Tang Doudou assumed Mu Ye was suggesting the danger wasn’t over, but it turned out that he was just saying they still had longer to travel.
After the storm, the mountain roads were extremely slippery and caused Tang Doudou to slip several times. Even with Mu Ye’s chain wrapped around her, it was with great difficulty that she finally climbed onto the slope behind the mountain cave.
Tang Doudou plopped her butt down and panted for breath after climbing, she couldn’t be bothered to care if the ground was dirty. “Do you mean that we can only walk along this cliff to search our way up since there’s no way to get back from Devil’s Pond?”
Mu Ye replied ‘en’ as he sat down next to her. When the strong scent of hormones drifted over, Tang Doudou’s heart started racing again.
Mu Ye gazed towards the faintly-visible ocean surface in the distance and asked softly, “Would you like to hear a story?”
Tang Doudou rubbed her chin and dragged herself out of her thoughts. She looked towards Mu Ye with puzzlement. Why did he offer to tell her a story out of nowhere?
However, she has always been a good listener so she nodded. “Sure.”
Mu Ye continued looking into the distance. His lips moved slightly and his high Adam’s apple also moved up and down. His cold voice contained a bit of sorrow when he started speaking.
“Three Years of Chowa.”
Tang Doudou was no longer that little novice transmigrator, she knew that ‘Three Years of Chowa’ was the era name for the previous dynasty. By the looks of it, the story Mu Ye wanted to tell was related to the previous dynasty. Could it have something to do with Madame Qin?
“After a heavy rain washed away that thick accumulated layer of blood on the walls of the imperial city, I infiltrated the palace with my master and saw that woman.”
Unexpectedly, Mu Ye actually had some talent at storytelling. If only his tone could be a bit more animated. Tang Doudou was still mulling over what Mu Ye had just said when he stopped speaking and took a deep look at her.
Tang Doudou’s brain stopped functioning for a moment and she blurt out, “It’s a surprise that you also have a master!”
Right afterwards, she regretted it. Mu Ye’s face turned as dark as coal.
Why did she say that? It was such a stupid question. If he didn’t have a master, could he have just been born with such powerful martial arts?
Even after Sun Wukong jumped out from a rock, he only became undefeatable after being an apprentice to a master and training earnestly…
She didn’t dare to speak anymore and embarrassedly copied Mu Ye in looking towards the sea. When she saw the fierce sea dragon playing in the water and even chasing its own tail, she couldn’t help but remark, “From the looks of it, even a fierce dragon has a childish heart!”
Mu Ye also looked towards the sea dragon, then coldly spat, “Beast.”
The tone was very heavy. Tang Doudou’s heart pounded and she didn’t dare to look at him again.
“Master only told me after we entered the palace that a good friend of his had asked him to protect the child inside the woman’s belly. It was only then that it occured to me who this woman was.” After a period of silence, Mu Ye continued his story.
Tang Doudou continued watching the sea dragon splash around in the water but her ears were pricked up to catch Mu Ye’s words.
“At that time, the Chowa dynasty was already nearing the end of its time. The imperial palace was a mess. Master had no choice but to stay in the imperial palace in order to protect that woman’s child, so I also stayed in the turbulent palace…”
The sea breeze gently rustled the tree leaves on the hillside as Mu Ye slowly recounted the past. The atmosphere was very tranquil and relaxing.
Tang Doudou only noticed that she had been absorbed in the story after Mu Ye had finished speaking. She hadn’t even realized when her eyes had gotten wet.
“After Master passed away, I succeeded the position of Leader of the Demonic Sect. However, even after searching for many years, I still couldn’t find that child.”
As Mu Ye spoke, his hand landed on the bundle of bones. “Master’s good friend, your father, had been missing ever since that huge fire. I never thought that he had actually come back here.”
It was the first time she had heard Mu Ye speak so much, and it was even about her. She couldn’t help but feel little sad and dazed. “I’m that child?”
“En.”
“But…” Back then you even tried to kill me!
Tang Doudou swallowed the rest of her words. She glanced at the bones. “Mu Ye, I’m not accusing you of lying, but when I was at Mist City, Old Tang… ah, that’s my grandpa, apparently. He said that when he found me, my parents had already died at the scene.”
Mu Ye’s gaze darkened. “Those aren’t your birth parents.”
…Tang Doudou expressed that she really couldn’t understand the world of the ancients.
Mu Ye looked at her again and asked calmly, “You don’t believe me?”
“I believe!” Tang Doudou replied without hesitation.
“Why?”
“Because you’re someone that would rather stay silent than lie!” Tang Doudou’s eyes curved as she said this softly.
Mu Ye’s cold eyes flickered slightly as he said, “En.”
Then he fell silent.
Luckily, Tang Doudou had already gotten used to him being like this. She yawned, then stretched and asked, “Are we going to keep going?”
Mu Ye stood up. “Yes.”
Once again, the two started walking in silence with lowered heads.
__________
