Chapter 2387 - Father and Son Look at Each Other in Silence

Yi Chen’s expression shifted erratically. There was no arguing that point.

However, he felt incomparably stifled. “My mother obviously regrets what she did, and she’s doing her utmost to make amends, so why... can’t you give her a chance?”

Su Yi’s expression silently frosted over.

Lu Qingmei looked stricken; she realized that Yi Chen’s response had displeased Su Yi. She said hurriedly, “Chen’er, that’s not something you ought to say!”

Su Yi said calmly, “These are the three most detestable things in this world: generosity at another’s expense, open-mindedness on another’s behalf, and demanding another’s forbearance.”

He looked at Yi Chen. “In just one sentence, you did all three.”

Lu Qingmei sighed. “All he wants is to resolve the enmity between us. His intentions are good.”

“I know that, of course,” said Su Yi. “You raised him, and his bond with you runs deep. He naturally doesn’t want anything to happen to you. I naturally understand all that.”

He paused, then said, “I know this is rude, but if he wasn’t my son, those words would have warranted death!”

Yi Chen’s heart clenched, and his fists silently tightened. His expression filled with rage and grief. He didn’t understand why his stranger of a father was being so tyrannical and unyielding!

Lu Qingmei stepped forward and gently took his hand. “If your wife, the woman you trusted above all others, had hurt you like that, you wouldn’t be able to let it go, either. I told you earlier, didn’t I? If explanations alone worked, there wouldn’t be so much resentment and frustration in this world.”

She looked at Su Yi. “Chen’er is my child, and he’s your flesh and blood. There’s no father-son bond between you, but I hope that you won’t hold a grudge against him on my account.”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. “That I’m standing here, calmly conversing with you, is entirely out of consideration for him. As for what happens next? You needn’t worry. Even if he doesn’t acknowledge me as his father, I naturally won’t disregard him.”

He’d only just said this when, for some reason, he recalled his father in this incarnation—Su Hongli!

He recalled the humiliation, rejection, and neglect he’d endured from a young age.

Had Su Hongli been a decent father, and if he hadn’t killed Su Yi’s birth mother, Ye Yufei... How could Su Yi possibly have decided to kill him?

Now, when he saw Yi Chen standing not far from him in silence, Su Yi’s heart shook.

If I kill Lu Qingmei, will he try to kill me to avenge his mother, just like I killed Su Hongli?

The thought filled his expression with uncertainty.

If the way I avenged my mother plays out again with my son, it’ll really be a cycle of fate!

Of course, Su Yi and Su Hongli were different. Ye Yufei and Lu Qingmei weren’t at all alike, either. He couldn’t conflate their situations.

Still, Su Yi could say with certainty that if he killed Lu Qingmei, Yi Chen would never forgive him.

Indeed, worldly affairs are unpredictable, and life is full of frustration.

Su Yi sighed to himself. No matter what he might say, and no matter whether or not there existed a bond between them, Yi Chen... was still his son!

He dared look down on his vast throng of enemies, and he dared cleave through everything in his path without hesitation, but in the face of his son, he had no choice but to be cautious and think things through!

Su Yi now felt the difficulties of fatherhood on a visceral level...

In the end, he said. “You should go. Yi Chen stays behind.”

Lu Qingmei was stunned. Then, she realized something, and her heart relaxed. She knew that, given Su Yi’s disposition, if he’d decided to kill her, there was no way he’d just let her go like this.

By telling her to leave, he was telling her that, at least for now, he had no plans of harming her!

Su Yi’s heart was as unyielding as iron. What could have changed his mind like this?

Lu Qingmei instinctively glanced at Yi Chen. She instantly felt moved, and gratified on Yi Chen’s behalf. She understood that, as firm as Su Yi seemed, he was considering their son!

That was enough for her.

“I won’t stay behind!” Yi Chen suddenly said firmly. “I acknowledge that you saved my mother and I, and I’ve carved this benevolence into my heart, but that doesn’t mean you can just tell us what to do!”

When Su Yi saw the stubborn look on his son’s face, he laughed.

I’ve got to say, his temperament’s rather decent. He isn’t at all tentative or fearful. He’s hot-blooded, strong-opinioned, and he dares talk back to me even now. It’s truly rare.

When he replayed his first meeting with Yi Chen at Sunset Perch Island, Su Yi couldn’t help but think,

This son of mine... is no wimp.

“Chen’er, do you remember what I told you? It’s only by staying with your father that you can escape disaster,” Lu Qingmei said gently. “You saw everything that happened today. If our powerful enemies capture you, they can use you to threaten me, and to threaten your father. More importantly, you’ll suffer torment and humiliation unnecessarily.”

She paused, then said solemnly, “You disobeyed me earlier, and became our enemies’ prey. If your father hadn’t rushed to your aid in time, you’d be a puppet, helpless to even die. Surely that was enough to teach you a lesson? This time, you must do as I say!”

As she spoke that last sentence, her voice took on an incontrovertible tone.

Yi Chen opened his mouth to speak; he obviously wasn’t willing to accept this, but he also couldn’t argue. In the end, he just said, “What about you, Mother?”

“I’ll go do what I ought to do,” Lu Qingmei said with a smile. “Your grand master is badly injured, and her strength is greatly reduced. She won’t dare come after me any time soon. You needn’t worry about me.”

Su Yi snorted coldly. “A heartless, disloyal bitch like her isn’t worthy of being Yi Chen’s grand master. Don’t call her that again.”

Lu Qing paused, then nodded silently. Then, she took Yi Chen aside for a private chat.

Su Yi said nothing. He just took out a talisman and checked the messages he’d received from the old man who refused to die, Xu Zuizhen of Purple Mist Grotto, Celestial Venerate Zhou Ye, Zang Wushu, and the Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor.

Only then did Su Yi fully relax.

They’d succeeded. Gu Huaxian had lost four of her five clones, and her strength had sharply diminished. She no longer presented any threat to speak of.

More importantly, although he’d called upon numerous favors to defeat Gu Huaxian, all of his old friends were unharmed. That was enough.

Not long after, Lu Qingmei walked over and said, “I understand the grudge between us, and I’m not foolish enough to hope for anything, nor will I ask you to change anything.”

Su Yi gazed intently at her stunningly beautiful face. “I hope that you aren’t like your master.”

Lu Qingmei paled. She understood what Su Yi meant. Her master sought supreme heartlessness. She could use and exploit anyone, including her two legacy disciples.

Su Yi’s meaning was simple. He was warning her not to view her son as a target for exploitation!

Lu Qingmei took a deep breath, then said, “Rest assured. I’m not sick or inhuman enough to exploit my own son. I know you’ve always believed that actions speak louder than words, so I’ll just have to prove it to you.”

With that, she turned to leave.

But then, Su Yi called out, “Aren’t you curious as to your junior apprentice brother’s identity?”

Lu Qingmei stopped in place, stunned. “Is that important?”

Su Yi nodded. “If you capture him, you can shatter your master’s Dao Heart.”

Lu Qingmei’s brow furrowed. “Truly?”

“Of course,” Su Yi said calmly. “Because Yu Xun... is your master’s son.”

Lu Qingmei’s eyes widened. She felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.

Master’s son!?

The junior apprentice brother she scolds and suppresses year round is actually her own flesh and blood? How is this possible?

And Master strives for the Dao of supreme heartlessness. With a Dao like that, how could she possibly have a child?

And if she’s really his mother, why take her son as a disciple, and not acknowledge him as her own?

But she’d only just thought this when her heart shook, and she remembered how she’d presented Yi Chen to the world as her “adopted” son. She instantly understood.

Master was worried that Yu Xun would become a weakness for her enemies to exploit!

Lu Qingmei quickly remembered numerous past incidents.

Although her master frequently scolded and suppressed Yu Xun, she also gave him an abundance of life-saving trump cards.

For instance, when Yu Xun attacked the Bamboo Mountain Hidden Realm, he used a Void Evasion Realm-Breaking Talisman to escape. That was a treasure not even she, his senior apprentice sister, had!

And today, when Su Yi used Yu Xun’s life to make an exchange, Gu Huaxian was uncharacteristically frantic. He’d forced her to agree to his terms!

“So, Yu Xun is Master’s weakness...” Lu Qingmei instantly understood. A moment later, her heart filled with the dense hunger for revenge.

This time, Master took Chen’er hostage. Next time, I’ll use Yi Xun to threaten her instead!

An eye for an eye!

“Don’t blame me for not warning you: Yu Xun’s father, that is, Gu Huaxian’s Dao Partner, has got to be someone extraordinary. Not even the old hunchback knew who he is.” Su Yi’s voice suddenly rang out. “If you go after Yu Xun, you’ll be putting your life on the line.”

The look on Lu Qingmei’s beautiful face shifted, and she suddenly broke into a charming smile. “Are you... worried about me?”

Su Yi said calmly, “I just don’t want someone else to kill you.”

Lu Qingmei’s smile froze. She sighed, then turned to leave.

Yi Chen watched her go in silence.

For a while, Su Yi didn’t know what to say to this newfound son of his. The two of them just looked at each other, neither saying a word.

The strange atmosphere left even Su Yi feeling a bit ill at ease, so he took it upon himself to break the silence. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Yi Chen pursed his lips and said firmly, “I have nothing to say to you.”

“...” Su Yi said nothing.

Great. Deep within his heart, he’s got to be biased against me, and resentful, too!

Su Yi rubbed his forehead, disregarded Yi Chen, and took out the bronze lamp.

When he undid the seal, a swath of resplendent light scattered, and a soul body shot forth.