Li Minghan's mind was filled with the image of Li Luoning's face. He didn't know how he had ended up in Yanding Dragon King's chamber. He walked aimlessly to the center of the room and knelt down.
"You saw everything?" Yanding Dragon King, leaning against the bed, asked in a calm voice.
Li Minghan still wore an expression of disbelief, but nodded slightly, then remembered something and asked anxiously, "So, the reason my foster father took me in back then was also because of him? Who is he exactly? What is our relationship?"
Li Minghan struggled to control his trembling voice.
Yanding Dragon King remained silent, only closing his eyes quietly.
"So, all these years, my foster father wanted me to always wear a veil because of this?" Li Minghan's voice trembled more uncontrollably. Was he just a shadow left behind by Li Luoning all these years?
There was no emotion on Yanding Dragon King's face, as if he had long anticipated this day. His eyes lowered, seemingly calculating something in his mind.
Seeing Yanding Dragon King's continued silence, Li Minghan, kneeling on the ground, found it increasingly difficult to control his chaotic thoughts.
"Could it be that my foster father adopted me, and all these years of hiding my true face were all because of him? Who is he? Why do I look so much like him?" Li Minghan's suppressed grievances overflowed, tears streaming down his face.
Years of confusion and puzzlement seemed to vanish in an instant when he saw Li Luoning, but at the same time, it felt like he still didn't fully understand.
He didn't understand why Li Luoning seemed so calm and free while he was condemned to a lifetime in this bottomless abyss.
He didn't understand why his foster father smiled rarely when he saw him, leaving him only with worry and secrets.
He didn't understand why he had to live like a ghost just because he looked similar to someone else.
"Foster father, what is all this about? Tell me! Answer me!" Li Minghan's suppressed grievances erupted into hysterical shouts as he cried on the ground, demanding an explanation from Yanding Dragon King.
Yanding Dragon King slowly opened his eyes, sighed, and said in a flat tone, "He is Li Luoning, your twin brother."
Li Minghan stood still, his mind swirling with thoughts. Although he had already guessed roughly, hearing these words from Yanding Dragon King still stirred ripples in his heart.
"Twin? Brother?"
Yanding Dragon King sighed again, slowly unraveling the truth, "Your biological father's name is Li Shen. He was once a close friend of mine. Your Li family was destroyed in a great fire. When I was sorting through Li's belongings, I found a letter hidden in a secret compartment. That's when I learned that your mother had given birth to a pair of twin brothers. But because the Moon Shadow Pill in your body conflicts with the Blaze Pill in Luoning's, the spiritual energies within both of you are incompatible. So, Li had no choice but to leave you in the care of the steward at the old house in the mountains. However, that steward took the money and abandoned you in the forest, disappearing. Since then, you were without any news. Until that day when someone brought you back to the Dragon Palace, I knew you were the child lost by the Li family all those years ago." Yanding Dragon King finished speaking and closed his eyes once again.
Li Minghan knelt on the ground, unable to react for a moment, his mind racing through memories. He had wandered like a stray dog, suffered cold in dilapidated temples, and spent three days and nights on a tree to escape from wolves, hungry and thirsty. He had thought his fate was because he was an orphan, surviving without parents, but he was grateful that his foster father had adopted him and raised him. So, even though his foster father had demanded that he never reveal his true face, he had always obeyed.
It turned out that everything he had experienced, the life he had lived, was all because he and his twin brother were incompatible, and his biological father had abandoned him to protect Li Luoning.
Li Minghan couldn't accept this sudden truth. His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles audible as they cracked. He didn't know if he felt sadness or anger, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"So, all the abandonment, exile, my foster father's evasiveness, living in this dark abyss—all because of Li Luoning?" Li Minghan's voice suddenly turned cold, his eyes lowered, tears streaming down his face.
"Son..." Sensing Li Minghan's misunderstanding, Yanding Dragon King was about to speak, but was interrupted by Li Minghan's voice.
"Since foster father already has Li Luoning to serve him, why does he need me to show filial piety at his bedside?" Li Minghan's voice trembled uncontrollably. He couldn't accept that all these years of enduring silently were just because of another person's existence.
"Son, it's not what you think." Yanding Dragon King didn't expect Li Minghan to think like this. He had intended to reveal the truth, hoping it would lead to the recognition of the two brothers, but it seemed that Li Minghan couldn't accept this reality all at once.
"So, everything I've suffered was because of him. I was abandoned for him, adopted for him, hidden for him, kept at arm's length for him. He is the one everyone cares about. Then, what am I?" Li Minghan looked at Yanding Dragon King with tears in his eyes, his trembling hand expressing the shattered pieces of his heart.
"Son, I intended..." Yanding Dragon King wanted to explain.
Li Minghan raised a hand to stop him, steadied his mind, and asked a question, "Father, was I adopted by you because I looked like him?"
Yanding Dragon King was silent for a while, unsure how to answer the question.
Seeing Yanding Dragon King's reaction, Li Minghan couldn't help but sneer, "Haha, I thought my foster father's strictness towards me was out of concern. Now it seems that you're just afraid of the secret being discovered. I am not important. All of you only care about him. He is the one who can live openly in the sun, while I am just an accessory."
For a moment, Li Minghan felt like a joke. He had thought that finally, heaven had shown him mercy, giving him a place to rest. But he hadn't expected that everything he thought was hard-won was actually just a gift from another person.
"Since foster father already has him to show filial piety, why keep me around to add to the trouble? Yanding Dragon King, thank you for your years of care." Li Minghan's voice suddenly turned extremely cold. He raised his hand, and a blue light flashed in his palm, revealing a curved blade, the gift Yanding Dragon King had given him when they first went hunting together.
"Son, what are you doing?" Yanding Dragon King tried to stop him, but the medicine he had just taken weakened him, causing him to fall to the ground.
Li Minghan waved his hand, and a barrier appeared between him and Yanding Dragon King. He closed his eyes slowly, allowing tears to flow uncontrollably.
The moment the curved blade pierced him, Li Minghan felt an unprecedented pain, gasping for breath heavily.
But it was precisely because of the pain that he was unusually clear-headed at this moment.
With his other hand, he felt for the location of his ribs, flipped the blade twice, and forcefully cut out one of his ribs.
"With this rib, I repay my father's kindness and sever our familial ties."
Li Minghan fiercely threw the rib, still warm in his hand, to the ground.
Supporting himself weakly with one hand on the ground, he gasped for breath, allowing tears and blood to mix together.
Then, he staggered to his feet, deeply bowing to Yanding Dragon King, and, with only a trace of consciousness left, left the Dragon Palace.
In the remote fairyland, Yue Runling was outside the Lianzhan Pavilion of Qingyuan War God.
"Master, you've been acting strange lately. Is there something on your mind?" Yue Runling couldn't understand why Qingyuan War God had changed so much since returning from the human realm, avoiding her all the time.
Inside the Lianzhan Pavilion, Qingyuan looked pale, as if recovering from a serious illness, suppressing the sound of coughing. He gazed at Yue Runling standing outside through the slightly open window, holding something in his hand.
Several tens of days ago...
"Qingyuan War God, you know that everything related to Yue Runling's tribulation in the human realm is predetermined by fate, yet why do you still involve yourself? You knowingly break the rules?" Situ Fanzhi asked.
"Qingyuan is willing to accept punishment."
"Qingyuan War God, for neglecting your duty and disrupting fate, you are sentenced to five hundred lashes and three heavenly thunders as a warning to others."
As Qingyuan recalled the events of the past few days, he heard Yue Runling knocking on the door.
"Master, may I come in?" Yue Runling stood outside the door and asked.
"Wait, just a moment." Qingyuan, inside the room, heard Yue Runling knocking on the door and hastily put on his clothes.
After straightening out his clothes, he opened the door and walked out.
"Master, why don't we go for a walk? There have been quite a few events while you were in seclusion. Do you want Runling to tell you about them?" Yue Runling thought that perhaps going out for a walk with her master, chatting, and asking about what had happened might be a good idea.
"Oh? Is that so? Then tell me about it." Qingyuan's tone was gentle, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips, his eyes full of affection, as he followed along.
"A few days ago, Yao Wang failed to refine pills again, filling the entire hall with smoke. This time, even the roof was blackened." Yue Runling said excitedly, vividly illustrating with her hands.
"Ah? What kind of pill did he fail to refine this time?" Qingyuan responded, walking down the steps as he spoke.
"Who knows? Master, you didn't know at the time. I had to suppress my laughter and send someone to help him clean up the palace. I almost couldn't hold my breath. Also, I heard that Yunnan, that little guy, sneaked away to the Realm of Purity on the day of the Immortal Anniversary, almost getting stuck at the Wumying Demon Mountain. Fortunately, he came back safely, and Qingyi brother is already on his way to pick him up with Xiu Yi master." Yue Runling continued.
"Xiu Yi went too?" Qingyuan asked as they walked side by side.
"If it weren't for his master, he might still be trapped there now. Mi Xingzhe has become so daring. He dared to go to a place like the Realm of Purity. It seems he'll have a hard time coming back this time. Also, I heard that Xuanming Jun..."
As the two figures gradually moved away, where they had just left, a black-eyed toad jumped out of the grass.
Ou Shinan flicked a light and caught the toad back in a golden cauldron. "Little thing, you dare to run anywhere. Your courage is getting bigger."
On the other side, the master and disciples, having settled Flower Ruoying and Qing Ping, had just returned to the Mirror Cloud Residence.
Mi Xingzhe felt refreshed, feeling the air here was much clearer and more refreshing compared to the gloomy and rainy weather at the Wumying Demon Mountain. He preferred the bird songs and fragrance of flowers in the remote fairyland, where the mountains and rivers were beautiful, and even the air was exceptionally clear.
"Ah, it's so nice here." Mi Xingzhe stretched his tired body, murmuring to himself.
Just as he put his hands down, he met Yun Qingyi's gaze. It was then that he remembered he had been caught sneaking out and brought back. Thinking of this, he deflated instantly, hesitating whether to go in or not.
"Why are you standing there? Do you want me to invite you in?" Yun Qingyi shouted from the doorway.
"Oh, when did Senior Brother become stricter than Master?" Mi Xingzhe muttered quietly, then reluctantly walked in, kneeling down respectfully.
Li Luoning, sitting by the bookcase, didn't even lift his eyes, while Yun Qingyi, standing beside him, poured a cup of tea for Li Luoning, lit an incense, and stood silently by the side. The master and disciples tacitly left Mi Xingzhe hanging there.
After a few hours, as the sky gradually darkened, Mi Xingzhe, who was kneeling on the ground, secretly pounded his legs, which had gone numb from kneeling for too long. He looked up at Li Luoning, who was reading quietly, and then at Yun Qingyi standing beside him.
"Gurgle~"
Mi Xingzhe's stomach suddenly made an embarrassing noise, which sounded particularly clear in the quiet study.
"Qingyi, go get some food." Li Luoning looked at the book in his hand and instructed.
"Yes, Master." Yun Qingyi responded and walked towards the door. Passing by Mi Xingzhe, he deliberately stopped and waved his hand as if scaring him.
"Hey, Senior Brother, do you want to eat meat?" Mi Xingzhe smiled ingratiatingly, reaching out to gently tug at Yun Qingyi's sleeve, whispering.
Beside him, Li Luoning gently put down the book in his hand and, neither fast nor slow, ground some ink.
"When did you meet Ruoying?"