Dear Daughter
“Don’t cry, Brother Mu Yu. Don’t cry,” Tian Ran comforted as she patted her shoulder.
“I’m not crying.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. My senior sister said it’s not wrong for men to cry.”
“What are you even on about?” Mu Yu chided despite taking up the shoulder offer.
“You have to stay strong, Brother Mu Yu. The future is beautiful. We need to focus on the future, where infinite potential is abound. There are plenty of people worth loving out there. You need not lower yourself. When my senior sister was heart br-.”
“Put a sock in it.”
“Oh.”
Mu Yu soon readjusted himself, deciding it wasn’t nice to look gloomy at his senior’s wedding. He started cackling and sneaked over to prank Cheng Yan.
Cheng Yan and Qing Mei were swung around in the air and only able to just touch each other. Lie Shang sealed their cultivation so that they couldn’t cheat. Mu Yu, eyes on Lie Shang and Lan Ling’er, silently swore, I’ll make sure you to suffer more than First Brother when you two get married.
***
The dust settled two months after Cheng Yan’s wedding.
“Are you seriously not coming with us?” Lan Ling’er asked.
“Go on ahead. I want to stay with Shifu a while longer. I’ll go with Tian Ran later on,” Mu Yu replied.
Also Mu Yu: I do want to stay with Shifu, but I don’t want to see you and Lie Shang being lovey dovey.
Tian Ran planned to leave Moyun Mountains with Lie Shang but changed her mind when Mu Yu stated he was staying.
“Remember to meet up with us at Two and a Half Kilometres Garden in the South,” reminded Lie Shang.
Mu Yu nodded in spite of having no idea where aforementioned place was.
Tian Ran often spaced out as she looked at Feng Haochen. Otherwise, she’d follow him around and pose a plethora of questions with a radiant smile on her face.
Lie Shang pulled Tian Ran over and glanced at Mu Yu out of his peripherals. He turned back to Tian Ran and questioned. “Do you really not plan to tell Shifu?”
“Eld-Elder Dust Gale?”
“You were the one who accidentally revealed Sword Shadow Dust Gale was at Moyun Mountains and then sought me out for help. You think I would’ve spared you for endangering someone I care about if it wasn’t for your relationship with him?”
“You revealed Shifu’s whereabouts?” Mu Yu furrowed his brows.
Tian Ran pursed her lips and averted her gaze. “I don’t want to guilt trip him.”
“Over what?” Mu Yu inquired.
Lie Shang: “Do you plan to keep it from him forever? You won’t be able to see him again once you leave Moyun Mountains. Are you sure you’re all right with that? Do you blame him?”
Tears gushed forth from Tian Ran’s eyes. Mu Yu flustered around then shot Lie Shang a glare.
“No, I don’t blame him. I’d be content even if it’s just one more second that I get to spend with him.”
Mu Yu scanned Tian Ran and realised the similarities. “Tian Ran, are you Shif-”
“Tian Ran is Shifu’s biological daughter,” Lie Shang interjected.
Mu Yu’s eyes raced over to Lie Shang, who looked serious.
“Fifteen years ago, he sneaked into Secular World Sect to bid Mother farewell before leaving for Moyun Mountains. My mother conceived me that night unknowingly. My mother told me my father was Third Heaven Continent’s True God and humanity’s saviour. She told me not to hate him because he left to carry out a noble cause. I always knew he was at Moyun Mountains, but Mother wouldn’t let me visit him. Eventually, I sneaked out of home when I reached Primordial Infant Realm. I wanted to know how my father looked…”
After Tian Ran inadvertently revealed to Ghost Gate her father was at Moyun Mountains, she met Lie Shang by coincidence. He recognised Empyrean Revelation because it resonated with his Sky Scorcher sword. He raced back to Moyun Mountains once he learnt of Ghost Gate’s plot from her, and she arrived afterwards.
Though Tian Ran wanted to be with her father, she understood his predicament. She was glad to know he didn’t just abandon her but was oblivious to her existence. She didn’t want to burden him with the guilt of not fulfilling his responsibilities as her father.
“Don’t tell him.”
Mu Yu could sympathise with Tian Ran. The revelation answered a lot of questions he had prior. He solemnly argued, “It’s cruel to not tell Shifu. He has prepared himself mentally to go down with all of Moyun Mountains’s population. You won’t be able to enter Moyun Mountains again in a few years’ time.”
“Isn’t it even crueller to inform him? Who wants to abandon their daughter when she’s in a time of need? Mother told me not to interfere. We can’t burden him.”
Mu Yu decided to respect Tian Ran’s wishes.
Mount Dustfallen was notably quieter with only Tian Ran, Mu Yu and the mischievous twins left. Strangely, the twins weren’t so mischievous. For once, they quietly sat still – although they juggled Xiaoshuai.
“Younger Sister, will they be back?”
“Second Brother said he’d come pick us up once we could cultivate,” answered Miaomiao.
Kongkong failed to catch Xiaoshuai when his sister passed the egg over, infuriating Xiaoshuai.
***
A year flew by. Tian Ran enjoyed being in Feng Haochen’s company daily.
From his chair, Feng Haochen said, “Lass, I told you I’d do the washing.”
Tian Ran wringed the clothing and hung them out to dry. “Uncle Feng, Shifu shared your exploits with me as I grew up. She would praise me if I did these menial tasks for you.”
Tian Ran brought the dry clothes over and pulled over a stool to sit next to Feng Haochen. Suddenly, she started massaging his legs, leading to him smiling. “You’re a considerate girl. When do you intend to return? Your shifu must be worried.”
“We’ll wait a little longer,” Mu Yu, who was coming over, responded.
Mu Yu was aware Tian Ran used him as an excuse to spend more time with her father. Unfortunately, they had to get a move on.
“Once Brother Mu Yu reaches Golden Core Realm’s Ninth Layer, we will go,” added Tian Ran.
Mu Yu expedited his results thanks to training in his shifu’s Spirit Collection Formation that was further enhanced with purple-gold spirit stones in addition to their spiritual qi key. Tian Ran shared the formation’s spiritual qi was several folds more potent than spiritual qi at Third Heaven Continent.
Those from Third Heaven Continent had a head start on Moyun Mountains cultivators as the former could start cultivating from a young age unlike children from Moyun Mountains. With that said, thanks to Tian Ran inheriting the genes of two geniuses, she was one of the few to reach Primordial Infant Realm within a decade of cultivation.
From afar, Miaomiao shouted, “Shifu, Kongkong blew up the loo again.”
“Good grief. You’re the only sensible one around here, Lass. If only I had a daughter as well-mannered as you.”
Tian Ran fossilised. Feeling something come up to her throat, she rose to her feet and said, “I will go check on them.”
“What happened to her? She looks as if she was crying.”
Mu Yu: If only you knew…
Mu Yu proposed, “Perhaps you remind her of her parents. Her father abandoned her before she was born. Her father is an idiot. He doesn’t even know she exists. Luckily for her, her mother sent her to Secular World Sect, rather, your partner.”
“Hey, mind your choice of words. What partner? She’s my soul mate.”
Feng Haochen knocked Mu Yu on the head. Mu Yu smiled awkwardly.
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