Against the Gods - Volume 07 - Heaven Smiting Shakes the World

by Mars Gravity

  “I… I… I… I am Xiao Yun.” Facing Xiao Lingxi’s question and gaze, Xiao Yun was so nervous that he stuttered because he heard Yun Che calling her Little Aunt this whole time. In Illusory Demon Realm, he heard this reference too many times from Yun Che. Towards Yun Che, she was the most important person in his life. And towards himself, Xiao Yun… she was one of the two blood relatives that he had left in this world!

  One was his grandfather, and the other was his little aunt who has seniority over him even though she was actually one year younger than him.

  Number Seven Under Heaven roughly pinched Xiao Yun, who was incredibly nervous, and said openly, “I am Brother Xiao Yun’s wife, everyone calls me Seventh Sister. Big Brother Yun mentioned ‘Little Aunt’ a lot in front of us, and we finally met you today… Little Aunt is even prettier and more charming than imagined.”

  “I welcome the both of you to Floating Cloud City. My apologies… you two must have been frightened even though you just got here,” Xiao Lingxi smiled and apologized. If she was complimented like that three years ago by someone Yun Che brought, she would be joyful without thinking twice. But she had greatly changed after these three years, and she was no longer that naive, childish young girl. Everything she said and the smile she gave all showed grace and subtleness on her that rarely appeared before.

  “He’s Xiao Yun, my sworn brother, same age as me. This is Xiao Yun’s newly wedded wife, they just got married less than a month ago. Other than this, they have another… more important identity,” Yun Che said mysteriously.

  “Another identity?” Xiao Lingxi was confused.

  “You will find out soon.” He said softly without waiting for Xiao Lingxi to question, “Little Aunt, is grandfather home?”

  “Mn, he is in his own courtyard.” Mentioning Xiao Lie, Xiao Lingxi’s expression became eager. She grabbed Yun Che’s hand. “After princess sis told us you returned, your grandfather has been waiting for you. I wonder how happy he’ll be after he sees you.”

  “I also missed grandfather a lot… Let’s go right now!” Yun Che vigorously nodded his head, and started walking out of the courtyard with Xiao Lingxi.

  “Hurry and catch up!!” Number Seven Under Heaven dragged Xiao Yun who was staring into space. Then, as if he had just woken up from a dream, he immediately followed behind Yun Che.

  The interior of the Xiao Clan hadn’t changed much, and he didn’t forget where grandfather’s courtyard was located in the slightest. He could also remember all the names and faces of the people that he passed by… and when those people saw him, they would be stunned, yell in shock, or would turn aghast as if they had just seen a ghost.

  He was getting closer to where Xiao Lie was step by step, and he ignored the exaggerated reactions of everyone in Xiao Clan. Yun Che asked very worriedly, “How has grandfather been these three years?”

  Xiao Lingxi lightly bit her lip as soon as she heard him ask that. This unconscious action caused Yun Che’s heart tighten, and she answered faintly, “Three years ago, after we received news that you passed away, father was very calm. He had been trying his best to comfort me and the previous emperor, and he didn’t shed a single tear. But I know that it must have been very hard on him… it was harder on him than anyone else. When father was at the Blue Wind Profound Palace, he had a great appetite, but after that, he would only eat one meal at most each day… and he has been like this ever since.”

  “After that, the previous emperor was killed. Father was helping princess sis handle the previous emperor’s funeral, and he suggested taking me back to Floating Cloud City. The day that we returned, dad was suddenly unconscious and had lapsed into a coma for a full day. After that, he was seriously ill for a long time. Even though he was cured from his illness later on, his body grew weaker every day, and he aged extremely quickly. Starting from a year ago, he couldn’t… couldn’t even walk on his own…”

  “…” Yun Che held his fists tightly and took a deep breath. When he was in Illusory Demon Realm, the thing that he worried most about was Xiao Lie’s well-being. Three years ago, Xiao Lie had already once resolved himself to die because he had nothing left to live for. It was because Yun Che said in a firm tone and gave him the hope that his “biological grandson must still be alive and must have grown up safely into an adult.” Hearing that, he then no longer had the will to die.

  And receiving the news of his death, there was no question that Xiao Lie would be affected heavily… He had received too many cruel shocks throughout his life, and this would be the one that extinguished his final flicker of hope and would cast him into the depths of despair. The reality was even worse than he had expected because accompanied with the news was the disaster of the Blue Wind… The thing that caused his body to become weaker was obviously his dark and heavy will to die.

  “Grandfather will recover… he will recover!” Yun Che said loudly, and his eager footsteps became even more rapid.

  Xiao Lie was still living in the same courtyard. The door of the courtyard had been taken down which should have been Xiao Lie’s idea. Standing at the entrance of the courtyard that he had once visited everyday but hadn’t stepped in for a whole six years, Yun Che saw the old man sitting in the middle of the courtyard on an old bamboo chair… His eyes were closed, and he was sunbathing under the sunlight that was somewhat warm. There was indifference on his calm face… that was an indifference that was often seen on the dead. His hair was completely white, without a trace of even a single black hair.

  A sour feeling spread from Yun Che’s nose to his whole body, and there was deep heartache and guilt, directed at himself. Xiao Lie was only slightly over sixty years old now, and on top of that, his profound energy was close to Earth Profound Realm, so he shouldn’t show any trace of being old. He hadn’t seen him for three years, but he seemed like he aged thirty years. He was about sixty, but he looked like he was eighty or ninety.

  They slowly walked in. Just as Xiao Lingxi was about to call out, Xiao Lie slowly opened his eyes, looked at Yun Che, and revealed a joyous smile on his face, “Che’er is back.”

  Xiao Lie was very calm, there was the color of joy and gratefulness in his aged eyes, but there was even more of an extremely thick and heavy grayness. Yun Che walked up quickly and kneeled down heavily in front of Xiao Lie with his palms on his knees. “Grandfather, Che’er is unfilial and caused you to suffer.”

  Xiao Lie shook his head, smiled lightly, and said, “Seeing that you are alive safe and sound, how would grandfather be suffering. Che’er is a lucky one, you could resolve danger every time. In the future you will definitely achieve great happiness. Heh heh, as long as you and Lingxi are safe, my life will be without regrets.”

  Chapter 682: Reunion (2)

  “No!” Yun Che shook his head hard. He looked at Xiao Lie’s blurry eyes and eagerly said, “Grandfather, do you remember that I mentioned ‘Illusory Demon Realm ’after I saved you and Little Aunt from the Burning Heaven Clan?”

  “I remember.” Xiao Lie closed his eyes lightly. “That is a very far… an incredibly far place.”

  “Back then I told Grandfather that my biological parents are from Illusory Demon Realm. They didn’t get caught by those villains and returned safely back to Illusory Demon Realm in the end, so Grandfather’s biological grandson must have also returned there with them safely. I also promised Grandfather that one day I would find a way to go to Illusory Demon Realm and reunite Grandfather with your own biological grandson. Grandfather, do you know where the Primordial Profound Ark took me during the three years that I was out of contact?”

  Xiao Lie, “…”

  “It was the Illusory Demon Realm!” Yun Che said loudly, “This must be the arrangement of the heavens. Not long after I arrived there, I found my biological parents!”

  As soon as Yun Che said that, Xiao Lie’s weak body shook in response, and his unfocused, blurry eyes immediately started trembling with strange light. “Che’er… what you said… what you just said… is that t
rue?!!”

  Back then, his grandson followed Yun Che’s biological parents! If Yun Che found his biological parents, then his child that was with them back then… his biological grandson…

  “Ah!!” Xiao Lingxi exclaimed, and she covered her lips with her hands.

  “It’s absolutely true! Even if there were ten thousand blades pointed at me, I would never lie to grandfather!” The expression in Yun Che’s eyes was incredibly firm as he said, “Not only did I find my parents, I also…”

  Xiao Lie’s body trembled very violently at this moment, and his hands started shaking uncontrollably. His legs that could barely stand straight originally, started standing up little by little while shivering… Yun Che lifted his head in surprise and saw Xiao Lie’s eyes looking straight behind him.

  Xiao Yun was at the entrance of the courtyard with Number Seven Under Heaven as he nervously hesitated, wondering whether or not to walk in.

  “Father!!” Xiao Lingxi immediately walked up and supported Xiao Lie who suddenly stood up. Yun Che also supported him on his other side right away. He hadn’t said that he found Xiao Yun in Illusory Demon Realm yet, and he didn’t make it clear that he brought him with him, but the way Xiao Lie looked at Xiao Yun and his uncontrollable emotion all of a sudden… Could there really be something like “bloodline connection” that exists in this world?

  “Child…” Xiao Lie lifted his arm slowly in Xiao Yun’s direction as Xiao Yun was staring blankly. His voice trembled, and his eyes were misty, “What… what is your name?”

  “My…” Xiao Yun pointed at himself blankly. “My… my name is Xiao Yun.”

  “Xiao Yun… Xiao… Yun…” Xiao Lie said the name in a trembling voice, and then he nodded slowly and heavily, “Good… good… Born by the Xiao Family, raised by the Yun Family, good name…”

  “Father, what are you talking about?” Xiao Lingxi’s beautiful eyes that were gazing at Xiao Yun widened slowly, and her eyes started trembling even harder as she started to piece everything together. “Could he be… so he is…”

  Xiao Lie took another difficult step forward with his quivering body. His husky voice was accompanied with deep sorrow and excitement, “You look exactly the same… as your father… when he was young…”

  “Ah!” Xiao Lingxi gasped lightly, and was stunned on the spot. Yun Che immediately realized why grandfather would be so excited before he even introduced Xiao Yun and understood why his father said that his grandfather would definitely be able to recognize him the instant his grandfather saw Xiao Yun. The reason was because Xiao Yun actually looked just like his father when his father was young… After all, Xiao Ying and Xiao Yun were biologically father and son.

  “You are… my grandfather?” Xiao Yun looked at the old man who was already in tears in front of him, and there was a sour feeling gathering uncontrollably from the tip of his nose to his heart, one that he couldn’t hold back.

  The memory back then rose once again in his mind, and it made every word Xiao Lie said sorrowful. “Back then, before your father handed you to your foster father, your mother tattooed the character ‘An’ on your left arm so that they could one day find you again… After you were born, your mother named you Xiao An. That ‘An’ on your left arm is your name and resulted from the hope that you and your foster parents could escape danger safely and that they would be able to reunite with you in the future.”

  Xiao Yun was stunned for a long time, and then slowly, he pulled up the sleeve of his left arm. On the forearm close to the top, the small, delicate character “An” was clearly printed there.

  Looking just like Xiao Ying from back then, and the “An” on his arm… There was no need for Yun Che’s explanation, everything was already proven incredibly clearly.

  “Grandfather,” Yun Che smiled and said, “I didn’t lie to you back then right? I knew that you two will one day reunite. Xiao Yun… he is your grandfather.”

  Xiao Yun tried his best to suppress the uncontrollable emotion in his heart. He swiftly stepped forward and kneeled down heavily before Xiao Lie. “Grandson Xiao Yun greets grandfather… grandson is unfilial. I was born more than twenty years but still hadn’t been able to express my filial piety before grandfather, and allowed grandfather to suffer from pain and worry.”

  Xiao Lie had been holding his tears back, but the moment he heard Xiao Yun’s words, he burst into tears… he had imagined countless of times what it would be like to reunite with his grandson. But back then, they had personally placed him in danger. Even if he was still alive, he wasn’t able carry out his responsibility of raising him all these years. In addition, even if they were to reunite one day… if his grandson knew what happened back then, it would be reasonable for his grandson to hate him, blame him, and ignore him.

  However, not only did he not hate or blame him, on the contrary, he kneeled down in front of him and called himself “unfilial.” This was like the most luxurious gift in the world. He reached out and held onto Xiao Yun’s arms, coming into contact with the closest remaining family that he thought he lost forever and only dared to desire in his dreams. “Good child… how are you unfilial… You are still safe and sound, this is being filial. You are willing to come back, this is filial. Grandfather has wronged you for your entire life, but you are still willing to call me grandfather, this is nothing but filial! All this time, it should be grandfather who should be apologizing!”

  “Grandfather, please don’t say that.” Xiao Yun’s eyes were filled with tears. “Big Brother told me everything about what happened back then. Father and Grandfather’s morality both are so high that it reaches the clouds, and you are both incredibly noble people. I am lucky and proud to have a father and grandfather like this. I have never blamed you two for anything. Also, for the more than twenty years in Illusory Demon Realm, my parents treat me like their own, and I have been living great life, better than anyone else, and I haven’t been wronged at all. But grandfather has suffered a lot.”

  “To be able to see that you grew up safely into an adult, and so lovable and mature, even if grandfather needed to suffer hundred times or thousands times more, I will not complain. Good child… get up, get up, quick,” Xiao Lie help Xiao Yun up with his trembling arms, and his whole face was covered with tears from his excitement.

  Yun Che’s eyes teared up a little as well because he finally accomplished grandfather’s wish. He said softly, “Grandfather, this time Xiao Yun didn’t come here alone. Before he came back, he had already built a family and gained accomplishments. Not only was he bestowed the title of King above tens of thousands of people in Illusory Demon Realm, he also married a princess from a top family.”

  Before Yun Che’s voice fell, Number Seven Under Heaven already kneeled down by Xiao Yun’s side and said, “Granddaughter-in-law Little Seven greets grandfather.”

  “Good… good…” Everything was too wonderful, one thing after another caught him by surprise. At this moment, the expression on his face and in his eyes possessed excitement, joy, infinite satisfaction, and numerous tears; there was no trace of grayness or deathly stillness anymore.

  “Xiao Yun, Seventh Sister, hurry over and hold grandfather.” Yun Che smiled and said, “You all must have a lot of things you want to say to each other since your family just reunited. Grandfather’s body is weak now, and he cannot stand for long, so help him into the room.”

  “Mn!” Xiao Yun wiped his tears immediately, grabbed onto Xiao Lie’s arms with Number Seven Under Heaven, and helped him slowly to the room with each on either side. Xiao Lie’s footsteps were slow and cautious, and there were tears and a smile on his face… That deep satisfaction and happiness came directly from his soul.

  Yun Che and Xiao Lingxi didn’t follow them in. Xiao Lingxi grabbed onto Yun Che’s clothes tightly. Her eyes were filled with tears from the excitement, and she said softly, “That is really great… This is the first time I saw dad so excited and this joyful. It really is great… so great…”

  “He is Father’s
biological son and my biological nephew… Our family actually has a chance to reunite.” Xiao Lingxi mumbled in a low voice as if she was talking in her sleep, “Everything, is just like I am dreaming.”

  “Yeah, Xiao Yun is the one who should follow the rules and call you Little Aunt.” Yun Che looked at Xiao Lingxi’s blushing cheeks and said seriously, “As for me, I am completely not related to you, and you are actually one year younger than me. Normally, I should call you Little Sister Lingxi, but I called you Little Aunt for so many years all for nothing, it is such a loss.”

  “Little Sister… Lingxi?!” Xiao Lingxi immediately pinched her fingers onto Yun Che’s arm and said angrily in her delicate voice, “Is Little Sister Lingxi something you are allowed to call me!? I am your Little Aunt… and I will be forever! You actually dare to show no respect for your senior in front of Little Aunt.”

  “Owowow…” Yun Che exaggeratedly yelled and said as if he was wronged, “You clearly knew that we were not related by blood… not even a little bit.”

  “My dad is your grandfather, so I am still your senior! You said Xiao Yun is your sworn brother before, and I am Xiao Yun’s Little Aunt, so of course you must also call me Little Aunt as well!” Listing out sufficient reasons, Xiao Lingxi’s face revealed a proud smile. “So don’t think that just because my biological nephew is back you can show no respect for your senior in front of Little Aunt. And you want to call me Little Sister Lingxi? Hmph.”

  “Well…” Yun Che stared at Xiao Lingxi in appreciation and smiled. The smile on his face was accompanied with a bit of ill intentions. “Did Little Aunt really forget? In front of Little Aunt, what I am best at is showing no respect for my senior!”

  Yun Che had forcefully but gently grabbed hold of Xiao Lingxi’s tender body. Before she could react, Yun Che had already heavily kissed onto her supple lips. The tender cry that was just about to come out of her mouth were entirely drowned out by the scent of man.