If Your Dad Ever Did Anything Wrong...

Meng Wanshu did not brush off Li Guanqi’s playful banter. Instead, she gazed at him tenderly. After they held each other’s gaze for a couple of breaths, Meng Wanshu spoke softly. “Reaching your current realm in just a single year... it must have been exhausting, wasn't it?” Li Guanqi froze slightly. Hearing her words, a wave of bittersweet sorrow surged in his heart. A sting caught in his nose, and tears welled in his eyes. He threw his head back and laughed—a hearty, unburdened laugh. “Hahahahahahaha! Hahaha!!” Others only saw that he possessed monstrous talent and made rapid progress in his cultivation. Yet who ever cared about the hardships and sacrifices behind it all? A single year to cross from the Ninth Realm through two more realms—how could that ever be easy... The two looked at each other, both smiling. Yet as they smiled, tears glistened in their eyes. They slowly drew closer, finally collapsing into each other’s embrace. Holding the woman before him, longing surged like a tide through Li Guanqi’s chest. He leaned close to her ear and murmured, “It wasn't hard. Not hard at all. As long as all of you are safe and sound, it wouldn't matter even if it were a hundred times harder.” Meng Wanshu slid her arms under his, wrapping them around his back and patting him gently. “Husband, I seem to have heard some news regarding Cao Yan, though I haven't confirmed it yet. He should be doing very well right now, so please don't worry.” Li Guanqi frowned slightly at that. Once they parted, Meng Wanshu led Li Guanqi straight toward the cloud boat. Lin Jinting and the other two followed them aboard. The cultivators of the Nine Tripods Heavenly Palace began to withdraw slowly from Xutian Palace. Su Jinshan remained prostrate on the ground like a dog, bowing low. Immortal Elder Yu ambled past Su Jinshan with a beaming smile, transmitting his voice in a light tone: “Be sure to take the Saintess’s words to heart. If anything happens to that little fellow within the Linluan Realm, I will personally descend.” Though a smile rested on the old man’s face, his frigid gaze served as a stark warning to Su Jinshan not to harbor any crooked thoughts. If Su Jinshan was clever enough, he would accept his loss and do everything in his power to keep Li Guanqi from coming to harm within the borders of the Linluan Realm. Unless he wished to seek his own death... Naturally, Su Jinshan understood this as well. Trembling all over, the man nodded in agreement. “Rest assured, Lord Immortal Venerable, this humble one is not so unreasonable...” With an Immortal Venerable treading the void, Immortal Monarchs guarding the path, and thirty Golden Immortal cultivators taking flight, they returned aboard the massive cloud boat. Once aboard, Li Guanqi stared straight ahead and murmured via voice transmission, “*Ahem*, Wanshu... where is your room?” Meng Wanshu stiffened, the palm resting in Li Guanqi’s grasp suddenly growing scorching hot. Her beautiful eyes darted to him, her cheeks flushing crimson as her heart thudded wildly out of control. “On... the third floor.” Li Guanqi maintained an utterly solemn expression. “*Ahem*. I wish to have an in-depth discussion about certain matters with you. Let’s talk in your room.” Standing a dozen-odd zhang behind them, Immortal Elder Yu’s mouth twitched slightly. He muttered inwardly, *That little rascal! A man’s mouth is full of lies! What kind of words can only be discussed inside a bedroom? Hmph, what a lecher! Wait, no... the two of them are husband and wife, so that doesn't really count.* A middle-aged man behind him could not help chuckling. “Does Immortal Elder wish to stop that boy?” The speaker was also a genuine Immortal Monarch, tasked on this journey with safeguarding Meng Wanshu. The elder clasped his hands behind his back, gave it some thought, stroked his beard, and curled his lip. “Forget it. Everyone step back thirty zhang and leave the young couple some private space.” The man who had spoken frowned slightly. “Immortal Venerable... this... the Saintess has already awakened her Mystic Ice Jade Bones. Doing this... could it...?” Immortal Elder Yu narrowed his eyes, stroking his beard with a grin. Looking toward the third floor, he turned around, pouted, and chuckled to the Immortal Monarch beside him, “Who takes advantage of whom is still up in the air, so stop worrying yourselves sick. Scatter!” With a flick of his sleeve, the old man laid down an immensely powerful barrier around the room. Neither sound nor any prying aura could penetrate it. The elder reclined along the deck by the gunwale, and the cloud boat slowly rose into the sky. Only after the cloud boat vanished into the sea of clouds did Su Jinshan collapse to the ground, panting heavily. Once he caught his breath a little, he scrambled on hands and knees toward Su Mei. “Daughter!! Daughter!!!” Su Mei’s vacant, numb eyes finally showed a flicker of life. Her disheveled hair clung to her face, plastered with sweat and thick blood. Feeling a robe draped over her, her gaze gradually came into focus. Looking at the blood-drenched man before her, Su Mei’s voice trembled with sobs as she whimpered, “Father... *sob*... Father!!!! I... I want to die... Father! I just want to die!!! That slut!! And that Li Congxin!! It’s all their fault!!! Father, I want them dead!! I want them dead, ahhh!!!” Su Mei shrieked hysterically, teetering on madness. Su Jinshan’s expression shifted slightly. Looking up at the firmament, he drew a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Turning toward Yang Qing, he instructed, “Take the young miss down to tend to her injuries. In addition... guard her strictly, lest anyone try to harm her.” The elder’s face changed at once upon hearing this. He understood perfectly well what the Palace Master meant. This was effectively placing Su Mei under house arrest! He feared that in her current state, Su Mei would do something irrational and drag the entirety of Xutian Palace into a bottomless abyss. “Understood, Palace Master. I will see to it at once.” Su Mei’s eyes brimmed with venom and hatred as she flailed wildly, trying to break free from the elder. “Father!! What are you doing?? You won't help me kill them?? You want to lock me away?!! Father!! Su Jinshan!!! You useless coward! Hahaha! You coward!!!” Standing on the sect square, Su Jinshan shut his eyes in agony. After this ordeal... Xutian Palace had lost every shred of dignity. Even more humiliating was the fact that as long as they knew Li Congxin was within the Linluan Realm, all of Xutian Palace would have to ensure he stayed alive!! Su Jinshan was exhausted; his once-upright frame slumped considerably. Looking at the ruined mountains all around, he lacked even the heart to rebuild the grand formation. With his arms hanging loosely and his shoulders hunched, he muttered in a voice worn thin with fatigue, “Notify all the elders to convene in the main hall in an hour. I have matters to discuss. No one may be absent.” With that, a cold glint entered the man's eyes as he pulled out a black jade slip. “Every single runaway slave... kill them all!” Lowering the jade slip, Su Jinshan felt his mind drift into a daze. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would live to see an Immortal Venerable mighty being personally descend upon Xutian Palace. Utterly spent in mind and spirit, the man cursed as he walked toward the main hall, taking in the devastation strewn across the ground. “What the bloody hell was all this?!!” “Wasn't he just an assassin who fled Xutian Palace?! How on earth did that end up provoking the Nine Tripods Heavenly Palace?!” *** Aboard the cloud boat, Lin Jinting and Lin Shengwu had been settled into a sprawling, opulent room. Lin Jinting leaned back against soft demon beast fur, brimming with emotion. He glanced at the platter of third-rank spirit fruits before him, then looked over at the third-rank immortal artifact incense burner beside him, itching to steal the stick of sandalwood incense burning within. Holding a jade slip, he spoke into it in a voice thick with marvel: “Son, no need to worry anymore. Your Uncle Shengwu and I are completely fine.” “Ah? Really?! That's great!” “I knew Old Li would definitely find a way to solve this.” “Son...” “What's up, Dad?” “If your dad ever did anything wrong or poorly in the past... please bear with me, all right?” Hiding inside his immortal artifact treasure hall, Lin Wujiu knit his brows tightly. Clutching the jade slip, he sent back a hushed voice transmission: “Dad? Are you talking to me?”