Return of the Celestial King

Chapter 200: Chapter 200: A Piece of Warm Jade

Qin Tuo looked utterly crestfallen.

Qin Hongguo and Luo Xianglan exchanged a look, a heavy weight settling in their hearts as well.

But now that they had made their decision, they had to see it through.

Qin Tuo sank onto the sofa, silent.

Qin Hongguo and his wife sat down on either side of him.

The family of three sat in the villa’s living room, an unusual silence hanging between them for several minutes.

At last, Luo Xianglan let out a slow sigh, her voice filled with sorrow as she spoke.

"Son, back then... my health was poor. No matter what treatments I tried, I couldn’t get pregnant. Your father and I were on the verge of despair, preparing ourselves for a life without children."

Qin Hongguo picked up the story, speaking slowly.

"But that winter, I was on my way to the market when I found you in the grass by the side of the road. You were just an infant, wrapped in a piece of cotton cloth... It was such a pitiful sight..."

As he said this, even a grown man like Qin Hongguo could feel his eyes turning red.

As for Luo Xianglan, she was already sobbing uncontrollably.

A storm of complex emotions churned within Qin Tuo.

Luo Xianglan said through her tears,

"From that moment, your father and I decided to raise you as our own son. We never planned to reveal this secret, but I never imagined your uncle would be the one to let it slip today. Alas!"

Hearing this, Qin Tuo finally understood his origins. He had been abandoned, left to nearly freeze to death.

’If Qin Hongguo hadn’t found me and raised me, would I even be here today?’

Qin Tuo slowly lifted his head, his eyes red, and asked,

"Dad, Mom... why did my birth parents abandon me?"

This was a question that, clearly, neither Qin Hongguo nor his wife knew how to answer.

After a moment of thought, Qin Hongguo said earnestly,

"I don’t know for sure. Back then, I actually took you around, going door to door trying to find them. But in the end, I couldn’t find your birth parents, so I had no choice but to take you home with me."

Every word was a dagger to the heart. Qin Tuo felt as if his own heart had shattered into a thousand pieces.

He couldn’t understand why. Why would his own parents so cruelly cast him aside?

If they didn’t love him, why bring him into this world at all?

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Qin Hongguo shot to his feet.

He went into his room and, after rummaging around for a moment, came back out holding something wrapped in a black cloth.

A look of confusion appeared in Qin Tuo’s eyes when he saw the cloth.

Qin Hongguo said slowly,

"Son, this was the only thing you had on you back then. I’ve kept it safe for over twenty years. It’s time I gave it back to you."

Qin Tuo took the cloth bundle solemnly, a complex expression in his eyes.

Qin Hongguo continued,

"Son, the truth is, we don’t know much about your birth parents. But if you ever get any news about them, you should go find them. Your mother and I will never blame you for it!"

After he spoke, Qin Hongguo couldn’t stop himself from turning away to wipe his eyes.

Luo Xianglan, on the other hand, was crying loudly, her heart aching with sorrow.

At last, Qin Tuo could no longer hold back his tears. They streamed down his face until finally, he broke down and wailed.

"Dad! Mom! Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you! You’re the only parents I’ll ever have!"

Emotionally overwhelmed, Qin Tuo threw his arms around his parents, hugging them tightly.

Qin Hongguo and Luo Xianglan, deeply moved, nodded again and again.

"Good boy! You’ll always be our son. Our family of three will never be separated!"

Luo Xianglan smiled through her tears, while Qin Hongguo’s old eyes brimmed with emotion, leaving him speechless.

They felt that all their years of love and sacrifice had, in this very moment, been worth it.

After a while, once their emotions had settled, Qin Hongguo said earnestly,

"Son, we’ve never touched this thing in all these years. We don’t even know what it is. We saw that as a sign of respect for your birth parents. Now, it’s finally being returned to its rightful owner."

Then Luo Xianglan, as if remembering something herself, quickly added,

"Son, take a good look inside. Maybe it’s the only memento your birth parents left for you."

Qin Tuo nodded. He had a faint inkling that this object might hold the key to uncovering his true origins.

A short while later, Qin Tuo returned to his room with the black cloth bundle.

Placing the bundle on his desk, Qin Tuo steeled his resolve.

He was going to see just what this thing—the only object from his past—really was.

Then, Qin Tuo carefully unwrapped the black cloth. What he saw when he unfolded it surprised him.

Inside was a piece of lustrous, smooth jade.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing special about it, no different from any ordinary piece of jade.

But when he gently picked it up and placed it in his palm, Qin Tuo realized something was off.

As he held the jade, he found it was as light as a feather, almost weightless.

Qin Tuo even had the strange sensation that this warm piece of jade was a part of his own body.

And now that this part had returned, it was rapidly becoming one with him again.

The sensation was so bizarre that it left Qin Tuo stunned for a moment.

Qin Tuo turned the warm jade over in his hands. He noticed that not only was it exquisitely translucent, but it also radiated a faint heat.

Beyond that, it had no other special properties.

Just as Qin Tuo was about to inspect the jade for more information, it suddenly began to vibrate violently!

"What’s happening?"

Qin Tuo was taken aback.

At the same time, the blood in his veins began to boil uncontrollably.

In that instant, intense heat flared through his entire body, and a sliver of unease pricked his heart.

’Something’s wrong. Didn’t my parents leave me this jade? Surely it wouldn’t try to harm me?’

Qin Tuo shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought.

But he had a feeling that something was about to happen.

At that critical moment, the unexpected happened...

The Celestial King Order on his finger began to tremble, emitting a piercing shriek as if to warn of impending danger.

’What in the world is going on? Why is the Celestial King Order reacting to this?’

Qin Tuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In his eyes, the Celestial King Order was an incredible treasure.

But why would the jade his parents left him create such a bizarre resonance with it?