Chapter 28: Two Little Children Debate Their Father: Immortal Venerable Grandpa

The phoenix carriage only flew to western Yongzhou. Wowo and Nangnang got off and changed routes, taking the cultivation corridor over Yongzhou City. Half a shichen later, they landed in eastern Yongzhou.

On the eastern side of the continent, they could run into people from the Hengxue Sect at any time. Riding the phoenix carriage would be too conspicuous.

After all, the phoenix carriage was a magic treasure jointly forged by the righteous path. In other words, all the respectable sects nowadays had contributed to it. Anyone would recognize it at a glance as Wen Tingshu’s carriage.

Before asking the Sect Leader for instructions, Shi Wumi did not dare spread the matter of Wen Tingshu having children.

Shi Wumi could only personally bring the cubs by sword. Holding one, carrying the other on his back, he arrived at the foot of Hengxue Mountain in an extremely virtuous posture.

He cast an illusion spell. The passing cultivators could only vaguely see a high-level cultivator passing by with two cubs on him, and they secretly felt amazed—children in the cultivation world really were rare.

The eastern wind messed up their granny-gray hair. Wowo and Nangnang’s little buns were slightly messy.

Meng Wowo pressed down his hair that was flying everywhere. This was his first time flying for so long, and he had seen the green mountains and winding rivers on the other side of the cultivation continent. He looked at Shi Wumi with worship.

“Wowo also wants to learn to fly.”

He wanted to learn how to fly before he had even learned to run.

Truly a studious baby.

Shi Wumi rubbed his head. “Wait for your daddy to teach you.”

Meng Wowo touched Shi Wumi’s sword. “Wowo doesn’t have one, oh.”

To ride a sword, first one had to have a sword. Wowo did not have one.

The Qingyun Sword Sect forged swords for the righteous path. The quality of the precious swords was directly linked to how many spirit stones were smashed into them. Once the spiritual qi inside the spirit stones was exhausted, the precious sword would gradually lose its color.

Back then, the Sword Sect had refused to do business with the demonic sect, making Meng Fuguang unhappy. If they refused to sell swords, then he could only obtain them by clever means.

Shi Wumi had rolled away with all the swords in the Qingyun Sword Sect’s eighty-eight furnaces that had not yet left storage, enough for the entire demonic sect to use for a hundred years.

So it was normal that he had been heavily injured.

The sword Shi Wumi was currently using had been made by the Qingyun Sword Sect and forged with spirit stones. Although powerful, it was inferior to the Fengxing Sword and East Wind Dance Sword that Wen Tingshu had given Meng Baixu, which were forged from heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

“If Wowo wants a sword, ask Wen Tingshu when the time comes.”

Maybe Wen Tingshu still had stock. One should not let benefits flow to outsiders. Cheat whatever they could out of him. Shi Wumi quietly instilled in the saint baby the thought of asking Wen Tingshu for things.

Being a demon meant not paying.

Meng Wowo nodded. He and Nangnang had brought enough gold coins!

Were all the gold coins in Daddy’s drawer enough to buy one sword?

Shi Wumi said, “From here on, Wowo, you can only stay attached to Nangnang. When Nangnang eats, you can only watch. Are you willing?”

Meng Wowo nodded. “Wowo is willing.”

He could look for Daddy and also not separate from little brother. Super simple!

If it were Meng Nangnang, it absolutely would not work. If someone ate something in front of him, his state of mind would waver and his yuan core would separate.

The two cubs nimbly became one cub again. Shi Wumi picked him up and waited in place.

“Nangnang, later someone will take you into Hengxue Mountain. Climb up by yourself. The person you see will be Wen Tingshu. Ask him where your daddy is.”

At that time, Wen Tingshu would either take care of the child himself, or bring Meng Nangnang to find Meng Baixu, and help search for Meng Fuguang along the way.

After a while, a handsome young man arrived.

This person was a steward of the Situ family. The Hengxue Sect’s recruitment assembly and cultivation conference were being held at the same time, and the Situ steward was responsible for bringing the family’s promising juniors to participate in the entrance exam.

The moment Meng Nangnang said that his outside surname was Situ, Shi Wumi understood the Sect Leader’s intention: it was time to activate the undercover agent placed in the Situ family.

The Situ family was not as powerful as the Xie family, which occupied several provinces, but it was also an evergreen tree in the cultivation world. Every generation had produced decent descendants. In particular, Situ Nanchun, one of the founding disciples of the Hengxue Sect—having one cultivator like that was enough to bring glory to the family.

Shi Wumi handed Meng Nangnang to Steward Situ, then immediately hid.

What a joke. This place was not suitable for lingering.

To enter the Hengxue Sect, one had to pass through several checks. The restrictions had been personally set by Wen Tingshu; forcing through was impossible.

Situ Qing held Meng Nangnang and politely explained to everyone he met, “This is my family’s little cultivator baby. I brought him to see the world.”

His sincere love and pride while holding Meng Nangnang made people believe this was definitely the Situ family’s most beloved little grandson.

Meng Nangnang was tired from traveling. He lay on Situ Qing’s shoulder and slept soundly, not at all afraid of being sold by someone he did not know. His milky little cheek pressed against the shoulder, and the inspecting cultivators could only see his baby-fat cheek, not the brows and eyes that combined the eldest shixiong and the Sect Master.

A baby sleeping this deeply and even drooling—was there any need to inspect him?

What bad thoughts could he have? He only wanted to eat at the Hengxue Sect cafeteria.

Meng Nangnang slept, so Meng Wowo naturally stood guard for him.

Situ Qing passed smoothly all the way and even ran into Situ Nanchun.

After Situ Nanchun returned from leading the training trip, he took the initiative to tell his master that he wanted to focus on cultivation, so he had been in seclusion in the Hengxue Sect for two years.

“What is this?” Situ Nanchun pointed at the child in his arms.

Situ Qing’s expression did not change. “This is the eleventh-generation grandson of your grandfather’s fourth uncle.”

Situ Nanchun’s seniority had become higher and higher, and he could not keep track of which family member had given birth to which generation of descendants. These relatives did not leave as deep an impression on him as the steward who came once every three years.

Being the steward of a large cultivation family was not easy either. One had to memorize the family genealogy of over ten generations thoroughly.

Situ Nanchun said sincerely, “You’ve worked hard.”

Situ Qing said, “Not hard. I’m just carrying him around casually.”

Situ Nanchun took the initiative to make way. When Situ Qing passed by while holding Meng Nangnang, his gaze touched the little cub’s cheek…

Strangely familiar.

He began recalling what his grandfather’s fourth uncle looked like…

Did his grandfather have a fourth uncle?

Situ Qing patted Meng Nangnang. “Saint baby.”

Meng Nangnang rubbed his eyes and woke. “Situ-gege.”

Situ Qing said, “Climb up the long heavenly staircase, and you will reach the summit of Hengxue Mountain. The Sect Leader once lived there for three months. This subordinate cannot go farther. You have to go yourself.”

Wen Tingshu stayed in seclusion year-round. Without his permission, Hengxue Mountain could not be climbed at all.

But the saint baby was different. The golden magic ring and East Wind Dance Sword in his qiankun pouch were both passes Wen Tingshu had given Meng Baixu.

Situ Qing said, “If you can’t climb, sit down and rest. Or if you cry, someone will come pick you up.”

If someone barged into Hengxue Mountain, Wen Tingshu would naturally sense it. Whether he paid attention or not depended on him.

Meng Nangnang nodded. He remembered, oh.

After saying goodbye to Situ-gege, Meng Nangnang huffed and puffed as he climbed the heavenly stairs.

Do not look at how he loved sleeping. When he was not asleep, he had plenty of energy.

This was a path that even Meng Baixu had never fully climbed, but in order to find Daddy, Meng Nangnang did not hesitate at all.

After his short little legs climbed for a while, Meng Nangnang suddenly planted both hands on the steps with a pa, using all four limbs together.

Meng Wowo wanted to climb for his little brother for a while, but switching modes would reveal that there were two cubs.

***

East Wind Dance Sword had returned!

In the blink of an eye, Wen Tingshu stood at the snow line, just as he had every time he waited for his disciple to return from class.

Only, the one who returned was not his disciple.

His gaze passed through layers of cloud and mist and landed on that tiny grain on the heavenly stairs. The little dumpling was crawling with his head lowered, so his face could not be seen clearly.

Meng Nangnang moved and moved, then spread out like a tangyuan dropped onto the ground.

Baby will rest for a while first, oh!

Suddenly, he felt his body become light. The whole cub floated up and was blown by the wind above the snow line. The surrounding scenery changed from springlike vitality to a world of pale white.

Meng Nangnang still maintained his resting posture. He lifted his head in a daze and saw a tall immortal.

The immortal was very good-looking and had hair as white as snow, even whiter than Elder Grandpa’s hair.

Oh?

Was he the Wen Tingshu that Wowo and Nangnang were looking for?

Wen Tingshu lowered his gaze and looked at the young cub who had forced his way into Hengxue Mountain. Two years of longing for his disciple, the face he had not forgotten for even a moment—all of it gathered into shock when he saw the child’s brows and eyes that resembled Meng Baixu.

After Lanshe returned, had he found a Dao companion?

Meng Nangnang was just about to open his mouth when Wowo-gege’s voice sounded in his sea of consciousness.

[We have to be polite.]

Meng Nangnang pursed his lips. What was polite? Elder Grandpa had not taught that, oh.

Meng Wowo said, [Grandma Mingyue did.]

Meng Nangnang immediately remembered polite forms of address in the cultivation world. [He’s good-looking, so we should call him gege!]

Meng Wowo said, [No, Grandma Mingyue said when we meet someone with white hair, we should call him Grandpa.]

Meng Nangnang said, [It’s gege.]

Meng Wowo said, [It’s Grandpa.]

While the two little children debated their father, to Wen Tingshu, it looked like a poor, adorable little cub looking up at him eagerly. Those eyes were exactly the same as Lanshe’s when he was hungry.

He closed his eyes.

After waiting and waiting, he had waited until news that Lanshe had formed a bond and had children.

At that moment, a huge emptiness swept over Wen Tingshu. It was a sudden loneliness he had never experienced even after all his relatives and old friends had passed away over several hundred years. It was as if he had only just realized that he had always been alone.

Wen Tingshu suddenly remembered that in Yongzhou City, the fortune-telling old man had smiled and asked, “Is his Dao heart still steady?”

If he remained on Hengxue Mountain to guard the heavenly pillar and could not go down, if he watched helplessly as Lanshe never returned and forgot his Shizun, would his Dao heart still be steady?

Was it steady?

It was steady.

It only felt like he was about to die.

Had he really grown old?

Old enough to be stubborn, rigid, heartbroken, and already unable to accept the news that Lanshe had formed his own family without permission?

Even if Lanshe had informed him, he would not have been able to accept it.

Meng Nangnang argued with his older brother for a while, then heard his brother say, “If you call him Grandpa, there will be little steamed buns to eat.”

Oh.

Meng Nangnang immediately stuck out his little bottom and bowed, choosing the most polite form of address.

“Immortal Venerable Grandpa.”

Wen Tingshu: “…”

If this was Lanshe’s child, he should call him Shigong. Calling him Grandpa was not exactly wrong, but—

Wen Tingshu saw his own white hair reflected in the child’s dark, shiny pupils.

Then he looked at the little cub’s gray-white hair, whose roots faintly showed their true color.

Had Meng Baixu deliberately dyed his son’s hair this color?

Meng Nangnang asked, “Immortal Venerable Grandpa, have you seen my daddy?”

Wen Tingshu said, “I have.”

Meng Nangnang’s eyes lit up. Wowo and Nangnang could find Daddy now!

After the most important matter was settled, the little cub could not help thinking about food.

“Immortal Venerable Grandpa, can you make naan flatbread?” Meng Nangnang asked even more politely.

Wen Tingshu said, “Mn.”

Meng Nangnang was extremely polite. “Immortal Venerable Grandpa, do you have fish?”

Wen Tingshu said, “Mn.”

The fish in the cold pond—Lanshe had eaten them, and now he sent his son to eat them too, while refusing to show himself.

Meng Nangnang licked the corner of his mouth, his face milky and soft. “Immortal Venerable Grandpa, Nangnang is hungry.”

This grandpa does not like talking, oh. He only speaks one or two words, and he looks very sad.

Wen Tingshu did not hear his name clearly for a moment. “What are you called?”

Meng Nangnang said, “Situ Nangnang!”

Situ?

Wen Tingshu frowned. Could it be that during the training trip, Situ Nanchun had introduced one of his family’s sisters to Lanshe?

When had Situ Nanchun developed the illness of matchmaking?

Back then, when Lanshe wanted to kick Situ Nanchun out as team leader, Wen Tingshu should not have refused.

Wen Tingshu discovered that, at present, he did not want to see anyone surnamed Situ. Tomorrow, he would have Zhongli Yun send Situ Nanchun away on assignment.

Wen Tingshu crouched down and reached out, wanting to hold Meng Nangnang.

For some unknown reason, the moment he saw Nangnang, his heart softened from within. Love for the house extended to the crow. The deeper the love, the deeper the spread.

His Dao heart was a little broken. Perhaps holding a soft little cub could glue it back together a little.

Meng Nangnang was not afraid at all. He directly leaned against Wen Tingshu. His fingers, like his father’s, could not stay idle. He immediately grabbed a handful of Immortal Venerable Grandpa’s white hair to study it. It was cool and very smooth.

The moment Wen Tingshu held Meng Nangnang, he froze.

Late Golden Core.

Not an ordinary spiritual vein.

Where in the world was there a one-and-a-half-year-old at late Golden Core?

He held Meng Nangnang’s hands, pressed his brow against the child’s brow, and in that instant, he saw deep-sea-like spiritual power inside Meng Nangnang’s inner palace.

It was the spiritual power that had suddenly disappeared from him two years ago!

This was his spiritual power. His cultivation method was different from ordinary people’s. He could feel it.

Wen Tingshu had once read in an ancient book that there was a secret method that could allow spiritual power to be inherited between father and child.

Meng Nangnang’s spiritual power had definitely not been cultivated by himself. It was his—Wen Tingshu’s.

Everything from the Renxu Secret Realm flashed before his eyes.

After learning that Meng Baixu was the Fuguang Sect Leader, Wen Tingshu had not dared to be certain whether he had completely erased Meng Baixu’s memories.

He did not dare think about it and did not want to think about it.

He was Shizun, a model for all under heaven.

But occasionally, a thread of thought would arise on its own, wondering about Lanshe’s intention in doing this.

Had he deliberately damaged his Dao heart? Deliberately teased the righteous path?

At this moment, as Wen Tingshu looked at Meng Nangnang before him, he remembered Meng Baixu’s unintentional mutter: “If blue oxen eat it, they want to make little calves. If Shizun eats it, will he want to make little Sect Masters?”

Meng Wowo did not dare move at all. He had almost been detected by Immortal Venerable Grandpa.

Just when he thought he had hidden himself well, Wen Tingshu separated his brow from Nangnang’s.

Meng Wowo saw an extremely complicated expression appear on Immortal Venerable Grandpa’s face. He did not understand it, but he also saw that behind Wen Tingshu, the ice and snow melted, grass and trees grew, and all things surged with unstoppable vitality.

Wu. Spring had come to the mountain!

Meng Nangnang was held tightly by Wen Tingshu. He lay on Wen Tingshu’s shoulder and casually asked, “Immortal Venerable Grandpa, what time does your family eat, oh?”

Wen Tingshu’s fingers stiffened.

“Nangnang, don’t call me Grandpa.”