Up on the arena stage, Xuanci had already resolved to confess before everyone and conceal his past sins no longer.
Previously, he had kept the truth hidden out of fear that exposing his past deeds would tarnish the reputation of the Shaolin Temple.
Now, however, the Shaolin Temple was notorious throughout the land, its estates were lost, its disciples had been disbanded by Qin Zheng, and Southern Shaolin had been wiped out entirely by Qiao Feng.
With the entire Shaolin Sect existing in name only, he had no further reason to keep hiding anything. Thus, he openly admitted to breaking his precepts and fathering a child.
Xiao Yuanshan, currently enraged at being unable to find his own son, had no interest in exposing Xuanci's moral corruption. Striking toward his chest with a Prajna Palm, he sought to capture him and force out the whereabouts of his son.
Murong Bo had initially wanted to seize Xuanci as well, but then remembered his own enmity with Xiao Yuanshan. Seizing the opportunity, he launched a sneak attack, aiming a palm strike right at the back of Xiao Yuanshan's heart.
Not yet having learned his own son's whereabouts, how could Xuanci let Murong Bo's ambush succeed? He moved immediately to block the strike. The three men clashed in a chaotic melee, throwing the entire stage into utter pandemonium.
Below, the martial artists watched their dazzling techniques in sheer amazement, their voices rising in heated discussion.
"Who do you think will win?"
"I think it has to be Xiao Yuanshan. After all, thirty years ago at the battle of Yanmen Pass, he single-handedly killed and injured over twenty Central Plains experts, including Xuanci."
"I think it'll be Xuanci. He's deep and calculating; he must have hidden his true strength back then."
"My bet is on Murong Bo. Back in his day, he never suffered a single defeat in the jianghu—he practically held the aura of the realm's number-one expert!"
"I don't care who wins. I'm just curious whether the victor will marry Wuyazi..."
Qin Zheng recognized Granny Chen's voice instantly. He cast a speechless glance her way, feeling that the old crone was completely beyond saving.
Watching the three men battle on stage, Duan Zhengchun sighed with emotion. "Alas, what is wrong with these people? If you father a child, you ought to cherish and protect them. How could they go and lose their own children..."
"What right do you have to say that?"
Qin Hongmian's brows shot up in fury. Yanking Zhong Ling and Mu Wanqing forward, she snapped, "Wanqing, haven't you always asked who your father is? This Prince Duan right here is your father!"
Lately, people in the jianghu had been misidentifying fathers and sons so frequently that Mu Wanqing did not even dare believe her master outright. She turned to Qin Zheng. "Hero Qin, is what my master said true?"
Qin Zheng shook his head. "Not quite. It should be the former Prince Duan of Dali. Dali was conquered half a month ago. Hmm, counting the days, the Great Song isn't far behind."
Mu Wanqing did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Now isn't the time to fuss over titles! Hero Qin, is what my master said true?"
Qin Zheng nodded. "Duan Zhengchun is indeed your father, but your master isn't your master—she's your mother."
Mu Wanqing trembled, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at Duan Zhengchun and Qin Hongmian. "Father, Mother, why did you keep this from me?"
As if struck by lightning, Duan Zhengchun froze in place, a mix of delight and guilt surging through him. "Hongmian, she's... our daughter? Her name is Wanqing?"
Qin Hongmian gave a short hum of affirmation, then pulled Zhong Ling forward with a dark scowl. "Her name is Zhong Ling. She's the daughter you had with Gan Baobao."
Overwhelmed with joy, Duan Zhengchun exclaimed, "Splendid! Splendid! To gain two daughters on this very day—the heavens have been far too generous to me, Duan Zhengchun!"
"That's not all. A'Zhu and A'Zi were borne to you by Ruan Xingzhu, and Wang Yuyan is your daughter with Li Qingluo. You should be gaining five daughters at once!"
Wang Yuyan looked at Li Qingluo in disbelief. "Mother, I'm... Prince Duan's daughter too?"
Flustered and embarrassed, Li Qingluo lowered her head. "Yes. Go over and call him Father."
Hearing this, Ruan Xingzhu burst into tears. Her eyes rimmed red, she hugged A'Zhu tightly. "A'Zhu, my good child... No wonder I felt so close to you the moment I laid eyes on you. You truly are flesh of my flesh... A'Zi? Where is A'Zi?"
"Peanuts, melon seeds, mineral water! Mind your feet! Rice wine, cold drinks, eight-treasure congee..."
Because Wuyazi had disposed of Ding Chunqiu, A'Zi was in high spirits and hawked her wares with even greater vigor.
She received a thirty-percent cut of everything she sold. She could acknowledge her parents anytime, but there was only one day to rake in cash like this. A'Zi knew very well where her priorities lay!
Ye Erniang glanced at Xuanci on the stage, then at Duan Zhengchun surrounded by wives and daughters, falling deep into thought.
The commotion over here immediately drew the gazes of many onlookers, to the point where fewer people were even watching the arena fight.
"As expected of the renowned Seed-Slinging Madman! Not only does he have women aplenty, but daughters to spare as well!"
"Those three on stage are fighting to the death over their children, while Prince Duan has so many he doesn't even know the count. Talk about the starving starving while the stuffed burst at the seams..."
Seeing this, A'Zi promptly turned her cart around and plunged into the crowd, hawking away: "Exclusive insider gossip on Prince Duan right here! Buy some snacks to munch on first, and I'll tell you the whole story!"
Seeing that everyone's attention had wandered, the three men on the stage grew thoroughly flustered. Xiao Yuanshan forced Murong Bo back with a palm strike and leaped clear of the fray, roaring, "Stop!
"Xuanci, didn't you want to know your son's whereabouts? I will tell you right now!"
Xuanci immediately disengaged and retreated. The three took up positions in three separate corners of the stage.
Looking at the yearning in Xuanci's eyes, Xiao Yuanshan declared loudly, "Thirty years ago, after leaping off the cliff at Yanmen Pass, I miraculously survived. From then on, I kept you under secret surveillance. I saw with my own eyes as you fornicated with a peasant woman and fathered a son!
"To take my revenge on you, I stole that child and left him at the gates of the Shaolin Temple. In the end, he was taken in and raised by a monk of low martial arts, given the Buddhist name Xuzhu!
"Today, that little monk Xuzhu has also come to Leigu Mountain! Xuanci, do you dare state his mother's name before the heroes of the world?"
Upon hearing this, Xuanci's expression turned exceedingly complex. Glancing downward, he quickly spotted Ye Erniang and Xuzhu in the crowd, momentarily at a loss for words.
Filled with shock, Xuzhu looked at Xuanci on the stage in sheer disbelief. "My father is... Abbot Xuanci?"
Seeing Xuanci remain silent, Xiao Yuanshan shouted, "Since you won't speak, I'll speak for you! That woman is none other than Ye Erniang, whose sinister name resounds through the jianghu!
"After losing her child, her temperament shifted drastically, and every day she murders an infant for her amusement! You, Xuanci, clearly knew of her evil deeds, yet you let her run wild without ever holding her accountable.
"With your mouth you preach compassion, yet behind closed doors you are devoid of shame! If a scandalous monk like you can serve as abbot, it seems to me your Shaolin is nothing more than a den of filth and depravity!"
With an expression of deep sorrow, Xuanci chanted a Buddhist invocation: "Amitabha. It was this poor monk who failed to keep his precepts, bringing harm upon Erniang and those innocent children. This poor monk acknowledges it all."
With that, he cast a complicated gaze at Xuzhu and Ye Erniang. "Erniang, Xuzhu, I have failed you both..."
Ye Erniang spoke up with resolute conviction: "If anyone is to say 'I'm sorry,' it should be me apologizing to you.
"Back then, I became pregnant out of wedlock and pinned the blame on you. In truth, Xuzhu was fathered by someone else. So while you broke the precept against lust, you never had a son from beginning to end."
"What?"
Xuanci wore a look of utter denial, his composure unraveling. "Impossible! I have a son! I secretly went to visit you both! Xuzhu is absolutely my son!"
He had lost the title of Abbot of Shaolin Temple; he had lost the reverence of tens of thousands across the jianghu. Now he had nothing left—he could not bear to lose his son too!
He definitely had a son! Xuzhu had to be his son!!
Watching Xuanci on the verge of madness, a flicker of pity crossed Ye Erniang's eyes, yet she remained firm: "Xuzhu is not your son. As for who his father is, it is not convenient for me to say..."
As she spoke, she cast an intentional glance toward Duan Zhengchun.
Though she felt somewhat guilty toward Prince Duan, Xuanci had offended far too many powerful enemies; if Xuzhu acknowledged him as his father right now, the boy's life would be in mortal peril...
Hence, she did not dare allow Xuzhu to claim his real father just yet.
Before she could speak further, everyone present turned in unison to look at Duan Zhengchun.
Though Duan Zhengchun did not recognize Ye Erniang, he remained true to his principle of daring to take responsibility. Wearing a benevolent, fatherly smile, he beckoned to Xuzhu: "Xuzhu, come over quickly and get acquainted with your younger sisters!"
The moment Duan Zhengchun owned up to it, both Xuanci and Xiao Yuanshan broke down completely in front of the entire assembly.
"Impossible! I saw with my own eyes Xuanci and Ye Erniang together—Xuzhu is their son!"
"That's right, Xuzhu is my son! He's my son!"
Watching the two men howling and shrieking on the stage, the martial artists below wore expressions of deep sympathy.
"Have those two gone mad searching for their sons? When it comes to things like this, Prince Duan is far more credible than either of them."
"Aye, I think they've lost their minds too. What devilry is this today? Counting Jiumozhi, that makes three top martial artists who've gone mad today already!"
Meanwhile, Granny Chen and Duan Yu turned suspicious gazes toward Qin Zheng.
Feeling their eyes upon him, Qin Zheng snapped out of his shock and pleaded his innocence with an aggrieved face: "Why are you two looking at me like that? Don't tell me you think I orchestrated this?
"Even I'm starting to suspect Xuzhu really is Duan Zhengchun's child!"
Chapter 58