Dad…
Lightning came, a brilliant shock of white across the malevolent sky. The untamed power reverberated and echoed, forking through Mu Yu’s hope. The wind howled and threatened to tear tree trunks apart.
“Don’t die! Life and Death in the Blink of an Eye! Life and Death in the Blink of an Eye!” Mu Yu looked down to Ku Mu in his arms. “Damn it, I didn’t say you could do!”
Ku Mu ignored the teardrops patterning on his face. Smiling and, in a soft voice, he said, “Didn’t think I’d see you shed a tear for me. I always thought you were heartless…”
“I’m not crying, and I won’t!”
At one point in the past, Mu Yu pulled a zany face and joked he wouldn’t shed a tear for Ku Mu when the latter was on his deathbed. It was only supposed to be a joke, yet he broke down in tears for the first time in his life. He refused to ever cry, labelling it a hallmark of weakness but his emotions got the better of him in the end.
“You always wanted to know what the illusion I saw in dark herb’s life qi was, right?” Ku Mu couldn’t finish what he wanted to say due to blood spilling from his mouth.
“No, I don’t. I just want you to live!” Mu Yu cried in a gruff voice.
“You weren’t a hero or saved me or a panda. You were my son.”
Mu Yu raised his teary face to meet with Ku Mu’s eyes.
“After I learnt Feng Haochen had a daughter, my resentment turned to envy and jealousy. I still can’t fathom why he has everything I don’t. He took the woman I liked from me. Even his disciples are brilliant. I was upset and miserable when I realised I didn’t even have a successor.”
Smiling bitterly, Ku Mu continued, “Tian Ran reminded me of you. I started considering you my son before I realised it. You always agitated me, but I suppose I often aggravated Xue’er’s father. We’re the same, I guess. I never mentioned it because you only ever thought about your shifu. I didn’t want to make a joke out of myself after seeing how far you went to help him. That’s why I didn’t want to share what I saw…”
“Okay, okay, I know now. Just don’t leave!”
Ku Mu wiped Mu Yu’s tears with his shaky hand. “You were still a mischievous brat, always getting on my nerves in my illusion, but you called me ‘Dad’. I know I’m asking for too much. I’d never hear the end of it if I told you. I know I’m not worthy of being your father. It was just me being sentimental. Don’t worry about it.”
“I won’t laugh at you. I’ve treated you as my father for a long time. I thought you didn’t care about me, but I was scared to ask. I shared the same concern as you. I’ve always called you ‘Dad’ in my heart. I swear.” Mu Yu brought his head down to Ku Mu’s chest.
“Whether or not you mean it, I’m not going to pretend I didn’t hear it. Maybe you think I’m useless just as everyone else does. I’m not on the same level as your shifu; however, you’ve never seen my real skills. I embedded a formation in this Blood Jade Black Crystal. The formation will show you how your useless father decimated a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator as a Golden Core Realm cultivator using formations. Unfortunately, I failed. Don’t laugh.”
Ku Mu placed the crystal in Mu Yu’s hand.
Ku Mu was only ever despised or feared, while Feng Haochen was heralded as a hero. Mu Yu was the only one to ever defend his dignity. Even so, he wanted to prove to Mu Yu that he wasn’t just someone stuck in Feng Haochen’s shadow. He wanted to show off the same way a father wanted his son to be proud of him. To that end, he recorded his fight against Tian Budai. Sadly, interference made his effort in vain.
“I’ve never thought you were useless or laughed at you because” – Mu Yu wiped his tears – “because a son never makes fun of his father.”
Just as Mu Yu defended Ku Mu’s dignity, Ku Mu always prioritised Mu Yu over himself and protected him when others stood against him. If anything, Mu Yu felt he wasn’t worthy of having Ku Mu as his father because he couldn’t protect his father!
Ku Mu revealed a smile of relief. “That’s the only sentence I’ve ever liked from all the nonsense you’ve ever said.”
Millions of drops of water cascaded from the graphite sky after the clouds parted.
“I want you to learn formations, but Feng Haochen is against it. I say make your own decision. I’m superior to him when it comes to formations. It’s the only achievement I can say I’m proud of. I wanted to teach you, but I can’t now. Send my corpse back to Xue’er. I couldn’t keep her company in life, so let me fulfil my promise in death to the best of my ability…”
Ku Mu went to whack Mu Yu’s head with his bloody hand, but it was barely a tap.
Ku Mu dedicated his entire life to others. Just when he finally decided to live for himself, Third Heaven Palace had to cut his life short.
The gale tore down an old tree. The hail belting down on Mu Yu froze his heart.
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