Chapter 439: Angelic Family Affairs, An Awakening Witnessed by Qian Daoliu

Qian Daoliu’s body stiffened slightly.

This was the first time he had heard the grown-up Qian Renxue use the word "Mother."

In the past, whenever she mentioned Bibi Dong, it was always "that woman."

Her tone would be laced with icicles and blades.

But today, she said "Mother."

"Xue’er, you—"

"Grandfather."

Qian Renxue interrupted him, her voice trembling.

"Did Father commit a heinous act against Mother, which led to my conception?"

"Was it because of this that Mother killed Father?"

"Was my existence a mistake from the very beginning?"

Qian Renxue was already streaming with tears as she asked these questions.

"I want to hear the truth from you."

"!"

Qian Daoliu’s pupils constricted.

He knew this day would come sooner or later, but he hadn’t expected it to arrive so quickly.

He opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to answer.

Because the truth was a stain on the Qian family.

It was the unforgivable crime committed by Qian Xunji.

It was his shame as the Supreme Pontiff and father.

"Xue’er."

Qian Daoliu’s voice sounded ten years older than it had just a moment ago: "Who... told you about these things?"

Qian Renxue did not say who had told her.

"Grandfather, I just want to know the truth."

"..."

Qian Daoliu closed his eyes.

The Enshrinement Hall remained silent for a long time.

So long that the night wind outside the hall stopped and started again, so long that the candlelight before the statue flickered again and again.

He finally opened his eyes.

In those cloudy, aged eyes, there was no longer any majesty or sharpness, only a bottomless exhaustion.

"It is true."

Three words.

They made Qian Renxue’s body sway.

"Your father Qian Xunji..."

"He committed an unforgivable act."

"Your birth was the result of that sin."

Qian Renxue’s face turned deathly pale.

Although she had learned everything from Lin Qingmo and had gone over all the possibilities in her mind—the worst, the most disgusting, the ones she couldn’t accept... she had rehearsed them all.

But hearing the confirmation from her grandfather’s own lips, the impact still exceeded her limits of endurance.

"So... it was also Mother who killed him."

Her voice was trembling, trembling so much that she felt ashamed of herself.

"She killed my father because she hated him."

"And she... hates me too."

Qian Daoliu did not deny it.

Because that was the truth.

Bibi Dong never hid her indifference toward Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue suddenly felt that if she were Bibi Dong, she would hate too.

She even felt that she had no right to complain about these twenty years of indifference.

"Xue’er, listen to me."

Qian Daoliu’s voice dropped, and he added a bit more strength to his grip.

"The crime your father committed is his own."

"Bibi Dong killing him was his retribution."

"Neither of these things should be borne by you. Your existence has never been a mistake."

"But my very existence is the result of that event!"

Qian Renxue finally lost control.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she did not let the tears fall.

This was likely her final stubbornness.

Or perhaps, it was the only thing "that woman" had taught her in these twenty years: Do not cry in front of others.

"If that event hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t exist."

"It’s only right that Mother hates me... I shouldn’t have been born in the first place..."

"Shut up."

Qian Daoliu’s volume was not loud.

But the air in the entire great hall stagnated for a moment.

The candlelight collectively dimmed by half an inch, and the face of the Angel God statue flickered in the swaying light and shadow, as if it too were listening to this conversation, twenty years overdue.

Qian Daoliu had never spoken to Qian Renxue like this.

His doting on his granddaughter had never been concealed.

He would give her the moon if she asked for the stars, and Spirit Bones if she asked for spirit rings.

Back when she said she wanted to go undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire, he had hesitated for three days and three nights before finally nodding.

But today, what he said was "Shut up."

Qian Renxue was stunned.

She looked into her grandfather’s eyes.

She couldn’t describe what was burning in those cloudy, aged eyes—guilt, anger, heartache, self-reproach, all stirred together into a thick pot of emotion.

"Whether you should have been born was not decided by your father."

"And it certainly... was not for Bibi Dong to decide."

Qian Daoliu said, word by word.

The candlelight flickered again.

The wrinkles on his face were carved into deep and shallow gullies in the firelight, like a piece of paper that had been crumpled and then smoothed out.

Qian Renxue’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

Her golden eyelashes trembled for a long time.

Then she raised her head.

Her eyes were still red, but the tears never fell.

"Grandfather."

"I don’t hate Mother anymore."

"All these years, I always thought she was the one who destroyed this family."

Qian Renxue’s gaze landed on the Angel God statue, her voice very soft, so soft it was as if she were talking to herself.

"But the truth is, this family never existed in the first place."

"Father did that to Mother, and Mother killed him; there was never any ’family’ between the two of them."

"So there was no one who destroyed anything, and I have no right to hate her."

Qian Renxue lowered her head, her golden eyelashes trembling again.

"I just... don’t know how to face her."

"..."

Qian Daoliu stared at her blankly for a long time.

Then, he gently pulled his granddaughter into his embrace.

The movement was clumsy.

How many years had it been since he had held Xue’er?

Ten years? Fifteen years?

The last time was when she had just had her SpiritAwakening.

Six-year-old Qian Renxue, her face flushed with excitement, had thrown herself into his arms, shouting, "Grandfather, look at my wings!"

He had lifted her up and spun her around three times, laughing happier than when he achieved his Breakthrough to level ninety-nine.

Then she grew up.

He thought he still had plenty of time to teach her, protect her, and watch her become the successor to the Angel God.

Yet today he discovered that he had even forgotten how to hold her.

His aged palm gently patted Qian Renxue’s back, carrying the guilt he had suppressed for over a decade.

"Xue’er, you are already stronger than Grandfather."

His voice sounded above her head, carrying a hint of hoarseness.

"The only people in this life I dare not face are you and Bibi Dong."

"I covered up your father’s crime for twenty years, not because I wanted to shield him."

"He is already dead; shielding a dead man has no meaning."

"I just didn’t know how to bring it up... I was afraid... afraid that you would hate me."

Qian Daoliu smiled bitterly.

"I raised such a son; that is my sin."

"So, for the rest of my life, I am only fit to guard this hall, guarding the Angel God’s Legacy, waiting for someone capable of inheriting it."

"I originally thought it would be your father, but he brought shame upon the God."

"Grandfather."

Qian Renxue pulled back from Qian Daoliu’s embrace.

She took a deep breath, and the redness in her eyes finally faded, replaced by a clarity that Qian Daoliu had never seen in her eyes before.

"I want to go into seclusion to Cultivate."

Qian Daoliu was stunned.

"Now?"

"Now."

Her tone was absolute and crisp.

"Not to prove anything to anyone."

"But so that one day, I can stand before her with my head held high and say something to her."

"I haven’t decided what to say yet, but I must first have the qualifications to stand before her."

Qian Daoliu looked at his granddaughter, his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

He simply nodded.

Then he watched as Qian Renxue turned and walked toward the secret chamber of the Enshrinement Hall for her Cultivate.

Her back was straight, her golden hair swayed in the candlelight, and she disappeared into the doorway of the secret chamber.

Qian Daoliu stood where he was, not moving for a long time.

The night wind outside the hall stopped and started again, and the candlelight before the statue flickered again and again.

He finally let out a long sigh and said in a low voice, "Xunji, the evil you created, in the end, it is your daughter who is paying for it."

No one answered him.

The Angel God statue remained silent, its face solemn and compassionate in the firelight.

(End of Chapter)

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