Chapter 152: Growth
Chen Chang'an slowly opened his eyes. Above him was a familiar wooden beam, sunlight streaming through the lattice window, casting mottled shadows across the bed.
Home…
He turned his head slightly and saw Chen Xingcai curled up on the rattan chair by the window—her favorite spot. The girl hugged her knees, chin resting atop them, gazing blankly outside.
At the sound of movement on the bed, she spun around. Her bright apricot eyes instantly lit up.
"Father! You're awake!"
She nearly leapt up and rushed to his side, her hair fluttering lightly, carrying a faint fragrance as she moved.
Chen Chang'an propped himself up with his arm and slowly sat up. A dull ache pulsed in his temples, making him frown. "How long have I been asleep?"
"One day and one night!" Chen Xingcai raised two fingers proudly. "Master wanted to use the Heart-Calming Mantra to help you recover, but she said the true essence in your body circulates by its own system—external force would only disrupt it."
She pouted slightly. "I wanted to call the senior brothers and sisters over, but Master said…"
"Said what?" Chen Chang'an smiled faintly, his voice still hoarse from long sleep.
"She said Father probably wouldn't want them to see you like this."
Chen Chang'an paused for a moment. "She was right."
The girl nodded quickly, her loose strands of hair swaying. Then she giggled sweetly. "Master really understands Father well!"
The mountain wind brushed past the herb garden outside, rustling softly through the leaves.
Chen Chang'an looked at his daughter's profile bathed in golden sunlight and asked quietly, "How did we get back?"
"Through the teleportation array you left at the mountain foot!" Chen Xingcai blinked.
So that was it.
His fingers idly traced the pattern on the quilt. After a short silence, he finally asked softly, "The Hong family… what became of them?"
The air inside the room seemed to pause.
Chen Xingcai slowly sat on the bed's edge, twisting the hem of her sleeve. "After the gray mist faded, most of the Hong family disciples were merely unconscious…"
Her voice dropped. "But Hong Tianque…"
Her lashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes. "When we found him, he had already been drained completely. The gray-white mist wrapped around him like a cocoon…"
She suddenly clutched her father's wrist. "Father! He still had a breath left—but when we touched the mist, he… he just turned to ashes."
Chen Chang'an reversed his hand and clasped her trembling fingers, feeling the cold sweat on her palm.
No further words were needed—he could already picture it. A body deeply eroded by supreme power, hollowed like rotted wood, disintegrating at the slightest touch.
"Those who fall under such corruption meet the fate they deserve." He ruffled her hair gently; it felt softer than he expected. "That was his due retribution."
Outside, a mountain sparrow chirped loudly, easing the heavy silence.
Chen Xingcai sniffled, then suddenly remembered something. She pulled out an oiled paper packet from her sleeve. "Almost forgot! I made snow lotus porridge—it's been kept warm with jade this whole time!"
When she opened it, a sweet aroma filled the room.
Chen Chang'an gazed at the bowl of translucent porridge, snow lotus petals shimmering between the rice grains.
He took a sip. The soft warmth spread across his tongue. Looking up at his daughter's flickering eyes, he asked quietly, "And the rest of them?"
He knew the matter of the Hong family weighed heavily on her heart. Only when she could face it calmly would he truly be at ease.
Chen Xingcai took a deep breath, fingers brushing the edge of the bed. "The Hong ancestral grounds are completely destroyed. The whole area became a bottomless abyss."
Her voice steadied. "Hong Ang has taken over as head of the family. Though the Hong clan can no longer stand as one of the top families in the Xuanying Continent, they still have several Heaven Realm cultivators holding the line."
"As long as they leave Lingzhou, they can still rise as a dominant force in another region."
Chen Chang'an raised an eyebrow. "Leave Lingzhou?"
"Mm." Chen Xingcai nodded. "Hong Ang said… the Zhao family will never let them go."
Her eyes flickered with a trace of complexity. "The Zhao family has been the Hong family's mortal enemy. In truth, most of the surviving Hong clan disciples don't even understand what happened. They only saw their ancestral grounds collapse and realized their patriarch and elders had vanished."
She didn't finish, but Chen Chang'an understood.
Those core figures who had been corrupted by Hong Chenji likely no longer existed.
The candlelight in the room swayed gently, casting the overlapping shadows of father and daughter across the wall.
"And then?" Chen Chang'an asked quietly.
Chen Xingcai was silent for a moment before whispering, "That woman… also came out."
Her fingers tightened slightly. "She apologized to me, said she'd been deceived by Hong Chenji back then…"
Chen Chang'an didn't interrupt, simply listening in silence.
"But…" Chen Xingcai's voice trembled faintly. "I didn't forgive her."
Chen Chang'an gently set down his bowl of porridge, then reached out and pulled his daughter into his arms. Her body was stiff at first, but soon relaxed, her forehead resting against his shoulder.
"You did the right thing." His hand brushed over her long hair, his tone soft yet resolute. "Not everyone deserves forgiveness."
For a while, the two remained quietly embraced. Then Chen Chang'an finally asked the question that lingered in his mind. "And… Hong Longxiang?"
Chen Xingcai's body trembled slightly before she lifted her head, a strange light flashing through her eyes. "He…"
She recalled the scene from that day—
Hong Longxiang, drenched in blood, kneeling amidst the ruins, his right hand plunging into his own chest. Before the stunned gazes of everyone present, he had, through sheer willpower, torn out the droplet of Supreme Blood within him. Blood streamed endlessly from his lips, yet his gaze was clearer than ever.
"This was yours to begin with… that old monster forced it into me." Hong Longxiang had held out the dark red blood bead toward her, his hoarse voice steady. "I never needed it."
As the Supreme Blood left his body, his cultivation dissolved completely, weaker even than a mere Mortal Realm practitioner.
Yet when he rose unsteadily to his feet, his back remained straight. "The path to the heavens is invincible enough—why should I rely on another's blood?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Chang'an's eyes. "The blood—where is it now?"
"Master threw it away," Chen Xingcai said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It was filthy. Just thinking that thing was once meant to enter my body makes me sick."
Chen Chang'an fell silent for a moment and let out a faint sigh.
"Father…" Chen Xingcai suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "You're not angry that I… didn't finish him off?"
Chen Chang'an shook his head and embraced her again. He could feel her trembling slightly—he knew the choice hadn't been an easy one for her.
"As long as you can face your heart without guilt," he said gently, his deep voice steady and warm, "then no matter what happens, Father will always stand behind you."
Tears welled in Chen Xingcai's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Determination replaced her hesitation. "On the contrary."
"I spared him because this incident made me realize…" Her tone grew firm. "I need to learn to grow up—to stop relying on Father and Master for everything."
Sunlight streamed through the window, gilding her face in gold.
"So I'll keep him alive—as a whetstone to sharpen myself." Her eyes glimmered with battle spirit. "And after this, he too will grow stronger. As long as he continues chasing behind me…"
She clenched her fists tightly, her voice powerful and clear. "I will never stop moving forward."
Chen Chang'an gazed at his daughter's resolute expression and suddenly realized that the little girl who used to hide behind him—had grown up overnight.
…
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