ETR | Chapter 32

Lin Yuan’s first reaction was—it’s over. But thankfully, she was a grown-up now, had been a Pavilion Master for quite some time, and her posture only wavered slightly—she didn’t embarrass herself in front of everyone.

“…Who are you?”

Lin Yuan instantly forgot about all the earlier mess. She practically flew forward and gently pulled the child out from behind Ning Ling, treating him with the utmost care, like she was afraid she might break him.

Once she got a closer look, the resemblance was even more striking—he looked exactly like Xiao Xueman.

Xiao Wan was slowly snapping out of his dizziness. Once Lin Yuan brought him closer, his mind cleared up more.

He quickly realized something: Ning Ling had never seen his daddy’s face, so he couldn’t recognize him. But this Pavilion Master in front of him—she probably had. Judging by her reaction, she definitely knew his daddy.

He couldn’t let her find out about Daddy.

“My name is Shen Zao,” Xiao Wan blinked his eyes, diving right into the lie, “I’m from the Thirteenth Heaven, got dragged up here by some lunatic for no reason.”

Lin Yuan had already crouched in front of him, staring at that face like even her voice was trembling. “Just now… you said you have a daddy. What’s your daddy’s name?”

Xiao Wan originally thought of continuing the lie and claiming his uncle as his father. But then he figured—Uncle Shen Guan was one of Daddy’s old friends, and his name might be known here too.

That tiny hesitation, that split second of pause, didn’t go unnoticed. Lin Yuan caught it right away.

“Is your daddy… named Xiao Xueman?”

Before Lin Yuan went into closed-door cultivation, she had already heard rumors that Xiao Xueman might be in the Lower Realm. But spirit instruments that could suppress a spirit god’s power were extremely rare—especially ones that actually worked. Aside from Dijun’s cloak and the hairpin the Yin Ying group dug out of storage, there weren’t any others in the entire Wangtian Immortal Sect. If there were, it wouldn’t have just been the two of them sent to search.

Yin Ying had refused to let more people go down, using the excuse that there were no spare suppressing instruments and that upper-level management was needed in the sect. Lin Yuan had been so furious she’d stormed off into closed-door cultivation, unable to beat him or Dijun in an argument. She’d just come out recently, and now, on the very first day, she ran into this situation—surprise or scare, she couldn’t even tell.

“No,” Xiao Wan denied instantly, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

But even though he said that, he knew deep down—it wasn’t enough to erase her suspicion.

All Ning Ling’s fault, that crazy guy! If he hadn’t dragged him up here, he and Daddy would’ve already left by now. How could Wangtian Immortal Sect people have found them?

Lin Yuan couldn’t be bothered with anything else now. First thing she did was wave everyone out of the hall. The vice-pavilion master who made the decision had to go accept punishment. All the juniors were sent to the trial ground.

Ning Ling could tell something was off. After Lin Yuan pulled Xiao Zao to her side, she intentionally muffled their conversation—he couldn’t hear a thing. He had a bad feeling and wanted to stay.

Right then, Lin Yuan glanced at him and remembered what he said earlier. Her tone was ice cold as she added, “Lian Yan, Liang Sheng, one month in the trial ground. Ning Ling—three months. Go now.”

Liang Sheng trembled. The trial ground had its limits. Usually, people only went in for cultivation and at most stayed half a month. One month was already a harsh punishment. Three months? That was extreme. Almost no one could endure that long.

“If you really stir up big trouble, not even Ji Yun Pavilion can keep you,” Lin Yuan added coldly. “When that time comes, leave behind the sect’s resources and get out.”

All the vice-pavilion masters were stunned. They’d thought Lin Yuan was just mad about him overstepping, and the juniors were punished by association. But Ning Ling? He was someone Ji Yun Pavilion had been grooming carefully. Wasn’t this… a bit too much?

And three months in the trial ground wasn’t even the worst of it. Everything Ning Ling had—the skills, the resources—had all been given by Wangtian Immortal Sect. Forcing him to leave them behind and be expelled was basically no different from crippling his spiritual source.

Someone tried to plead on his behalf. Lin Yuan just sneered and treated them like they were out of their minds.

“I’m already going easy on him for old times’ sake. If he’s lucky, he’ll survive this and make it out alive. You guys really don’t understand how serious this is. Fortunately, the child’s fine. I’m punishing now to make a clear statement, to show accountability,” Lin Yuan said. “But if that person comes up and takes action himself—do you really think any of you will walk away in one piece? Everyone who just tried to defend him, you’re clearly still not thinking straight. Double the punishment.”

No one dared say a word. Before long, the hall was empty—only Xiao Wan and Lin Yuan remained.

Just who was this child?

Lin Yuan was almost certain now that this kid was connected to Xiao Xueman. That face, coming from the Lower Realm, the timing—how could there be such a perfect coincidence?

He looked too similar. Far too much.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared,” she tried to give him a friendlier smile. “You can tell me the truth, can’t you? Shen Zao isn’t your real name, right? I’m good friends with your daddy. Always have been. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Xiao Wan was still on guard, even more wary than before. He refused to say a single word.

“Don’t be scared,” Lin Yuan coaxed gently. Her expression shifted slightly as if something occurred to her.

“I’ll contact your daddy. He’ll come soon,” she said. “He’ll come to see me… and you.”

Xiao Wan didn’t say anything.

He felt something was weird about that pause.

What’s with the vibe, lady? What kind of weird auntie are you supposed to be…?

Meanwhile, Xiao Xueman had already arrived at the alleyway. Two people trailed behind him. Qin Lou stepped forward to take a look—those traces were as fine as spider silk, clearly made by a spirit instrument.

Before either he or Yin Ying could recognize it, Xiao Xueman had already spoken, voice icy cold: “Spiderweb Prison Chain. Nine-star spirit instrument. And you still want to say this wasn’t Wangtian Immortal Sect’s doing?”

Nine-star spirit instruments were rare on the continent. Once he named it, Yin Ying remembered—it had been assigned to Ji Yun Pavilion. Combine that with what Shen Guan had heard earlier about a boy being with Xiao Wan, it was clear. This spirit instrument must’ve been given to a talented junior who brought it down.

Among the juniors Yin Ying had sent off, there was a team from Ji Yun Pavilion. And the time Xiao Wan disappeared lined up exactly with when they were sent off via the ark.

Everything matched. No room for doubt.

Even Yin Ying hadn’t expected a few juniors could cause such a massive problem.

The Spiderweb Prison Chain’s function was to bind and restrict movement. That person must’ve taken Xiao Wan with it.

Bringing the Emperor and Empress’ child back to Wangtian Immortal Sect? How the hell did they have the guts?

Xiao Xueman was completely furious now. Qin Lou and Yin Ying didn’t dare speak. Only Shen Guan could still say a few words in his presence.

“Finding a lead is already a good thing. We didn’t waste much time. We can still make it in time to find Xiao Wan,” Shen Guan said. “It’s fine. I’ll stay with you.”

Xiao Xueman was barely soothed. He spoke to Shen Guan in a gentler tone than before: “Sorry to make you run around with me like this. Today was supposed to be…”

He stopped himself there. His gaze turned sharp as a knife as he glanced coldly at the two people standing behind him.

“There’s no need for politeness between us. The child’s what matters,” Shen Guan patted his shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ll talk after we find Xiao Wan.”

Qin Lou and Yin Ying both felt awful hearing that—especially Qin Lou. Xiao Wan was his and Xueman’s child. It should’ve been him standing there, softly comforting his lover, promising to always stay by his side and help find their child. Now he didn’t even have the right to say those words. If Xiao Xueman didn’t end up hating him more over this, he’d count himself lucky. How could he even dare step forward?

If Wangtian Immortal Sect really did hurt Xiao Wan… he wouldn’t be able to explain himself at all.

The shoulder wound Xiao Xueman had pierced earlier still throbbed faintly. Because they were in the Thirteenth Heaven, even his spirit god-level recovery couldn’t activate properly, and the wound hadn’t healed.

Climbing from Thirteenth Heaven to First Heaven without tools wasn’t easy, even for spirit gods. Too many barriers to pass through. Xueman had been in a rush and didn’t rest at all.

Shen Guan, the weakest among them, was only Spirit God Tier 3, and his spiritual power had been suppressed for so long that he wasn’t even used to having it back yet.

Being a fox in the Lower Realm, Xueman was always worried about him. His seal was unstable by design—too burdensome otherwise—and Xueman normally had to reinforce it every three days.

Now they were heading into Wangtian Immortal Sect. Even if it was just to retrieve Xiao Wan, being back on old turf came with plenty of complications.

There was no guarantee they’d be out in three days, so he had to bring Shen Guan along.

He noticed Shen Guan didn’t look too good, but was still hanging on. They had just reached the path from Sixth Heaven to Fifth Heaven when Xueman gently pulled him closer and cast a protective shield. The green barrier eased the pressure, and Shen Guan subconsciously let out a breath.

But almost at the same time, a flame-type barrier layered itself over the green one. Since Xueman had pulled Shen Guan close, the fire shield covered both of them.

It wasn’t hard to guess who did it. Qin Lou, full of guilt, didn’t dare approach—so he did what he could silently, just to make things a bit easier for Xueman.

“Xueman…”

Shen Guan looked a little embarrassed and tugged at Xueman’s sleeve.

“Focus. If you don’t, it’ll be even harder on you,” Xueman said flatly, not even glancing over. “Don’t worry about anything else.”

Shen Guan shut his mouth and behaved.

By the time they reached First Heaven, he glanced around—feeling a little out of place.

Yeah, the best part of the continent was nothing like the Lower Realm. He’d only been gone a few years and already felt uncomfortable. Xueman had been gone over a century. He must’ve felt the same.

They arrived straight at the gates of Ji Yun Pavilion. Qin Lou and Yin Ying were already there. No guards dared block their way. Not until the group had passed far into the distance did the guards even whisper to each other.

“Who were those people?”

Just looking at them gave the impression of a storm about to break.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuan had brought the child into her own room. Staring at that face that overlapped so perfectly with her memories, she’d first tried to coax him to talk—but Xiao Wan refused to say a single word. There was nothing she could do.

Eventually, Xiao Wan realized—even if he said nothing, this woman could just keep staring at him forever, eyes so intense they made his skin crawl.

“I was really close with your daddy,” she said, finally breaking the silence. Her voice was directed at him, but also kind of like she was talking to herself. “You came from Thirteenth Heaven, right? Actually, I’m not so different. I was born in Middle Realm Ninth Heaven. I met him really early on. He taught me so much, even… gave me everything.”

Xiao Wan didn’t want to stay here, but the moment she mentioned his daddy, he couldn’t help listening.

“Isn’t it the same for everyone else? Without Xueman, there wouldn’t be us. There wouldn’t be today’s Wangtian Immortal Sect.” Lin Yuan paused here, like she wanted to touch his face, but Xiao Wan dodged, and she gave up with a helpless smile.

“How’s your daddy doing now? Is he okay? Is he happy?”

Xiao Wan didn’t answer. He turned his head, still planning how to escape.

“I—we—never believed, never accepted that Xiao Xueman died,” Lin Yuan continued, again half talking to him, half to herself. “If there’s one thing I regret in this life, it’s that I wasn’t there for him back then.”

Just then, she seemed to sense something and turned toward the door.

“He’s here,” Lin Yuan said softly, like a sigh. “I’ve waited so long.”

The moment she finished speaking, a voice echoed from outside the hall—cool and distant:

“Lin Yuan, roll out here for me.”

That was Daddy’s voice!

Xiao Wan’s eyes lit up instantly. He stood up and ran out the door.