Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Qin Hanyue’s Decision
"Go on, what nonsense is this? Where did you learn to ask such things... Is that any way to speak to your own mother?!" Qin Hanyue shot her son a look, then fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, she sighed out of the blue, "Son, do you know why I’m telling you all this today? Do you know why I suddenly seem like a completely different person?"
Qin Li shook his head dumbly. In his memory, Qin Hanyue had never been like this. The impression she gave was always one of aloofness and nobility. She rarely spoke, and whatever happened, she would just bear it all silently on her own.
Qin Hanyue sighed softly, as if reminiscing or lost in memory. She gazed into Qin Li’s eyes and said slowly, "The way I am today is my true self! If you had remained the way you were for your whole life, then I would never have become like this. I would have forever been just a doting mother, because I didn’t want any harm to come to you. I only wanted you to live a happy life and give me a precious grandchild—that would have been my greatest happiness! But, you were the one who changed first. Hmm, that business with Qin Shisan... You handled that very well!"
At Qin Hanyue’s words, Qin Li froze. He stared at his mother, dumbfounded, and stammered in disbelief, "You... How did you know?"
Qin Hanyue smiled faintly and said, "Look, you and I are talking right now, but Xiaoxue... she can’t hear us. Do you understand?"
Qin Li was instantly stunned. He stared at Qin Hanyue in utter shock, as if he were seeing his mother for the first time. He had once heard an old Daoist priest say that a skill like Secret Transmission actually existed! On an even higher level, a person whose Inner Strength reached a certain realm could emit it to form a field. Ordinary people couldn’t sense this field at all, but it could block out all surrounding information, like a... domain!
The supreme experts of the Celestial Essence Continent surely possessed similar abilities, but the mother in his memory had always been so gentle and frail. How could she possibly possess such power?
Seeing her son’s shocked expression, Qin Hanyue smiled a little smugly. She winked at Qin Li and said with a grin, "My precious son, I never thought this day would come, a day when I could say all this to you. Truly, I’m so happy, incredibly happy! Now, you should understand why your father fell in love with me back then, right?" At the mention of her beloved, Qin Hanyue’s face flushed slightly, but more than that, her expression was one of sweetness and bliss.
"But... but why did you never show it? Why didn’t you ever teach me when I had no combat techniques to learn as a child? Why did you just silently endure it when that damn Physician Wu was harassing you?" There were so many other questions Qin Li didn’t ask, because he was completely stunned by the changes in his mother.
"What good would showing my strength have done? Did you know that the book of Basic Techniques you cultivate from is not from this mortal world at all! Hmph, they have no foresight, thinking it was trash. But after you cultivated the ’Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable’ technique, do you still think so?"
A proud smile touched the corners of Qin Hanyue’s mouth before she spoke with a hint of helplessness, "Physician Wu? He is indeed a scumbag, but you silly child, I don’t know any medicine. Though that man is a degenerate, his medical skills are quite good. If I had offended him, who would have treated your illnesses?"
"With your power, you could have hunted a few Spirit Beasts and lived without a care in the world for the rest of your life! You could have left the Qin Family completely. What kind of physician couldn’t you find then?" Qin Li asked, looking confused.
"My precious son, that’s a good question... a very good question!" Qin Hanyue sighed softly, then said, "It wasn’t that I couldn’t, but that I didn’t dare! What kind of power do you think I possess right now?"
Qin Li looked at Qin Hanyue and guessed, "At least at the Celestial Level, right? But I’ve never seen you cultivate..."
"Celestial Level? I suppose so."
Qin Hanyue smiled faintly and said in a low voice, "What I cultivate isn’t one of those so-called Advanced Techniques from the Qin Family. Everything I know, your father taught me. When I gave birth to you, I was only eighteen, still a naive young girl. Do you think your grandfather and the rest of the Qin family never suspected me? Not only did they suspect me, they never stopped monitoring me. How could the man a young lady from a prominent family had fallen for... and even... even pledged her life to in secret, be an ordinary person? They even took that book of Basic Techniques you cultivate from to study it carefully. It wasn’t until they decided it was a useless Cultivation Technique that they returned it to me. Under those circumstances, if I had revealed even the slightest hint of my abilities, you would have been immediately taken and used to threaten me into handing over the Cultivation Technique I learned. Don’t think they wouldn’t do something like that. In a truly great family, kinship... is a luxury!"
As she spoke, Qin Hanyue’s eyes reddened. She took a moment to calm her emotions before continuing, "Your father told me that if those techniques were ever leaked, it would bring him great harm. His family absolutely forbids its Martial Arts from being taught to outsiders; they are all unspoken secrets! And yet, your father taught them all to me. Son, do you think I could ever put your father in danger? So, even if he never came for us in his entire life, I would never do anything to harm him! If you had to remain an ordinary person, then I would have rather been ordinary for a lifetime. I would never allow anyone, or anything, to hurt you. Do you know, that day, if you hadn’t woken up... I would have killed Qin Hu with my own hands! Even if he is my own nephew, I wouldn’t have spared him!"
A sharp killing intent suddenly emanated from Qin Hanyue before she caught herself and retracted it. She glanced at Qin Li with concern and said apologetically, "I’m sorry. I got a little emotional."
"No, Mother. You’re the best mother in the world!" Qin Li said. He then searched his memories, recalling Qin Hanyue’s behavior over the past years. It was true she had never shown a single trace of Martial Arts, yet no matter what crisis she faced, she had never revealed even a hint of fear! ’That, in itself, was the biggest giveaway! How could a weak woman remain so calm in the face of violence? Even to protect her child, wouldn’t it be impossible not to feel any fear at all?’
"Son, did you know that within the Qin Family, there are two old ancestors who reached the Celestial Level over a hundred years ago! All these years have passed, and though they still haven’t broken through the Celestial Level, they... are both still alive and well. In the Qin Family, I was walking on thin ice! Thankfully, the heavens have eyes, and my son, Qin Hanyue’s son, has finally made something of himself!" By the time she finished, tears were streaming down her face.
Emotions churned within Qin Li. He knew this was the residual sentiment of Qin Hanyue’s real son acting up again, but hearing so many hidden truths from the past left his own heart in turmoil. He never imagined that his mother had such a legendary side to her.
Qin Hanyue composed herself and then asked, "My child, do you resent me?"
"No, how could I ever resent you? A parent’s love is a heavy burden. There are only unfilial children, not unloving parents!" Qin Li said from the bottom of his heart. At the same time, the emotional burden that had troubled him for so many years untangled itself in that instant. ’Perhaps I wasn’t abandoned by my parents back then,’ he thought. ’Perhaps they had their own unavoidable difficulties...’ In any case, at this moment, Qin Li finally, completely believed: there is no parent in this world who does not love their child.
"’A parent’s love is a heavy burden.’ Well said. My precious son is truly the most outstanding man in the world!" Qin Hanyue said with a proud expression. She then continued, "What you did yesterday wasn’t wrong, just a bit rash. Although your strength is no longer weak, in the eyes of the Shangguan Family and the Qin Family, you are still easily crushed! Even the Wang Family, whose son’s arm you broke, thinks it would be easy to eliminate you... However, from the moment I personally witnessed you kill Qin Shisan, I understood. You have truly grown up and now possess the ability to protect yourself! The Qin Family... one day, they will regret this!"
Originally, Qin Li’s biggest worry had been his mother, Qin Hanyue. He was afraid that if his enemies couldn’t deal with him, they would turn their attention to her. Now, it seemed he didn’t have to worry at all. It was as if a golden path had appeared before him, free of any lingering concerns!
Qin Hanyue suddenly gazed at Qin Li, her face filled with reluctance. She said softly, "Son, if... and I’m just saying if... if I were to... leave you, would you... be unwilling?"
Qin Li was taken aback for a moment, then he looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Mother, you should go. I support you! Find him. Ask him why he hasn’t come to see you all these years."
Qin Hanyue’s face suddenly flushed crimson, and she looked a little bashful. She hadn’t expected her son to be so clever and understanding. She bit her lip hard, forcing back her tears, and nodded vigorously.
"I’ll take Qin Xue with me. You shouldn’t stay in Yellow Sand City either. There’s nothing here worth holding onto. You are my son, Qin Hanyue’s son. You are the most outstanding man in this world! The Celestial Essence Continent is bigger than you can possibly imagine. There are many places for you to show your talents, to spread your wings and soar high!"
Qin Li nodded. "I understand, Mother. Don’t worry. When I reach the Celestial Level, I will come find you on Profound Island!" As he spoke, a terrible thought occurred to him. He quickly added, "My old man, he couldn’t possibly have... another..."
Qin Hanyue burst out laughing. "That’s impossible! You can rest assured about that. I, on the other hand, hope you’ll find me a few more daughters-in-law and give me a few more grandchildren. Hmph, let those old fossils on Profound Island see that the son born to a worldly woman like me is far stronger than their so-called young elites!"
As she spoke, Qin Hanyue remembered something else. "I hear you mentioned Shiyu was taken to Profound Island? Hmph, I’d like to see who took her. If anyone dares to bully her, I’ll have your father deal with them!"
Qin Li felt speechless, his face a mask of exasperation. ’She’s being a bit blindly confident,’ he thought, but he couldn’t bear to dash her spirits. He could only wish his mother well.
In truth, there was something Qin Hanyue hadn’t told her son. Back then, Qin Li’s father had been fleeing an arranged marriage. His family had an extremely peculiar rule: if a disciple was dissatisfied with a marriage arranged by the family, they could attempt to break through a series of trials to escape it. If they succeeded, they would be free for twenty years. If they failed, they had to obediently accept their fate. The rule seemed strange and almost like a joke, but in reality, wasn’t it also a form of tempering?
Besides, while twenty years was a long time in the eyes of an ordinary person, to the people of that place, it was but the blink of an eye.
Although Qin Hanyue didn’t want to leave just yet—after all, her son would only be fourteen after the New Year, and in a mother’s eyes, a son is a child even at forty, let alone fourteen!
But Qin Hanyue understood even better that a child is like an eaglet; without being tempered by wind and rain, it can never hope to soar freely through the Nine Heavens. Therefore, though she was reluctant, and though her heart ached, letting go... was her most rational choice.
Because now, her son was no longer ordinary.
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