Chapter 405: When Mom Follows the Shamans to the Hills (1)

Whose son that was, Qing didn’t know, but damn, that was a loud voice.

She didn’t have a son, so she figured it must be someone else’s kid among the crowd.

Still, he seemed like a dutiful one. Had he returned after a long journey?

Qing craned her neck while still in Gyeon Pohui’s arms and saw a neatly dressed young man with an eyepatch walking toward them. The moment their eyes met, his face lit up with pure, unfiltered joy.

Qing tilted her head and looked behind her.

The people lining up outside the shrine were watching with wide eyes, expressions brimming with anticipation, like something exciting was about to happen.

But no woman in the crowd looked happy to see her son.

"What the—huh?"

Qing turned back and blinked in shock. The young man had somehow crossed the distance in a flash and was now standing in front of Gyeon Pohui. Then he suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the ground.

"Mother! I have returned to greet you!"

Qing blinked. Then blinked again.

And then, with a trembling voice of disbelief, she asked:

"Eonni?"

"Yeah."

"Your nephew?"

"Mhm."

"You said you weren’t a mother?"

"That’s right."

Mhm isn’t an explanation. Qing changed her question.

"Who—no, what is he, then?"

"My nephew."

"Your son?"

"No."

"Then did you take a sworn sister somewhere else?"

"Nope. I only have you."

The conversation spiraled into another maze.

It felt like trying to calculate irrational roots, so Qing asked directly:

"Then whose son is he?"

"Yours."

"I’m your eonni."

"Exactly. My eonni. Your son."

"My son?"

"Your son."

Qing’s face twisted.

What the hell was this now?

First, she was someone’s eonni out of nowhere—and now a son was claiming her?

Sure, she’d reluctantly accepted her eonni after enough desperate begging.

"Excuse me? Who even are you? What is going on right now?!"

"Mother! It’s me! Your son! It’s really me!"

Still no name. The young man kept repeating "It’s me" like that was enough.

Qing grimaced.

"Calling me mother is going to get you killed."

The despair in the young man’s voice deepened.

"Why won’t you accept me? Didn’t you tell me to live a righteous life, and that if I waited and stayed kind, we’d meet again? That you’d come find me?!"

His voice rang with grief, desperation, longing. The gathered crowd started murmuring.

See that? Isn’t it obvious?

Didn’t she promise to come back after a hundred nights?

Looks like the Earthwork Divine Lady may be powerful, but she sure lacks maternal instinct. Pretending not to know her own kid?

"Lady, you’ve got to be kidding me. Do I even know you? Have we ever met?"

"Did my face change that much? It’s me! It’s really me, the one who—"

"No, no, who are you?"

"I haven’t received a name yet! You haven’t given me one!"

Silence.

Then more murmuring.

What, she didn’t even name him?

Damn. No wonder she can break curses. That level of heartlessness?

He came all this way to find the mother who never even named him? I’d treat her like a sworn enemy.

But still—she’s his mom. There’s nothing more desperate to an orphan than finding your mother.

"Hey! What is this, a gossip festival? You wanna taste some divine wrath?!"

Qing snapped at the crowd. But the effect was minimal.

And then:

"Mister Hero!"

A young girl, barely ten, popped out from the side and clung to the young man’s shoulder, trying to pull him up.

"Stop that! Why are you kneeling?! And you, Divine Lady, how could you?! What kind of mother abandons her own son?!"

"Oh for the love of—"

"You might not know, but Mister Hero saved me and my mom! He must be doing this out of love for you! That’s the kind of man he is!"

The young man tried to explain.

"No, I just—there were bad people and I wanted to—"

"Shut up! What do you know about yourself?!"

"What—if I don’t know me, who does—"

"Then I’ll kneel too! Divine Lady, please accept Mister Hero! Please?! If you live together, love will follow, right?!"

She dropped to her knees beside him and bowed.

Qing’s eye twitched.

What now? First a son-claimer, now a daughter-in-law-claimer?

Why does everyone keep building my family tree without asking me?

First an eonni, then Grandpa begging to be my father.

Then the Empress Dowager calling herself my mother.

And now a son? With a bonus daughter-in-law?

As Qing stood frozen, the crowd erupted.

"Take him in!" "Take him in!" "Take him in!"

Chanted in perfect three-beat rhythm, as if orchestrated.

"TAKE! HIM! IN!" "TAKE!! HIM!! IN!!"

"I can’t believe this. It’s not like they’re asking me to accept a marriage proposal—they’re just handing me a child."

Honestly, a marriage proposal would be better. At least then, they’d be giving her a man, not a son.

And they weren’t the only ones chanting.

"Take him in~ Take him in~"

"Eonni, you too? Seriously?"

"But he was really nice to me too. I support him as your nephew."

"...Haaaah."

Qing let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Then she looked down and saw twelve merit dots shining above the young man’s head.

Another sigh.

He wasn’t a bad person, but... what the hell was he?

Considering he got along with Gyeon Pohui, maybe he was also missing a few screws?

"Okay. Let’s get the facts straight."

The entire town was packed outside the shrine. Like a damn marketplace.

She had to stop the rumors.

"I’ve never had a kid. I’m not even married. You’re not saying you literally came from my womb, right?"

"Correct. But not all children come from the womb, and not being born from it doesn’t mean they aren’t your child. Your eonni isn’t your blood sister, is she?"

"Exactly. That’s why she’s my eonni. Everyone hear that? Not my real kid. And seriously, do I look like I’m old enough to have a grown son? What are those eyes even for?!"

The crowd awkwardly looked away.

Though to be fair, with her face veiled, how were they supposed to tell if she was young or old?

"Second point. Have we ever met? Did I ever promise to take you in as my son?"

"Yes. Three summers ago. You scolded me. Told me to live kindly."

"Three years ago? Summer?"

Qing searched her memory.

Wasn’t that around the time she got kidnapped by the Demonic Cult?

Now that she looked at his face... it did seem a bit familiar.

The young man spoke again.

"That moment, I was reborn. And since you gave me that new life, that is a mother’s blessing. So you are my mother."

"And my consent...?"

"You promised. If I lived righteously, you’d accept me. I did. Your eonni can vouch for me."

"Mhm. He’s really sweet. I think he’d make a great nephew. If you’re okay with it."

"Gods. We’re spiraling again. Fine. Let’s take the rest inside. And everyone listen up! If I hear even one word about me abandoning a child and running away, I will rain divine curses upon you."

The crowd lowered their eyes.

They had tried to stir something up, but the Earthwork Divine Lady was terrifying.

And now that they knew the story, it wasn’t even that she abandoned him. The kid had just decided she was his mom.

The woman wasn’t even married, for heaven’s sake. It was understandable that she wouldn’t be eager to accept a fully grown foster son.

"Let’s go inside. We can talk there."

"Yes, Mother."

"I’m not your mother yet! And you—what’s your deal? Why are you trying to weasel in too, you tiny thing?"

Qing glared at the little girl.

"I owe Mister Hero my life—and my mother’s too. We have nothing else, so I’ll repay him with my body, with my life."

What a bold little brat.

Qing glanced at the young man.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Sorry, wait, no—I’m not sorry. I’m not into kids who still smell like milk. If you’re done here, go. Thanks for backing me up."

"Wha—how could you?! You’re awful!"

The girl’s first love shattered on the spot.

Well, her parents would’ve said no anyway—he was older than her.

The girl burst into tears and ran away.

Qing tilted her head.

That smooth attitude—she could swear she’d seen it before.

****

Qing was stunned by how beautiful Gyeon Pohui had become.

"Whoa. What happened to your face? You got so pretty, eonni. If I didn’t see you uncover it myself, I wouldn’t have recognized you."

"Heehee. It’s all thanks to my nephew."

But what followed made her beauty seem like nothing.

"You! You’re the Supreme Beggar?!"

"Oh, right. I heard Mother once called me that. Isn’t it a fun title?"

"You—wait, how? Why? Why are you... a good person now?!"

"Because you told me to live kindly. Specifically, you said to live righteously. And that if I did, we’d meet again and laugh."

Wasn’t this the same Supreme Beggar whose evil karma had four-digit numbers when they last parted?

Twelve merit points?

What the hell did he do to earn that?

Qing’s shock wasn’t just from seeing a villain redeemed or from being begged to accept him as her son.

It was the question: Is this guy actually a good person now?

Could karma really balance that way?

Sure, she’d met Gyeon Pohui and Choe Riong.

But Gyeon Pohui didn’t even understand good or evil.

Choe Riong was a man broken by loss, living an empty shell of a life.

But this guy?

This guy had mountains of karma.

Can you really wash that clean with good deeds?

"How...?"

"You mean my appearance? I reversed aging."

"...What?"

Her brain snapped back to focus.

Did he just say something unforgivable?

"Reversed aging?"

"Yes. Upon reaching the Profound Realm, your body begins to regress in age."

"I know that. Profound Realm? Didn’t I destroy your dantian?"

"Indeed. But you also said I could reach the Profound Realm if I set my mind to it. I had sealed off my cultivation path—but once I opened it, I reached Profound Realm in a single step. Then I used the vitality of regression to restore my dantian."

"You. Reached. Profound Realm."

Why was a Profound Realm master standing in front of her right now?

People don’t really understand what a Profound Realm expert is.

Because you never encounter them. And even if you do, you don’t live to talk about it.

But Qing had been trained through endless beatings from a teacher who could ignore defense, bypass internal energy, and land undodgeable attacks.

Profound Realm—those people weren’t even human.

They were natural disasters in human skin.

Qing became respectful.

For the first time since the Great Sword Saint, Qing’s instincts kicked in: submit to the strong, stomp the weak.

And the Supreme Beggar smirked.

That scent... ah, it is Mother. The scent of fear.

Even if you change, your true nature never really leaves you.