Novel: I attained the Dao through Music, accompanied by Twin Sugar Mommies?
Chapter: 008 ("You Can't Leave This Cave")
"I, Hei Jing, am a bastard!"
Those words were like a boulder dropped into a pool of water. The waves it caused in the hearts of the duo that heard it were immeasurable.
The patriarch's reaction was not surprising; in fact, it was mild.
Dongfang Qincang quickly retracted his cultivation's pressure, but that brief instance of its release was enough to force Luo Yu and his son to the ground, injured.
"Cough! Cough!" They stained the white floor of the cave with their blood.
Dongfang Jing was frightened. 'What… what was that just now? That aura… too terrifying!'
As Dongfang Qincang walked towards him, he did not dare to move. He remained frozen like a wooden statue.
"I was looking forward to you inheriting my position if you came out a better person after seclusion… but now it's like this." Looking down at him with an unreadable expression, the Patriarch maintained eye contact with his son as he probed, "I will ask this once and only once. Tell me the truth… Do you truly not remember anything about coming to the Emptiness Butterfly Clan for help till now?"
"…" Dongfang Jing took a moment to think it through before replying with a perplexed expression, "I came to the clan for help? …Why?" Seemingly intimidated by the red-haired man's lack of response, he gulped down hard and responded. "Y-Yes. The last thing I remember was mother saying she was heading out to visit Uncle Fang Yuan to get her spear repaired."
"…" The man stared down at him silently, creating a palpable tension that persisted for what seemed like forever. Eventually, he closed his eyes and sighed while muttering to himself indistinctly. "Was this the 'great challenge' he foresaw?"
Behind him, Luo Yu finally managed to rise to her feet, wiping the bloodstain from her lips. She silently observed the scene, a thoughtful glint in her eyes.
At the same time, the body snatcher thought, 'Wait. I am now "Dongfang Jing." This son-con would never harm me. What am I so afraid of?'
He decided to be bold, doing something that would solidify his act—he probed in a hesitant tone. "Pardon my asking… Red Elder, but… may I… I would like to see my mother."
Dongfang Qincang's fingers trembled slightly behind his back.
After a moment of silence, Dongfang Jing added. "If it's inconvenient to meet her now… May I at least know of her situation? Knowing mother's talent, she must have succeeded in her breakthrough to the Immortal Saint stage, right? Or is she an Immortal Emperor already?"
Seeing the expectant smile on Dongfang Jing's face, Luo Yu couldn't bear it and had to stare down at the space between her feet.
Dongfang Qincang's physical body didn't show any reactions this time, but that didn't mean his insides weren't churning.
"Son…" Soon, his lips parted. "Jing, right now it's not a good idea to see her. While you were in secluded cultivation, you fell into deviation. Although I managed to save you, at the expense of some priceless treasures, your memories have been affected, as you are aware of. We can't be sure that there aren't other undetected consequences."
Dongfang Jing felt strange hearing the man's words. 'If I was really an amnesiac, I would have believed everything you said as truth. And as for using priceless treasures on me to heal me… neither I nor the predecessor were conscious during an interval. How long that gap was or what happened during it is going to forever remain shrouded in mystery. Hmm… Right, system, can you detect any remaining injuries and dangers in me?'
[Once again, I would like Host to not doubt the capabilities of my Creator.] was the system's response.
[How can there be any issues? The injuries and damage from the deviation have all been reversed upon your reincarnation.]
[What consumption of precious treasures? As expected of fellows of his caliber, playing with words on the line between honesty and dishonesty is always as easy as eating and drinking.]
"…" Dongfang Jing felt a twitch in his heart. It agreed with the system's evaluation of the Patriarch's slyness. 'Speaking of injuries and hidden dangers… Hey, system, where's my reward for choosing a system theme?'
[I was going to hold it off until you concluded this conversation but…]
[Your wish is my command.]
A robotic version of the system's voice echoed in his mind, accompanied by white text on the purple screen:
[The Cannon has been placed in the Warehouse Floor of the Tower. You can enter the Tower at any time, Host. Beware, when entering the Tower, you go in with your physical body, so make sure you are truly alone before you do so.] it told him.
'Serene Sound… Cannon?' Dongfang Jing reiterated, his inner voice laced with both doubt and curiosity.
Although the mind of a powerful cultivator was very powerful, it could not stretch a second to infinity.
"In your current situation, I would advise against leaving this cave." Dongfang Qincang's continuation came before the system's explanation. "No, it's an order—You can't, under any circumstances, leave this cave without my permission." He started to walk away but added; "Even without the current hole in your memories, it is three thousand years too early for you to return to the public eye from Lightless Desolate Valley."
Somewhere in the Great Void.
An extremely large wooden ship traversed the void, covering a tremendous distance every moment.
On this ship were over five hundred people, amongst which the weakest aura was shockingly only a little weaker than the Emptiness Butterfly Clan's current Clan Leader.
At the center of this extremely huge ship was a pagoda of eleven layers, and seated atop its roof in a laid-back posture was a black-robed mature woman with silver hair and a horn curling out of her head.
A piece of paper floated in the space before her as she painted upon it with casual strokes. One would be amazed if they got the opportunity to peek at the product of her casual movements, as the scenery of gazing down upon the world from atop a mountain was quite lifelike and extraordinary.
At some point, someone with an identical face to hers flew up from below and stood beside her. They were identical in every way, down to the mole beside their left eyes, except for the absence of a horn on the newcomer and the fact that she preferred red attire to her twin's black.
The hornless red-robed twin was the one to initiate conversation, "Ziyun, are you still not going to tell me?"
Sun Ziyun, the seated of the pair, continued to paint as before, ignoring the newcomer.
Sun Ruoyun, the hornless twin, pressed on. "I have already, like always, told you about my half of Lady Zhi's 'special instructions.' Why are you so tight-lipped about yours this time around?"
Sun Zhiyun's paintbrush halted and disappeared into her Inner World alongside the painting before she stood up and turned to respond to her sister. "Senior Sister, you said it yourself; usually I am the most eager of us two to share. The fact that I am tongue-tied in this case should inform you of the magnitude of our task's importance."
Sun Ruoyun's lips twitched at the response.
The younger twin continued. "As for you already telling me what yours was… I didn't listen."
People at their level, it was too easy to manipulate a segment of their own memories or choose what to see, smell, feel, or hear, and what not to. Even skilled Immortals could do it.
Sun Ziyun was dissatisfied. "Humph! Suit yourself then! It's only another two and a half months till we get there. This target of ours better have Divine Jade for bones and an ancient pill for a heart."
Sun Ruoyun rolled her eyes at her elder sister. "If that is…" she started but then her head snapped in a certain direction, as did Ziyun's.
"How bold." Sun Ruoyun's gaze turned cold.
"It's one thing to pester us on normal days, but stalking us into the void…" Sun Ziyun's expression was no longer casual either. "This Li Changfeng and the Yellow Divine Hammer Sect behind him think too highly of themselves."
Sun Ruoyun casually waved her hand and a frying pan appeared in her hand. "I don't know how the Yellow Hammer Sect Leader managed to make it to the Dao Source realm despite the injuries Her Ladyship Zhi inflicted upon him back then, but it doesn't matter. Today, if I don't rid this son of his of delusions, they will continue to think we are fishes in his pond."