Chapter 63
Qilin was still joyfully playing with the big black dog, and the dog, quite gentle, allowed Qilin to pounce on it. It even stuck out its tongue to lick Qilin’s small nose.
Sigh, there’s no need to ask—this dog must be the one called Dahei, Qilin’s real father.
Because his father-in-law and mother-in-law had arrived, Xia Yi decided to cut the walk short and lead them back home.
He walked ahead quickly, nervously making small talk while introducing the surroundings to the two, desperately trying to fill the awkward silence.
Jie Shang followed his gestures, occasionally glancing around and nodding slightly.
Cang Yi, however, kept his eyes fixed ahead, saying nothing, not even sparing a glance.
Xia Yi’s eyes couldn’t help but drift to the bright red mark on Cang Yi’s forehead. Whenever Cang Yi noticed him looking, Xia Yi would quickly look away.
As he realized that he was the only one talking, like a real estate agent showing a client around, Xia Yi awkwardly closed his mouth.
The air was filled with a deathly silence.
The pressure was intense—his in-laws looked so young and beautiful!
Because of his nerves, Xia Yi tripped over something on the ground. Jie Shang quickly reached out to catch him, but hesitated, unsure of what to say, and ended up silently following closely behind.
As they passed a side path, Jie Shang stopped and looked out into the distance along the mountain trail.
‘Does this path lead to the other side of the mountain, to a gorge?’ Jie Shang suddenly asked.
Xia Yi stretched his neck to look and nodded. ‘Yes, but I haven’t been there yet. It’s too far. I only know from what brother Zhu said, that this road can lead to the other side of the mountain.’
‘Ah, I remember now.’ Jie Shang muttered.
Then, a meaningful smile spread across his face as he turned to Cang Yi. ‘Do you remember that gorge? It was full of purple flowers. Back then, we were fighting fiercely, and suddenly, everything spun, and we both ended up in an unfamiliar place—’
‘Are we almost there?’ Cang Yi abruptly interrupted, quickening his pace and pulling ahead to create some distance between them.
But his steps were unsteady, and he nearly tripped over a small stone. Jie Shang rushed forward to help, but Cang Yi gently brushed him off.
Xia Yi was shocked to see that Cang Yi’s ears and the back of his neck had turned bright red, as if they were about to drip blood.
There’s definitely something going on here.
If I think about it carefully, the implications are huge.
In the immortal cultivation world, there’s no such thing as a third gender, but Zhu-ge is clearly their child—there’s no doubt about that.
From Jie Shang’s words, it sounds like they’ve been here before. Could it be that Cang Yi… conceived here?
‘Host, are you seriously gossiping about your in-laws?’ 179’s voice suddenly startled Xia Yi.
Oops, I must’ve gotten carried away and shared my thoughts with the system out of habit while thinking.
‘But, you’re right. I just looked it up. Your mother-in-law entered her heat cycle not long after arriving here. Don’t be fooled by that cold, detached face she always wears. Oh, you wouldn’t believe how intense it got back then, right there in the gorge, your father-in-law—’ 179’s voice was rapid and excited, like popping beans, laced with mischievous laughter.
‘Shut up!’ Xia Yi quickly interrupted. He had no desire to hear the details of how his in-laws made his husband.
But as he thought it over, something felt off. ‘179, when I first discovered that Ultraman anomaly, I asked you if the glitch had existed for a long time. You told me, according to your records, the glitch only appeared when I crossed into this farming world. What’s up with that? Now you’re telling me Jie Shang and Cang Yi had already crossed over before?’
179 suddenly fell silent, clearly feeling guilty.
Honestly, none of these systems can be trusted.
At this moment, Gu Wenzhu was in the courtyard, carefully sanding the crib he had made, making sure there wasn’t a single splinter.
Hearing the courtyard door open, without even looking up, he said, ‘Back already? Tired? There’s sour plum soup in the kitchen, still warm. Take a rest, and I’ll bring it to you once I finish sanding this.’
But there was no response. Xia Yi didn’t come over either. Gu Wenzhu paused, put down the crib, and looked up.
Then, he froze on the spot, clutching the sandpaper tightly in his hand like a stone statue.
Jie Shang and Cang Yi stood silently, their eyes fixed on him, emotions swirling like a storm in their gazes.
After a moment, Xia Yi, sensing the tension, stepped forward and broke the silence. ‘Brother Zhu, your dads are here to see you.’
Jie Shang finally stepped forward and called softly, ‘Zeyuan, I’m your father.’
Gu Wenzhu’s breath caught. He turned his head slightly, his eyes falling on the ginkgo tree in the courtyard.
‘Your father has already told me everything that happened back then. I understand it all now. This time, we—’
Before Jie Shang could finish, Gu Wenzhu abruptly turned and walked toward the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
‘Um, uh, seniors, please have a seat, take a rest. Brother Zhu just needs some time to process. Let me go talk to him.’ Xia Yi hurried forward to smooth things over.
Seeing Jie Shang standing there looking dejected and Cang Yi also showing signs of sadness, Xia Yi fetched two chairs from the side of the courtyard.
As Jie Shang turned his head, he saw Xia Yi, with a big belly and completely unaware of himself, moving two chairs with one hand. Jie Shang quickly stepped forward and took the chairs from him.
“Wang Lan, don’t you know your current condition?”
Cang Yi also looked at Xia Yi disapprovingly, with a hint of reproach.
Xia Yi awkwardly rubbed his hands. “I’ll go check on brother Zhu first. You two just make yourselves comfortable.” After saying that, he quickly turned and headed towards the house.
At the door, he turned back again. “Senior, I think you might have mistaken me for someone else. I’m not Wang Lan, my name is Xia Yi.”
After saying this, Xia Yi went inside. Jie Shang, puzzled, turned to Cang Yi. “Didn’t you say he was the son of the flower spirit?”
Cang Yi paused for a moment and sighed slightly. “He once lost his spiritual body and soul completely, so now he doesn’t remember.”
“And Zeyuan?” Jie Shang hesitantly asked.
“Zeyuan’s soul is almost fully healed. The two of them share one soul. Once one remembers, the other will remember everything too.”
Xia Yi pushed open the door and saw Gu Wenzhu sitting at the table, staring blankly at an old cloth tiger in his hands.
Xia Yi knew this cloth tiger. Before their marriage, they had found it in a box under the bed while thoroughly cleaning the room.
At that time, Gu Wenzhu had looked at it fondly and nostalgically told Xia Yi that it was his childhood toy, made by his father, Gu Dashu, who had raised him alone before remarrying.
Back then, there was a faint glimmer of tears in Gu Wenzhu’s eyes, but his face still held a warm smile.
Xia Yi gently sat beside him, took the cloth tiger from his hands, and poked its plump belly with his finger.
Suddenly, Xia Yi paused and frowned slightly, hissing in pain.
Gu Wenzhu’s face finally showed some emotion, his voice hoarse as he turned to Xia Yi. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Xia Yi shook his head and pulled Gu Wenzhu’s hand to his round belly. “He’s kicking again, and pretty hard this time. Feel it.”
Gu Wenzhu’s large hand rested on Xia Yi’s belly, and as he felt the movement, his previously gloomy expression softened, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“How is it? Can you feel it moving?” Xia Yi asked with a smile.
“Mm.” Gu Wenzhu nodded.
Xia Yi placed his hand over Gu Wenzhu’s, and they felt the baby together. Then, Xia Yi turned and looked seriously at him.
“I know we both love this baby very much. He will have two fathers who love him dearly.”
“But if one day, for some reason, the baby has to leave us,” Xia Yi paused as Gu Wenzhu’s face darkened again, and quickly clarified, “I’m just saying if—of course, that won’t happen. Our baby will stay with us forever. I’m just giving an example.”
“If the baby leaves us and is adopted by kind foster parents, although he won’t be by our side, that doesn’t mean we won’t miss him.”
“We’ll be grateful to his foster parents and still think about him. We won’t make him choose between us; he’ll just have more love.”
Seeing Gu Wenzhu silently withdraw his hand, Xia Yi gently turned his head to face him, looking into his dark eyes, and spoke solemnly, “Accepting your parents doesn’t mean you’re betraying your foster parents.”
“Because they all love you.”
Outside, Cang Yi stood still in the courtyard, staring at the closed door. His face was expressionless, but the way his fingers clenched tightly around his sleeve betrayed his inner tension.
Suddenly, his hand was grasped, and his slender fingers were gently pried open one by one.
Jie Shang patted Cang Yi’s slightly wrinkled sleeve and pulled him into a soft embrace.
Cang Yi struggled slightly, but Jie Shang whispered in his ear, “Don’t move.” With that, he pressed Cang Yi’s head onto his shoulder.
Cang Yi rested his head on Jie Shang’s shoulder, and sure enough, he stopped struggling, though his body remained tense, revealing his anxiety.
Jie Shang gently stroked his back, feeling the tension in his muscles gradually ease. He then turned his head and planted a light kiss on Cang Yi’s hair.
“Don’t worry. He will understand.”
“And besides, you still have me.”
“No matter what happens, I won’t leave you.”
Just then, the door creaked open, and Xia Yi stepped out.
Cang Yi immediately straightened up from Jie Shang’s embrace and took two quick steps to the side, his expression tinged with a bit of panic.
Jie Shang, however, remained calm, a smile on his face as if nothing had happened.
Xia Yi pretended not to notice, stepping aside to reveal Gu Wenzhu behind him.
Gu Wenzhu slowly approached them and stopped in front of his parents.
Jie Shang put away his smile, and both he and Cang Yi looked at their son with eyes full of expectation.
“Father,” Gu Wenzhu finally spoke with difficulty, addressing Jie Shang, before turning to Cang Yi. “Dad.”
“Zeyuan, because you lost half of your spiritual body and soul, your memories from the past were also lost. But your soul is slowly recovering. Once it’s fully healed, your memories will return. And with that, Wang Lan will remember everything too,” Cang Yi explained as he sat at the table, speaking to Gu Wenzhu.
Jie Shang was fiddling with the cloth tiger in his hands, his head lowered, lost in thought.
After a while, he looked up and softly said, “Will will you take your father and me to offer incense and pay respects to your foster parents?”
The room fell into silence. After a moment, Gu Wenzhu nodded and replied, “Alright.”
At that moment, the courtyard door creaked open, and Uncle Wang’s loud voice called out.
“Wenzhu, Wenzhu, Xia Yi, are you two here?”
“We’re here, Uncle Wang,” Xia Yi quickly stood up to go greet him.
But before he could get far, Uncle Wang had already stepped into the house. Upon seeing Jie Shang and Cang Yi, he paused in surprise. “Oh, you’ve got guests?”
When Uncle Wang looked at the two men’s appearances and demeanor, he immediately realized that they were no ordinary people. Even the nobles from the storytellers’ tales couldn’t compare to them.
Uncle Wang abruptly stopped in his tracks, stood quietly, and cautiously asked, “Wenzhu, who are these esteemed guests?”
Gu Wenzhu was about to introduce them as some relatives when Jie Shang smiled and replied, “No need for formalities, Uncle Wang. Wenzhu is my son. And this person here, standing beside me, is my spouse, Wenzhu’s father.”
“F-father?” Uncle Wang stammered, but quickly understood. He looked at Gu Wenzhu without surprise and asked, “So, your biological father has finally found you?”
Hearing this, Xia Yi immediately turned to look at Gu Wenzhu.
From Uncle Wang’s tone, it seemed like the people in the village all knew that Gu Wenzhu wasn’t the biological child of Gu Dashu and his wife?
Gu Wenzhu was also taken aback but nodded.
He then asked, “Uncle Wang, could you tell me what happened back then?”
