Bai Mu froze. He had thought up many ways how his first real meeting with his father might pass off. He had thought that maybe he would blame him or maybe his father would immediately explain why he had never come to look for them so that he didn't even have the chance to blame him before he had to reluctantly forgive him.
This … had never been part of what he imagined.
From what his mother had told him about his father, he was a strong man that wasn't prone to feelings. It had taken time until they fell in love but then, he had been very affectionate. So even though he was his son, Bai Mu had always expected that his father would need some time to warm up to him. So how come he was suddenly hugging him like this, his body even trembling slightly as if this was almost too much for him to take? He really couldn't align the image he had had of his father and the man in front of him.
Bai Mu didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do either. Push this person away? But that was his father! Did he deserve to be treated like that? He didn't know. He didn't know enough by far to judge this matter. The same went for the other direction though. He couldn't just hug him back. Who knew what had transpired back then? Who knew why this man had never come to look for him or his mother? Without answers to these questions, how could he pretend that everything was well between them and hug him back?
In the end, Bai Mu just stiffly remained in that embrace. The moments went by and he couldn't help but notice the warmth emanating from that man's body, the strength in those arms, and the gentleness in the hand that held onto his neck. Was this what it felt like to have a father?
Bai Mu slowly closed his eyes. His body unwittingly relaxed and his hands raised as if on their own. He held back in the last moment though, clenching them into fists and finally stepping out of that embrace. His eyes flew open and he looked at the man in front of him.
He had … no similarity in appearance either. His face was different, even his physique wasn't the same. This man in front of him seemed much more elegant than his father who had the reputation of his only plan ever being to brute-force his way in regardless of circumstances or consequences. This man … He gave him the feeling that one could sit down and talk everything through with him. Was this really his father? He couldn't help but feel a sense of alienation.
Bai Mu stared at Qiang Yan, making the God of War that had just calmed down nervous again. Just like before when they had seen each other for the first time through the transmission stone, the two of them looked at each other and kept quiet.
Behind them, Nie Huang sighed. She might not have seen Bai Mu in a long time but she knew him well enough to be able to see that he didn't know how to treat his father. Unfortunately, with this kind of behavior, it wouldn't get easier to interact with him. After all, his father also hadn't seen him all these years. He probably didn't know how to treat him either.
In that case, wouldn't he feel that Bai Mu didn't have a good impression of him and maybe didn't even want to see him if he kept quiet like this and pushed him away? She definitely couldn't let that happen! Even though Bai Mu might not be able to show it, she knew that he had always longed to see his father. If this aspiration couldn't be fulfilled just because of some misunderstanding, it would be too sad. It would certainly turn into an endless regret.
She hurried toward the two of them and hugged Bai Mu's arm, giving Qiang Yan a warm smile. "We already saw each other before in that …" She fell silent when she didn't know how to call the apparition shown by the transmission stone.
Qiang Yan understood what she was talking about though. "The transmission stone, yes." He nodded gratefully and took a closer look at her. The girl before him was pretty, even though she couldn't be called gorgeous. She had a nice smile and clear eyes. With that heart-shaped face, it was hard not to have good feelings for her when one saw her.
And not even considering her appearance, just based on the fact that she had intervened twice when things got awkward between Bai Mu and him, he felt that she was a good woman. His son could count himself lucky that he had found somebody like her.
To be honest, she did remind him of Huan Yin a little. They had nothing in common appearance-wise and Huan Yin had been much more forceful in her behavior too but the way she cared for the person at her side and how she was able to see with just one glance what was going through his mind was the same. It was the kind of trust that was hard to find in another person but too precious to ever give up again.
He really … was happy for Bai Mu to have found somebody like this. It seemed that he had been able to achieve what they hadn't. It couldn't change the fact that he and Huan Yin hadn't been able to make matters work out but at the very least, the problems had come to an end with the next generation. His son had found a good wife and they had settled down together. There wasn't a need to ascend either. Now, everyone should be able to live happily, right?