “Of course, I still believe you wouldn’t do that, so I dared to come. So, Ye Wuming, do you dare to go?”

Ye Wuming was silent.

In truth, she knew Zhao Changhe had been holding back a sentence he didn’t dare say outright—if it was really about what was best for the child, the best solution was to give the child a home.

Zhao Changhe waited for a while, but got no answer from Ye Wuming, so he went on, “Forget it. I didn’t come here to discuss Ruoyu’s schooling. It’s up to you to decide; I won’t interfere. I mainly came to coordinate with you on the matter of the Heavenly Dao, instead of always relying on guesses and tacit understanding. Last time, I managed to guess your actions and stop you from mutual destruction, but that was only because I know you too well. That’s not reliable.”

Ye Wuming finally said, “Mm. Go on.”

Ling Ruoyu sat with her chin in her hand, feeling that her mother was no match for her father. This situation had arisen after she appeared, and it seemed her mother had been distracted, losing her usual sharpness.

Zhao Changhe said, “Last time I asked you about the Heavenly Dao and your cultivation, you only answered about yours. What about the Heavenly Dao? If its cultivation had a name, what would it be called?”

Speaking of these matters, Ye Wuming finally returned to normal and replied, “Our cultivation levels are just our own classification within this Heavenly Book realm. The Heavenly Dao is a life form outside the book; its cultivation is different from ours and doesn’t follow our grading. In my personal view, whether it’s cultivating the mysterious gate, unlocking the secret treasury, or mastering heaven and earth and controlling laws, it’s all still within the realm. If one could completely transcend, perhaps we could borrow the Buddhist term and call it the Other Shore.”

The Other Shore realm… Whether this was the right name or not, it was just Ye Wuming’s own definition, but it was indeed fitting.

Judging by this, although Ye Wuming had already jumped out, her body was still bound to the Heavenly Book and hadn’t fully broken free, so she hadn’t reached the Other Shore. Ye Jiuyou was even further behind. Their “truth-seeing” wasn’t a breakthrough standard, but a prerequisite for Heavenly Book life to reach the Other Shore.

On the surface, Ling Ruoyu’s current realm was almost the same as Ye Wuming’s… She had jumped out of the Star River but couldn’t leave it—how similar to Ye Wuming’s current situation.

Ye Wuming also said that her confidence in threatening the Heavenly Dao came from the realm itself, that is, the power of the Heavenly Book artifact. She couldn’t threaten the Heavenly Dao with her own strength alone.

How to solve this?

Zhao Changhe still believed that whether it was Jiuyou or the Blind One, they were both incomplete, forcibly split twins. If they could merge, that might be the key step to truly reaching the Other Shore. But this was hard to say… The Ye sisters were who they were; they wouldn’t be ordered around by him. And deep down, Zhao Changhe himself didn’t want any fusion—two good women would disappear, and no one would know who was left.

Actually, Zhao Changhe didn’t need to say it. Similar words had been brought up in the battle thirty years ago. The Ye sisters should have known in their hearts, but neither would agree.

Zhao Changhe was silent for a long time, then finally didn’t bring it up again. Instead, he said, “I want to reforge Dragon Sparrow. I need some materials unrelated to this realm. Since you’ve even been to Earth, you must have some, right?”

Ye Wuming rolled her eyes: “Why should I give them to you?”

“…I’m reforging Dragon Sparrow to be effective against the Heavenly Dao. Don’t act like it has nothing to do with you. But speaking of which, the way you roll your eyes is quite cute—much better than closing your eyes and pretending to be aloof.”

Ye Wuming: “…”

“Stop dawdling. Spill some loot.” Zhao Changhe held out his hand: “Or make another deck of cards, and I’ll draw.”

Ye Wuming was both amused and exasperated: “Back then, I let you draw cards to glimpse your fate line and make arrangements… What would be the point now? I do have some items from other realms, but none that happen to suit Dragon Sparrow. If you want, I have a suggestion.”

Zhao Changhe’s interest was piqued: “What?”

Ye Wuming glanced at Ling Ruoyu, then blinked: “How about… we take the kid to an amusement park?”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Ye Wuming stood up gracefully: “Let me show you the ecology of other realms… For example, some rely mainly on artifacts for combat, rather than our martial arts leading to the mystical.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred.

The Heavenly Book was an artifact; it was easy to imagine that it was born from a realm that valued artifacts. Yet this realm had almost no concept of artifacts—only sword spirits, and the closest things were Boxun’s Soul-Capturing Mirror and Yuxu’s Taiji Diagram, which were merely auxiliary items, more symbolic than practical. This must be a trick of the Heavenly Dao, deliberately suppressing the evolution of this realm into a similar branch.

Ye Wuming had spent years roaming the heavens exploring these issues, and she must have found a similar realm worth referencing.

Seeing his obviously tempted expression, Ye Wuming felt a sense of regaining the initiative: “How about it? Interested?”

Zhao Changhe admitted honestly, “Yes.”

Ye Wuming took Ling Ruoyu’s hand with one hand, her eyes sparkling as they fell on Zhao Changhe’s hand.

Without a second word, Zhao Changhe grasped it.

The night, unnamed, gave a faint, ambiguous smile, saying nothing, and in the next moment, time and space twisted, and the world changed.

...

Some immortal cultivation continent.

Perhaps just one star among the myriad heavens.

Ling Ruoyu's mouth was half-open as she looked up at the sky.

In the sky, an immortal flew past on a sword, utterly carefree. Another drifted on a white cloud, leisurely drinking wine.

Their auras were not stronger than her parents', and the one on the sword was even no stronger than herself, but Ling Ruoyu had never seen this way of flying.

Their family of three was also in midair, but at a low altitude, with a city not far below. Looking down, clouds and mist swirled, exuding an ethereal, immortal air.

This was an immortal market, where all who came and went were cultivators.

In her own realm, perhaps the age of ancient gods and demons had seen such a flourishing of cultivation, but the nature of things was still very different, even the fundamental laws were different.

Young Ling Ruoyu, with her limited experience, didn't know what this difference was... Zhao Changhe could sum it up in two simple terms: xuanhuan and xianxia.

"Come on, let's go down and take a look." Both father and daughter were eager, not even holding Night Nameless's hand anymore, as they excitedly descended into the city.

Night Nameless looked at her suddenly empty hand, speechless, and shook her head.

These two reckless ones... truly cut from the same cloth. Speaking of which, Xinghe used to be quite steady and could even ambush others, but now she's really been corrupted by Yue Hongling... Oh well, with Zhao Changhe's current strength, traveling through the myriad heavens puts him in a relatively high tier, so generally there's no danger.

Moreover, based on Night Nameless's experience, the world of immortal cultivation also comes in two types: one is very peaceful, the other is a naked dark forest. Since she brought her novice daughter to an amusement park, she naturally chose the more peaceful and orderly kind.

Since they came for materials for Longque, the father and daughter's first stop was a place resembling a divine weapon shop, where various swords and blades were displayed, along with many rare metal materials.

Zhao Changhe looked at the blades, Ling Ruoyu looked at the swords, and then father and daughter shook their heads in unison.

What crappy blades, not even fit to hold Longque's shoes.

What crappy swords, not even fit to hold Xinghe's shoes.

The shopkeeper, seeing the two customers shaking their heads, hurried over and asked with a smile, "Are you two looking to buy weapons? If you're not satisfied, you can go to the inner hall. The weapons in our outer hall are only of the seventh or eighth grade, but the good divine weapons are inside, reaching as high as the fifth grade! I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

It was also Chinese, and a nine-grade system... Zhao Changhe turned to look at Night Nameless, who had just entered, and thought to himself that this must all be part of the Huaxia system. Come to think of it, the world of immortal cultivation is naturally a Huaxia system.

Night Nameless understood the meaning in his eyes, nodded, and then shook her head at the shopkeeper: "We're not buying weapons; we've come to look at materials."

The shopkeeper looked at Night Nameless, then at Ling Ruoyu, and flattered with a smile: "Are you two ladies sisters? Such beautiful sisters are truly rare to see."

Night Nameless: "..."

Ling Ruoyu: "...This is my mother."

The shopkeeper recalled the scene of Zhao Changhe holding Ling Ruoyu's hand as they entered, and quickly understood—so it was a family of three. He then flattered Zhao Changhe: "Sir, your wife is so beautiful, and your daughter so lovely; you are truly blessed with deep fortune, and your cultivation will surely achieve great success..."

Night Nameless: "?"

Zhao Changhe coughed dryly: "Enough nonsense. That black metal with blood-red streaks—what's its name? Let me see it?"

The shopkeeper took out the metal: "Good eye, sir. This is Blood-drinking Stone. Forging blades with it allows you to absorb an enemy's blood. If refined properly or paired with the right techniques, it can even absorb their life force to nourish yourself."

Zhao Changhe weighed the metal in his hand and could sense that the effect was indeed there, mainly absorbing blood to quickly turn the enemy into a desiccated corpse. But using it to replenish one's own health bar was essentially zero—pure exaggeration. Similar effects existed in the Tian Shu realm, more suited to the Blood Fiend Art, good for forging the Blood God Blade, but not quite right for Longque.

Still, since it had some use for the Blood God Blade, Zhao Changhe thought about bringing a gift for Sect Leader Xue, so he asked, "What's the price?"

The shopkeeper smiled and held up a palm: "Cheap, fifty high-grade spirit stones."

A familiar spirit stone trading system... Zhao Changhe whispered to Night Nameless: "Got money? Spot me fifty."

Night Nameless's face was expressionless: "Do you hear yourself? A grown man asking me for money to buy things?"

"I don't have any spirit stones..." Zhao Changhe said with utter confidence: "Anyway, whenever I traveled the world, I used Yangyang's or Wanzhuang's money, and later, Chichi's imperial treasury money. I never earned any myself."

Night Nameless laughed in exasperation: "Living off women so shamelessly—truly unprecedented in history."

The two hadn't deliberately used telepathy, and though their voices were low, the shopkeeper still heard them. He chuckled and said, "You two are such a loving couple..."

Indeed, even discussing living off a woman without getting angry—it was like flirting.

Night Nameless fumed: "Who's a loving couple! If he wants to buy something, let him buy it himself. Why are you looking at me?"

Ling Ruoyu tugged at Night Nameless's sleeve: "Mom, I want to buy something too..."

Night Nameless's voice caught in her throat, and she silently pulled out fifty spirit stones.