Chapter 1450: Light and Dark 5 (Ye Xiu vs. Yun Sheng’s Family)
Chapter 1450: Light and Dark 5 (Ye Xiu vs. Yun Sheng’s Family)
Light and Dark 5
Since the battle between the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox Yun Sheng and the Black Qilin King Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu disappeared.
No one knows where Ye Xiu has gone, whether he’s dead or alive.
After the Human Clan and the Beast Clan signed the peace treaty, the Dutian Blood Realm became a memorial site for both clans.
Where once not a blade of grass grew, the Dutian Blood Realm gradually sprouted vegetation, and a small village slowly formed within the Blood Realm.
Each year, many young Martial Artists, and some citizens from the continent, come to tour the Dutian Blood Realm.
However, the most popular tourist spots are the Eight Great Beast King Tombs.
Especially the Heavenly Fox Tomb and the Kirin King Tomb, these two Beast King Tombs, being the memorial sites for the former Sky Fox Clan Leader Hu Yan and the Black Qilin Clan Leader Ye Xiu, continually see a stream of visitors.
And every pair of people who arrive at the Heavenly Fox Tomb and the Kirin King Tomb, will head to the Heavenly Fox Tomb to request a pair of marriage locks.
Legend says, the marriage locks sold in front of the Heavenly Fox Tomb are enchanted; if a pair of locks are fastened together and thrown into the Feiyue River, lovers will ultimately become a couple, forever together.
Whether this legend is true or false is unknown, but each year people come in droves to buy marriage locks to toss into the Feiyue River.
Most of those who throw marriage locks are young men and women.
This day, another pair of young lovers passed by.
"Buy a pair of marriage locks."
The lock vendor in front of the Heavenly Fox Tomb took out a pair of marriage locks, without saying a word.
"I heard he’s mute."
"How pitiful, when everyone else is in pairs, he’s all alone, who knows if he even has any family."
The young lovers glanced at him, whispered among themselves, and walked away.
He was an elder of uncertain age, deemed so because his clothing was shabby, his hair long, eyes hidden under his hair, with a weathered appearance.
The elder never spoke; when someone came to buy locks, he’d hand over a pair without saying more.
"Grandpa, is this the Heavenly Fox Tomb?"
A tender and adorable voice fell into the elder’s ears.
The elder said nothing, his eyes devoid of any ripples, as if he were deaf.
Unexpectedly, a hand suddenly reached out, tugging hard on the elder’s beard.
The elder finally reacted; his eyes, long devoid of emotion, showed fluctuation for the first time, looking toward the owner of the hands.
It was a little girl, about three or four years old, rosy and sweet, big eyes, small oval face.
The little one seemed quite upset at the moment, her cheeks puffed in a pout, glaring at the elder.
Who knows where this little one came from, her parents were too careless, letting a toddler roam around.
Seeing the little one, the elder couldn’t quite muster anger, he grunted and ignored her.
"Grandpa, are you mad? I didn’t mean it. I got separated from my mother and father, they said if I got lost, to wait outside the Heavenly Fox Tomb for them." The little girl was observant, adorably pleading in front of the elder.
The elder glanced at the little one, heart softening a bit.
"This is the Heavenly Fox Tomb." Having not spoken for a long time, the elder’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
"Great, I’ll wait here for mother and father. Grandpa, do you want me to keep you company and chat?" The little girl seemed to take a liking to this quirky old man.
Keep him company?
More like he’s keeping her company, this presumptuous little thing.
The elder grumbled internally, snorting noncommittally, fine, he’d allow her be, he wouldn’t reply after all.
"Grandpa, I’m called Little Yue, what’s your name?"
"..."
"Grandpa, do you have family?"
Though the elder didn’t answer any questions, the little girl was full of interest, sharing a heap about herself and her family.
The elder learned she had five family members, including herself, her parents, and a pair of soon-to-be-born twin brothers.
An hour passed, and the little girl’s jabbering showed no signs of stopping, the elder hadn’t noticed he’d shifted from initially ignoring her completely to nodding and shaking his head in acknowledgment.
"Grandpa, here outside the Heavenly Fox Tomb, aren’t you lonely?" The little girl’s chatter never ceased.
"I... am looking for something." A slight stirring in his heart, the elder’s lips moved.
This was the second time he spoke today, also the second time he’d spoken in years.
"Looking for something? What are you looking for, Little Yue can help you?" Seeing the elder finally engage, the little girl’s eyes gleamed brightly.
"That thing... it was lost many years ago, so long I can’t remember where it is now." The elder shook his head.
"No way, Little Yue will tell you a little secret." After looking around to ensure no one else was present, the little girl whispered mysteriously into the elder’s ear. "Grandpa, I have magical powers, just tell me what it looks like, and I can find it."
The little girl’s demeanor amused the elder, a thought that surprised even himself.
Laughing... this thing, it has been years since he last had it.
"Tell me, old grandpa, I will definitely find it for you." The little girl patted her chest confidently.
Looking into the confident eyes of the little girl, the old man was briefly dazed.
Once, there was such a woman, who also displayed such confidence.
But somehow, he had unknowingly lost her.
"It’s... a pair of locks. Engraved with two names, Ye Xiu... Hu Yan." When he uttered the last name, the old man’s voice was indescribably bleak.
"Oh... grandpa, just wait here for me, wait for me." The little girl might not have heard the old man’s words clearly.
She ran off like the wind.
The old man didn’t speak, as if he had fallen into the deepest of memories.
Just when the old man thought the little girl wouldn’t return, she came running back after a while.
But unlike earlier, her hair and clothes were all soaked.
Looking at her, it seemed she had fallen into the river.
Her chubby hands and feet bore small wounds.
"Grandpa, look, is this it?" The little girl seemed very happy as she thrust the object in her hand into the old man’s hand.
"What is this?" He looked at the little girl’s appearance, then at the object in his hand.
Upon clearly seeing the pair of locks in his hand, the old man’s eyes became instantly blurred.
It was a pair of locks, lost thousands of years ago.
"Ye Xiu, these locks are like us. Hu Yan wants to be with Ye Xiu forever, inseparable." The woman’s crisp and melodious voice seemed to echo by his ear.
The locks were covered with rust and moss, yet the words "Ye Xiu" and "Hu Yan" on them remained faintly visible.
"Thank you... thank you." The old man couldn’t help but burst into tears.
He thought he’d never have the chance to find these locks again.
"Grandpa, this pair of locks fell into the Feiyue River. Don’t be sad, now that the locks are found, you should go home and reunite with your family." The little girl didn’t expect the old man to be so upset, and she hurriedly patted the old man’s shoulder with her small hand.
"Child, your kindness, I, Ye Xiu, will remember for life." The old man looked at the girl in front of him, his voice full of sincerity.
"Grandpa, no need to be polite." The little girl giggled.
"Ling Yue..."
Not far away, a young couple was walking over.
The little girl looked back, and a radiant smile instantly appeared on her small face.
"Mother, father, Little Yue is here."
They were a dazzling couple like the sun and moon, the woman dressed in white, with features as exquisite as a painting, and the man beside her, tall and handsome, was nervously supporting his heavily pregnant wife, constantly urging her to slow down.
Seeing the young couple, the old man’s expression changed drastically.
It’s them... this little girl is actually their daughter.
The old man recalled the girl’s delicate face and eyes identical to her mother’s, and sighed silently.
"Ye Lingyue, how many times have I told you not to run around?" Yun Sheng, nearing labor, caught sight of her daughter and breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned and pulled Little Ling Yue back, scolding her harshly.
"Father, mother is angry." Little Ling Yue hurriedly hid behind her father, Ye Beiming.
"Little Wildcat, don’t be mad, Ling Yue just returned to the Human World, a little playful is all. Take care of your body, lest you stir the fetal air." Ye Beiming affectionately pulled his wife close and kissed her on the lips.
After they went to the Bahuang Divine World and were busy for months, it was rare for the family to come to the Human World, Yun Sheng suggested visiting the Dutian Blood Realm, as it held special significance for both him and Yun Sheng.
"Ye Huli, there’re kids here." Yun Sheng’s face flushed.
"Little Yue sees nothing, sees nothing of father eating mother’s lips." Little Ling Yue babbled cunningly.
Yun Sheng was both amused and exasperated.
"Ling Yue, where did you just go? What happened to you to end up like this?" Ye Beiming, worried, saw his daughter was injured.
"I went to help an old grandpa find something, that grandpa was very pitiful, he’s just..." Little Ling Yue pointed behind her.
Outside the Heavenly Fox Tomb, there was no one left.
"Huh, someone was just there. So strange." Little Ling Yue was a bit disgruntled, she had just made friends with the old man.
"She probably meant a lock seller outside the Heavenly Fox Tomb, never mind, it’s getting late, let’s go home." Ye Beiming said, picking up his daughter and pulling Yun Sheng close.
"Father, tell Little Yue about the stories of the fox and qilin?" The little girl’s voice echoed in the wind.
The family of three walked along the Feiyue River, following the glow of the sunset.
Outside the Heavenly Fox Tomb, the lonely lock seller still stood in solitude.
The eternal Feiyue River flowed on, and the stories of Sky Fox Clan Leader Hu Yan and Ancient Qilin King Ye Xiu continued to spread unceasingly.