In that instant, Gu Baiqing’s heart was so frightened it nearly stopped. Even though he knew it was an illusion, watching little Xuanli face such danger was something Gu Baiqing could not accept at all.
Xuan Ji… Xuanli’s biological mother, why would she strike with such ruthless intent!
But the next second, a beam of light shot out, instead knocking Xuan Ji down onto the bed, and the baby rolled to the side, wailing loudly.
Gu Baiqing’s heart ached as he wanted to go hold little Xuanli, but he could not touch him at all, only fret helplessly.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… but there’s no way… you shouldn’t have been born, you shouldn’t…”
Xuan Ji’s trembling voice came from nearby. Gu Baiqing angrily turned his head, his pupils shrinking, and saw Xuan Ji’s figure flash.
She reached straight out to grab little Xuanli by the neck.
Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs, yet every second that followed made Gu Baiqing wish he could cross time itself, truly arrive at this moment, and kill this poisonous woman with a single sword.
In the end, Gu Baiqing could no longer bear to watch. Xuan Ji actually used every possible means to try to kill little Xuanli.
But in the end, she simply could not harm little Xuanli in the slightest.
Xuan Ji herself collapsed and went mad first. “Why… why… why did it have to be me who gave birth to…”
Little Xuanli’s kind of self-protective ability should originate from the power of the Primordial Demon.
Previously, the Hidden Gods Clan had said that when Mo Xuanli no longer wanted to be himself, the Primordial Demon within him would awaken.
And the current little infant had not yet developed self-awareness, which meant that right now, little Xuanli counted as half a Primordial Demon.
So he truly was invincible. But even if truly invincible, being constantly harmed and threatened was still heart-wrenching.
Gu Baiqing couldn’t help softly coaxing the little Xuanli who kept crying. Even though he couldn’t hear, Gu Baiqing still foolishly tried to soothe him in a low voice, until Xuan Ji calmed down and began breastfeeding.
Gu Baiqing went outside to avoid impropriety, yet felt as though he could barely breathe.
Suddenly, day and night began to alternate before his eyes. Gu Baiqing saw little Xuanyue beside him disappear, and then Xuan Ji emerged from behind.
Under cover of night, Xuan Ji carried little Xuanli away from this place.
Gu Baiqing followed. The surrounding scenery kept changing, until they reached deep mountains and old forests, inside a mountain cave.
Xuan Ji set the infant down, then cast spells to lay extremely powerful barriers over the cave, ensuring that no one would discover this place.
Gu Baiqing did not react at first, until he saw Xuan Ji hold little Xuanli and cry for a while, then put the swaddled child down, and leave.
She went back alone, leaving little Xuanli in the cave.
Gu Baiqing stared at everything in disbelief, deep mountains and old forests, beasts all around. Even if they could not enter the barrier, sounds could still travel. Little Xuanli could hear all the movements of the night, and his crying could also attract enemies.
Separated by only a thin layer of barrier, letting a newborn infant face everything, this was simply…
Gu Baiqing was already so angry he didn’t know how to react. He went in to look at little Xuanli, saw that his eyes were swollen and red from crying, yet was powerless, able only to ache in vain.
The scene shifted again. Gu Baiqing could not stay in the cave with little Xuanli the whole time, but he could see him every so often.
Because Xuan Ji would come once every day to visit little Xuanli, to breastfeed and nourish him. Fortunately, this was an immortal-martial world, and little Xuanli was born with extraordinary abilities. If he had been raised strictly according to Xuan Ji’s method, little Xuanli would have died long ago.
Or perhaps… Xuan Ji hoped that he would die like this.
Very soon, Gu Baiqing finally saw, in their family’s small courtyard, a handsome man with an extraordinary bearing return, almost more pleasing to the eye than the brothers Jingcheng and Jingzhan.
This was the legendary Immortal Baili Jin.
The mother and daughter both wore radiant smiles as they personally went out to welcome him.
“Husband!”
“Father!”
“Wife, Yue’er, my treasure.”
Baili first lifted Xuanyue into his arms, then wrapped an arm around Xuan Ji and planted a kiss on her cheek, gentleness filled with affection.
Xuan Ji looked at Baili with a face full of infatuation, so gentle that there was no trace of the Demon Clan about her.
The family of three was joyful and harmonious, completely a happy family of three.
When the surrounding neighbors saw Baili return, they also smiled and greeted him, joking about how good the relationship was among the three of them.
Yet such a happy scene made Gu Baiqing find it unbearably glaring, especially when he looked at Xuan Ji.
Gu Baiqing suddenly realized a terrifying fact.
Xuan Ji was of the Demon Clan. If their purpose was to create the Primordial Demon, and if they did not care at all about the so-called world-destroying theory of the Primordial Demon, then her treatment of Mo Xuanli absolutely could not be for those grand, high-sounding reasons of “the greater good” used by the cultivation world.
So the only reason was…
“Wife, sorry I came back late, making you face difficulties alone again. I don’t know why those Demon Clan people insisted on provoking trouble at this time, forcing me to go deal with it. Where is Li’er? Why didn’t you bring him out for me to see? You look like you’ve recovered well, was the delivery smooth? You’ve worked hard. Quickly take me to see Li’er; I even brought him gifts…” Baili spoke excitedly, like a normal father, about everything concerning the newborn child.
But Xuan Ji’s expression collapsed in an instant. Xuanyue looked around uneasily. Then, in a crisp voice, she said, “Little brother is sick.”
“What!” Baili immediately, worried, ushered the mother and daughter back into the courtyard. “I’ll go take a look…”
Xuan Ji immediately grabbed Baili and said, “No, the child isn’t here. He was taken away by my master.”
“What? Your master?” Baili said in surprise.
Xuan Ji nodded. Perhaps she had already fabricated a powerful itinerant cultivator master earlier, making Baili firmly believe in that person’s medical skills. After Xuan Ji said that the child had problems at birth and was taken away by her master for focused treatment, he did not doubt it at all. He only worriedly wanted to go visit, and even said that their Tianyuan Sect had many heavenly materials and earthly treasures that could be put to good use.
But Xuan Ji coaxed and deceived him past each point. In short, the child’s condition was unclear, and everything could only wait for news from her master.
Seeing his wife so distressed, Baili did not dare to ask further, and could only comply.
Although they were sad for a while, the family of three soon returned to a harmonious state. Husband and wife deeply in love, parents doting on their only precious daughter. It was still the picture of a happy family.
And Gu Baiqing truly, completely confirmed it, Xuan Ji was a selfish, self-interested woman.
She loved her children, but she loved Baili above all else. A mixed-blood like Xuanyue could be hidden, so she kept her by her side. But one like Xuanli could not be hidden, he would be discovered by Baili. And if her brother, the Demon Venerable, were to discover that the Primordial Demon had already been born, it would inevitably destroy everything happy and beautiful she currently had.
So she chose to sacrifice Mo Xuanli.
She felt that Mo Xuanli should not have been born, that he ruined her happy life, because she loved Baili to the point of obsession, and she could not tolerate anything that would damage their relationship.
Xuan Ji would still, when going out daily to gather and buy things, take the opportunity to leave and check on little Xuanli. This was probably her only remaining conscience as a mother.
Up to this point, neither Baili nor Xuanyue had ever seen little Xuanli, until six years later.
Gu Baiqing stood inside the mountain cave, looking at little Xuanli opposite him, who was sitting against the wall hugging his knees, staring blankly at the scenery outside the cave. His heart had already gone numb.
Outside the cave, mountain flowers bloomed in riotous splendor. Inside the cave, there were only damp, gloomy rocks. Although there were already some simple traces of human living, such as an ultra-thin bed, tables and chairs, candle stands, books and writing tools, he was still trapped within this tiny space. Only near the barrier could he feel as though he were placed amid beautiful scenery. But little Xuanli no longer dared to stretch out his hand, because he had tried too many times. After being struck painfully by the barrier many times, he had learned his lesson. At his feet, there was a line drawn with stones, that was his warning to himself not to cross the boundary, or it would hurt.
At times like this, little Xuanli would stay here, craning his neck in anticipation, because this was the time when his mother came every day.
Little Xuanli had naturally asked why he was here. Xuan Ji had only lied to him, saying he was sick and was recuperating.
Little Xuanli was exceptionally obedient and well-behaved. Perhaps he was aware that he might not see his mother at any time, so from a young age he neither cried nor made trouble, completely obedient, not even daring to make a single request. He lived day after day like this.
Suddenly, a gust of spring wind blew in, and several small blue flowers drifted inside. In fact, the entire mountain ground was covered with them, but inside the cave there were none. So when the little flowers floated in, little Xuanli’s eyes instantly lit up. He immediately moved, picked up the little flowers on the ground, and happily held them in his palms to admire, until…
Gu Baiqing turned his head with a darkened expression and looked over, seeing a woman walk over.
This time, she was not carrying a basket.
Usually, she would bring simple food with her.
And when little Xuanli saw his mother, he immediately stood up and shouted, “Mother!” Then he waved desperately. Seeing this scene, Gu Baiqing felt a dull pain in his chest.
Xuan Ji did not reveal a joyful expression to respond to little Xuanli. Every time she saw her son, she wore a serious, troubled look. This caused little Xuanli to instinctively and habitually try to please his mother. This time, Xuan Ji’s troubled expression was even heavier, as though she were hesitating.
Gu Baiqing naturally knew what she was hesitating about, because over the past six years, Baili had finally been unable to endure it any longer. He asked more and more frequently, and even wanted to personally go find the child.
And Xuan Ji had also discovered that as Mo Xuanli’s mind matured, his eyes had already become the same as an ordinary mixed-blood’s. She had tried several times to temporarily seal his mixed-blood aura, and all had succeeded. But Xuan Ji knew that he was a special mixed-blood, so she worried that Baili would see through it at a glance. After hesitating again and again, in the end Xuan Ji could only dissolve the barrier here and once more help Mo Xuanli seal the mixed-blood aura within his body.
This process was not comfortable, but it was also little Xuanli’s only chance to snuggle into his mother’s embrace. He liked being close to his mother very much.
So even if it hurt, he would not say a word.
After that, Xuan Ji began teaching Mo Xuanli to lie. In fact, there was not much to say, just treat the six years he had spent curing his illness as having lost his memory, and say he was sent back to his mother by his master.
When little Xuanli heard that he had finally cured his illness, that he could live together with his father, mother, and sister, and that he could finally go home, he was instantly so happy that he agreed to everything, without thinking from beginning to end that anything was wrong.
At last, little Xuanli held Xuan Ji’s hand and timidly returned home.
Because the return was so sudden, as soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw the tall father helping the twelve- or thirteen-year-old Older Sister push a swing. They could hear the sister’s silvery, charming laughter, and hear the father’s gentle coaxing voice.
“Hahahaha, higher, Father, higher, I can fly!”
“Is Yue’er not afraid?”
Gu Baiqing had been staring at little Xuanli the entire time, so he could see the almost instantaneous stiffening of little Xuanli’s body, as well as the look of envy in his eyes. Gu Baiqing could not help but reach out through the air to hold little Xuanli’s hand, his heart filled with nothing but bitterness.
Until the father and daughter in the courtyard discovered Xuan Ji appearing while holding a little boy.
In fact, there was no need for introductions, because little Xuanli’s appearance already proved everything.
“Li’er!” Baili immediately rushed over.
Xuanyue also curiously ran over to look.
“Are you Li’er?”
Xuanli could not help but look toward Xuan Ji, and seeing Xuan Ji signal for him to greet them, he said, “Father… Sister.” The polite address carried expectation. Baili did not disappoint him, instantly lifting him into his arms.
“Yes, I’m your father. Li’er has finally come back. How is your body? Is there anywhere still uncomfortable? Let Father take a look…”
Baili was very enthusiastic. Seeing that Baili had not discovered anything at all, Xuan Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile finally appeared on her face.
That night, the couple slept with their child together for the first time.
The entire night, little Xuanli was so excited that he could not sleep. He either looked at his father or looked at his mother, eyes open until dawn.
Then Baili helped him dress, and Xuan Ji helped comb his hair.
Gu Baiqing watched as little Xuanli’s lips almost never stopped curving upward.
On the other hand, little Xuanyue expressed unhappiness early in the morning, because being older, she could no longer sleep together with her parents. Although this was normal, suddenly having an unfamiliar younger brother who could sleep with their parents still made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
And this pair of parents, facing the daughter who had lived with them day and night for more than ten years, naturally showed an extra degree of intimacy, appearing even more like a family in front of little Xuanli.
Thus, in the days of getting along that followed, Baili had the desire to be close to his son, but Baili himself was not the type with an easily approachable personality. When facing his daughter, it was because little Xuanyue herself was lively, cheerful, and energetic, so she became her father’s little sweetheart. But when facing the shy and introverted Xuanli, it was more an awkward, unfamiliar closeness, teaching lessons, training the body, and occasionally having to go out to handle affairs. The time they could spend together was limited, but it was still not bad. After all, both of their hearts wanted to draw closer to each other, and the rest could be left to time.
Little Xuanli still liked his mighty and extraordinary father very much. Especially when he saw his father flying on a sword or manipulating spells, he admired him immensely. And because his father had promised to let him raise the picked-up Three Bean, he was even more overjoyed.
But things were somewhat awkward on Xuan Ji’s side. Perhaps she wanted to make up for things and tried to be good to little Xuanli, but also felt that she had done many guilty things over the years. When facing Xuanli, she always had a sense of avoidance like a perpetrator facing a victim, which put great pressure on her. So she still gave more love to her daughter, unconsciously favoring her. When she realized it, she would then avoid Xuanli even more. But in the end, she did not mistreat little Xuanli, and took more care of him than in the past. Gu Baiqing’s expectations of her were already very, very low.
It is likely that little Xuanli was the same way, so when Xuanji treated him a little better, he felt a little happier. Although he envied his Older Sister for being able to be so close with both parents, he never grew jealous or did anything bad.
Instead, it was little Xuanyue. Once she realized that her younger brother’s arrival had caused her parents’ attention toward her to lessen somewhat, and that even the surrounding neighbors were paying more attention to this returned younger brother, little Xuanyue grew increasingly fond of disliking him.
It wasn’t bullying, exactly, she just didn’t like him, didn’t take him along to play.
So when village children had toys or something new to play with, Xuanyue would take the initiative to ask for them, but she would never speak up for her younger brother. Even though she clearly knew that her younger brother couldn’t bring himself to ask, and that he still carried a cautious, living-under-someone-else’s-roof mindset, she simply wouldn’t say anything, wanting to assert that she was still the most important one in the family.
And at times, the parents didn’t really notice the interactions between the children, so they never discovered that little Xuanli might never even have had small toys to play with together with the other children.
Aside from one Three Bean, he almost had nothing that belonged to him.
Perhaps given more time, they would have discovered it and corrected it.
But unfortunately, there was only such a short span of less than one year.
At that time, it was almost the Spring-Gazing Festival.
The parents planned to take the siblings together to the market.
They promised him he could buy many toys, he had already thought it all through.
But Xuanli had not yet fully enjoyed the warmth a family should truly have.
The Immortal–Demon War broke out. Because the Demon Venerable discovered him.
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