Seeing her son-in-law's entranced expression the Heavenly Empress Bai Fen could imagine what was going on in his head. She cleared her throat and looked at Shun Tao. "Fate's Scribe, since everyone is here now tell us what you found out."
Shun Tao nodded and pulled out the scroll where he had written down all their findings. "After the God of War returned to the Nine Heavens, Huan Yin gave birth to her child, a son she named Bai Mu, in the wilderness with the help of some travelers. There wasn't any mention of either her or Bai Mu in the scrolls of fate for the following years so it is highly likely that she secluded herself with her child or at least didn't have any contact with mortals that influenced their fate heavily enough to be mentioned in the scrolls.
"There aren't many mentions of Huan Yin even after that. She seems to have appeared rather randomly and never left her name. Sometimes she went to take a look when things happened in the world of cultivators but often she was also present at happenings in the secular world. We couldn't find any rhyme or reason to these short appearances but, well, she was only mentioned, after all, and we don't have a full account of what she did at these times.
"In regards to Huan Yin, nothing has changed. The last time she appeared was about two hundred years ago at the wedding of some crown prince. The mentions of her son Bai Mu are more extensive.
"It seems after growing up for a few years Huan Yin sent him away. He joined a human sect and learned their cultivation. In fact, he seemed to have become a figurehead of the younger generation that was both looked up to and envied by his fellow martial brothers and sisters. Well, the martial sisters had some other feelings as well.
"The envy of the others was, unfortunately, what led to Bai Mu's downfall. The sect he had joined was a righteous sect so when someone accidentally discovered that he was a demon and made it known Bai Mu was instantly met with disgust. The Sect Master and Elders of the sect wanted to trial him and finally put him to death and nobody stepped out to save him. Of course, a child with his heritage wouldn't be so easily defeated.
"Bai Mu managed to flee from the sect and disappeared for a few years. Afterward, he reappeared in a demonic sect where his rise to power was even more shocking than the one at the righteous sect before.
"Bai Mu wasn't really happy with that though. The sect he had joined could really be classified as an evil sect and deep down he loathed their way of doing things. He finally couldn't take it any longer and left, once again disappearing for several years.
"Bai Mu was seen wandering the human world after that, not appearing regularly but still a lot more often than his mother. Since a lot of time had passed since he was a part of both that righteous and that demonic sect he wasn't bothered by them either. He sometimes even lived among humans for extended periods of time without alerting them to his mixed blood.
"Some years ago he met a human woman by the name of Nie Huang and the two of them fell in love. They were even about to get married. Unfortunately, tragedy once again struck and Bai Mu was discovered by a member of a righteous sect that views the hunting of demons as their main task. When Bai Mu and his fiancee were on an outing the cultivators struck and since Bai Mu was afraid of his fiancee getting hurt he was finally caught."
The people in the throne room waited for him to continue but Shun Tao just looked at the Heavenly Emperor.
"Then what?"
"Ah? Uh, nothing, Your Majesty. He was imprisoned in that Chun Feng Sect and that is the last we could find about him. It could be that he is still there."
Qiu Ling frowned. "Chun Feng Sect?" Why did he feel as if he had heard that name somewhere before?
The Heavenly Emperor nodded and turned to Xin Lan. "Senior Xin, I'm afraid this is all we will be able to find out. Should we send someone to check on that Chun Feng Sect?"
Xin Lan shook his head. "No need. I will go there myself. After all, I've been investigating this for a long time already. There might be some further clues I can gather that others might overlook."
"Mn, that's true. Then we'll leave it in your hands. Please inform us if you need any further help."
"Thank you. Should the need arise I will definitely take you up on the offer." He nodded and turned around, striding out of the throne room.
Qiu Ling looked at Xin Lan's leaving figure, turned to his father- and mother-in-law and smiled at them brilliantly. "Mother-in-law, Father-in-law, I'll go and help Senior Xin." He turned around and hurried after him, not even giving them the time to reply.
Hah, wouldn't he be an idiot if he stayed to talk? They finally knew where to find the person with the mixed blood. He should hurry there as fast as he could and then bring that person to the array so that he could free his beloved. Mn, Jing He would be so touched when he told him about all the things he had taken on to free him! Ah, just imagining how he would show his gratitude …
"Umph!" Qiu Ling crashed into someone and hurriedly drew back.
Xin Lan turned around, frowning. "Are you done yet? Let's return to the human realm. It's your beloved we want to free, after all."
"Mn, that's true." Qiu Ling perked up and hastened forward. After three steps he stopped and turned around. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Then, he returned to the mortal world.